The Absent Author Read online

  Dink felt guilty. If he hadn’t invited Wallis Wallace to Green Lawn, his favorite author would be safe at home in his castle in Maine.

  But Dink couldn’t help feeling excited too. He felt like a detective from one of Wallis Wallace’s books!

  Dink stepped into the phone booth, looked up the number for New England Airlines, and called. When a voice came on, he asked if Wallis Wallace had been aboard Flight 3132 last night.

  “He was? Did it land at seven o’clock?” Dink asked. “Thanks a lot!”

  He rushed out of the phone booth. “Hey, guys, they told me Wallis Wallace was on the plane—and it landed right on time!”

  “So he didn’t miss his flight,” Ruth Rose said through strawberry-pink lips.

  “That’s right!” Dink pulled out the itinerary. He drew a line through AIRPORT.

  “This is so exciting!” Ruth Rose said.

  “Now what?” Josh asked, working on his double-dipper.

  Dink pointed to his next circle on the itinerary. “Now we need to find out if a taxi picked him up,” he said.

  “Lawrence Taxi is over by the river,” Ruth Rose said.

  Dink looked at Mavis. “Would you like to come with us? We can walk there in five minutes.”

  Mavis Green wiped her lips carefully with a napkin. Td love to come,” she said in her soft voice.

  They left Ellie’s Diner, walked left on Bridge Lane, then headed down Woodview Road toward the river.

  “Mr. Paskey looked pretty upset, didn’t he?” Josh said, crunching the last of his cone. His chin was green.

  “Wouldn’t you be upset if you had a bunch of customers at your store waiting to meet a famous author and he didn’t show up?” Ruth Rose asked.

  “Yeah, but he was sweating buckets,” Josh said. “I wonder if Mr. Paskey kidnapped Wallis Wallace.”

  “Josh, get real! Why would Mr. Paskey kidnap an author?” asked Ruth Rose. “He sells tons of Wallis Wallace’s books!”

  “I don’t think Mr. Paskey is the kidnapper,” Dink said. “But in a way, Josh is right. Detectives should consider everyone a suspect, just the way they do in Wallis Wallace’s books.”

  At River Road, they turned left. Two minutes later, Dink pushed open the door of the Lawrence Taxi Service office. He asked the man behind the counter if one of their drivers had met Flight 3132 at Bradley Airport the previous night.

  The man ran his finger down a list on a clipboard. “That would be Maureen Higgins. She’s out back eating her lunch,” he said, pointing over his shoulder. “Walk straight through.”

  They cut through the building to a grassy area in back. Through the trees, Dink could see the Indian River. The sun reflected off the water like bright coins.

  A woman was sitting at a picnic table eating a sandwich and filling in a crossword puzzle.

  “Excuse me, are you Maureen Higgins?” Dink asked.

  The woman shook her head without looking up. “Nope, I’m Marilyn Monroe.”

  The woman wrote in another letter. Then she looked up. She had the merriest blue eyes Dink had ever seen.

  “Yeah, cutie pie, I’m Maureen.” She pointed her sandwich at Dink. “And who might you be?”

  I’m Dink Duncan,” he said. “These are my friends Josh, Ruth Rose, and Mavis.”

  “We wondered if you could help us,” Ruth Rose said.

  Maureen stared at them. “How?”

  “Did you pick up a man named Wallis Wallace at the airport last night?” Dink asked.

  Maureen squinted one of her blue eyes. “Why do you want to know?”

  “Because he’s missing!” said Josh.

  “Well, I sure ain’t got him!” Maureen took a bite out of her sandwich. Mayonnaise oozed onto her fingers.

  “I know. I mean, we didn’t think you had him,” Dink said. “But did you pick him up?”

  Maureen nodded, swallowing. “Sure I picked him up. Seven o’clock sharp, I was there with my sign saying WALLACE. The guy spots me, trots over, I take him out to my taxi. He climbs in, carrying a small suitcase. Kinda spooky guy. Dressed in a hat, long raincoat, sunglasses. Sunglasses at night! Doesn’t speak a word, just sits. Spooky!”

  “Did you take him to the Shangri-la Hotel?” Dink asked.

  “Yep. Those were my orders. Guy didn’t have to give directions, but it woulda been nice if he’d said something. Pass the time, you know? Lotta people, they chat just to act friendly. Not this one. Quiet as a mouse in the back seat.”

