He was just brushing the grass off the knees of his sweatpants when Connor returned. Connor shook his head and grinned at his friend, then unlatched his cashbox.

“Hey!” he yelped.

The cashbox was empty of money, just unsold tickets left.

Milton Siegfried’s bony head shot up from the tub of ducks he’d been counting, which he was about to hand to Emma. He hurried over to Connor at the front of the tent, and anxiously asked, “What happened?”

The teenager grimaced. “Someone stole all the bills and coins out of my cashbox … when I went to the bathroom. I wasn’t gone more than a couple of minutes.”