Friday Barnes, Girl Detective by R. A. Spratt

Author:R. A. Spratt
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781626722989
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

“Miss Priddock,” said Mr. Maclean, “looking fabulous today, I see.”

Miss Priddock giggled and smiled her own less practiced yet equally nauseating smile back.

Mr. Maclean sauntered over to the pigeonholes, unlocked his, swung the little door open, and reached up to get his papers, but as he put his hand in, he turned and spoke once more to Miss Priddock.

“I was observing the topography of the moon’s surface last night, and I thought of you,” said Mr. Maclean.

Miss Priddock giggled again.

“Such beauty outshining all others,” said Mr. Maclean. He smiled again, but this time it was a different type of affected smile, more serious and suggestive.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” whispered Melanie.

Miss Priddock just giggled.

Mr. Maclean laughed as well. He scraped the papers out of his pigeonhole without looking and walked off to his office.

“That is disappointing,” said Friday.

“It is?” said Melanie.

“I was hoping it would take longer to solve this case,” said Friday with a sigh as she got to her feet. “Now we have no excuse. We will have to go back and do the rest of PE.”

“Oh dear,” said Melanie. “And at such short notice. There’s no time for us to come down with a life-threatening contagious disease. Are you absolutely sure you solved the problem?”

“I’m afraid so,” said Friday. “Come on, we’ll walk slowly. But I need to talk to Miss Priddock first.” Friday leaned over the receptionist’s counter and saw that she had been quite right. Miss Priddock was reading a gossip magazine. “Excuse me, I’d like to make an appointment to see the Headmaster.”

“The earliest I can squeeze you in is ten o’clock tomorrow,” said Miss Priddock.

“There’s no chance we could see him right now?” asked Friday.

“He’s got another appointment,” said Miss Priddock.

“Of course,” said Friday. “I had observed that on the third Tuesday of the month the Headmaster’s hair is always impeccably black. So the third Monday of the month is when he gets his roots dyed.”

Miss Priddock gasped. “How did you know? I was sworn to secrecy.”

“And I assume he has to drive sixty miles away for the appointment,” said Friday, “so there is no chance he’ll bump into anyone from school.”

“No,” said Miss Priddock. “Actually he has a boat hidden in the swamp. He takes a forty-minute trip up the river.”

“Intriguing,” said Friday. “There is a lot of coming and going from the school swamp.”

“He’s so vain,” continued Miss Priddock, leaning in to whisper conspiratorially. “He’s always going on about being on a diet. But a number of times I’ve caught him secretly gobbling a chocolate bar. And last week a lemon tart went missing off my desk. I swear it was him.”

“Interesting,” said Friday as she turned and left with Melanie.

“What’s interesting?” asked Melanie. “The stuff about the Headmaster eating chocolate or the fact that Miss Priddock is wildly indiscreet?”

“Both,” said Friday.

So Friday and Melanie went back to their PE class. Mercifully, when they got there Vanessa Dieppe had broken her nose playing dodgeball, so they got to spend

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