William Yafa is a character in the Ghostwriter book The Chocolate Bar Bust. He is an elderly man that is friends with Hector, and is also one of the victims of the water bill scam.
Summary[]
Hector is selling chocolate bars as a possible way to earn a scholarship to get to swimming camp. Tina comes up with the idea that he could sell his bars to older people that he knows, who might be able to tell him the names of other possible costumers. Hector thinks of Mr. Yafa, who his mother had built some shelves for in the past. He had also bought several chocolate bars from him alreadly. The elderly man is friendly and likes his riddles. Hector also thinks of him as his second grandfather, since his actual grandparents live in Puerto Rico.
Jamal and Hector go to Mr. Yafa’s apartment. Hector begins to tell him a riddle, when he sees that the man is quite upset. He lets them inside, where he tells that he had been saving money to go to California to see his grandson graduate from high school. Mr. Yafa had planned on buying the plane ticket today, but could not, since he had paid a very large water bill for over seven hundred dollars.
He relayed that a woman had visited him, and said that he needed to pay for water for the whole year, or that he would not be able to stay in his apartment. He also states that an elderly woman named Betty Washington that was his friend had also had to pay a water bill.
Mr. Yafa says that he does not have the money to pay for renting his apartment, and Hector futilely tries to comfort him. The elderly man says that he would become a homeless person sleeping on the streets. Jamal then states that he and Hector would go to see his grandmother to see if she can help.
They talk to her, and Grandma Jenkins informs them that Mr. Yafa must have been scammed, since people that rent apartments in New York do not have to pay for water. She also states that she would want to help Mr. Yafa to not become homeless, saying that she knows some people that could help.
Jamal calls a rally to his house. He and Hector tell about the water bill scam, and they decide to all go to visit Mr. Yafa. The man is very surprised to learn that he had been conned. He describes the con artist, including them being someone that he could not tell their age, was female, and had a very strong southern accent. He also tells them that Mrs. Washington’s bill collector had a German accent.
Mr. Yafa tells the team that he wishes that he could do something for them. Hector tells him that he could help him to sell more chocolate bars. He gives Hector a “Lunch Bunch” list, which has the names of nice elderly people, including Mrs. Alvarez, who was also later scammed. Hector thanks the man for the list.
After they go back to Jamal’s house, Ghostwriter gives them an odd message, which they discover to be a ripped up water bill. They find out that it is the one that Mr. Yafa had paid. The team puts the bill part as more evience that it was a scam, since the city would not tear up a paid bill.
Hector later mentions Mr. Yafa and the water bill scam to Mrs. Astor, an elderly woman who sells baseball cards. He also tells her about the list he was given.
Hector leaves her shop a bit later, and Ghostwriter puts a diary entry from a mysterious kid on a billboard. The entry mentions three elderly people, including Mr. Yafa, with the kid wondering why they had been sad. The elderly man is also mentioned in a note that the kid gives to Hector.
It is later revealed that Mrs. Astor is the water bill scammer.