Shaky, Breaky School Sleuth

by Jessica Anderson

  “What’s going on?” Keely asked Queeneka. Queeneka was playing the part of Gum Drop, but she looked just like a princess with her braids twisted into a crown on top of her head.

  “Javier is missing!” Queeneka said. She led Keely to the side of the room where Javier set his costume. It was folded neatly on top of a chair. Shattered glass sprinkled the floor like dangerous shards of hard candy. The roses lay scattered about and Romy almost slipped in the water. “I think he’s been kidnapped.”

  “No way,” Klaude said, then walked over to Mrs. Tune. “Don’t worry. I’ll be able to play Javier’s part. I’ve been practicing.”

  “That’s nice of you to help, Klaude, but I’m not so sure about your plan. More importantly, how am I going to explain to Mrs. Holmes that my lead actor is missing? If he doesn’t show up soon, I must call the police.”

  “Javier wasn’t sure if he was going to pull his part off. He probably ran off home so he wouldn’t be embarrassed in front of everyone,” Romy said.

  That was something Keely would’ve wanted to do, but she wasn’t so sure Javier was the type to run off. Like Keely, Javier had to ride the school bus because it was too far and dangerous to walk home. Besides, his family was already here, waiting for their star to go onstage.

  “Why would he have smashed the vase?” Keely asked.

  “I’ve been so hard on him,” Mrs. Tune said. She had tears in her eyes.

  Keely volunteered to help. “I’ll check with Javier’s family and ask Mr. Sleuth if Javier has a number to call at home.”

  Mrs. Tune rubbed her temples before pulling at her hair again. Mr. Sleuth was the school secretary, and he could be really nosy. “I won’t say why,” Keely added. Mrs. Tune was worried enough as it was. “I know we’re going to find Javier and he’ll be perfectly fine.”

  “I should talk to the audience and cancel the play,” Mrs. Tune said. Her hair was hedgehog-spiky looking now.

  Keely was part of the set crew, but she had a more important mission now. “Give me at least 15 minutes to find Javier after I talk to Mr. Sleuth.”

  “I can stall the audience with a dance or two,” Klaude said. “My grandma is here and she can help, too. She used to be a professional dancer.”

  “I can sing some songs,” Queeneka said. A few other kids promised they’d help stall the show for as long as they could.

  “I’ll do what I can, but has anyone seen my dad?” Romy asked. No one had.

  The crowd looked anxious and bored as Keely searched for Javier’s family. His dad looked like a penguin in his suit and Javier’s mom matched him in a black and white dress. Javier’s two little brothers wore matching penguin suits.

  “I’m Javier’s friend,” Keely said as she talked to his parents. “Have you seen him in the past couple minutes?”

  “Not since we dropped him off,” Javier’s mom said. “I wanted to take lots of behind the scene pictures, but he told me that it was bad luck and promised to take photos later. Is everything okay?”

  How was Keely supposed to answer that? Javier was missing and she didn’t want to worry his family yet. “I, uh, uh, just wanted to get his autograph.”

  Javier’s dad smiled wide when she said that.

  “I’ll guess I have to wait until later like the pictures,” Keely said.

  Keely and Javier’s family looked up as Mrs. Tune came out on stage to make an announcement. She must’ve brushed her hair to look less frazzled. “We’ve had a delay, and if all goes well, the play will start shortly. But first, we have a small talent show for your entertainment.”

  The crowd clapped as Queeneka stepped out on stage and burst into song. Keely had to hurry. Time was running out!

  Keely Looks for Clues

  As Keely searched for Mr. Sleuth, she thought through the events. Klaude had practiced for Javier’s part. It was like he expected Javier to disappear. Had he done something to Javier?

  And Queeneka wanted the lead role just as much as Klaude. She’d tried to mess up his audition and said something to Javier in the music room—was it a threat of some kind? Javier had looked shocked when she said it. And what was up with Queeneka’s comment that Javier would regret it if he got the part of the Candy Prince? Was Queeneka warning Javier that she would do something to him?

