by Ron Roy
Inspector Grabbe gave the backup team orders, then sent them inside. Once they were in place, he led the kids back into the museum.
They walked up to the figure of the Queen of England. “I hope we’re right,” Inspector Grabbe muttered. “Otherwise, this could get embarrassing!”
He unclipped the velvet rope from one of its poles. “Hold this,” he said to Dink, handing him the end of the rope.
The inspector walked around the pole and behind the queen. Gently, he unclasped her necklace and held it close to his eyes. He smiled. “Bingo,” he said.
“Excuse me, what are you doing?” demanded an angry voice.
It was Mandy. She was standing with a small group of tourists. Her face was red, and Dink thought her eyes looked scared.
Inspector Grabbe turned toward Mandy, holding the necklace. “Tell me, Ms. Clyde. Does the museum’s fake jewelry have initials on the metal? The letters E.A.M., to be exact?”
Mandy didn’t answer. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.
“Ms. Clyde, if I show this necklace to the queen, will she think it’s fake?” Inspector Grabbe asked. “Or will she recognize it as the one you and Simon stole from her?”
Mandy’s face went from red to white.
“Also, Ms. Clyde,” the inspector went on, dangling the necklace in front of Mandy, “when I check this necklace and tiara for fingerprints, whose will I find, yours or your brother’s?”
Suddenly Mandy snatched the necklace out of Inspector Grabbe’s fingers. She raced past the queen’s figure, grabbing the tiara with her other hand.
Mandy bolted for the exit, knocking Dink to the floor as she raced past him.
As Dink fell, he threw his hands out in front of him. He was still holding one end of the velvet rope. The rope stretched tight, dragging a pole toward Dink.
Mandy tried to leap over the pole, but her feet became tangled in the rope. She stumbled and fell on top of Dink. When she tried to stand, Dink yanked on the rope. Mandy was tied like a calf at a rodeo.
The two backup detectives ran over. They lifted Mandy to her feet and took the jewelry out of her hands. Dink noticed Band-Aids on two fingers on her left hand. He was positive they were covering the bite marks from the queen’s dog Willow.
“Nice grab!” Inspector Grabbe told Dink.
Dink tapped the side of his head. “Easy peasy,” he said.
At noon the next day, the kids and Dink’s father hopped out of a cab in front of Buckingham Palace. The boys wore their best shirts and pants. Ruth Rose wore red—all red.
A row of guards stood in front of the palace entrance. They wore tall, furry hats, red jackets, and black pants. One of the guards marched toward the kids.
“He’s going to put you in a dungeon,” Dink whispered to Josh.
The guard stopped in front of Ruth Rose. “The queen is waiting,” he said. “Will you follow me, please?”
Just then, a bright yellow helicopter came thudding out of the sky over the palace. It slowed, then disappeared behind the building.
“That’s what I’m going to buy with my part of the reward money,” Josh said.
“Good luck,” Dink said. “You couldn’t even buy one of the wheels with one-third of fifteen thousand dollars.”
Dink, Josh, Ruth Rose, and Dink’s father followed the guard. He was tall and took long strides, so they had to run to keep up. The guard went around a corner and stopped at a small private door. He knocked, and the door opened. Another guard stood inside.
The first guard left, and the kids followed the second one down a long corridor.
Dink felt like giggling. He couldn’t believe they were really in Buckingham Palace, about to meet the Queen of England! Of course, they had already met her, but this felt different.
The guard stopped in front of a door where a third guard stood. The second guard bowed to the kids and headed back the way they had come. The third guard knocked on the door, waited three seconds, then opened it. “Visitors, mum,” the guard said.
The Queen of England was sitting near a fireplace. A cheery fire made the room cozy. Three brown-and-white dogs lay at the queen’s feet. The dogs were no longer wet and muddy. They were all watching as the kids and Dink’s father stepped into the room.
The queen stood up. “Thank you for coming,” she said. She reached out her hand.
They all shook hands.
“I thank you—my whole family thanks you—for finding my jewels,” the queen said. “What clever children!”
The queen looked much better not wearing a raincoat and muddy boots.
Dink’s father smiled. “We raise smart kids in Connecticut,” he said.
