“It should go without saying that I piled on the charm that’s expected of a young lady at Miss Adler’s School. I began regaling Ms. Semple with stories of my studies abroad in London, which were fictional of course, but my commitment to details made her believe every word. Attention must always be paid to the minutiae if you wish to get away with even the simplest ruse. I heaped on declarations of my desire to become an Adler lady. Ms. Semple, in turn, was eating it up.
“As soon as I knew that there was more than adequate time for you to take your place, I started fanning myself. ‘My goodness,’ I said. ‘My apologies, but I’m feeling a tad flush. It must be all this excitement of even the thought that I’d be fortunate enough to attend this fine institution.’ ” Shelby’s face looked disgusted at the mere thought of attending Miss Adler’s again.
“Ms. Semple offered to call the nurse, but instead I asked her to open the window, which she did. I must mention that I had no doubt you’d be there, Watson. After the window was open I let her know I was fine, which turned her attention to me again. I needed her focus to be on me so I could see where her eyes went when the smoke appeared. Once you sounded the alarm and the smoke came in, she looked across the room at a painting on the wall. And that was all I needed.
“I suggested that we exit the building. While Ms. Semple hesitated for a quick moment, she soon followed me through her office door, where there was no smoke to be seen or alarm to be heard. Ms. Semple’s secretary was typing away on her computer and was utterly perplexed when Ms. Semple started inquiring about a fire.”
“But how did you get back inside her office?”
Shelby grunted, aggravated that I’d interrupted her. “I’m getting to that. You were the one who wanted details, Watson. As I was saying, I had purposefully left my bag inside Ms. Semple’s office, so I pretended to remember it, and ducked in while Ms. Semple and her secretary were trying to figure out what was going on. I quickly removed the painting and found a safe behind it. I have to say, I was very underwhelmed by the lock. It was simple. I pulled out the tools that I had hidden under my skirt, and it took me no more than twenty seconds to open the safe. The watch was on top of a bunch of documents. I took the watch, closed the safe, put the painting back in place, and grabbed my bag.
“When I walked out of her office, Ms. Semple was on the phone with maintenance, trying to figure out if there was a faulty alarm. She was preoccupied, so I simply slipped away. As far as they know, Basia Rathbone decided to study elsewhere.”
It all really had gone according to her plan. Every single detail had been figured out, and executed flawlessly. I was almost disappointed it was over. But not really, since it wasn’t even 9:30 and that meant I had enough time to go home, change out of these stuffy clothes, and get to Rucker Park to play ball with the guys.
John Watson: detective, friend, and athlete.
“So we’re done?” I asked.
“Yes,” Shelby replied with an uninterested sniff. “Mr. Crosby has been notified that I’m in possession of his watch. I’ll be meeting him later today. Then he can let Lestrade know about Ms. Semple’s failed blackmail and our successful retrieval. You’ve done quite well for yourself, Watson. I truly couldn’t have done this without you.”
“Thanks, Shelby!” All the stress of the last couple days had disappeared. Instead I was excited that we solved yet another case. We came through for Mr. Crosby. Plus, I was going to have an awesome journal entry out of this. I was becoming better each day with all this sleuthing stuff.
We turned the corner and stopped.
There, blocking our way with her arms folded and a triumphant smile on her face, was the girl from outside the school. The one who gave Shelby the tour. The one who I thought was looking for me.
“Hello, Basia.”
What was she doing here? Were we caught? What happened to us if we were?
In a flash, Shelby transformed back into her prep school character. “Why, hello, Moira. Thank you again for an absolutely delightful tour of the school. This is an old friend from my previous school, Bruce Nigels.” It amazed me how quickly Shelby could come up with an alias. “Bruce, this is Moira.”
“Hello,” I said in an overly deep voice as I extended my hand, but in a wooden, less natural way. I figured if Bruce was friends with someone like Basia, he probably was a bit of a bore. “Pleasure.”
