The Secret at Jefferson's Mansion

by Ron Roy

  Marshall looked at KC. “Did he lock us in the cellar?” he asked.

  “No, that was Mr. Tea,” Lois said. “He saw the door ajar and closed it with his screwdriver. He had no idea you kids were down there.”

  “The whole place needs a new security system,” the president said. “I’ve made arrangements to have it done, and Mr. Tea will be in charge. I think Thomas Jefferson would be pleased.”

  KC yawned. “I’m going to bed,” she said. “Marsh, can you stay over?”

  “Sure, if it’s okay with my folks,” said Marshall.

  Lois began cleaning up the pizza scraps. “I’ve already called your parents,” she said. “Sweet dreams, you two.”

  “Nighty-night,” President Thornton said. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

  The kids walked down the hallway to their bedrooms. Marshall was carrying his backpack. “I hope Spike doesn’t decide to go for one of his walks tonight,” KC said. “You’d never find him in the White House.”

  “Don’t worry, he’s sound asleep,” said Marshall, patting the pack.

  They said good night, and KC walked into her bedroom. When she opened her closet door, she could still smell the fresh paint. She had left the hidden cupboard uncovered. It was a perfect place to keep her diary and piggy bank.

  KC changed into her pajamas and pulled back the covers on her bed. She jumped backward. A cardboard cutout of a big black tarantula sat on her pillow. Right away KC knew Marshall was the culprit.

  KC grabbed her flashlight and tiptoed down the hall to Marshall’s bedroom. She tapped lightly on the door. When he didn’t answer, she stepped quietly into his room.

  Marshall was sound asleep in his bed. On his nightstand stood Spike’s jar. But that was not what KC had come looking for.

  She shone her light around the room. There it was! The jar of crickets sat on the windowsill.

  KC picked up the jar and twisted off the lid. Then she tiptoed over to the foot of Marshall’s bed. She lifted his blanket and slid the opened cricket jar next to his bare feet.

  Back in her own room, KC snuggled down into her bedcovers. She hoped she’d stay awake long enough to hear Marshall’s scream.

  Photo credits: courtesy of the Library of Congress; courtesy of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation/Monticello.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2009 by Ron Roy

  Illustrations copyright © 2009 by Timothy Bush

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Roy, Ron.

  The secret at Jefferson’s mansion / by Ron Roy ;

  illustrated by Timothy Bush. — 1st ed.

  p. cm. — (Capital mysteries; 11)

  “Stepping Stone book.”

  Summary: While visiting Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, presidential

  stepdaughter KC Corcoran and her friend Marshall investigate the theft of a

  box of toy horses given to Jefferson by his grandchildren.

  [1. Mystery and detective stories. 2. Presidents—Fiction. 3. Jefferson, Thomas,

  1743–1826—Fiction. 4. Monticello (Va.)—Fiction.]

  I. Bush, Timothy, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.R8139Se 2009 [Fic]—dc22 2008029572

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-47792-7

  v3.0