  Maureen wiped mayonnaise from her fingers and lips. “Who is this Wallace fella, anyway?”

  “He’s a famous writer!” Ruth Rose said.

  Maureen’s mouth fell open. “You mean I had a celebrity in my cab and never even knew it?”

  “What happened when you got to the hotel?” Josh asked.

  Maureen stood up and tossed her napkin into the trash. “I get out of my side, then I open his door. He hops out, hands me a twenty. Last I seen, he’s scooting into the lobby.”

  Dink pulled out the itinerary. He crossed out taxi with a thick black line. Then he drew a question mark next to HOTEL.

  “Thanks a lot, Miss Higgins,” he said. “Come on, guys, I have a feeling we’re getting closer to finding Wallis Wallace.”

  Maureen put her hand on Dink’s arm. “I just thought of something,” she said. “When he handed me my fare, this Wallace fella was smiling.”

  Dink stared at Maureen. “Smiling?”

  She nodded. “Yep. Had a silly grin on his face. Like he knew some big secret or something.”

  Back on Main Street, Dink adjusted his backpack and led the way to the Shangri-la Hotel.

  “Maureen Higgins said she dropped him off at the hotel last night,” he told the others, “so that’s our next stop.”

  “What if she didn’t?” Josh said, catching up to Dink.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean maybe Maureen Higgins wasn’t telling the truth. Maybe she kidnapped him!”

  “And she’s hiding him in her lunch-box!” Ruth Rose said.

  “Very funny, Ruth Rose,” Josh said. “Maureen Higgins said she drove Wallis Wallace to the hotel. But what if she drove him somewhere else?”

  “You could be right,” Dink said. “That’s why we’re going to the hotel.”

  With Dink in the lead, the four approached the check-in counter in the hotel lobby.

  “Excuse me,” Dink said to the man behind the counter.

  “May we help you?” He was the saddest-looking man Dink had ever seen. He had thin black hair and droopy eyebrows. His skinny mustache looked like a sleeping centipede. A name tag on his suit coat said MR. LINKLETTER.

  “We’re looking for someone.”

  Mr. Linkletter stared at Dink.

  “He’s supposed to be staying in this hotel,” Josh said.

  The man twitched his mustache at Josh.

  “His name is Wallis Wallace,” Dink explained. “Can you tell us if he checked in last night?”

  Mr. Linkletter patted his mustache. “Young sir, if we had such a guest, we wouldn’t give out any information. We have rules at the Shangri-la,” he added in a deep, sad voice.

  “But he’s missing!” Ruth Rose said. “He was supposed to be at the Book Nook this morning and he never showed up!”

  Dink pulled out the itinerary. “See, he was coming here from the airport. The taxi driver said she saw him walk into this lobby.”

  “And he’s famous!” Ruth Rose said. She placed her book on the counter in front of Mr. Linkletter. “He wrote this!”

  Sighing, Mr. Linkletter looked down at Ruth Rose. “We are quite aware of who Mr. Wallace is, young miss.”

  Mr. Linkletter turned his sad eyes back on Dink. He flipped through the hotel register, glanced at it, then quickly shut the book. “Yes, Mr. Wallace checked in,” he said. “He arrived at 8:05.”

  “He did? What happened after that?” Dink asked.

  Mr. Linkletter pointed toward a bank of elevators. “He went to his room.
We offered to have his suitcase carried, but he preferred to do it himself.”

  “Have you seen Mr. Wallace yet today?” Mavis asked.

  “No, madam, I haven’t seen him. Mr. Wallace is still in his room.”

  Still in his room!

  Suddenly Dink felt relieved. He felt a little foolish, too. Wallis Wallace hadn’t been kidnapped after all. He was probably in his room right now!

  “Can you call him?” Dink asked.

  Mr. Linkletter tapped his fingers on the closed hotel register. He patted his mustache and squinted his eyes at Dink.

  “Please?” Dink said. “We just want to make sure he’s okay.”

  Finally Mr. Linkletter turned around. He stepped a few feet away and picked up a red telephone.

  As soon as his back was turned, Josh grabbed the hotel register. He quickly found yesterday’s page. Dink and the others crowded around Josh for a peek.

  Dink immediately recognized Wallis Wallace’s signature, scrawled in big loopy letters. He had checked in to Room 303 at five after eight last night.

  Dink pulled out his letter from Wallis Wallace and compared the two signatures. They were exactly the same.

