Moans and Groans and Dinosaur Bones (5 page)

The children studied the claw some more and then moved on to an exhibit of Egyptian jewelry.

“Look at that!” said Kenny, pointing at
something very sparkly on a red velvet cushion. The cushion was on a big table, and the table was inside a big glass case.

“That’s the prize of our collection,” said the attendant. “It’s a gold necklace worn by an Egyptian queen. It’s our most valuable treasure.”

The Pee Wees gazed at the necklace. It was a large, round ring of gold with gold loops hanging from it. On each loop were three precious stones. Molly closed her eyes and tried to picture an ancient Egyptian queen wearing it around her neck.

“Hey, my aunt has one of those,” said Roger.

“She does not,” said Rachel. “There’s only one like it in the entire world.”

“I’d like to give one of those to my mom for Mother’s Day,” said Tim. “She’d like it.”

“If she had one, she’d be the richest
person in the world,” said Kevin.

“If she had that one, she couldn’t wear it,” said Jody. “Someone would steal it. She’d have to put it in the bank and wear a fake one.”

The Pee Wees moved on to an exhibit of Greek urns. From there they went to look at more pictures that had been scratched onto cave walls.

“I don’t know what to write about to earn my badge,” said Lisa. “There are so many things.”

“The necklace would be fun to draw,” said Mary Beth. “I’ll bet everybody draws that or writes about it. Or maybe the genuine dinosaur claw.”

Molly hadn’t made up her mind what to write about, but she took notes in her little notebook at every exhibit. That way she would have information. She could decide later what to write about.

When a voice on the loudspeaker announced closing time at the museum, the Pee Wees moaned.

“We’ll come back tomorrow,” said Mrs. Peters, leading them toward an exit.

On the way out, Tim poked Molly. “Look!” he said.

Tim was pointing to the case where the necklace had been. The cushion was still there, but the necklace was gone! The door of the case was wide open!

And standing nearby, putting something into his coat pocket, was the man from the hotel.

A
s Molly and Tim watched, the man walked rapidly out the door.

“Did you see that?” yelled Tim. “The necklace is gone! And so is that guy!”

But it was too late to do anything. They had to get out of the building with the others. And when they did, the man was nowhere in sight.

On the way home, Molly and Tim told everyone what they had seen.

“We have to be very careful not to let our imaginations run away with us,” said Molly’s mother. Her mother was starting to act like her mother again, thought Molly.

“Sometimes Molly can’t tell the difference between storytelling and reality,” said Mr. Duff, laughing.

Now it came back to her why she had not wanted her parents along on this trip. I may have a wild imagination, thought Molly, but I know what I saw.

“Tim saw it too!” said Molly.

“It’s easy to be swept up in all the excitement,” said Mrs. Peters, “and see things that aren’t really there.”

Rat’s knees, thought Molly. Now Mrs. Peters is doing it too!

“We have to be careful not to judge others rashly,” Mrs. Peters went on.

What did this have to do with a rash?
thought Molly. This wasn’t a time to discuss rashes. This was a crime the police should handle!

“We have to get this guy,” Tim whispered to Molly. “We have to find him, by hook or by crook. He’s probably back at our hotel. That’s where he’s staying.”

But back at the hotel, things were quiet. There was no sign of the man. And of course Molly and Tim didn’t know his name. No one was looking for crooks. People were getting ready for dinner. Soft music was playing in the lobby, and the rest of the Pee Wees wanted to go for a swim.

Maybe her mother was right—maybe Molly had been overexcited. How could a crook be staying in this nice, quiet, fancy hotel? She was being silly about the whole thing.

The Scouts headed for the pool. It was
big, and the water was very, very blue.

“Here I go!” shouted Roger, holding his nose and jumping off the edge with a big splash.

“It smells funny,” said Mary Beth.

“That’s the chlorine,” said Rachel. “It kills germs.”

“Maybe I’ll write about this pool to get my badge,” said Tim. “It might be old.”

“Ha, like one year old!” said Roger. “This pool’s not historical.”

“No, but I wish you were,” said Rachel as Roger tried to duck her head under the water.

All the Pee Wees laughed except Roger. They swam and played water games, and then took showers and went back to their rooms and got dressed for dinner.

“I hope they have hamburgers and not just all that green salad stuff. I hate vegetables,” said Roger.

