The Case of the Stolen Rosaries (Sisters of the Last Straw Book 3) Read online

  SISTERS

  of the

  LAST STRAW

  The Case of the

  Stolen Rosaries

  But all they saw was Sister Lacey in her bathrobe. She was staring at the empty counter. “Son of a Tiptoeing Thief!” yelled Sister Lacey. “How did they do it?”

  “What happened?” asked Mother Mercy, as her face went white.

  “The robber got in again! I don’t know how he did it! I was sleeping here all night and I didn’t hear a thing!”

  Karen Kelly Boyce

  SISTERS

  of the

  LAST

  STRAW

  #3 The Case of the

  Stolen Rosaries

  TAN Books

  Charlotte, North Carolina

  Dedicated to Heather Tsapp,

  My first fan

  In memory of my talented friend:

  Till we meet again

  Karen F. Riley

  1962–2013

  Text Copyright © 2014 by Karen Kelly Boyce

  Cover art copyright © by Sue Anderson Gioulis

  Cover and interior illustrations copyright © by Sue Anderson Gioulis

  Book design by Regina Doman

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher.

  Summary: A renegade rooster terrorizes the Sisters’ back yard and a mysterious thief snatches the Sisters’ rosaries in this third adventure about a convent of misfit nuns.

  ISBN: 978-1-5051-1190-3

  TAN Books

  P.O. Box 410487

  Charlotte, NC 28241

  www.TANBooks.com

  Printed in the United States of America

  Contents

  That Darn Rooster

  Baffling Bandits

  Planning a Surprise

  A Visit to the Farm

  Making Friends

  A Little Powder

  A Shining Example

  A Big Party

  © 2014 Chesterton Press.com

  Chapter 1

  That Darn Rooster

  Sister Krumbles stood looking out the screen door of the kitchen. There was a long staff in her hand. Her hand was shaking. She had to go outside, but she didn’t want to. She was afraid.

  She was not afraid of robbers. She was not afraid of big dogs. She was not afraid of ghosts. She was afraid of a rooster.

  The Sisters in her convent had received the gift of seven chickens and one rooster from a friend, Farmer Murphy. They loved having fresh eggs each morning. It saved the Sisters money to have their own chickens. Sister Krumbles loved the fat hens. But she did not love the rooster. His name was Ronnie. And he was mean.

  Sister Krumbles slowly opened the screen door and scanned the yard. She quietly tiptoed outside. Looking around, she didn’t see the rooster.

  She reached the bin that held the goat food. She opened the metal bin as quietly as she could. She poured the pellets into the feeder as the goats ran from the goat house to get their breakfast.

  With the long staff in her hand, Sister Krumbles headed toward the chicken coop. She grabbed a handful of grain and tossed it around for the chickens. “Here Ch…ch…ch…chick!” she whispered. The hens all came running to peck at the grain.

  She was almost done with her chores! Sister Krumbles tiptoed toward the kitchen door. Then she heard a loud, “CAW! CAW!” She jumped.

  But it was just a large crow. It flew to the old pine tree in the center of the yard.

  With a sigh, Sister Krumbles headed for the porch. Just then, Ronnie the Rooster darted out from behind the tree and rushed at her!

  “AHHH….!” screamed Sister Krumbles. The nasty rooster flew toward her, beating his wings. He blocked her way. Taking the staff, she pounded the ground. THUMP THUMP! Startled, the rooster jumped back.

  Sister Krumbles took a step back and Ronnie the Rooster took a step toward her. The Sister took another step back and Ronnie moved closer. THUMP…THUMP! went the staff against the ground. Sister Krumbles stepped backward onto the porch. She turned and ran into the kitchen, slamming the door behind her. Ronnie flew right into the door. He cackled in rage.

  Sister Krumbles laughed. “Ha! Ha! You didn’t get me!” She jumped and waved her arms in a silly dance. “You didn’t get me today—yay! You didn’t get me today—yay!”

  When she stopped, she saw all the other sisters in the kitchen were watching her. Sister Shiny was filling the salt shaker. Mother Mercy and the others were eating breakfast.

