Mystery of the Missing Luck Read online

  Mystery of the

  Missing Luck

  Jacqueline Pearce

  ILLUSTRATIONS BY

  Leanne Franson

  ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS

  Text copyright © 2011 Jacqueline Pearce

  Illustrations copyright © 2011 Leanne Franson

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in

  any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

  recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be

  invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Pearce, Jacqueline, 1962-

  Mystery of the missing luck / Jacqueline

  Pearce ; illustrated by Leanne Franson.

  (Orca echoes)

  Issued also in electronic format.

  ISBN 978-1-55469-396-2

  I. Franson, Leanne II. Title. III. Series: Orca echoes

  PS8581.E26M98 2011 JC813’.6 C2010-907914-0

  First published in the United States, 2011

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2010941920

  Summary:When Maneki Neko, a Japanese lucky cat statue, goes missing from her

  grandmother’s bakery, Sara resolves to track it down and help restore the bakery’s good fortune.

  Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs

  provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund

  and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia

  through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

  Orca Book Publishers is dedicated to preserving the environment and has printed this book

  on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

  Typesetting by Jasmine Devonshire

  Cover artwork and interior illustrations by Leanne Franson

  Author photo by Danielle Naherniak

  ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS

  PO BOX 5626, STN. B PO BOX 468

  VICTORIA, BC CANADA CUSTER, WA USA

  V8R 6S4 98240-0468

  www.orcabook.com

  Printed and bound in Canada.

  14 13 12 11 • 4 3 2 1

  In memory of my two grandmothers. —J.P.

  Contents

  Chapter One: Missing

  Chapter Two: The Search

  Chapter Three: Night Visitor

  Chapter Four: Jake

  Chapter Five: Japanese Buns

  Chapter Six: Missing Luck

  Chapter Seven: Night Cat

  Chapter Eight: Inspiration

  Chapter Nine: The Plan

  Chapter Ten: Poster Power

  Chapter Eleven: Waiting Game

  Chapter Twelve: Ready or Not

  Chapter Thirteen: Reward

  Chapter Fourteen: Lucky Cat

  CHAPTER ONE

  Missing

  Every day after school Sara walked to her grandmother’s bakery. Her long black ponytail swung as she skipped down the last block. At the bakery, she always paused to look through the window at Maneki Neko, the lucky cat statue. The statue sat in the window display beside a basket of round golden buns. Come inside, the cat’s raised paw beckoned.

  Each time Sara stepped through the door, she gave the lucky cat a secret wave. The smell of freshly baked buns always made her mouth water. Her favorite was a soft, sweet an-pan filled with fudgy red-bean paste.

  Today, however, something was different. The round golden buns were in their basket as usual, but there was no Maneki Neko.

  Sara pushed open the bakery door. “Where is Maneki Neko?” she asked Obaachan. Obaachan was Sara’s Japanese grandmother. She stood behind a long counter with a glass front. More buns and pastries were lined up behind the glass.

  Usually Obaachan smiled broadly when Sara arrived. But this afternoon her round face was long and sad. “Gone,” she said. “Maneki Neko is gone.”

  “What do you mean?” Sara asked. How could the lucky cat statue be gone? It had come all the way from Japan with her grandmother years ago.

  “When I opened the bakery this morning, Maneki Neko wasn’t there,” Obaachan said, waving her hands in dismay.

  “Did someone steal him?” Sara asked.

  Obaachan frowned. “I don’t think so,” she said. “Why would anyone take an old cat statue?”

  “Is Maneki Neko valuable?” Sara asked.

  “Only to our family,” said Obaachan. “It used to bring the bakery good luck. But not so much anymore.”

  Sara knew the bakery was no longer doing well, but she did not think it was Maneki Neko’s fault.

  “Did you move him?” Sara asked. She scanned the room, hoping to see Maneki Neko’s pointed ears peeking out from behind a row of buns.

  “No, I don’t think so,” Obaachan said.

  Sara sighed. Obaachan had been forgetful lately. She patted her grandmother’s hand and smiled. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll find him.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  The Search

  The bell above the bakery door jangled. An old woman with curly gray hair entered. She had been a regular customer for years.

  “Good afternoon,” Obaachan said.

  “I see you have your granddaughter helping today,” the woman said. She gave Sara a friendly nod.

  Sara said hello to the woman. She liked Obaachan’s regular customers. There just were not enough of them. The bakery needed new customers too. Sara was sure if more people knew how good Obaachan’s buns were, the bakery would be busy all day long. But Sara couldn’t think about the bakery now. She had to find Maneki Neko.

  Sara pictured the statue. The black paint had worn off where people had rubbed his head and body for good luck. Brown clay showed through the worn patches. Maneki meant beckoning, and neko meant cat in Japanese. Sara knew there were lots of beckoning cat statues in Japan. But her grandmother’s Maneki Neko felt special. His raised paw always seemed to call especially to her. She looked at the empty spot in the bakery window. Where could Maneki Neko be?

  Sara crouched down and looked under the display counter. There was nothing there—not even any dust. Obaachan swept the bakery every night. She must have done a very good job the night before.

