Free One False Note - 39 Clues 02 by Gordon Korman Page B

Eurotainment TV disappeared over the bridge.
    "Who do I follow?" Nellie demanded.
    "The limo!" chorused Amy and Dan.
    The Fiat veered away from the bridge and turned the corner. The stretch was traveling at regular speed now. Its passengers believed the chase was finished. Nellie kept well back.
    They continued to tail the limo until it veered onto a ramp, climbing a long causeway that led out over a sunlit lagoon. "Now what?" asked Nellie.
    "Don't lose him!" Amy ordered.
    "Wait," said Dan. "I thought we were going to Venice . The sign says" -- he squinted --"Tronchetto. Smooth move, Amy. Now we're driving to the wrong town."
    "I don't think so," put in Nellie. "Look!"
    Before them stretched a magnificent sight. A gleaming skyline of domes and spires rose
    from the sparkling water.
    "Venice," breathed Amy. "fust like in pictures."
    Even Dan was impressed. "Pretty cool place," he conceded. "Too bad that's not where we're going."
    Nellie piloted them across the long bridge, making sure to keep a couple of cars between the limo and the Fiat at all times. At last, they began to descend toward Tronchetto. But instead of a town, they were approaching a low sprawling island, almost entirely covered with thousands of vehicles.
    Dan was mystified. "A parking lot?"
    "More like the great-granddaddy of them," Nellie amended.
    "But who takes a limo to a parking lot?"
    A large billboard loomed up on their right. Amy scanned the many languages, zooming in on the English at last. "I get it -- there are no cars allowed in Venice! You have to park here and take a ferry to the city."
    Her brother frowned. "Then how do people get around?"
    "By boat," Nellie supplied. "Venice is crisscrossed by dozens of canals."
    Just before the parking entrance, the limo came to a stop. A uniformed chauffeur emerged and opened the rear door. Out stepped two figures, one slender, the other taller and stocky. They wore baseball caps, pulled low over dark glasses. But there was no mistaking the teenager's hip-hop swagger.
    Jonah Wizard -- with his father, as always.
    "That bonehead?" exclaimed Nelly in dismay.
    Dan was also confused. "If we've got the paper that says Venice, how did Jonah know to come here?"
    Amy could only shake her head.
    They watched as the Wizards walked over to join a crowd of people waiting to board a ferry to the city. The chauffeur got back in the limo and drove away. Nellie's brow furrowed. "The great Mr. Hip-Hop Mogul standing in line with the common peasants? How do you figure that?"
    Dan grinned. "I'm starting to dig this 'no cars' thing. It's a great equalizer." Amy wasn't convinced. "Jonah can afford to buy that ferry and kick everybody else off. If he's taking a public boat, it's because he's trying to slip into town unnoticed. Quick, park the car. Let's see where he's going."
    The Tronchetto complex was enormous, so they were half a mile away before they managed to locate an open spot. By then, the ferry had moored at the landing, and the passengers were already starting to board.
    "Come on!" Dan scooped up Saladin in his arms and began to run for the terminal. "If we have to grab the next boat, we'll lose Jonah for good!"
    "Mrrp!" complained the Egyptian Mau, displeased with the rough ride.
    The deep-throated bass of a horn rattled Tronchetto, setting off several car alarms. The ferry was ready to set sail.
    The three sprinted across the lot, backpacks flailing wildly. Luckily, the passenger queue was long, delaying the departure. Dan flung Saladin onto the gangway just as a uniformed sailor was closing the chain behind the last customer. The cat scampered onto the deck, and the exasperated crewman had no choice but to allow the Cahills and their au pair to board with their pet.
    The trip to Venice took barely ten minutes. Amy, Dan, and Nellie kept well away from the Wizards, making themselves small behind a bulkhead. They needn't have worried. Jonah and his father seemed just as determined to keep a low profile. They spent the