One False Note - 39 Clues 02 by Gordon Korman Read Free Book Online Page B

them," Dan said urgently.
    At last, the road cleared, and the Fiat lurched off, Nellie shifting awkwardly. They jounced down a few narrow streets, but there was no sign of the bus. Amy pointed. "There!"
    The bus had left the grid of downtown streets and was roaring around the side of a hill. In a screech of gears, they set off in pursuit, picking up speed as the Fiat rounded the bend. They were so focused on the chase that they raced right past the stopped bus, which was disgorging passengers at an ancient stone gate.
    Amy peered at the collection of very old buildings topped with steeples and crosses. "A church?"
    Dan looked miserable. "Like Mozart wasn't boring enough."
    "The last church we were in wasn't boring," Amy reminded him. "We both nearly got
    killed."
    Nellie made a U-turn and pulled up a discreet distance behind the bus. "St. Peter's Archabbey," she translated, squinting at the wrought-iron sign. They could see Alistair's tall figure starting up the sloped path through the gate. Nellie frowned. "Do you think your clue could be in there?"
    "Alistair thinks it is," Amy decided. "We can't leave until we know one way or the other. Why don't you find a hotel and give Saladin a chance to recover from the trip?" The au pair looked reluctant. Dan spoke up. "The place is full of tourists. How dangerous can it be?"
    "All right," Nellie said finally. "I'll be back here in an hour. Try not to get yourselves
    killed." She drove off.
    They entered through the gate, and Amy chose an English brochure from the rack. "Wow," she breathed. "This place is more than thirteen hundred years old. The monastery was founded in 696, but they think the Romans were here even before
    that."
    "Romans?" Dan showed a stirring of interest. "Those Roman legions had some super-sweet fighting skills."
    "That's why you find Roman artifacts all over Europe," Amy explained. "Their armies
    were so powerful that they conquered most of the known world."
    "Unstoppable," Dan agreed. He frowned. "So why the church?"
    "That was built later, in the twelfth century -- long after the Romans had gone. The
    oldest graves in the cemetery date back to around that time."
    "Cemetery?" Dan beamed. "This place is starting to grow on me!"
    They lay low until Uncle Alistair's tour group had filed into the main cathedral and then
    ducked through the arch that led to the graveyard. It was like no cemetery Dan had ever seen -- overgrown with brush, the markers barely visible through the foliage. Instead of tombstones, the plots were represented by wrought-iron signposts with fancy old-fashioned script.
    "Reminds me of Aunt Beatrice's souvenir spoon collection," Dan mumbled to Amy. Her nose was still immersed in the brochure. All at once, she grabbed his wrist and squeezed hard enough to splinter bone. "Dan -- it says the last remains of Nannerl Mozart are right here!"
    Dan's eyes widened. "We're going to dig up a dead body? Awesome!"
    "Shhh! Of course not!"
    "But what if Mozart planted a clue on his sister?"
    Amy shook her head. "Mozart died before Nannerl. Now, we're looking for a communal tomb. That's where the guidebook says she's buried."
    "What's that?" Dan asked. "L ike a condo for dead people?"
    "Show some respect. One of the others in her crypt is Michael Haydn, the famous composer, and one of Mozart's biggest supporters."
    He couldn't resist. "What's he doing now -- decomposing?"
    "Don't be gross. Come on."
    It took a few minutes of wandering for them to find the mausoleum. Compared to some of the opulent and elaborate burial chambers at St. Peter's, it was a simple stone structure bearing the names of the dead with biblical passages engraved on the walls. There was no sign of anything that could be considered a clue. "You're not forgotten, Nannerl," Amy whispered somberly. "People are starting to appreciate you as a genius in your own right."
    "What's the big fascination with Nannerl Mozart?" Dan asked. "So she was as good as her brother. So what?"
    "Don't you see