Singing in Seattle

by Tracey West

  A local television news crew was there and filmed the performance. Afterward, Aly and AJ answered questions for the reporter about the contest and their upcoming concert in Seattle.

  Finally they were finished and able to mix and mingle with the crowd. AJ pulled Aly aside.

  “We’ve got to get Jim to help us,” she said. “We’ll distract Austin. Then Jim can grab his glass while he’s not looking.”

  “Good idea,” Aly said.

  “Did somebody call my name?” Jim appeared behind them, smiling.

  “You heard right,” AJ said. “We need your help.” She quickly explained their plan.

  Jim raised an eyebrow. “You want me to steal his cup?”

  “Not steal, exactly. You’re collecting evidence,” AJ said. “There’s a plastic bag in my guitar case. Just place the cup in the bag, and we’re good.”

  “While you’re at it, you might as well get cups from the other contestants, too,” Aly said.

  “Good idea,” AJ said. “That print might not belong to Austin. That would mean one of the other contestants is guilty. Good thing I brought extra bags.”

  Jim shook his head. “Nowhere in my job description did it say I would have to do something like this.” He laughed. “But I like the idea of playing detective. I think I can be really sneaky, too.”

  They moved into the crowd, searching out the contestants. The first they came across was Bree. Her curly dark hair framed her face. She looked casual, in a faded pair of jeans and a peasant blouse.

  “You guys were great,” Bree said. “You’ve got to give me some songwriting tips.”

  Bree was clutching a plastic cup. Luckily it was empty, giving Jim the perfect opportunity.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” Jim asked politely.

  “Thanks,” Bree said. “That’s very nice.”

  Jim took her old cup and went off to get her something new to drink. When no one was looking, he slipped the old cup into a bag. Then he wrote Bree’s name on the bag.

  Jim followed Aly and AJ as they spoke with each of the contestants. Henry put down his cup, so Jim was easily able to grab it up. He used the same trick on Josh and Rainbow that he did with Bree.

  Then Aly and AJ approached Austin. He had a full cup of what looked like ginger ale that he hadn’t taken a sip out of. He rested it on a nearby table.

  “What are you doing tonight?” Austin asked AJ, his eyes sparkling.

  “We’re planning on staying in and relaxing,” AJ said. “It’s going to be a busy week.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to show you the nightlife in Seattle?” Austin asked.

  “Maybe another night,” AJ said.

  Then Austin turned and looked past AJ.

  “Excuse me, what are you doing with my drink?” he asked. Jim had Austin’s full cup in his hand and was walking away.

  Aly and AJ looked at each other in a panic. Would Austin figure out what they were trying to do?

  CHAPTER EIGHT:

  A CHARMING LIAR?

  Jim froze for a second. Then he snapped out of it. “Uh, there’s a spider in it,” he said quickly. “I, uh, saw it jump in.”

  “A jumping spider?” Austin asked, curious. “Let me see.”

  He stepped toward Jim, but Jim backed away. “It’s really gross. I’ll just get you a new ginger ale.” Then he hurried off.

  It was hard for Aly and AJ to keep from laughing.

  “We’d better get going,” AJ said. “Lots more people to see.”

  “Right,” Aly said. “Later, Austin.”

  They found Jim in a private area behind the stage, bagging Austin’s cup.

  “A spider?” Aly asked, laughing.

  Jim shrugged. “Hey, it worked, didn’t it?” he said. “Maybe I’m not cut out for this detective thing after all.”

  “Don’t worry,” AJ said. “You did great. You got Austin, plus a few of the other contestants, right? We should be good.”

  “Right,” Jim said. “I hope you two find what you’re looking for.”

  “I think I am going to be seeing whorls and ridges in my sleep!” Aly complained.

  The girls had gone back to the hotel after the reception. AJ had set up a mini-detective lab on the desk in the hotel room. She and Aly lifted prints from the five cups Jim had collected: Henry, Austin, Josh, Bree, and Rainbow. Then they started to compare them to the print from the guitar case. But it wasn’t easy.

