The Case of the Missing Dolls--Part Two
by HA
Miraculously, Shirley and her friends made their way past the guard trying to keep the crowd out of the store. They spotted a young cashier looking left to right from his position behind the cash register and another guard being engaged in a conversation with a young man dressed in a casual blue suit with sparkles. His black hair was styled into spikes, and his eyes were covered by red tinted glasses. The guard was tall and muscular with a square-jawed head topped with brown hair. From where Shirley stood, she could see the scowl of annoyance on the guard's face.
"Roy, what's the meaning of this?" the young man said to the guard. "Why are you keeping these cute little darlings out here?"
"It's called a thorough investigation, Mr. Obley," the guard said through clenched teeth. "No one comes in or out until we're finished."
"I don't recall the mall ordering one, Mr. Mann." A middle-aged woman appeared next to the young man. She was dressed in a business suit, and her graying hair was styled in a bun.
"Well, I called for it, Ms. Anderson," the guard said pointedly.
"Whoa," Bo said. "That's Karla Anderson."
"Who?" Shirley asked, looking at the woman.
"The head of Karla Toys, the maker of Larissa," Bo explained. "She's actually here."
"And looking pretty upset," Blake remarked.
"The last time I checked, I was in charge of this exhibit, Mr. Mann," Ms. Anderson said sharply. "Also, maybe I should be investigating you in light of your sloppy work."
The guard finally noticed Shirley and her friends, and he scowled at the great-grandniece of Sherlock Holmes. "Look, for the umpteenth time, no one's coming in until we're done!"
Unfazed, Shirley addressed the three adults. "Actually, I believe I can help."
The young man raised his glasses, squinted, then lowered them back over his eyes. "You? Help?" he said in disbelief.
Ms. Anderson shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, but this is a job for me and mall security." She gave a nasty look at the guard. "That is, if mall security can get things done right around here."
As the guard returned the look to Ms. Anderson, Shirley looked over the toy mogul. Her observant blue eyes took every detail in. "You've really been in a hurry this morning, Ms. Anderson. You're also a little tired, and you spilled some coffee on yourself during breakfast."
Three sets of eyes looked at Shirley in shock. "How...?" the young man began.
"For starters, you have a few hairs sticking out of your bun, and those shoes don't match your suit," Shirley said, pointing to the woman's shoes and suit. "I doubt a woman of your bearing ever makes such a mistake in accessorizing." She continued without noticing Ms. Anderson's look of surprise. You have bags under your eyes, indicating a lack of sleep. Finally, there's a stain on your blouse. Its color matches that of coffee."
The three adults stared at Shirley silently, and Ms. Anderson nodded. "Score another one for you, Shirley," Blake whispered.
Willing her mouth to move, Ms. Anderson spoke. "Well, you've proven yourself a lot smarter than some people," she remarked, giving the guard a dirty look.
The guard glared back. "My men and I have searched everywhere, and we're about to seal off the whole mall like you recommended," he shot back.
Shirley examined the nearby display as Ms. Anderson and the guard began arguing again. A large sign hanging over the display declared "LARISSA" in large pink cursive letters, and a large pink cloth was lying on the floor nearby. Sitting atop a white platform with "LARISSA" written in a similar fashion as the sign, a number of dolls stood inside glass boxes with their accessories. Although their dress ranged from a nurse to a teacher, all of them had the same long blond hair and green eyes. The feature that stood out in Shirley's mind was the big white toothed grin each doll wore. A significant number of boxes was empty with open doors.
"This is what appeals to girls?" Shirley remarked, pointing to a doll called "Housewife Larissa, 1957." It wore a white dress with a pink apron. An ironing board leaned against the back of the display box.
"Well, she's grown up over the years," Bo said, pointing to a doll called "Karate Larissa, 1991." It wore a karate gi and a black belt.
"Cool," Blake said, looking at the same doll.
"Ah, I see you're admiring the beauty that is Larissa."
All three teens' heads turned to see the young man in the sparkly suit. "You are...?" Shirley began to ask.
"Clarence Obley," Bo answered for the man. "I've heard of you. You're the self-declared biggest fan of Larissa."
"Yes, I am!" the young man declared loudly, pointing skyward.
"Here to see the exhibit?" Blake asked.
"Actually, I'm in charge of setting it up," Mr. Obley clarified proudly, placing his hands on his hips. "Being president of the Larissa Fan Club and having the largest fan collection of Larissa dolls, I was called upon by Karla to help out with the setup since I do a lot of promotion for Larissa."
