The Absent Author Read Free Page A

think you had him,” Dink said. “But did you pick him up?”
    Maureen nodded, swallowing. “Sure I picked him up. Seven o’clock sharp, I was there with my sign saying WALLACE. The guy spots me, trots over, I take him out to my taxi. He climbs in, carrying a small suitcase. Kinda spooky guy. Dressed in a hat, long raincoat, sunglasses. Sunglasses at night! Doesn’t speak a word, just sits. Spooky!”
    “Did you take him to the Shangri-la Hotel?” Dink asked.
    “Yep. Those were my orders. Guy didn’t have to give directions, but it woulda been nice if he’d said something. Pass the time, you know? Lotta people, they chat just to act friendly. Not this one. Quiet as a mouse in the back seat.”
    Maureen wiped mayonnaise from her fingers and lips. “Who is this Wallace fella, anyway?”
    “He’s a famous writer!” Ruth Rose said.
    Maureen’s mouth fell open. “You mean I had a celebrity in my cab and never even knew it?”
    “What happened when you got to the hotel?” Josh asked.
    Maureen stood up and tossed her napkin into the trash. “I get out of my side, then I open his door. He hops out,hands me a twenty. Last I seen, he’s scooting into the lobby.”
    Dink pulled out the itinerary. He crossed out taxi with a thick black line. Then he drew a question mark next to HOTEL.
    “Thanks a lot, Miss Higgins,” he said. “Come on, guys, I have a feeling we’re getting closer to finding Wallis Wallace.”
    Maureen put her hand on Dink’s arm. “I just thought of something,” she said. “When he handed me my fare, this Wallace fella was smiling.”
    Dink stared at Maureen. “Smiling?”
    She nodded. “Yep. Had a silly grin on his face. Like he knew some big secret or something.”

Back on Main Street, Dink adjusted his backpack and led the way to the Shangri-la Hotel.
    “Maureen Higgins said she dropped him off at the hotel last night,” he told the others, “so that’s our next stop.”
    “What if she didn’t?” Josh said, catching up to Dink.
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean maybe Maureen Higgins wasn’t telling the truth. Maybe
she
kidnapped him!”
    “And she’s hiding him in her lunch-box!”Ruth Rose said.
    “Very funny, Ruth Rose,” Josh said. “Maureen Higgins said she drove Wallis Wallace to the hotel. But what if she drove him somewhere else?”
    “You could be right,” Dink said. “That’s why we’re going to the hotel.”
    With Dink in the lead, the four approached the check-in counter in the hotel lobby.
    “Excuse me,” Dink said to the man behind the counter.
    “May we help you?” He was the saddest-looking man Dink had ever seen. He had thin black hair and droopy eyebrows. His skinny mustache looked like a sleeping centipede. A name tag on his suit coat said MR. LINKLETTER .
    “We’re looking for someone.”
    Mr. Linkletter stared at Dink.
    “He’s supposed to be staying in this hotel,” Josh said.
    The man twitched his mustache at Josh.
    “His name is Wallis Wallace,” Dink explained. “Can you tell us if he checked in last night?”
    Mr. Linkletter patted his mustache. “Young sir, if we had such a guest, we wouldn’t give out any information. We have
rules
at the Shangri-la,” he added in a deep, sad voice.
    “But he’s missing!” Ruth Rose said. “He was supposed to be at the Book Nook this morning and he never showed up!”
    Dink pulled out the itinerary. “See, he was coming here from the airport. The taxi driver said she saw him walk into this lobby.”
    “And he’s famous!” Ruth Rose said. She placed her book on the counter in front of Mr. Linkletter. “He wrote this!”
    Sighing, Mr. Linkletter looked downat Ruth Rose. “We are quite aware of who Mr. Wallace is, young miss.”
    Mr. Linkletter turned his sad eyes back on Dink. He flipped through the hotel register, glanced at it, then quickly shut the book. “Yes, Mr. Wallace checked in,” he said. “He arrived at 8:05.”
    “He did? What happened after that?” Dink asked.
    Mr.