The Curse of the Ancient Emerald Read Online Free PDF Page B

I’m thinking fifteenth to seventeenth century.”
    â€œAh, you have very refined tastes, sir.”
    â€œThank you,” I said, trying to sound sophisticated, as if I spoke to auction houses on a regular basis.
    â€œBut I’m afraid we can’t help you. With such antiques, we like to perform specialized auctions, focusing entirely on one culture or country. As I’m sure you know, it is very expensive to get ahold of experts to verify and price such items.”
    â€œOh, I’m sure,” I said quickly. “In fact, for the last item I purchased from Sotheby’s in England, I had to fly in my own expert from Cape Town.”
    â€œReally?” said the voice on the other end. “Can I get his number? We’re always on the lookout for highly qualified individuals.”
    â€œUh . . . sure,” I stammered. “How about I pop in tomorrow with his details?”
    â€œMuch appreciated,” said the voice. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
    â€œActually, yes.” I thought I might as well go for broke. “You wouldn’t happen to know anyone who might be willing to sell a matched daishō set, would you?”
    â€œ Daishō swords? We sold a set in our last auction, actually.”
    â€œWhen was that?” I asked eagerly.
    â€œOh, about eighteen months ago now. A local movie producer, I think.”
    â€œDo you have his name?”
    â€œI’m sorry. We don’t give out personal details on the phone.”
    â€œAh. Of course. Well, thanks for your time.” I hung up the phone.
    â€œThat was amazing,” said Amber. “You should take up acting.”
    I felt my cheeks flush. “It was nothing.”
    Joe frowned. “We still don’t know who bought the swords.”
    A quick search on the Internet helped us there. There was only one movie producer in Bayport rich enough to spend that kind of money: a man named James Remington. Apparently he’d worked on a few big-budget Hollywood blockbusters but wanted to settle down permanently in his hometown of Bayport.
    Another search gave us his address. It was, unsurprisingly, up in Bayport Heights, where the wealthier set lived.
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    At half past ten I slipped on my shoes and padded quietly to my bedroom door. Mom was in bed already, and I could hear Aunt Trudy watching television.
    I hurried to Joe’s room. He was waiting, dressed in all black.
    â€œYou ready?” I asked.
    He grinned. “I was—”
    I held up my hand. “Please, don’t say something embarrassing like ‘I was born ready.’ I’ll have to leave you here if you do.”
    Joe shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
    He edged past me out the door. “But I was,” he said over his shoulder.
    We snuck downstairs and out the back door, Joe pausing to grab a bag of chips from the cupboard.
    â€œSeriously?” I asked as we headed into the dark.
    â€œGot to keep my energy up.”
    We rolled the car out of the driveway so no one would hear us, starting the engine when we were on the street. We stopped to pick up Amber and Chet, then headed toward Bayport Heights. I knew we were close when the houses started to look like fortified mansions and the streets were so clean you could eat your dinner off them. There wasn’t a single piece of litter anywhere.
    When we arrived at the address, we drove past the house and parked farther down the street.
    â€œHow is the Phantom even going to get into the house?” wondered Joe as I killed the engine.
    â€œI have no idea,” I said, leaning back to peer through the window. I checked my watch. It was a little after eleven. There didn’t seem to be any signs of life inside the house. All the lights were off.
    â€œWhat if the Phantom’s already been here?” asked Amber.
    I glanced over my shoulder. “Good point. Maybe we should take a