Read Online I So Don't Do Famous by Barrie Summy - Free Book Online Page B

“Good morning, girls,” Dad booms. “Rise and shine.” He knocks again. “I’ve already been out to pick up hot chocolate and doughnuts.”
    Hot chocolate and doughnuts? He’s really living life on the edge.
    The second she’s settled in the living room with a cardboard cup of hot chocolate + whipped cream + shaved chocolate and a doughnut with strawberry icing + sprinkles, Junie switches on her computer.
    â€œDid you catch any of the news last night, Dad?” I ask.
    â€œJust the sports.” He pats his stomach and picks up a shiny cruller. “I think I have a little corner reserved for this guy.”
    Junie slurps, then starts click-clacking away on her keyboard.
    â€œDad, remember Dear Elle’s designer purse with the diamond clasp?” I say. “Someone stole it from the awards dinner. The story was on the news.”
    â€œWas anything else stolen?” He sets the box of doughnuts on the coffee table. “Any other purses? Wallets?”
    â€œI don’t think so.” I flip open the box and pick out a chocolate doughnut.
    â€œWhoa.” Junie looks up from her screen. “There’ve been lots of home burglaries in Beverly Hills lately, and some people think the theft of Dear Elle’s purse is related.”
    She sets her computer next to the doughnut box, and we all crowd around.
    Did the Beverly Hills Bandits Strike Last Night?
    Detective Tatiana Garcia, Beverly Hills Police Department, has been working overtime, trying to crack the case of the Beverly Hills Bandits, a person or group of persons responsible for breaking into celebrities’ homes and stealing millions of dollars in big-ticket items, as well as trinkets and clothing.
    Detective Garcia insists the department is close to making an arrest. Beverly Hills celebrities aren’t buying it. Recent victims Melanie Grace and Owen Gordon admitted to late-night talk-show host Jay Leonard that they and their famous friends feel targeted and want police to be more aggressive in shutting down the Bandits.
    A few weeks ago, an attempt to rob Dear Elle’s Beverly Hills home was abandoned when neighbor and good friend Hannah Smyth, of Dancing with the Stars fame, noticed an unfamiliar van inDear Elle’s driveway and notified police. Officers arrived on the scene minutes after the van left. When questioned, Ms. Smyth stated, “That van was totally the wrong color for our street. I knew something wasn’t right.”
    Then, last night, during Hollywood Girl magazine’s gala event at the Roosevelt Hotel, Dear Elle’s designer purse with a diamond clasp was stolen.
    Detective Garcia is collaborating with the detective at the Los Angeles Police Department who’s handling the purse theft. The fear? That the Beverly Hills Bandits are evolving into the Bandits Without Borders.
    â€œSo, Lorraine and Stef are involved in burglarizing stars’ homes?” Junie chooses a jelly-filled doughnut.
    I rub my temples, which now pound rhythmically, like a metronome. “Yikes. They are some kind of bad.”
    â€œWho are these girls?” my dad asks.
    â€œYou might have seen me talking to them last night? They were dressed almost identically in black capris and black vests—”
    My dad cuts me off with a shake of his head. “Sherry, I didn’t notice what anyone was wearing. Well, except you two, who were the belles of the ball.”
    Junie and I roll our eyes.
    â€œI have incriminating photos of those girls on my camera,” Junie says.
    â€œMore like circumstantial evidence.” I explain to my dad about the sequence of the photos.
    He bites into his cruller and chews thoughtfully. After swallowing, he says, “I want to take care of the rental car this morning. So why don’t I go do that right now while you two get ready for the day? Then we’ll drive over to the police station with Junie’s pictures.”
    â€œI call