Ann Martin: Claudia And The Mystery At The Museum

Suddenly a man in a uniform stepped into our circle. "Can I help you with something?" he asked.

"Uh, no," I said. "We were just curious about the robbery."

"The police are taking care of it," said the guard. "Meanwhile, the museum is under heavy security. A twenty-four-hour guard has been posted in every room."

He sounded as if he were warning us not to snoop around too much. I felt like telling him what good detectives we could be. I probably cared about the museum ten times more than the police did. But I knew I should keep those thoughts to myself. "That's good," I said. "You can't be too careful." My friends and I backed out of the room.

"Boy, we better watch out," said Stacey. "We don't want them to think we're the robbers. I mean, if they see us hanging around acting nosy, they might get suspicious."

"No way," argued Kristy. "A bunch of teenage girls?"

"Well, anyway," I said. "We have other stuff to do before we leave today. Like check out the gift shop."

"And the fountain," added Jessi.

"Right," said Shannon. "I just wish we could find a way to check out that donation box."

"We'll never be able to do that without looking suspicious," I said. "But maybe, if we ask the right questions . . ."I was getting an idea. "Come on," I said. I headed for the main lobby. A woman was at the information booth. "Excuse me," I said. "We're, uh, doing a class project on Stoneybrook's feelings about the new museum. I was just wondering if you could tell me how much money you're taking in with that donation box." I pointed to the steel box.

"People have been very generous," said the woman. "Let's see." She checked a notebook that lay on her desk. "As of last night, we've taken in over six hundred dollars this week." "That's great," I said. "So, you empty the box every night to count the money?"

She gave me a funny look. "Yes, we do," she said. "With an armed guard present, of course."

"Naturally," I said. "Thanks so much for your time." I scurried off, my friends dose behind me. When we were far enough away, Kristy gave me a high five.

"Great job, Claud," she said. "That’s all we needed to know. If they empty the box every night, the thief couldn't have put the coins in there. They'd have been discovered right away." "Whew," I said. 'That was a little risky, but

it was worth it. Ready to check out the gift shop?"

"Do we have a plan?" asked Jessi.

I shook my head. "No, but we'll think of something. Come on!"

When we reached the gift shop, we spread out and started browsing, trying to look casual. Stacey and I checked out the postcards. Kristy was looking at the toys, mostly educational games and models based on exhibits in the Discovery and Science rooms. Jessi looked over the calendars, and Shannon examined some fossils.

Then, one by one, we drifted past the case where the coins were kept.

"Gee, those look almost real," I heard Jessi say innocently, to the man behind the counter.

He nodded, bored. He was reading a magazine as he sat waiting for customers.

"These must look exactly like the ones that were stolen," Shannon said.

"Just about," said the man, yawning and turning a page in his magazine.

"But they're copies, right?" asked Stacey.

"Uh-huh," said the man.

"Really good copies," said Kristy. "I mean, how could you ever tell the difference?"

Good question, I thought. Now he would have to explain how to tell the real ones from the fakes.

"Oh, we have our ways," he said.

Darn!

But then he put down his magazine and went on. "For one thing, the fakes are really just foil-covered chocolate coins," he said. He unlocked the case and pulled one out. "See?" He showed it to us. We were all clustered around the case by that time.

"Awesome," said Kristy. "They look so real."

"Not once you know the difference," the man said, sounding bored again.

We leaned over the case, trying not to fog it up with our breathing, and looked closely at each of the coins. Sure enough, every one had a little seam around the edge, where the two pieces of foil came together. We looked at each other, shrugged, and left the gift shop.

"Well, that’s another theory down the drain," said Kristy. "One more place to check. Who feels like taking a dip?"

"You mean, in the fountain?" Jessi squealed. "We can't jump into it! Somebody would notice."

"Just kidding," said Kristy. "It didn't look that deep when we went past it before. We can lean over the edge and feel around for coins."

And that's what we did. We took turns. One of us watched for the guard, who walked by

every few minutes. The others, trying to act natural so as not to draw attention, leaned over and fished around in the water. Fifteen minutes later, we were all soaked up to our elbows, and Shannon's purse was damp from being splashed with water. We had found all kinds of coins: pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters, plus one Canadian penny and a subway token from New York City. But no ancient coins were to be found. We threw the money back in the fountain. "I'm going to make a wish," said Jessi. "Even though these have been wished on once already, they might work again."

We all wished. And we probably all wished for the same thing: that we would be able to solve the case of the stolen coins. I know that's what 7 wished for, anyway.

We sat on the edge of the fountain, trying to figure out what to do next. "I guess we're out of places to search for the coins," I said. "I hate to give up, but as long as we're here, does anybody want to see the Don Newman exhibit? I haven't seen it yet, and I'm dying to."

"Why not?" asked Kristy. "Lead us to it."

I started off down a hall, eager to see the exhibit. But suddenly Jessi tugged on my arm. "Claud!" she said. "Did you see that man's eyes?" I shook my head. I had barely noticed

the man who had just passed us in the hall. "One was blue, and the other was green!" she said. We all turned in our tracks and hurried to catch up with the man.

He headed upstairs and into the Music Room. 'That's him!" I hissed, as I watched him pick up a tambourine. "He's not dressed the same, but if s definitely him. What's he doing here again?"

"Maybe he just didn't get a good look at the exhibits before," said Kristy. "The robbery interrupted his visit, so he came back. Just like you."

"Maybe," I said. But the man didn't seem to be paying much attention to the exhibits. He wandered from instrument to instrument, and then he left the room. "Let’s tail him," I said. "Something about him doesn't seem right."

We followed that man all over the museum. After the Music Room, he checked out the Discovery Room. Again, he just seemed to be wandering around. He barely noticed the electronic quiz board, even though its lights were flashing like crazy. Then we followed him through the mole tunnel and into the Science Room. I saw him bump into the skeleton by mistake, and heard him say, "Oh! Excuse me," before he realized it wasn't a person. I put my hand over my mouth to stifle my giggles, but

he heard me anyway. He flashed me an irritated look.

I wished he would go to the Don Newman exhibit, just so I would get a chance to see it, but he didn't. He did go downstairs, but instead of heading for the sculptures he wandered into the room where the coins had been displayed and examined the empty case as if he found it fascinating. While we were in the room with him, Kristy stumbled into a display case and almost fell. "Whoops!" she said. The man glared at her.

Finally, we shadowed the man right out into the parking lot and watched as he climbed into his car. I think he knew we were following him, because he kept turning to glance at us. Each time, he looked more annoyed.

We watched him drive off. "Think he's the robber?" Kristy asked.