Free Alexis and the Lake Tahoe Tumult by Erica Rodgers Page B

shoulders.
    “I think you’re right,” said Karen. “Look—this is Harrah’s!”
    “And this one’s from Caesar’s,” said Jake. “These are the most recent letters we’ve gotten. What could this mean?”
    “I’m not sure,” said Alexis. “But it narrows things down. Whoever is bothering you guys must hang around the resorts, where it’s obviously easy for them to get their hands on these brochures.”
    Alexis pulled out her camera and started taking pictures of the brochures.
    A horn honked from outside.
    “That’s Lisa,” said Jake. “Time for you all to get back to the hotel. We’ll be in touch about the party.”
    The girls smiled and said their good-byes. The bus ride back was quiet. Both Bailey and Alexis were thinking about the new clues they had. What did “Chloe” and the snowmobile have to do with the brochures and the man with the red spray paint? Were they connected? Alexis looked out the window into the wall of white and pleaded with the One she knew could help them piece together the puzzle.
    Please, God! We need a break. We have all of these clues but no way to connect them
.
    When the girls got back to the hotel, they zoomed straight to Mrs. Howell’s laptop. Alexis uploaded the photos of the letters and posted them on the CCG website. Then she started writing in the CCG chat wall. She told the girls about the threatening letters and about the message in the red spray paint, as well as the handprint.
    Soon the girls were responding to her words.
    Sydney:
Did you find anything out about who was renting the snowmobile?
    Alexis:
Sounds like some woman named Chloe
.
    McKenzie:
Do you think she’s the one who left the message in the snow and knocked out Jake?
    Alexis:
No, Bailey pointed out that the handprint is too big for most women—unless she’s a real amazon. And it would take quite a punch to knock out Jake. Karen thinks from the way the injury looks that the person did it with his knuckles, not with any weapon
.
    Kate:
Unless she’s an amazon and a wrestler or something, too! Or a policewoman! They learn how to pack punches
.
    Sydney:
Well, if the words on the letters look like they’re all on Lake Tahoe brochures, you’re probably right about it being someone who’s hanging1 around the resort area
.
    Kate:
Although any public place sixty miles around Lake Tahoe probably has racks of brochures promoting their attractions
.
    Alexis:
Yeah, they do, but I just have a feeling it’s someone who hangs around the resorts. It’s definitely someone who’s familiar with the reserve—enough to even know where the bears sleep
.
    Elizabeth:
I think you should go with that gut feeling. I think it’s God directing you
.
    Alexis:
Well, He’d better direct fast. Bailey and I feel like we’ve hit a dead end, and we only have a couple of days left here
.
    McKenzie:
Don’t be discouraged. I think you’re way closer to solving this than you were twenty-four hours ago
.
    Elizabeth:
Yes, you’ve learned that the person sending them hangs out around the resorts, probably
.
    Sydney:
And the spray painter made a big mistake by leaving a handprint. And since most spray paint is permanent, it will probably be a few days before he—assuming it’s a he—can get the paint off his hand
.
    Alexis:
So all we have to do is go around asking if we can see every man’s hand?
    McKenzie:
Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that…
.
    Elizabeth:
But whatever it takes! LOL!
    Sydney:
Yeah! If you keep your eyes open, you’ll catch him
.
    Alexis:
You’re right. We’ll even catch the criminal red-handed! Literally! ROTFL
.

A Redhead Red-Handed?
    Before dinnertime Alexis and Bailey took to the streets. Their goal was to watch people, and they were looking for something very specific. Jake had mentioned that the painter had been wearing a black coat. They were looking for someone who looked like he had money—since he hung around at the resorts all day, and they weren’t cheap—and who had an