than by looking in Jessieâs notebook, which listed everything?â
While he was talking, Jessie was slowly turning the pages of her notebook. The look on her face was growing more and more concerned.
âWhat is it, Jessie?â Violet asked.
âI think somebodyâs changed what I wrote!â said Jessie. She laid the book down on the display case where they could all see. She pointed to one of the items on the list. It had been crossed off so heavily it was hard to see what was written beneath. âSee here? I donât remember crossing anything off.â She flipped to another page. âAnd here, where it says âgold cat statueâ? I had written â two gold cat statues.â Someone crossed out the two and the s at the end.â
âBut why?â Henry wondered.
âI have a feeling I know,â Jessie said. But before she explained, she started walking around the room, looking at the display cases. At last, she stopped in front of one of the cases. âThereâs one of the gold cat statues,â she said. âBut whereâs the other one?â
The children looked all around, but the other cat wasnât there.
âSo you think Lori changed what was in here so you wouldnât remember there had been two cats?â Violet asked.
âYes,â said Jessie.
âOr maybe it wasnât Lori,â said Henry. âRemember, Dr. Snood was holding that gold cat and he had that strange smile on his face? Maybe Lori wasnât lying about finding the notebook. Maybe it really was outside Dr. Snoodâs office. Maybe he â s the one who stole the pieces and changed what was written in here.â
âWhy would he steal things from his own museum?â Benny asked.
âI donât know,â said Henry. âBut heâs always acting so strangeâholding the pieces as if they belonged to him, and yelling at us to make sure we donât touch them.â
âHe does collect Egyptian artifacts. Remember, theyâre all over his office,â Jessie said. âMaybe he has even more at homeâones heâs stolen.â
âOr maybe heâs the one trying to ruin the exhibit!â Henry said all of a sudden. âHeâs been against this exhibit from the start. Maybe he wants to prove heâs right by making sure the exhibit fails.â
âYou know thereâs one person we havenât talked about,â said Violet.
âWhoâs that?â Jessie asked.
âSam,â Violet said. âIt would be really easy for her to steal these things.â
âBut why would she want to ruin her own exhibit?â asked Henry. âThat would only make her look bad.â
âThatâs true,â said Violet.
A few minutes later, Pete came upstairs. âThe exhibit looks great,â he said, strolling from one display case to the next. âI canât believe we got it ready in time for tomorrowâs opening!â He grinned at the Aldens. âThanks to you guys.â
âWe enjoyed helping,â Jessie said.
âYes. Weâre having a little party tomorrow night,â Pete explained. âWeâve invited the museum members and also the press. And of course you all must come.â
âWeâll be there!â Henry said.
âI have one more job for you to do,â Pete said. âWould you call the local newspapers and remind them to come to the opening?â
âWhy do you invite them?â Benny asked.
âTheyâll write articles about the exhibit in their newspapers,â Pete explained. âWhen people read them, theyâll want to come see for themselves. Thatâs how weâll make sure we get lots of visitors for the exhibit.â
âWeâd be happy to call,â said Henry.
âGreat,â Pete said. âThe list of names and numbers is in my office. You can sit there and use my phone while I get some
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