Diamonds Are a Thief's Best Friend Read online

  “That’s good, right?” Lili asked, stabbing another clump of cheese fries with her fork. “That means we can try to find it first?”

  “How are we supposed to do that?” Willow wondered. “New York is a big city! There must be thousands of diamonds there, and we don’t even know what this one looks like.”

  The girls were silent for a moment as this sunk in. The din of the crowded mall echoed through the food court.

  Lili sat up. “I bet the person who slipped the note into my pocket knows! I wish we could ask them.”

  “It had to be someone who was at the art show,” Willow pointed out.

  Erin groaned. “Great! So that narrows it down to about a hundred students, two hundred parents, fifty teachers, Principal Frederickson, and Lili’s grandma.”

  Lili laughed. “I always suspected she was leading a secret life. She’s almost never home.” All the girls giggled.

  “It could be anyone, or anything. For all we know, an alien could have left us that note,” Erin joked.

  But Jasmine looked worried. “What if this is some kind of prank? What if the Rivals are just trying to make us look stupid again?”

  The girls grew quiet as everyone thought that over. When the Jewels had first suspected that the Rivals stole the ruby, they had told Principal Frederickson. She told the director of Atkinson Prep, Arthur Atkinson. And then he had gone on the news and accused the girls of making false accusations! It had been an awful ordeal.

  “I wouldn’t put it past them,” Willow said thoughtfully. “But we can’t ignore this letter. We’ve got to investigate.”

  “Fine,” Jasmine said. “Let’s just do it quietly, okay?”

  Erin nodded to Willow. “Okay, Nancy Drew. I’ve got some info for you. I did some research last night, and Martha and George Washington spent time in New York City, in a building called Federal Hall. It was the first Capitol Building of the United States, and George gave his first inauguration speech from the balcony.”

  Lili got excited, almost knocking over her fries. “Martha could have hidden the diamond there!”

  “Maybe, but here’s the bad news. Federal Hall was demolished in 1812, before being rebuilt. And Martha died in 1802, so it’s not likely we’d find the diamond there.” Erin explained.

  “I learned something that might help,” Jasmine jumped in. “I did a search to find out if there were any diamonds on display in New York from the Revolutionary War era, and I got a match. I found a museum with a temporary exhibit of colonial jewelry. A pair of diamond earrings from the 1700s is part of the showing.”

  “Maybe those are the diamonds the Rivals are after!” Lili said.

  “It’s a possibility,” Willow agreed, then took another bite of her salad. “It’s worth checking out. We’ll have to play it really cool, do some more investigating and keep a close eye on the Rivals when we get to New York. We’ve got to make sure they don’t steal the diamond, wherever it is.”

  Lili got a dreamy look in her eye. “I can’t wait to visit the Met when we’re there. I was researching things for us to do in New York, and I saw that the museum has a new exhibit with colonial furniture and art. So I double-checked their website last night, but it doesn’t look like it includes jewelry.”

  “Sounds like the diamond earrings may be the best place to start,” Willow suggested. “Do you know what museum they’re in?”

  “The Fraunces Tavern Museum,” Jasmine said.

  Erin frowned. “That sounds so familiar. I seem to remember something about that, but it’s just dancing around in my brain and I can’t catch it!”

  “While Erin’s thinking, we should —” Willow began, but Erin interrupted her with a loud “Aha!”

  “I got it!” She leapt to her feet, knocking over her chair. “The Fraunces Tavern is where George Washington gave his farewell address to the officers of the Continental Army!”

  Everyone looked at her. Erin blushed as she grabbed the chair off the floor. “I’m sorry, but I told you I’ve been studying like crazy for quiz bowl. And since finding that letter from Martha, I’ve been reading a lot about the American Revolution.”

  “It’s okay.” Lili smiled. “If you weren’t history-obsessed, you wouldn’t be Erin!”

  “Thanks,” Erin said with a grin. “That reminds me. I requested a bunch more books about Martha Washington from the school library. Did you know they have a whole section dedicated to her? Anyway, when I got home and took them out of my backpack, there was a book in my stack that I don’t remember checking out. But it’s really cool.”