  Sister Krumble’s face turned red. “I was just glad that Ronnie didn’t peck me today,” she said.

  “So we see,” said Mother Mercy, the head of the order. “Can’t you even feed the animals without causing a ruckus?”

  Sister Krumbles hung her head in shame. “I don’t know what to do about that rooster! I’m afraid of him!”

  Mother Mercy stamped her foot. She had a hard time keeping her temper. “Why did you take all these animals from Farmer Murphy if you are afraid of them?”

  “Silly Superior!” said Sister Lacey. “We all should take turns helping with the chickens! After all, we all eat the eggs!”

  As soon as she said it, the short sister realized this was not a good thing to say. Sister Lacey always found it hard to watch what she said. She had learned to say funny things instead of bad words. But sometimes she still spoke up when she should be quiet.

  She tried again. “Well, we are all afraid of something. Son of a Splashing Swimming Pool! I’ve been afraid of swimming ever since one of my brothers dunked me in the pool. What are you afraid of, Mother Mercy?”

  Mother Mercy thought. As she did, the corners of her frown turned up. She began to smile. “I am afraid of losing my temper!” Everyone laughed.

  “I’m also afraid of what would happen if I was not in charge,” Mother Mercy said. “I guess that is why I made myself head of the order.”

  Mother Mercy and Sister Krumbles had started the order of the Sisters of the Last Straw. This order was for sisters who had not been able to stay in other convents because of bad habits. Each of the Sisters in the order had a bad habit that she was trying to overcome. They had to help each other.

  “Holy Hilarity!” giggled Sister Lacey. “I guess we are all afraid of something. Jesus would want us to entrust our little fears to Him. He will help us be brave!”

  “Yes, but we should still help one another!” said Mother Mercy. “You are right. We will all take turns helping Sister Krumbles feed the animals.”

  Sister Shiny’s eyes opened wide. I don’t want to help Sister Krumbles with her messy projects! she thought. Why, the back yard is full of dirt and bugs! Those animals smell! They never take baths! I don’t want to get my shoes dirty! I don’t want to get my hands dirty!

  The thought of dirt made Sister Shiny dizzy. The room spun around her. She backed away, and tripped over a stool. She tried to grab the counter. Instead she grabbed the big can of salt.

  The lid went flying into the air. Salt sprayed everywhere. It covered Sister Shiny! The empty canister landed on Sister Shiny’s head. It looked as if she were wearing a tin hat over her veil.

  “Poor Sister Shiny!” Sister Krumbles said. “You need a hug!” She reached out her arms. She had dirt on the edge of her habit. She had chicken feathers stuck on her veil. She had a smear of mud on her cheek.

  “No!” gasped Sister Shiny. But Sister Krumbles hugged her anyway. Now Sister Shiny was covered with mud, salt, and feathers. She began to shake.

  Mother Mercy started to chuckle. “I guess Sister
Krumbles is Sister Shiny’s biggest fear!”

  But then they heard another scream. It was not Sister Shiny. It came from the front of the house. Sister Wanda was screaming. “We’ve been robbed again!” she yelled.

  Sister Wanda was a tall, thin girl. She was a novice in the order. Her chore was to clean the Sisters’ gift shop. The Sisters ran the shop to raise money for their good works.

  Everyone went out into the hallway. Sister Wanda was running towards them. When she saw the Sisters coming, she stopped. “Screaming Sister Shenanigans! What happened?” asked Sister Lacey.

  “The rosaries are gone again!” Sister Wanda said. “I’ll show you!” She turned to run back to the shop, but instead she opened the door next to the shop door and dashed inside. There was a thump.

  “What are you doing in the clothes closet?” Mother Mercy shouted.

  Sister Wanda stumbled out of the closet. She was very red. No matter where she was, she always seemed to get lost.

  “Please stop running and tell us what happened,” Mother Mercy said. “What happened to the rosaries?”

