Ann Martin - Jessi And The Jewel Thieves

"So you say," Red said, shrugging. "But I just don't know."

Frank looked mad. "What are you afraid of, you chicken-livered lily-hearted wimp?"

Red burst out laughing. "No, no, no," he said. "Ifs lily-livered and chicken-heartedl Check your script."

Frank was laughing, too. He picked up a sheaf of papers and leafed through them. "I can't believe I did that," he said. "I thought I knew these lines backward and forward."

"Backward is right," said Red, still laughing. "Come on, let’s try again."

As you can probably imagine, by this time Quint and I were in total shock. "Script?" I whispered to him.

"Lines?" he whispered to me.

Then we cracked up. We laughed until our stomachs hurt and tears rolled down our cheeks. We'd been fooled by a pair of actors.

Chapter 15.

"Quint! Jessi!" called Mrs. Walter from the other room. "It's almost four o'clock. Don't you have a train to catch, Jessi?"

I caught my breath. I'd been laughing so hard that I couldn't speak. "Thanks, Mrs. Walter," I called back. I turned to Quint. "Well, our mystery has been solved, I guess," I said. "Can you believe it?"

"Maybe we'll see them on TV sometime," he said. "They sure are good actors. I believed every word they said."

"You chicken-hearted, lily-livered —" I said, imitating Frank's growly voice. We cracked up again. "Well, I guess I better get going," I said. "Want to walk me downstairs to catch a cab?"

"I'll be honored to, my dear," said Quint in a fake English accent. He gave me a bow. "But first," he said, in his normal voice, "there's

something I meant to do before. Can I do it now?" He looked into my eyes.

I felt a little shiver. Quint is the first boy I ever kissed, so it seemed right for him to kiss me one last time now. "Sure," I said. I closed my eyes and leaned toward him.

The door burst open. "Jessi!" said Morgan, running into the room. "Do you have to leave?"

"We want you to stay," added Tyler, who had run in behind her.

I looked at Quint, smiled, and shrugged. He shrugged too, and smiled back at me. It was as if we were speaking without words. My shrug had meant, "Well, we missed out on that kiss again." And his had meant, "Oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to be." Or something like that. One thing I knew for sure, though. Our smiles had meant "We'll always be friends, no matter what."

Morgan and Tyler were both hugging me at once. I hugged them back. "I really have to go, guys. But I'll miss you a lot, and I'll be back to see you very soon."

"Promise?" said Morgan, looking at me seriously.

"Promise," I said. I glanced at Quint and gave him a nod, to tell him the promise was real. "Do you guys want to come down and help me get a cab?" I asked Morgan and Tyler.

"Yes!" they cried.

Quint and I walked into the living room. Mr. and Mrs. Walter were sitting on the couch, reading a newspaper. The Sunday New York Times, of course. "Thank you for everything," I said. "I had a wonderful weekend."

"Well, it was wonderful to see you, Jessi," replied Mr. Walter.

"We hope you'll come again soon," added Mrs. Walter.

"Thanks," I said. "I will."

Quint and Morgan and Tyler and I went downstairs together. We stood on the sidewalk, looking up the street to see if any cabs were coming. "I'll never forget this weekend, Jessi," said Quint.

"Me neither," I said. "It was great. And I'm so glad I got to see you perform." I smiled at him.

"Hey, look at that man's hair," said Morgan suddenly. She was pointing at someone behind us. "It's a funny color."

"Morgan," hissed Quint. "It's not polite to point. And it's not polite to talk about people's looks." He turned to see whom she was pointing at, and I turned, too.

It was Red! And he looked like he'd heard everything Morgan had said. Fortunately, he was smiling. "That’s okay," he said. "I know my hair is a funny color. But I like it. If s

different." He gave Quint a doser look. "Say, don't I know you from somewhere?" he asked.

"Uh . . . urn," said Quint.

"Taxi!" I shouted. I saw one coming down the street, and I threw up my arm. I hated to leave Quint in such a weird situation, but hey, I had a train to catch! " 'Bye!" I said to him. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Then I waved to Morgan and Tyler and jumped into the cab. I grinned out the window at Quint as we pulled away. I knew he would be fine talking to our "jewel thieves."

I gave the driver Mr. McGill's address and sat back to enjoy one more ride through Cen-tcal Park. I was really beginning to feel comfortable in New York City. I day-dreamed a little as we drove, about living in New York as a member of a world-famous ballet company. Would I rather live on the East Side or the West Side? I decided the West Side would be better, because I'd be nearer to Lincoln Center. But I'd have to be sure to find an apartment near Central Park, so I could walk through it every day.

Stacey was waiting for me when I arrived at her dad's apartment. "We don't have much time," she said. "Can you pack in fifteen minutes?"

"No problem," I said. I threw all my stuff into my bag, grabbed my toothbrush from the

bathroom, and told her I was ready to go.

"We're not in that much of a hurry," she said, laughing. "How did things go this morning?"

"I'll tell you on the train," I replied. I didn't mean to sound mysterious, but I wanted to tell her the whole story without rushing through it. I was dying to see her reaction when she found out who Frank and Red really were.

Mr. McGill rode with us in the cab to the station. "Jessi, it was nice having you," he said. "Even though I didn't see you much. You were pretty busy this weekend."

"Thanks for having me," I said. "And thanks a lot for that special lunch." I'd have to remember to tell Stacey why I'd asked to eat at the Palm Court. I was still embarrassed about it, but it was part of the story.

When the cab pulled up at Grand Central Station, I spotted a sidewalk vendor halfway down the block. "Stacey," I said, "I just remembered that I promised to bring Becca a present. Can you wait a second while I look over there?"

Stacey and her dad walked with me to the cart and stood to one side talking as I made my choice. I found the perfect thing right away. "All set!" I said, once I'd paid the vendor. We entered the station and Mr. McGill

walked us down to the track where our train was waiting. He gave Stacey a big hug and made her promise to take care of herself. "Come back soon, boontsie," he said. Stacey blushed, but she smiled, too.

The train left Grand Central right on time. Stacey and I had put our luggage on the overhead rack and were settled into our seats. "So?" she asked. "Tell all!"

"Let's see," I said. "Where should I begin?"

"Start at the beginning again," she said. "Even though I've heard some of it before. That way, you can practice telling the rest of the BSC."

So I did. I started with the part in which Quint and I were playing I Spy out the window. I told her about the fight we'd seen, and how Frank and Red had seen us and maybe even heard our names. Then I told her about the next two days, how we had followed them — and how they had followed us. "Guess why we wanted to go to the Palm Court?" I asked Stacey, in the middle of my story. She laughed when I confessed the reason.

Then I told her how we'd gotten kicked out of Heathes', and how we'd gone back to Quint's feeling like we'd never solve the case. And finally, I revealed the Dramatic Conclusion. ". . . so it was all from some kind of

script!" I said. "They were actors!"

Stacey looked shocked for a second. Then she cracked up. "That is the wildest story!" she said. "I never would have guessed."

"I know I should feel embarrassed to have been fooled like that," I said. "But it's just too funny. If they only knew what they put us through!" I remembered "Red" talking to Morgan and Quint. He seemed like a really nice guy. He probably would have gotten a kick out of our story.