by Tracey West
“Calista and Cadence? I was surprised to learn they would be here today,” she said. “Rumor has it that those two are not getting along. In fact, I heard that they canceled two shows earlier this month.”
AJ looked thoughtful. “Maybe they’re just going through a tough time. We should try to be more understanding, Aly, and not let it bother us.”
“You’re right. I won’t take it personally that my childhood idols totally dissed me,” Aly said.
Tina swirled the makeup brush one last time over AJ’s face. “All finished!” she said.
AJ stood up and smoothed down her skirt. It was a cute brown corduroy skirt with a side zipper and a pretty flower embellishment with sequins on the front left. She wore it with a vintage three-quarter length sleeve white lace top and platform boots with vintage crystals on the heels.
Aly was wearing a black camisole top that was trimmed with lace and had a cute ruffle accent down the front. She also wore a pair of vintage-looking, five-pocket bootleg faded jeans and high-heeled black boots.
The premise of their part of the video, Lionel had explained to them after their disastrous meeting with Calista and Cadence, was that Aly and AJ were each on a horrible date. AJ leaves her date and rescues Aly, and the two go off to see Faith and Hope in concert.
Part of the studio was transformed into the inside of a restaurant. The set looked very realistic, with tables covered in cream brocade tablecloths and a faux wall that was sponge-painted a rich red with cream accents.
AJ laughed out loud when she met Michael, the handsome model who was playing her date. The makeup crew and costume people had decked him out to look like a total nerd. His hair was slicked down with grease and parted in the middle, except for one long strand that stood straight up on the top of his head. He wore thick-rimmed glasses, a white button-up shirt, and suspenders on pants that were pulled up practically to his chest.
Michael grinned at AJ. “Meet your dream date!”
“I never judge a book by its cover,” AJ told him. “But in this case, I just might!”
Lionel directed AJ and Michael to take their places. They were supposed to pretend to eat dinner. AJ tries to be nice, but Michael does some funny things, like blowing his nose into the cloth dinner napkin and spilling his drink all over AJ. She then goes into the bathroom and climbs out the window to escape the horrible date.
Michael was very funny, and Lionel had to stop filming a few times because AJ was laughing when she was supposed to look disgusted. Finally, they got the perfect take and Aly was up next.
Aly was shooting on a set that looked like a park. A backdrop that looked like rolling green hills and a blue sky was behind her. She had to pretend to be on a picnic with her date, a handsome actor named Brady. Aly had to sit on a blanket across from Brady and try to talk to him, but instead Brady pulls out a mirror to look at himself and flex his muscles. She takes his mirror away and instead he checks himself out in a spoon. Just when Aly’s had enough, AJ comes, grabs her sister by the hand, and the two run off together, just as the chorus of the song “Nothing Like a Sister” begins to play.
“That was so much fun,” AJ said to Aly. “Michael was so funny!”
“Brady did a great job of acting like a conceited jerk,” Aly said. “And he seems like such a nice guy, too.”
As the production crew was setting up for Cadence and Calista’s scenes, Aly and AJ sat in chairs on the sidelines to watch. Lionel was going over the scene with the girls.
Aly pulled her sketchbook out of her purse. “This will be a good way to pass the time. I haven’t had a chance to draw in ages!”
“I’m interested to see what Cadence and Calista will be doing,” AJ said as she watched. The girls wore adorable sundresses and cute wedge sandals. Their set was constructed to look like a street filled with fancy stores. Cadence and Calista were both holding lots of shopping bags. The idea, Lionel said, was that they get so caught up in shopping that they are late for Faith and Hope’s concert.
Filming started. Cadence and Calista walked down the street set, chatting and smiling. Calista looked very ’50s glamorous, wearing a scarf on her head, big sunglasses, and a white pearl-buttoned sweater over her dress. Cadence’s head was bare, but she still looked very sophisticated. Lionel was telling Calista to look at her watch while juggling all the shopping bags. She lifted her arm up, but the sweater was covering the watch.