  Sara searched around the cash register. She looked on the shelf where Obaachan kept stacks of paper bags and cardboard that folded into boxes. There was no sign of the lucky cat.

  “Can you hand me one of those boxes, please?” Obaachan asked her.

  Sara lifted a piece of cardboard off the shelf. She folded it into a box before passing it to her grandmother. Using a little square of paper to pick up each bun, Obaachan carefully placed the customer’s order into the box. Then she closed the top and tied a red string around it.

  Once the woman had left the store, Sara excused herself. She went into the kitchen behind the bakery. She searched the tall ovens where Obaachan baked the buns early each morning. She checked the cooling racks and the washing-up area. She looked on top of the little table where Obaachan drank her morning tea. She climbed the narrow stairway to the second floor and searched the small apartment where Obaachan lived above the bakery.

  There was no sign of the lucky cat anywhere.

  Sara plodded back down the stairs. Where could Maneki Neko be?

  “No luck?” Obaachan asked when Sara came back into the bakery.

  Sara shook her head. She glanced around. No new customers had come in since the old woman had left. Sara’s eyes went to the place where Maneki Neko usually sat. There was no lucky cat to beckon
customers inside.

  “The cat will turn up,” Obaachan said. “You’ll see.” She smiled at Sara. It was not her big round-cheeked smile, but it made Sara feel a bit better.

  Obaachan held out a plate with a round golden an-pan on it. Sara’s mouth began to water.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Night Visitor

  Sara stayed with Obaachan that night to keep her grandmother company. She loved the little apartment above the bakery. It was always warm and cozy and smelled of freshly baked buns.

  Tonight Sara lay in the spare bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. She missed Maneki Neko, and even more, she missed Obaachan’s round-cheeked smile. Sara knew it wasn’t only the missing statue that was upsetting her grandmother. Obaachan was concerned about the bakery. If it continued to lose money, she would have to shut it down. Sara thought if she could find Maneki Neko, everything would be all right.

  Sara had been asleep for a while when something woke her. Her heart pounded. Had she heard a bump downstairs? Maybe someone had stolen the lucky cat, and now the thief was back. She held her breath and listened. But all she could hear was Obaachan’s soft snoring coming from the next room. Sara tried to fall back asleep but couldn’t. She climbed out of bed and tiptoed across the floor to the window. The window looked out over a small backyard. Sara pulled aside the curtain and pressed her face close to the glass. Was someone out there?

  At first she could see nothing but darkness and shadows and the dark shape of a cherry tree. Then a small movement caught her eye. A shadow poured away from the tree. But it was not a shadow. It was a cat.

  The cat padded lightly into the middle of the yard and sat in a puddle of moonlight. Paying no attention to Sara, it licked one paw and began to wash itself. There was something both familiar and mysterious about the cat. Its lifted paw reminded Sara of her grandmother’s statue, but this was no statue. Sara guessed it must be someone’s pet.

  Sara stared sleepily out the window. Her nose clunked against the glass. The cat stopped cleaning itself and looked up. The cat’s eyes met Sara’s. Sara noticed the cat was not completely black after all. It had patches of brown on its head and sides. Sara wished she could get a closer look, but the cat turned and was gone.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Jake

  The next morning Maneki Neko had still not turned up, and Obaachan seemed troubled. Sara wished there was something she could do to help the bakery.

  At school Sara sat at her desk in her grade-two classroom, staring out the window. She opened her lunch without looking at it.

  “What’s that?” asked Jake. He sat in the desk beside Sara. Up close, she could see the brown freckles sprinkled across his nose. He had already started eating his lunch. There was a dab of yellow mustard on his chin.

  Sara looked at the plastic container on her desk. In it was a long bun with holes cut into the top to reveal the filling inside.

  “It’s a peekaboo bun,” Sara told Jake. It was one of the buns Sara had helped her grandmother name. “It has ham, cheese and egg inside.”

  “Cool,” Jake said, peering closer. “It looks like it has windows.”

  Sara grinned. That’s what she had thought too.

  “My grandma made it,” she said. “Do you want a piece?”

  She tore off one end of the bun and passed it to Jake.

  “Thanks,” he said, taking a bite. “This is good!”

  “Yeah,” Sara agreed. Everything Obaachan made was good. It would be awful if the bakery had to close.

  “You should come visit my grandma’s bakery sometime,” she said to Jake.

  Jake’s mouth was full, and he mumbled something that sounded like “Okay.” Sara wasn’t sure. But it didn’t matter. Even if one new person came to the bakery, it wouldn’t be enough.

  After school Sara walked slowly back to the bakery. For the first time, she wasn’t looking forward to arriving at Obaachan’s. She didn’t want to see the empty spot where Maneki Neko used to sit.

  “Hey, wait for me!” a voice called from behind her.

  She turned to see Jake hurrying to catch up.

  “Are you going to your grandma’s bakery?” he asked. “Can I come?”

  Sara laughed. Jake was always hungry.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Japanese Buns

  As they approached the bakery, Sara’s heart beat faster.

