Ship of Secrets (6 page)

“Stakeout,” Frank said, smiling.

Mr. Hardy nodded. “Great idea, boys. It’ll be impossible to find the watch in here without some help. When she comes back tomorrow, she’ll lead you right to it.”

Joe felt more hopeful than he had all day. Tomorrow they’d be on a real stakeout, just like in the movies. With a little luck they’d get the watch back to Sir Reginald by nighttime.

“What are you going to do?” the boy with the freckles asked. He looked confused.

“We’re going to do the easiest thing,” Joe replied. “Tomorrow we’re going to sit in that booth and just wait.”

J
oe pushed his feet against the wall, trying to get comfortable. “I can’t feel my legs,” he said. He folded himself in half and tried to squeeze into the corner.

“Join the club,” Frank said, and laughed. Joe could barely hear him, though. Frank was poking his head out from behind the booth’s curtain, looking for the girl from the photo.

There was popcorn and empty juice boxes on the photo booth floor. Their mother had packed them lunch, including turkey sandwiches from the ship’s dining hall. They’d been stuffed into the booth for more than five hours now, but there’d been no sign of the girl. “She has to come back,” Joe said. “Doesn’t she?”

“I hope,” Frank said. But it was feeling less likely. It was almost two o’clock. Half the day had passed, and they still hadn’t seen her.

Frank drew the curtain closed again. “Your turn,” he said, climbing over his brother. They switched spots, so Joe was sitting on the outside. They’d done this all day, taking turns keeping watch.

Joe pulled the curtain back just an inch so that he had a good view of the game room. Because it was Sunday, it was busier than ever. A group of kids
was standing around the dancing game, watching a girl who was really good. She jumped and kicked in time with the music. They all cheered when she beat her high score.

Ten minutes passed, and Joe was so busy watching the scoreboard that he almost didn’t notice the girl walk in. She had the same red scarf on that she wore in the picture. Her sunglasses were so big, they covered half her face. “Psssst! Frank!” Joe whispered. He nudged his brother in the side. “I see her! She’s here!”

Frank sat up straight. “It’s about time!”

They both squeezed into the front of the photo booth, looking out into the game room. The girl wore a long gray trench coat and had brown hair, just like the boy had said. She looked around as if she knew someone was watching her. Then she took off toward the other side of the room.

“We have to follow her,” Joe said. He stepped out of hiding. He and Frank crept along the wall, trying to stay out of sight. They watched the girl move through the game room. She went past the pinball machines and the Hungry Alligator game.
When she stopped, they stopped, hiding themselves behind a bouncy castle.

“She’s going to Dino Ball!” Frank said. He couldn’t believe it. She walked right up to the game and stood there, watching two boys shooting the dinosaur eggs into the nest. “What does she want with that game?”

“Shhhh,” Joe whispered. “Just watch.” He didn’t mean to be rude, but Frank was always talking on stakeouts. The last time they’d been watching a thief, he’d nearly blown their cover. (That was what their dad called it when people discovered you were there.)

The girl stood still. The two boys kept shooting basketballs into the nest. Then she looked around, and without saying anything to anyone, she reached her hand into the
T. rex
’s mouth. When she pulled her hand out, she was holding something. “The watch! It’s the watch!” Frank whispered.

Joe put his hand over his brother’s mouth to keep him quiet. They studied the girl. She turned the gold watch over, making sure it was okay. Then she looked around to make sure the boys hadn’t noticed her—they were too busy shooting basketballs to really notice—and she headed for the door. “We have to do something,” Joe said. “She’s getting away!”

Frank sprung out from behind the castle. “Stop! Wait right there!” he yelled.

The girl turned around. Then she tucked the watch into her pocket and ran as fast as she could in the other direction. Joe and Frank followed her. A chase was on!

She ran down a staircase that led into the grand ballroom. Onstage a man with long hair was singing Broadway show tunes. He kicked high in the air as he belted out a few last notes. Couples were dancing to the music.

The girl darted between the dancers, nearly knocking some of them over. “Hey! Watch it!” an old man yelled. “You nearly toppled me to the ground!”

