“You’re right!” Josh said. “I saw a movie once where some thieves were dressed like apes. Their costumes looked just like the one Nog was wearing!”
“If Nog lifted the plank or shoved it, some of the hairs from his costume could have been left behind!” Ruth Rose said. “Then when we shoved the plank, the hairs got onto your shirt!”
“But I don’t think Nog was here last night,” Dink said. “Did anyone see him?”
“I didn’t,” Ruth Rose said. “But he could have been hiding somewhere, just like Trevor could have been hiding.”
“And then he creeps out in the middle of the night,” Dink added. “He makes the plank fall, grabs the River Diamond, and leaves the fake one. I like it!”
“But I thought we decided it was Trevor, Sylvia, and Dr. Wurst?” Josh said.
“That was before Trevor told us the hairs were fake,” Dink said.
“But what if he’s lying?” Josh asked. “What if Trevor realized the hairs were really his and knew we were onto him?”
“I think he was telling the truth,” Ruth Rose said. “I was watching his eyes. They didn’t look sneaky. His eyes looked interested in what he was telling us.”
“And I saw the hairs under the microscope,” Dink said. “The one I found in the bathroom was different from the three you found on my shirt. Trevor was combing his hair over the sink, so that hair was probably from his head. The other three weren’t his, so maybe he never touched that plank.”
“Okay, so now what do we do?” Josh asked.
Dink walked toward the office. “We find Nog, but I’m guessing that isn’t his real name,” he said.
“A fake name, fake hairs, and a fake diamond,” Josh said.
“If we can get some hairs from Nog’s costume, we can see if they’re the same as the ones that came from the plank and my shirt,” Dink said. “That would at least prove that Nog was messing with the plank.”
“Maybe we’ll catch him with the diamond!” Josh said.
“What about fingerprints?” Ruth Rose asked. “If we got Nog’s fingerprints, the police could see if the same fingerprints were on the fake diamond. If his fingerprints are on the fake, doesn’t that prove he’s the thief?”
“Right,” Dink said.
“How do we get his fingerprints?” Josh asked.
“I’ll think of something,” Ruth Rose said. “First we have to find him!”
Dink knocked on the office door.
Sylvia opened the door. “Hi, kids,” she said. “Was Trevor any help?”
“He was a lot of help,” Dink said. “We learned about how detectives can catch crooks by finding their hair.”
Sylvia touched her own hair. “So…?”
“Trevor told us about artificial hair, too,” Ruth Rose added. “Like that caveman costume Nog was wearing yesterday. We’d like to talk to him about…our project.”
“Is Nog his real name?” Dink asked.
Sylvia laughed. “No, his name is Jack.”
“Do you know where he lives?” Josh asked.
“Nope, he’s never told me,” Sylvia said.
“He told us he lives near Paul Revere’s house,” Ruth Rose said.
“Oh, that’s a museum,” Sylvia said.
“Is it close enough to walk?” Ruth Rose asked.
Sylvia shook her head. “Not really,” she said. “But you can walk to where they park the Swan Boats. You’ll find a bus stop there. Wait for one that says Paul Revere House on the little sign. If you see Jack, ask him why he didn’t come to work today!”
The kids walked to the Swan Boat pond, then waited about ten minutes for the Paul Revere House bus. Dink paid with some of the money his dad had given him, and they took seats up front.
“It’s pretty cool to think Paul Revere hung out around here,” Josh said. “He might have ridden on this same bus. Maybe he sat in this seat!”
Dink laughed. “Josh, Paul Revere died almost two hundred years ago,” he said. “In those days, people rode on horses, not buses.”
“I knew that, Matt,” Josh said, making goofy eyes at Dink. “Just playing with you.”
The bus stopped in front of a dark brown house. A small sign said Paul Revere lived in the house starting in 1770.
The kids left the bus and walked toward the house. It was squeezed between some other old buildings. Another bus pulled up, and a bunch of tourists climbed down. They walked up the sidewalk toward the house.
Dink saw a restaurant, a dry-cleaning place, and a flower shop. “Maybe we should ask if anyone knows where Jack lives,” he said.
They were heading for the flower shop when they passed a bright yellow door. Ruth Rose said, “Wait!” She pointed to a sign that said YOUR FANTASY—RENT COSTUMES FOR ALL OCCASIONS. “If Jack lives near here, maybe he got his caveman costume from this shop!”
In the window, they saw Elvis, a clown, and Mickey Mouse. “Come on,” Ruth Rose said.
Inside the shop, costumes hung from hooks on the walls. They saw princesses, movie stars, even a giant chicken.
“Can I help you?” a man asked from behind the counter.
The kids stepped up to the counter. “Do you have a caveman costume?” Dink asked.
The man nodded. “Sure do,” he said. “But I’m afraid it’s for adult sizes. Way too big for you.”
“Can we see it anyway?” Ruth Rose asked.
“Sure,” he said. “It was rented for a long time, but it just came back this morning.”
The man went behind a curtain and returned a few minutes later with a large, flat box. He removed the lid and laid it on the counter in front of Dink. Inside the box, the kids saw Nog’s fake fur coat, shaggy beard and wig, and club, which turned out to be made of cardboard.
“That’s what Nog, I mean Jack, was wearing!” Ruth Rose said.
Dink noticed a few black hairs on the inside of the box lid. He wet a finger, picked up one of the hairs, and slipped it into his pocket.
“Do you kids know Jack?” the man asked.
“Yes, we met him at the New England Children’s Museum!” Ruth Rose said. “He was wearing this, and he said he lived near Paul Revere’s house. We want to talk to him about…a mystery we’re trying to solve.”
The man nodded. “Jack rented this caveman outfit for his job at the museum,” he said. “I don’t know why he brought it back so soon. Maybe he got fired!”
Or if he stole the River Diamond, worth millions of dollars, maybe he quit! Dink thought. And that’s why he returned the costume!