Amos and the Chameleon Caper Read Free Page B

your full attention.”
    Amos jumped on the mat before Dunc could stop him. When the class was finished bowing, Amos bent from the waist and bowed back grandly with one hand in the air, then strode to the center of the mat.
    The room was silent. Amos threw his shoulders back, hooked his thumbs in his belt and began, “My honorable teacher, the great … Meow Say Tongue, made me promise that I would never show these sacred moves to anyone except the truly dedicated.” His eyes narrowed and helooked into each face around the room. “If there are those among you who are not true believers, I have no choice but to ask you to leave.”
    Dunc rolled his eyes.
    No one left.
    “Please watch carefully.” Amos kicked forward with his right leg. Then he kicked backward. Then he jumped around in a circle. “All right, class. Now it’s your turn.”
    Amos walked around, rubbing his hands together and watching. “Put your right foot in, put your right foot out, put your right foot in and shake it all about.…”
    “Oh brother,” Dunc muttered under his breath. “He’s got them doing the Hokey Pokey.”

Dunc was waiting outside the dressing room when Amos finally came through the door. “What took you so long?”
    “Autographs. I could hardly get away, they’re all so crazy about me.”
    Dunc shook his head. “You’re amazing, Amos.”
    “I know. Sometimes I even amaze myself. Who would have thought that I had this incredible ability? I’m thinking of starting my own studio when we get home.”
    Dunc looked at him. “Amos, you made the whole thing up.”
    “What did he make up?” Tiffany walked up behind them.
    Amos coughed. “It’s not important. Do you want me to call a cab?”
    Tiffany followed him out to the sidewalk. “It’s a nice day. Why don’t we walk?”
    Dunc saw a powder-blue Cadillac whip into a parking spot up the street. His eyes widened. “Everybody act casual.”
    Amos looked around. “What’s the matter?”
    “It’s them. The man and woman from apartment thirty-five-B.”
    They watched the redhead go into a department store with a sign above the door that said BERTINELLY’S FINE CLOTHES AND JEWELRY .
    Amos made a face. “It’s a free country, you know. Going shopping wasn’t a crime last time I checked.”
    “Amos is right.” Tiffany moved down the sidewalk. “It’s a free country. Let’s follow her and see what she’s up to.”
    Amos groaned. “It isn’t fair. One SherlockHolmes is enough for anybody. Why do I have to get stuck with two of them?”
    Dunc pulled him down the street. “Come on, Amos. We might be missing something.”
    “You’re breaking my heart.”
    When they got to the door, Tiffany stopped. “We need a plan. I know—if anyone asks, we’re looking for a gift for my mother’s birthday.”
    Dunc and Amos nodded and followed her inside. The store obviously catered to the more affluent people in town. The floors were carpeted, and glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling.
    A saleswoman met them just inside the door. “May I help you—children?” She put her nose in the air.
    Amos spoke first. “We’re buying a gift.”
    “Ahhh.” The woman seemed bored.
    “It’s for our great-aunt Gertrude—rest her soul.”
    The woman looked at him. “You’re buying a present for a dead person?”
    “Have you got a problem with that?”
    “Well, I … no, of course not.”
    “Good.” Amos moved to the jewelry counter. “Because she likes diamonds—big diamonds.”
    The woman led Amos to a glass showcase. Tiffany and Dunc pretended to look at the cashmere sweaters a few feet away. The redhead wasn’t anywhere in sight.
    From the back dressing room an elderly woman with bright green eyes tottered by, carrying a large alligator bag.
    They watched her go out the door, get into the blue cadillac, and drive off.
    A frantic saleswoman ran up to the counter. “Call the police! Someone just stole several expensive outfits and a diamond necklace!”
    The clerk