Chapter 9

Chapter 9 "Maybe Sammi thinks Joan knows who the kidnappers are," Ruth Rose said. "Maybe," Dink said. "Or maybe Joan is the kidnapper!" Josh and Ruth Rose looked up from their Jell-O.

“也许萨米认为琼知道绑架者是谁，”露丝·罗斯说。 “也许吧，”丁克说。“或者琼就是绑架者!”乔希和露丝·罗斯从他们的果冻上抬起头来。

Josh had Cool Whip on his nose. "His tutor?" he asked. "Think about it," Dink went on. "Sammi wakes up in the middle of the night. Someone's in his room. He recognizes Joan and grabs a pile of glass. Yellow glass, because he remembers how much her name sounds like the French word for yellow. And he knows I know that!" "But how could she be the kidnapper?" Ruth Rose asked. "She's Sammi's friend. She came here to help him." "Yeah, and you saw how upset she was this morning," Josh said. "That couldn't be an act. I still think Sammi just grabbed the first pile of glass his hand landed on in the dark." Ruth Rose stood up. "There's one way to find out," she said. "Let's go to the hotel and talk to her." "Okay," Dink said. "But she's not at the hotel. My mom said she was meeting Joan at the diner." "Good!" Josh said, gulping down the last of his Jell-O. "I can get an ice cream while we talk!" The kids took Pal and hurried to Ellie's Diner on Main Street. Dink glanced through the window, but he didn't see Joan Klinker or his mom.

乔什鼻子上有"酷鞭" “他的家庭教师?”他问。“想想吧，”丁克接着说。 “Sammi在半夜醒来。 有人在他房间里。他认出了琼，抓起一堆玻璃。 黄色玻璃，因为他记得她的名字听起来很像法语中的黄色。 他知道我知道这一点!”“但她怎么可能是绑架者呢?”露丝·罗斯问。 “她是萨米的朋友。她是来帮助他的。” “是啊，你也看到她今天早上有多难过，”乔希说。 “那不可能是演戏。我仍然认为萨米只是在黑暗中抓住了他的手碰到的第一堆玻璃。” 露丝·罗斯站了起来。“有一种方法可以找出答案，”她说。 “我们去旅馆和她谈谈吧。” “好吧，”丁克说。“但她不在旅馆。 我妈妈说她要和琼在餐馆见面。” “好!”乔希说着，吞下了最后一块果冻。 “我们说话的时候我可以吃冰淇淋!”孩子们带着帕尔匆匆赶往主街的埃莉餐厅。 丁克瞥了一眼窗外，但他没有看到琼·克林克和他的妈妈。

"I wonder where they are. Mom's car isn't here either," Dink said, looking up and down Main Street. "Let's ask Ellie," Ruth Rose suggested. Josh pushed the door open and the kids stepped inside. Two teenagers were eating scrambled eggs, but no one else sat in the booths or at the counter. "Hey there, kids," Ellie said. "Hi, cute poochie!" She bent down and patted Pal, then stroked his ears. "Shall I scoop up three cones?" she asked. Dink shook his head. "No, thanks, I'm looking for my mom," he said. "Have you seen her? She was supposed to meet someone here a little while ago." Ellie shook her head. "Nope, haven't seen your mother in a few days," she said. "Maybe they're at the hotel," Ruth Rose said. Dink nodded. "I guess it's worth a try," he said. They thanked Ellie and headed for the Shangrila Hotel, two blocks up Main Street. "Why couldn't we at least get cones to go?" Josh asked. He placed one hand dramatically across his forehead. "I think I feel faint."