“I’ll bet vegetables hate him too!” whispered Mary Beth.

On the way to the dining room they went through the lobby. The TV was on, and Molly caught a glimpse of the picture. It looked like the museum where they had been that afternoon!

“Hey, what did that guy say about the museum?” asked Tim. “I heard him. He said something about that necklace!”

“Maybe he said it was stolen,” said Sonny. “That would be on the news because it’s so valuable. They probably want help finding the thief.”

“I told you so!” said Tim. “I told you that guy in our hotel stole it.”

Mr. Duff frowned. “Even if you’re right, you need proof. To accuse someone of a crime, you have to have proof. And we don’t have any. Let’s just leave that up to the police.”

Molly wished she could tell the police what she had seen. But her dad was right, as usual. You couldn’t point fingers and tell on someone without proof. Even if you were sure he did it. It was the law.

“I think we should scout around and explore the hotel for clues,” Tim said to
Molly. “We have to find real proof to back us up. And we have to do it fast, before the guy gets away.”

Tim was right. There was no time to waste. In a way it was their duty. It was what Scouting was all about: helping others, doing good deeds. And if they caught a thief, it would be one giant good deed! Molly couldn’t wait to finish dinner and start collecting evidence.

Then, before they knew what was happening, the evidence came to them.

J
ust as the Pee Wees were served their chocolate sundaes, the crook walked in. He was with the woman the Pee Wees had seen on the elevator—the woman who was dressed like her dog. They sat down together and ordered dinner. The little dog sat on the man’s lap.

“I wonder if they’re married,” said Mary Beth. “Maybe she’s Mrs. Crook.”

While the couple waited for their dinner,
the dog began to growl and dig in the man’s pocket.

“Bad dog, Roger!” cried the woman.

“Hey, the dog is named after you, Roger!” shouted Sonny, pointing. All the Pee Wees began to laugh. Roger turned red and looked embarrassed.

The man tried to pull Roger the dog away from his pocket, but it was too late. Roger had dug his little feet and nose firmly in and was now pulling something out of the pocket. It looked like a jewelry box! A long jewelry box that could hold a necklace!
The
necklace! Here it was, right in front of them, thought Molly. Evidence, proof! And it had come right to them. It must be a sign that they were on the right track.

“Get him!” shouted Tim, standing up and tipping over his chair. “Roger found the proof we need! That’s the missing necklace!”

The Peterses and the Duffs tried to calm the Pee Wees down. But it was too late. With Tim in the lead, the rest of the Pee Wees raced over to the man’s table. Molly wondered what they would do when they got there. Could the Pee Wees really capture the thief and tie him up? But no one had thought to bring any rope!

Roger the dog got excited and bounced to the floor, and when the thief stood up, he tripped over the dog and fell.

“Get him!” shouted Tim again.

“Poor Roger!” cried Mrs. Crook, scooping her dog into her arms. “Are you hurt?”

“She seems more worried about the dog than about her husband,” murmured Mary Beth to Molly.

“Unless he isn’t her husband,” said Molly.

When the man looked up from where
he’d fallen, he saw that he was surrounded by twelve Pee Wee Scouts, all glaring down at him. Twenty-four eyes stared at a hairy face and two shifty eyes.

By now the Duffs and Peterses had arrived at the table. They began to apologize and pull the Pee Wees away. The noise had attracted the waiters and the hotel manager.

“Nothing like this has ever happened before,” said the manager, wringing his hands. “Are you hurt, Mr. Ross?” He looked at the Pee Wees. “Why are you doing this to Mr. Ross?”

“This man just robbed the museum. It was on the news, and we saw him,” said Kevin.

All of a sudden Mr. Ross began to laugh. He lay on the floor and laughed and laughed and laughed. Finally he got to his feet and brushed himself off. Then
he held his hands up over his head.

“He’s surrendering,” whispered Mary Beth to Molly. “That’s what criminals on TV do when they’ve been caught.”

But Mr. Ross was not surrendering. Still laughing, he said, “I’m no crook. I’m an actor. I was at the museum studying Egyptian customs and decoration. I’m in a historical play, and this is the leading lady, Betsy Wright.” Mr. Ross motioned toward Roger the dog’s owner. “I was hoping Betsy would become my wife. I was just about to present her with this engagement gift, a gold necklace, when you all descended on us like a swarm of hornets!”