Who Broke Lincoln's Thumb? Read Online Free PDF Page A

sofa.
    â€œWe’re helping the president find Lincoln’s thumb,” KC went on. “We think it was stolen during your coffee break.”
    â€œYou do?” Ralphie asked. He turned off the TV.
    â€œIt had to be then,” Marshall said. He explained about the times that the two pictures were taken. “The thumb was still there when you had your picture taken at10:07, but it was gone a half hour later.”
    â€œYeah, you’re right,” Stub said. He hung the ladder on the rack, then walked over and sat in a chair.
    â€œSo is that when you went for your break?” Marshall continued.
    Stub nodded. “It must’ve been right around then,” he said. “Yeah, now I remember. That tourist who snapped my picture? I remember, we went for our break right after the guy gave Ralphie the Polaroid.”
    â€œWhere were you when you drank your coffee?” KC asked. “I mean, could you see if anyone went near the statue?”
    â€œWe sat in the truck,” Ralphie said.
    â€œYeah, but it was raining like crazy,” Stub said. “I remember saying to Ralphie, ‘Gee, I can’t see nothing out of thesewindows!’ So we couldn’t see if anyone went near the statue or not.”
    â€œRats!” KC said. She started pacing back and forth. She glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s almost three-thirty. The president is going to drop off the ransom in a half hour!”
    â€œHe is?” Stub asked, sitting up straighter.
    â€œYes, it’s the only way we can get the thumb back,” KC said, pacing again.
    She stopped next to the rack of ladders. Behind her, she heard Marshall telling Stub and Ralphie about the ransom note.
    KC had never seen so many ladders in her life. They hung straight down from the rack, like giant icicles. On the bottom rung of each ladder, there was a yellowlabel telling the ladder’s length. Next to the yellow labels were smaller red ones with the words DANGER! KEEP AWAY FROM ELECTRIC WIRES! printed in bold black letters.
    KC thought of the red mark she had seen on the stub of Lincoln’s thumb. FBI scientist Pierce had told the president that the mark was some kind of red paper with glue on the back.
    These labels are glued on
, KC said to herself.
    KC’s mind raced back to ten-thirty. She and Marshall were at the statue. One of the ladders was lying on the floor where anyone could have tripped over it. Why wasn’t it leaning against the statue, like the other ladder?
    In her mind, she saw Stub and Ralphieclimbing the steps in front of the monument, coming from their coffee break. It was still windy, but the rain had stopped. The sun was shining.
    So was Stub lying when he said it was raining during their coffee break? Why would he lie about that? Unless … and suddenly it all made sense to KC.
    The ladder she had seen lying on the floor had knocked off the thumb. Maybe the wind had blown the ladder into the statue. When the ladder hit the thumb, part of the label scraped off, leaving the red mark.
    KC felt her stomach dive toward her feet. Praying she wasn’t being watched, she tried to peel off part of a red label.
    â€œKC,” she heard Marshall say.
    Then she felt a hand on her shoulder.

    It was Stub, and she didn’t like the look on his face.
    Behind Stub, Marshall looked at KC with a question in his eyes.
    KC tried her best to send a silent message to Marshall:
RUN!
    Stub put a finger on the wall button. With a tremendous clatter, the ladder rack began heading toward the ceiling.
    Stub turned KC toward Marshall and Ralphie. “Go have a seat next to your pal, missy,” he said. “Nice and slow. Ralphie, lock the door.”

8
Who Broke Lincoln’s Thumb?
    KC had no choice but to do as Stub told her. Her legs were shaking so hard she wasn’t sure she could make it to the sofa.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” Marshall asked as he watched Ralphie snap the