"Kenyon, Kate - Junior High 14 - Junior High Private Eyes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kenyon Kate)

smile. She lifted a bowl of wax fruit off the kitchen table just before Jason Anthony pocketed an apple. "But why do I feel like I have to give a book report?"
Lucy's shout from the basement suddenly interrupted them. "We're ready down here," she yelled. "Everyone present and accounted for!"
Jen and Nora reached for a tray of brownies at the same time and their eyes locked. "Show time!" Nora said with a grin.
Fifteen minutes later, Nora was relieved to see that everything was going according to plan. Jen had visibly relaxed, Lucy had given an excellent introduction, and the energy level of the group was high.
Nora was perched on the arm of a corduroy sofa in Jen's basement room, and had just finished a quick head count. It was encouraging to see that everyone had shown up, even if their motives were mixed. Probably not everyone was interested in crime-solving,, she decided. It was obvious from the way Tommy Ryder was eyeing Denise and Tracy that he had come to see the girls, and she was sure that Jason Anthony had more on his mind than being a good citizen. He had immediately grabbed the best seat in the room, right next to the coffee table, and was wolfing down pizza like he hadn't
eaten in months! Still, it was a good group, and she was going to need all the help she could get.
Nora saw Lucy motioning her to take her place at the card table they had set up at the far end of the room. As she walked toward Lucy, she felt a sudden twinge of stage fright.
She turned and faced the group uncertainly, her hands clasped in front of her. "Well, you all know why you're here tonight Ч "
"Not really!" Jason Anthony complained. "I thought we were going to see Aliens" Tracy pretended to smother him with a pillow, and Nora had to wait for the laughter to die down before continuing.
Then Nora quickly filled them in on what had been overheard and seen in Temptations.
"Uh, my job tonight is to show you the evidence we've collected," Nora said. She reached under the card table and pulled out a cardboard box. "Besides the descriptions of the robbersЧ "
"Wait a minute," Denise Hendrix interrupted. "I thought you didn't have any descriptions." Denise was sitting off to one side of the family room, a little apart from the group. She was wearing a pale yellow angora sweater and a pencil-slim black wool skirt, with soft black
leather boots. She was a little overdressed for the occasion, Nora thought, but as usual, Denise looked sensational.
"Well, we know that there are three men and a woman," Nora amended. "And we know that the woman has a Southern accent, and that one of the men has red hair,"
"Just like you, Jason!" Mitch Pauley hooted, and they all cracked up. Mitch was Cedar Groves' superjock, and participated in every sport the school offered. Tonight he was wearing a letter sweater over a pair of laded jeans, and he jumped to his feet to point an accusing finger at Jason Anthony. "Hey, Nora. Here's your criminal right here. What are you waiting for?"
"Nab," Tommy Ryder said. "Can you really imagine Jason masterminding a crime? Those guys have to be smart. Jason's I.Q. is probably only one step above a paperweight!''
Everyone roared and stared at Jason, who had quietly polished off an entire pepperoni pizza and was now working his way through a bowl of nachos.
"Please," Nora said, holding up her hand. "Can we get back to business?'' She could see that things were sliding out of control, and Susan Hillard didn't help the situation when she
started to protest in her whiny voice.
'This has got to be the stupidest evening I've ever spent," she said, scrambling to her feet. "I don't know about you, but I can think of better things to do tonight."
"Oh, sure" Tommy Ryder said, nudging Mitch Pauley. "She's probably got a date with Tom Cruise. Hey, Susan, be sure to give him my best," he said with a smirk.
"Yeah, and tell him he needs a shave," Mitch chimed in.
"Listen, you neanderthals Ч " Susan moved swiftly toward the boys, swinging her heavy shoulder bag, but Lucy Armanson intercepted her.
"Sit down," Lucy snapped. "This isn't getting us anywhere. Let Nora present her evidence before you make any snap decisions," she said firmly.
"Thanks," Nora muttered. She took a deep breath and held up exhibit A, the half-eaten chocolate chip cookie. "This is one of our most important pieces of evidence," she said, holding it up high so everyone could get a look.
"Oh, no!" Tracy Douglas cried. "Jason's already eaten some of it!"
"No," Nora said with a sigh. "For once, Jason didn't get to it Ч "
"Then it must have been nailed down," Susan Hillard said.
"But who did?" Tracy asked, widening her blue eyes in surprise. She looked very pretty in a snowy white blouse that accented her pale skin and wheat-colored hair. She was perched on the edge of the pool table, and her slim legs, clad in black velour pants, dangled in the air.
"The robbers," Lucy said, rolling her eyes. "That's why we took it from their table," she explained. "We figure it might have finger-prints."
"Or tooth prints." Hitch Pauley hooted.
"That's not such a crazy idea," Steve Crowley said over the quick laughter that sprinkled the room. "Teeth impressions are very distinctive, and they've actually made some positive identifications from bite marks." He paused and everyone fell silent. Steve's opinion was respected by all of them, and Nora silently thanked him for his vote of confidence.
"Of course, that's not the only clue we have," Nora continued. "We have exhibit B, this drinking glass, and Exhibit C, a Canadian penny."
"What good is the penny?" Mia asked. "It's probably been touched by a hundred people."
"We didn't take it for the fingerprints," Lucy
said. "But we noticed that one of the robbers had a French accent, and this is a Canadian coin, so ЧУ
"So he might be from a French-speaking part of Canada!" Mia said triumphantly. She glanced at Andy Warwick, her boyfriend. "Isn't this fun? I feel like I'm right in the middle of a Clue game!"
Andy shrugged and brushed a microscopic piece of lint off his black leather motorcycle jacket.
"Yeah, sure," he grunted, when Mia jabbed him in the ribs. "It's really great." He leaned his head back against the couch and stared mournfully at the ceiling while his mouth dropped open in a jaw-splitting yawn.
"Andy doesn't look too happy," Jen whispered to Lucy. They were sitting side by side on folding chairs, listening to Nora's presentation.
Lucy covered her mouth with a hand and whispered, "Don't worry about it. He probably wishes he was home watching wrestling on TV."
Nora went on to give a brief description of their encounter at the police station, growing more confident by the minute. The group seemed increasingly caught up in the story, she
noticed, and even Jason stopped munching popcorn long enough to ask a few questions.
Nora was pleased to see that Brad Hartley was taking notes, and whispering back and forth with Steve Crowley. She had dated Brad a few times, and had enjoyed his quick sense of humor.
"So that's the way we left things with Captain Simpson," she finished up. "He said to call him if we had any new information, so in other words. : . . "
"Ah, the old 'don't call us, well call you' ploy," Jason said. He raised his eyebrows and nicked an imaginary cigar in a Groucho Marx imitation. "In other words, he gave you the brush."
"You could say that," Lucy admitted. She rose to her feet and joined Nora at the card table. "I think Nora deserves a big hand for laying everything out for you," she said, clapping her hands enthusiastically.
"What is this? The Academy AwardsT Susan said sarcastically, cutting short the burst of applause that rocked the room. "Let's get on with it. Where do we go from here?"
"That's up to you, and everybody else here tonight," Lucy said steadily. "Are you in this with us?" She swept the cheerful basement
room with her dark eyes, her gaze lighting on each one of her classmates, and resting finally on Susan.