Singing in Seattle (4 page)
Read Singing in Seattle Online
Authors: Tracey West
Lost because you don't know something good
when you see it.”
Aly grabbed AJ's arm. “Something tells me we're better off if she doesn't see us,” she whispered.
They made their way through the crowd, and discovered to their relief that the club was an L-shaped building. They turned a corner and found a room with a little more open space. People were sitting on big cushions on the floor, quietly chatting.
Aly sank down on a big orange cushion. “I can't believe it. Heather is so mad at us she wrote a poem about it!”
“I know,” AJ said. “Rainbow told me she was dramatic. I guess she was right.”
“Hey, you're not trying to hide from me, are you?”
The sisters looked up to see Austin standing over them. He pointed to a cushion between them. “May I?”
“Of course,” AJ said. “We're not hiding from you. We were just a little, uh, surprised to see Heather here.”
“I guess I should have warned you,” Austin said. “The poetry scene here is pretty tightâand it can get pretty competitive, too. Everyone's really polite when a poet is onstage. But you should see what happens backstage. I stay out of it. I just do it because I love it.”
“But you entered the songwriting contest,” AJ pointed out.
“Well, yeah, but that's a great opportunity,” Austin said. “And I'm not just talking about the scholarship. I just had to meet you guys.”
“I'm curious,” AJ said, changing the subject. “Are all of the contestants part of the poetry scene?”
“Not all of us, but a few of us are,” Austin replied. “Claire's here somewhere. She's really good. And Josh will be performing tonight. He's . . .”
“Standing right behind you,” Aly said quickly, before Austin could say anything bad. “Hi, Josh!”
Josh gave them a nervous smile. He was wearing leather pants and a vintage rock T-shirt.
“I didn't know you two were going to be here,” he said.
“Austin told us about it,” AJ said. “Are you performing tonight?”
“I was going to,” he said. “But now I'm not so sure. It makes me nervous having the judges here.”
“We're not judging tonight, just having fun,” AJ said. “Just pretend we're not here.”
They heard the sound of applause from the next room. Heather's poem was done. Then the emcee announced Claire's name over the mic.
Austin held out his hand to AJ.
“Come on, you've got to see this,” he said.
Claire stood in front of the microphone. Her long hair was unbraided, and hung in front of her face. She wore a gray T-shirt and a pair of khaki pants.
“This poem is called âLost,'” she said.
“Lost.
Every thought.
Every hope.
Every dream.
Lost.
Stolen.
My heart fills with despair . . .”
AJ noticed that Claire never even made eye contact with the audience as she read her poem. But they seemed captivated by her words. The club was absolutely quiet, except for the sound of Claire's voice.
When she was done, the silence was replaced with applause.
“Let me guess,” Aly said to AJ. “That poem was about losing her notebook.”
Claire quickly left the stage and went back to her lonely corner of the club. Aly and AJ followed her there.
“Claire, that was great,” AJ said. “Really moving.”
“Thanks,” Claire said gloomily. “But it's probably the last poem I'll ever write. I looked at home for my notebook, and it's not anywhere. I have to sing two new songs for the contest tomorrow, and they're lost. Lost forever.”
“Maybe you can try to remember them,” Aly suggested.
Claire shook her head. “I tried. But my mind is empty. Whenever I try to think of them, nothing comes up.”
“Then try again,” AJ said gently. “Claire, you're a great songwriter. Aly and I would be really sad if you didn't show up tomorrow. Just believe in yourself, and you'll remember.”
This seemed to calm Claire down. “You really think I'm a great songwriter?” she asked.
The sisters nodded. “Definitely,” Aly said. “You just need more confidence in yourself.”
The club quieted down once more, and Austin took the stage. His smile seemed to light up the dark club.
“I wrote this poem for someone I just met,” he said, looking in AJ's direction. AJ felt her cheeks flush.
“Oh, this is going to be good,” Aly whispered.
Austin cleared his throat and began.
“She plays her guitar.
Blond hair streaming like rays of sunlight.
Each note fills my heart . . .”
Aly giggled. “Boy, he's laying it on thick, AJ.”
Thankfully, the poem was short. Austin took a bow and jumped off the stage.
Then AJ felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Heather standing there.
“I need to talk to you two,” she said.
AJ looked at Aly. Her sister shrugged. “We might as well clear this up.”
They followed Heather to the back of the club.
“You guys think Austin is pretty great, right?” she asked.
“Listen, Heather, all of the contestants are talented . . .” AJ began.
“That's not what I mean,” Heather snapped. “I'm just saying, you'd better be careful who you let win this competition, that's all.”
“Heather, what are you talking about?” Aly asked.
“I heard about Claire's notebook,” Heather said. “She's been talking about it all night. That's when I realized. I know who did it.”
Heather's green eyes gleamed with anticipation.
“Did you see something?” AJ asked.
“I saw somebody open up Claire's guitar case and pick up the notebook,” she said. She paused dramatically. “It was Austin!”
CHAPTER SIX:
SLEUTHING IN SEATTLE
“Austin?” Aly asked, shocked. She looked at her sister. AJ's jaw had dropped.
