08 The Magician's Secret by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene [Keene, Carolyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Clue by Clue

“LOOK AT WHAT I FOUND!” George was standing in the security room doorway, gripping a small box.

“The gems?” I asked, expelling a sigh of relief that she was okay.

George snorted. “Better.”

“Better than the gems?” Bess said, squinting at her cousin. “What could be better?”

“Videotape!” George cheered.

“Right,” Bess said. “I think you are sleep deprived.”

“No, no,” George said. “I mean, yes, I am sleep deprived, but this is our most important clue yet.”

I was listening.

“Nancy, there are some gaping holes in my theory here, but try this,” George started. “What if . . .” Her eyes lit up in the darkened room. “What if, after Smallwood left the shop, there was someone else already there? Maybe someone who knew Smallwood, like a partner, or maybe someone else. At this point it doesn’t matter.”

She shook her head as if to clear it. “Let’s just say, once the shop was officially closed, if a person broke into the security room, they’d have had access to the entire system. The security tapes could have been tampered with, and whoever stole the jewels could have simply played footage from any other night.” She held up the tape box. “The tapes would have shown that all was quiet even though the thief was inside. Then there is just the matter of disabling the alarm and opening the gem case.”

“Sounds possible,” I said. “I like that idea better than to think the gems magically disappeared.”

“Me too,” George said adamantly. “There’s always an explanation for everything.” She handed me the tape. “The police missed this one. There’s a backup unit for the security equipment in a cabinet. That machine had been tampered with; it was set to play, not record.”

Candy let us use the machine, and we quickly discovered that George was right. The tape showed looped footage of a quiet night. She’d found our most important clue so far. Someone had been in the security room when Candy left for her date.

“I’m not sure how they got in,” George was saying as we walked from the room. “I mean, this door was locked, the front door was locked, the back—”

“Ewww!” Bess hopped from foot to foot, making gagging sounds. “I stepped in gum! Gross.”

“Gum?” Candy asked. “There’s no food allowed in this shop. That’s why I go to the coffee shop at ten, noon, and three for all my scheduled breaks. No food. No drinks. And certainly no gum.” She handed Bess a tissue. “Someone will be fired!”

“It’s a huge wad!” Bess said, peeling it off her shoe. “Blech.”

“It’s not just gum.” George took the tissue and peered inside. “I mean, it is, but I think it’s also part of the crime.” She paused, staring at the gum. “Maybe the thief planted it here on purpose. Though I don’t think this gum was used in the heist. I checked the doors and there was no sign of anything gummy in the locks.”

Candy looked crushed. “After all these years, someone slipped by me.” She put her hands on her hips.

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