  Keely was friends with Queeneka and didn’t want to think she was capable of sabotaging Javier’s big night, but the play had already brought out the worst in her.

  What if Klaude and Queeneka had joined forces to do something to Javier? Keely hoped that was impossible, but given the way the two of them were so crazy about the play and being the center of attention, she didn’t know anymore. What would they have done to him, though? Keely gulped. Klaude and Queeneka surely weren’t capable of hurting Javier.

  Or were they?

  Keely found Mr. Sleuth by the front of the cafeteria door greeting some of the parents who straggled in late to the play. Mrs. Holmes stood on the other side of the door and handed the parents programs, then glanced up at the stage to see the talent show unfolding. Keely could tell by Mrs. Holmes’s eyes that she was concerned.

  Keely needed to be tricky so she wouldn’t raise any alarms. “Can I ask for your help, Mr. Sleuth?”

  The school secretary smiled. “Of course! Anything for one of the best set crew workers Watson has ever seen.”

  Keely must’ve looked as surprised as she felt inside because Mr. Sleuth said, “Mrs. Tune said so.”

  Keely needed to focus on finding Javier, but she couldn’t help herself. “Really?”

  “Really! Now what can I do for you? Something to help get the play started?” Mr. Sleuth asked.

  He has no idea, she thought. “Can you make a quick phone call for me? Javier—” Keely started to whisper but she didn’t want to tell a lie. “Well, he might’ve gone home. Maybe he left to pick something up that he forgot?”

  “I’ll be back in a moment,” Mr. Sleuth said to Mrs. Holmes. Good thing the principal was busy talking to Romy’s mom or else she might’ve asked some questions.

  Mr. Sleuth led Keely to the office. It looked strange to see the office at night, dark and without all of the teachers and the students everywhere.

  This would be a good spot to hide a lead actor if you wanted to take his spot, Keely thought. She walked around while Mr. Sleuth called Javier’s home line, listening in closely to the locked doors. She jumped when she heard a clunk, clunk by the teacher’s workroom.

  Had she found Javier?

  Keely nearly screamed as a shadow towered over her while she pressed her ear against the door.

  It was Mr. Sleuth. “Javier didn’t answer. Is everything all right?”

  Just then there was another clunk, clunk!

  “Is someone or something locked in there?” Keely asked.

  Mr. Sleuth laughed. “That’s just the ice machine. Other than you kids, it’s the noisiest thing in all of Watson.”

  “I see,” Keely said.

  “Ha! Good pun—icy!” Mr. Sleuth said.

  Keely shook her head. She wasn’t trying to make a pun—she had a case to solve and Mrs. Tune was minutes away from canceling the play.

  “Thanks, Mr. Sleuth, and see you later!” Keely said, racing off to rejoin the cast. Maybe Javier would be there, dressed and ready to put on the play.

  As Keely was about to go behind the curtain, she nearly bumped into a short man in a uniform. He turned around and hid himself behind a display in the first grade hall.

  How strange, Keely thought.

  Foul Play?

  No luck. Javier was still missing when Keely rejoined the cast of Candy Dreams.

  “Did you get ahold of Javier?” Mrs. Tune asked. She needed to brush her hair again.

  Keely shook her head. “No one answered the phone.”

  “Maybe he refused to answer it,” Romy said. Klaude was stretching before his dance performance. Queeneka was wrapping up her second song.

  “Doubt it,” Keely said. She moved close t
o Klaude so she could talk to him privately. “I know how much you wanted the part of Candy Prince. Did you pull some kind of joke on Javier so he’d be late?”

  Klaude’s eyes grew wide. “Sure I wanted the part, but he got cast as the prince fair and square. My audition was good, but his was better.”

  “Why were you studying for his part then? You seemed to expect something like this to happen,” Keely said right as the audience clapped for Queeneka.

  “We all saw Javier struggling. You heard him say that he wasn’t sure if he could pull it off with your own ears. I didn’t want the play to get canceled in case Javier changed his mind. It might get canceled any way if Javier doesn’t show.”