"I see," Shirley said, staring incredulously at Mr. Obley. "So, you have no clue on how the dolls disappeared?"
"Actually, I do have one suspect," Mr. Obley said, rubbing his chin and looking at someone. Shirley followed his gaze to Mr. Mann, the security guard.
"Why him?" Bo asked.
"Oh, he's been grumpy all day today and also while I set everything up last night," Mr. Obley revealed. "He kept grumbling about how he has to babysit a stupid doll display..." His hand went into a fist, and its shaking in addition to his clenched teeth did not the always watchful eye of Shirley. "Stupid? Ha! Larissa is not stupid! She's beautiful, versitile, well-loved..."
"Plastic," Bo whispered to Blake, who suppressed a small laugh with his hand.
"Larissa is simply wonderful," Mr. Obley continued, oblivious to Bo and Blake shaking as they contained their laughter with their hands. They turned around so the self-proclaimed Larissa fan could not see their faces.
"So you have the largest collection of these dolls?" Shirley asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Indeed," Mr. Obley answered, flashing a grin. He looked past her. "Oh, Karla and Mr. Grouch need me, so if you excuse me..."
Shirley looked behind her and saw Ms. Anderson and Mr. Mann arguing heatedly. She stood aside as Mr. Obley walked past her and returned to them.
"I can't believe you...!" Ms. Anderson shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Mr. Mann.
"Now see her, Ms. Anderson...!" Mr. Mann yelled back.
"Now, now..." Mr. Obley said, placing himself between the two verbal combatants and gesturing for peace.
Bo shook his head. "All this for a few missing dolls."
"A few old and valuable missing dolls," Shirley remarked, pointing to one empty box's label. "This one contained the first Larissa doll that came off the assembly line."
Ms. Anderson stormed off towards the exhibit. "Of all the days to get bad publicity..." she mumbled, fists formed at her side. "What else could go wrong?"
"Anderson!" a man's voice shouted.
All eyes were on a slightly plump man with a thick mustache and a balding head. Behind him was a thin man in a lab coat that kept muttering, "Mr. Mott, please..."
Shirley made her way to the adults. Bo and Blake looked at each other, shrugged, and followed her in.
The plump man pointed a pudgy finger at Ms. Anderson. "Hold it right there, thief!"
Ms. Anderson turned her fury on the thin man. "Trump, you brought him here?"
Wiping his brow and his brown hair, the thin man gulped loudly as he walked shakily to her. "N-n-n-no, ma'am. He followed me here when I wanted to show you th-th-this."
With a trembling hand, the thin man pulled out a doll from his lab pocket. He spoke only after taking a deep breath that apparently calmed him down. "This is my latest invention, Ms. Anderson. Meet Talking Anime Girl Larissa."
Shirley looked at the doll. Talking Anime Girl Larissa had the same blond hair, green eyes, and big grin as her counterparts. The hair was styled into a spiky style, the eyes were large with big eyeballs, and her clothes consisted of a black leather jacket and what Shirley recognized as a Japanese sailor style girl's uniform.
"'Talking Anime Girl Larissa'?" Bo said, staring at the doll.
The thin man nodded and pushed the doll's back. "Konnichiwa, everyone!" the doll said. "Let's go out and have a good time!" He pushed the back again. "Watch out for the giant robot battle!" Another push produced "Ganbatte! You can do it!", and another resulted in "Stay away from him. He's mine!"
"Okay," Blake said. "That's weird."
"At least it's not trying to kill people," Bo commented.
Shirley blinked at the grinning doll. "And who'd buy this?" she asked the man in the lab coat.
"Well, fans of Japanese cartoons," the man admitted. "She still needs a little fine-tuning, but I'm sure once I perfect her..."
"You'll do no such thing!" the plump man roared. "You stole the concept from my company, and you know it, Anderson!"
Ms. Anderson defiantly placed her hands on her hips and glowered at the plump man. "Mott, talking dolls aren't exactly an exclusive idea of yours, and you know it!"
"Why you...!" the plump man began.
"Who is that man?" Shirley asked as Ms. Anderson and the balding newcomer began arguing about idea theft. Mr. Obley had retreated from them and was now next to the display.
"That's Harold Mott, the head of Havender Toys, our biggest rival," the thin man answered. "He and Ms. Anderson have hated each other since kindergarten. At least, that's what she says."
