by Tracey West
Aly’s eyes widened. “Is there a factory tour?”
Jim shook his head. “Not in Nashville, but I hear the retail store is amazing.”
That was all Aly and AJ needed to hear. They could spend hours looking at guitars—especially Gibsons, some of the most famous guitars in the world.
AJ looked at her watch. “We have to meet Faith and Hope in three hours. That should be plenty of time.”
Jim grinned. “Great! I could use a little fun myself.”
Twenty minutes later they were surrounded by racks of gleaming electric guitars.
“Each guitar is hand-painted in the factory,” Aly said, admiring one with a bright electric-blue finish.
AJ was distracted by a wall lined with guitars painted in all different designs. One caught her eye—a black guitar with colorful swirls and flowers painted on the body. The bottom of the body was cut out in a v-shape.
“No way,” AJ said, walking closer. “Is that what I think it is?”
Jim and Aly walked up next to her. “The Psychedelic Flying V,” Jim read from a sign. “Hey, that’s Jimi Hendrix’s guitar!”
“It’s a limited edition,” AJ said, her eyes shining. “That is truly awesome.”
“I really like that one,” Aly said. She pointed to a guitar with a soft silver paint job, covered with a cascade of flowers.
“I think you have a shirt that would match that,” AJ joked.
A salesclerk in a Gibson guitar T-shirt walked up to them.
“Hey, it’s Aly and AJ,” he said. He was about twenty years old, with a mop of blond hair, green eyes, and a Southern drawl. “My name’s Tyler. It’d be great if y’all would play something for us.”
Aly grinned. “Just show us where to plug in!”
Tyler hooked them up with two guitars from the floor: the electric-blue one for Aly and a bright red one for AJ. They plugged into two amps, tuned up, and then launched into “Bullseye,” a track from their Insomniatic album. A small crowd gathered around as they played.
Aly and AJ smiled at each other as they played. Playing in front of thousands of people was great, but it was just as much fun playing in front of ten people. They ended the song to a round of applause.
“Y’all sure can rock out,” Tyler said, grinning. “I hope y’all are havin’ a good time here in Nashville.”
“Definitely,” Aly said. “But we’ve been here more than a week and we don’t have any souvenirs yet.”
“I can help you with that,” Tyler said. He helped the girls pick out a Gibson guitar T-shirt for each of them. Then he showed them a case full of necklaces with different Gibson guitars. Aly and AJ each picked out one that they liked. Jim got himself a denim jacket with the Gibson logo on the front.
The time at the Gibson store passed quickly. They said good-bye to Tyler, and Jim drove them to Nashville Star Studios. They sat around a table with Faith, Hope, Maxine, and Lionel.
“Thanks for coming,” Lionel said, beginning the meeting. “I’m really excited about reshooting the video. I think it will be even better than before. Faith, why don’t you tell everyone what you and Hope have in mind.”
“Sure,” Faith said. “First of all, we loved Aly and AJ’s scenes with Brady and Michael. So we’re going to bring them back.”
Aly smiled, remembering the cute models. “That’s totally fine with us!”
“And we still have the stuff from the shopping scene, so Hope and I are going to use it instead of Cadence and Calista this time,” Faith said. “We just need to think of a way to bring the ‘sister’ angle in.”
“I thought we could just try on a bunch of cute clothes,” Hope suggested.
AJ’s eyes brightened. “I know! What if one of you is trying on some hideous outfits, and the other sister saves the day with really cute clothes?”
Lionel laughed. “That could be really funny.”
“And I hate to admit it, but it’s not too far from the truth,” Faith said. “Hope is always saving me from fashion disasters.”
Aly was getting into the idea, too. “In the end of the scene, you could put on the outfits that you’re wearing to your concert.”
“Perfect,” Lionel said. “Then we can cut to Aly and AJ running to get to your concert, and then show Faith and Hope on stage.”
Faith looked happy. “That’s really good!”
“I like this idea a lot,” Maxine said. “It will show your fans how adorable you both are.”
Faith and Hope blushed.