  The Sisters’ best-selling items were the special rosaries they made of sparkling beads. Last month, the Sisters had discovered several rosaries were missing after a big party. The Sisters thought that someone had come in during the party and taken them. Now they were always very careful to lock the door to the little shop whenever they left.

  Sister Wanda said, “Well, yesterday evening, I decided to make some rosaries. I made five pretty rosaries. This morning I put the rosaries here on the counter before we went to pray. After breakfast, I came back to clean the shop. But when I opened the door, all the rosaries I made were gone!”

  “Did you forget to lock the door?” Mother Mercy asked.

  “I know I locked the gift shop door behind me. I had to unlock it to get back in just now,” said Sister Wanda.

  Mother Mercy pointed to the window. “Did you leave the window open?”

  “I guess I did,” said Sister Wanda. “I wanted to air out the shop. But that window is so high off the ground. I did not think that anyone could climb through it.”

  “Rosary Robbing Rascals!” exclaimed Sister Lacey, “How did the robbers get in?”

  Mother Mercy looked around the gift shop in dismay. “I don’t know, but I intend to find out! It’s time to call the police!”

  © 2014 Chesterton Press.com

  Chapter 2

  Baffling Bandits

  Officer Mallon came quickly. The tall officer with dark skin was a good friend to the Sisters. He had helped them solve a mystery before. “What is the problem?” he asked.

  “Someone is taking our new rosary beads!” Mother Mercy said. She led him to the gift shop. “All the rosaries on the counter were missing this morning!”

  “Have you been locking the door at night?” the policeman asked.

  “Oh yes,” said Sister Wanda. She told him what happened.

  Officer Mallon went outside. He searched the ground outside the gift shop window for footprints.

  “Maybe the robbers used a ladder,” said Sister Wanda.

  Officer Mallon looked closely at the grass. “There are no ladder marks here,” he said. “If a robber was using a ladder to climb in the window by day, I think someone would have seen him.”

  “True,” Mother Mercy said. “But the last time someone stole our rosaries, it was also during the day.”

  Officer Mallon rubbed his chin. “We must have a very smart robber on our hands. We’ll have extra units patrol the neighborhood. All of us will watch for the robber.”

  Everyone felt better. They said goodbye to Officer Mallon and went about their chores.

  Sister Lovely took Sister Krumbles aside. She said, “I have an idea for that nasty rooster!”

  After their chores were done, the two Sisters went to the back yard. Sister Lovely pulled a big wire cage out of the shed. “That is Gracie’s old dog cage!” Sister Krumbles said.

  “Gracie is such a big dog now. She would never fit in it!” said Sister Lovely. “Let’s clean it out with the hose.”

  Sister Lovely went to turn on the water. Sister Krumbles began to wash down the cage. She was so busy that she forgot all about the rooster!

  Then she heard a loud squawk from behind the shed. “No…..!” she screamed as Ronnie the Rooster flew at her.

  Dropping the hose, Sister Krumbles ran to the shed. She slammed the metal door shut. Ronnie the Rooster flew at the door. He pecked and crowed.

  Sister Lovely saw everything. She picked up the hose. She aimed it at the rooster and turned it on.

  SPLASH! “Kerkoo!” Ronnie crowed. He ran away fast! Soon he was out of sight.

  “You can come out now!” Sister Lovely shouted to Sister Krumbles. Sister Krumbles peeked out. Then she came out of the shed. She was dusty and her veil was crooked. “How are we ever going to get him into the cage?” she asked.

  The pretty Sister thought. “Get the old pool net from the shed. We can catch him with that!”

  Then she saw the rooster. He was peering around the side of the shed. She whispered, “Give me the net. Start to walk away. When he follows you, I will nab him!”

  Sister Krumbles was afraid, but agreed. Slowly she walked away while she prayed a Hail Mary. Please help me be brave, she thought.

  The rooster spread his wings. He ran at Sister Krumbles! Sister Lovely had to run. She lifted the net and swooped it down. The net slammed over Ronnie! He was trapped!

  “Hooray!” cheered the Sisters.