  Keely’s gut instinct told her that Klaude was telling the truth. That left Queeneka as the main suspect.

  Queeneka was glowing as she joined the cast behind the curtain. “Well done,” Mrs. Tune managed to say. “This evening won’t be a complete disaster.” She went back to searching for Javier along with a few others as Klaude went out on stage next.

  “Come on up, Oma!” Keely heard Klaude say into the microphone.

  Keely didn’t have the time to tiptoe around Queeneka’s feelings. “Did you do something to in the music room! And I figured he’d regret getting the lead because he’s shy and gets so nervous. Have you forgotten the way his hands shake? I was practicing with Romy when he went missing.”

  Keely walked up to Romy while Queeneka followed. She had to be sure Queeneka wasn’t lying. “Romy, were you practicing with anyone earlier?”

  “Queeneka,” Romy said, wheezing. Keely hoped he wouldn’t have another asthma attack.

  “Some friend you are, Keely! I can’t believe you thought I might’ve kidnapped him or trapped him in some sort of crystal cave.”

  Keely shrugged, unable to speak because something was bothering her. At least Queeneka seemed innocent. This was a huge relief to Keely and she’d find a way to make it up to her friend later. For now, Queeneka had to settle for a quick apology. “Sorry.”

  The audience in the cafeteria laughed. Klaude must have been doing a good job entertaining everyone with his grandmother. Keely hoped he could keep it up so she could find Javier.

  Sure he was shy and acted nervous a lot, but Keely doubted he’d gone home or run away.

  Klaude seemed innocent of foul play. Foul play – Mr. Sleuth would’ve liked that pun, Keely thought, and then made herself focus.

  None of the other kids in the play seemed like they had motive to kidnap or sabotage Javier. So what about Mrs. Tune? She’d admitted to being hard on Javier. Maybe she did something to him so he wouldn’t mess up her precious play. But would she have broken her own flower vase? Not to mention that Mrs. Tune was about to call the police she was so worried about Javier.

  Keely returned to the thought that bothered her—the man in the uniform who was acting so strange by the cafeteria. Was he a kidnapper?

  Had he smashed the vase when he took Javier hostage?

  “I need your help, Queeneka,” Keely said, grabbing her hand. Mrs. Tune talked about working together as a team for the play, and Keely needed a teammate now more than ever. If the man was dangerous, she didn’t want to be alone when she confronted him. Queeneka could probably scream as loud as she could sing and they’d be safer together.

  “What are you doing?” Queeneka asked as Keely led her down the first grade hall.

  Keely didn’t have time to explain. She searched for the man in the uniform and found him lurking by the display. As soon as he saw the girls walking, he turned around and took off.

  “You stop right there!” Keely yelled.

  Finding the Crystal Cave

  The man in the uniform stopped and turned back around.

  “Are you a kidnapper?” Keely asked him. Queeneka jumped back in surprise.

  Again, it wasn’t the best question. Who would admit to being a kidnapper if he was actually a kidnaper? Keely asked another question before the man in the uniform had time to answer the first one. “What have you done with Javier?”

  The man raised his arms up as if to prove his innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m here to see my son.”

  “Then why are you hiding in the hallway?” Keely asked, still suspicious that the man might’ve done something. “All of the parents are waiting in the cafeteria to see their kids.”

  The man lowered his arms and that’s when she noticed that the name Ramirez was stitched on the man’s Army uniform. Ramirez was Romy’s last name. Hadn’t Romy been hoping all along that his dad would show up at the play?

  Queeneka must’ve been figuring things out too because she said, “Are you Romy’s dad?”

  “Yes.” The man smiled. “I’ve been gone overseas for a while and just returned home. Mrs. Holmes said it would be okay if I surprised Romy. I avoided you because I didn’t want anyone to see me to give the surprise away. I was supposed to come out at the beginning of the play, but there’s been some kind of delay.”

  “The delay is because we’re missing the lead actor, Javier,” Keely said. “I’m doing everything I can to find him so the play won’t get canceled.”

  “I’ll keep my eyes open for any suspicious activity,” Romy’s dad said. “I sure hope the play doesn’t get canceled.”