“But he seems so sure of himself.” AJ shook her head in disbelief. “Why would he have to stoop to something like that?”
Heather smirked. “Maybe you two aren't such great judges of character, either.” Then she turned and stalked out.
Aly grabbed AJ's arm and pulled her close.
“Can we even believe what she's got to say?” Aly asked. “She is totally ticked off about being booted from the competition.”
“It doesn't seem to fit with Austin's personality, but let's face it, we really don't know him that well,” AJ answered. “The only thing we can do is ask him.”
Aly agreed. The sisters walked back toward the front of the club. They didn't need to look far for Austin. He was waiting for them.
“There you are!” he said. “I was wondering where you were. Let's sit over here. We can have some privacy.” He gestured toward three cushions in a dark corner. They all sat down.
“Did you like my poem?” Austin asked, smiling at AJ.
“It was very nice, but . . .” AJ faltered.
Aly jumped in. “But we need to ask you something. Did you take Claire's notebook?” she asked bluntly.
Austin looked surprised. The flirty smile he was aiming at AJ left his face. He shifted on the couch and looked down at the floor. “No, I didn't. Why would you think that?”
Aly and AJ exchanged glances. Something was up.
“Heather told us she saw you looking in the notebook,” AJ said.
Austin snorted. He seemed to get some of his confidence back. “Heather? And you believe her? You saw how she flipped out after you read the results. She's just jealous and trying to make trouble,” he said. Then he glanced up at the stage. “Hey, look,” he pointed. “It's Josh.”
Josh stood on stage. His eyes were closed and his head was down. The lights sparkled on his blond hair.
“To be me, you have to see me,” Josh began. He continued to speak, putting a lot of feeling into his words. But once again, the girls thought it was kind of corny.
Austin looked at them and rolled his eyes. “That Josh. I wish he could get it together. Some nights, his poetry is really great. But when it's not good, it's really bad,” he said.
“He does have real potential,” AJ replied. “Especially writing melodies.”
Aly let out a big yawn. “I think we'd better call it a night,” she said. “It's been a long day and I'm beat.” She and AJ got up.
“Good night,” Austin said, standing up. AJ braced herself for some flirty remark, but he left quickly.
“I don't know who to believe, but something makes me think that Austin isn't being truthful with us,” Aly said.
Now it was AJ's turn to yawn. “I agree. But right now the only thing I can think of is getting to bed!”
“Yummy!” Aly drooled. On a plate in front of her was a Belgian waffle loaded with strawberries and fresh whipped cream.
“To the max,” AJ agreed. Her plate was piled high with eggs, fresh fruit, and pancakes.
They were eating breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. It was buffet-style and the serving tables were loaded with delicious treats. Aly put a forkful of waffle, strawberries, and cream into her mouth. She closed her eyes. “Mmmmmmmm,” she said. “Delicious.”
“This is awesome, too,” AJ said as she dug into her omelet.
“Wasn't Austin acting weird last night?” Aly asked after she swallowed her last mouthful.
AJ nodded. “I don't think he was telling the truth.”
“Even if he is a horrible flirt, he seems like a nice guy,” Aly said. “It makes me sad to think he'd do something like that.”
“I know what you mean,” AJ said. “But it was weird the way he got all flustered, and then tried to change the subject by talking about Josh. And he practically ran out when we were leaving!”
“But he said he didn't take Claire's notebook,” Aly stated. “And we don't have any proof that he did, except that Heather said she saw him looking in it.”
AJ sighed and put down her fork. “I wish there was a way we could prove for sure whether he did or didn't take it.”
“I bet we can figure something out. We've already solved two mysteries,” Aly said. “We helped Gigi find out who stole all those guitars in New York. And we figured who was sabotaging Sandra Peng's fashions in Miami.”
“Yeah, we're the next Sherlock Holmes,” AJ giggled.
Aly laughed. “We just need the magnifying glassâand a fingerprinting kit.”
AJ stopped laughing. “Heyâa fingerprinting kit! That's not a bad idea. Remember the one we had when we were kids?”
Aly's eyes lit up. “That's right. And it really worked!” She paused. “Wait a minute. Are we seriously thinking about using a fingerprinting kit? That's a little . . . extreme, don't you think?”
“Hey, we keep getting into these detective situations, so we might as well get some detective equipment, right?” AJ reasoned. “Anyway, I think fingerprints are the best way to find out what happened to Claire's notebook. We can pick up a kit at a toy store. It's worth a try.” She pulled her notebook out of her bag and opened it up.
“We'll need to check Claire's guitar case for fingerprints,” AJ said as she wrote. “Then we'll have to rule out any prints on the case that are Claire's. If there are any strange prints, we can check them against Austin's.”
“Sounds great,” Aly said. “But how do we get Austin's fingerprints?”
“Hmmmm.” AJ tapped her pen against her cheek. “I've got it! We've got an appearance this afternoon at that rock and roll museum, the Experience Music Project. All of the songwriting contestants will be there. We'll get his prints then!”
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