“Thanks, Maxine,” Faith said. “But do you think the National Music Awards will still air it?”
Maxine winked. “Don’t you worry about a thing, sugars. I’m working on it.”
“Aly and AJ, can you film on Friday?” Lionel asked.
AJ nodded. “Sure. That’s our last day in Nashville.”
“And it’ll be done just in time for the music awards,” Faith said. “Thanks so much!”
Lionel stood up. “Fantastic, everyone. I’ll see you all Friday morning, six A.M. sharp.”
Aly and AJ walked out of the studio with Faith and Hope.
“I guess we’ll be going to sleep early Thursday night,” Aly remarked. “It’s time to say good-bye to our Nashville nights.”
“There’s always tonight,” Hope said, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
“Very tempting,” AJ said. “I was thinking maybe we should do some clothes shopping first. We could find some hideous outfits for the video shoot.”
“I’ve been so worried about the tapes, it feels like I haven’t done anything fun in years,” Faith said. “We’d love to go.”
“We’ll drive with the top down on the convertible,” Hope promised.
“Sounds great!” Aly exclaimed, and AJ nodded in agreement.
The girls walked outside the studio and followed Faith and Hope across the studio parking lot. Suddenly, a squeal of brakes pierced the air.
Faith and Hope froze, terrified. Aly and AJ turned to see a red sports car speeding through the parking lot. It was aimed right at the Walker Sisters!
“Faith! Hope! Look out!” AJ screamed.
Aly grabbed Hope by the arm, and AJ grabbed Faith. They pulled them back just in time, as the speeding red car barreled past them. They quickly ran back to the safety of the building.
Faith’s face was pale white, and Hope was crying.
“What—what just happened?” Faith asked.
CHAPTER TEN:
NABBED!
Faith and Hope hugged each other, shaking. Aly and AJ exchanged glances. They had both recognized the car—it belonged to Parker Mackenzie.
“Let’s go inside and sit down,” AJ suggested.
Maxine was running toward the front door when they came in. “I heard all the yelling. What happened out there?”
“Parker Mackenzie tried to hit Faith and Hope with his car,” AJ said. Maxine went pale.
Hope sniffled. “He would have hit us, too, if Aly and AJ hadn’t pulled us out of the way.”
“This is very serious,” Maxine said. “I am going to call the police right now. Are you sure it was Parker?”
Aly nodded. “It was his car.”
Maxine disappeared for a few moments, and the girls went into one of the studio rooms and sat down. The Walker Sisters’ manager appeared a few minutes later.
“The police will be here in a moment,” she said. “They’ll be escorting you girls down to the police station to give a report. Aly and AJ, they’ll need to hear what you have to say.”
Aly and AJ nodded. “No problem,” Aly said. “I’m just glad that everyone is okay.”
“Maxine, we think Parker might have stolen the tape, to get revenge on Faith and Hope,” AJ said. “Is it okay if we let the police know about that?”
Maxine nodded. “Tell them everything. I don’t care about bad publicity. Faith and Hope’s safety is the most important thing.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon with the police. An officer came to the studio and too
k statements from everyone. Officer Hill was a tall, graying man with kind, blue eyes. After he took their statements, he asked them to go down to the police station.
“This is a serious crime,” he told them. “If what you say is true, Faith and Hope could have been seriously injured, or worse. We want to make sure you’re safe until we can locate Mr. Mackenzie and determine what happened.”
Luckily, the time at the police station passed quickly. The officers on duty were sympathetic about what had happened, but they were also thrilled to have two sets of sister singing sensations in the station. Aly, AJ, Faith, and Hope signed autographs while they waited for some news.
After about two hours, Officer Hill came to see them.
“We have Mr. Mackenzie in custody,” he told them. “Besides your statements, we interviewed some other people in the area who saw his car speed out of the parking lot. We’ve got enough evidence to hold him right now. We’re also getting a search warrant for his apartment, so we can see if he has that stolen tape in his possession.”
“Thank you so much,” Faith said. Her voice sounded tired. She gave Aly and AJ a sad smile. “Sorry we didn’t get to go shopping.”