"And you are...?" Shirley asked.
"Percy Trump, head of toy development at Karla Toys," the thin man replied.
"You help make dolls?" Mr. Mann asked, staring incredulously at Mr. Trump.
"I do," Mr. Trump answered, holding his head up high.
Mr. Mann shook his head. "Great, just what I need. First I have to deal with a man who collects them, and now I have to deal with the guy who comes up with the stupid things."
"Just what exactly do you have against dolls?" Blake asked Mr. Mann politely.
"They're just...girly," the security guard admitted. "Uh, no offense," he said to Shirley.
"None taken," Shirley said, shifting her gaze from the verbal battle between the two doll manufacturers and the Larissa doll display.
Mr. Trump noticed the empty display boxes and sighed. "Great, and to make things worse..." He looked at Mr. Mann and Mr. Obley. "When I was here last night, there was a lot of security and all the dolls were here."
"You were here last night?" Bo asked.
"I accompanied Ms. Anderson here so I could make sure all the selected dolls were here," Mr. Trump clarified. "Heck, I was the one who drove the van with the dolls. Ms. Anderson kept telling me to drive carefully so our 'precious cargo' wouldn't get damaged." He let out a small sigh, then threw his hands up. "I don't get paid enough. I come up with all the ideas for Larissa, and I'm still earning the same salary I had when I started out at the company. Plus, I don't even leave work until I'm done with it. A good thing I don't have a wife, or she'd kill me. I mean, I stay there until midnight, for Pete's sake!"
As Mr. Trump continued complaining about his life, Shirley and her friends slipped away to the exhibit and examined the scene before them. Ms. Anderson and Mr. Mott were still engaged in loud verbal sparring, and Mr. Trump was still complaining with Mr. Mann listening.
"This is almost like last night," Mr. Obley remarked.
"This happened last night too?" Bo asked.
"Well, except last night, Mr. Mott complained about Ms Anderson stealing the concept for a singing doll," Mr. Obley said as the shouting got louder. "He stormed out, vowing to get her back for her theft."
"Hmm," Shirley said with a nod. Ignoring the shouting around her, she pondered the problem.
"Looks like we've got a good list of suspects, huh, Shirley?" Blake said.
Shirley nodded. "Mr. Obley, so everyone here was here last night?"
"Yep," Mr. Obley replied. "I left late. Roy let me out."
Mr. Mann joined the group near the display. "Trump's got some real problems," he commented, pointing to him. The poor man was now complaining to himself as his boss and her rival kept shouting.
"I bet you had someone steal my dolls!" Ms. Anderson shouted.
"That's poppycock, and you know it!" Mr. Mott bellowed back, spraying spit in Ms. Anderson's direction. "I think you stole your own dolls so you'd have all this free publicity!"
"That's absurd, you little...!"
"Did the security cameras catch anything?" Shirley asked Mr. Mann as the shouting continued. She pointed out the various cameras hanging on the ceiling.
"Nope," the security guard answered. "They caught nothing. All I got was my men covering the display with that pink cloth on the floor," he added, pointing to the cloth in question. "The only time it came off was a while ago so we could do a final check on it, and that's when we noticed the missing dolls."
"Hey, did you let a blond girl in here?" Bo suddenly asked. "Fairly tall with long hair?"
"I didn't let anyone in here, and no one ever snuck past me and my men," Mr. Mann said.
"Bo, are you saying that Molly stole the dolls?" Blake asked.
"Well, she is pure evil," Bo said. "Plus, she was in a hurry when we saw her."
"And why would Molly steal a few dolls?" Shirley asked. "She plays for higher stakes, and I'm sure her father could buy her any of them if she has an interest in them. Of course, she feels she's too mature for such childish things, so I doubt she even cares about them." She cupped her chin with her hand and closed her eyes.
"What is she doing?" Mr. Mann asked.
"Thinking," Bo answered.
Two minutes passed before Shirley reopened her eyes. She looked at the display and around the store. "Could someone get their attention please?" she requested, looking at Ms. Anderson, Mr. Mott, and Mr. Trump.
Bo was about to yell "Hey" when Blake put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. It was good enough to earn the stares of three puzzled adults.
"Now what?" Mr. Mott demanded. "Hey, why are these kids doing...?"
"What is it?" Ms. Anderson asked.
"I believe I know who the thief is," Shirley announced.
