Lark Goes the Distance, page 1
part #1 of Orca Echoes Series
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Lark Goes the Distance
Natasha Deen
Illustrated by Marcus Cutler
Text copyright © Natasha Deen 2024
Illustrations copyright © Marcus Cutler 2024
Published in Canada and the United States in 2024 by Orca Book Publishers.
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Title: Lark goes the distance / Natasha Deen ; illustrated by Marcus Cutler.
Names: Deen, Natasha, author. | Cutler, Marcus, 1978- illustrator.
Series: Orca echoes. | Deen, Natasha. Lark Ba detective series ; 7.
Description: Series statement: Orca echoes | Lark Ba detective series ; 7
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20230483003 | Canadiana (ebook) 20230483011 | ISBN 9781459838758 (softcover) | ISBN 9781459838765 (PDF) | ISBN 9781459838772 (EPUB)
Subjects: LCGFT: Novels.
Classification: LCC PS8607.E444 L364 2024 | DDC jC813/.6—dc23
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023942426
Summary: In this illustrated early chapter book, super sleuths Lark and Connor Ba must investigate a threatening note and stolen watch while they are helping set up for the Run in the Sun fundraiser.
Orca Book Publishers is committed to reducing the consumption of nonrenewable resources in the production of our books. We make every effort to use materials that support a sustainable future.
Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.
Cover and interior artwork by Marcus Cutler
Design by Troy Cunningham
Edited by Sarah Howden
Author photo by Curtis Comeau
Lark Ba Detective series
Lark Holds the Key
Lark and the Diamond Caper
Lark Takes a Bow
Lark and the Dessert Disaster
Lark Has the Shivers
Lark Steals the Show
Chapter One
My name is Lark Ba, and I’m going the extra mile. Not really. I’m lying in my bed, and it’s too early to go anywhere. Going the extra mile is something my halmoni—that’s Korean for grandmother—says. It means giving an extra effort when completing a task. I’m not doing that yet—but I will be.
I woke up early because I am excited. Tomorrow is the Run in the Sun Obstacle Race at the park. Mr. Suzuki, the director of the animal shelter, organized it to raise money for homeless animals. Participants in the race must run one mile and overcome different obstickles ostackaels obstacles.
My little brother, Connor, and I aren’t in it, but our friend Kate is participating. Connor and I have been creating signs to cheer her on. A couple of our other friends, Sophie and Franklin, are dezining deezhing designing T-shirts for us to wear. Plus, we are all bringing pet food to donate to the shelter. All of us are going the extra mile in our own way.
Connor was still sleeping. I quietly crawled out of the top bunk and headed to the kitchen. I covered the table with a cloth so it wouldn’t get messy and got my art supplies.
“What are you doing?” Connor asked when he came into the kitchen. Max, our dog, was beside him.
“I wanted to add some more glitter to the signs, and I had an idea for another one,” I said. “I’m sorry if I woke you. I was trying to be quiet.”
Connor sat down. “You can never be quiet, but it’s nice you’re trying. What’s your new idea for the sign?”
Max yawned, and I scratched his head. “We should stand at the start of the run and hold up this sign that says It’s just a s-mile!” I showed him my piece of paper.
“That’s cute,” he said, “but you mixed up some of the letters. It’s s-m-i-l-e, not s-m-e-i-l.”
Oops. I’m dyslexic, so sometimes that happens.
Connor helped me correct my spelling. While Max slept under the table, Connor and I worked on the sign. I reached for the jar of rainbow glitter. The bottle was empty.
“There’s some more in the cupboard,” Connor said.
“I can get it,” I told him. The glitter was hard to find, though. I finally saw it behind a big bottle of glue. “I don’t remember it being there.”
“Maybe Mom or Dad moved it,” said Connor. “That looks heavy. Do you want me to help?”
“I’m older,” I said. “I should do this.”
Connor rolled his eyes. “We’re twins. Anyway, I’m taller.”
“That’s a good point.” I stepped out of the way.
Connor tugged on the bottle. “Some glue must have spilled. The bottle’s stuck!”
“Let’s both pull,” I said. We must have been really good at tugging, because the bottle came free. Then it flew out of our hands and sailed into the air. It hit the floor, bounced, then rolled under the table.
Max jumped up and started barking at the bottle.
Down the hallway, a door opened, and footsteps sounded.
“It sounds like we woke Dad,” Connor whispered.
Uh-oh.
Chapter Two
Luckily, it wasn’t Dad who came into the kitchen. It was Halmoni. She’s Dad’s mom, and she never gets grumpy with us. I think this is amazing because Connor sometimes brings out the grumps in me!
