The London Deception Read Online Free PDF Page B

Mr. Kije, purchased the cheapest insurance he could. I believe there’s a three-thousand-pound deductible, so he’ll have to pay out that amount to replace the costumes,” Mr. Paul replied.
    â€œWhere is this Mr. Kije, anyway?” Jeffries demanded. “If he’s a legitimate producer, he surely has access to that kind of money.”
    â€œMr. Kije has told me he doesn’t have another pound to invest in this production,” Mr. Paul replied, bowing his head.
    â€œWell, sink or swim, it makes no difference to me,” Jeffries said, then turned to Detective Inspector Ryan. “Show me the damage.”
    The detective sent Jeffries into the theater with one of the firefighters.
    â€œWe’ll be contacting Ms. Mulhall and Ms. Anderson,”Detective Inspector Ryan assured Mr. Paul, then went back into the theater to continue his investigation.
    Mr. Paul heaved another heavy sigh. “Let’s get home, boys—we have a long day ahead of us.”
    A few minutes before midnight, the Hardys, Mr. Paul, and Chris boarded the last train of the night. On the tube ride home, the boys discussed the suspicious fire. “I’ll feel better when Jennifer shows up with her makeup room key tomorrow,” Frank said.
    â€œYou think Jennifer would try to burn down the theater?” Joe asked.
    â€œPerhaps she just wanted to burn up Frank,” Chris joked.
    â€œBut why?” Joe asked. “What motive would she have?”
    â€œWe don’t know enough about anyone involved with this show to know why,” Frank said. “But I think we’d better start finding out.”
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    Frank could barely keep his eyes open in drama class the next day. Mr. Paul, who was his instructor, looked equally tired, as no one in the Paul household had gotten more than a few hours’ sleep after the events of the night before.
    â€œWe’ll start with a relaxation exercise today,” Mr. Paul told his class, putting on a cassette tape of classical music. “I’m sure we could all use a bit of relaxation,” he added to Frank and Chris.
    Following instructions, Frank and the other students lay on their backs on the floor. Mr. Paul then directedthem to relax their bodies a bit at a time, starting with their toes and working their way up.
    By the time Mr. Paul told them to relax their eyes, Frank was fast asleep.
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    Meanwhile, Joe was surfing the Internet in the media center during his free period. After typing “Quill Garden Theatre” into the search box, he hit Enter. In a few seconds the screen revealed a list of sixteen entries. Most were reviews or publicity from past productions, but one listing was a magazine article about the sale of the theater.
    Joe double clicked on the title, and read the details of the sale of the “haunted” theater five years earlier to Timothy Jeffries.
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    Joe found Frank leaving drama class, yawning wide as he apologized to Mr. Paul. “Sorry I fell asleep, Mr. Paul, I really was interested in doing the exercise.”
    â€œWhy don’t you borrow the tape,” Mr. Paul said, handing him the cassette and a sheet of instructions. “You can do the relaxation exercise with your brother. It truly clears and refreshes the mind if you’re stressed out.”
    Mr. Paul smiled, then moved down the hall.
    â€œHello, Joe,” Chris said, coming out of the classroom. “Are those notes for your history quiz?”
    â€œVery funny, Chris,” Joe said, smiling and handing them a printout. “While you and Frank were sleeping through class, I was digging up information. Mr. Jeffriesbought the Quill Garden Theatre five years ago. Seems the old owner thought it was haunted, too.”
    â€œâ€Šâ€˜Of the thirty shows that have been in that theater in the last twenty years,’ ” Frank read aloud from the article,