“And thanks for buying the chocolate!” Madison said as they walked out.
As soon as they were on the sidewalk and Miss Bauer’s door was shut, Jake spit cake into his hand.
“Thanks for getting us out of there without having to finish that awful cake,” he said.
“Did you see what I saw?” Madison asked.
Jake frowned, puzzled, and shook his head.
“The phone,” Madison said. “It’s in the kitchen. Miss Bauer wouldn’t be able to see the Shelbys’ house when she was making the call to the police.”
“You’re right,” Jake said. He pulled a small sketch pad out of his backpack and started to draw Miss Bauer’s kitchen with the phone and the wall.
He grinned. “When I write my graphic novel starring Madison Kincaid, superhero, this will be the first case you solve.”
Madison looked down at Jake’s drawing so he wouldn’t see her blush. “This proves it. Miss Bauer couldn’t see the house while she was on the phone. Anything could have happened while she was calling 911.”
Turning toward Mark Shelby’s house, she studied it for a minute, then started up the slate path to the front door.
“What are you doing?” Jake asked nervously. “Do you have a death wish?”
“There’s something I need to see.”
“Madison, he’s out on bail, he could be home.”
“I hope so.”
“He might be a murderer!”
“There are two of us and it’s broad daylight. I don’t think he’ll do anything and I really have to see this. Remember what my dad says about going to the scene of the crime? We would never have learned that you can’t see Mr. Shelby’s house from Thelma Bauer’s kitchen if we hadn’t gone into her house. Besides, he might buy some chocolate bars.”
Before Jake could protest any more, Madison rang the doorbell. A few seconds later they saw movement behind the glass panels that flanked the door. Madison had a feeling that they were being studied through the peephole. She waited patiently, and a moment later Mark Shelby opened the door. He looked exhausted and pale.
“What do you want?” he asked impatiently.
“Hi, we’re selling chocolate bars to support the Pettygrove Junior High soccer teams, and we wanted to know if you’d like to buy any. They’re just a dollar a bar and it’s for a good cause.”
Shelby smiled a tired smile. “I could use something good like chocolate to cheer me up.” He felt in his pocket. “Let me get my wallet.”
As he turned to go, Madison piped up, “Could I use your bathroom?”
Jake looked shocked. How could Madison go into a suspected murderer’s house?
“Sure,” Shelby said, pointing. “It’s down the hall.”
Madison knew the layout of the house from the pictures she’d seen in her father’s file. When Shelby was out of sight, she walked into the living room. The photograph she was looking for was still where she’d seen it in the crime-scene photo, on the fireplace mantel mixed in with family pictures. It was odd seeing a picture of one of her teachers in someone’s house. Madison thought of her teachers as never leaving school, not having lives, houses, and husbands, or going missing and maybe being murdered. She fixed the picture in her mind before hurrying into the bathroom.
Madison waited an appropriate amount of time before flushing. When she got near the front door, she heard Jake say, “Thank you, Mr. Shelby.”
Madison froze. Shelby hadn’t introduced himself. If he realized they shouldn’t know his name, they were cooked. She had to think of something fast.
“How did you know my name?” Shelby asked just as Madison walked into the entryway.
“Thanks for letting me use your bathroom,” she said.
Shelby looked back and forth between Madison and Jake, and he didn’t seem happy.
“He knew my name, but I never introduced myself. Are you two reporters for a school paper?” he asked angrily.
“Oh no, sir,” Madison answered quickly. “The lady next door told us your name, Miss Bauer.”
“What else did she tell you?”
“Nothing. Though she did look upset when we said we were going to come here. Don’t you and Miss Bauer get along?” Madison asked innocently.
Shelby thrust out a hand holding four dollars to pay for the four chocolate bars Jake had given him.
“I think you two should go now,” Shelby said sharply.
“Thanks for supporting our soccer teams,” Madison said as she and Jake backed out the door as fast as they could.
“I cannot believe you pulled that off!” Jake spat out once they made it down the street. “I thought we were goners for sure.”
“I admit that was close, but it was worth it. I found a major clue!”
“Spill!”
“When we were in court at the bail hearing, there was a woman watching the trial who didn’t seem to fit in. And she ran out as soon as bail was set. There’s a picture of Mrs. Shelby and that woman in the house!”
“What do you think that means?”
“I don’t know, but I bet she knows something. Why else would she be in court?”
“Now we just have to find out who she is.”
Chapter 13
Spying
Madison was nervous all day Monday because The Grove was going to scrimmage Prescott-Mather on Tuesday. Knowing she wouldn’t get much playing time as a reserve, she hoped she would at least have a chance to show the coach her stuff.
Prescott-Mather was a private school attended by rich kids. Since it was private, Prescott-Mather could recruit. Lewis and Clark Elementary School and Prescott-Mather had squared off in two of the last three elementary school championships, and Lewis and Clark had always played extra hard against any prep school because they resented the edge recruiting gave them. Beating Prescott-Mather for the state championship felt extra sweet. But Madison also knew many of the girls on Prescott-Mather’s team because they were her teammates on the elite team she played on after the school season was over.
Adding to Madison’s nervousness was the fact that it was her first big game without Ann. Jessi, Lacey, and Becca were starting to get as concerned as Madison by Ann’s absence. Becca had told Madison that she’d called Ann several times and hadn’t gotten through, and Lacey had checked Ann’s Facebook page and found it still unchanged.
As soon as practice was over, Madison walked across town to the law office.
“Hi, Peggy, is Dad in?” Madison asked.
“He is, but he’s with Mark Shelby.”
Madison’s heartbeat accelerated and she started to perspire. What if Mr. Shelby came out of her father’s office while she was talking to Peggy? He would recognize her and tell her father that Madison had been in his house. Madison grabbed her duffel bag and sped toward her office.
“I’ll work on my homework,” she said over her shoulder. “Why don’t you wait until Mr. Shelby is gone before