“I’m surprised to see you, Moira. Not that it isn’t a wonderful surprise.” Shelby (well, Basia) didn’t seem to be worried, but that didn’t mean much. It was usually pretty impossible to read Shelby, even when she was being herself.
“Yes,” Moira said as she flipped her ponytail. “I believe you were looking for this.” She reached into her blue school blazer pocket and pulled out a watch.
My mouth fell open while Shelby didn’t move a muscle. (So much for me being cool undercover.)
“What’s that?” Shelby asked in such a sweet voice, I almost believed she was clueless.
Moira tsked. “You know exactly what it is. I’m disappointed that you didn’t inspect the watch in the safe to make sure it was Mr. Crosby’s. What you have in your possession is a replica of the Bulova A-17, the successor to the A-11. But never once did you think to check. Your ego does get in the way, doesn’t it?”
Ouch. But still no reaction from Shelby.
“Did you really think Ms. Semple was behind this?” Moira continued. “She’s about as useless as it comes. A kindergartener could’ve hacked into her e-mail and broken into her safe, as you’ve proven, Basia. Did you think I was going to leave the real watch in the safe? That I was going to make this easy for you?”
Easy?! She thought THAT was easy?
And if Moira had Mr. Crosby’s watch, what did we have?
Oh, and you know, WHO WAS THIS GIRL AND WHY WOULD SHE DO THIS?
I remained mute as I waited for Shelby to respond. She was still in Basia mode: perfect posture, wide eyes, and pleasant smile on her face. She looked Moira up and down.
Okay, Shelby was going to figure this out. She would know what to do.
“I think it would be extremely helpful if you could answer a question for me,” Shelby said, although usually when Shelby asked a question, she already knew the answer.
“Please,” Moira responded with a crooked smile.
“What exactly do you want with Mr. Crosby?”
Okay! Good! Figure out what she wants so we can give it to her, get the real watch, and then get out of here.
“This has absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Crosby.” A smile started to spread on Moira’s lips. “Imagine my delight when I realized that my naive former teacher was the best way for me to set everything in motion. Because what I really wanted was to see your face when you realized you failed, Shelby Holmes.”
CHAPTER
19
Oh no.
No. No. NO. NO!
How on earth did Moira figure out who Shelby was when even I was fooled by Basia Rathbone when I first met her?
I was staring at Shelby, waiting to see what she was going to do.
In a flash, Shelby hunched over in her usual sloppy posture, and her scowl returned. Actually, it was more of a sneer. I’ve never seen Shelby angry. (Extremely displeased and annoyed? Yes. Oh yes. But angry? No.) To be honest, as long as it wasn’t directed at me, I was curious what was going to happen.
“So let’s dispense with this farce, shall we?” Moira said. Then to my horror, she turned to me. “Don’t you agree, John Watson?”
She knew who I was? How did she know me? Nobody knew me. I wasn’t a local legend like Shelby.
“I, er, I,” I stuttered. (Yep, nothing legendary about me.)
“Well,” Shelby said, taking charge, “if we’re to start dispensing the truth, then tell me what you want so we can get on with this.”
Moira took the watch and put it back in the inside pocket of her blazer. “You don’t remember me?”
Shelby yawned. An actual yawn. “I only remember people o
f significance.”
Moira clenched her jaw. “Shelby Holmes, as self-important as ever. To be honest, I had forgotten all about you until your name started popping up recently. The Great Shelby Holmes,” Moira said with spite. “The pint-sized detective who solves crimes. Honestly, I find your methods a bit pedestrian.”
Uh-oh. I braced myself, ready to pull Shelby off Moira if I needed to. You didn’t mess with Shelby. She studied jujitsu.
Shelby rolled her eyes. “Yes, clearly you went through all this trouble because you’re utterly unimpressed by me. Envy doesn’t look good on anybody, Moira.”
