Lark Steals the Show by Natasha Deen

Author:Natasha Deen [Deen, Natasha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2022-07-08T20:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Loi was outside the main doors. She was eating a banana.

“Lark! Connor!” She put her banana peel in the compost bin. “How are you?”

“Not good,” said Connor. “We came to cheer on Franklin, but something terrible has happened. Kyle’s painting was found in Franklin’s bag, and he’s been accused of stealing it.”

Loi gasped. “That’s terrible! Franklin wouldn’t do that!”

“Exactly! Miss Ruby said you stayed behind,” I said. “Did you see anything?”

“That’s true,” said Loi. “I was the last one to leave the gallery. But I was so focused on getting everything ready.” She tilted her head. “People were coming in and out all the time. I didn’t pay attention to anyone until I heard Franklin call my name. He came over and we talked for a bit.” She looked sadly at us. “When I left, he was the only person in the main hall.”

“But was he the last person you saw coming in?” Connor asked as he wrote down what she’d said. “You didn’t see anyone heading toward the main hall?”

“No one,” she said miserably. Then she went still. “Although…”

Connor and I leaned forward.

“Just as I was leaving, we heard a noise in the back storage room. It was like…scuttling. We thought it was a mouse or something small. I was going to tell Monty or Mx. Tradewell after I finished my banana.”

Hmm, I thought about investigating the storage room. Then I thought harder. A mouse wouldn’t steal a painting, and Loi said the noise seemed to be from something small.

“Did anything else happen? Did you see or hear anything else?”

She shook her head. “I was really hungry, so I ran out.”

“How long ago was that?” Connor asked.

She thought for a second. “Maybe twenty minutes ago?”

“Would that be long enough for Franklin to cut Kyle’s painting out of the frame?”

“It was cut out?” Loi tilted her head. “I guess that’s faster than opening the back of the frame, but you’d have to be careful because box cutters are sharp. Can I come along?” asked Loi. “Maybe I can help.”

“That would be great,” Connor said.

“Come on!” I started for the door. “Let’s find our friends and see if they learned anything!”

We found our group.

“Mr. Lee had to move his car,” said Kate. “He saw Franklin and Loi in the main hall when he was leaving.”

My stomach went squiggly. That meant Franklin was near Kyle’s painting when it was stolen.

“Don’t worry, Lark,” said Sophie. “Mr. Lee said he forgot his keys, so he turned around. That’s when he saw Loi leaving Exhibit Hall A. Mr. Lee said he saw Franklin come out a couple of seconds after Loi.”

“That means Franklin didn’t have time to steal Kyle’s canvas,” said Loi.

“It’s more than that,” said Connor. “The canvas was already in Franklin’s bag by then. It had already been stolen.”

“This is amazing!” Kate hugged Franklin. “We can prove you didn’t steal Kyle’s work! You’re back in the show!”

Our friends cheered, but for Connor and me, there was no cheering. We’d proven that Franklin didn’t have time to cut out the canvas, stick it in his bag and run to us.

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