Vanishing Acts

by Phillip Margolin; Ami Margolin Rome

  “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 you tell Dad I’m here?”

  Madison knew not much got past Peggy, so she ran quickly down the hall. She didn’t want Peggy to notice that the mention of Mark Shelby’s name made her nervous.

  Madison shut the door to her office so Mr. Shelby wouldn’t see her. She tried to do her homework, but it was hard to concentrate knowing that her father and his murder-suspect client were just down the hall talking about the case.

  There was a restroom next to her father’s office. Once, years ago, when Madison was using it, she heard noises. When she looked up, she’d seen a heating vent over her head and realized that she was hearing people talking. She had never been able to make out the words that people in Hamilton’s office were saying, but she thought that she might be able to hear them more distinctly if she climbed onto the toilet seat and pressed her ear to the vent.

  Madison debated the pros and cons of listening in on her father’s meeting with Mark Shelby. Her father had told her many times what a client told his lawyer was confidential. He would go ballistic if he caught her eavesdropping and would probably ground her for life. But she was helping her father, even if her help was unofficial. What if she heard something that she could use to solve the case?

  Madison peeked out of her office to make sure that no one was in the hall. Then she scurried down to the bathroom and locked herself in. Opening the stall, she climbed on top of the toilet seat. Muffled voices floated toward her through the vent. When she pressed her ear to the metal covering, she could just make out what was being said. Her father was talking, and he sounded annoyed.

  “We have a good chance of winning your case,” Hamilton was saying, “but I’ve got to know all of the facts. If you’re hiding something from me and the DA finds out before I do, he’ll spring it on us during the trial and you could go to prison.”

  “I’ve told you everything,” Mr. Shelby said.

  “Let’s go over what happened on the morning your wife disappeared one more time.”

  “It’s like I told you. I got up and took a shower. When I was dressed I went downstairs. Ruth was in the kitchen. I told her I had a long drive and I appreciated her making breakfast for me. Ruth looked surprised, and she asked me what I meant. I told her I was spending the weekend with my buddies at a golf resort. She looked furious and asked me if I’d forgotten something. I didn’t understand what she was talking about. She reminded me that this was our wedding anniversary weekend.

  “I felt terrible and I apologized, but I said I couldn’t let the guys down. Plus, we were staying at an expensive resort and I wouldn’t be able to get my money back. That’s when Ruth threw the coffee pot at me and started screaming. I didn’t want to put up with her temper tantrum, so I left. She was alive when I drove away.”

  “What about the blood?”

  “I have no idea how that got on the knife and the other stuff. There wasn’t any blood when I left.”

  “And that’s it, that’s everything that happened?” Hamilton asked.

  “Yeah, I swear,” Mark Shelby said, but Madison didn’t think that he sounded convincing. When her father spoke, she could tell he didn’t think so, either.

  “I hope so,” Hamilton said. “I think that’s enough for today.”

  Madison didn’t wait to hear anything else. She jumped off the toilet and raced back to her office. She heard the door to her father’s office open just before she closed her door. Then she fell onto her chair and took deep breaths. That was close, but it had been worth it. Madison was certain that Mr. Shelby had a secret, and she was determined to find out what it was.

  Minutes later, Madison heard her father say good-bye to Shelby. She waited a minute before leaving her office. Peggy was alone.

  “Did I just hear Dad?” Madison asked.

  “He was showing his client out. I told him you were here. He said to tell you that he’d be another half hour. Then he’ll take you home for dinner.”

  “Great.”

  Madison was about to return to her office when she remembered something.

  “Peggy, what would you think of if I told you that I was in someone’s kitchen and saw eggs, a green bell pepper, an onion, and ham on their counter?”

  Peggy didn’t expect the question, but it only took a moment for her to answer.

  “That’s easy. I’d think someone was making a Western omelet. Why?”

  Of course, a Western omelet! Madison smiled. She was suddenly certain that she had just solved one of the mysteries in the Shelby case.

  Chapter 14

  Madison Sees a Ghost

  Prescott-Mather was just over the line in Washington County and was not in The Grove’s interschool league. The prep school had been the Washington County middle school champion three out of the past six years. Every year, The Grove boys’ and girls’ teams played a scrimmage against Prescott-Mather before the start of the season. Even though the game didn’t count, the scrimmage was a big rivalry game because it gave the teams a chance to see how well they could do against top
competition.