“Calista, can you please take the sweater off and we’ll film that again?” Lionel asked. Calista nodded and removed her sweater.
They shot the scene again. Aly was having a blast sketching her childhood idols.
“Cut!” a voice called. But it wasn’t Lionel. Aly looked up from her sketchbook.
It was Cadence. She had walked off the set and picked up Calista’s sweater.
“I’m worried Calista will catch a chill,” Cadence said. “She hasn’t been feeling well, you know. I don’t think she should risk her health just for a music video.”
AJ leaned over to Aly. “If she’s so sick, why didn’t she just stay home today?” she whispered.
Lionel remained polite. “Of course,” he said smoothly. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got enough footage without the sweater, so it’s no problem.”
Cadence and Calista were done, and Faith and Hope were now on set to film their concert scene. The idea was that the country music singers were performing in a small Nashville club.
Faith and Hope took to the stage. Lionel planned to film the sisters performing the entire song from start to finish, and intersperse it with the footage of Aly, AJ, Cadence, and Calista.
Faith and Hope stood in front of their microphones. The music had just begun to play when a loud shout interrupted it.
Lionel sighed. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“I’ll tell you what’s going on.” A man strode onto the set, followed by an angry-looking security guard. “I need to talk to Faith and Hope now!”
The man wore a three-piece business suit. He had sandy brown hair and horn-rimmed glasses.
The security guard grabbed his arm. “You have to leave, sir,” he said firmly.
“You can’t just fire me as your manager,” the man yelled at Faith and Hope, ignoring the guard. “We had a contract. I can sue you! This entire video was my idea, too. In fact, without me no one would even know the names Faith and Hope. I created you!” He took a deep breath and was getting ready to say more when another security guard appeared. The two guards dragged the man off of the set.
“I’m so glad he’s out of here,” Hope said. She looked pale and shaken. Faith didn’t look much better.
Lionel called for a break. Aly and AJ went to comfort their new friends.
“That was Parker Mackenzie, our former manager,” Faith explained. “He was with us from the beginning of our career. But in the last year or so he’s been making really bad decisions, really hurting our career.”
“That’s an understatement,” Holly said. “He’s a real hothead. He blew up at the head of our record company for no good reason and almost lost us our contract with them. Luckily, we have a great attorney who was able to help us get out of our contract with Parker, fair and square. We fired him a few days ago. He wasn’t happy and keeps threatening to sue us.”
“We have to make sure he doesn’t get back on the set,” Hope said. “We don’t need him causing any more scenes!”
Aly slipped her arm around Faith. “Don’t worry about it—after that stunt he’ll never get back in here.”
Faith and Hope were feeling better, so filming started up again. The final scene was a lot of fun. Aly and AJ and Cadence and Calista joined the scene at the concert. They grooved out to the tune about sisters.
“It’s a wrap!” Lionel exclaimed. “Thanks, everybody. It looks like this video is a real winner!”
The crew cheered. Everyone mingled and chatted before leaving. Aly and AJ decided to give it one final try with Cadence and Calista.
“It was nice
meeting you,” AJ said.
“Yes, you too,” Cadence said. Calista smiled and nodded.
“Thank you guys so much,” Hope said as she and Faith joined them. “We would love to thank you by taking you all out for dinner. What do you say?”
“We need to get home,” Cadence said. “But thanks anyway. Good night everyone.” The pop duo headed for the door.
“You know we would love to go,” Aly said.
“We had such a good time last night,” AJ added. “And it feels like we’ve known you guys forever.”
Faith smiled. “I’m so glad you feel that way, because we feel the same way about you both. It’s like we’re old friends.”
“So where should we head to tonight?” Hope asked.
“I know the coolest club on Cannery Row,” Faith said. “We can get a bite to eat and listen to some really great local bands at the same time.”
“Sounds awesome!” Aly said. “Let’s go.”