  Keely had even more reason to find Javier now. She and Queeneka walked down the hallway back to the cafeteria, deep in thought.

  “You don’t think I’m guilty anymore, do you?” Queeneka asked after a moment.

  “No. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings,” Keely said.

  “I can see why you thought I might’ve done something, given the clues,” Queeneka said. “I really am sorry for being obsessed about the play. Javier has to be around here somewhere, don’t you think?”

  Keely paused to see if she could hear any cries for help. Then her mind returned to the clues. She thought about the busted vase. Maybe it hadn’t broken in some sort of struggle.

  Maybe it broke because of an accident.

  “Shaky hands!” Keely cried.

  “You’re losing it, Keely,” Queeneka said.

  “No, hear me out. I think Javier dropped the vase on accident. You reminded me about his shaky hand syndrome earlier,” Keely said.

  “Okay, I think it is likely he dropped the vase, but where is he?”

  Keely remembered the way Javier had cleaned the paint off of the music room floor when he could’ve been in line to find out the casting announcement. If he broke the vase on accident, he probably felt bad about it and didn’t want to leave the mess for anyone else to clean up.

  Keely had an idea!

  “Follow me, Queeneka. And hurry!” Keely wasn’t acting in Candy Dreams, but she felt like she was one of the candies searching for the crystal cave.

  ******

  “Why are you girls not in the play?” the custodian asked when Keely and Queeneka walked into the school’s basement.

  “We’re looking for our friend Javier,” Keely said. “He’s the star of the play. Have you seen him?”

  The custodian shook his head. “The play is taking place in the cafeteria, not in the basement.”

  “It’s kind of scary down here,” Queeneka said looking around.

  Keely heard a strange noise, kind of like a ghost would make in a movie. “It’s not haunted is it?”

  The custodian shook his head again. “No, but it seems that way tonight. My mop must’ve fallen over and I think something fell off a shelf earlier.”

  “Javier!” Keely and Queeneka yelled at the same time.

  Standing Ovations

  The custodian unlocked the supply closet door and Javier practically fell out of the small room. Keely was right!

  “The supply door was wide open,” the custodian said. “I never thought to look for a student inside before I locked it up.”

  The custodian started to say something else, but Javier cut him off. “Did I miss the play?” he asked.

  “There’
s a chance we can still make it,” Keely said. “Are you okay? Can you run?”

  “Yes!” Javier said, taking off before Keely and Queeneka had a chance.

  The dash to the cafeteria seemed to take a long time and Keely giggled because it was crazy running down the hall in her cotton candy pink tutu with Queeneka and Javier. She was overjoyed that they’d found him and that he was okay.

  When they got to the back of the stage in the cafeteria, the whole cast of Candy Dreams –minus Romy – greeted Javier. Romy was onstage with his little brother doing a hand clapping routine.

  Mrs. Tune hugged Javier. “What happened to you?”

  “I was like the Candy Prince only I got locked in the supply closet instead. I’ll explain more later. Is the play still on?” Javier asked.

  “Do you think you can still play the part of the Candy Prince?” Mrs. Tune asked.

  “Yes! I understand the prince better now.” Javier held up his hands. Keely was surprised— they were steady. Maybe it was from the solitude of being locked in the closet or maybe he got his nerves out by running in the hall. “I just need a moment to get ready.”

  “I’m afraid we don’t have moments to spare. The audience is restless and so is Mrs. Holmes,” Mrs. Tune said.

  “I can help,” Keely said, regretting the words the moment they came out of her mouth.

  “How?” Klaude asked. “What talent are you going to share?”

  “I may not be able to sing or dance or act, but I love to help people,” Keely said. “That has to count for something.”

  “It does! Keely and Queeneka saved me from the custodian’s closet,” Javier said as he shoved his costume over his clothes.

  “That was all Keely,” Queeneka said, patting Keely on the back.

  Keely’s face felt hot as the whole cast and set crew stared at her. Or maybe her face felt hot because of what she was about to do.