London Art Chase (11 page)

“Aren't they beautiful?” Lulu whispered, her nose only inches away from the glass.

“Yes,” Maddie said, and then hugged her little sister tight. “Love you, Lulu.”

Lulu looked up at her, surprised. “Love you too, Maddie.”

“Are you girls ready to head over to Buckingham Palace?” Miss Julia asked. “If we go now, we should be able to find a spot where we can see the whole ceremony.”

“Yes!” Lulu said, and then put her hands to her mouth, realizing how loud she'd spoken. “Yes,” she repeated, this time in a whisper.

Maddie tried to keep her giggles as silent as she could until they were out on the Tower lawn.

Mia twirled around in a classic Lulu move. “I love London!”

Lulu and Maddie joined the dance and twirled and leapt their way toward Traitor's Gate.

NINETEEN

B
y 10:45, the girls and Miss Julia had found their way to Buckingham Palace. People stood three or four deep around the barricades, so they circled round until they were on the far side and better able to see the famous Changing of the Guard.

The guards stood in front of the palace, just outside little booths that looked almost like telephone booths, but were blue and black instead of red. Each one of the guards was unmoving, wearing a red jacket with gold buttons and a tight-fitting gold band around the collar, and holding a rifle. They wore tall, furry hats with gold bands that circled under their chins, covering up a lot of their face so what you could see most of all was their stern expression.

“Why do they just stand there, not moving?” Lulu asked.

“That's one of the most special things about the Queen's Guard,” Miss Julia said. “They take their job very seriously, and as part of it, they stand still for hours.”

“For the whole time they're in front of the palace? How long is that?” Mia asked.

“They have two to three hour shifts,” Miss Julia said. “And they mostly stay still, but they are allowed to do ten-step marches every once in a while.”

“But they never have to scratch their noses or anything?” Lulu asked.

Miss Julia laughed. “I think everyone's nose itches now and then.”

“So they just ignore it? I could never do that,” Mia said.

“I couldn't either,” Maddie said.

“It would be very difficult, especially if people tried to make you laugh, the way people do with the Queen's Guard. But it's important to remember that the soldiers aren't just here for show. They're real soldiers—who fight in wars if they have to and everything else. This is only one of their duties, and a big honor. If something goes wrong, they will definitely move.”

“Please take a picture for the travelogue,” Lulu said. “We'll all stand here very still like soldiers so you can take it.”

After what felt like forty tries, Miss Julia finally managed to take one picture where no one was smiling. Maddie didn't mind. So far, this picture had been the most fun one of the entire travelogue. When she finally stopped laughing, Maddie took out her sketchbook and drew one of the very still soldiers, stern face and all.

The crowd fell silent as far-off music started to play. Soon, Maddie could see the red jackets and gold hats, and the way the musicians stepped in perfect time as they played.

“Can you imagine trying to walk like that at the same time you were trying to play?” Mia asked.

“Crazy,” Maddie answered.

Tubas and other brass instruments filled the air with sound, punctuated by the sharp staccato of drums and the repeated ring of cymbals. Ahead of the musicians marched the conductor, outfitted in a long gold jacket, using his long baton to keep everyone in time.

As the musicians assembled in the courtyard to continue playing, the new guards marched in, also in perfect step. Even though their bright red-and-gold uniforms, their tall hats, and perfect marching made them seem like toy soldiers come to life, Maddie knew Miss Julia was right. Those weren't toy rifles. Anyway, toy soldiers would have been modeled after the real thing, not the other way around.

One soldier marched ahead of the rest, shouting commands. To Maddie, these sounded like, “He-hup! Ha! Heffulump!” Probably not what the commander was saying. Up closer, and to the soldiers, surely these were clear orders. After another shout, the soldiers step-stepped, and then went still. They'd lined up with their backs to the girls, facing the courtyard. Another shout, and a few soldiers marched forward to face some of the current guards. They stood facing one another and then swapped places, the old guards now marching back to join the rest of the assembled soldiers.

“What do you think happens if one of them messes up?” Mia asked Maddie.

“It doesn't seem like they ever do, does it?” Maddie said. “I don't know, it all seems so serious. If it were me, I'd never be able to stop myself from laughing.”

Maddie looked back at the Square and then froze. Her eyes narrowed. No. She couldn't be seeing what she thought. But yes, the more she looked, the more she was sure!

“What, Maddie?” Mia asked.

“I think I see him,” Maddie said, up on her toes now, leaning this way and that, trying to see.

“Who?” Lulu asked. “Who, who?”

“The thief!” Maddie said.

“Where?” Lulu asked.

“What's going on, girls?” Miss Julia asked, turning away from the ceremony to give them her full attention.

“There, on the other side of the courtyard,” Maddie said. “I can tell by the gray steaks in his hair, and those wire glasses. I'm pretty sure—”

“I'll catch him!” Lulu took off running, straight into the courtyard, and straight toward the lines of soldiers.

The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion. Lulu's plan seemed to be to dart around the soldiers, on the straightest path possible to the thief, but instead of going around them, she knocked into the soldier on the end of the line, causing him to stumble and knock into the soldier beside him. Maddie and Mia watched in horror as guard after guard stumbled and
scattered, black hats toppling everywhere, with Lulu in the middle of the whole mess.

