儿童英语读物 The Movie Star Mystery CHAPTER 8 Lights Out!

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They all stared at the piece of red feather. Then Jessie said, “It must have been Monica who had a car hidden in the bushes by the side of the road. But why?”

“To spy on Tate,” said Benny

“She must suspect that he is at his mother’s house,” agreed Henry. “And she wants to write a story about it. But she can’t until she has proof¹.”

“Do you think she was the one who left the letter?” Violet² said.

“I don’t know,” said Jessie. “I didn’t see whoever it was clearly enough to know.”

Violet said, “She was there that day we saw Harpo and Stefan out in front of the bank. Remember when they jumped into their van and drove away so fast?”

Henry nodded. “And I remember you saying something about a lady in a green scarf.”

“It was Monica Tripe,” said Violet. “Maybe she wasn’t angry with us like I thought. Maybe she was mad that Harpo and Stefan got away.”

“Stefan and Harpo must have recognized her, too,” said Jessie. “That’s why they left in such a hurry, and not because of the police car!”

“Do you think she’s behind all of Tate’s bad luck?” said Violet.

“He did say she was always snooping around the set of his last movie,” Jessie pointed³ out.

“Maybe she caused the bad luck so she could have a good story to write about,” Henry said.

“I think it was Courtney,” said Benny. “She’s mean.”

“Oh, Benny. She’s just doing her job,” Violet said. “She’s supposed to protect Tate.”

“Benny, you might be right,” Jessie said thoughtfully⁴. “If Tate isn’t in danger, then he doesn’t need Courtney. She’d be out of a job.”

“And he did say that they hired her right after all those things went wrong on his other movie,” Henry said. “Maybe she caused things to happen after they hired her.”

“She could have sneaked⁵ out of the Radley place and put the letter in the mailbox,” Violet said. “She could have just climbed over the fence.”

Jessie nodded. “And maybe she’s the one who told Monica where we were.”

“Or maybe she and Monica are even working together,” said Henry.

He stopped and held up the red feather. “But we don’t have any proof.”

“We’ll find some new clues,” Jessie said. “Don’t worry. Well solve this mystery so that Tate can make his next movie without being afraid.”

That evening, Courtney and Tate arrived at the Aldens’ promptly⁶ at seven o’clock.

Benny answered the door. “Oh, good,” he said. “I’m hungry.”

Courtney smiled a little. But she stepped inside ahead of Tate and looked around. She walked to all the front windows and pulled down the shades. When they got to the dining room, she pulled the curtains closed in there.

Grandfather Alden looked surprised. “She’s my bodyguard,” Tate explained.

“Oh,” said Grandfather.

Henry introduced Tate and Courtney to Grandfather and Mrs. McGregor. Courtney nodded. She said to Mrs. McGregor, “Does that door lead to the kitchen?”

Surprised, Mrs. McGregor nodded.

“And is there a back door?” Courtney asked.

“A kitchen door, yes,” said Mrs. McGregor. “I’ll show you.” Courtney followed Mrs. McGregor into the kitchen.

A moment later Courtney returned. She said to Tate, “I think you should sit at the end of the room away from the window and near the door to the kitchen. That way you can make a quick exit out the back way if necessary.”

Jessie looked from Courtney to Tate and back again. “Has something else happened?” she asked suspiciously⁷.

Slowly Tate nodded.

“What?” asked Henry.

“A phone call,” Tate said. “Courtney answered the phone.”

“What kind of a phone call?” asked Violet.

“An anonymous⁸ phone call,” Courtney said. “Someone with a disguised⁹ voice. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. Whoever it was said, ‘Tate, Tate, it’s your fate¹⁰. Come out and play or you will pay.’ Then the person hung up.”

“That sounds like a threat!” Henry said.

“Yes,” said Courtney. “That’s why I’m being so careful.”

“But who knows where I am? And how did this person find out?” Tate cried in frustration¹¹. “We’ve been so careful.”

“We’ll just have to keep on being careful,” Courtney said. “Extra careful.”

Grandfather said, “Well, I think you’re safe here. Why don’t we sit down and enjoy Mrs. McGregor’s excellent dinner.”

It was a good dinner. Both Tate and Courtney seemed to relax a little as they ate the delicious food Mrs. McGregor had prepared. The Aldens told Tate and Courtney about mysteries they had solved. Tate told the Aldens about life as a movie star.

“It sounds like a lot of hard work,” said Benny, wrinkling¹² his nose.

“And not nearly as exciting as some of the mysteries you’ve solved,” Tate answered.

“I think it would be fun to be a movie star,” said Henry.

“I’d rather be the director,” said Jessie. “Then I could be in charge of everything.”

“You’d be good at that, Jessie,” Grandfather said, smiling at his oldest granddaughter.

Suddenly Watch came running out of the kitchen, where he had been napping¹³ on his pillow by the stove. He was barking wildly.

“What is it, Watch? What is it, boy?” asked Benny.

Watch ran to the front door and started scratching at it. And at that moment, all the lights went out.