Digging For Trouble by Linda Fairstein

Author:Linda Fairstein
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2017-11-07T05:00:00+00:00

18

I almost fell against the table from the shock of someone cornering us in a strange place—even though this time we were the trespassers. I grabbed on to the edge of the table and steadied myself to look at the speaker, who had sneaked up on us—or so it seemed to me.

I turned my head to answer him.

“Mr. Paulson!” I said. “Steve!”

“Why, Dev. What are you doing up here?” The expression on his face went from clamped to relaxed in a split second.

“I—um—my mom and I saw you all on the news last night,” I said, trying to control my stammer. “I was so excited that I brought my friend Booker to come say hi to you and your team. To—um—congratulate you on all the big news.”

“I don’t know how you got upstairs here, Dev. You’re lucky no one called the police on you.”

Steve didn’t seem to realize that Booker Dibble and I practically were the police in this city. I guess he didn’t know about my mom’s job.

“The security guard let us up,” I said. “We only wanted to come for a few minutes.”

“We didn’t mean any harm,” Booker added.

“I was only hoping to show Booker some of the fossils—like the ones Katie found on the dig, and Ling’s teeth, from the duckbill,” I said. “And maybe now that you’re here, you can show us what this breaking-news-feathered-stuff is all about.”

Steve put his hands on his hips, looked at the floor, and shook his head from side to side.

“Sneak preview, Steve?” I added, trying to mimic Booker’s most sincere smile.

“I wish I could, Dev. But I gave Chip and Ling the day off, so I’m not even sure where things are stored yet.”

“I’m really good at figuring out puzzles,” I said, my eyes darting from shelf to shelf around the musty room. I was tempted to tell him about some of the other cases I’d solved. “Like where somebody might have put something valuable.”

“If I remember correctly,” Steve said, “the last time you and your pals got nosy, Dev, you wound up in a mud pile up to your neck.”

I could have sworn there was a touch of menace in his voice, but my mother would challenge me to prove that.

“Well, it’s really dry up here, Steve,” I said. “Bone dry. Nothing to worry about in this museum.”

“I’ll tell you what, young lady,” Steve said, rubbing his hands together. “Why don’t you give us a few days to settle in and sort out the work ahead of us. This museum holds us to pretty strict standards.”

“I understand that,” Booker said, trying to move me along. “It makes sense.”

“Middle of next week, get in touch with me—do you have my cell?—and we can try to plan a visit.”

“That’s okay, Steve,” I said. “Ling gave me her contact information. I’ll just text her. I wouldn’t want to bother you.”

“Ling won’t be here much, Dev,” Steve said. “You should have my e-mail.”

“Why won’t she?” I asked, surprised. “Doesn’t she get to name her species and all that? I wouldn’t leave my fossils alone for a minute, if I’d found any.

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