Read Online (#60) The Greek Symbol Mystery by Carolyn Keene - Free Book Online

tourists here-no one at an exchange would remember boy.” The officer frowned slightly and added, “If we catch him, we tell you.”
    “Efharistó,” Bess said as everyone turned to leave. “Now what?” she asked Nancy. “I suppose there’s no sense trying to check out all the money exchanges. ”
    “True,” the girl detective replied, “but I have a hunch the boy probably stopped at one near the Acropolis.”
    “I think we passed one when we were in the taxi,” George said. “It’s that way.” She pointed toward a narrow street bordered by apartments.
    Quickly, Nancy darted to the traffic light. The cousins trailed after her, crossing the intersection and walking briskly to the other side past the buildings. Soon they reached another corner and their destination.
    “Look at that line of customers,” George remarked.
    “Which line?” Bess asked. “There are about five of them.”
    “Come on,” Nancy said, stepping inside.
    The room was crammed with people. Several were seated on benches along the wall, but most of them were standing.
    The young detectives separated. Bess looked for the small boy who had stolen her wallet while Nancy and George tried to speak to the clerks.
    “Excuse me, excuse me,” George said as she weaved in front of two people.
    “Wait your turn,” a woman in line replied.
    “But I only want to ask the teller a question.”
    “Yeah, well, that’s all I want to do.” The woman squeezed close to the person ahead of her. “I’ve been standing here for almost an hour, she said, “and you’ll have to do the same.”
    George took a deep breath and gazed in Nancy’s direction. Somehow, she had managed to reach another teller. But when the girls met in the back of the room, Nancy looked disappointed.
    “I guess the captain was right,” she said. “They’re all too busy counting money to pay attention to faces.” Suddenly, she became aware of the fact that Bess was missing. “Hey, where’s Bess?”
    “She must have left,” George said, rising on tip-toe.
    Within a few seconds, however, Bess emerged from the crowd. She was holding a small boy by his shirt collar. “Here’s the culprit!” she exclaimed with pride.
    “Mommy!” the child cried.
    “That’s not him!” George said.
    “Of course it is,” her cousin insisted. “The boy who took my wallet has dark brown hair cut short like this, and he was wearing a blue and yellow T-shirt.”
    “Well, the one I saw had on blue jeans,” Nancy put in. She stared at the boy’s blue slacks.
    “How can you be so sure they were jeans?” Bess replied.
    “I’m a witness,” George chimed in. “And Nancy and I were a lot closer to him than you were.”
    “Where is your mother?” Nancy asked the boy.
    “In line. We just came to Athens today.”
    The girl did not allow him to continue. Obviously, he was not the thief.
    “I’m sorry,” Bess said sheepishly. “Here.” She handed him one of her tissues.
    He buried his nose in it for a second, then slipped back into the crowd.
    “Let’s go,” George declared, “before his mother decides to have you deported. ”
    “It was an honest mistake,” Bess defended herself.
    Without making any further investigation, the trio returned to their hotel, where they found a message waiting for them. It was written on hotel stationery.
    Nancy read it aloud. “ ‘Surprise! We checked in here today. Give us a call at 1110.’ ”
    “Uh-oh,” Bess said. “Don’t fall for it.”
    “There’s no signature,” George commented as she looked over Nancy’s shoulder.
    Only a room number,” Nancy said. “Maybe it’s a ruse to trap us.”
    “Count me out,” Bess said quickly. “There’s probably a bushel of apples and snakes waiting for us!”
    “I hardly think so,” her cousin said. “After all—”
    “Even if I’m wrong, I vote to ignore the message completely.”
    “What if it’s from Dave?” Nancy teased. Dave Evans was a special friend of Bess’s.
    “In that