The Name of the Game Was Murder by Joan Lowery Nixon

Author:Joan Lowery Nixon [Nixon, Joan Lowery]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-82349-6
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2013-09-24T16:00:00+00:00

NINE

I had to get out of that dark hallway and away from Lucy, so I ran all the way down the stairs and into the sun-room.

I took the only empty chair. It was one of the hard, straight-backed chairs, but I didn’t mind. I tried not to stare as I examined each face. Alex’s expression was blank, Julia’s was puzzled, and Thea’s was concerned; but the other three were steaming. Something had really made them angry. I kept in mind that one of these people was a murderer. One of them had searched my room. And, according to Walter’s way of thinking, one of them might be after me!

“Are you feeling well, Samantha?” Aunt Thea asked. “You look a little flushed.”

“I’m okay,” I told her, and—even though my fingers trembled—I managed to flip some pages over the top of my writing pad until I reached a clean sheet of paper. “What kind of clues have we got this time?”

“Clues?” Laura threw her sheet of paper at me. It landed at my feet, and I bent to pick it up. “These aren’t clues! They’re just more of Augustus’s nasty comments!”

On her sheet of paper was typed SHE LAID AN EGG, AND IT WAS A DOOZY.

I had to agree with Laura that the statement wasn’t very nice. She must have been unhappy enough about the bad reviews of her past two movies. She didn’t need an amateur critic’s report.

“What Augustus wrote to me isn’t flattering either,” Senator Maggio said, “and I have no idea why he had to drag my family into this.”

“What does your clue say?” I asked.

As a pulse pounded in his neck and his face darkened, the senator read, “ ‘THE BALD EAGLE HAS MANY KIN.’ ” He gave me the paper, leaned back, and self-consciously ran the palm of one hand over the top of his smooth, shining head.

“At least he didn’t take potshots at your love life,” Buck muttered. “It isn’t Augustus’s business or anyone else’s that Eloise and I are … well, having a trial separation.”

“Is that what your clue says?” I asked. This wasn’t making sense.

“Here,” Buck said, “read it yourself,” and he handed it to me.

In the middle of the paper was typed SHE IS LOST AND GONE FOREVER. DREADFUL SORRY, PAPPY.

“Did your wife call you ‘pappy’?” I asked Buck after I’d read his clue aloud.

“No,” he said. “No one ever has. We don’t have children.”

“Maybe this isn’t about your wife. Maybe it means something else.”

“Oh, sure. What else could it mean?”

I shifted in my chair, which wasn’t terribly comfortable, and answered, “I know this sounds crazy, but while I was reading the first part of your clue a tune came into my head. Don’t you remember that old song? I think I learned it at Girl Scout summer camp, or maybe it was in kindergarten.” I sang, “ ‘Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling Clementine. She is lost and gone forever, dreadful sorry, Clementine.’ ”

“Is your wife’s name Clementine?” Laura asked Buck.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.