�What are you up to?� Chris asked, as the southerner hung up.
Ezra jumped in surprise and turned to face the two LAW men, with wide pale green eyes. �Up to?� he asked innocently. �Why, Mr. Larabee, whatever could you mean?�
Chris frowned. �The little venture you were just talking about on the phone,� he prompted.
Ezra scowled slightly. �You were eavesdroppin� on a personal phone call, Mr. Larabee?� he asked. �Why, I�m just shocked by such deplorable behavior!� Shaking his head, the southerner got up and quickly left the room, mumbling to himself.
Buck frowned and looked over at his longtime friend. �He�s planning something,� he stated softly.
�What?� Chris asked.
Buck shook his head; then froze and looked up at Chris. �Tomorrow!� he said nervously.
�Tuesday,� Chris said, shrugging. �What about it?�
�It�s April first,� the ladies� man reminded him. �April Fools� Day.�
�You don�t think he�s gonna try an� pull a prank on us,� Chris said. �He knows I�d kill him.�
�He might not do anything to you,� Buck conceded. �But I don�t think the rest of us are safe.�
�What kind of prank do you think he�ll pull?� Chris asked frowning.
Buck shook his head. �I don�t know,� he replied. �I think we better tell the others.�
Chris nodded in agreement and said, �We�ll talk about it when everyone shows up later. I�ll make sure he�ll be occupied with something so that we can talk without him present.�
�Alright,� Buck said softly.
***
�Any idea what he might be plannin�?� Vin asked softly, as soon as Chris and Buck had related the southerner�s behavior earlier in the evening.
Chris shook his head. �Buck thinks, with April Fools� Day tomorrow, he might be planning some kind of major practical joke or prank,� he explained.
�Who was he talkin� to?� Nathan asked.
Josiah nodded. �We know that, we might be able to guess the plan,� he added.
Chris shook his head. �I don�t know. He didn�t say and I doubt he�d tell us if we asked.�
Ashley shrugged. �Did you try redial?� she asked.
Chris and Buck both shook their heads. �It never occurred to us,� Buck stated honestly.
�I could check the phone records for the boarding house,� JD said helpfully.
Chris nodded. �Get to it,� he said softly.
Just then, Ezra came over and dropped a file in front of Chris. �I see no reason why you were incapable of obtaining this information, Mr. Larabee,� he grumbled. His eyes narrowed and he glanced around the table. �Unless you wanted me out of the room for some reason.�
Chris shook his head. �I had other things to do,� he explained. �Got anything planned for tomorrow?�
Ezra shook his head. �It�s Tuesday,� he stated. �More than likely, you will call me far too early in the morning and ask me to come in to work and I shall be working all day long.� Turning to Chris, he asked innocently, �Why should I have any special plans?�
�It�s April Fools� Day,� Josiah replied.
The southerner rolled his eyes. �That holiday is both childish and overdone,� he replied. �Besides, it would be too predictable for me to perform any sort of joke on a day such as that one.�
Chris nodded and turned to JD. �Go check that phone record,� he ordered. When Ezra looked at him curiously, he added, �For the Webster case.�
***
The next day, Chris and the other LAW men arrived at the office and were surprised to see that Ezra was already there and hard at work. Chris frowned and said, �You�re here early.�
The southerner shrugged. �I found that I was unable to sleep,� he explained. �So I came here figuring to put the time to good use.�
Vin nodded slightly; then frowned. �Why are there rocks on my desk?� he asked. Sitting in a candy dish on the Texan�s desk were a bunch of brightly colored pebbles.
The southerner grinned and approached the other man. �A gift,� he stated, picking up one of the pebbles. �From me, to you.� Winking, the southerner popped the small stone into his mouth and began chewing on it.
Vin frowned and picking up one of the pebbles, cautiously sniffed it. �Candy,� he said in amazement. �Thanks, Ez.�
�You are quite welcome,� the southerner replied, retaking his seat.
***
As the day progressed, the tension in the office seemed to rise. Everyone in the room expected that whatever Ezra was planning was going to happen sometime that day. A few hours before the time came to leave, Ezra returned from lunch and set a large cat box in the middle of Buck�s desk.
�Ezra!� Buck exclaimed. The box was filled with what looked like all manner of disgusting things. �What is that?�
Ezra smiled and opened a plastic bag with plates and forks in it. �Cat Box Cake,� he explained. �It�s chocolate cake and cookie crumbs and syrup and other things all thrown together�in well, a litter box.� Winking at the startled LAW man, he added, �Makes quite a presentation, doesn�t it.�
�It looks gross,� JD exclaimed.
Ezra chuckled and said, �My friend assures me that it is quite delicious.� Setting the plates down, he added, �Try it. You may be surprised.�
Although they were somewhat hesitant, each of the men tried the vile looking treat. They were pleasantly surprised when it really tasted very good. The rest of the day, the men were still worried about what joke Ezra might be planning. The tension got so bad that JD jumped every time the phone rang and all the men were peering carefully around doors before entering rooms. Ezra was the only one who didn�t seem to react. He, in fact, was softly humming a tune as he worked on his preparations for the Webster case.
At the end of the day, everyone got up and all-but-ran for the door. Ezra leaned back in his chair and called, �Gentlemen.� When his coworkers turned to face him, he smiled and said, �April Fools!�
Josiah was the first to start laughing. He shook his head and stated, �The oldest trick in the book! Make us think you were going to do something, when actually you weren�t planning anything.�
�Just the cake,� he stated, dimpling slightly.
Chris frowned and shook his head. �I knew you were just jumpin� at shadows, Buck.�
Buck frowned and shrugged and the men headed out of the office, with Ezra following a few steps behind. As soon as Chris stepped out onto the sidewalk a water balloon hit him squarely on top of the head.
Chris blinked in surprise and jumped back out of the way before any more projectiles could connect. He turned and looked at Ezra furiously. The southerner shrugged and said, �It is clearly not my doing, Mr. Larabee, since I am right here.�
�Who?� Chris growled.
Ezra beamed and said, �Well, it may be my friend.� Not waiting for a response, Ezra turned and ran out a side exit.
�I�m going to kill you, Standish!� Chris screamed.
�You have to catch me first!� the southerner replied, running for his car.
End