Page 41 of Motion to Dismiss

THE UNDERLYING REASON, CAUSE, OR PURPOSE THAT DRIVES A PERSON TO ACT OR COMMIT A CRIME.

JAMESON

Twenty-Eight Years Ago

Tom Raider was the neighborhood candyman.

With his long, wild hair and tendency to wear bright shirts and pajama pants, most people outside Graham Lane would never guess that he was the CFO at a major company.

As an executive at Planet Sweets, he always brought home tubs full of snacks and set them out on his porch for the neighborhood kids to grab as we pleased.

Since his house was right next door to ours, I always got first dibs on the newest things.

Well, minus the ice cream samples.

I wrote him a letter every week, trying to convince him to put his deep freezer outside so I wouldn’t have to wait for him to be home, but he hadn’t been convinced.

Yet.

On one random Sunday morning, I spotted my least favorite neighbor—Cindy Kline—knocking on his door.

“Mr. Raider!” she called out. “Do you have those Pluto Ice Creams you promised?”

“They’re in the basement!” he called back. “You can climb down if you like.”

Since I was currently grounded for stealing from a bookstore, I could only watch from my window and wait for her to emerge with whatever “Pluto Ice Cream” was.

Then again…

I pushed up my window as she climbed into the basement.

I figured I could talk her into giving me one in exchange for not snitching on her.

She’s supposed to be grounded, too.

I waited five minutes, but she never came back out.

Five more passed, and all I could think about was how many ice creams she was devouring without me.

Too impatient to wait, I rushed across the yard and climbed through the basement window, too.

She wasn’t there, though.

Neither was Mr. Raider.

Where the hell is his freezer?

It wasn’t in its usual place anymore.

I walked up the basement stairs that led into his house, hoping to find Cindy and Mr. Raider in the kitchen.

Nothing.

The only things in there were half-opened boxes of chocolates I’d already tasted.

I want that Space Bar.

I was about to call out for Cindy, but the sound of whimpering stopped me.