“The Mozart score has been stolen?” Jessie repeated to make sure she had heard right.
“Yes,” Janet Muller said. She wandered away, murmuring, “I knew it. I just knew this would happen.”
Melody saw the Aldens and rushed over.
“When did you discover the score was stolen?” Jessie asked.
“Do you know who stole it?” Benny added.
“Have you called the police?” Henry wanted to know.
Melody held up her hand to silence them. “Wait, wait,” she said. “Who told you the score had been stolen?”
“Janet Muller,” Jessie answered.
“She’s jumping to conclusions,” Melody said.
“The score hasn’t been stolen then!” Violet sounded relieved.
Henry looked at the display case. It was empty. “The score’s not in the case,” he said. “If it wasn’t stolen, where is it?”
Melody shrugged. “We’re not sure,” she said. Then she went on to explain. “Victor took it back to the hotel after the party. He thought it would be safer than leaving it here at the Center overnight.”
Bob Weldon came up beside Melody. “Too bad no one was around to remind the great Victor Perrelli not to misplace it,” he said.
Benny nodded. “He forgot where he put it!”
“It shouldn’t be too difficult to find,” Henry said.
Melody sighed. “Victor’s the only one who knows where it is, and he has completely forgotten.”
“Maybe he’ll remember where he put it when he starts looking for it,” Jessie suggested.
Bob Weldon chuckled. “By the time he gets back to the hotel, he’ll forget why he’s there,” he said.
“We could go back to the hotel with Mr. Perrelli,” Henry suggested.
“Yes,” Violet said. “We could help him look.”
Benny thought that was a splendid idea. “We’ll find the missing music,” he assured Melody. “We’re very good detectives.”
Melody smiled. “I’ll get Victor,” she said.
“What about the rehearsal?” Bob Weldon asked. “We can’t cancel that. People are arriving. We can’t disappoint them.”
Melody’s smile faded. “You’re right, Bob. If we cancel the first event of the week …” Her voice trailed off.
“So the score will have to wait,” Bob Weldon said. “I’ll round up the musicians.” He hurried off.
“I hate to put off looking for the score,” Melody said. “The longer it’s lost, the greater the chance that the wrong person might find it.”
“Couldn’t someone else conduct the rehearsal?” Violet asked.
“That’s it,” Melody said. “I’ve been so upset, I don’t seem to be thinking. I’ll lead the rehearsal while you and Victor go back to the hotel.” She hurried over to Victor to tell him the plan.
He listened attentively, and nodded. Then he strode toward the Aldens. “Let’s see what we can see,” he said and led them outside.
At the hotel, they went directly to his room. There, the conductor turned the doorknob and pushed open the door.
Henry was surprised. “The door wasn’t locked,” he said.
Victor Perrelli stepped back to let the children enter. “Locked doors require keys,” he said. “Too easy to misplace.”
“But anyone could come into your room, Mr. Perrelli,” Jessie said. “Maybe — ”
“Please call me Victor,” he interrupted. He walked into the room. “What we need here is music!” He snapped on the tape recorder on the nightstand.
Instantly, the room was filled with the sounds of a full orchestra. Victor stood listening, his eyes closed. After several seconds, he began to wave his arms as though he were conducting the invisible musicians.
The children waited silently. Finally, Benny whispered, “Now I know how he practices.”
Victor dropped his arms suddenly and turned to the Aldens. “What was it we were supposed to do here?”
“Look for the missing score,” Henry reminded him.
Victor nodded. “Oh, yes, of course. Where shall we look first?”
“Try to remember what you did when you came back here after the reception,” Jessie suggested.
Victor nodded. “I listened to a Mozart concerto,” he said. “Very beautiful.”
“Did you hide the score before or after that?” Violet asked.
Victor sighed deeply. “A head full of music has no room for details,” he answered.
Seeing that they could not depend on Victor to remember anything helpful, Henry took charge. “Let’s divide things up,” he suggested. “Jessie and Soo Lee, you check the bathroom. Violet, you help Victor search this room. Benny and I will look in the closet.”
They all set to work.
Jessie and Soo Lee found nothing in the bathroom.
Violet and Victor looked everywhere — even under the mattress. No success.
Henry and Benny searched the closet shelves and Mr. Perrelli’s pockets. Nothing. Finally, Benny dragged the suitcase into the room.
“How about in here?” he asked.
Victor opened the suitcase. It was empty.
“Your garment bag’s hanging in the closet,” Henry said. “We didn’t look in it.”
Victor shook his head. “There’s nothing in there but my tuxedo. And it’s dirty at that. I must remember to have it cleaned before the concert.” Suddenly, his face lit up. “Yes, yes. Now I remember.”
He had remembered where he’d put the score! The Aldens waited anxiously for him to tell them where it was.
Instead, he said, “Such a strange thing: memory.”
“What is it you remembered?” Henry asked.
“Last night, after I listened to the concerto, I took a long walk,” Victor responded. “It was a lovely night. It brought back so many memories of my childhood.”
“Did you lock your door when you left?” Jessie asked.
She knew the answer. They all knew the answer. Victor Perrelli did not lock his door. Had someone come into his room while he was out and found the Mozart score? Perhaps Janet Muller had been right after all: The music had been stolen! |