Without a Trace by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online

much until I was finished. Then he leaned back in his chair. “Weird,” he said. “Any theories yet on who’s behind either crime?”
    “Well, the zucchini case suddenly seems to have plenty of leads and clues now that everyone is talking about zucchini. But no one has any real motive,” I replied. “And the Fabergé egg case has an obvious motivation:That egg has to be worth a ton. But there are no clues or leads. Really, almost anyone in towncould have committed either crime. The door to Simone’s house was wide open when the egg was taken, and of course Mr. Geffington’s garden isn’t exactly Fort Knox either. In both cases, it’s a matter of good timing.”
    “Good point,” Ned said. “But the right timing can be a tricky thing. Even in the middle of the night, someone might have looked out the window and seen whoever it was out there in the garden bashing vegetables. And the egg thief was taking an even bigger chance, sneaking into that house in broad daylight. He could have no way of knowing whether someone might return at any moment and catch him.”
    “Right. In fact, the French guys think that almost happened.” I furrowed my brow. Something about what Ned had just said made me think of something else. “Unless, of course, that person did know just where everyone was. Or wasn’t worried about being caught in the house.”
    “What do you mean?” Ned played with his fork, tapping it softly on his water glass. “Are you thinking it was an inside job?” Ned’s not into mysteries in the same way I am, but he’s more than smart enough to follow along when I’m in full hypothesizing mode.
    “Maybe,” I said. “The guys never actually said that they all returned at the same time from their tour of the neighborhood. In fact, they said something abouta couple of them going inside—Jacques and René, I think it was—while the other two were still outside. And of course, Simone beat them all home according to what they told me.” It was hard to imagine nice, friendly, intelligent Simone being the thief. But stranger things had happened. If the egg was insured, she would get a lot of money for its loss.
    “Of course, it still might have been an outsider who just saw an opportunity and went for it,” Ned commented. “But it sounds like you need to talk to Simone and the guys a little more.”
    “Definitely,” I agreed. “I’m not ruling out the passing stranger thing yet, but it’s just too coincidental that Pierre’s friends all turned up about an hour or two before the egg was stolen. I’m glad I’ll have the chance to talk with them and observe them tomorrow night at the party.”
    “Party?” Ned repeated, as I belatedly realized I’d forgotten to tell him about the get-together.
    Before I could fill him in, though, another voice spoke up from just behind my right shoulder.
    “Party? What party?”

Messy Motives
     
    I glanced up and saw a pretty, dark-haired girl standing behind me. I sighed.
    “Hello, Deirdre,” I said.
    Deirdre Shannon is my age, and her father is also a very successful local attorney. And we’ve known each other forever. Aside from that, the two of us don’t have a whole lot in common. I always like to see the best in people, even the criminals I catch. But there’s not much best to see in Deirdre as far as I can tell—although Bess would probably suggest best dressed. Since Deirdre seems to care more about her wardrobe than she does about most people, she would probably take that as a compliment.
    Now she was standing there at our table, completely blocking the aisle of the cramped restaurantand smiling flirtatiously at Ned as if Generic Boyfriend #37 wasn’t standing right there next to her. Deirdre seems to have a new guy on her arm every time I see her, so it would be a waste of time trying to keep track of the specifics.
    “Nancy,” Deirdre responded coldly. Then she turned a brilliant smile in Ned’s direction. “Hey there, Ned. Did I hear you