  They checked Austin’s prints first. His had a distinctive whorl in the center, just like the print on the case.

  “That looks like a match,” Aly said.

  “I know,” AJ agreed. “But we should check it against the others to make sure.”

  So at AJ’s insistence, they compared all of the other prints to the print on the case. They saw lots of loops, whorls, and arches.

  “I still think Austin’s print looks the closest,” Aly said.

  AJ nodded in agreement. “Let’s take another look.”

  They used the magnifying glass to examine Austin’s print one more time.

  “This definitely looks like a match,” Aly said. “See that swirly thing under the whorl? And those arches on the right?”

  “You’re right,” AJ said. “Nobody else comes close. I think we need to talk to Austin. It looks like Heather was telling the truth.”

  “I still don’t think he’d do something like that,” Aly said, frowning. “But you’re right. We should find him. It’s still early. Should we call him?”

  “He’d probably think I was calling for a date,” AJ said. “I’d feel bad getting his hopes up. Let’s head down to Howl and see if he’s there.”

  AJ’s hunch was right. They found Austin standing outside the club, talking to Henry. Austin’s eyes lit up when he saw them.

  “Looking for me?” he asked, his voice full of hope.

  “As a matter of fact, we are,” Aly said.

  Henry nodded. “I’ll see you guys inside.”

  The tall boy went inside the club. Austin nodded after him.

  “Lucky. He and Bree are going out. Love at first sight, he says.” Austin looked at AJ. “I hear that happens sometimes.”

  AJ flushed a little. “Listen, Austin, I wish we were here for a different reason, but we need to talk to you about Claire’s notebook.”

  Austin looked annoyed. “I already told you, I didn’t take it.”

  “But we found something,” Aly said. “Proof. Your fingerprint is on the handle of Claire’s guitar case.”

  Austin looked shocked. “My fingerprint? But how . . .”

  “Do you want to tell us what happened?” AJ asked.

  Austin sighed. “You’re not going to believe me,” he said.

  “Try us,” Aly told him.

  “I did open the guitar case,” he said. “But I didn’t steal Claire’s notebook, I swear. I just . . . looked at it.”

  “Why would you do that?” AJ asked.

  Austin ran a hand through his hair. “It was stupid, I know. It’s just that Claire is my biggest competition in this thing. I mean, she’s really good. I was just curious to see what she was planning. Then I felt weird about it, and I dropped the notebook. I left the guitar case open. Maybe somebody took the notebook then.”

  “But you could have told us this before,” AJ said. “Why should we believe you now?”

  Austin looked into AJ’s eyes. “I don’t expect you to. But it’s the truth.”

  “It kind of makes sense,” Aly offered. “If Austin left the case open, someone could have taken the notebook without leaving a fingerprint.”

  “I guess,” AJ said, but she didn’t sound convinced.

  “Hey, do you guys want to go inside?” Austin asked. “We can have some coffee.”

  “No thanks,” AJ said glumly. “We’d better go.”

  AJ walked down the street, followed by Aly.

  “What’s the matter?” Aly asked.

  “I don’t know what to believe,” AJ said. “I thou
ght the fingerprint would be solid proof. But now it seems like we just have more questions to answer.”

  Aly nodded. “Right. If Austin didn’t do it, then who did?”

  “That’s what we need to find out,” AJ said. “But I’m not sure how.”

  “We’ll figure it out,” Aly assured her. “We’ve got a pretty good track record so far.”

  AJ sighed. “I don’t know. This might be our first unsolved mystery!”

  CHAPTER NINE:

  ROUND TWO

  The next morning, Jim took Aly and AJ back to the theater. The second round of the competition was set to start. Each of the six finalists would perform one new song.

  Aly and AJ went backstage to wish them luck. Bree was strumming her guitar. Henry was sitting on a stool next to her, staring at her, almost mesmerized.

  Josh was studying his reflection in a mirror. He looked handsome, as always. His blond hair was slicked back with gel, and he wore a leather jacket and jeans.