END OF PART TWO
by HA
Miraculously, Shirley and her friends made their way past the guard trying to keep the crowd out of the store. They spotted a young cashier looking left to right from his position behind the cash register and another guard being engaged in a conversation with a young man dressed in a casual blue suit with sparkles. His black hair was styled into spikes, and his eyes were covered by red tinted glasses. The guard was tall and muscular with a square-jawed head topped with brown hair. From where Shirley stood, she could see the scowl of annoyance on the guard's face.
"Roy, what's the meaning of this?" the young man said to the guard. "Why are you keeping these cute little darlings out here?"
"It's called a thorough investigation, Mr. Obley," the guard said through clenched teeth. "No one comes in or out until we're finished."
"I don't recall the mall ordering one, Mr. Mann." A middle-aged woman appeared next to the young man. She was dressed in a business suit, and her graying hair was styled in a bun.
"Well, I called for it, Ms. Anderson," the guard said pointedly.
"Whoa," Bo said. "That's Karla Anderson."
"Who?" Shirley asked, looking at the woman.
"The head of Karla Toys, the maker of Larissa," Bo explained. "She's actually here."
"And looking pretty upset," Blake remarked.
"The last time I checked, I was in charge of this exhibit, Mr. Mann," Ms. Anderson said sharply. "Also, maybe I should be investigating you in light of your sloppy work."
The guard finally noticed Shirley and her friends, and he scowled at the great-grandniece of Sherlock Holmes. "Look, for the umpteenth time, no one's coming in until we're done!"
Unfazed, Shirley addressed the three adults. "Actually, I believe I can help."
The young man raised his glasses, squinted, then lowered them back over his eyes. "You? Help?" he said in disbelief.
Ms. Anderson shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, but this is a job for me and mall security." She gave a nasty look at the guard. "That is, if mall security can get things done right around here."
As the guard returned the look to Ms. Anderson, Shirley looked over the toy mogul. Her observant blue eyes took every detail in. "You've really been in a hurry this morning, Ms. Anderson. You're also a little tired, and you spilled some coffee on yourself during breakfast."
Three sets of eyes looked at Shirley in shock. "How...?" the young man began.
"For starters, you have a few hairs sticking out of your bun, and those shoes don't match your suit," Shirley said, pointing to the woman's shoes and suit. "I doubt a woman of your bearing ever makes such a mistake in accessorizing." She continued without noticing Ms. Anderson's look of surprise. You have bags under your eyes, indicating a lack of sleep. Finally, there's a stain on your blouse. Its color matches that of coffee."
The three adults stared at Shirley silently, and Ms. Anderson nodded. "Score another one for you, Shirley," Blake whispered.
Willing her mouth to move, Ms. Anderson spoke. "Well, you've proven yourself a lot smarter than some people," she remarked, giving the guard a dirty look.
The guard glared back. "My men and I have searched everywhere, and we're about to seal off the whole mall like you recommended," he shot back.
Shirley examined the nearby display as Ms. Anderson and the guard began arguing again. A large sign hanging over the display declared "LARISSA" in large pink cursive letters, and a large pink cloth was lying on the floor nearby. Sitting atop a white platform with "LARISSA" written in a similar fashion as the sign, a number of dolls stood inside glass boxes with their accessories. Although their dress ranged from a nurse to a teacher, all of them had the same long blond hair and green eyes. The feature that stood out in Shirley's mind was the big white toothed grin each doll wore. A significant number of boxes was empty with open doors.
"This is what appeals to girls?" Shirley remarked, pointing to a doll called "Housewife Larissa, 1957." It wore a white dress with a pink apron. An ironing board leaned against the back of the display box.
"Well, she's grown up over the years," Bo said, pointing to a doll called "Karate Larissa, 1991." It wore a karate gi and a black belt.
"Cool," Blake said, looking at the same doll.
"Ah, I see you're admiring the beauty that is Larissa."
All three teens' heads turned to see the young man in the sparkly suit. "You are...?" Shirley began to ask.
"Clarence Obley," Bo answered for the man. "I've heard of you. You're the self-declared biggest fan of Larissa."
"Yes, I am!" the young man declared loudly, pointing skyward.
"Here to see the exhibit?" Blake asked.
"Actually, I'm in charge of setting it up," Mr. Obley clarified proudly, placing his hands on his hips. "Being president of the Larissa Fan Club and having the largest fan collection of Larissa dolls, I was called upon by Karla to help out with the setup since I do a lot of promotion for Larissa."
