California Schemin': Book One in the Malibu Mayhem Trilogy by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online Page A

and Mallory are taping that show like they do all the time.”
    Bess and I passed George on our way to the shed. She glanced up and said, “Good luck.”
    Although I already knew how to surf a little, the Pacific was way bigger than anything I had ever seen. So we took it slow. We paddled our boards out in thewater, where we tried several times to “pop up”—or jump up from a reclining position.
    Bess and I did more wiping out than popping up. But eventually she managed to stand on her board and ride a wave for about thirty seconds. A big deal, according to Ty and Devon.
    As for me, I was able to stand briefly, but kept wiping out and falling into the water. I had a blast, and almost forgot the real reason Bess and I had wanted to surf with Devon and Ty in the first place.
    After the guys showed off some moves such as top turns and aerials, Bess and I got down to business. So much for promises.
    “So how do you guys have such massive energy?” I asked while we paddled peacefully on our surfboards. “I mean, you were all on the beach so incredibly late last night.”
    “Us?” Ty asked. He shook his head. “We left before Mandy and Mallory did.”
    “The producer, Bev, wanted shots of just the girls,” Devon explained. “No reason for Ty and me to hang out.”
    “Oh,” I said, feeling the waves roll gently beneath my board. “So you all went clubbing after they finished shooting.”
    “Clubbing?” Ty repeated as his hand splashed in the water. “We didn’t do any clubbing last night.”
    “Hey!” Devon said, practically sitting up on his board. “Did Mandy and Mallory go without us?”
    Uh-oh. Opening a can of worms was not what I had in mind.
    “No, no,” I lied quickly. “I mean, I don’t know if they went clubbing or not….”
    “We just thought all A-list celebs went out every night in Hollywood,” Bess said. “I mean, don’t they?”
    The guys smiled at Bess. They then offered to teach us more new moves.
    “We really have to get back to George,” Bess said.
    “Thanks anyway,” I added.
    “How about tomorrow morning?” Devon asked. “Ten o’clock?”
    Bess and I exchanged shrugs. We had gotten all the information we needed out of the guys. But not all the surfing lessons.
    “Maybe,” I said.
    “See ya,” Bess called back as we paddled to shore.
    Once on the beach, Bess and I placed our boards next to George.
    “So how did it go?” she asked.
    “I carved my first wave!” Bess said happily.
    “Not the surfing, the questioning,” George said. “Did they admit it?”
    “On the contrary,” I said as Bess and I sat on ourtowels. “They left the beach before the sisters did. They were clueless about the trash.”
    “So the sisters could have wrecked the beach on their own,” Bess added.
    “Let’s just hope it doesn’t happen again,” I said.
    The three of us spent another half hour on the beach before we collected our stuff and surfboards and headed back to the house.
    Once inside, we saw the message light blinking on Stacey’s phone.
    “Looks like Stacey got a call,” George said.
    “How do we know it’s not for us?” asked Bess.
    “Did you give her number to anyone? Everyone at home knows we have our cells,” George replied.
    “We’d better answer it,” I said, grabbing a pad and pen. “It could be an important message for Stacey.”
    I walked over to the phone and pressed the play button. After a few seconds of dead air, a mechanical-sounding voice began to speak:
    “If you know what’s good for you, girls, you’ll never, EVER, mess with us again.”
    Click.

 

MYSTERY CRUISE
     
    “ T hat was for us,” I said slowly. “Unfortunately,” Bess added. “I’m calling Stacey,” George said. “Or the police. This is getting dangerous.”
    “Wait,” I said.
    I played the message once, twice, listening for any sign as to who’d left it. But the robotic-sounding voice offered no clues.
    “Why does the voice sound so mechanical?” Bess