  “What was it?” Jasmine asked.

  “It looks like a diary,” Erin replied. “Actually, it looks like it might be Martha Washington’s diary. I must have grabbed it by mistake.”

  Jasmine looked worried. “That sounds pretty important, Erin. Maybe it’s supposed to stay in the library.”

  Erin shrugged. “Maybe. But I want to check it out first. I got through the first thirty pages, but I haven’t found anything about the jewels yet. I’m going to keep looking, though.”

  Willow pulled out her phone to check the time.

  “We should start making our way back to the multiplex,” she said. “The movie will be over soon, and I don’t want to keep my mom and brothers waiting.”

  Willow’s mom, Mrs. Albern, had given them a ride to the mall. She had taken Willow’s three younger brothers, Jason, Michael, and Alex, to see a movie while the girls shopped.

  They gathered up their shopping bags and trays, threw their trash in the garbage, and made their way out of the food court.

  “Can we stop for ice cream on the way over?” Erin asked. “That Ragin’ Cajun cuisine left my mouth burning!”

  “We’ve got time,” Willow said. “I could go for a fro-yo myself.”

  As the girls approached the ice cream kiosk, Erin stopped in her tracks.

  “What have I done to deserve this?” she asked dramatically. “It’s like stepping in gum. No matter what you do, you can’t get it all off your shoe.”

  Standing on the line for ice cream was Isabel. She stood next to a few other girls from Atkinson, laughing and chatting. Anyone looking at her would think she was an ordinary sixth-grade girl, not a jewel thief. But the Jewels knew better.

  “I hate to admit it, but she is stylish,” Lili said. “I love that outfit!”

  Isabel wore a pair of brilliant blue skinny jeans, zebra ballet flats, and a long black cami embellished with sparkling rhinestones.

  Erin flashed Lili a dirty look.

  “I can’t help the truth!” Lili cried. “I guess I’m just used to seeing her in the Atkinson uniform.”

  “Whatever! She’s not stopping me from getting ice cream,” Erin said as she marched over to the line.

  Jasmine looked at Willow and Lili, shrugged, and followed Erin. Isabel spotted them walking over. She stopped her conversation and rolled her green eyes.

  “I guess they’ll let anybody into this place,” she said loudly.

  Erin flashed her an evil grin. “I guess so, if you’re here,” she replied.

  Isabel waved her hand dismissively in the air. “It doesn’t matter. You can say whatever you want. But we will still win at quiz bowl.”

  “Is that so?” Erin asked, her hands on her hips. “Well, guess what? I can beat you at anything. Name it. Spelling bee? I’ll take it. Monopoly? I’m the winner. Hot-dog-eating contest? I’ll leave you in the dust!”

  Isabel looked at Erin like she was crazy, then exchanged glances with her friends. “She seriously needs help.”

  Jasmine started shaking as she tried to hold in her laughter. Willow saw that Erin was ready to go off on Isabel again, so she jumped in.

  “Hey, Isabel?” she asked innocently. “Do you and the Rivals have any other plans in New York?”

  Isabel seemed startled. A look of concern flashed over her face, but she quickly concealed it.

  “The usual.” She shrugged. “Come on,” she said to her friends, “let’s
go.”

  As Isabel and her pals walked off, Jasmine and Lili exploded into laughter.

  “A hot-dog-eating contest?” Jasmine said between breaths.

  “Monopoly? A spelling bee?” Lili could barely get the words out, she was laughing so hard. “Erin, where do you come up with this stuff?”

  “I don’t know.” Erin’s face was bright red. “It’s like, as soon as I see her, I get so mad my brain short-circuits or something!”

  While her friends were laughing, Willow looked serious. “Did any of you notice Isabel’s face when I asked her what their plans were for New York?”

  “Now that you mention it, she did look kind of worried,” Jasmine said.

  “I think Isabel just slipped up and confirmed that our mystery note is right on,” Willow pointed out. “The Rivals definitely have something planned for New York, and it’s not only trying to win quiz bowl.”

  “We’ll stop them,” Erin said confidently. “Look out New York, here come the Jewels!”