  Suddenly Ronnie flew up out of the net. There was a large hole in the end. “Oh…!” screamed Sister Krumbles.

  But Ronnie didn’t want to chase Sister Krumbles anymore. He ran away!

  “That was the funniest thing I have ever seen!” someone shouted. The Sisters looked up.

  Two children, Anna and Michael, were jumping on an old trampoline and laughing.

  The children lived in the small apartment outside the convent chapel. Their parents, Joseph and Mary, had needed jobs, so the Sisters had hired them to clean the house and yard. They were all good friends of the Sisters.

  Anna and Michael jumped off the trampoline. “What are you trying to do?” asked Michael.

  Sister Krumbles explained, “We are trying to put that nasty rooster in this cage!”

  Anna said, “There is a much easier way to get him in the cage!” She and her brother put a bowl of corn deep into the cage. Then everyone hid behind a bush. Soon Ronnie the Rooster came back. He strutted around the yard. He looked at the cage. He saw the food.

  He walked straight into the cage and began to eat. He didn’t see Sister Lovely as she sneaked up and slammed the cage door shut! Ronnie was trapped at last!

  The two Sisters danced in a circle with Michael and Anna. They thanked them and then went inside for lunch.

  The table was laid out with very pretty food that Sister Shiny had made. There were salads and sandwiches and tall glasses filled with ice cubes and tea. All the Sisters were delighted. But as they sat to pray, they saw that Mother Mercy was sad.

  “What’s the matter?” asked Sister Lovely after they had prayed. “Don’t you like the lunch?”

  Mother Mercy sighed, “The food looks very nice. It’s just that with the rosaries being stolen, I don’t think we will have enough things to sell this week.”

  “Bratty Bandits!” said Sister Lacey. “I hope the police capture the robbers! Maybe when they do, we’ll get all the stolen rosaries back.”

  Mother Mercy said, “But if we don’t have any rosaries to sell, how are we going to buy food for the poor? I hate to think of people going hungry while we enjoy a beautiful lunch.”

  The Sisters grew sad. It was true. They had not thought of the poor people who needed the food the Sisters would bring them every week.

  Everyone had a hard time eating. Most of the lunch became leftovers. Sister Lacey had never seen the Mother Superior so sad.

  “I wish I could do something to
cheer her up!” she said to Sister Shiny as they did the dishes.

  “I’m afraid only one thing would cheer Mother up: catching the robber who has our rosaries,” said Sister Shiny sadly.

  That’s when Sister Lacey had an idea. Why wait for the police? I can catch the robber myself!

  That night, Sister Lacey got up. She grabbed her pillow and blanket. She softly stepped down the stairs and the hallway until she reached the gift shop. She went in and locked the door behind her.

  The rosaries were locked in a cabinet. Sister Lacey was glad to see they were all there.

  She took them out and put them on the counter to count them. It does not matter if I leave them out, she thought. I am here to guard them.

  Then she lay down on the floor to sleep. But it was so hot that she could not sleep. “Son of a Stuffy Stillness!” Sister Lacey whispered. She got up and opened the window to let in some cool night air. Then she lay down again.

  But what if the robber comes in the open window? she thought. She had an idea! She moved her blanket and pillow so that she was right under the window. If anyone comes in the window, they will step right on me and wake me up! Sister Lacey smiled and yawned. She fell asleep easily, guarding the gift shop.

  She dreamed that she captured the robber! The whole neighborhood was grateful. Everyone cheered for her.

  Sister Lacey saw herself on large stage in front of thousands of people. The police praised her bravery. Then the Governor put a large golden medal around her neck while everyone cheered.

  The President of the United States arrived, landing in a whirling helicopter on the roof. All the people clapped as he congratulated her. He gave her a large bag of money as a reward. It was enough money to buy tons of food. It was enough to feed all the poor in Spring Creek Township for a full year!

  With these wonderful dreams in her head, Sister Lacey slept soundly. No noise woke her. No robber stepped on her as she slept under the window. The door did not open. She didn’t hear any footsteps. She slept beneath the cool breezes of the open window until the morning light.