Sleepover Stakeout (9780545443111) by Kim Harrington Read Free Book Online Page A

out from various websites. “Done!”
    I looked through the stack. There was a lot of tech jargon and articles about frequency interference. Darcy had really done her research. Unfortunately, she’d have to translate.
    The song playing through the café speakers ended and I waited for a few seconds until the next song started. We didn’t need to whisper when the music covered our conversation.
    â€œWhat does all this mean?” I asked.
    Darcy folded her hands on top of the table. “Imagine that the baby monitor is like a tiny radio station. And the little plastic antenna is the radio station’s transmitter. Anyone within range of the radio station can pick up whatever music is playing, as long as they have a radio.”
    Following along, I said, “So anyone who has the same baby monitor can hear whatever is said?”
    â€œIt doesn’t even have to be the same one. Or even a baby monitor. It just has to use the same frequency and be within the range.”
    â€œWhat do you mean, frequency?” Fiona asked.
    â€œIt’s like a bandwidth … or a channel. So as long as someone is transmitting on that channel, whether it’s from another baby monitor, a CB radio, a walkie-talkie, or whatever, if they’re in range, then you can possibly hear it on your monitor.”
    I flipped to the next page in Darcy’s stack and saw an article about problems with baby monitors in close quarters. “What’s this all about?”
    Darcy looked at the article. “Oh, it’s about the challenges people face when there are several families living in the same apartment building. If they have the most common types of baby monitors, they can hear all sorts of stuff from each other’s apartments. So they have to be sure to buy a more expensive monitor or one that doesn’t work on the same frequency as their neighbors.”
    â€œWhat kind does Maya’s family have?” Fiona said.
    Darcy grinned. “Interesting that you ask.” She pulled the bottom paper from the stack. “Theirs is the Baby Sounds 2000. The most inexpensive model, at only sixteen dollars. And therefore one of the most common.”
    â€œSo maybe all we have to do is figure out if any of her neighbors have the same one,” I said.
    â€œHow do we do that?” Fiona said.
    â€œWe can start by seeing if anyone even has a baby,” Darcy said. “Maya probably wouldn’t know, though, since she just moved in.”
    Hmm. That was true. And she was shy enough talking to her peers. Talking to strangers must be even worse. “We could find a way to ask around,” I suggested. “But first we need to know what the range is, right?” I aimed my question at Darcy since she was the pro at tech stuff.
    Darcy drummed her black-painted fingernails on the tabletop and smiled. “Leave that to me.”

I slid into my seat in social studies a few minutes before the bell. The required reading pages for that night were written on the board, so I pulled out my notebook to copy them down. I reminded myself to double-and triple-check afterward that I’d written the right numbers.
    Darcy sat next to me and peered at my notebook. “What are you doing, testing your signature?” She added in a dreamy, singsong voice, “Ms. Munro. Mrs. Norah Munro. Mrs. Norah Burridge-Munro.”
    I resisted the urge to cover her mouth with my hand. “I’m copying the assignment off the board, Darcy,” I hissed. “You should be doing the same thing.”
    Darcy chuckled. But then she stopped. “Why are you making that face? You’re not really mad, are you? You know I’m just kidding around.”
    Totally confused, I said, “What face?”
    â€œThat squinty-eyed look you were just giving the board. Like you wanted to kill it.”
    I groaned. In all the case drama, I hadn’t had a chance to tell my BFF about my news. “I’m