  This year, the boys’ game was at The Grove and the girls were traveling. Madison boarded the bus for the trip to Prescott-Mather and found a seat in the back of the bus with Gail, another seventh-grade alternate. Coach Davis had made Marci team captain. Halfway to the prep school Marci stood in the aisle and gave a shrill whistle to get everyone’s attention.

  “Before we boarded the bus, Coach Davis told us to play hard today as if we were playing in a championship game. Well, I’m telling you to play harder than that. This game won’t count in the won-lost column, but it counts here.” Marci pounded her fist against her heart. “The players on Prescott-Mather think they’re hot stuff because they’re rich and go to a private school. Well, they’re not hot stuff. That school recruits and gives out scholarships, and that’s cheating as far as I’m concerned. Everyone who plays for The Grove lives near the school. We don’t pick and choose. The Prescott-Mather snobs look down their nose at us because we go to public school. I say that makes us tougher. No one feeds us with a silver spoon. Today let’s show those preppies where they can put their silver spoons.” Marci’s face turned red. “I hate the Prescott-Mather preppies. Let’s crush them this afternoon.”

  Most of the girls cheered and whistled, but Madison was quiet. She’d never heard a coach or player on her elementary school or club teams say they hated anyone, let alone an entire school. As far as Madison was concerned, being angry hurt your performance. It was better to concentrate on doing your best. If you performed your fundamentals as well as you could, you’d play as well as you could, and it wouldn’t matter if you liked or hated the other team.

  Prescott-Mather had always been a big rival of her elementary school, but some of the girls on the two school teams played on elite club teams together and were friends. Madison couldn’t imagine hating someone who was a teammate on a club team just because they played for a different school during the school soccer season.

  The driver told Marci she would have to sit. She took her seat and everyone quieted down. Madison noticed that Coach Davis hadn’t done anything to stop Marci or criticize her speech. She sighed. There was no question that Marci was the coach’s favorite. Madison could see that taking her spot was going to be almost impossible.

  The bus left the highway shortly after crossing the county line and headed into the countryside. Fifteen minutes later, it passed between two stone pillars with thick metal letters on them that told Madison that she had arrived at Prescott-Mather. A two-lane road passed between oak, maple, and Douglas fir trees for a short stretch before turning into the main campus, a collection of old stone classroom buildings and dorms for the students who boarded that would have looked at home at any Ivy League university.

  The Grove’s gym was part of the school building, whereas the gym at Prescott-Mather was made of glass and polished steel and stood on its own plot of land. In the gym were a basketball court and an Olympic-size swimming pool. The soccer field was behind the gym and was surrounded by woods. The stands were filled with parents and students, even though the teams were only playing a scrimmage. Madison didn’t look for her father in the crowd. She knew he wouldn’t be there. Madison’s father rarely made it to her games. She was sure if her mom was alive she would have made it to every single one of them.

  The bus stopped and Coach Davis got off first. The Prescott-Mather coach was waiting for her, and the prep school players were lined up at her side. The coaches shook hands and chatted for a moment. They seemed like old friends. Then Coach Davis motioned for the team to get off the bus. The girls were already wearing their soccer gear. After they shook hands with their rivals, Coach Davis led them to the visitor’s bench, where they huddled up and she gave them a short pep talk. Then she read off the starting lineup before sending the team out to warm up.

  Madison was not starting, but she hoped that she’d get in the game at some point so the coach could see how well she played against a really good team. Thinking about playing against Prescott-Mather brought back memories of the last game she and Ann had played together. Madison blinked back an unexpected tear. For the first time in her soccer career she would be playing a game without Ann. Where was she? Was she safe? Madison would have given anything to know the answer to those questions.

  With two minutes left, Pettygrove and Prescott-Mather were tied 1 to 1 and Madison was still on the bench because Coach Davis was only playing her starters. The coach looked more intense than Madison had ever seen her, and that was saying a lot. She stomped along the sidelines yelling at everyone, her face bright red. She was acting like this was the state finals. Madison had convinced herself that she would never get a chance to play when Carrie Metzger twisted her ankle and limped off in pain.

  “Kincaid, get in there,” the coach shouted. Jumping up, she raced onto the field. Her adrenaline was pumping. If she could just have the chance to get a shot on goal, the coach would see how valuable she could be to the team.

