Olivia Turtle stood in the lobby of the art museum, beaming with pride. It was the second day of STARCH. She loved meeting professionals from other countries and catching up on the latest gossip. It didn’t bother her at all that her team came in a miserable last place in the trivia-quiz challenge. The art museum in Volunteer Park was her home turf, and she felt like royalty.

She noticed Pajama Paul’s nephew moving anxiously through the crowd. He was darting around the lobby, looking under tables and chairs.

“What’s the matter, soiled young man?” asked Olivia, tapping him on the shoulder.

“I had a diamond,” he told her. “It was about this big.” He held up his hand and gestured with his thumb and index finger. “It was bright blue…and I lost it!”

Olivia didn’t waste time wondering why a kid would have a gem that sounded a lot like the Hope Diamond. She reached for the bullhorn she kept stashed in the lobby’s information kiosk.

“Attention, STARCH attendees,” she barked. “This is a code nine situation. Repeat. A code nine situation.”

Everyone in the lobby froze. The banjo players stopped strumming. Seconds later, the accordion players stopped squeezing. Dutifully, they all turned and listened to Olivia.

“A large gem has gone missing. It is a huge blue diamond the size of a walnut. This is not a test. Fan out, remain unobtrusive, and observe!”