  Josh dug his elbow into Dink’s side. “Look!” he whispered.

  Josh was pointing at the next line in the register, room 302 had been printed there. Check-in time was 8:15.

  “Someone else checked in right after Wallis Wallace!” Ruth Rose whispered.

  “But the signature is all smudged,” Dink said. “I can’t read the name.”

  When Mr. Linkletter hung up the phone, Josh shoved the register away.

  As Mr. Linkletter turned back around, Dink shut the register. He looked up innocently. “Is he in his room?” Dink asked.

  “I don’t know.” Mr. Linkletter tapped his fingers on his mustache. “There was no answer.”

  Dink’s stomach dropped. His mind raced.

  If Wallis Wallace had checked into his room last night, why hadn’t he shown up at the Book Nook today?

  And why wasn’t he answering his phone?

  Maybe Wallis Wallace had been kidnapped after all!

  Dink stared at Mr. Linkletter. “No answer? Are you sure?”

  Mr. Linkletter nodded. He looked puzzled. “Perhaps he’s resting and doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

  “Can we go up and see?” Ruth Rose smiled sweetly at Mr. Linkletter. “Then we’d know for sure.”

  Mr. Linkletter shook his head. “We cannot disturb our guests, young miss. We have rules at the Shangri-la. Now good day and thank you.”

  Ruth Rose opened her mouth. “But, Mis—”

  “Good day,” Mr. Linkletter said firmly again.

  Dink and the others walked toward the door.

  “Something smells fishy,” muttered Dink.

  “Yeah,” Josh said, “and I think it’s that Linkletter guy. See how he tried to hide the register? Then he turned his back. Maybe he didn’t even call Room 303. Maybe he was warning his partners in crime!”

  “What are you suggesting, Josh?” Mavis asked.

  “Maybe Mr. Linkletter is the kidnapper,” Josh said. “He was the last one to see Wallis Wallace.”

  A man wearing a red cap tapped Dink on the shoulder. “Excuse me, but I overheard you talking to my boss, Mr. Linkletter. Maybe I can help you find Wallis Wallace. My kids love his books.”

  “Great!” Dink said. “Can you get us into his room?”

  The man shook his head. “No, but I know the maid who cleaned the third-floor rooms this morning. Maybe she noticed something.”

  With his back to Mr. Linkletter, the man scribbled a few words on a pad and handed the page to Dink. “Good luck!” the man whispered, and hurried away.

  “What’d he write?” Josh asked.

  “Outside,” Dink said.

  They all shoved through the revolving door. In front of the hotel, Dink looked at the piece of paper. “The maid’s name is Olivia Nugent. She lives at the Acorn Apartments, Number Four.”

  “Livvy Nugent? I know her!” Ruth Rose said. “She used to be my babysitter.”

  “The Acorn is right around the corner on Oak Street,” Dink said. “Let’s go!”

  Soon all four were standing in front of Livvy Nugent’s door. She answered it with a baby in her arms. Another little kid held on to her leg and stared at Dink and the others. He had peanut butter all over his face and in his hair.

  “Hi,” the boy’s mother said. “I’m not buying any cookies and I already get the Green Lawn Gazette.” She was wearing a man’s blue shirt and jeans. Her brown hair stuck out from under a Yankees baseball cap.

  “Livvy it’s me!” Ruth Rose said.

  Olivia stared at Ruth Rose, then broke into a grin.

  “Ruth Rose, you’re so big! What are you up to these days?”

  “A man at the hotel gave us your name.”

  “What man?”

  “He was sort of old, wearing a red cap,” Dink said.

  Livvy chuckled. “Freddy old? He’s only thirty! So why did he send you to see me?”

  “He told us you cleaned the rooms on the third floor this morning,” Dink said. “Did you clean Room 303?”

  Livvy Nugent shifted the baby to her other arm. “Randy please stop pulling on Mommy’s leg. Why don’t you go finish your lunch?” Randy ran back into the apartment.

  “No,” Livvy told Dink. “Nobody slept in that room. The bed was still made this morning. The towels were still clean and dry. I remember because there were two rooms in a row that I didn’t have to clean—303 and 302. Room 302 had a Do Not Disturb sign hanging on the doorknob. So I came home early, paid off the baby-sitter, and made our lunches.”

  “But Mr. Linkletter told us Wallis Wallace checked into Room 303 last night,” Ruth Rose said.