Frank and Joe never took their eyes off her. They were only ten feet behind her, and they tried to keep up. But she was fast. A little
too
fast.

“I don’t know if I can keep running!” Frank yelled to his brother as they ran up another set of stairs. “I can barely keep up!”

Joe and Frank followed their suspect through another hallway, then a room with card tables. People were playing poker and rummy. A dealer pushed plastic chips around on a table. “You’re
right,” Joe said. “And she definitely isn’t an old lady!” The scarf and trench coat looked too big, like they had been borrowed from someone else.

The girl ran out of the card room and down another hall. The boys sprinted as fast as they could. “Hurry!” Frank yelled. “She’s getting away!”

She turned right, and they turned right. She turned left, and they turned left. She kept running through the maze of hallways, but they kept right behind her, not slowing down. Joe was nearly out of breath. Just when he felt like he couldn’t go any farther, she took a left . . . and the hallway ended. Their suspect was cornered!

“All right! All right!” the suspect yelled. “You caught me. I’m sorry.”

Frank and Joe stood in the hallway, trying to block her exit. But she didn’t try to run. Slowly she undid her red scarf, letting her dark hair fall
down around her shoulders. Then she pulled off her sunglasses. Standing in front of them was Sir Reginald Heartpence’s own daughter. She took the pocket watch from her coat and held it in her hand.

“Please,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “Let me explain.”

F
rank and Joe just stood there, shocked. They had never suspected that Sir Reginald’s daughter had anything to do with the case. She’d just sat there listening when the boys had questioned her parents. They’d had no idea that she was the thief!

“Melinda?” Frank asked. He could barely remember her name. “Why would you steal your dad’s watch? We’ve been looking all over for it. Your parents were so upset.”

“I’m upset!” she said, tears on her cheeks. “This isn’t my father’s watch. This is my grandfather’s watch. It was his, and now my dad is selling it.”

“But your parents said they have to,” Joe tried to explain.

Melinda shook her head. “I don’t care. I don’t want them to. . . . I was so close to my grandpa before he died. He called me Little Lindy. And he always carried this watch around. It’s been in our family forever. If they sell it, what do I have to remember him by?”

Frank lowered his head. He felt a little bad for Melinda now. He could tell the watch meant something to her, and she was very upset her parents were selling it. But she still shouldn’t have taken it without asking. “You could’ve told your parents how you felt,” he said.

“They wouldn’t have listened,” Melinda said. “They never listen.”

“So you just took it?” Frank asked.

“When they left the room Friday afternoon, I took it from the case. Then when they were talking to Ollie and Margaret, I told them I needed something in the room. I used that time to get dressed, go down to the game room, and hide it. I know how crazy it must seem, but I didn’t know what else to do,” Melinda said.

“Well, I’m sure they’ll be happy to see it again,” Joe said. “Why don’t we all go to your parents’ cabin and talk about this? We know you’re upset, but your parents are upset too. You need to tell them the truth.”

Melinda bit her lip. Her eyes filled with tears again. “I don’t want to,” she said. She wiped her cheeks off as she spoke.

“I think there is something you need to give back,” Frank said. He held out his hand. “We’ll help you.”

Slowly, without saying a word, she gave the watch to Frank. Then she followed them up the stairs to the family’s cabin, where her parents were waiting to hear news of the stakeout.

•  •  •  •

“Melinda dear,” Mrs. Heartpence said. “We just wish you would’ve told us you were upset. We had no idea.”

She and Sir Reginald sat on the couch in their cabin. Mrs. Heartpence held her daughter’s hand.

“I wanted to, but I didn’t know how,” Melinda said.

Her brother, Andrew, just shook his head. “We’ve had the whole ship looking for that watch! I can’t believe you did this, Mel.”

“It’s all right,” Mr. Hardy said. He stood beside Mrs. Hardy and the boys, looking on. “We were all happy to help. We’re just glad we found it.”

“Melinda, we don’t want to get rid of the watch
either, but we have to. It’ll help pay for the house, and for your and Andrew’s college education. Your grandfather would’ve wanted to help us do that,” Sir Reginald added.