Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose left Mavis at Ellie's Diner, then headed for Dink's house. Dink made tuna sandwiches and lemonade. Ruth Rose brought a bag of potato chips and some raisin cookies from her house next door. They ate at the picnic table in Dink's backyard. Dink took a bite of his sandwich. After he swallowed, he said, "Let's go over what we know."

He moved his lemonade glass to the middle of the table. "My glass is the airport," he said. "We know Wallis Wallace landed." "How do we know he did?" Josh asked. "The airport told me the plane landed, Josh." "And Maureen Higgins said she picked him up," Ruth Rose added. "Okay, so your glass is the airport," Josh said. "Keep going, Dink." Dink slid his sandwich plate over next to his glass. "My plate is Maureen's taxi." He put a cookie on the plate. "The cookie is Wallis Wallace getting into the taxi." Dink slid the plate over to the opened potato chip bag. "This bag is the hotel." He walked the Wallis Wallace cookie from the plate into the bag. Dink looked at Josh and Ruth Rose. "But what happened to Wallis Wallace after he walked into the lobby?"

"I'll tell you what happened," Josh said. He lined up four cookies in a row. "This little cookie is Mr. Paskey. These three are Maureen, Mr. Linkletter, and Olivia Nugent." Josh looked up and waggled his eyebrows. "I think these four cookies planned the kidnapping together!" Ruth Rose laughed. "Josh, Mr. Paskey and Livvy Nugent are friends of ours. Do you really think they planned this big kidnapping? And can

you see Mr. Linkletter and my baby-sitter pulling off a kidnapping together?" Josh ate a potato chip. "Well, maybe not. But someone kidnapped the guy!" "Our trail led us to the hotel, and then it ended," Dink said. "What I want to know is, if Wallis Wallace isn't in his room, where is he?" Dink nibbled on a cookie thoughtfully. "I'm getting a headache trying to sort it all out." Ruth Rose dug in Dink's backpack and brought out three Wallis Wallace books. "I have an idea." She handed books to Dink and Josh and kept one. "What're these for?" Dink asked. "Josh made me think of something Wallis Wallace wrote in The Mystery in the Museum," Ruth Rose said. "He said the more you know about the victim, the easier it is to figure out who did the crime." She turned to the back cover of her book. "So let's try to find out more about our victim. Listen to this." She started reading out loud. "'When not writing, the author likes to work in the garden. Naturally, Wallis Wallace's favorite color is green.'"

"Fine," said Josh, "but how does knowing his favorite color help us find him, Ruth Rose?" "I don't know, but maybe if we read more about him, we'll discover some clues," Ruth Rose said. "What does it say on the back of your book?" Josh flipped the book over and began reading. "'Wallis Wallace lives in a castle called Moose Manor.'" He looked up. "We already knew he lived in a castle. I don't see any clues yet, you guys." Ruth Rose stared at Josh. "You know, something is bugging me, but I can't figure out what it is. Something someone said today maybe." She shook her head. "Anyway read yours, Dink." Dink read from the back cover of his book. "'Wallis Wallace gives money from writing books to help preserve the wild animals that live in Maine.'" "Okay he gives money away to save animals, lives in a castle, and grows a bunch of green stuff," Josh said, counting on his fingers. "Still no clues." Josh took another cookie. "But I just thought of something." He began slowly munching on the cookie.

Dink raised his eyebrows. "Are you going to tell us, Josh?" "Well, I was thinking about Room 302. Remember, someone signed the register right after Wallis Wallace checked into Room 303? And the signature was all smudged? And then Olivia Nugent—" "—told us that Room 302 had a Do Not Disturb sign on it!" Ruth Rose interrupted. "Livvy never went into that room at all!" Just then Dink's mother drove up the driveway. She got out of the car, waved, and started walking toward the picnic table. "Oh, no!" Dink said. "If Mom finds out I'm trying to find a kidnapper, she won't let me out of the house! Don't say anything, okay?" "Can't I even say hi?" Josh asked. Dink threw a potato chip at Josh. "Say hi, then shut up about you-know-what!" "Hi, Mrs. Duncan!" Josh said, sliding a look at Dink. "Hi, kids. How was the book signing? Tell me all about Wallis Wallace, Dink. Is he as wonderful as you expected?"