The Case of the Piggy Bank Thief Read Online Free PDF

I remember because I . . . uh . . . made a deposit.”
    I wrote that down. “And then what did you do with it?”
    â€œPut it away in the laundry hamper.”
    â€œOkay,” I said. “And when did you realize it was missing?”
    â€œYou know already.” Tessa was getting aggravated, which wasn’t very fair considering I was being so nice. “It was today right before lunch. I opened the hamper to put my leotard from ballet in. I thought the piggy bank was on top but I didn’t see it, so I emptied everything out and still didn’t see it.”
    â€œThat’s when you screamed,” I said.
    Tessa nodded. “I don’t see how anybody could have stolen it—that’s the weird part. I mean, my laundry hamper is the best hiding place ever.”
    I probably shouldn’t have laughed, but I couldn’t help it. “I have news for you, Tessa. You are so proud of that hiding place, you’ve told everybody. Half the White House knows where you keep your piggy bank.”
    Tessa pouted. “No, I didn’t, and no, they don’t.”
    â€œYes, they do, too,” I said, “and I can prove it. Come on.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

    TESSA moaned but finally got up and followed me out our bedroom door and into the Center Hall. There we found Mrs. Hedges, the grumpiest maid in the White House. Hands on hips, head tilted, she was staring at a valuable and historic painting of a ship.
    Instead of “Hello,” Mrs. Hedges said, “Does that look straight to you?”
    Tessa and I are used to Mrs. Hedges. We went and stood next to her and stared at the painting.
    â€œI think it’s tilted to the left,” I said, but Tessa said, “No, right.”
    Mrs. Hedges nodded. “
Exactly
. It’s crooked. And who’ll get the blame for that? Me.” She shook her head. “My job’s not easy, girls. You know that?”
    â€œWe do, Mrs. Hedges,” I said.
    â€œAll right, then. What is it you want?”
    â€œCould you answer a question?” I asked.
    Mrs. Hedges looked around for an armchair, thendropped into it and made herself comfortable. “I hope it’s not a hard one.”
    â€œIt’s not,” I said. “Here goes: Where does Tessa keep her piggy bank?”
    Mrs. Hedges laughed. “Tessa keeps her piggy bank in her laundry hamper. Everyone knows that.”
    It’s almost as useless to argue with Mrs. Hedges as it is to argue with Granny. But Tessa tried. “Everyone does not! You do because you clean our room!”
    Mrs. Hedges shook her head. “Beg to differ with you there. I don’t have time for laundry when I’m cleaning. Why, yesterday it took five minutes just to scrub your dirty sink.”
    Tessa turned pink and hung her head. “Sorry, Mrs. Hedges.”
    â€œI know about your hiding place,” Mrs. Hedges went on, “because you told me. Same as you told Malik, and Mr. Bryant, and Mr. Ng, and Charlotte, and Mr. Ross, and—”
    â€œOkay, okay,” Tessa said. “I guess I did happen to mention it to a few very trustworthy people.”
    â€œIt wouldn’t matter that much, Tessa,” I said, “except now there’re no suspects we can eliminate. Almost anybody in the White House could have taken your piggy bank. What I can’t figure out is—why?”

CHAPTER TWELVE

    HAVE you ever felt like an idea was knocking on your skull, but your brain wouldn’t let it in? That was the feeling I had that afternoon. It had something to do with a connection between the two mysteries, the one about the piggy bank and the one about the gold—but what was it?
    I didn’t have time to consider the question, though. Granny was making an early dinner for Nate, Tessa and me. Later Aunt Jen and Charlotte—she’s my favorite Secret Service agent—would take us to the museum. Zach and Dalton were having