  “Is this it?” Jake asked when they stopped.

  Sara didn’t hear him. She stared at the bakery window, holding her breath. Was the lucky cat there?

  Sara’s shoulders dropped and her breath whooshed out like a deflating balloon. Maneki Neko’s spot was still empty.

  “What’s wrong?” Jake asked.

  Sara told him about the missing statue.

  “Maybe it will turn up,” Jake said.

  Sara pushed open the door, and Obaachan looked up from behind the counter.

  “This is my friend Jake from school,” Sara told her grandmother.

  Obaachan’s cheeks broadened into a welcoming smile. Sara was glad Jake had come.

  “I saved you some an-pan,” Obaachan said. “Something told me to save two. Now I know why.” She turned and disappeared through the curtained door at the back of the bakery.

  Jake peered hungrily at the rows of Japanese buns and pastries.

  “What’s that?” he asked, pointing at a round puffy pastry with something thick and green oozing out.

  “A green-tea cream puff,” Sara said.

  Jake wrinkled his nose, and Sara laughed.

  “It’s good,” she said. “Really.”

  Jake looked up from the display case and glanced around the room.

  “Is your grandma the only one who works here?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” Sara said.

  “Does she go into the back often?”

  Sara shrugged. “I don’t think so.”

  “It would be pretty easy for someone to come in and steal something if she wasn’t here,” Jake said.

  Sara narrowed her eyes. “You think that’s what happened to the lucky cat?” she asked.

  “Maybe,” he said. “Or someone left the door open, and it walked out on its own.”

  “Very funny.” Sara glared at him.

  Obaachan returned, carrying a black tray with a teapot, cups and two round buns on plates.

  “Are those hamburgers?” Jake asked.

  “No.” Sara laughed. “They’re an-pan.” She explained about the sweet bean-paste filling.

  Jake thanked Obaachan and picked up one of the buns. He eyed it doubtfully.

  “Pan. Is that like the French word for bread?” Jake asked.

  “It sounds like it,” Sara said. “But the Japanese pan comes from a Portuguese word, I think.” She looked at Obaachan.

  “Yes,” her grandmother said. “Bread was brought to Japan by Europeans, but Japanese bakers make it a bit differently.”

  Jake took a small bite of his an-pan.

  “It’s good,” he said with some surprise. He took a bigger bite.

  When Sara finished her an-pan, she was full. When Jake finished his, his eyes went right back to the display case.

  “Would you like to try something else?” Obaachan asked Jake.

  Sara wished Obaachan had made her special animal-shaped buns. Jake would like those, for sure. But now that business was slow, Obaachan didn’t make as many things as she used to.

  “What about a chocolate one?” Jake asked. He pointed to a row of buns that were overflowing with chocolate cream.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Missing Luck

  After they finished their snack, Sara took Jake to the kitchen. She showed him the tall baking ovens and cooling racks. Then they climbed the stairs to the apartment above the bakery.

  “Do you want to play a board game?” Sara asked Jake.

  “Okay,” Jake said. “But something that doesn’t take as long as Monopoly.”

  They played checkers for a while, then switched to Yahtzee. Jake com
plained that adding the numbers was too much like schoolwork, until he started winning.

  “You seem to have all the luck today,” Sara told Jake. She wondered if all her luck had disappeared with Maneki Neko.

  When it was time for Jake to go, Obaachan was closing the bakery. She gave him a big bag full of leftover buns and pastries to take home.

  “They won’t sell now,” Obaachan said.

  “Not many customers today?” Sara asked quietly.

  Obaachan shook her head, and Sara wished she hadn’t asked. Jake’s visit seemed to have cheered her grandmother up. But Sara guessed Obaachan was thinking of the lost luck again.

  After they locked up the bakery, Sara and Obaachan climbed the stairs to the apartment. As they neared the top, Obaachan took hold of Sara’s arm.

  “Are you okay, Obaachan?” Sara asked, looking at her grandmother with concern.

  “Don’t worry, Sara-chan,” Obaachan said, patting Sara’s hand. “I’m just a little tired.”

  Sara’s eyes lingered on her grandmother’s face. Obaachan always had lots of energy, but she was getting older.

  “Maybe it’s time for me to retire,” Obaachan said, as if reading Sara’s mind.

  “No!” Sara said. “You’re not old, Obaachan!”

  Obaachan smiled. “Maybe not so old,” she said. “But I can’t keep baking if there are no customers to bake for.”

  Sara knew her grandmother was right. The bakery couldn’t stay in business if half the things Obaachan baked were unsold at the end of the day. Sara was sure business would get better again, if she could just find Maneki Neko.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Night Cat

  Sara stayed overnight at her grandmother’s apartment again. She lay awake in bed long after she heard Obaachan’s soft snoring coming from the other room. She remembered the black cat she’d seen in the yard the night before. Maybe the cat was there again.

  Climbing silently from bed, Sara peered out the window. The yard was dark, still and empty. But as she watched, the black cat stepped out from the shadows. It sat for several moments, motionless as a statue. Then it looked up at her and raised one paw.