“Why would I be jealous of somebody who failed their teacher? You couldn’t perform the simple task of retrieving a beloved family heirloom. I’m very curious about how you’re going to write about this in your online journal, Watson.”
Shelby glared at me.
(Was it wrong that I was kinda excited that Moira had read my writing? I mean, it’s cool that it was gaining a readership.
Although … it might have gotten us into this mess.)
Moira continued, “Perhaps you should change the name of your journal from The Great Shelby Holmes to The Sometimes Satisfactory Shelby Holmes.” Moira laughed lightly, and then turned it into a sigh. “Well, it’s been such a … hmm. My manners dictate that I say it’s been a pleasure. Yet the truth is that I’m a little disappointed in our reunion.” Moira shook her head as she turned to walk away.
“Wait!” I called after her. It can’t end like this. We came too close. “Fine! You got us! Happy?”
I could hear Shelby grinding her teeth next to me, no doubt appalled that I would admit defeat. But forget pride, we needed that watch.
“What do you want?” I asked again. Everybody had a price. There was no way she went through all of this solely to rub it in our faces.
Moira turned around with a satisfied look on her face. “I don’t want anything from you. Seeing you fail miserably has been reward enough. Proving that I am, in fact, better than you was all I needed. You can assure Mr. Crosby that his favorite former student, Moira Hardy, was able to safely retrieve his watch and that it will be returned to him shortly. Although I am tempted to keep it. It would be a lovely memento of defeating you.”
“Day’s not over yet,” Shelby replied confidently.
Moira laughed again. It was extremely aggravating. “Well, when I return to Miss Adler’s, in addition to educating Ms. Semple on your true identity, I’ll make sure the security guards know to not allow you access.” Moira began to walk away.
“Good luck,” Shelby replied. Moira turned around with an eyebrow raised. “Ms. Semple wants me to return to Miss Adler’s. If she finds out Basia’s true identity, she’ll be running around the streets looking for me. She’ll beg me to come back into the building.”
“She doesn’t want you at Miss Adler’s. That was all part of my charade.”
“Oh, really? For the last two years, you’ve been writing me letters asking me to return?”
Moira scowled. “While you may have Ms. Semple fooled, I’m regarded as an exemplary student at Miss Adler’s. My name holds weight. If I say you’re out, you’re out. End of story. I know being a bigger person isn’t something you’re usually capable of, but perhaps you should just admit defeat before you trouble yourself any further.”
Shelby straightened up so she was closer to eye level with Moira (although Shelby was still several inches shorter). “It’s no trouble at all, really.”
“Famous last words,” Moira sang out as she walked away with a skip in her step. She turned the corner and vanished from our sight.
“What was that all about?” I asked. I mean, REALLY?
Shelby reached into her bag and pulled out the watch. She studied it before throwing it down on the ground and stomping on it.
“It’s a fake. I can’t believe it. I didn’t examine it, Watson.” Shelby’s face was pinched in anger. “I was … careless.” She leaned against the brick wall of a storefront in shock.
That made two of us.
Shelby didn’t make mistakes. She had assumed the watch she found was the right one. Why wouldn’t it be? I had so many questions. “So Ms. Semple had nothing to do with it?”
“No. Moira used her as a front. Mr. Crosby never would’ve taken threats from a former student seriously. My initial hunches were correct that this was out of character for Ms. Semple. Mr. Crosby was never e-mailing with Ms. Semple; it was Moira the entire time.”
Yeah, Shelby had thought it didn’t seem like something Ms. Semple would do. Of course I thought the whole thing was fishy all along! I knew a headmistress wouldn’t go through all of that to get a student back. Which led to the most pressing question.
“Why would Moira do this? I don’t get it.”
“Moira is a rich girl with too much time on her hands. She’s proven to be a slight nuisance, but nothing we can’t handle.”
We. I still got a surge of pride when Shelby included me (and not only when she needed me to set off a smoke bomb).
“You really don’t remember her? You must’ve gone to school with her when you were at Miss Adler’s.”
