Free Vanishing Acts by Phillip Margolin, Ami Margolin Rome Page A

or was it just a coincidence that they were there at the same time? Jake said something to his friends, then walked over to her.
    â€œHi,” Madison said. For the first time she found herself nervous around Jake. Why had Becca ever said anything?
    â€œWhat are you doing?” Jake asked.
    â€œI’m going to my dad’s office to do homework.” She felt impulsive. “Do you wanna come along? We can work on our science homework.”
    â€œSure, I’ve never been to a law office before.” Jake pulled out his cell phone. “Just let me call my mom and tell her I’ll be late.”
    While Jake made the call, Madison thought about what she’d done. Had she asked Jake out on a date? No, they were just going to study, so this would be another educational experience, like going to court together to learn about bail hearings. Studying together would definitely not be a date, Madison decided.
    â€œHey, Peggy,” Madison said as she and Jake walked into Kincaid and Kirk. “This is my friend Jake.”
    â€œNice to meet you,” Peggy responded, her blue eyes crinkling in a friendly manner.
    â€œWe’re going to do our science homework in my office.”
    â€œYou have an office?” Jake asked, impressed.
    â€œSort of. You’ll see.”
    They walked through the file room, and Madison showed Jake where she did her work.
    â€œIt’s like the Bat Cave,” Jake said.
    â€œIt’s not that great,” Madison answered with a shrug. But she was secretly pleased that Jake was impressed.
    â€œHey, I just have a desk in my room at home!” he said. He looked thoughtful. Then he held his hands in front of him as if he were framing a painting.
    â€œMaybe I’ll make you the star of my first graphic novel. You’ll be a junior high soccer star by day and a crime-fighting superhero by night. This will be your secret lair.”
    Madison laughed and punched Jake’s arm.
    â€œOuch.” He faked pain. “You definitely have super strength.” Then he said, “So what’s the room with all the cabinets we just came though?”
    â€œOh, that’s the file room. Lawyers use tons of files for their cases. Dad has files for evidence, police reports, testimony. The files in this room are for current or recently completed cases, but Dad also has files from old cases in storage.”
    â€œIs the file for the case where we saw the bail hearing out there?”
    â€œYeah.”
    Madison had planned on working on the case, but she’d been sidetracked by her investigation into Ann’s disappearance. An idea came to her. She knew she wasn’t supposed to look in her father’s files because the information in them was confidential, but how could she help her dad solve the Shelby case if she didn’t know all of the facts?
    â€œLet’s take a look at the evidence in the Shelby case before we start on our science homework,” she said.
    â€œOkay.”
    Madison walked into the file room and Jake followed her. It didn’t take her long to find the Shelby file, which was actually many files, filling up a whole drawer. Madison started pulling out files marked Witnesses and Police Reports while Jake watched.
    â€œOh, look at this,” Madison whispered, showing Jake a page in the Witnesses file. “It’s Thelma Bauer’s address!”
    â€œI bet she could give us information about the case that didn’t come out at the hearing,” Jake said.
    Madison ran back into her little office, grabbed her Shelby legal pad and quickly wrote the address down before she returned the file to the cabinet.
    â€œThis will definitely help me solve this case,” she said. “Let’s split up these files and look for clues!”
    Jake started on the police reports. “Hey, look at this,” he said, pulling Madison away from a list of potential witnesses. “This police report says that a