him out ever since we got back from Hollywood. I just haven’t gotten around to it. Maynard Merlin — Maynard Merlin —”
She kept clicking from Web site to Web site.
“Why do you want to run a background check?” Bruce asked her.
“I became curious when he gave me his card,” Aunt Alice said. “It had his name and address, but not the name of his business. I started to wonder if he might be a professional ventriloquist and that’s how he makes Gabby talk.”
She clicked around some more.
Then she said, “My suspicions were wrong. Mr. Merlin appears to be unemployed. I see nothing to indicate that he has a background in ventriloquism.”
“So Gabby’s for real!” Kristy said. “I’m glad to know that. I just love Gabby. When I told him good-bye, he licked my hand.”
“He didn’t say ‘Goowye’?” Bruce asked in surprise.
“No, he just licked me like a regular dog,” Kristy said. “Andi said good-bye to him first and whispered in his ear, so maybe he was thinking about whatever it was she said to him.”
Aunt Alice had continued to pull up Web sites.
“This is interesting,” she said, frowning a little. “It explains how Mr. Merlin can get along so well without holding a job. He’s been married five times, each time to an elderly widow with a house and other assets. Mr. Merlin has apparently inherited from all of them.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LOCAL PRODIGY TO APPEAR ON NATIONAL TELEVISION
Jerry Gordon, 14, hopes his appearance on national television will encourage other young writers to follow their dreams.
Jerry, whose novel,
Ruffy Dean Joins the Circus,
was awarded first place in the Young Author Dog Lovers Contest, sponsored by Pet Lovers Press, will appear tonight on the
Eileen Stanton Show
to share this experience with the world.
The popular television show, which is filmed in New York, will air at 8 P.M. EST.
“I want to inspire other kids who want to be writers!” Jerry said in a recent interview with the
Elmwood Tribune.
“It takes hard work and dedication, but it’s worth it.”
Jerry’s parents, Gerald and Emily Gordon, are proud of their son’s accomplishment but did not accompany him to New York.
“This is Jerry’s big moment, not ours,” Gerald Gordon said. “He told us he wanted to make this trip on his own, and we agreed that he’s earned the right to do that. We trust our son implicitly. Any young man who can get a book published at the age of 14 doesn’t need a babysitter.”
There was a lot of talk at the Walkers’ dinner table that night about whether to watch the show. Mr. Walker voted no. He was irate about the way Mr. Gordon had reacted to his polite request for help in persuading Jerry to sign the release form.
“He refused to take the situation seriously,” he told the family. “His view is that parents shouldn’t get involved in spats between children, and young people ought to work out their problems on their own. When I told him that Bruce and Andi had tried to do that, he said, ‘Well, maybe they didn’t try hard enough.’”
Mrs. Walker was upset about that as well, but she also wanted to watch the program.
“What good would it do us to boycott it?” she asked reasonably. “That’s not going to stop it from being shown. Everybody else in town is going to be watching it, so why shouldn’t we?”
Eileen Stanton was her favorite talk show host. Mrs. Walker never missed her show if she could help it.
Bruce was feeling so miserable about his phone conversation that afternoon with Craig Donovan that the very thought of Jerry made his stomach lurch. Mr. Donovan had been stunned to learn that Bruce was unable to provide the signed release form.
“Your sister assured me the cast would be off by now!” he said.
“The cast?” Bruce repeated blankly.
“The cast on the boy’s hand. Were there further complications? I don’t suppose you have an orthopedic hand specialist in Elmwood?”
“I don’t know,” Bruce said. “In fact,
She kept clicking from Web site to Web site.
“Why do you want to run a background check?” Bruce asked her.
“I became curious when he gave me his card,” Aunt Alice said. “It had his name and address, but not the name of his business. I started to wonder if he might be a professional ventriloquist and that’s how he makes Gabby talk.”
She clicked around some more.
Then she said, “My suspicions were wrong. Mr. Merlin appears to be unemployed. I see nothing to indicate that he has a background in ventriloquism.”
“So Gabby’s for real!” Kristy said. “I’m glad to know that. I just love Gabby. When I told him good-bye, he licked my hand.”
“He didn’t say ‘Goowye’?” Bruce asked in surprise.
“No, he just licked me like a regular dog,” Kristy said. “Andi said good-bye to him first and whispered in his ear, so maybe he was thinking about whatever it was she said to him.”
Aunt Alice had continued to pull up Web sites.
“This is interesting,” she said, frowning a little. “It explains how Mr. Merlin can get along so well without holding a job. He’s been married five times, each time to an elderly widow with a house and other assets. Mr. Merlin has apparently inherited from all of them.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LOCAL PRODIGY TO APPEAR ON NATIONAL TELEVISION
Jerry Gordon, 14, hopes his appearance on national television will encourage other young writers to follow their dreams.
Jerry, whose novel,
Ruffy Dean Joins the Circus,
was awarded first place in the Young Author Dog Lovers Contest, sponsored by Pet Lovers Press, will appear tonight on the
Eileen Stanton Show
to share this experience with the world.
The popular television show, which is filmed in New York, will air at 8 P.M. EST.
“I want to inspire other kids who want to be writers!” Jerry said in a recent interview with the
Elmwood Tribune.
“It takes hard work and dedication, but it’s worth it.”
Jerry’s parents, Gerald and Emily Gordon, are proud of their son’s accomplishment but did not accompany him to New York.
“This is Jerry’s big moment, not ours,” Gerald Gordon said. “He told us he wanted to make this trip on his own, and we agreed that he’s earned the right to do that. We trust our son implicitly. Any young man who can get a book published at the age of 14 doesn’t need a babysitter.”
There was a lot of talk at the Walkers’ dinner table that night about whether to watch the show. Mr. Walker voted no. He was irate about the way Mr. Gordon had reacted to his polite request for help in persuading Jerry to sign the release form.
“He refused to take the situation seriously,” he told the family. “His view is that parents shouldn’t get involved in spats between children, and young people ought to work out their problems on their own. When I told him that Bruce and Andi had tried to do that, he said, ‘Well, maybe they didn’t try hard enough.’”
Mrs. Walker was upset about that as well, but she also wanted to watch the program.
“What good would it do us to boycott it?” she asked reasonably. “That’s not going to stop it from being shown. Everybody else in town is going to be watching it, so why shouldn’t we?”
Eileen Stanton was her favorite talk show host. Mrs. Walker never missed her show if she could help it.
Bruce was feeling so miserable about his phone conversation that afternoon with Craig Donovan that the very thought of Jerry made his stomach lurch. Mr. Donovan had been stunned to learn that Bruce was unable to provide the signed release form.
“Your sister assured me the cast would be off by now!” he said.
“The cast?” Bruce repeated blankly.
“The cast on the boy’s hand. Were there further complications? I don’t suppose you have an orthopedic hand specialist in Elmwood?”
“I don’t know,” Bruce said. “In fact,
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