  “I can’t believe we’ll be in New York City in only two hours and fifty-six minutes!” Willow said, gazing out the train window.

  Next to her, Jasmine laughed. “Willow, are you going to keep announcing the time every five minutes?”

  “I can’t help it,” Willow replied. “I’ve never been before. And there’s so much I want to see!”

  She turned around and looked over the top of her blue seat to talk to Ms. Keatley, who sat in the row behind her. A Social Studies teacher at Martha Washington, Ms. Keatley was the official advisor to the Jewels quiz bowl team and the girls’ chaperone on this trip.

  “Ms. Keatley, do you think we’ll have time to see the Statue of Liberty?” Willow asked.

  The teacher looked up from the book she was reading. “Quite possibly,” she replied. “I’ve put together a rough itinerary for us, but I left some free time so we can be sure to do some things you girls will enjoy.”

  Willow suddenly thought of their other goal for the trip — to find the Martha Washington diamond and prevent the Rivals from stealing it.

  “Um, I heard that there’s an interesting exhibit at the Fraunces Tavern Museum,” she said, remembering what Jasmine had discovered. “That’s the reason Principal Frederickson gave us an extra couple of days for this trip, right? To have educational experiences? That would be a good one.”

  Ms. Keatley’s green eyes lit up. “That’s on my list of museums I’ve always wanted to visit! I’d love to go. But we should ask the others.”

  Willow sat back down in her seat and nudged Jasmine. “Could you get Lili and Erin?” she asked.

  The girls were sitting in the two seats across the aisle from Willow and Jasmine. Lili was drawing in her sketchbook, Erin was reading a guidebook of Manhattan, and both girls had their earbuds in and were listening to music. Jasmine got up and tapped Lili on the shoulder.

  “What’s up?” she asked, removing an earbud. Bouncy music streamed from the tiny speakers.

  “Ms. Keatley wants to talk to us,” Jasmine explained. “Can you poke Erin? She’s totally stuck in that book.”

  Soon Erin and Lili were crowded into the empty seat next to Ms. Keatley, while Willow and Jasmine leaned over the backs of their own.

  “We were talking about the itinerary,” Ms. Keatley said. “I want to make sure we make the most of our time here. Principal Frederickson is expecting a report from us on one of the city’s great museums. But we need to plan some fun things, too.”

  “Well that shouldn’t be a problem,” Erin said. “We’re here for like a week, right?”

  “Five days, but we’ve already got a busy schedule,” Ms. Keatley corrected her. “Let’s see. Today is Wednesday, and I thought that we could get some pizza after we check into our hotel.”

  “Can we go to Famous Sal’s Pizza?” Erin asked. “They featured it on the Food Channel. It’s supposed to be the best pizza in, like, the world.”

  Ms. Keatley opened her messenger bag and started rifling through a bunch of papers and books. “I’ll just have to check and see if it’s near our hotel.”

  “Five blocks south,” Erin said quickly. “I already checked it out.”

  “Okay then,” Ms. Keatley said. “Tonight we’re seeing Transformers: The Musical on Broadway. Tomorrow afternoon there’s an opening reception for the quiz bowl tournament. Then there’s nothing until dinner on Friday night because of the early high school rounds. Saturday and Sunday is the middle school tournament. And of course we’ll need to get in some practice time.”

  Willow looked right at Erin and Lili. “I was telling Ms. Keatley that we should go to the Fraunces Tavern Museum,” she said with a tone in her voice that clearly meant, “You know, the one exhibiting the diamond earrings.”

  “A tavern?” Lili asked. “Aren’t we too young?”

  Erin nudged her. “No, it’s that cool museum where George Washington gave that speech.”

  “Oh, yeah!” Lili said. “Yeah, we definitely want to go there.”

  “Maybe Friday then,” Ms. Keatley said, writing in her notebook.

  “Ms. Keatley, are you ever going to use a smartphone like the rest of the world?” Jasmine asked.

  The teacher sighed and pushed a strand of stray blond hair behind her ear. “Honestly, it’s all so complicated. The technology changes every day and each new phone is more expensive than the last.”

