Free London Art Chase by Natalie Grant Page B

yours.”
    â€œThanks, Julia. See you in a bit.”
    Lulu bounced while Dad joined them and everyone settled deeper into the bed.
    â€œOkay, tell me,” Mom said to Lulu.
    â€œMaddie found this painting that she loved so much she wanted to look at it twice , but when we went back to look at it the second time, we saw someone steal it,” Lulu said.
    â€œWe don’t know he was stealing it for sure,” Mia pointed out.
    â€œAnd then Maddie ran after him and we ran after her and we all crashed into an orchestra,” Lulu added.
    â€œHe was stealing the painting,” Maddie insisted, more quietly than her sisters.
    â€œI don’t understand,” Mom said. “Are you girls joking? You saw someone steal a painting?”
    â€œI haven’t heard any news about a stolen painting,” Dad said.
    â€œAnd you really knocked into an orchestra? Is everyone all right?” Mom said.
    â€œWell, the cellist thinks her cello might not be all right, but no one could see any dents,” Mia said.
    â€œYou knocked over a cello?” Mom asked, looking at each girl in turn. “You know how expensive and special instruments are, girls.”
    â€œAnd you know better than to be running in a museum,” Dad added.
    â€œBut we saw a thief!” Maddie’s cheeks burned. “No one listened to us about him. After we met with the museum director and Miss Julia gave him our information in case the cello was hurt, we left the museum and I saw him again—the thief. He was walking away with the painting, right down the street, and no one believed me.”
    â€œI know you saw someone who looked like a thief.” Mia used air quotes around the last word, making Maddie’s cheeks burn even hotter. “It’s just that he couldn’t have been an actual thief. Like I’ve been saying, there would have been alarms or something.”
    â€œThe museum director wasn’t worried,” Lulu piped up.
    â€œPeople don’t just take paintings off the walls in museums and walk down the street with them,” Maddie said. “Not as part of their ordinary job. He had to have been a thief.”
    â€œHe was really far away, Maddie,” Mia said. “Maybe he was someone else entirely. And how do you know the exact size of the package he was carrying? Could you really tell from so far away? Plus, it was windy, and it was hard to see anything with all the coats whipping and dust blowing around. Maybe it was just a trick of your eyes.”
    â€œIt was pretty windy,” Lulu said.
    â€œSee, Maddie? It’s like that bobby told us yesterday. The first thing to do when you think you see a crime is to consider all the possibilities. What makes the most sense is that we saw something that looked like a robbery, but wasn’t, since no one freaked out.”
    The longer Mia talked, the more Maddie’s eyes filled with tears. She tried to blink them back, but they started running down her cheeks.
    Mom looked from Maddie to Mia and back to Maddie again.
    â€œWhy’s Maddie crying?” Lulu asked.
    â€œYou know what,” Dad said. “I was thinking I’d tell you all a story.”
    â€œGreat idea, Dad,” Mom said. “Why don’t you tell Mia and Lulu a story? Maddie and I will be right back.”
    Maddie climbed over Lulu and followed Mom out of the room, silently wiping the tears away. She knew she shouldn’t be arguing with her sisters, but no one was listening to her or taking her seriously. Plus, she felt responsible for the painting, responsible for helping it find its way back to the purple room wall, where it should be. Even though she knew she might be overreacting, she couldn’t stop herself.
    â€œCome on over and sit down, Maddie,” Mom said gently.



SEVENTEEN
    M om moved pillows on the couch to make a little nest for them and then found a box of tissues. Maddie took one and pressed it against one eye