False Notes Read Online Free PDF Page A

door open and jumped inside.
    “I was right,” I said breathlessly. “I just saw something in there that confirms what I was thinking: Leslie Simmons has been kidnapped!”

Kidnapped!
     
    H uh?” Bess and George said at the same time, their faces registering identical expressions of surprise.
    “It all makes perfect sense,” I said, my words practically tumbling over each other in my eagerness to explain my theory. “The deadline for filing those papers to run for mayor is this Friday, right?”
    “Uh-huh,” George said. “So?”
    “So don’t you get it?” I exclaimed. “Someone obviously wants to distract Heather Simmons so she won’t be able to file!”
    “Obviously,” George said, in a tone that indicated that she thought I was off my rocker.
    Bess looked troubled. “But who would do something like that?”
    “Why, Morris Granger, of course!” I said. “He’s theonly possible suspect. He’s got the money and the power and connections to pull off something like this. And I’m sure he’d love nothing more than to run for mayor unopposed.”
    “Whoa… hold the phone, here.” George held up both hands. “Back up a second, Nancy. What happened in there to lead you to this, er, interesting conclusion?” She gestured toward the Simmons house.
    “Oh, right. I forgot to tell you that.” I poked Bess in the arm. “Let’s get going. We probably look kind of suspicious sitting out here in front of their house.”
    As Bess drove back toward George’s house, I filled my friends in on my brief conversation with Mrs. Simmons. I mentioned how distracted she had seemed while talking with me.
    “Don’t tell me that’s your big clue?” George said skeptically. “There better be more than that—or you might have to give back your World’s Greatest Amateur Sleuth title.”
    I grinned and shook my head. “There’s definitely more,” I assured her. “I was trying to look around while I chatted with Mrs. Simmons—you know, to see if I could spot anything suspicious or out of place.”
    “Like a big ransom note cut out of newspaper letters?” Bess giggled. “Let me guess: It was tacked up on the wall and signed in blood.”
    “Very funny,” I said. “No, it was nothing as obvious as that. It was the piano. I was sort of staring at it out of the corner of my eye, thinking that it was weird that Leslie wouldn’t be sitting there practicing with the recital and auditions coming up.”
    Bess shrugged and glanced over at me before returning her gaze to the road. “Even piano prodigies have to take a break sometime,” she said. “Maybe she was in the kitchen having dinner. Or taking a shower. Or out with friends.”
    “Maybe, but that’s not the point,” I said. “The point is, I noticed that the piano keys looked funny—they’re supposed to be ivory, right? But these looked sort of grayish. That’s when I realized they were dusty.”
    “Dusty?” George repeated from the backseat, still sounding perplexed.
    I nodded. “Dusty. And that means they haven’t been touched in at least a couple of days.”
    “That is kind of weird.” Bess clicked on her turn signal as she reached an intersection. “But wait, I still don’t get what all this has to do with Morris Granger and the rest of the stuff you said.”
    I explained the scenario again patiently. “There’s no way Leslie would go without practicing that long with a recital coming up, let alone that important audition. She must not have been home for the past couple of days at least—which matches up with whatwe saw on the school’s Internet bulletin board. She’s been missing from there for two days too.”
    “Right,” George said. “But that doesn’t mean she’s been kidnapped. Maybe she’s off visiting her grandparents or something.”
    “It’s possible,” I admitted. “But I don’t think so. It just ties in too perfectly with my dad’s weird reaction to Leslie’s name, and also what I saw on the street earlier