from.
“We were halfway there when, before I knew what was happening, Thomas shouted, grabbed my hand, and pulled me back here to the office. Once I caught my breath, he asked me if I’d seenwhat he’d seen. I wasn’t sure, but as soon as he described it, I couldn’t get the image out of my head. A tall figure. Pale. Bald. With long arms and sharp claws.”
“That seems to be what everyone says,” said Rosie.
“Well, Thomas and I told Ms. Benson what happened. She was concerned. She went out and searched the hallway for us, but came back reporting nothing unusual. She looked at me like I’d gone crazy for seeing Tall Ted.”
“But … according to what you just said,” Rosie replied, “
you
didn’t see anything. Your friend Thomas did.”
Gina pursed her lips. She looked almost disappointed. “But I
almost
saw him. If I’d been looking in the right direction —” Suddenly, Gina sat up straight and glanced over Rosie’s shoulder. “Oh, hi, Thomas. I was just chatting with Rosie about … the weather. Right, Rosie? It’s been so nice out lately.”
Rosie turned around to find a tall boy standing behind her. Suddenly, she felt foolish. Gina’s coworker in the office was Thomas Kenyon, a member of Clea’s Troop. Rosie had thought that she and Gina had been whispering so that the faculty wouldn’t hear them, but she now realized she’d been wrong. Gina didn’t want
Thomas
listening in. He must have asked Gina not to discuss the sighting with members of the Question Marks,since the two groups were in the midst of a mystery competition.
Thomas simply folded his arms and glared at her. Rosie took it as a sign that her business there was done.
After the last bell rang that day, Rosie found Viola, Sylvester, and Woodrow in the hallway outside of the auditorium. The girls had only a few minutes before Mrs. Glick would be expecting them inside, so Rosie lost no time relaying her experience with Gina.
“So Gina never actually saw Tall Ted?” said Sylvester.
“But Thomas did,” said Woodrow. “Too bad we can’t ask him about it. Being in Clea’s Troop, he won’t tell us a thing. Certainly nothing we could consider real evidence.”
“Did you guys track down the other people on the list of witnesses?” asked Rosie.
Viola nodded. “Yeah, but their stories were similar to Gina’s. They all seemed to be nearby when someone else saw something. But no one remembers who did the actual witnessing.”
“What about that kid in your play?” asked Woodrow. “The one who claimed Tall Ted went into the boiler room.”
“Evan Gleeson?” said Viola. “I talked to him today too. He said he
thought
he’d seen a tall shape moving in the darkness, but he couldn’t besure. Especially with the flickering lights in that hallway. Everyone’s been saying that Evan saw a tall, bald figure with claws, but he was never that specific with his description.”
“Weird,” said Sylvester. “So we can’t verify
any
eyewitness accounts?”
The other three shook their heads.
“So there’s our first hint about what’s really going on here,” said Woodrow.
“And what would that be?” asked Sylvester.
“Without solid proof that Tall Ted exists,” said Woodrow, “we have to assume that he doesn’t.”
“Well that’s a relief,” said Rosie.
“I think our next step should be to find proof that he’s a fake,” said Viola. “Not just a lack of proof that he’s real.”
“How do we do that?” asked Sylvester. “Where do we look?”
“We all know what else has been going on at the school lately,” said Viola.
“The thefts?” said Woodrow. “But people are blaming those on Tall Ted too.”
“So let’s forget the rumors, and talk to the victims to get the facts,” said Viola. “Because if Tall Ted isn’t stealing people’s stuff, someone else is.”
A few members of the
Villain
cast headed through the auditorium doors. Rosie glanced at the clock on the wall nearby. “Viola and I
“We were halfway there when, before I knew what was happening, Thomas shouted, grabbed my hand, and pulled me back here to the office. Once I caught my breath, he asked me if I’d seenwhat he’d seen. I wasn’t sure, but as soon as he described it, I couldn’t get the image out of my head. A tall figure. Pale. Bald. With long arms and sharp claws.”
“That seems to be what everyone says,” said Rosie.
“Well, Thomas and I told Ms. Benson what happened. She was concerned. She went out and searched the hallway for us, but came back reporting nothing unusual. She looked at me like I’d gone crazy for seeing Tall Ted.”
“But … according to what you just said,” Rosie replied, “
you
didn’t see anything. Your friend Thomas did.”
Gina pursed her lips. She looked almost disappointed. “But I
almost
saw him. If I’d been looking in the right direction —” Suddenly, Gina sat up straight and glanced over Rosie’s shoulder. “Oh, hi, Thomas. I was just chatting with Rosie about … the weather. Right, Rosie? It’s been so nice out lately.”
Rosie turned around to find a tall boy standing behind her. Suddenly, she felt foolish. Gina’s coworker in the office was Thomas Kenyon, a member of Clea’s Troop. Rosie had thought that she and Gina had been whispering so that the faculty wouldn’t hear them, but she now realized she’d been wrong. Gina didn’t want
Thomas
listening in. He must have asked Gina not to discuss the sighting with members of the Question Marks,since the two groups were in the midst of a mystery competition.
Thomas simply folded his arms and glared at her. Rosie took it as a sign that her business there was done.
After the last bell rang that day, Rosie found Viola, Sylvester, and Woodrow in the hallway outside of the auditorium. The girls had only a few minutes before Mrs. Glick would be expecting them inside, so Rosie lost no time relaying her experience with Gina.
“So Gina never actually saw Tall Ted?” said Sylvester.
“But Thomas did,” said Woodrow. “Too bad we can’t ask him about it. Being in Clea’s Troop, he won’t tell us a thing. Certainly nothing we could consider real evidence.”
“Did you guys track down the other people on the list of witnesses?” asked Rosie.
Viola nodded. “Yeah, but their stories were similar to Gina’s. They all seemed to be nearby when someone else saw something. But no one remembers who did the actual witnessing.”
“What about that kid in your play?” asked Woodrow. “The one who claimed Tall Ted went into the boiler room.”
“Evan Gleeson?” said Viola. “I talked to him today too. He said he
thought
he’d seen a tall shape moving in the darkness, but he couldn’t besure. Especially with the flickering lights in that hallway. Everyone’s been saying that Evan saw a tall, bald figure with claws, but he was never that specific with his description.”
“Weird,” said Sylvester. “So we can’t verify
any
eyewitness accounts?”
The other three shook their heads.
“So there’s our first hint about what’s really going on here,” said Woodrow.
“And what would that be?” asked Sylvester.
“Without solid proof that Tall Ted exists,” said Woodrow, “we have to assume that he doesn’t.”
“Well that’s a relief,” said Rosie.
“I think our next step should be to find proof that he’s a fake,” said Viola. “Not just a lack of proof that he’s real.”
“How do we do that?” asked Sylvester. “Where do we look?”
“We all know what else has been going on at the school lately,” said Viola.
“The thefts?” said Woodrow. “But people are blaming those on Tall Ted too.”
“So let’s forget the rumors, and talk to the victims to get the facts,” said Viola. “Because if Tall Ted isn’t stealing people’s stuff, someone else is.”
A few members of the
Villain
cast headed through the auditorium doors. Rosie glanced at the clock on the wall nearby. “Viola and I
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