“Please sit and tell me all about it,” the queen said. They moved to another part of the room. “I hope you’re hungry.”
The three kids gasped. A table was heaped with trays of food. One held small cakes with colored frosting. Another tray was full of cookies and some whipped-creamy things they’d never seen before. There were tiny sandwiches made with bread with the crusts cut off. A bowl of fruit gleamed under the lights.
Next to the food stood a silver teapot and a pitcher of lemonade. There were cloth napkins and silver spoons and forks. The cups and saucers had gold edges. Everything was arranged on a snow-white tablecloth.
The queen sat first, then the others. “Help yourselves, please,” she said.
The queen poured tea while the kids and Dink’s father filled their plates.
When everyone had their food, the kids told the queen about the clues: the bumper sticker, the tire marks in the mud, the gum wrapper, the spicy smell that Dink had thought was Mandy’s perfume.
“We were really sure after we saw the mud on the black shoes in the wardrobe room,” Ruth Rose added.
“And the robbers were wearing rubber masks,” Dink said. “When I finally remembered that Mandy told us that, I wondered how she would know. Then it hit me: she’d know if she made the masks herself! She and her brother wore them when they robbed you.”
The queen nodded. “Very clever,” she said. “My grandsons remembered talking to Mandy about my birthday surprise the day they went in to have their pictures taken,” she said. “That girl and her brother must have begun planning the robbery that very day.”
“What will happen to Mandy and Simon?” Josh asked. “Will you lock them up in a dungeon?”
The queen smiled. “The Windsor Castle dungeon hasn’t held prisoners in many years,” she said. “But those two aren’t British citizens. They’ll be sent back to the United States, where I have been assured they will visit one of your fine prisons.”
The queen pushed a small button on the arm of her chair. A few seconds later, a man in a gray suit came in, carrying an envelope. He bowed, handed it to the queen, then disappeared.
The queen handed the envelope to Josh. “Here is your reward,” she said. “For your service to the Crown!”
Dink’s father plucked the envelope from Josh’s fingers.
“Thank you,” he said. “This will go into a college fund for these three young detectives.”
The queen smiled. “One more thing,” she said. She looked at Josh. “You remind me of my grandson Harry when he was your age. He loved helicopters, and I hear that you do as well. Is that true, Joshua?”
Josh grinned. “How did you know?”
The queen tapped her head. “I have spies,” she said. Then she pushed the button again. The door behind her opened. Prince William and Prince Harry walked into the room. They were wearing the same uniforms the kids had seen at the museum.
The queen beamed at her handsome grandsons. “Hello, boys,” she said. “Did you bring it?”
“It’s parked out back, Granny,” Prince William said.
Prince Harry grinned at Josh. “I hear you’ve never been in a helicopter,” he said.
“Yes, sir,” Josh managed to say. “I mean, no, sir!”
“Well, that will change today,” Prince William said. “Are you kids ready t
o go for a chopper ride over London?”
Josh jumped up out of his chair. “Really?” he said. “You’re not teasing?”
“The Royal Family never teases!” Prince Harry said. “Let’s go!”
“Can I take a cookie with me?” Josh asked.
“Yes,” Prince William said.
“Can I sit next to the pilot?” Josh asked.
“Yes,” Prince Harry said.
“Can I fly the chopper?” Josh asked.
“NO!” everyone yelled.
DID YOU FIND THE
SECRET MESSAGE
HIDDEN IN THIS BOOK?
If you don’t want to know the answer, don’t look at the bottom of this page!
HERE’S WHAT KIDS HAVE TO SAY
TO RON ROY ABOUT THE
A TO Z MYSTERIES® SERIES:
“Whenever I go to the library, I always get an A to Z Mystery. It doesn’t matter if I have read it a hundred times. I never get tired of reading them!” —Kristen M.
“I really love your books!!! So keep writing and I’ll keep reading.” —Eddie L.
“I love your books. You have quite a talent to write A to Z Mysteries. I like to think I am Dink. RON ROY ROCKS!” —Patrick P.
“Nothing can tear me away from your books!” —Rachel O.
“I like Dink the best because he never gives up, and he keeps going till he solves the mystery.” —Matthew R.
“Sometimes I don’t even know my mom is talking to me when I am reading one of your stories.” —Julianna W.