“Oh no,” Miss Julia said. “No, no, no!”

She gave Maddie and Mia her most serious look, ten times the one she'd given them in the museum the day before. “You two stay right here and don't move.”

They both nodded in agreement, and Miss Julia hurried into the courtyard, making a beeline for Lulu.

TWENTY

M
addie bounced up and down on her toes, watching the thief move farther and farther away. “He's getting away!”

“Why are you so sure this guy is a thief?” Mia asked.

“You saw the same thing I did, Mia. Why
don't
you think so?”

“I don't know. Because no one else is worried, I guess. Because no one is talking about a stolen painting.”

“Mia, I promised Mom I'd let it go, and all day, I have. But I prayed last night asking that if there was anything I could do, God would make it clear. And now I see this guy again, here. It's like I'm specifically being given another chance to follow him and find out what's going on.”

“You mean, from God?” Mia's eyebrows raised skeptically.

“Could be.” Maddie knew she was on shaky ground.

“I don't think God expects kids to chase down thieves.”

“Okay, well, even if God didn't send him, what's the harm in following him and seeing where he goes and maybe who he is? I really, really need to know what happened yesterday.”

“You are taking this whole thing too seriously,” Mia said.

“If we go together, and we're careful, it will be fine. Come on, Mia. Please? Miss Julia will be upset for a second, and then she'll come along. Look, he's already made his way through the crowd. We'll never catch up with him if we don't go now.”

“Okay, Maddie,” Mia said. “If this is truly so important to you, then let's go catch this guy.”

The two girls joined hands and started to run. Instead of battling through the crowd, they followed Lulu's lead and went straight across the courtyard, careful not to run into any guards.

They passed Miss Julia and shouted, “Come on!”

Miss Julia called after them, “Girls, wait!”

They were already on their way. Maddie glanced over her shoulder. Lulu and Miss Julia had untangled themselves from the pile of guards and were now running across the courtyard too. Satisfied that they were all together, if a little spread out, Maddie doubled her speed.

“Come on, Mia. He's turning the corner!”

Weaving in and around people, they ran and then walked whenever they got too close.

“What do we do if we catch him?” Mia asked, breathing hard.

“Let's just see where he goes,” Maddie gasped. “Maybe we'll figure out where he lives or works or
something when he stops. Then we can ask someone for help.”

Maddie felt ridiculously conspicuous, but the man seemed unaware of being followed. He walked briskly on, down street after London street, past telephone booths and post boxes, old-fashioned lights, and window boxes filled with brightly colored flowers.

“What are you girls doing?” Miss Julia asked as she finally caught up with them.

“We're catching him, we're catching him!” Lulu shouted.

“Shhhh!” both Maddie and Mia hissed.

“You cannot follow a strange man through the streets of London,” Miss Julia said.

“But he's a thief!” Maddie whispered.

“
Especially
if he's a criminal,” Miss Julia said. “We need to leave this situation up to the police.”

“We're keeping our distance. He has no idea we're following him,” Maddie said. “And you're with us, so we're safe.”

Mia pointed. “Look, he's turning onto another street!”

The girls hurried around the corner so they wouldn't lose sight of him. Miss Julia had no choice but to follow, grumbling under her breath. Now that Maddie was all-in, she knew she'd have to prove this guy was a thief, or face her parents' anger. The only way they'd forgive her for running Miss Julia all around town was if it was for a very, very good cause—such as saving a
famous and beautiful painting. For one tiny moment, Maddie allowed herself to think about how she would feel once she found the painting and the thief was caught. Rather than being the one who was always last to join in, the one who never said the most interesting thing, the one just off-center, she'd be the one who'd spoken up and taken action.

The man turned one last corner, and headed up a set of stone steps into what looked like an office building. Trafalgar Square was just at the end of the street, and in the distance, Maddie could see the National Gallery.

“Look where we are!” Mia said.

“I know! This is the direction he was walking yesterday.” Maddie held out her arm to stop everyone so they wouldn't get too close and be spotted.

Once the man was inside, she said, “Come on! Let's go see.”

Miss Julia didn't say anything. She followed along silently, her lips pressed together in a thin line, as though she was holding back all the things she might say.

Mia and Maddie raced each other up the steps, with Lulu right at their heels. A sign above the door read,
National Archivist, Ltd
.

“Like the National Gallery?” Lulu asked, dancing around in excitement. “We found our thief!”

“But wait,” Mia said. “An archivist is someone who takes care of paintings and documents and old things, right?”

“Yes . . .” Miss Julia said, her brow furrowing.

Maddie paused, less sure than she'd been all the way across town. If her thief worked here, maybe Mia had been right all along, and he hadn't been a thief at all.

“We should definitely go inside,” Mia said, and Maddie knew she was doing the twin-thing, listening in on Maddie's thoughts. “We should ask questions and get to the bottom of what's going on here. You still want to know, right, Maddie?”

“Right,” Maddie said, but her voice came out more like a question than a for-sure answer.

“Let's go!” Lulu said, and pushed through the doors before anyone could stop her.

Mia looped her arm through Maddie's, and they followed Lulu inside.