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not.”
    Joe scribbled these answers down in the notebook. “What time do you think that was?”
    “Just before five,” Margaret said. “Maybe a little earlier.”
    “And where were you?” Mr. Hardy asked.
    “Right outside the ballroom. We were all going in for dinner when Reginald and I got to talking,” Ollie said. “We were planning to play bridge this morning, but then the watch went missing.”
    “Did you notice anything odd?” Joe asked. “Was anyone suspicious standing around?”
    “No, not that I remember,” Ollie said. “It was very normal. Everything seemed fine.”
    Margaret nodded. “Nothing I can recall.” Just then her cell phone rang and she turned away, talking loudly to someone about a fur coat.
    “Are we done here?” Ollie didn’t wait for them to answer. Instead he stood, reaching out his hand for Mr. Hardy to shake.
    Frank frowned. “Is that it? You don’t remember anything else?” he asked.
    Margaret kept talking to the person on the other end of the phone, ignoring the Hardys. She was asking about the price of the coat when Ollie answered. “I’m sorry, I don’t. I appreciate all you boys have been doing for Reg, but we’re the last people you should be talking to. I own three islands in the Pacific Ocean. Why would I need an expensive pocket watch?”
    Mr. Hardy stood. “We didn’t think you took the watch,” he said. “Just that you may have seen something.”
    Ollie laughed. “You shouldn’t be questioning me. You should be questioning that girl from the game room. The one everyone’s talking about.”
    Frank and Joe looked at each other, confused. “What girl?” Frank asked. This was the first time they’d heard about her.
    “Some kids in the game room saw a girl last night with the watch,” Ollie said. “You didn’t hear?A bunch of them have been talking about it. We were stuck in the elevator with them while they went on about it. I thought everyone knew.”
    “What time was it when the kids saw her?” Frank asked.
    Ollie shrugged. “I’m not sure. I just know that it was last night.”
    Without saying another word he and his wife strode across the deck, leaving Mr. Hardy and the boys behind. “Finally! A break in the case!” Joe said. He was so excited, he was nearly yelling.
    But Mr. Hardy was worried. “Someone in the game room was spotted with the watch,” he said. “But who? I’m going to check the cameras one last time. You boys see if you can find the kids that Ollie was talking about. There must be witnesses.”
    Mr. Hardy went toward the pyramid pool, and Frank and Joe headed in the opposite direction, down to the game room. “This is the best newswe’ve had all day,” Joe said. “I only wish we’d heard it sooner.”
    But Frank didn’t mind. He loved when a case suddenly changed and new information was discovered. Their dad always said “breaks” were the most fun part of the job. As they went down the stairs, Frank couldn’t run fast enough. “Hurry!” he said. “We need to find that girl with the watch!”



8
Red Scarf Sighting
    W hen they got to the game room, it was packed with kids. There was a group standing by the pinball machines watching a girl break the high score. Two boys were playing a race car game. Joe looked to the corner of the room, where a set of brown-haired twins shot basketballs for Dino Ball. Even now Joe was still thinking of the Soaker Shooter and the forty tickets they needed to get it.
    “Where should we start?” Joe asked, looking around. Two boys ran past, chasing each other.

    “You go that way,” Frank said, pointing toward the ringtoss. “And I’ll go this way.” Then he took off.
    Frank moved through the crowd, stopping at a girl with a hammer. She was watching a bunch of holes, waiting for little plastic gophers to pop up so she could hit them back down. “Can I ask you a few questions?” Frank said.
    The girl bit her lip, then hit a gopher on the head. “Sure.”
    “I heard a