"I see," Shirley said, staring incredulously at Mr. Obley. "So, you have no clue on how the dolls disappeared?"
"Actually, I do have one suspect," Mr. Obley said, rubbing his chin and looking at someone. Shirley followed his gaze to Mr. Mann, the security guard.
"Why him?" Bo asked.
"Oh, he's been grumpy all day today and also while I set everything up last night," Mr. Obley revealed. "He kept grumbling about how he has to babysit a stupid doll display..." His hand went into a fist, and its shaking in addition to his clenched teeth did not the always watchful eye of Shirley. "Stupid? Ha! Larissa is not stupid! She's beautiful, versitile, well-loved..."
"Plastic," Bo whispered to Blake, who suppressed a small laugh with his hand.
"Larissa is simply wonderful," Mr. Obley continued, oblivious to Bo and Blake shaking as they contained their laughter with their hands. They turned around so the self-proclaimed Larissa fan could not see their faces.
"So you have the largest collection of these dolls?" Shirley asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Indeed," Mr. Obley answered, flashing a grin. He looked past her. "Oh, Karla and Mr. Grouch need me, so if you excuse me..."
Shirley looked behind her and saw Ms. Anderson and Mr. Mann arguing heatedly. She stood aside as Mr. Obley walked past her and returned to them.
"I can't believe you...!" Ms. Anderson shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Mr. Mann.
"Now see her, Ms. Anderson...!" Mr. Mann yelled back.
"Now, now..." Mr. Obley said, placing himself between the two verbal combatants and gesturing for peace.
Bo shook his head. "All this for a few missing dolls."
"A few old and valuable missing dolls," Shirley remarked, pointing to one empty box's label. "This one contained the first Larissa doll that came off the assembly line."
Ms. Anderson stormed off towards the exhibit. "Of all the days to get bad publicity..." she mumbled, fists formed at her side. "What else could go wrong?"
"Anderson!" a man's voice shouted.
All eyes were on a slightly plump man with a thick mustache and a balding head. Behind him was a thin man in a lab coat that kept muttering, "Mr. Mott, please..."
Shirley made her way to the adults. Bo and Blake looked at each other, shrugged, and followed her in.
The plump man pointed a pudgy finger at Ms. Anderson. "Hold it right there, thief!"
Ms. Anderson turned her fury on the thin man. "Trump, you brought him here?"
Wiping his brow and his brown hair, the thin man gulped loudly as he walked shakily to her. "N-n-n-no, ma'am. He followed me here when I wanted to show you th-th-this."
With a trembling hand, the thin man pulled out a doll from his lab pocket. He spoke only after taking a deep breath that apparently calmed him down. "This is my latest invention, Ms. Anderson. Meet Talking Anime Girl Larissa."
Shirley looked at the doll. Talking Anime Girl Larissa had the same blond hair, green eyes, and big grin as her counterparts. The hair was styled into a spiky style, the eyes were large with big eyeballs, and her clothes consisted of a black leather jacket and what Shirley recognized as a Japanese sailor style girl's uniform.
"'Talking Anime Girl Larissa'?" Bo said, staring at the doll.
The thin man nodded and pushed the doll's back. "Konnichiwa, everyone!" the doll said. "Let's go out and have a good time!" He pushed the back again. "Watch out for the giant robot battle!" Another push produced "Ganbatte! You can do it!", and another resulted in "Stay away from him. He's mine!"
"Okay," Blake said. "That's weird."
"At least it's not trying to kill people," Bo commented.
Shirley blinked at the grinning doll. "And who'd buy this?" she asked the man in the lab coat.
"Well, fans of Japanese cartoons," the man admitted. "She still needs a little fine-tuning, but I'm sure once I perfect her..."
"You'll do no such thing!" the plump man roared. "You stole the concept from my company, and you know it, Anderson!"
Ms. Anderson defiantly placed her hands on her hips and glowered at the plump man. "Mott, talking dolls aren't exactly an exclusive idea of yours, and you know it!"
"Why you...!" the plump man began.
"Who is that man?" Shirley asked as Ms. Anderson and the balding newcomer began arguing about idea theft. Mr. Obley had retreated from them and was now next to the display.
"That's Harold Mott, the head of Havender Toys, our biggest rival," the thin man answered. "He and Ms. Anderson have hated each other since kindergarten. At least, that's what she says."