“Don’t even worry about it,” Aly said. “You’re safe and Parker’s in custody. That’s the main thing.”
“Just go home and get some rest,” AJ said. “I know that’s what we’re going to do.”
Faith and Hope squeezed the sisters in big hugs. “You two are like our guardian angels, honest,” Hope said. “I don’t know what we’d have done without you.”
“We’ll see you on Friday morning,” Aly said. “Call us if you need us, okay?”
Faith and Hope nodded. Aly and AJ walked outside to find Jim waiting for them.
“I have strict orders from your mom to bring you back to the hotel,” he said.
Aly and AJ gratefully climbed into the car. The whole incident had left them drained.
“No argument here,” Aly said. “We’re not going anywhere tonight.”
As soon as they got back to the hotel, Aly and AJ each took a hot bubble bath, climbed into their pajamas, and ordered room service. Soon they were sprawled out on their beds with Caesar salads and ice cream sundaes. Aly picked up the TV remote.
“Let’s watch a movie,” she suggested. “I just need to veg out for a while.”
“Excellent idea,” AJ agreed. “See what’s on the movie channel.”
Aly scanned through the movie titles on the screen. She stopped at one titled Cat Burglar.
“Ooh, I wanted to see that!” she cried. “A police detective falls in love with this mysterious woman, but he doesn’t know that she’s a cat burglar robbing all the rich people in town. It’s action-packed and romantic at the same time.”
“Let’s do it,” AJ said. She dimmed the lights in the room, and Aly ordered the movie.
They watched, talking back at the screen like they had since they were kids.
“Ooh! I want that dress she’s wearing!”
“How can he not know she’s the cat burglar? He’s not stupid!”
“There’s no way she’ll get away with it!”
At one part in the film, Jade, the cat burglar, recruited two women to help her with a big jewelry heist. AJ shrieked and pointed at the screen.
“Hey, that’s Sabrina from HeavenSent!” she cried.
“That’s right!” Aly said. “I read she was trying to start a movie career. I wonder if she’s any good?”
“Ssshhh. She’s on!” AJ hissed.
Sabrina was dressed in a tight leather jumpsuit, her dark hair in a long braid down her back. She walked up to the back door of a museum in the moonlight. Then she opened a metal canister hanging around her neck and took out something that looked like a lock pick. She began to pick the lock on the door.
“Pause it! Pause it!” AJ screamed.
Aly used the remote to pause the film. “What’s the emergency? Bathroom break?”
“No, silly!” AJ said. “Look at Sabrina!”
Aly looked at the screen. “Yeah, she’s picking a lock.”
“Exactly!” AJ said. “And the person who stole the video had to pick a lock to get to it.”
“But this is just a movie,” Aly pointed out. “She’s not picking the lock for real.”
“Maybe not, but actors always learn how to do things for real to make movies more realistic,” AJ said. “Like sword fighting and stuff. Maybe Sabrina took a lock-picking lesson to get ready for her role.”
AJ grabbed her notebook from the nightstand and began to write furiously.
“You’re right,” Aly agreed. “But I’m pretty sure Parker Mackenzie is the one who stole the tape, don’t you think?”
AJ put down her pen. “Oh, right,” she said. “I guess so. But we won’t know for sure until the police search his apartment. If he didn’t do it, then I say Sabrina is a good suspect. HeavenSent still has the best motive.”
“Agreed,” Aly said. “But as far as we know, the police are handling things now. Can’t we just watch the movie and forget about being detectives for a while?”
“Fine,” AJ said, but Aly noticed she still held her pen and notebook.
Aly fell back against her pillows, laughing. “You are hopeless!” she teased.
CHAPTER ELEVEN:
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
The phone in their hotel room rang the next morning. AJ answered it.
It was Faith. “Parker Mackenzie is still in jail,” she told AJ. “But the police searched his apartment, and didn’t find the tape. They say Parker claims he didn’t steal it. He didn’t even know it was missing.”
“How are you feeling today?” AJ asked.
