Vanishing Acts by Phillip Margolin, Ami Margolin Rome Read Free Book Online Page A

guess no one’s home,” Jake said.
    â€œYeah, it seems like it,” Madison said miserably.
    â€œDo you want to grab some pizza and figure out what to do next?”
    â€œSure. Let me call my dad and tell him I’ll be late.”
    As Madison dialed her cell phone, she looked back at the house and thought she saw a window curtain move on the second floor. She was tempted to go back to the house and look around more, but Jake had already started walking away.
    When they got to Amore Pizza, a popular hangout for Madison and her friends just a few blocks from Ann’s house, Jake went to the counter while Madison found a booth. By the time Jake sat down with a small pepperoni pizza and two Cokes, Madison could feel her tightly wound nerves fraying.
    â€œI think we need to go to the police,” she said as she ripped a napkin into tiny pieces.
    Madison remembered The Spy Vanishes. “What if Ann was hit on the head and is wandering around Europe with no memory?”
    â€œLet’s not panic. You said that Ann was in Europe all summer, right?”
    â€œYeah. Ann’s dad is some sort of famous scientist. I think he was giving lectures over there.”
    â€œMaybe his lectures were so good that he stayed.”
    â€œLike they extended the trip or something?”
    â€œYeah.”
    Madison thought for a minute. “But Ann has to go to school. And why wouldn’t she call me? Or email or something?”
    She took a bite of her pizza. Jake’s usually joking expression had been replaced with a thoughtful one. After a few quiet moments he looked up. “You said your father is a criminal lawyer.”
    Madison’s mouth was full of cheese, so she nodded.
    â€œHas he ever handled a kidnapping case? Maybe you should ask him about Ann.”
    â€œI dunno . . . Dad is so busy right now. He just got a really hard new case.” She took a sip of Coke.
    â€œOh yeah? What’s it about?”
    She quickly swallowed. “This woman called the police and said that she heard her neighbor being murdered. When the police went into the house, they found a knife and blood. And the most awful part is the missing woman is my second-grade teacher.”
    â€œOh my God! I really liked Mrs. Haggard, my second-grade teacher,” he said mid-bite.
    â€œI really liked Mrs. Shelby too, and I can’t stand thinking that something bad has happened to her. I’m so worried.”
    â€œIs there a chance she’s alive?”
    â€œNo one knows for sure. They haven’t found Mrs. Shelby’s body, but they arrested her husband for murder anyway.”
    â€œWow! That’s like CSI, ” Jake said. “Have you ever seen a trial in person?”
    â€œOh, yeah,” Madison replied casually. “I go all the time.”
    â€œCan anyone watch?”
    â€œSure!”
    â€œI’ve never been in a courtroom. It would be pretty cool to go. . . .”
    â€œThere’s a bail hearing for Mr. Shelby on Friday. That’s a teacher-training day, so there’s no school or soccer practice.”
    Jake was reaching for his third slice of pizza. Madison couldn’t believe the words that came out of her mouth next.
    â€œDo you want to come with me?” She ducked her head and filled her mouth with more pizza.
    Jake flashed his wide gap-toothed smile. “That sounds great.”
    Madison was about to say, “It’s a date,” but she caught herself. Was asking Jake to watch a bail hearing the same thing as asking him out on a date? Dates were usually, like, going to movies or to the mall, so she wasn’t sure. She decided that going to court would be educational, so it couldn’t be a date.
    â€œIs your mom a lawyer, too?” Jake asked.
    It was the question she always dreaded. In a few seconds, her mood went from high to low.
    Discussing her mom always made her sad. She guessed she’d never get used to not having one. One time many