The Absent Author by Ron Roy Page B

through it.
You have to come
! thought Dink.
    Ever since he had received Wallis Wallace’s letter, he’d thought about only one thing: meeting him today.
    Suddenly Dink felt his heart skip a beat. THE LETTER!
Short of being kidnapped
, the letter said,
nothing will stop me from, coming
.
    Kidnapped
! Dink shook himself. Of course Wallis Wallace hadn’t been kidnapped!
    Mr. Paskey stood again, but this time he wasn’t smiling. “I’m sorry, kids,” he said. “But Wallis Wallace doesn’t seem to be coming after all.”
    The kids groaned. They got up, scraping chairs and bumping knees. Mr. Paskey apologized to them as they crowded past, heading for the door.
    “I’ve read every single one of his books,” Dink heard Amy Flower tell another girl. “Now I’ll probably
never
meet anyone famous!”
    “I can’t believe we gave up a soccer game for this!” Tommy Tomko muttered to Eddie Carini on their way out.
    Ruth Rose and Josh went next, but Dink remained in his seat. He was too stunned to move.
    He felt the letter through his jeans.
Short of being kidnapped
… Finally Dink got up and walked out.
    Josh and Ruth Rose were waiting for him.
    “What’s the matter?” Ruth Rose said. “You look sick!”
    “I
am
sick,” Dink mumbled. “I invited him here. It’s all my fault.”
    “What’s all your fault?” Josh asked.
    “This!” he said, thrusting the letter into Josh’s hands. “Wallis Wallace has been
kidnapped
!”



Chapter 3
    “KIDNAPPED?” Ruth Rose shrieked. Her blue eyes were huge.
    Josh and Dink covered their ears.
    “Shh!” said Josh. He handed the letter back to Dink and gave a quick gesture with his head. “Some strange woman is watching us!”
    Dink had noticed the woman earlier. She’d been sitting in the back of the Book Nook.
    “She’s coming over here!” Ruth Rose said.
    The woman had brown hair up in a neat bun. Half-glasses perched on hernose. She was wearing a brown dress and brown shoes, and carried a book bag with a picture of a moose on the side. Around her neck she wore a red scarf covered with tiny black letters.
    “Excuse me,” she said in a soft, trembly voice. “Did you say Wallis Wallace has been
kidnapped
?” The woman poked her glasses nervously.
    Dink wasn’t sure what to say. He
thought
Wallis Wallace had been kidnapped, but he couldn’t be sure. Finally he said, “Well, he might have been.”
    “My goodness!” gasped the woman.
    “Who are you?” Josh asked her.
    “Oh, pardon me!” The woman blushed. “My name is Mavis Green,” she mumbled. “I’m a writer, and I came to meet Mr. Wallace.”
    Dink said, “I’m Dink Duncan. These are my friends Ruth Rose and Josh.”
    Mavis shook hands shyly.
    Then she reached into her book bag and pulled out a folded paper.
    “Wallis Wallace wrote to me last week. He said something very peculiar in his letter. I didn’t think much of it at the time. But when he didn’t show up today and then I heard you mention kidnapping…”
    She handed the letter to Dink. Josh and Ruth Rose read it over his shoulder.

    “Wow!” said Ruth Rose. “First he says he’s being followed, and then he winds up missing!”
    Dink told Mavis about his letter from Wallis Wallace. “He said the only thing that would keep him from coming today was if he was kidnapped!”
    “Oh, dear!” said Mavis. “I just don’t understand. Why would anyone want to kidnap Wallis Wallace?”
    “If he’s the most famous mystery writer in the world, he must be rich, right?” Josh said. “Maybe someone kidnapped him for a ransom!”
    Suddenly Josh grabbed Dink and spun him around, pointing toward the street. “Look! The cops are coming! They must have heard about the kid-napping!”
    A police officer was walking toward them.
    “Josh, that’s just Officer Fallon,Jimmy Fallon’s grandfather,” said Dink. “Jimmy came to get a book signed. I saw him inside the Book Nook.”
    “Maybe we should show Officer Fallon these letters,” Ruth Rose