The club, Virtue, was a laid-back space with hardwood floors and ’50s-style vinyl couches and chairs against the walls. The girls sat around the S-shaped vinyl bar in the center of the club and munched on pub-style food as they listened to three different bands. The music was rock with a country edge. Aly and AJ spent a lot of the time laughing and joking with Faith and Hope.
“Wow! Look at the time,” AJ said with a glance at her watch. “I’m beat. I think it’s time to head back to the hotel and get some rest.”
“We’ll have to get together again before you guys leave town,” Faith said.
“I think I want you both to move to Nashville!” Hope cried.
Aly and AJ said good night and returned to the hotel. After they each took a quick shower, they got into bed.
“As soon as I put my head on this pillow, I’ll be out like a light,” Aly joked.
After a long and busy day, they both quickly fell asleep. But the phone suddenly began ringing and jolted them awake.
Aly fumbled for the phone on the nightstand. “Hello?” she said groggily.
“Aly? It’s Faith.” She sounded upset. “I’m sorry to bother you, but someone has stolen the tape of the video shoot!”
CHAPTER FOUR:
THE CLUE IN THE CONTROL ROOM
Aly felt wide awake now. “Faith, that’s awful! Are you okay?”
Faith took a deep breath. “I . . . I think so,” she said. “I don’t mean to bother you. It’s just . . . we don’t know what to do!”
“Are you sure the tape was stolen?” Aly asked. “What happened, exactly?”
AJ was wide awake now, too. She leaned close to the phone to hear what Faith was saying.
“Lionel called us,” Faith said. “After we left, he took a dinner break. He locked up the tape in the control room. When he got back, the control room door was wide open, and the tape was gone.”
Faith’s voice broke, and she started to cry.
“Oh, Faith, I’m so sorry!” Aly said. “There should be a backup of the tape, shouldn’t there?”
“Lionel said both copies were taken,” Faith replied, panic rising in her voice. The words started to pour out of her. “That means we can’t show the video at the awards show. This was our big chance to really make it, and now it’s over! I don’t even know if we’d have time to make another one, because it’s already Tuesday morning, and the show is on Sunday. Besides, the record company will never give us the money to film another one!”
Faith started to cry again.
“Where are you now?” asked Aly.
“Hope and I are back at the studio,” Faith replied. “Our new manager, Maxine, came down, too. She’s trying to figure out what to do.”
“AJ and I will be there as quickly as we can,” Aly promised, glancing at the clock. It was almost three o’clock in the morning.
She hung up the phone. AJ shook her head. “Wow, that’s terrible! They definitely need some moral support right now. I’ll wake up Jim.”
Fifteen minutes later they were in Jim’s rented car, heading for the studio. Jim gave a yawn.
“I was having the nicest dream,” he said, sighing.
“Sorry, Jim,” AJ said. “Faith and Hope have been really nice to us. And they reached out to us, too.”
“You’re helping us do a good deed,” Aly added.
Jim grinned. “I should know by now that you two can’t turn your back on someone who needs help,” he said. “I am happy to be your humble servant.”
Aly and AJ laughed. “We couldn’t ask for a better one,” AJ said.
About a block away from the studio, Jim let out a low whistle.
“Check out that car,” he said, nodding at a red sports car on the side of the road. He even slowed down a little. “Sweet! That’s a limited edition from Italy. I’ve never seen one in person before, only in pictures. Man, I’d like to get behind the wheel of that baby.”
“Come on, you know our Hello Kitty bus is a much cooler ride,” Aly joked.
“She’s a beauty, but sometimes a guy has a need for speed,” Jim replied.
They had reached Nashville Star Studios. Faith and Hope were standing outside the door, along with a woman in a turquoise pantsuit. Her brown hair was teased high and held in place with lots of hairspray.
Faith rushed toward them. “Aly, AJ, thank you!” she said. “I feel kind of silly now for calling you. I mean, we just met.”
“We’re glad you called,” Aly replied. “What can we do to help?”
