“That true?” Mr. Mattaman directs his question at me.
“Yes, sir. We saw Capone spit in Eliot Ness’s mashed potatoes. He hocked up a gob of phlegm, then he smoothed it over with his finger. Gave it a little swirl. I saw with my own eyes.”
Mr. Mattaman pulls at his mustache.
Theresa makes a face. “Eew,” she says.
“But Natalie didn’t go with you. It was just you and Piper in there?” Mr. Mattaman asks.
“While they were gone, we were watching Natalie with Mrs. Caconi,” Jimmy explains, “but Nat snuck out. She went to the warden’s house.”
“She wanted to see Molly, the mouse Willy One Arm has,” Theresa adds.
Mr. Mattaman points at her. “And you, missy? What did you do that annoyed Piper so much that started this whole thing?”
Theresa’s lower lip puckers up. “Nothing. Piper is the wrong one, not me.”
Jimmy snorts. “C’mon, Theresa.” He glares at his sister, then turns to his dad. “She spies on us, Dad. And she can’t stand that Moose likes Piper.”
The blood rushes to my face. “I do not like Piper.”
“Do so,” Theresa says.
“Theresa! Since when is that your business? You and I need to have a talk about this in private,” Mr. Mattaman tells her. Theresa’s mouth droops.
“And you two.” He points at me and Jimmy. “Why didn’t you tell me about this? For Pete’s sake-” He sighs, his brown eyes softening. “Since when do you think you run the place?”
“Can I ask one little tiny-teeny question?” Theresa’s hand is up by her face like she’s not sure whether to raise it all the way or not. “When are you going to talk to Piper?”
“Listen up, Theresa. I’m not going to say this twice. This… is… not… your… business.”
Her shoulders slump down. “If it was my business, would you tell me?”
“Theresa Maria Mattaman.” Her father’s voice gathers steam.
“Okay, okay.” She puts her hand down.
“All right then. I don’t want news of these shenanigans to go farther than this room, do you understand me?” He points to each of us and we nod.
“And if I ever hear of any of you taking matters into your own hands again, I will go straight to the warden. Is that understood?” Mr. Mattaman looks around the room again, checking in with each of us.
We all nod our heads. Even Theresa. Only Natalie continues to play checkers, one lone player against herself. In the silence of our head nodding, she looks up at us and down again.
On the way back from the Mattamans’, Nat walks even slower than normal, dragging her foot on the ground, running her hand along the wall and humming an empty tune.
“What’s the matter, Nat?” I ask her.
“Peoples are mad at Moose,” she says.
I hold the door of our place open waiting for her to come in. “Yeah, but it’s okay. We got off easy-practically scot-free.”
She touches her own chest. “No one is mad at Natalie. Natalie is a moron.”
“No, Nat, listen to me. Listen very closely. You’re not a moron. Piper is… She’s the moron. Not you.”
“Mr. Mattaman shakes his finger at Moose. Not Natalie. Natalie went away.”
“Yeah, and you shouldn’t do that, Nat. You shouldn’t go up to the warden’s house,” I tell her. “But could we discuss this inside?”
“Why?” she asks, suddenly looking directly at me.
“Because it’s not safe to go to the warden’s house and I don’t want to talk about this out here on the balcony where people can hear.”
“Tomorrow, we can see Molly tomorrow. Moose said,” she whispers.
“Yeah, okay, I said that. But I was wrong. We can’t go up there whenever we want. There are things you can’t do. You can’t go up top and”-my voice drops down-“you can’t be friends with 105 either.”
“ 105,” she mutters.
“Does he visit you, Natalie?”
“Visitors, Natalie. Mommy is here,” she says the way Sadie would say it, only quieter.
“Yeah, Mom visits, but does 105 visit?” I whisper.
“Dad visits,” Nat says.
“Mom and Dad visit, but 105 doesn’t visit.”
“105 doesn’t visit,” she mimics.
She’s not just repeating what I said, right? “But how did you get the stuff in your suitcase?”
“Sadie packs my suitcase,” she says.
“Sadie packed the bar spreader?” I whisper, my throat suddenly too small for my words.
Natalie doesn’t answer. She’s busy counting the posts in the porch rail.
“C’mon, Nat!” Again, nothing.
“Nat, please. Let’s get inside,” I plead. “Mom! Dad!” I call in the door, but it’s silent-too silent-inside. Where did they go?
“Natalie.” I’m begging now. Something about the way she seems to have locked up in place is making me very nervous.
“Home Moose. Not home Natalie,” she says.
It’s Monday, but she’s not going back to the Esther P. Marinoff for another week. Some kind of teacher break before the fall semester.
“Moose go. Natalie stay,” she mutters, closing her eyes and spinning round and round like a merry-go-round, pushing herself faster and faster, until she falls in a clump on the balcony.
“Natalie, not here, okay? Just get inside.” But she doesn’t move. She is curled up in a ball frozen there.
“Moose!” a bullhorn bleats. But it isn’t Darby. It’s Janet.
“Leave us alone, Janet,” I call down to her, but as soon as I say this, Darby appears by the first-floor landing.
“What’s going on?” he bellows into his bullhorn. It blasts loud enough for all of 64 to hear.
“Nothing, sir,” I say.
“Don’t look like nothin’ to me, son.”
Mrs. Chudley opens her window. Mrs. Caconi comes out, her hands on her big hips. She still looks exhausted from last night. Bea’s clickety-clackety high heels sound on the stairs.
“Sure ain’t normal what she’s doin’ now,” Darby bellows.
“C’mon, Nat. Let’s get you inside.” I try to scoop her up, but I can’t get her to move.
“Where are your folks?” Darby’s voice echoes in the bullhorn.
“Natalie,” I whisper, “we need to count the dishes. Come inside.” This is lame, but it’s all I can think of.
Nat doesn’t budge. Her eyes are shut tight.
“Natalie, we need you to come and check… Mom’s knitting something for the warden’s baby. You need to help,” I lie. My mother doesn’t know how to knit.
Still nothing.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Janet Trixle banging on the Mattamans’ door. “C’mon, Theresa! Jimmy! Moose needs help!” she bellows in her baby bullhorn.
“Janet! You come down here!” Darby shouts, but it’s too late. Janet has Theresa and Jimmy in tow. Jimmy takes one look at Natalie and understands exactly what’s going on.
“Let’s carry her in,” Jimmy says. He scoops up her arms, Theresa gets her feet, and I carry her middle. It’s awkward, but it’s not far, only a few feet really. We manage to lug her over the threshold of our apartment and close the door.
I can’t believe it’s Janet helping, but it is. “Thanks,” I tell all of them.
Janet’s face glows. “You want to play?” she whispers to Theresa.
Theresa looks at me. I nod.
“ ’Kay,” Theresa says as she, Jimmy, and Janet go out. I breathe a huge sigh of relief as I close the door after them.
“Jeez, Natalie. I wish you wouldn’t do that,” I tell my sister, who is curled up in a ball like a potato bug.
At least she’s quiet. It could be a lot worse, I’m thinking, when I hear a knock on the door.
“Moose, can I come in?” Darby Trixle wipes his feet on the mat and steps inside without waiting for my answer.
“Uh, Officer Trixle, sir, my parents aren’t here right now,” I say, but it’s too late, he’s headed straight for our sofa.
“It’s you I want to have the conversation with. How’s she doin’?” He eyes Natalie, who is still curled up on the floor.