“我想知道他们在哪里。妈妈的车也不在这里，”丁克说着，朝大街上看了看。 “我们去问问艾莉吧，”露丝·罗斯建议道。 乔希推开门，孩子们走了进去。 两个十几岁的孩子在吃炒鸡蛋，但没有其他人坐在摊位上或柜台旁。 “嘿，孩子们，”艾莉说。 “嗨，可爱的小狗!”她弯下腰拍拍帕尔，然后抚摸他的耳朵。 “我要舀三个蛋筒吗?”她问。 丁克摇了摇头。“不，谢谢，我在找我妈妈，”他说。 “你见过她吗?”她刚才应该在这里见一个人的。” 艾莉摇了摇头。“没有，我好几天没见到你妈妈了，”她说。 “也许他们在旅馆里，”露丝·罗斯说。 丁克点点头。“我想这值得一试，”他说。 他们谢过艾莉，直奔主街两个街区外的香格里拉酒店。 “我们为什么不能至少弄个锥体带走呢?”杰克问。 他戏剧性地把一只手放在额头上。 “我觉得我要晕了。”

"Later," Dink said. "After we find Sammi." And after we find my mom, he thought. Three minutes later, they walked into the hotel. Mr. Linkletter was sitting on one of the lobby chairs, eating a doughnut and sipping coffee. "Well, hello there," he said when the trio approached him. He glanced at Pal. "Joshua, I assume your dog is, um, house-trained?" Josh grinned as Pal flopped down at Mr. Linkletter's feet. "Yep, and he's hotel-trained, too!" Mr. Linkletter twitched an eyebrow. "Well, then," he said, "how can I be of service today?" "I'm looking for my mom," Dink said. "She was supposed to meet Joan Klinker at Ellie's, but they're not there. Have you seen them?" Mr. Linkletter set his coffee down. "I didn't see your mom, but Ms. Klinker left the hotel a short while ago." "Did she say where she was going?" Mr. Linkletter shook his head. "Not a word." Dink glanced around the hotel lobby. Where could his mother be? She always let him know if she had to change her plans. Always! "She didn't leave a note or anything?"

“以后再说，”丁克说。“在我们找到萨米之后。” 等我们找到我妈妈，他想。 三分钟后，他们走进了旅馆。 林克莱特坐在大厅的一把椅子上，吃着甜甜圈，喝着咖啡。 “嗯，大家好，”当三人走近他时，他说。 他瞥了帕尔一眼。“约书亚，我想你的狗，嗯，受过驯养训练吧?”当帕尔扑通一声坐在林克莱特先生的脚边时，乔希咧嘴一笑。 “是啊，他也是在旅馆里受训的!”林克莱特扭动了一下眉毛。 “那么，”他说，“今天我能为您效劳吗?”“我在找我妈妈，”丁克说。 “她本该在Ellie家和Joan Klinker见面，但他们不在那里。 你见过他们吗?”林克莱特先生放下咖啡。 “我没看到你妈妈，但是。 克林克刚才离开旅馆了。” “她说她要去哪儿了吗?”林克莱特摇了摇头。 “一个字也没说。”丁克环视了一下旅馆的大厅。 他的母亲会在哪里呢? 如果她不得不改变计划，她总是告诉他。 永远!“她没有留下字条什么的吗?”

"I'm sorry, Donald," Mr. Linkletter said. "Perhaps she's gone back home. Would you like to call her?" Suddenly, Dink felt sick. He blinked back tears. Something was wrong! First Sammi disappeared, and now his mother was gone! And she'd been on her way to see Joan Klinker with the yellow glass! Mr. Linkletter wiped his fingers on his napkin and stood up. "Come, you can use my phone," he said. He took Dink over to the counter. Pal followed Mr. Linkletter, sniffing at his heels. Dink dialed and listened for his mother's voice on the other end. But no one answered. He set the phone down and looked up at Mr. Linkletter. "Where could she be?" he asked.

“对不起，唐纳德，”林克莱特说。 “也许她回家去了。 你想给她打个电话吗?”突然，丁克觉得不舒服。 他强忍住眼泪。有什么不对劲!先是萨米不见了，现在他妈妈又不见了!她正要去见拿着黄玻璃的琼·克林克!林克莱特先生用餐巾擦了擦手指，站了起来。 “来吧，你可以用我的电话，”他说。 他把丁克带到柜台前。 帕尔跟着林克莱特先生，嗅着他的脚后跟。 丁克拨通了电话，听着母亲在电话那头的声音。 但是没有人回答。他放下电话，抬头看着林克莱特先生。 “她会在哪儿呢?”他问。