  She held up her notebook. “Ninety-nine cents. You can’t beat that.”

  Erin’s stomach rumbled. “Can we finish this schedule talk later? I need a snack. I thought we passed a food car when we got on board. Anyone want to come with me?”

  “I’ll go,” Jasmine offered. “I’m bored. I can’t read on a train or I get a stomachache.”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s this way,” Erin said, pointing to the back of the train.

  She and Jasmine made their way down the aisle. When they stepped into the next passenger car, Jasmine got a worried look on her face.

  “Do you think the Rivals are on this train?” she asked.

  “I doubt it,” Erin answered. “They probably took a private jet or something. Everyone at that school is super-rich!”

  “Not Eli,” Jasmine pointed out.

  “Okay, well most of them are,” Erin said. “Anyway, the school is super-fancy so they could probably afford some other way to get there.”

  “Unless they’re in first class,” Jasmine said, looking around nervously again.

  “Well, if they’re in first class they won’t need to come to the food car,” Erin said. “Some guy in a suit will bring it to them.”

  “You know, I was thinking about the Rivals and the four jewels,” Jasmine said. “Remember when we were at their school, and we saw that photo of the Atkinson sapphire?”

  Erin nodded. “Yeah. The one that got stolen, right?”

  “It just seems like too much of a coincidence,” Jasmine said. “Our school had a ruby, and theirs had a sapphire. I wonder if it’s the sapphire Martha Washington was talking about?”

  Erin theatrically put her hands on her head. “The sapphire? I thought we were looking for a diamond!” The girls giggled. “Seriously, though, let’s focus on one jewel at a time, or it’ll get too confusing. There are so many possibilities.” She began to talk in a robotic voice. “Brain … can’t … function. Need … fuel.”

  Jasmine laughed. “Come on, here’s the food car.”

  The train’s café car looked like a diner or small restaurant right on the train. Booths lined the window side of the car, and on the other side was a long counter with stools. Men and women in business suits had taken up most of the counter to drink coffee, eat a muffin or a bagel, and busily type on their laptops.

  Erin scanned the menu on the wall and approached the register.

  “I’ll have one snack pack, please,” she said. “And a chocolate milk.”

  The young woman behind the register smiled at the girls. “Anything for you?” she asked Jasmine.

 
“One banana, please,” Jasmine said.

  “That’ll just be a minute,” the cashier told them, after she had rung them up and taken their money.

  Erin turned away from the counter and faced Jasmine. “It’s all so weird, isn’t it?”

  “What do you mean?” Jasmine asked.

  “I don’t know, I guess, last year in fifth grade the most exciting thing that happened was when I learned how to weave a basket at Colonial Williamsburg. This year, I’m traveling to exotic locations to answer questions and chasing jewel thieves. Big difference.”

  Jasmine nodded. “I know what you mean. Sometimes none of this seems real!”

  “Order’s up, girls!”

  Erin turned around and picked up their food. Her snack pack was a small cardboard box with a chocolate milk, an apple, a packet of mixed nuts, and some cheese. Jasmine raised an eyebrow.

  “An apple? I didn’t know you ate … you know, healthy stuff,” she said.

  “I’m an equal opportunity eater,” Erin insisted as they headed back to their train car.

  “But I thought you ate French fries for breakfast,” Jasmine said.

  “Only once,” Erin replied. “No, wait, twice. But just because I love French fries doesn’t mean that I don’t also love brussels sprouts.”

  Jasmine made a face. “Your stomach must be made of iron.”

  They got back to their seats, and Erin pushed past Lili, who was busy sketching again. Erin grabbed her apple out of the box and took a bite. Then she noticed a yellow, folded slip of paper peeking out from under the package of nuts.

  Curious, Erin opened it up and read the note.

  “No way!” she yelled, and then she quickly cupped her hand over her mouth. She leaned over Lili to see if Ms. Keatley had noticed, but the teacher was dozing in her chair.

  “What is it?” Lili asked.

  Erin motioned for Jasmine and Willow to come over. “Guys, quick!” she hissed. She showed them the slip of paper. “I think we got another message from our mysterious helper.”

  ’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe.