The Phantom of Nantucket by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Publisher: Aladdin

CHAPTER EIGHT

A Man with a Past

BESS, GEORGE, MARNI, AND I WALKED BACK to the museum as fast as we could. “Poor Jenna,” Bess moaned.

I wondered if Connor had leaked the information to the press after I’d let it slip to him that the figurehead was missing. I was really botching this case! I was going to have to apologize profusely to Jenna.

We turned the corner onto Broad Street from Beach Street. Half a block ahead a large crowd had gathered on the sidewalk in front of the museum.

“What do you think is going on?” Bess asked.

None of us had an answer. Without saying a word, the four of us picked up our pace.

Even closer to the action, it was still hard to figure out exactly what was happening, but people were in line, pushing and shoving to get to the front. Amid all the yelling, I could make out people shouting about tickets.

I tapped the shoulder of the man directly in front of me. “What’s going on?” I shouted over the noise.

“Apparently, there’s been a robbery at the museum! We’re all buying tickets to the opening reception tonight.”

I still didn’t follow. “Why would you want tickets if there’s been a theft?”

The man looked at me like I was dumb. A woman behind me leaned over my shoulder. “First the sign, now the theft,” she said. “Something big is going to happen at this reception, and I am going to be here to see what it is!”

The man in front of me nodded in agreement. “This is going to be the biggest story on the island tomorrow morning. Everybody who’s anybody will be there.”

“So you’re trying to get tickets to see something bad happen at the museum so you can gossip about it?” I asked, making sure I understood what they were saying. Both the man and the woman nodded. I stormed back to my friends, furious. Jenna had worked so hard on this exhibit, and now all these people just wanted to see her fail. “Let’s find Jenna,” I said.

Marni checked the time. “I gotta go,” she said. “My grandfather and I play chess every Saturday afternoon.”

“Okay,” I said. “We’ll see you at the reception.” Marni nodded before heading off.

“I think it’s great how close she is with her grandfather,” Bess observed. I agreed. It was nice to see.

“Ugh, this thing is leaking,” George muttered, holding out the ice pack with water running down her arm.

Bess glared at her. “Don’t you dare take that off your head,” she said sternly.

“It’s been twenty minutes!” George protested as she found a trash can and threw it away.

We pushed our way through the crowd and up the stairs to the entrance. We did a quick search of the museum but didn’t spot Jenna.

“I’ll text her,” Bess offered.

“I’m going to the bathroom while we wait,” George announced.

After a moment, Jenna responded that they were in the staff room, and George emerged from the bathroom in her normal clothes.

“George!” Bess said.

“They’re barely damp,” George countered. Bess tugged at George’s clothes and grudgingly agreed.

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