“Thanks for coming down and setting this up so quickly,” Charlie said. He was back in the office behind the front desk again.

Annie, Ty, and Bingham were sitting in various chairs and couches. At the front of the room, fiddling with cables and a wide-screen monitor, was Kyle Bukowski, president of the Blackstone Middle School A/V Club.

“It’s no problem,” Kyle said. “You know I’m always happy to help with an audio/video emergency. In a moment, I’ll have all nine videos that we shot of Theopolis’s performance cued up for us.”

Kyle plugged in a few things, pushed a couple of buttons, and voila! Nine moving images popped up on the monitor, each in its own section. Each little video showed a different angle of Theopolis’s performance.

They watched the whole vanishing act a couple of times.

“It’s still amazing,” Annie said, shaking her head. “I’m so impressed.”

“What are we looking for, exactly?” Ty asked.

Charlie watched the videos until he saw just the right frame.

“Kyle, can you pause it right there,” Charlie said, “so we have a clear view of the inside of the wardrobe?”

“Sure,” Kyle said. He paused one of the nine videos and then zoomed in. “How’s this?”

“Perfect,” Charlie said. He pointed at the inside of the wardrobe. “Anything look funny to you, Ty?”

Ty squinted at the screen. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Look at the inside back wall,” Charlie said. He leaned back in the big chair. “What’s not there?”

Ty squinted. He leaned in closer and closer to the monitor, until his nose practically touched the screen.

Then his eyes went wide. “The black stamp!” he said.

Charlie smiled and said, “Hockney and Sons, 1935.”

“How did you know that wouldn’t be there?” Ty asked.

“Wait a second,” said Bingham. “Who’s Hockney?”

“I’ll explain later,” Charlie said. “First we have to find that wardrobe.” He pointed at the one on the monitor.

“That’s not the real wardrobe?” Annie asked.

“Nope,” Charlie said. “Not at all.”

“So where’s the real one?” Ty said.

“Probably somewhere he could keep a close eye on it,” Charlie said, “and where no one would be likely to stumble upon it.”

He and Ty thought for a moment, and it came to them at the very same time.

Together they said, “The thirteenth floor!”

“But where?” Annie said, shaking her head. “You two have already checked his room, and you roamed the halls. It couldn’t be another room, because he wouldn’t have a key to any other rooms.”

Charlie smiled at Ty. “Remember how you said every suite has at least two bedrooms?” Charlie said. “I have a hunch about where the second bedroom in Theopolis’s room has disappeared to.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Ty.

“Before I answer that,” said Charlie, “we should go talk to Brack.”

Ty squinted at him. “You think he might have seen something?” he asked.

“Yeah, if he’s been checking out the other elevators,” Charlie said. “He might have seen a couple of men pushing a wardrobe.”