  Austin was tuning his guitar in a corner. He gave Aly and AJ a nervous smile. Nearby, Claire was talking to Amber. She waved when she saw Aly and AJ.

  “Hey, thanks for trying to help me,” she said, when the sisters came over. “It meant a lot to me. I thought if you could go to all that trouble for me, I could at least try hard to recreate my songs. I worked all night last night. I think the song I’m going to do today is better than it was before.”

  “She’s right. I heard it,” Amber said. “She’s going to be tough competition.”

  “We just wanted to wish everyone good luck,” Aly said.

  “I think things are going to start in a few minutes,” AJ said. “Our manager, Jim, said there will be news crews covering this tonight. So do your best!”

  The sisters headed back to their seats in the theater.

  “That’s amazing that Claire was able to recreate her song without her notebook,” Aly said.

  “I’m not surprised,” AJ replied. “When I write a song, it stays with me, you know? I think Claire just needed to find some confidence in herself. I’m glad we could help. Although . . .”

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Aly said. “Even though Claire has a song, her notebook is still missing. And one of the contestants had to have taken it.”

  “Right,” AJ said, sighing. “I just won’t feel right until this is all settled.”

  But there was no time to play detective; the competition was about to begin. A news reporter was waiting for Aly and AJ when they returned to their seats.

  “So how will you judge the finalists today?” she asked them.

  “We’re looking for a well-rounded songwriter,” AJ replied. “Someone with great lyrics but who can also create melodies and beats.”

  “And we’re going to perform a song from the winner at our concert,” Aly added. “So it has to be a song that speaks to us and who we are, too.”

  “It’s going to be a tough choice,” AJ said. “All of the contestants are great.”

  Jim walked up. “We’ll have to wrap this up,” he said. “The judging’s about to start.”

  The reporter left just as Henry took the stage.

  “I really liked the love song he sang last time,” Aly whispered. AJ nodded.

  Henry sang into the mic as taped music played in the background. It was another love song, and it sounded a lot like his first song.

  “Hmmm,” AJ said, writing in her notebook. “Not bad. But I wonder if Henry can do anything else?”

  Austin took the stage next. He didn’t look nervous, like he had backstage. He had great positive energy, and he flirted with AJ once again as he sang. The song had a crisp rock beat and catchy lyrics about hanging out in the summertime.

  “Austin’s back to his old tricks,” Aly teased when he left the stage.

  “Maybe, but that song was hot,” AJ said.

  Bree came out, wearing a tank top, peasant skirt, and clutching her guitar. Her curly hair bounced wildly around her face as she played and sang.

  “I’m taking my act on the road.

  Don’t know when I’ll be home again . . .”

  “Nice,” AJ said.

  Aly nodded. “Agreed. But not so original, maybe. It kind of sounded like a Rolling Stones song.”

  Then it was Claire’s turn. She sang a song called “Crush,” about a girl who had a crush on a boy in kindergarten, and then dates him in high school. She seemed more confident onstage, and her singing voice was louder this time.

  “That’s awesome!” Aly said when Claire was done.

  “Way,” AJ agreed. “I can so imagine us singing that.”

  While Claire’s song was cheerful, Amber’s was a lot darker. She got up close to the mic, her voice droning as she sang.

  “Dark, dark, dark.

  The lonely pits of my heart . . .”

  “Cool,” AJ remarked. “But could you imagine us singing that?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” Aly answered. “I mean, we don’t always sing happy songs.”

  “Yeah, but that was downright depressing,” AJ pointed out.

  Josh was the last finalist to perform. Like Henry, he sang to taped music in the background. He sang “Love Letter,” a clever song about a boy who sends a love letter to the girl he secretly likes, but the wrong girl gets it, and they end up falling in love instead.

  Aly and AJ were surprised.

  “Wow, that was great!” Aly said.

  “An awesome song,” AJ agreed. “His lyrics have definitely improved.”

  It was time for Aly and AJ to narrow the six contestants down to three finalists. They looked at their notes.

