knew you’d come up with something, Sooz. You’re so good at this kind of thing! What have you got?”
“It’s simple,” she replied calmly. “One of us will just have to sneak inside and find some evidence.”
“Evidence?”
“Yes. Like a letter or a memo ... something in writing.”
Chris flopped back down on the bed again. “Oh, Sooz! That’s no good! In fact, it’s impossible]” She thought for a moment. “It also happens to be illegal. Isn’t that considered ‘breaking and entering’?”
“I suppose it is, if you want to get technical about it. Still, it is for a good cause....”
“Wait a minute, I think this is already getting way out of hand!”
Susan sighed. “You’re right. It is a bit much. If only there were a way one of us could get into their offices legally, without actually picking their locks or climbing in through their windows. All we’d need is a few minutes to do some quick snooping around....”
The two girls were silent for a minute or two, each one lost in her own thoughts. It certainly seemed as if what they wanted to do was impossible....
And then, all of a sudden, Chris snapped her fingers.
“I’ve got it!” she cried triumphantly. “At least, I think I’ve got it!”
“Let’s hear it. At this point, any suggestion is bound to sound like a good one.”
“Okay, here goes.” Chris’s cheeks grew pink as she spoke. “While I was looking around those offices this morning, I noticed that one of them, just a few doors down from Lake Majestic Realty, is a temporary typing agency. It’s called Taylor Temps, I think. They supply typists by the day or by the hour.”
“So?”
“Well, you may recall that I took typing in school last year.”
“So did I. Everyone does, sooner or later. It’s required at Whittington High, in order to graduate. I still don’t understand what that has to do with anything.”
“I’ll just pretend that I work for Taylor Temps! I’ll show up at the Realty office at lunchtime and say that Tom or Pete or Doris hired me to fill in for the hour. Then I’ll have access to all their files while everyone’s out to lunch—including their receptionist!”
“Christine Pratt, I’m surprised at you. Would you actually have the nerve to do that?”
“Not unless we’d done some research first. I’d want to make sure everyone really was going to be out of the office, for one thing....”
“And how do you propose we do that?”
Chris was quiet for a minute, but it was obvious that her mind was ticking away. “We’ll just have to take turns casing the joint.”
“ ‘Casing the joint’!” Susan burst out laughing. “Now I know you’ve seen too many spy movies!”
“What I mean is, we’ll just watch, from behind the Okie-Dokie Inn. We can find out what the normal office routine is, just by hanging around at lunchtime for a few days and watching everybody’s comings and goings.”
“That does sound simple. Even so, it could be risky....”
“Of course it’s risky!” Chris cried. She was beginning to get exasperated. “But we have to do something! We agreed on that ages ago! And I’m willing to take a few risks to help out the Reeds. Aren’t you?”
“I guess so.” Susan was surprised by her twin’s earnestness. She was also moved by it “Okay, I’m game. I suppose if anything goes wrong, we can always talk our way out of it. You and I both seem to be pretty good at that,” she added with a grin.
“Oh, thanks, Sooz!” Chris leaned over and gave her twin a big hug. “I knew you’d come through.”
For the next few days, Chris and Susan were busy. They took turns trekking over to the Okie-Dokie Inn around lunch time, while the twin who stayed at Camp Pinewood took on the other twin’s responsibilities—and identity. It was a good thing they already had some experience in that area, as they repeatedly told each other, laughing about their ability to become each other—at least fora while.
And their
“It’s simple,” she replied calmly. “One of us will just have to sneak inside and find some evidence.”
“Evidence?”
“Yes. Like a letter or a memo ... something in writing.”
Chris flopped back down on the bed again. “Oh, Sooz! That’s no good! In fact, it’s impossible]” She thought for a moment. “It also happens to be illegal. Isn’t that considered ‘breaking and entering’?”
“I suppose it is, if you want to get technical about it. Still, it is for a good cause....”
“Wait a minute, I think this is already getting way out of hand!”
Susan sighed. “You’re right. It is a bit much. If only there were a way one of us could get into their offices legally, without actually picking their locks or climbing in through their windows. All we’d need is a few minutes to do some quick snooping around....”
The two girls were silent for a minute or two, each one lost in her own thoughts. It certainly seemed as if what they wanted to do was impossible....
And then, all of a sudden, Chris snapped her fingers.
“I’ve got it!” she cried triumphantly. “At least, I think I’ve got it!”
“Let’s hear it. At this point, any suggestion is bound to sound like a good one.”
“Okay, here goes.” Chris’s cheeks grew pink as she spoke. “While I was looking around those offices this morning, I noticed that one of them, just a few doors down from Lake Majestic Realty, is a temporary typing agency. It’s called Taylor Temps, I think. They supply typists by the day or by the hour.”
“So?”
“Well, you may recall that I took typing in school last year.”
“So did I. Everyone does, sooner or later. It’s required at Whittington High, in order to graduate. I still don’t understand what that has to do with anything.”
“I’ll just pretend that I work for Taylor Temps! I’ll show up at the Realty office at lunchtime and say that Tom or Pete or Doris hired me to fill in for the hour. Then I’ll have access to all their files while everyone’s out to lunch—including their receptionist!”
“Christine Pratt, I’m surprised at you. Would you actually have the nerve to do that?”
“Not unless we’d done some research first. I’d want to make sure everyone really was going to be out of the office, for one thing....”
“And how do you propose we do that?”
Chris was quiet for a minute, but it was obvious that her mind was ticking away. “We’ll just have to take turns casing the joint.”
“ ‘Casing the joint’!” Susan burst out laughing. “Now I know you’ve seen too many spy movies!”
“What I mean is, we’ll just watch, from behind the Okie-Dokie Inn. We can find out what the normal office routine is, just by hanging around at lunchtime for a few days and watching everybody’s comings and goings.”
“That does sound simple. Even so, it could be risky....”
“Of course it’s risky!” Chris cried. She was beginning to get exasperated. “But we have to do something! We agreed on that ages ago! And I’m willing to take a few risks to help out the Reeds. Aren’t you?”
“I guess so.” Susan was surprised by her twin’s earnestness. She was also moved by it “Okay, I’m game. I suppose if anything goes wrong, we can always talk our way out of it. You and I both seem to be pretty good at that,” she added with a grin.
“Oh, thanks, Sooz!” Chris leaned over and gave her twin a big hug. “I knew you’d come through.”
For the next few days, Chris and Susan were busy. They took turns trekking over to the Okie-Dokie Inn around lunch time, while the twin who stayed at Camp Pinewood took on the other twin’s responsibilities—and identity. It was a good thing they already had some experience in that area, as they repeatedly told each other, laughing about their ability to become each other—at least fora while.
And their
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