Red Slippers by Keene Carolyn

Author:Keene, Carolyn [Keene, Carolyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Childrens, Young Adult, Adventure
ISBN: 9781481438155
Amazon: 1481438158
Goodreads: 27408363
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2015-12-15T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Proof

DURING THE NEXT BREAK, GEORGE, Bess, and I cornered Maggie and filled her in on our plan.

“Are you sure about this?” Maggie asked nervously.

I nodded. “Everyone in the company knows that nerves are your greatest weakness. The culprit is probably preying on that,” I said.

Maggie swallowed hard and averted her eyes.

I realized I had said the wrong thing. “Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“It’s okay,” Maggie said. “You’re not saying anything I don’t know. Nerves have been my Achilles’ heel since the first time I strapped on a pair of shoes. Once the lights go down, the curtain goes up, and I set foot on that stage, I’m fine. All the butterflies in my stomach, the nausea, the racing heart, go away in an instant. But right before I go onstage, it’s a different story. It would be okay, except to get hired as a professional, they want to know that you’re going to be able to dance. If you seem nervous, they don’t want to hire you.”

“I know what you mean,” I said. “There are some cases that I’m not a hundred percent sure I can solve, but I have to act like I am. Otherwise my client won’t trust me.”

“Exactly,” Maggie agreed.

“Do you have a lucky charm or anything?”

“Yeah,” Maggie said. “When I got into the academy, my mom gave me a pair of Moira Devereux’s shoes—the ones she wore when she debuted on the Covent Garden stage in London. She’s one of the best ballet dancers in the world. I keep them with me at all times to remind me what I want to achieve.”

“Do the other dancers here know about them?” I asked.

“Yeah, I take them out of their case and rub them for good luck before every performance. Everyone’s seen me do it.”

I took a deep breath. “I need to use them as bait,” I said.

Maggie looked at me like I was crazy. “No,” she said firmly. “I can’t risk it. Too much has gone wrong already.”

“I’ll make sure they’re safe. I won’t let them out of my sight, but a trap is the only way to catch this culprit before the performance.”

“I don’t know . . . ,” Maggie said.

“I wouldn’t ask if there was another option,” I said. “We’re running out of time. If we don’t force the culprit’s hand, I might not be able to find out who it is before the show.”

“She’ll be careful,” Bess assured her.

“Nancy’s set traps before. She knows what she’s doing,” George added.

Maggie looked at all three of us. “You have to promise to treat them like they are made of pure gold. That’s how valuable they are to me.”

“I promise,” I said.

Maggie went off to fetch the shoes.

“No pressure,” I joked to Bess and George.

“It’s worth the risk,” Bess said.

“I know,” I said. “I just wish it hadn’t gotten to this point. I really thought this case would be easier.”

“They’re never easy,” George pointed out.

“I think that’s how you know what your ‘thing’ is,” Bess said.

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