"And you are...?" Shirley asked.
"Percy Trump, head of toy development at Karla Toys," the thin man replied.
"You help make dolls?" Mr. Mann asked, staring incredulously at Mr. Trump.
"I do," Mr. Trump answered, holding his head up high.
Mr. Mann shook his head. "Great, just what I need. First I have to deal with a man who collects them, and now I have to deal with the guy who comes up with the stupid things."
"Just what exactly do you have against dolls?" Blake asked Mr. Mann politely.
"They're just...girly," the security guard admitted. "Uh, no offense," he said to Shirley.
"None taken," Shirley said, shifting her gaze from the verbal battle between the two doll manufacturers and the Larissa doll display.
Mr. Trump noticed the empty display boxes and sighed. "Great, and to make things worse..." He looked at Mr. Mann and Mr. Obley. "When I was here last night, there was a lot of security and all the dolls were here."
"You were here last night?" Bo asked.
"I accompanied Ms. Anderson here so I could make sure all the selected dolls were here," Mr. Trump clarified. "Heck, I was the one who drove the van with the dolls. Ms. Anderson kept telling me to drive carefully so our 'precious cargo' wouldn't get damaged." He let out a small sigh, then threw his hands up. "I don't get paid enough. I come up with all the ideas for Larissa, and I'm still earning the same salary I had when I started out at the company. Plus, I don't even leave work until I'm done with it. A good thing I don't have a wife, or she'd kill me. I mean, I stay there until midnight, for Pete's sake!"
As Mr. Trump continued complaining about his life, Shirley and her friends slipped away to the exhibit and examined the scene before them. Ms. Anderson and Mr. Mott were still engaged in loud verbal sparring, and Mr. Trump was still complaining with Mr. Mann listening.
"This is almost like last night," Mr. Obley remarked.
"This happened last night too?" Bo asked.
"Well, except last night, Mr. Mott complained about Ms Anderson stealing the concept for a singing doll," Mr. Obley said as the shouting got louder. "He stormed out, vowing to get her back for her theft."
"Hmm," Shirley said with a nod. Ignoring the shouting around her, she pondered the problem.
"Looks like we've got a good list of suspects, huh, Shirley?" Blake said.
Shirley nodded. "Mr. Obley, so everyone here was here last night?"
"Yep," Mr. Obley replied. "I left late. Roy let me out."
Mr. Mann joined the group near the display. "Trump's got some real problems," he commented, pointing to him. The poor man was now complaining to himself as his boss and her rival kept shouting.
"I bet you had someone steal my dolls!" Ms. Anderson shouted.
"That's poppycock, and you know it!" Mr. Mott bellowed back, spraying spit in Ms. Anderson's direction. "I think you stole your own dolls so you'd have all this free publicity!"
"That's absurd, you little...!"
"Did the security cameras catch anything?" Shirley asked Mr. Mann as the shouting continued. She pointed out the various cameras hanging on the ceiling.
"Nope," the security guard answered. "They caught nothing. All I got was my men covering the display with that pink cloth on the floor," he added, pointing to the cloth in question. "The only time it came off was a while ago so we could do a final check on it, and that's when we noticed the missing dolls."
"Hey, did you let a blond girl in here?" Bo suddenly asked. "Fairly tall with long hair?"
"I didn't let anyone in here, and no one ever snuck past me and my men," Mr. Mann said.
"Bo, are you saying that Molly stole the dolls?" Blake asked.
"Well, she is pure evil," Bo said. "Plus, she was in a hurry when we saw her."
"And why would Molly steal a few dolls?" Shirley asked. "She plays for higher stakes, and I'm sure her father could buy her any of them if she has an interest in them. Of course, she feels she's too mature for such childish things, so I doubt she even cares about them." She cupped her chin with her hand and closed her eyes.
"What is she doing?" Mr. Mann asked.
"Thinking," Bo answered.
Two minutes passed before Shirley reopened her eyes. She looked at the display and around the store. "Could someone get their attention please?" she requested, looking at Ms. Anderson, Mr. Mott, and Mr. Trump.
Bo was about to yell "Hey" when Blake put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. It was good enough to earn the stares of three puzzled adults.
"Now what?" Mr. Mott demanded. "Hey, why are these kids doing...?"
"What is it?" Ms. Anderson asked.
"I believe I know who the thief is," Shirley announced.
END OF PART TWO