  That chance came with a minute left. Marci had the ball and The Grove was moving upfield. Two defenders raced toward Marci, and she realized that she had to get rid of the ball. Marci looked to her left and saw that her closest teammate was being guarded. Then she turned to her right and saw Madison.

  No one was between Madison and the goal because the defenders were concentrating on The Grove’s stars. If Marci passed the ball, Madison would have a chance to score and win the game. Marci hesitated. Madison could read Marci’s thoughts: The last thing Marci wanted to do was make Madison Kincaid look good, but beating Prescott-Mather was even more important. She faked one way and sent a beautiful pass toward Madison.

  As Madison broke toward the ball, she calculated her next move. Only the goalie stood between her and victory. A short distance behind the goal was the forest. When Madison was inches from the ball, she saw movement in the trees.

  Standing on the edge of the woods, staring at Madison, was a girl who looked exactly like Ann Beck.

  Madison’s mouth dropped open. She took her eyes off the ball and tripped over it. Her feet went flying and she hit the turf face-first. When she looked up, all she could see were feet racing by her. She pushed up to her hands and knees and saw players fighting for the ball, but all she could think of was the girl in the woods. Had she seen Ann or had her eyes played tricks on her?

  Remembering the game, she leaped to her feet. Before she could get to the battling players, the whistle blew and the tie game was over.

  “Thanks for nothing, you spaz,” Marci shouted at her angrily as she raced toward the bench. Madison hung her head. She had cost the team a chance to win. The other girls glared at her. Instead of being the hero, Madison was the goat.

  When she got to the bench, Coach Davis gathered everyone around her and bawled them out for not playing hard enough to win. Standing on the edge of the huddle, eyes down, she expected to be the object of the coach’s wrath, but Coach Davis ignored her, which was even worse than a tongue-lashing.

  Prescott-Mather had set up a table with cold drinks and snacks. In a voice heavy with disgust, the coach told her team they could get refreshments even though they didn’t deserve any kind of reward.

  Madison headed toward the table, then veered off and streaked toward the woods. When she reached the spot where the girl had stood, she saw a path leading into the forest. She jogged along it. After a little while the path ended at one of the school’s dorms. It was past five and she saw only a few students. None of them was Ann. She wanted to ask them if they knew Ann, but she had to get back to the team or the bus would leave without her. By the time she joined her teammates on the bus, Madison wasn’t even sure if she’d seen Ann at all.

  Chapter 15

  The Outcast

  All of the starters gave Madison the cold shoulder on the ride back to The Grove. To Madison’s relief, Gail didn’t protest when Madison sat with her again on the trip back to school. The other alternates were influenced by the starters and would not meet Madison’s eye. When the bus stopped, M
adison waited until everyone was gone before she got off. She was so embarrassed that she didn’t want to be around the other players. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she headed for her father’s law office.

  Traffic was heavy because the people who worked downtown were driving home, but Madison was walking with her head down and she didn’t notice. It was starting to get dark, and a chilly rain fell on her. She made no attempt to shield herself from the large, wet drops that soaked her hair and dripped down her face. The gloomy weather fit her mood perfectly. She couldn’t believe she’d muffed her first chance to play for The Grove in such spectacular fashion. She wouldn’t be surprised if the coach never played her again. Was it possible that her middle school soccer career had ended before it had a chance to begin?

  As Madison reran the awful moments of her disgrace in her mind, she couldn’t stop thinking about why she’d tripped over the ball. Was the person in the trees Ann Beck or had her imagination played tricks on her? Had she convinced herself that Ann was the girl in the woods because she missed Ann so much? She wanted that girl to be Ann because it would bring her a step closer to solving the mystery surrounding her friend’s disappearance and make her humiliation on the soccer field a little more bearable. If the girl wasn’t Ann, Madison had destroyed her soccer career for wishful thinking.

  The waiting room at Kincaid and Kirk was empty when Madison walked in. It was late, and most of the employees and attorneys had left. Peggy looked up from her work when the door opened. She started to smile but stopped when she saw how dejected Madison looked.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  Dropping her duffel bag, Madison slumped on a chair across from Peggy’s desk.

  “I just made a complete fool of myself in our scrimmage at Prescott-Mather. The coach will probably keep me on the bench forever.”