U-WRITE-IT RESULTS

Mick smiled at his younger sister. One thing that little gal had was manners. She wasn't too smart yet. But, that was about her only fault, other than being five years old.

"So, what good would that do, writing a thank-you note? Do you think the tooth fairy can even read?"

"Fairies are magic. They can read what I write."

Mick pulled a spiral notepad out of his desk drawer. Turning it to a fresh page, he handed it to Lindsey.

"How about you write my thank-you note? She left me this quarter. I'll share it with you."

Lindsey's face lit up. In two shakes of a lamb's tail she handed what she'd written back to her big brother.

"I can't read this, Linds."

"A course not, silly boy. YOU'RE not magic!"

"I didn't say a sack of money in my BED."

"So, what DID you say?"

"I found a sack of money in my SHED."

Lindsey slammed on the brakes. "You re not just babbling? You really found money? Did you leave it there?"

"Right. I left it there. All that money. Probably because whoever put it there knows where it is. Whoever put it there knows I own the shed. Whoever put it there will know who has the money when it turns up missing."

"Not if I took it," Lindsey pouted.

"That's not the point."

Lindsey frowned. "So, what IS the point, then?"

"My point is, you NEVER listen."

"Haha," Mick responded robotically. He didn't look at Lindsey. He never did. He didn't look at anyone, maintaining the same facial expression in all of their family pictures. Pretty Lindsey, smiling brightly with an unjudging arm around Mick, Mick staring off somewhere no one else understood.

Mick knew Lindsey was making a joke, that what she said was supposed to be humorous and laughed at, so he tried. He also knew where the money had come from and the evil it represented.

"They are taunting me, establishing dominance. I'm their pawn in this despicable game of mental chess."

Lindsey looked up. She knew as well as Mick did: the money was there to trap Mick into falling for a crime someone else committed, because they lacked wit and decency. Stupid people.

Their household has been in turmoil, with cops, and finger print experts being in and out of their house. The whole family has been shatteed and melancholy hangs over their house. This money which I would give them would be small comfort in comparison to what they have lost.

I would have given them the whole lot, but there is my brother who wants to be a millionaire overnight and buy several houses and retire by the age of 28. Lack of money makes him jump up and down like Jack in the Box, although he toils hard by the sweat of his brow. This money at least will diminish his frustration and I would have the satisfaction of having done two good deeds."

"The bank?" Mick asked. "What fun can you have with money in the bank? I want to buy stuff!"

"You already own half the county," Lindsey said. "I know, why not give it to charity?"

"Why should I give it to them? Those people bother me. They're so...so...needy."

"That's what charities are for, fool," Lindsey said. "To help people in need."

"Well, I need. I need more toys in the garage and on the lake."

"Hey! I know what you can buy, Mick. It'll be hard to find, though. You can't just walk into a store and pick it up."

Mick was intrigued. "Tell me, tell me, come on, tell me!"

"A little humanity."