Shelby looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’m aware of her surname because it’s on many plaques throughout the school, as the Hardy family is one of the main benefactors of the school. But I do not remember Moira from my time there. She does seem familiar, but not from a few years ago. I’ve seen her more recently.” Shelby closed her eyes, and her lips began to move as she tried to place Moira. It was something I’d seen her do before when she tried to access information in her brain attic.
After a few minutes, she opened her eyes.
“Anything?” I asked.
“Not yet. But even if I could remember her, it still leaves us without a watch.”
“Moira said she was going to return it to Mr. Crosby.”
Shelby scoffed. “Oh, Watson, I’m not going to let her best me.”
I didn’t think anybody could best Shelby. But maybe she had met her match? Moira seemed to be a step ahead of us.
“Maybe we should. Mr. Crosby gets his watch, while we can chalk this up as a learning experience.” I wasn’t sure what we had to learn except that Moira Hardy had some serious jealousy issues.
“We will not be defeated, Watson,” Shelby stated with her hands on her hips. “While my mind may have been clouded with Moira’s traps and using Ms. Semple as her cover, I am seeing clearly now.”
“But what can we do?”
“We are going to get that watch! We will not let Mr. Crosby down. Plus, Moira needs to know that she can’t mess with Shelby Holmes and John Watson.”
Shelby’s confidence was contagious. She was right: Who did this Moira think we were? We didn’t give up! We were going to fix this!
Basketball with the guys was a million miles away. All that mattered now was seeing this case through to the end.
“You’re right!” I said as I pumped my fist into the air.
“Of course I am,” Shelby stated matter-of-factly. “You know what we have to do.”
“We’re going after her,” I said, more as a statement than a question.
“Affirmative.” Shelby’s eyes were focused on the corner where Moira disappeared. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER
20
“Stay close,” Shelby instructed as we walked straight, instead of turning at the same corner as Moira.
“I thought we were following her.”
“There’s no need to follow when we know her next location. It’s better that we stay out of sight. For now.”
Ah, right. Moira was going back to school.
“Do you really not remember her from when you were in school together?” I pressed. Shelby remembered everything. I had a feeling she was keeping something from me.
“No, I do not, Watson,” she snapped. “I realize this is yet another mental error on my part, and I do not need you reminding me of it. I threw out the bulk of my Miss Adler�
�s brain files a while ago. Honestly, I didn’t expect the students there to be of any importance for a future case.”
“But you must’ve done something to make her mad.”
Shelby scowled at me. “If being the smartest person in school at age six can make somebody mad, then yes, she probably was mad at me. She can get in line behind all the students at the Academy who take issue with my intelligence.”
Of course I was on Shelby’s side, but … if Moira had been holding a grudge all this time, I could see why. It was pretty hard not to find Shelby grating and condescending sometimes.
And I’m speaking as her closest (and only) friend.
We reached the edge of Central Park where we could easily see the school. We stood on the other side of the stone wall that bordered the park.
Shelby looked out at Miss Adler’s. “Let’s examine what we know about Moira: she’s rich, jealous, and, most troublesome, extremely clever. There wasn’t much to deduce from her appearance since her school uniform was pristine: a marker of having a maid. Her hair was also incredibly tidy; not a single strand was out of place. A clue that perhaps someone did her hair for her. It could possibly be her mother, but Moira’s family has a lot of money so her parents probably don’t spend a lot of time with her. She’s surrounded by people who are paid to take care of her.”
“You can tell that by her clothes and hair?”
“I can tell you have a busy working mother by your clothes.”
I looked down at the nicest outfit I had. “Oh, come on, you can’t tell that by—”
Shelby lifted my arm and turned it so the buttons of my cuff were showing. “You’re missing a button. It’s nothing really, but it shows me that your caretaker doesn’t have the time, nor the proclivity, to find a matching button to sew on.”
The Great Shelby Holmes Meets Her Match Page 8
