by James Ponti
“Yes, it is. She and I have already agreed to that. Is that why you did this? You came back here to terrify us so you could make up fake quotes about Dumpsters while we stand in the rain?”
“Actually, no,” he says.
“Then what are you doing here?”
“It seems as though we have a situation and we need your help.” He turns to look right at Margaret and adds, “Both of you. The admiral sent me. So what do you say? You interested?”
Margaret and I share a look, now totally oblivious to the rain pummeling us. Adventure is calling. Who are we to say no?
Acknowledgments
It does not take a superdetective to uncover the fact that a book is the product of many people’s hard work. I would like to thank the ones who helped bring Florian and Margaret’s adventure into print. First and foremost are my editor, Fiona Simpson, and publisher, Mara Anastas. They combine kindness, creativity, and enduring patience to make Aladdin an author’s dream workplace. Like the master criminals Florian tries to expose, they do their handiwork without leaving fingerprints or clues to their involvement, but trust me when I say that it is extensive and essential.
They are part of a much larger Simon & Schuster team that has been part of my writing career from the very beginning. There I would like to thank Katherine Devendorf, Laura Lyn DiSiena, Sara Berko, Carolyn Swerdloff, Emma Sector, Tara Grieco, Shifa Kapadwala, Michelle Leo, Candace Greene, Anthony Parisi, Betsy Bloom, and Matt Pantoliano.
Just as Florian has Margaret helping him, I have a professional partner in crime, my agent, Rosemary Stimola. She’s the one who warns me not to sneak through the Dumpsters, and she’s the one who comes to my rescue when I do it anyway. She’s also like Margaret in that she’s amazing, funny, and a friend for life.
Besides Fiona, Mara, and Rosemary, perhaps no one else helps my books more than the librarians, media specialists, reading specialists, and teachers who every day fight the battle to get books into the hands of kids. It is noble work, and they are my rock stars. I would especially like to thank the librarians of Texas and Florida, who have been among my biggest supporters.
Finally, I want to thank my family. They are the world to me. They inspire me to write. They make me laugh. They make every single day special. Growing up, I always wanted to be a writer. But even more, I wanted to be a husband and a father. I am eternally blessed in that I get to be all three.
JAMES PONTI was born in Italy, was raised in Florida, and went to college in California. After receiving a degree in screenwriting from the USC Film School, he began a career writing and producing television shows for the likes of Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, Spike, History Channel, and Golf Channel. James loves writing, travel, and the Boston Red Sox. He lives with his family in Maitland, Florida.
ALADDIN
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ALSO BY JAMES PONTI
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Dead City 3: Dark Days
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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www.SimonandSchuster.com
First Aladdin hardcover edition August 2016
Text copyright © 2016 by James Ponti
Jacket illustration copyright © 2016 by Paul Hoppe
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
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Jacket designed by Laura Lyn DiSiena
Interior designed by Laura Lyn DiSiena and Steve Scott
The text of this book was set in Jansen.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ponti, James, author.
Title: Framed! : a T.O.A.S.T. mystery / by James Ponti.
Description: First Aladdin hardcover edition. | New York : Aladdin, 2016. |
Summary: In Washington, D.C., twelve-year-old Florian Bates, a consulting detective for the FBI, and his best friend, Margaret, help thwart the biggest art heist in United States history.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015045506 (print) | LCCN 2016023737 (ebook) | ISBN 9781481436304 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781481436328 (eBook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Mystery and detective stories. | United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Art thefts—Fiction. | Washington (D.C.)—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Mysteries & Detective Stories. | JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / General. | JUVENILE FICTION / Humorous Stories.
Classification: LCC PZ7.P7726 Fr 2016 (print) | LCC PZ7.P7726 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2015045506