  “Claire is definitely in,” Aly said.

  “Right,” AJ agreed. “And Henry is definitely out.”

  Aly nodded. “For sure. He needs to branch out a little more. What about Amber?”

  “She’s good, but I can’t imagine singing one of her songs,” AJ said. “So that leaves Bree, Austin, and Josh. We can only pick two of them.”

  Aly studied her notes. “I thought Austin and Josh were both great.”

  “Me too,” AJ said. “But Austin . . .”

  “There’s no proof,” Aly said. “And I really liked his song.”

  Aly sighed. “Okay. Are we on the same page?”

  AJ nodded.

  “Then let’s call everyone out,” Aly said.

  The six contestants filed onto the stage. Aly and AJ stood up.

  “This was a really tough decision,” AJ said. “Even tougher than the last round. You’re all great songwriters. But we’re also trying to pick someone who can write a great song for us.”

  “So, our first finalist is Claire,” Aly announced. “Great job.”

  Claire let out a happy squeal and hugged Amber.

  “Our next finalist is Josh,” AJ said. “Josh, you wowed us with your lyrics today.”

  Josh pumped his fist in the air.

  “That leaves our third finalist,” Aly said. She saw that Henry and Bree were holding hands tightly. “Austin, we’ll see you in the finals.”

  Austin let out a whoop and jumped in the air.

  Henry and Bree hugged.

  “You so deserve this,” Amber told Claire. “I hope you win.”

  Aly and AJ watched them from their seats.

  “No Heather-like outbursts this time,” Aly said. “That’s a relief.”

  “Maybe,” AJ said. “But I won’t be relieved until we solve this mystery.”

  Aly shook her head. “AJ, everything’s working out fine. Maybe we should just let it go.”

  “We can’t,” AJ insisted. “The winner of this contest is going to get a great prize and lots of attention. I don’t want to crown a thief by mistake!”

  CHAPTER TEN:

  LOST AND FOUND

  Aly and AJ were beginning to get their stuff together to leave when Henry and Bree approached them.

  “We just want to thank you for the opportunity,” Henry said. “This was a great experience.”
<
br />   “It was so nice to meet you both,” Bree said. “But before you go, I’d love to get some advice.”

  Aly and AJ chatted with them about writing songs and finding inspiration.

  “I think it always helps to write about things you know about or have experienced,” Aly told them. “People can always tell when a song comes from your heart.”

  Henry glanced at Bree. “I think I know what my next song will be about,” he said, smiling shyly. Bree blushed.

  They talked for a few minutes more, and then Henry and Bree left.

  “They are so cute,” AJ said to Aly as Henry and Bree walked away, holding hands. “It’s nice that even though they didn’t win the competition, they found each other.”

  Aly swung her purse over her shoulder. “You know, before we leave, I’d like to say good-bye to Amber, too.”

  “She might be backstage,” AJ suggested. “Let’s go.”

  They walked onto the stage and headed toward the backstage area. They could hear the contestants talking and AJ spotted a figure walking in the shadows, away from the stage door. The person had a sweatshirt on with the hood pulled up over his or her head.

  “Hey,” AJ murmured to Aly. “Who is that?”

  “I don’t know,” Aly replied. She raised her voice. “Excuse me, can I help you?”

  The person stopped and stepped out of the shadows. It was Heather!

  “Oh, it’s you two,” she said.

  “What are you doing here?” AJ asked.

  Heather let out an exasperated sigh. “You know, we all had a life before Aly and AJ came to town. I know everyone here, remember? I came to see how they did in the competition.”

  Aly shook her head. “I didn’t think you were tight with any of them,” she said.

  “We are a small community of poets and songwriters. I was curious to see who made it to the next round,” Heather said. “And you know what? I still think I’m better than all of them. You had the chance to sing one of my songs. Too bad you blew it. Later.” She turned and stalked off the stage and toward the theater doors.

  “Forget songwriting. She should really enter a Miss Congeniality contest,” Aly said sarcastically. “I hope this is the last time we run into her!”