The Case of the Ruby Slippers (7 page)

We thanked Mr. Ross for his help, and he told us good luck. On our way out of his office, we ran into Charlotte. “Dinner in five minutes,” she said. “Your grandmother says to tell you.”

I told Charlotte we were investigating.

“Good,” she said. “Maybe you'll succeed where we grown-ups haven't. It's quite a mystery.”

Nate asked, “Do you think the ruby slippers are still in the White House someplace?”

“It's likely,” Charlotte said. “We randomly check bags and parcels leaving the grounds. The thief would run a big risk of getting caught if he tried to get away with them.”

“Write that down, Cammie,” Tessa said.

I got my notebook out of my pocket.

“Have you identified a suspect?” Charlotte asked.

Nate said, “Not yet,” and Tessa and I shook our heads.

“I'm off for the night, but I'll be back tomorrow,” Charlotte said. “Keep me posted.”

Dinner was chicken and green beans in the second-floor dining room. Granny cooked, and Mr. Bryant ate with us, too. Hooligan was under the table, meanwhile. He makes a comfy footrest.

“Granny-y-y?” Tessa said sweetly between bites. “Do I have to go to ballet tomorrow? I think maybe my right ankle hurts. It should probably rest up.”

“On the contrary,” said Granny, “it should probably get some exercise.”

“But we're detecting!” Tessa said. “
And
we have to solve the mystery before Aunt Jen's party!”

“I'm quite sure detecting is harder on ankles than ballet,” said Granny. “And besides, Cammie can work
on it. There's been some mix-up about scheduling the fields, and her soccer's canceled.”

“When is the party, anyway?” Nate wanted to know.

“Three o'clock,” Granny said. “The idea is the driver brings your mom from the airport, she walks into the darkened hall, the lights come on and the guests yell, ‘Surprise!' ”

Tessa put down her fork, consulted her Barbie watch then crossed her arms over her chest. “I hate to tell you this, everybody. But three o'clock tomorrow is only twenty hours away!”

Some things have changed since Granny and Mr. Bryant got to be special friends. Like that night after dinner, she went with Mr. Bryant downstairs to the White House theater to watch a movie instead of coming up to the solarium to play Monopoly with us. And sometimes the two of them go out on dates together. And she doesn't come to our church anymore because she likes Mr. Bryant's church better.

Mostly, though, having them be special friends has been okay. I'm not saying they're going to get married or anything because how do I know? But I never had a grandpa before, and having Mr. Bryant around is sort of what I think that would be like.

Mom and Dad's fundraiser dinner got done early, and when they came home, Tessa, Nate and I were in the solarium, which is more or less the White House family room. Mom and Dad were still dressed up. Dad
was even wearing a black bow tie, and Mom had on a long, dark blue dress. My mom hates to dress up, and her hem brushed the floor because she had already taken off her high heels.

Tessa sighed when she saw the dress. “
Beautiful
, Mama! Can I have it for my costume box?”

“Uh, not quite yet, muffin. But I knew you'd want to see it. Now I'm going to change. These pantyhose are killing me.”

“You're coming back for Monopoly, aren't you?” I asked.

“Wouldn't miss it,” Mom said.

While she was changing, Dad, Nate, Tessa and I got out the board, counted the money and picked out our pieces.

We were ready to play when Mr. Will came in. The solarium is on the third floor near his room, and he had heard us talking. We all said hi, and Dad asked if he wanted to play. Dad was just being polite, but Mr. Will said sure.

Then, naturally, he picked the Scottie dog to be his game token.

The Scottie dog is
my
game token.

I didn't want to play Monopoly with Mr. Will. I don't even like Mr. Will! But what could I do? I sighed and said, “That's okay. I can be the thimble.”

Tessa had the race car as usual. And Nate got the top hat.

When Mom came back she was wearing a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants plus she had wiped off her makeup. I think she was surprised to see Mr. Will.

“Oh dear,” she said. “I hope I still have your vote.”

“You're as lovely as your sister—with or without lipstick,” said Mr. Will.

Nate made an
ewww
face, but the grown-ups didn't see it.

We played while Tessa, Nate and I caught everybody else up on the case of the ruby slippers. As usual, it seemed like by the time I'd made it around the board once, Nate had three hotels on Boardwalk. Mr. Will was the only one who landed there, and he was too broke to pay the rent.

“I'm good for it,” he insisted. “I'll pay you when I pass Go.”

Nate is pretty competitive about Monopoly, but he couldn't exactly say “No way—you're out!” to a guest, so instead he looked at Mom. She said, “That's not how we play Monopoly in our family, Mr. Will. But you're welcome to stay and chat if you like.”

I would have been embarrassed, but I guess Mr. Will's not the type to get embarrassed. Instead, he shrugged, put the Scottie dog back in the box and stayed.

There was kind of an awkward silence after that. Then Dad asked, “What's next in the ruby slipper investigation?”

“Tessa and Nate are both busy tomorrow morning,” I said. “So it's kind of up to me. Only I don't know what to do.”

Mom said, “Maybe you could go talk to Dr. Zapato at the museum.”

“Who's Dr. Zapato?” Tessa asked.

It was Mr. Will who answered: “The curator in charge of shoes.”

I wondered how he knew that, but I didn't have a chance to think because Tessa was making so much noise: “No fair—I wanna go!”