“Goodness, what happened?” she asked as Max ran into her arms.
I explained about the glue and glitter.
Connor crouched under the table and got the bottle. “Whew!” he said. “Nothing spilled.”
“All that work must make you hungry,” said Halmoni. “How about some confetti waffles for breakfast?”
We helped, and when the waffles came out, they were delicious! All fluffy and perfect, with whipped cream. We woke up Mom and Dad so they could have breakfast with us before they left for work. Mom brought her computer so that Babu—that’s Swahili for grandfather—could join us. Babu is Mom’s dad. He’s in Kenya studying elephants.
“How are the mysteries?” Babu asked as we ate. “Any new ones since I last visited?”
This summer Connor and I became P.I.s—that’s short for private investigators.
“We haven’t had any cases in a while,” said Connor. “My favorite one was when our friend Sophie entered a baking contest. Someone destroyed her entry! We discovered who did it.”
Hearing Connor call Sophie our friend made me really happy. Sophie is my best friend, but she and Connor didn’t always get along. Now they’re such good friends, they even have nicknames for each other.
“I bet something will come up,” said Babu. “You two are magnets for mysteries.”
Mom, Dad and Halmoni laughed. I didn’t understand how Connor and I were magnets. But since the grown-ups were laughing, I laughed too.
“Hold on, Lark,” Mom said as I reached for another waffle. “You’ve had three. Halmoni’s only had one. Do you know what that means?”
“She should eat faster?” I said.
Mom sighed, and Dad looked at the ceiling.
“Just kidding,” I said. I placed the waffle on Halmoni’s plate.
“Food tastes better when it’s shared,” said Halmoni. She split her waffle into three for me, herself and Connor.
After we finished our breakfast and cleaned up, Mom and Dad got ready for work. Connor and I took Max for a walk with Halmoni. A storm had come through the night before, which he didn’t like because thunder scares him. But it had left lots of branches on the ground. Max loves sticks!
“Tell me more about this event we’re going to tomorrow. Is Kate very excited?” asked Halmoni.
“Kate loves anything sporty,
“Kate’s been training a lot,” I told Halmoni.
“She has to complete a mile-long run, a climbing wall, hanging rings and a tire obstacle course,” said Connor.
“Wow, no wonder she’s been training so hard,” said Halmoni. “That’s a lot!”
When we got back home, Franklin and Sophie were waiting for us.
“Hello, Lark Sheep and Connor Wool,” said Sophie.
“Hello, Sophie Sofa,” said Connor.
“Interesting nicknames,” said Halmoni. “I understand Lark’s because Ba is your last name and it’s the sound sheep make. But I don’t understand ‘Connor Wool’ and ‘Sophie Sofa.’”
“Sophie and sofa sound alike,” said Connor.
“And Connor is warm, like wool,” said Sophie.
“Ah,” said Halmoni. “Thank you for explaining it to me.”
Connor pointed at the bag in Franklin’s hand. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yes! We have the shirts!” He took one out and held it up.
“This is gorgeous!” said Halmoni. “What a great job the two of you did!”
She was right. Franklin and Sophie had drawn Kate crossing the finish line, with Solomon racing beside her.
“We made enough for everyone,” said Sophie.
“I heard the event could use some help,” Franklin said. “Last night’s storm brought down a bunch of trees and branches. Mr. Suzuki needs help to clear the course.”
Sophie nodded. “We stopped by to see if you want to come with us.”
“Is that okay, Halmoni?” I asked.
She nodded. “I’m sure they could use all the help they can get.”
After Halmoni made sure that Max was settled and I’d gotten a bag of pet food for the shelter, we headed out.
Even though we didn’t have a mystery, I was excited to help with the event. Today was going to be the bestest day ever!
Chapter Three
It didn’t take long to walk to the park.
“Oh my goodness,” said Halmoni as we went through the entrance. “It looks like everyone’s come out to lend a hand!”
We dropped off our donashuns donairtions donations with Mrs. Robinson. She’s the town librarian, and she was in charge of collecting food and pet stuff—like collars and beds—for the shelter.
“This is wonderful! Thank you!” Mrs. Robinson took the bags.
“We heard there’s a need for extra helpers,” said Halmoni.
“Is there ever!” Mrs. Robinson said. She wore a dark orange bandanna with Run in the Sun embroydered imbroadered embroidered on it. “We’ve been busy clearing debris from the course, but it’s a lot of work. Mr. Suzuki’s in the main tent—that’s the big purple one in the middle of the park. He’ll be able to help you.” She glanced at our bags. “There’s also the participants’ tent. It’s the giant green one. There are containers there where you can keep your things.”
“I’m not sure,” said Franklin. “I have my art journals in my bag. I wouldn’t want anyone to take my things.”
“There are always two volunteers at the tent,” said Mrs. Robinson. “When you go there, one of them will give you a ticket with a number on it. That number matches a container. Once you put your things inside, it goes behind the table where the volunteers are. The only way you can get the container is if you have your ticket.”
Franklin looked over at Halmoni. “That sounds okay.”
“I agree,” she said. “Let’s get our things put away.”
The two volunteers at the participants’ tent were Miss Ruby and Mr. Rupert. Plus, Miss Ruby had brought Aerie, her dog. Mr. Rupert had Hellie, his ferret. Both Hellie and Aerie are white and brown. Miss Ruby, Mr. Rupert, Hellie and Aerie wore matching orange shirts that had Run in the Sun embroidered in silver thread.
Miss Ruby gave each of us a ticket and a container. I put my stuff inside, then waited for everyone else.
“Everybody who volunteers gets either a Run in the Sun T-shirt or a bandanna,” Mr. Rupert told us. “Would you like one?”
Franklin and I chose the bandanna. Sophie, Connor and Halmoni chose the T-shirt. We put on our stuff, then headed to the main tent.
On our way we saw some of our other friends. Loi was helping set up the face-painting table. She babysits us sometimes, and she’s one of my favorite people. Loi had decorated her face to look like a ladybug’s. Mrs. Hamilton wore a green apron, and she was putting price tags on the pies from her bakery.
“There’s the artists’ workshop,” said Franklin, nodding to where Mx. Tradewell was helping a bunch of artists set up their eesils eiszles easels. “They’re going to spend tomorrow sketching people in motion and looking for interesting objects to draw too.”
“Are you going to join them?” asked Sophie.
Franklin shook his head. “This event is really important to Kate, and I want to cheer her on.” He looked around. “She said she was going to be here today to help get everything ready. I wonder where she is.”
We got to the main tent. It was easy to spot Mr. Suzuki. His shirt was covered with smiley faces. He didn’t look happy, though. His face was shiny, and his cheeks were pink.
“Hello, Mr. Suzuki,” said Franklin. “We heard the event needs some extra help.”
“We sure do!” said Mr. Suzuki. “Our biggest worry is the route the contestants will be running. Branches and twigs are all over the path. It’s not safe. Would you join the volunteers and help them clear it? Mr. and Mrs. Lee are organizing everyone.”
“Absolutely. I saw the signs for the run over there,” said Halmoni, pointing to the left. “Let’s head over.”
When we arrived at the racing path, Mr. Lee gave us some gloves. “Some of those branches are sharp,” he said. “These will help protect your hands.”
Mrs. Lee directed us to a spot, and we started the cleanup. We had to collect the branches and put them on the side of the path. It was simple work, but it was also dirty because of all the mud.
Suddenly I heard some people yelling for me and Connor. It was Kate and her little sister, Nola. Nola is a year younger than Kate. Both of them were running our way. Kate’s pigtails flapped behind her. Nola clutched the straps of her stuffed-panda backpack.
I didn’t like the looks on either of their faces. Nope. Nope. Nope.
Chapter Four
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Kate said to everyone. “The most awful thing’s happened!” Then she burst into tears.
Nola squeezed her sister’s hand. “A week ago our grandmother gave Kate her watch as a gift,” she said.
Kate sniffed. “Women weren’t always allowed to compete in sports. My grandma was one of the first women to run a marathon. She wore that watch when she competed. Grandma gave it to me, and I’ve been wearing it every day.” She started to cry again.
“Kate didn’t want to lose it when we were cleaning up,” said Nola. “So she put it in her container when we got here.”
“But now it’s gone,” said Kate. “Someone came into the participants’ tent and stole it.” She handed Connor a piece of paper. “And they left this.”
Connor read out, “Dear Kate. I have your watch. If you want to see it again, drop out of the race. Do it by 3 p.m. and you’ll get the watch back.”
“Crickets!” I said. I piered peared peered at the note. “Double crickets. It’s typed. If it was handwritten, we might have been able to tell who wrote it.” I leaned in and sniffed. “The paper smells like watermelon. That’s a clue!”
“That’s me,” said Nola. “My sunscreen smells like watermelon.”
“We know you didn’t do this,” sniffed Kate.
Nola clutched her stuffed panda. “I’d hate it if someone took Kiki from me.” She shivered and gently tugged at the bear’s silver bow. “What if someone had taken her too?”
