Ann Martin - Jessi And The Jewel Thieves

"I'll tell you everything when I get home tonight," I said. "I sure hope I can say that Frank and Red are safe in jail by then." I paused for a second. "So how's Becca doing?" I asked.

"Much better," said Mal. "She and Mary Anne came back by around eight last night,

and Becca had ice cream with everyone else. Right now she's eating pancakes."

"Her appetite is back, I guess," I said.

"Definitely. Want to talk to her?"

Mal put Becca on the phone. "Hi, Jessi," said Becca. "I'm having pancakes with ketchup on them. Byron told me it's good, and he was right!"

"You sound like you're beginning to have a good time," I said.

"Uh — " Becca's voice changed all of a sudden. "I miss you, Jessi. I feel so lonely here. Why did you all have to go away and leave me?" She gave a little sniff.

I rolled my eyes. "I'll bring you a present when I come back," I said, ignoring her dramatics.

"Really? Cool! 'Bye, I have to finish my pancakes." She hung up the phone.

I stared into the receiver. Then I smiled and shook my head. At least Becca was starting to enjoy herself. That was one less worry for me. Now I could concentrate on Frank and Red. And on the Talk I had to have with Quint, which I hadn't had the night before. I decided to make Frank and Red the first priority, since I wasn't particularly eager to start the Talk. It could wait awhile longer.

I arrived at Quint's by ten that morning. He was waiting for me. "Listen," he said. "I had

a great idea. I was reading this detective book last night, and there was this scene where the detective searched through the suspect's garbage looking for clues."

"Ew!" I said.

"Yeah, it's kind of gross," admitted Quint. "But it worked! He found a letter that practically proved the guy had committed a murder."

"What are we going to look for?" I asked. "I mean, we won't find emeralds and rubies in the trash."

"Of course not. But we may find something incriminating. You never know."

"Well, okay," I said, shrugging. "Since we don't have a better plan."

"While we're searching we'll keep an eye out for the thieves," said Quint, "and if we see them leave the building we'll follow them." He led me outside to where the garbage is collected, next to his apartment building.

"Double ew!" I said, looking at the pile of plastic bags and the overflowing garbage cans.

Quint held his nose. "Let's get started," he said. He grabbed one of the bags and pulled it open. I peered over his shoulder. The bag was full of orange peels, coffee grounds, and something that looked like dog barf. "Ew," said Quint.

Just then I heard someone whistle, and I

turned around. It was Frank! He was standing on the curb, facing the street (luckily we were hidden behind the garbage), and Red was with him. He was whistling for a cab.

"Come on!" I said to Quint. I pulled his sleeve and he dropped the garbage bag. We hit the curb just as Frank and Red were getting into a cab. I saw another cab right behind theirs, and I threw up my arm. It pulled up and I shoved Quint into it. "Follow that car!" I said to the driver.

I have always wanted to say that. I couldn't believe I actually had the chance.

Quint looked at me admiringly. "That was cool, Jessi. You really acted fast."

"Thanks," I said. I was keeping an eye on Frank and Red's cab. Our driver was staying right behind it. He had a little smile on his face.

"Playing cops and robbers?" he asked, looking at me in the rearview mirror.

"Kind of," I said. "Whoa, watch out! They're speeding up." He hit the gas to follow them, just making it through a yellow light. Their cab was moving fast, but we stayed behind it. I could see Red's hair, bright as a carrot. We followed the thieves down Central Park West to Columbus Circle where the traffic zooms around this big plaza. Then they turned left onto Fifty-seventh Street. We

turned, too. After a few blocks, their cab slowed down. It pulled to the curb on the corner of Fifth Avenue. "Pull over!" I said to the driver.

"Here," Quint said, handing him some money. "This should cover it."

"Thanks, buddy," said the driver. "Good luck with your game. Hope you catch those robbers!" He smiled at us indulgently. We clambered out of the cab, watching Frank and Red the whole time.

They were already halfway down the block. We followed behind "at a discreet distance," as the detective books say. They were strolling along slowly, looking into store windows. They stopped at one, and looked more closely. Lots of other people were window-shopping, so we were able to inch our way pretty close to Frank and Red without being noticed. I could even hear snatches of their conversation.

". . . diamonds are huge!" said Frank.

'That ring there must be worth ..." said Red.

I exchanged excited glances with Quint. It was obvious that the thieves were "casing the joint." (That means they were checking out the merchandise and the layout of the store, so that they could make careful plans about their robbery. In "case" you were wondering.)

I looked into the store window. Wow! The display was lined with black velvet, and jewels of all kinds were sprinkled over it. Emerald earrings the size of marbles. Diamond-studded watches. Necklaces sparkling with rubies. Ropes of pearls. The stuff almost looked fake, but I knew better. There must have been thousands of dollars worth of jewelry in that one window.

I was so busy looking at the jewels that I missed the next part of Frank and Red's conversation, but then I saw them look at each other and shake their heads. They skirted walking again. "They must have decided the jewels at this store aren't worth it," I whispered to Quint.

"Either that or they've realized the security is too tight," he whispered back. "Come on, we're going to lose them." He grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

Frank and Red continued to stroll for a couple of minutes, and then they stopped short at another set of windows. I looked at the name of the store. "Heathe and Sons, Jewelers!" I said. "Wow. Do you think they're planning to rob Heathes'?"

Quint shrugged. "There's a lot of great jewelry inside, from what I've heard," he said. "Look — they're going in!"

"Come on," I said. I marched up to the door that Frank and Red had just entered, and opened it. Quint followed me inside. "Awesome," he said, looking around. There was kind of a hush in the store, even though it was crowded. And it had a certain smell, like all kinds of expensive perfume mixed together. People were standing at the counters, holding up diamond necklaces and trying on rings. Glass cases held beautiful crystal glassware.

"May I help you?" asked a man, stepping from behind a counter. He gave us a funny look, as if he wondered why two kids our age would even be in Heathe's.

"Uh-uh," said Quint. He sounded nervous. He couldn't think of anything to say, and neither could I. Were we supposed to tell him we were following a pair of jewel thieves who might be planning to rob his store?

A security guard approached us and stood next to the first man. "Okay, kids, where are your parents?" he asked.

"Uh," said Quint.

"We better go," I hissed in his ear. "We lost them, anyway." It was true. Frank and Red were nowhere to be seen by that time. We turned and left. (The security guard followed us to the door.)

In the cab on the way back to Quint's, we both fell silent. I was feeling humiliated, and I guess he was, too. Some detectives we were. What chance did we have of solving the case before I had to leave New York?

Chapter 13.

Claudia was scheduled to sit at the Pikes' on Sunday. She'd only be sitting for Claire, Margo, Nicky, and Becca, though, since Mr. and Mrs. Pike were taking the older kids to that concert in Stamford.

"This job is going to be a breeze," she said to herself as she got ready to head for Mal's. "No triplets calling each other names. No Vanessa spouting poetry. Just me and the little ones." Then she thought for a moment. Four "little ones" could be quite a handful. Especially when their ages ranged from five to eight and a half. She was going to need an activity or a project to keep them busy, and it would have to be something they would all enjoy doing.