Read Online The Mystery of the Zorse's Mask by Linda Joy Singleton - Free Book Online

it’s yours. I can’t take it.”
    â€œIt’s only the first model. The next one will be improved, and I’ll keep that one so I’m ready the next time I get handcuffed.”
    â€œThanks.” I bounce the key spider in my hand, pleased that Leo would give me one of his inventions. “A spy can never have too many lock picks.”
    Becca opens the door. “I’ve shopped here a lot, so I’ll lead.” She aims her flashlight to shine a path across crowded aisles. It’s still light outside but dark as a tomb in the store.
    â€œAnyone need a flashlight?” Becca asks. “I brought an extra.”
    â€œI’ve got a flash cap.” I point to my sports cap, switching on the light above the brim. “I taped on a light, and it works almost as good as the ones in my spy catalogs.”
    â€œI like it.” Leo approves, then pulls out a pair of goggles from his shirt pocket. “I brought these to see better in the dark. They’re infrared with night vision.”
    We all aim our lights forward and enter the store.
    â€œLet’s split up to search for the box,” I suggest.
    â€œYeah,” Becca agrees. “But the fly mask won’t be in a box anymore. It will be on display. I’ll look in clothing racks.”
    â€œThe jewelry table is the logical place to search,” Leo says.
    I choose the pet aisle.
    My cap’s beam is narrow, so I swivel my head back and forth as I go through aisles, to the left side of the store, where I find a table full of pet accessories—leashes, chew toys, cat climbers, pet carriers, and everything you can imagine for animals. Lots of cute stuff I’d love to buy for Honey. But this isn’t about shopping—it’s a search-andrecover mission.
    I dig through shelves of horse accessories: blankets, halters, ropes, curry combs, and even a box of old horseshoes. I find a fly mask, only it’s plain black netting with fringe trim instead of jewels.
    â€œDrats,” I mutter.
    I peer around dim shapes of shelves and displays and wonder where to search next. What if the mask was mistaken for a different kind of mask?
    Excited by this idea, I head over to the costume corner. I came here last Halloween for a costume and found a wicked monster mask. It was shockingly gross, with scarred skin, a ripped ear, and a bloody hole for a nose. I find a zombie mask that’s even more disgusting on a table heaped with creepy, cute, and every kind of mask imaginable—except a fly mask.
    Discouraged, I slump over to Becca in the clothes area. A fly mask doesn’t belong with clothes, but it could be mistaken for a scarf or hair net. We check boxes, shelves, and hanging racks.
    But no mask.
    When we join Leo, it’s the same thing. So we regroup by the cash register, keeping our lights low, so they can’t be seen through windows.
    â€œAccording to my calculations,” Leo says wearily, “it will take an hour and thirty-six minutes to search the entire store.”
    â€œI can’t stay that long,” I say. “I have to be home by six.”
    â€œMy curfew is before dark.” Becca glances through the storefront window. “Mom doesn’t want me riding my bike at night.”
    â€œI need to go home too, to feed my kitten,” Leo adds.
    I frown. “I hate giving up, but I think someone bought the fly mask.”
    â€œWhich means I have no way of impressing Caleb Hunter,” Becca says. “Zed will leave and I’ll never see him again.”
    â€œAsk Caleb if you can visit,” I say, trying to cheer her up. “Nevada isn’t that far away.”
    â€œAs if my mother will drive me.” Becca scowls. “Thanks for trying to help, but coming here was a waste of time. We might as well leave.”
    Keeping my flash cap low, I follow Becca through aisles, toward the back of the store. We’re almost to the back door when there’s a