Read Online Now You See Me ... by Jane B. Mason - Free Book Online

nestled on Lena’s lap.
    â€œBu —”
    â€œNo buts,” Abby said firmly. “It’s outta here. I’ll find you another Impulse myself. I’ll pay for it. Heck, I’ll even go on eBay.”
    Lena sucked in her breath. Abby really
was
serious. Breaking their strict “no eBay” rule was for genuine emergencies.
    Lena swallowed and nodded, but put her hand protectively on top of the camera. One day. They had to sort it out in one day.
    You’ve done impossible things before,
she reminded herself, looking around the kitchen.
Like getting this place cleaned up last night.
Between the floor and the stove and the counters and the glop that was supposed to be jam, it had been no easy feat.
    The girls loaded their dishes into the dishwasher, waved to Lena’s lingering-over-the-newspaper mom, and made their way out the door (escaping before her dad appeared and noticed that half of his last flat of peaches had disappeared). It was a little cooler today, thanks to a few clouds and a breeze that kept the air from becoming too stifling.
    Strapping on their helmets, the girls hopped on their bikes and zoomed down the driveway onto theelm-lined street. Seven minutes later they were locking their bikes to the bike rack in front of the gray stone building.
    â€œThere’s nobody here,” Abby said, looking around. Usually, they had to squeeze their bikes onto the library’s jam-packed rack, but today it was empty.
    Lena whacked her forehead with the palm of her hand, feeling like an idiot. It was Labor Day, a federal holiday. The library, like the banks and the post office and every other government facility, was closed. “Dang it!” she shouted in frustration. School started tomorrow. She only had one day to put a stop to this haunting business. Besides Abby’s twenty-four-hour time limit, being haunted and having to deal with homework would be completely impossible.
    â€œWhat do we do now?” She turned to Abby, only to discover that she wasn’t next to the bike rack anymore. “Abby?” she called.
    â€œOver here,” Abby replied. She was at the library door with her face pressed to the glass. “I think someone’s in there.”
    Lena hurried over and followed suit, smashing her nose against the glass. Sure enough, there was alight on inside, and someone was behind the information desk.
    â€œCan you tell who it is?” Lena asked, squinting. Only a couple of lights were on, and it was hard to see.
    â€œOh my gosh!” Abby cried, jumping back from the window. “It’s him!”
    Lena’s blood ran cold. “The boy?”
    Abby barked out a laugh. “No, no,” she admitted. “Not
him,
him. It’s the cranky library guy.”
    Lena let out her breath and let in her disappointment. So much for that. “Oh,” she said.
    â€œI don’t care who it is,” Abby declared. “We need to get to that microfilm. It’s do-or-die.” Not waiting for her friend to reply, she pounded on the door.
    â€œThis oughta be good,” Lena mumbled under her breath. She knew from past experience that Weird Beard was lacking both a razor and a sense of humor.
    The man behind the desk glanced toward the door, then got back to whatever it was he was doing.
    Abby pounded again. The librarian looked up a second time and frowned. But he set aside the book he was holding and started toward the door.
    â€œLet me do the talking,” Abby said, squaring her shoulders and looking formidable.
    â€œSure thing,” Lena replied nervously. She was not anxious to be grumped at by Captain Whiskers.
    It took the man what seemed like forever to unlock the door. “We’re closed,” he blurted. “See the sign?” He pointed to the neatly printed sign: CLOSED IN OBSERVANCE OF LABOR DAY .
    â€œI know,” Abby said. “And we’re so sorry to bother you. But we have an important research