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for us, he quickly worked out Charlie and me
weren't into architecture.
    He pointed to another palace. "Look. That is
where the famous robbery took place."
    Then I remembered what Santo had told us. You have to notice the detail that doesn't make
sense.
    My whole body tingled. I could feel goose
bumps pop up on my arms. That was it! The silver tubes. How did
they make sense? I took a couple of deep breaths. Would I risk
being teased for the rest of my life? I tugged at Santo's shirt and
said to Santo, Luca and Charlie, "I've got a detail that doesn't
make sense."
    " Si? "
    Santo moved closer to hear. Luca slowed the
boat. They were going to listen. I felt stupid, so I said real
fast, "At the film set there were two men who gave me a bad
feeling. In the room on the ground floor they'd covered seven
silver tubes with a blanket. A rolled-up painting could fit inside
a tube." I wouldn't tell them that I'd checked one tube and it was
empty. "And I saw one of those men on the first floor fiddling with
the corner of a painting. He stopped as soon as he saw me."
    Now that I'd told them, my story sounded
real dumb. I waited for them to laugh at me.
    They didn't. Santo and Luca stared at each
other with their mouths half-open.

7. THE BAD
GUYS
    S anto spoke real fast in
Italian. Then he and Luca got excited and raised their voices. They
waved their hands about like they were having an argument. I
couldn't wait to learn Italian.
    Then Santo got out his cell and made a call.
Then he made another call. Charlie and me glanced at each other. I
knew we were thinking the same thing. We were going to burst before
they told us what was going on.
    Finally, Santo got off the phone and
switched to English. Real serious, he said to the three of us, "The
agency that employs casual staff for the film set hired two new
workers two weeks ago. They help with the props and sets." He
sighed. "The successful art robbery that occurred at the other
palace was in every newspaper and in all the media across Europe.
All police forces across Europe have been put on alert for a
copycat robbery. It's possible ..."
    "Where next?" asked Luca.
    Santo pointed back up the canal. "To the
film set; we'll check the tubes ourselves."
    Luca revved the boat, spun it round and took
off.
    Charlie and me looked at each other. He
looked excited and not just because we were in a police boat
zooming real fast down the Grand Canal. I was excited and worried.
Would Santo and Luca let Charlie and me go with them? What if all
the tubes were empty?
    Minutes later we re-entered The Cursed
Mansion. Santo hadn't told us to stay on the boat, which was good.
This time we went straight to the room with the silver tubes. My
stomach somersaulted. Maybe Charlie and me should've stayed in the
boat in case these guys were thieves and they had guns tucked into
their socks?
    The room was empty; my stomach settled down.
I went straight over and lifted the blanket off the tubes. Each of
us grabbed one. Of course, I didn't choose the one I knew was
empty. I got my tube opened first. I thought my heart was about to
explode through my chest as I stuck my hand in. I felt something
rolled up inside.
    "Here," I said to Santo, "can you pull it
out?"
    Very carefully, he pulled it out. No one
spoke as he rolled it out. It was an old painting! I sucked in my
breath, so relieved that I didn't look stupid. The painting was of
a few people lounging round on the ground in a forest. Cupid
hovered above them. Actually, I didn't think the picture was that
great, but since it was old it was probably worth lots.
    Luca turned to Santo, "Do you know
this?"
    Santo shook his head. "Let's assume it's
priceless."
    Just then we heard a noise. In a nanosecond,
Charlie and me dived behind some furniture and hid. Santo and Luca
were too slow. Two men strode in with long metal rods pointed at
Santo and Luca. I stopped myself from gasping. Did they know
Charlie and me were here as well? I held my breath.
    One of the thieves