“Still a little shaken up,” Faith admitted. “Hope and I are going to take it easy today. We want to look good for the video shoot tomorrow.”
“Good idea,” AJ said. “Aly and I are pretty excited about tomorrow. We’ll see you in the morning.”
AJ hung up the phone as Aly walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel.
“I was thinking maybe we could try to go to the guitar factory again today,” she said. Then she noticed the serious expression on her sister’s face. “What’s up?”
“Parker Mackenzie didn’t steal the tape,” AJ told her. “The police searched his house.”
Aly shrugged. “Okay. But the video is being reshot. So everything’s turned out all right in the end, hasn’t it?”
“But it’s not the end yet,” AJ pointed out. “The National Music Awards might not even air the new video. And we know that someone was trying to sabotage Faith and Hope. What if they mess with the video reshoot somehow? I’d feel better if we knew who did it, and why.”
Aly sighed. “I guess you’re right. I’d hate to reshoot the whole video for no reason. Faith and Hope would be crushed.”
AJ opened her notebook. “The way I see it, Sabrina and Eve are still suspects because they have a motive. Sabrina is a bigger suspect than Eve, because she might have learned how to pick locks when she filmed Cat Burglar.”
“Right,” Aly agreed. “And Cadence and Calista are suspects, too, because they’ve been acting so weird. Plus, they had the opportunity to steal the tape. They just don’t have a motive, as far as we can see.”
“Maybe we should split up,” AJ said. “I’m really curious about Cadence and Calista. Maybe I can talk to them, and you can talk to Sabrina.”
“Sounds good,” Aly said. “Now all we need to do is track down three super-mega celebrities and get private meetings with them. That should be easy.”
“Ah, but we have a secret weapon,” AJ reminded her. She held up her cell phone.
Aly was confused for a minute, but then she got it. “Jim!”
AJ dialed the number. “Jim, are you busy? Aly and I need a little favor . . .”
Three hours later Aly sat in the back of a taxicab, driving through downtown Nashville. Jim had really come through. He’d made a call to one of HeavenSent’s personal assis
tants and charmed the girls’ schedule out of her. He’d learned that Sabrina had a lunch date at Rush, a trendy eatery nestled between funky shops in a strip of brick buildings. Aly noticed a sweet pair of jeans in a shop window and made a mental note to check them out on her way back.
Hey, focus, Alyson, she scolded herself. You’ve got important work to do here. Faith and Hope are counting on you.
She had spent the last hour figuring out what to say to Sabrina. Should she pretend their meeting was a coincidence? Should she boldly accuse her of stealing the tape, and see if she admitted it? She still wasn’t sure.
“Guess I’ll have to wing it,” she muttered as the cab pulled up in front of the restaurant.
She paid the driver and stepped out into the Nashville heat. She walked into the restaurant, a cozy place with small tables and brightly colored abstract paintings of city buses and cars on the walls. She scanned the room and saw Sabrina in the corner, facing the door. Her hair was pulled back in a scarf, and she wore dark sunglasses. She was talking to a man whose back was to Aly.
Here goes nothing, Aly thought. She walked toward Sabrina and saw the singer gasp when she spotted Aly.
“Okay, Aly,” Sabrina said, taking off her sunglasses. “You’ve got me! I’m guilty!”
CHAPTER TWELVE:
STILL A PUZZLE
“You stole the master tape of Faith and Hope’s video?” Aly asked. Getting a confession had been easier than she thought!
Sabrina looked puzzled. “Tape? What are you talking about?”
Now Aly was confused, too. “Well, you said you were guilty . . .”
Sabrina shook her head. “Oh, great! I just gave myself up for no reason.” She pointed to the man in front of her. “Aly, meet JB Rawlings.”
The man in the chair turned around and gave Aly a bright smile. He wore a stylish blue silk suit and gold chains around his neck.
JB stood up and extended a hand to Aly. He slipped a business card into her hand. “Pleasure to meet you. You and your sister are very talented. If you’re ever looking for a new manager, give me a call.”