“First, meet Maxine, our new manager,” Faith said, leading Aly and AJ to the woman with the teased hair.
“Nice to meet you,” AJ said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you two lovely girls as well,” Maxine said, speaking with a deep Southern drawl. “It was so nice of you to agree to be in the video.”
“Is it really stolen?” Aly asked.
Maxine nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
“Have you called the police?” AJ asked.
“My dear, Lionel and I agreed not to take such drastic measures,” Maxine said. “It’s nasty business, and I don’t want Faith and Hope to get caught up in it. We’re hoping to find a solution in time for the awards show without involving the police at all.”
The manager looked at her watch. “I’m going inside to talk to Lionel. Y’all try not to worry, okay?”
Faith and Hope nodded, but they both looked tired and upset.
“I just don’t know why someone would want to steal our tape,” Hope said. “It’s a real mystery.”
Aly and AJ looked at each other. Since the Insomniatic tour had started, they had stumbled across one mystery after another. They were beginning to feel more like detectives than musicians. In New York City, they had helped recover stolen guitars from the Girls Rock Academy. In Miami, they’d met a fashion designer who was a victim of sabotage and helped her find the culprit. And they had just come from judging a songwriting contest in Seattle, where one of the competitors had resorted to dirty tricks to ruin the contest.
Aly and AJ had kept their sleuthing quiet, for the most part. Most people would think it was strange. But the sisters felt they could trust Faith and Hope.
“This is going to sound weird, but Aly and I have gotten pretty good at solving mysteries lately,” AJ said. “Maybe we can try to help.”
“Oh, that would be so nice!” Faith said.
“We’ll take all the help we can get,” Hope added. “The awards show is only on Sunday. We need to figure something out by then.”
“We’ll do our best,” AJ promised. “Do you think we can look inside the studio?”
“Sure,” Faith replied.
The girls all walked inside. Maxine was inside a glass-windowed office, talking with Lionel.
“Which one is the control room?” AJ asked.
Hope pointed to a door on the far wall. “Over there.”
As they approached the room, Aly and AJ saw that the door was open.
“Lionel swears he locked it,” Faith said. “Somebody must have
unlocked it. Maybe someone with a key.”
“Or they might have picked the lock,” Aly said, bending down to pick something up off of the floor. When she stood back up, she was holding a small, silver piece of metal. The end was bent so it almost looked like a letter L.
“That looks like a lock pick,” AJ said.
Aly jiggled the door knob. “This lock would probably be easy to pick.”
“And if the person who opened the door used a lock pick, that means they didn’t have a key,” AJ said. “So that probably rules out anyone who works for the studio. We can ask Lionel to be sure.”
“So it was an outside job,” Hope said. She smiled a little. “Hey, this is just like a crime show on TV or something. What should we do with the evidence?”
“I’ll hold on to it,” Aly said. “If Maxine decides to call in the police, we can give it to them.”
“We should look around some more,” AJ suggested.
“I’ll take the control room,” Aly offered.
AJ nodded. “I’ll look around the rest of the studio.”
AJ scanned the room. There were two ways to get in from outside—the front entrance and a side entrance. If the thief had dropped any clues, they would most likely have dropped them on the path from one of the doors to the control room.
AJ started at the front door and walked slowly to the control room, her eyes on the floor. She didn’t see anything unusual.
Then she started at the control room and walked toward the side door. A few feet from the door, something caught her eye—something glittery. She reached down and picked it up.
It was a pin, shaped like angel wings, and set with diamonds. AJ recognized the logo right away.
It was the symbol for the popular R & B sister group, HeavenSent!
CHAPTER FIVE:
HEAVENLY SUSPECTS
AJ heard Aly’s voice behind her.
“Find anything?”
AJ quickly put the pin in her pocket and turned around. Faith and Hope stood behind Aly.
“No,” AJ lied. “How about you?”
“Nothing,” Aly said. “I think the lock pick is our best clue.”