Free SHAKESPEARE’ SECRET by Elise Broach Page A

had looked at her that way: smiling, curious, wanting to hear what she had to say. It hadn’t happened all summer; it hadn’t happened at school.
    Hero realized that if she’d had a really good friend to talk to, she would have told the friend about the Murphy diamond. Instead, she told Danny Cordova. And because she told him, suddenly it seemed that he must be her friend. It was mixed up. Usually, you confided in someone because you trusted the person. But she was trusting someone because she’d confided in him.
    She watched him, wondering what he’d say “I figured you were looking for it.” Danny grinned with satisfaction. He sat on his skateboard, rolling it back and forth with his feet. “Miriam’s helping you, right? She could’ve told me. I know she doesn’t want to get me in trouble with my dad, but I wouldn’t have said anything.”
    â€œOh, please, don’t,” Hero said, sitting cross-legged on the driveway. “You can’t say anything to anybody. Really.”
    â€œHey, don’t worry. I won’t. I’d like to find it too. It’s worth a ton of money, you know. A million dollars or something.”
    Hero rested her chin in her hands and gazed at the backyard, at the grass growing too long in the shade, the sprawling rhododendrons and azaleas, the thicket of weeds next to the garage.
    â€œI looked all over the house,” Hero said. “Everywhere. All the bookshelves, all the cupboards, any place he could have hidden it. But I didn’t find anything. I think it must be out here.”
    Danny shook his head. “No way. You weren’t around for the police search. My dad had four detectives on it. And they didn’t find any place that was dug up. Plus, my dad figured it wouldn’t be safe for Murphy to leave a diamond out here. A dog could get to it, or some kid in the neighborhood. After it was stolen, we used to sneak over here all the time to look.”
    â€œYou searched the yard?” Hero asked. This was beginning to seem hopeless. Maybe the diamond really had been stolen, and Mr. Murphy, crazy in his old age, had sent them a mysterious clue that had nothing to do with it.
    Danny stood up. “This is what we should do,” he said decisively. “We should look at the police report.”
    â€œOh, sure,” Hero joined in. “We’ll just ask for a copy. No one will suspect a thing.”
    â€œNo. No. Come on. We’ll go down to the station.”
    Hero stared at him. “What do you mean? Just walk in there and request the Murphy file? Look, I don’t know much about police work, but that stuff is probably you know, confidential or something. Plus, they’llask why we’re interested. Plus, they’ll never give it to a kid.”
    Danny grabbed her arm impatiently. “No, listen, we’ll go right now. They’re short staffed on weekends. My dad’s there but he’s on patrol, so we can hang out in his office. That’s where the Murphy report is.”
    Hero frowned. “How do you know?”
    â€œWe used to talk about it, and one time he showed me. He still thinks it’s an active case or something. He keeps it in his file cabinet.”
    â€œSo you want to sneak in his office and look at it without anyone seeing us?”
    â€œYeah, exactly.”
    â€œHow far away is it?”
    â€œYou got a bike? It’s only a couple of miles. I can use my skateboard.”
    Hero hesitated. As a partner in detective work, Danny Cordova seemed a lot pushier than Mrs. Roth, and his ideas sounded more dangerous.
    â€œWhat if we get caught?” she asked.
    â€œCaught doing what?” Danny scoffed. “We’re just going to visit my dad. Don’t worry, they know me down there. And you’ll be with me.”
    â€œRight,” Hero nodded grimly. “And didn’t you get suspended once?”
    Danny looked at her in surprise.