The Puzzling Pearls by Lisa Siberry

Author:Lisa Siberry [Lisa Siberry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hardie Grant Children's Publishing
Published: 2021-02-09T00:00:00+00:00

When they got back to the Heart Break Hotel, Astrid was waiting for them.

‘You two look like drowned rats,’ she laughed, kicking her sandy feet up onto the lobby desk. ‘And why were you swimming? Shouldn’t you be dusting for clues or something?’

‘We weren’t swimming.’ Patti wrung the last drops of tank water out of her hair. ‘And if you must know, I made a major breakthrough in the case right before Plum decided we had to go have some fun.’

‘Oh please, it was fun. Before you attacked me.’ Hannah plonked the giant cat on the desk and looked around the lobby. ‘Did anything happen while we were gone, Astrid? No more stolen dresses, I hope.’

‘Nope, it’s been as empty as an ice cube tray in summer round here.’ Astrid chewed on her gum, thinking. ‘Travis left early this morning before the dress disaster to pick up candles and cake plates. The Eagle hasn’t budged. Sabina and her friends went to get their nails done for the wedding. And I haven’t seen the travel writer much, either.’ She hesitated, rubbing her toes together. ‘But I’ve been meaning to tell you about something that happened last night, right after our meeting on the rooftop.’

‘Go on,’ urged Patti.

‘I was walking back across the rooftop, towards the stairs, and I heard something behind the heart sign.’ Astrid ran a hand through her bleached blonde hair and a sprinkle of sand fell to the floor. ‘It sounded like rustling paper. Like someone was turning the pages of a book. And when I looked around, I saw a shadow behind the sign.’

‘Someone was on the roof last night reading a book?’ Patti shot Hannah a told-you-so look and pinched her arm. ‘Now that’s what I call suspicious.’

‘Like, creepy-poem suspicious,’ Hannah agreed, pinching Patti back.

‘Sure. Like I said. Weird.’ Astrid slid her feet off the desk, and the check-in book fell to the floor, sending an envelope skidding across the tiles. PATTI was typed across the back. ‘Oh yeah, I also found this lying on the desk for you when I finished the housekeeping this morning.’ Astrid picked up the envelope and handed it to Patti.

‘Probably from Mum.’ Patti ripped open the envelope, but as she read the letter inside, her face crumpled into a frown. ‘Who left this for me, Astrid?’ ‘No idea. Why?’

Patti threw the paper on the desk like it was covered in cockroaches. In typed capital letters, it said:

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