“Ballet,” Mom said.

I passed Go on the next roll. Dad was banker, and instead of handing me two hundred dollars like he was supposed to, he gave me two thousand.

Mom looked up at him. “Sleepy, dear?”

Dad yawned. “Huh? Did I miscount? Sorry. Maybe it would be okay if we declared this game a tie?”

Nate frowned. “We always do that when I'm winning.”

“Because you're always winning,” Tessa said.

Nate said, “True.”

“But this time, I was gonna beat you,” Tessa added.

“How about if we declare Tessa
and
Nate the winners?” Mom said. “Then we clean up and watch the news. Then we all go to bed. Do we have consensus on that?”

“I vote aye,” Dad said.

“Very statesmanlike, Madam President,” said Mr. Will.

When Monopoly was put away, Dad turned on the TV so we could watch blond Jan and gray-haired Larry, our favorite local news guys.

“. . . breaking news in that story we're following from the National Museum of American History, Jan.” Larry looked serious. “It seems the ruby slippers from
The Wizard of Oz
, one of the museum's most popular exhibits, have disappeared!”

Tessa said, “No,
duh
.” Mom and Jan said, “Oh, dear.”

Meanwhile, the camera switched to an old photo of the slippers in their glass case at the museum.

Larry went on, “A spokesperson from the museum has confirmed that the ruby slippers, which were on loan to the White House for a private party, have vanished without a trace.”

Jan picked up the story. “And now officials say they've taken this man into custody. He is being called a ‘person of interest.' ”

The picture switched to a man walking between police officers. He had his hand in front of his face. Even so, I recognized him.

So did Tessa. “Where are the police taking the man in the black suit?” she asked.

Dad said, “Jail maybe,” and looked at Mom. “What do you think, dear?”

Mom didn't answer. Instead, she did something strange. She looked at Mr. Will. “What do you think, William?” she asked. “Is it time we tell them?”

Mr. Will had been so focused on the TV that Mom's voice startled him. “What?” He bumped his glasses back against his nose. “Oh—uh, yes. I think that may be the best course. Perhaps the children can help.”

Tessa was annoyed and waved her arms the way she does. “Help how? What's going on? Don't tell me you grown-ups are keeping secrets again!”

Mom said, “Settle down, muffin. It looks like we're going to have to explain something to you a little sooner than we'd planned. But we can only do it if you promise to keep it in strictest confidence.”

Tessa forgot she was annoyed. “A secret? Goodie! Do you want us to pinky promise?”

“No way will I pinky promise,” said Nate.

“A regular promise is fine,” said Mom. “Apparently, the man on TV just now—the man who said yesterday he was from the museum—is an imposter, a fake. What seems to have happened is that he went to the museum
and collected the ruby slippers, claiming he was from Mrs. Silver's office in the White House. He had appropriate White House credentials, so the museum staff didn't question it. Now the police think the credentials must have been forged.”

“Wait a sec,” I said. “I'm confused. You mean after that—when the man came here to the White House—he claimed to be from the museum? But neither one was true?”

Mom nodded.

“Well,
that's
weird,” Tessa said. “Why would somebody go to the museum and steal the slippers, then come to the White House with an empty shoe box?”

“And besides that, who is he really?” I wanted to know.

Mr. Will had been fidgeting and now he spoke. “I can't answer Tessa's question. But as for yours, Cammie, I believe I can add a piece of information. You see, I know that gentleman. Some years ago I did some work for the FBI, and I met him in, shall we say, a professional capacity.”

“You mean he's a criminal?” said Dad.

“A thief,” said Mr. Will. “And with him in police custody, I think you'll find the case is closed.”

“
Again?
” said Tessa.

Our bedroom light had been off for about five seconds when Tessa spoke up. “Cammie? Are you awake?”

“I haven't had time to close my eyes.”

“Me, too,” said Tessa. “Didn't we have it figured out the ruby slippers were somewhere in the White House, and the thief was going to give them to the buyer at the party tomorrow? But if the man in the black suit stole the slippers, then that's all wrong. Right?”

“Right,” I said.

“Right it's wrong, or right we're right?” Tessa asked.

“Never mind,” I said. “The point is it doesn't make sense to steal the ruby slippers and then come to the White House. If you wanted the slippers, and you had the slippers—you'd run for it.”

It got quiet after that, and I closed my eyes—until Tessa's voice jolted me. “Unless your limo happened to be surrounded by police cars. Remember?”

“Hmmm. But the man in the black suit must've known there'd be a police escort for the slippers,” I said. “They're that special. So how did he think he was going to get away?”

It was a hard question, and our room got quiet again. But not for long.

“What about this, Cammie? He stole the slippers for money, right? If the person giving him money was here in the White House, then he'd bring the slippers here to the White House. Oh my gosh—it's Mrs. Silver! I can't believe it. And she seems like such a nice lady. Plus, she has really nice clothes.”

“Tessa—”

“And she smells good. I wonder what brand of perfume she uses.”

“Tessa—”

“You don't think she smells good?”

I sighed and rolled over to face my sister. In the dim light, she was only a shadow. “She smells fine! But that doesn't make her the buyer for the ruby slippers. It could be anyone in the White House! Or anyone coming to the party! And anyway, he didn't bring Mrs. Silver the slippers. He brought Mrs. Silver an empty box. Why would he do that?”