Part 6 (1/2)
Famous last words.
Chapter 8.
Shannon.
”Shannon.”
”Hi, Kristy. What's up?” I asked.
”Can you go to the library with some of us 'tomorrow?”
”Sure,” I said. Then I remembered to ask, ”What for?”
Kristy told me about Mr. Seger and his mysterious burglary. She also told me about the mystery notebook.
”It's a fact-gathering mission,” she said. ”We're looking for information.”
”Also known as dues?” I suggested.
”Of course,” said Kristy. ”We're going to put everything we learn into our notebook and see what we come up with.”
”See how things add up. See what V is in the equation,” I said.
”Have you been talking to Stacey already?” asked Kristy.
”No,” I answered, trying not to laugh. Kristy can be pretty intense sometimes. But then, scary things had been happening to the BSC - and they would be even scarier if they were tied together.
Maybe that's why I wanted to laugh - I was scared. Sometimes being scared affects people that way. We made plans to meet.
Shannon.
The next afternoon, Kristy, Claudia, and Abby were waiting for me on the front steps of the Stoneybrook Public Library.
”Mal's on a stakeout,” said Kristy. ”We're going to take separate notes and incorporate them into the mystery notebook as soon as she's brought it up to date.” ”Stakeout?” I said.
”Sitting at the Rodowskys'. Keeping an eye on the Seger residence,” Kristy explained in what sounded suspiciously like police-ese. ”Okay, okay,” I said. ”Lead on, Sherlock.” ”Agatha,” said Abby. ”Agatha Kristy. Get it?”
We all groaned and went inside. Where does Abby get her awful puns? As we pa.s.sed the desk, Abby whispered, ”Okay, spread out and try to act normal.” She waved to Mrs. Kis.h.i.+ and gave her a big grin. ”Hi!” she said. ”Read any good books lately?” Claudia said, ”You are so weird. And my mom's heard that line about a thousand times.” She waved to her mom, too, and shrugged her shoulders. Mrs. Kis.h.i.+ gave us a puzzled smile and we walked toward the computer catalogue. ”How do you look someone up in the library?” Kristy asked. ”Apart from the phone book, I mean.”
Claudia said, ”You can look in the Stoneybrook Who's Who. Also the news index of the newspaper.”
”Wow. Okay.” Kristy nodded approvingly. ”Let's start with the Who's Who.”
”How did you know that, anyway?” Abby asked Claudia.
.”My mother is a librarian and my sister is a genius,” Claudia replied. ”I know these things.” She grinned. ”Besides, I asked Janine last night.”
”Did you tell her what was going on?” asked Kristy.
”No.” Claudia grinned again. ”You know Janine. She likes knowing the answers to questions. So I asked her a bunch of questions and this was just one of them.”
”Sneaky. Devious. Excellent,” said Kristy. She turned and stopped again. ”Where is the Stoneybrook Who's Who?”
”That I didn't ask her,” Claudia admitted.
”I'll go ask at the desk,” I volunteered. ”If your mom has any questions, I can just say I'm doing research and she'll think it's for my homework.”
But Mrs. Kis.h.i.+ didn't ask any questions. She just smiled and said h.e.l.lo and asked me how I was doing, and then told me where to find what we were looking for.
A few minutes later we'd staked out a table in the corner of the library, with our backs to the wall (at Kristy's insistence).
”Here it is,” said Abby. ”Mr. Seger. He's a member of the Stoneybrook Business Bureau - that sounds pretty respectable - his wife is deceased, and he has one son who is in high school, going by his date of birth.”
”What's his son's name?” asked Claudia.
”Noah.” Abby looked from Claudia to Kristy. ”Do you think he's in high school here? Do you think your sister or your brothers would know him?”
Both Kristy and Claudia shrugged. Then Kristy asked, ”Is that all?”
”That's it.” I said. I was disappointed. The Who's Who didn't have very much what's what, in my humble opinion.
”Yeah.” Abby sounded disappointed, too.
”Let's photocopy it,” said Kristy. ”There could be a clue there.”
Abby picked up the book. Pretending to stagger slightly under its weight, she turned toward the photocopy room. ”Anybody have change?” she asked.
We pooled our change and Abby, still in her fake stagger mode, lurched away.
A few minutes later she came lurching back.
”Ha, ha ...” Kristy began. Her voice trailed off.
Abby's face was a ghastly greenish-white.
”What's wrong?” I asked, jumping up from the table. Abby dropped the Who's Who with a thump. She also dropped several photocopies of the page about Mr. Seger.
And one photocopy, very crooked but quite clear, of a photograph of Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, Stacey, and Dawn.
”Where did you find this?” demanded Kristy.
Abby sat down in the chair. Color was returning to her face. Her voice sounded normal, but abnormally serious, for her. ”It was just sitting there, staring up at me from the recycle bin.”
”Right on top?” I asked.