The Trail of the Screaming Teenager Read Free

find the necklace.” She leaned over the blanket.
    “There’s something I have to do right away.”
    Jason leaned forward. “What?”
    “I’m going to lock my Polka Dot Private Eye box. No thief is going to get my good stuff.”
    She tapped Noni’s knee.
    Noni reached into her pocket. She pulled out a pink heart lock and a silver key.
    Dawn snapped the lock on the private eye box. She piled the lunch box on top of it. . . and her flip-flops . . . and her wet pink towel.
    Buzz, click.
    “Hey,” said Jill. “A nail.”
    “Hey,” said Jason at the same time. “There goes the man with the newspaper.”
    Dawn didn’t stop to look. “Follow that man,” she yelled.
    They scrambled up and started to run.
    Dawn glanced down at the man’s blanket.
    Nothing was on it, though.
    Nothing but the newspaper.
    She reached out with one toe and flipped the paper over.
    A banana was underneath.
    So was a pack of Chiclets.
    No almost-diamond necklace with two almost-ruby hearts.
    “Hurry,” yelled Jason. “I can hardly see him anymore.”
    Dawn stood on tiptoes. “I can’t see him at all.”
    They circled around the kindergarten kid.
    Dawn hopped over his red-and-blue sand pail.
    “You’re going to get it,” he said. “Any minute.”
    Up on the boardwalk there was music.
    The merry-go-round was going around.

    “There he is,” whispered Jason.
    Dawn looked. The man was sitting on the tallest horse.
    He had on a yellow-striped bathing suit.
    A yellow sweatband was pulled down over his forehead.
    “That’s the man?” Dawn asked, shaking her head. “Are you sure?”
    Jason nodded. “I’m positive.”
    The man waved at them. “Love the merry-go-round,” he called. “Always did.”
    “Good grief,” said Dawn. “That’s no thief.”
    “How do you know?” asked Jason.
    “It’s Mr. Ott from next door.”

CHAPTER FIVE
    “I DIDN’T THINK he was the thief,” said Dawn.
    Jason looked disappointed. “There goes my suspect.”
    “Isn’t it time for ice cream?” said a voice behind them.
    It was Jill. Only two red bows were left on her braids.
    She was carrying a green jar.
    She rattled it. “I found a nickel,” she said. “It has a picture of Jefferson’s head, and his house on the back. Some house.”
    Dawn looked toward the beach. She was dying to find some stuff.
    “I found a key,” Jill went on, “and a couple of nails.”
    “Lucky,” said Dawn.
    “No necklace, though.”
    Jill held out some money. “From Noni for ice cream.”
    Dawn thought for a second. “I guess we have time for a quick— “
    “Very quick—” Jason added.
    Jill smiled. “—ice cream cone.”
    They marched along the boardwalk . . . past the hot-corn-on-the-cob stand . . . past Freddie’s French Fries.
    They turned in at Iggy’s Ice Cream Corner.
    Dawn took a deep breath. “Look. There’s Chicken Head and Long Hair.”
    “Freckle Face too,” said Jason.
    “They’re having my favorite ice cream,” said Jill. “Chocolate double-dip Oreo crunch.”
    Dawn stopped. She handed Jason her money. “Get me an orange raspberry,” she said. “There’s something I have to do. Right away.”
    She raced back along the boardwalk, down onto the beach.
    Stepping along, she raised her feet high in the air.
    The sand was as hot as Freddie’s french fries.
    She looked at her blanket.
    Noni wasn’t there.
    She could see Noni’s big straw hat bobbing along down near the water.
    Dawn looked around. Then she tiptoed to the teenagers’ blanket.
    Stuff was piled up all over the place.
    Sand was too.
    Dawn glanced toward the boardwalk.
    She had to work fast.
    She had to search the blanket before the teenagers came back.
    She started at one corner.
    She shook out one size-twelve sneaker. She shook out another one.
    Nothing was in them.
    Next she shook out the towels. They were wet and sandy.
    She hated to touch them.
    She tilted the picnic basket to see underneath.
    No almost-diamond necklace . . . but plenty of sand.
    These