The Perfect Escape by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

A MAN WITHOUT A PLAN

Anna looked furious. “How did you find us?” she demanded.

Kyle smiled. “I’ve been in constant touch with Adam ever since you used Anna’s phone to call your little friends, Nancy. When Adam told me that he’d lost you in this neighborhood, I had my driver take me out here so we could circle the streets for a bit. I knew you’d have to turn up eventually. And here you are.”

I glared at him. “You created the story that I had stolen that jewelry, and planted the crown in my room.”

Kyle nodded. “We couldn’t take any chances, could we? We didn’t want you girls heading to the police. And Kelly played her part very well. She noticed the jewelry we’d planted in your luggage right away, though she was pretty torn up about turning you in. Kept saying it didn’t seem like something you would do.”

George frowned. “That’s because it’s something she didn’t do.”

Kyle turned to face her. “Ah, Bess and George,” he said, looking over my two best friends. “If only you hadn’t been so good at tracking Nancy down! You might have escaped all of this.”

Bess gulped. “Where are you taking us?” she demanded.

Kyle looked us over, and a flicker of something—discomfort?—passed across his eyes. “Well, you ladies have proven to us that you can’t be trusted,” he said quietly. “The minute you get out of our sights, you begin to misbehave. The only solution is to keep you under our watchful eyes until the pageant is over and Perfect Face has been successfully launched,” he went on.

“And then?” I prompted.

“And then,” Kyle said. The flicker came back; definitely discomfort this time. “Then we’ll see.”

Uh-oh. If Kyle didn’t have a plan for what to do with us . . . that was a bad sign.

“You’ll see?” I asked. “What does that mean? You’ll let us go?”

Kyle met my eyes, but he didn’t respond. I saw all I needed to in his expression.

“You wouldn’t hurt us,” I insisted, trying to convince myself as much as him. “For something as simple as a marketing campaign? A new product launch?”

Kyle looked out the window.

“How much can that be worth?” I pressed. “A few million dollars? Is it worth turning into a criminal?”

Kyle turned back to us, eyes flashing. “It’s not just a few million dollars,” he corrected. “It’s not greed. I’m not doing this for greed.”

“What are you doing it for, then?” George demanded.

“My daughter!” Kyle shouted. We all jumped a little, taken aback by his outburst.

“It’s not just the money,” he continued. “Money can’t buy happiness or love. But Kelly and I, we need this marketing campaign to work in order to keep our current lifestyle.” He paused. “This isn’t just a new product launch, not for Pretty Face. We’ve sunk too much money into developing and marketing this product. If Perfect Face doesn’t take off, Pretty Face is sunk.” His face fell. “And so are Kelly and I.”

“But you could get a new job!” Bess piped up encouragingly.

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