  “Not the Wallis Wallace? The mystery writer? My kid sister devours his books!”

  Dink nodded. “He was supposed to sign books at the Book Nook this morning. But he never showed up!”

  “We even saw his signature on the hotel register,” Ruth Rose said.

  “Well, Wallis Wallace might have signed in, but he never slept in that room.” Livvy grinned. “Unless he’s a ghost.”

  “I wonder if Mr. Linkletter could have made a mistake about the room number,” Mavis suggested quietly.

  Livvy smiled at Mavis. “You must not be from around here. Mr. Linkletter never makes mistakes.”

  “So Wallis Wallace signed in, but he didn’t sleep in his room,” said Dink. “That means…”

  “Someone must have kidnapped him before he went to bed!” Josh said.

  Livvy’s eyes bugged. “Kidnapped! Geez, Mr. Linkletter will have a fit.” She imitated his voice. “We have rules about kidnappings at the Shangri-la!”

  Everyone except Dink laughed. All he could think about was Wallis Wallace, his favorite author, kidnapped.

  Suddenly a crash came from inside the apartment. “Oops, gotta run,” Livvy said. “Randy is playing bulldozer with his baby sister’s stroller again. I hope you find Wallis Wallace. My kid sister will die if he doesn’t write another book!”

  They walked slowly back to Main Street. Dink felt as though his brain was spinning around inside his head.

  Now he felt certain that Wallis Wallace had been kidnapped.

  But who did it? And when?

  And where was Wallis Wallace being kept?

  “Guys, I’m feeling confused,” he said. “Can we just sit somewhere and go over the facts again?”

  “Good idea,” Josh said. “I always think better when I’m eating.”

  “I’m feeling a bit peckish, too,” Mavis said. “I need a quiet cup of tea and a sandwich. Should we meet again after lunch?”

  Ruth Rose looked at her watch. “Let’s meet at two o’clock.”

  “Where?” Josh asked.

  “Back at the hotel.” Dink peered through the door glass at Mr. Linkletter.

  “Unless Maureen Higgins and Mr. Linkletter are both lying,” he said, �
��Wallis Wallace walked into the Shangri-la last night—and never came out.”

  Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose left Mavis at Ellie’s Diner, then headed for Dink’s house. Dink made tuna sandwiches and lemonade. Ruth Rose brought a bag of potato chips and some raisin cookies from her house next door.

  They ate at the picnic table in Dink’s backyard. Dink took a bite of his sandwich. After he swallowed, he said, “Let’s go over what we know.”

  He moved his lemonade glass to the middle of the table. “My glass is the airport,” he said. “We know Wallis Wallace landed.”

  “How do we know he did?” Josh asked.

  “The airport told me the plane landed, Josh.”

  “And Maureen Higgins said she picked him up,” Ruth Rose added.

  “Okay, so your glass is the airport,” Josh said. “Keep going, Dink.”

  Dink slid his sandwich plate over next to his glass. “My plate is Maureen’s taxi.” He put a cookie on the plate. “The cookie is Wallis Wallace getting into the taxi.”

  Dink slid the plate over to the opened potato chip bag. “This bag is the hotel.” He walked the Wallis Wallace cookie from the plate into the bag.

  Dink looked at Josh and Ruth Rose. “But what happened to Wallis Wallace after he walked into the lobby?”

  “I’ll tell you what happened,” Josh said. He lined up four cookies in a row. “This little cookie is Mr. Paskey. These three are Maureen, Mr. Linkletter, and Olivia Nugent.”

  Josh looked up and waggled his eyebrows. “I think these four cookies planned the kidnapping together!”

  Ruth Rose laughed. “Josh, Mr. Paskey and Livvy Nugent are friends of ours. Do you really think they planned this big kidnapping? And can you see Mr. Linkletter and my baby-sitter pulling off a kidnapping together?”

  Josh ate a potato chip. “Well, maybe not. But someone kidnapped the guy!”

  “Our trail led us to the hotel, and then it ended,” Dink said. “What I want to know is, if Wallis Wallace isn’t in his room, where is he?”

  Dink nibbled on a cookie thoughtfully. “I’m getting a headache trying to sort it all out.”

  Ruth Rose dug in Dink’s backpack and brought out three Wallis Wallace books. “I have an idea.” She handed books to Dink and Josh and kept one.