CHAPTER 7
Lynda saw a popcorn stand in one corner of the Big Hall. "Let's get her some popcorn while we're looking."
"You know," Cheri remarked, "I brought Dad's electronic earphones with me because Jade is always complaining that she can't hear the movie. The earphones magnify any sounds within a one hundred foot radius. Personally, I think Jade could hear if she would just shut up. Anyway, if we see anyone suspicious, I can put on the earphones to hear what they're saying."
"Does Dad know you have one of his electronic snooping devices?"
"Yes, I think so.....well,” she smirked, “maybe not. But I really needed them for this new science project I was doing at school and I guess he just left them at the house before our move. "
"Allright," Lynda said, "We'll straighten that out with Dad later. Let's get that popcorn."
Lynda and Cheri went to the popcorn stand. Sinda noticed a pretty car that had a sign on it. It was a red 1959 Cadillac that had once belonged to Frank Sinatra. The sign said Sinatra was a famous singer. Sinda wondered if he sang like Brad Paisley. Since moving to Dallas, she began listening to country-western music. She said aloud, "I wonder where the CD player is located."
A woman standing a few feet away, admiring the same car, laughed. "These cars didn't have CD players. That's a pretty recent piece of technology."
Sinda wrinkled her nose at the strong odor permeating from the woman. The woman laughed again and moved away to look at another car.
Sinda ran over to where Lynda was paying for the popcorn and Cheri was adjusting her earphones.
"Lynda, Lynda, that lady, that lady over there," Sinda jerked on Lynda’s blouse sleeve and jumped up and down.
"Calm down and don't speak so loud. Now, tell me what’s the matter."
"That lady over there really stinks!"
"That's not a very nice thing to say," said Cheri. "Maybe she can't afford soap."
Sinda stuck her tongue out at Cheri.
"What kind of smell was it?" asked Lynda, "Like she was dirty?"
"No, it was okay. There was just too much of it."
Lynda looked at Cheri, "Maybe this is the lady with the strong perfume odor she smelled last night."
Cheri shrugged, "There are lots of women here right now that have on perfume. Is that enough evidence to follow that one woman?"
Lynda looked thoughtful. "Dad told us once to follow our instincts. He said your first intuition about an unfamiliar situation was generally correct. This is our lady."
Cheri and Sinda looked at Lynda. They knew that once she had made up her mind, there was very little they could do to change it. Lynda could be very stubborn at times and it looked like this was one of those times.
"So this is the lady. Now which one is she, Sinda?" asked Cheri.
Sinda looked around. "She was right over there but now she's gone! Hey, you're spilling my popcorn, Cheri! Get your hand out of the bag.”
"Oh, for Pete's sake. Take your crummy popcorn. Now, keep up with us as we look for her."
The girls walked through the crowd milling around the antique cars. They looked for the woman Sinda saw. Sinda continually spilled popcorn as she walked behind Lynda. Sinda couldn’t seem to hold the bag upright and still keep up with her big sisters. Cheri fretted about her batteries for the electronic earphones.
"I don't think Dad recharged these batteries after his last case. Remember that one? Boy, that was great! He used the earphones to snoop around the Hotel Del Coronado while investigating that rich guy who wanted a divorce from his wife. Dad was caught by security who weren't very excited about having a private detective hanging around the hotel." The Hotel Del Coronado was a very exclusive resort hotel on Coronado Island by San Diego in southern California.
Lynda faced Cheri and put her hands on her hips. "Not now, Cheri! Can we please discuss Dad's cases later? We happen to be on one of our own cases right now and we’re wasting time. Sinda, are you still looking for that woman?"
"Hey" replied Sinda, "there she is. Over by the exit sign."
"She's talking to Sneaker Man. See his sneakers with his business suit? Maybe your hunch was right, Lynda,” said Cheri. “I'm impressed. Maybe I'll pay more attention to what you say from now on. Maybe."
"Come on!"
The girls ran over to a bright pink 1962 Cadillac convertible. The sign said it had once belonged to Elvis. It was on display about ten feet from the man and woman. Crouching low beside the car, Lynda craned her neck around the back bumper to get a good look while Cheri put on her electronic earphones.
Sinda was grabbing handfuls of popcorn and stuffing as much as she could into her mouth. “Lynda, do you think Elvis will show up here to get his car?” Sinda said between mouthfuls while butter ran down her chin.
"Geez, Lynda, she dropped her popcorn all over my shoes. I have gooey butter on my white socks!"
"Shh! Would you both concentrate on the reason we're here? Cheri, try to tune in to their conversation. Sinda, be still."
Cheri tried to change the volume level.
"Wait! I hear something.....No, it's too fuzzy. The battery charge is low. Maybe if I could get closer..."
Lynda thought for a minute about what to do.
"Okay, here’s the new plan. There's a wastebasket a few feet away from us. Sinda, go to that wastebasket and throw your popcorn bag away. Then, stand there and wait for Cheri. Cheri, you walk up to her and turn your back to the couple. Then you can adjust your earphones. You two pretend to be talking."
Sinda made a big deal out of being nonchalant while walking slowly towards the wastebasket. The couple looked at her briefly and resumed their conversation. Cheri then walked over to the wastebasket and, turning her back to the man and woman, put her hand to her ear to adjust the volume. She heard sounds.
"Silencio…$200,000... the locker......High Tech...... why didn't.........get it?..........brown bag..........10:00 tonight......"
"What do you hear, Cheri," said Sinda, "what do you hear, huh? Can you hear anything? Let me listen. I've got better ears."
"Shh!"
The woman glanced over again and seemed to recognize Sinda. She whispered something to the man and they walked quickly out the exit door together.
Lynda ran up to Sinda and Cheri.
"What did you hear?"
"Not much and then Sinda started chattering and that seemed to scare them off."
Lynda tried again. "Well, what did you hear before they left?"
"They talked about a brown bag and $200,000. Also, something about
10:00 tonight."
"What's happening at 10:00 tonight?" asked Lynda.
"I don't know. That's when motor mouth started and I couldn't hear any more”. Sinda stuck out her tongue at her sister--again.
"Did they mention a location?"
"No, wait, she mentioned a locker and High Tech."
"I saw lockers at Mother's company last night next to the cafeteria," Sinda said.
'Of course!" Lynda shouted. "The employee lockers at Mother's company would be the perfect place to hide the stolen equipment. The burglars couldn't have left with it last night because we were all searched by security. Remember? And security wouldn’t look in employee lockers. Let's call Mother to pick us up and talk over what we should do next."
The Floyd sisters walked happily out the exit door of the antique car exhibit. They were on their way to solving the mystery. The sisters walked down the hall until they found the building lobby. Suddenly, Lynda and Cheri stopped so quickly that Sinda ran into the back of them. Sinda slipped and fell. Lynda and Cheri grabbed each other’s hands and ran down the hallway and back through the exit door. Had they been spotted?
There was JT Nelson, the company security guard! He was speaking to a Fair Park security guard. Hmm.....It sure seemed strange to see him here of all places. Like the last time they had seen him
, Nelson didn’t look happy. He spent several long minutes looking at the crowd and then left the building.
Lynda and Cheri sighed. Whew, that was close. They would wait for a while and then sneak back into the lobby. And then they could finally go home.
But where was Sinda? She should have been right behind them. They walked back through the exit door, down the hall, and back into the building lobby. Lynda and Cheri looked everywhere. Sinda was missing!