CHAPTER 5

Very Special Souvenir

“I told you,” Wilson whispered to Amal later that afternoon. “We should leave it up to the police.”

“Bah!” said Amal, but she knew Wilson was right. The touring-exhibit hall, where the American History Museum’s Famous Astronauts display sat unfinished, was blocked off by three police officers and strips of yellow crime-scene tape.

Just outside the blocked-off area stood a police detective talking on her cell phone. Reporters from the local TV stations crowded the officer and shouted questions at her:

“How did the thief have access?”

“What was stolen from the touring exhibit?”

“Will this mean the end of the Famous Astronauts tour?”

Wilson shot his friends a glance. “Boy, these reporters know less about the case than we do,” he said quietly.

“Well,” Raining said as his father stepped through the archway, “we do have an informant on the inside.”

Mr. Sam strode over to the police detective, who’d managed to escape from the crowd of reporters. “Detective!” he called out. “It’s urgent that I speak with you.”

The detective, a tall woman with brown hair and a nose like a hawk’s beak, hung up her phone call and peered at Mr. Sam. “Yes?” she said. “And you are … ?”

“My name is Aarik Sam,” he said. “I work here at the museum, and I have some information you might be able to use.”

“I’m Detective Archer,” the woman said, pulling a little notebook and pencil from the pocket of her blazer. “Please go on. Anything might help.”

Mr. Sam nodded. “As you probably know,” he began, “Capitol City has a renowned air and space museum. A member of their staff — Mr. Mordecai, the director of their special collections division — has been up in arms about our hosting of this exhibit.”

“Why?” the detective asked.

“Because of the very item that has been stolen,” Mr. Sam explained. “He just doesn’t understand why such an important artifact — the space suit worn by Sally Ride — should be housed here, rather than at his museum.”

“Isn’t it part of the tour?” the detective asked. “Shouldn’t it stay with the tour?”

Mr. Sam nodded vigorously. “That’s exactly what I’ve been telling him for the past three months,” he said. “But he won’t accept it!”

The detective jotted some notes on her pad, then closed it up and slipped it back into her pocket. “Thank you,” she said. “If you think of anything else that might seem important, let me know.” With that, she turned away, took her phone out again, and started dialing.

Amal pulled her friends to the side. “I think your dad is on to something, Raining,” she whispered.

“He is?” Raining said. “How do you know?”

“Because my dad was at work late last night dealing with Mr. Mordecai,” Amal explained. “He said he’s been ‘just furious’ about something, but he didn’t say what. He must have meant the Sally Ride space suit.”

“Then we have our first suspect,” said Wilson. He pulled his tablet from his backpack and entered the name Mordecai. “Can we speak to him?”

“We can try,” Amal said. “I hope he’s not as grumpy as my dad said.”

Clementine nodded, wide-eyed. “I much prefer talking to people who are smiling,” she said.

The four friends walked away from the crime scene and back through the main lobby toward the ticket desk. On the way, they passed a group of women and girls, all wearing matching red, white, and blue Sally Ride T-shirts. Most of them looked pretty upset.

“I guess they heard their hero’s space suit isn’t here anymore,” Amal said.

“If they’re such big fans,” Raining said, “maybe one of them wanted a very special souvenir.”

“Hmm,” Wilson said thoughtfully. “That’s a possibility. But where would they have stashed it?”

Raining stepped up to the ticket counter. “Hi, Katie.”

“Afternoon, Raining,” Katie, the ticket seller, replied. “Too bad about the touring exhibit, huh?”

Raining nodded. “Do you know anything about that group?” he asked. “The ones in the T-shirts?”

“Oh, sure,” Katie replied. “They got the group rate. They all came together on that big charter bus parked outside.”

Raining and the others glanced over at the huge glass front door and saw a gleaming silver bus parked in the lot. It was so big it took up five whole parking spaces at the back of the lot.

“What do you think?” Raining asked. “Could it be stashed out there?”

The friends made their way over to the door and stood at the glass, looking out. Their breath fogged up the window.

“Wait,” Clementine said. “You don’t think one of them … but they seem so sad!”

“Maybe one of them is a great actor,” Wilson said.

“And maybe,” Amal added, “Raining is right and whoever took the space suit stowed it on that bus.”

Clementine twisted her mouth. “I don’t know …”

“We should check,” Raining said. He pushed open the door and walked outside. Amal and Wilson joined him, and a moment later Clementine hurried after.

“But what about Mr. Mordecai and the Air and Space Museum?” Clementine asked as she caught up to the others.

“We’ll head over there next,” Amal said. “Don’t worry.”