Mary Anne and the Music by Ann M. Martin

Author:Ann M. Martin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2015-09-25T04:00:00+00:00

Stacey and Claudia arrived at the Barrett-DeWitt house on Friday morning prepared for two things: construction and detection. They knew all about the playhouse the kids were building. Stacey and Claud were excited about helping out. They’d each brought a hammer so they could “bang nails,” as Claud put it. Claudia had also brought a monkey wrench, two screwdrivers, and her eyelash curler. The wrench and screwdrivers had come from her dad’s toolbox; the eyelash curler was Claudia’s. “You never know what tools you might need,” she explained.

Stacey and Claudia had dressed for the occasion, as only the two of them can. Stacey was wearing a pair of pink denim overall shorts with a white baby T underneath. Purple Doc Martens and a white baseball cap — with her ponytail pulled through the back — completed the look.

Claudia had on her favorite painter’s pants. They used to be white, but she’s worn them during so many art projects that they are now splattered with paint in every color of the rainbow. To complement the pants, Claudia wore a tie-dyed shirt she made herself that features a huge yellow peace sign surrounded by starbursts of orange, red, and purple. She also had on her red high-top sneakers, and she had braided her hair in two pigtails, tied with purple ribbons, to keep it tidy and out of the way.

As far as preparations for spying went, they were simple. Stacey had brought along the mystery notebook, and she and Claudia had talked over their plans. They’d decided, after hearing what Kristy and I had said at Wednesday’s BSC meeting, that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep a close eye on Eddie and Jim and their crews. After all, they’d reasoned, maybe Eddie and Jim acted suspiciously all the time. Maybe they were just nosy guys who liked to poke around in their clients’ houses. Maybe their odd behavior at Granny and Pop-Pop’s house didn’t mean anything at all.

In any case, Claudia and Stacey agreed that it was important to watch both men and their crews carefully.

Of course, that didn’t turn out to be so easy. Why? Because they also had the Barretts and the DeWitts to watch.

Fortunately, some of the younger kids had become bored with measuring and hammering. Lindsay had organized them into a “decorating committee,” and they were very busy drawing pictures and making cardboard frames for them so that the playhouse would have “art.” They were also making curtains as well as placemats, tablecloths, and anything else they could think of in the way of home furnishings.

Mrs. DeWitt was home and willing to keep an eye on the younger kids. They were in the playroom, where she could check up on them every so often. That left Claudia and Stacey free to supervise the older kids as they worked on the playhouse.

“You go out and check on the playhouse,” Stacey whispered to Claudia, soon after they’d arrived. “I’ll pretend I have to use the bathroom first. That way I can see what Eddie and Jim and everyone are up to.

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