Vanishing Acts by Leslie Margolis Page A

me.
    I quickly crouched down to pet Preston. “How ya doing, big guy? Ready to move on?” I spoke in that overly friendly tone people use when talking to dogs and children. And I did my best to look the part of an innocent kid walking her dog—which I realize is not too much of a stretch. The police officer must have believed me, because he went on talking, although in a much lower voice.
    Now I had to strain to make out the words.
    â€œ. . . Could be anyone . . . Not just a kid—the most famous kid in the world.”
    Suddenly my ears perked up. Obviously there’s only one most famous kid in the world: Seth Ryan. But didthe police officer just say something about a ransom note? That didn’t sound good. I looked up at him right as he looked at me. Our eyes met, which meant one thing—I was busted.
    He hung up and pointed to me in one swift move. “I know you,” he said.
    I flashed him my most innocent look. “Are you talking to me?” I asked.
    â€œYou’re the kid who saved all those dogs last month, right? Maggie Brooklyn Sinclair, is it?”
    â€œYou can call me Maggie Brooklyn.”
    â€œI never got to introduce myself last time. I’m Officer Rudy Green, but you can call me Rudy. I’m impressed with your work. Brenda had been stealing dogs for years, all over the country. Every other detective was looking for a set of twins. No one realized she was a lone operator.”
    â€œIt took a while to figure out,” I admitted, going for a modest approach.
    I shook his hand, which was large, like the rest of him. Rudy Green had dark skin and brown eyes. Tall and skinny, he wore his police cap back a bit on his shaved head.
    â€œIs everything okay?” I asked. “I couldn’t help but overhear . . .”
    â€œNothing you need to worry about,” he said.
    Too late for that. I looked around. A few more policecars pulled up. A lady in a dark gray suit took pictures of Seth’s trailer. A group of officers talked to Vigor, Seth’s bodyguard. Others seemed to be questioning Jones and various members of the cast and crew. The air felt tense, too serious. And someone was conspicuously missing.
    â€œWhere’s Seth?” I asked, more than a little concerned.
    Rudy smiled a tight smile. “You two on a first-name basis?”
    â€œUm, yeah,” I said. “We are. Is he okay?”
    â€œI’m talking about Seth Ryan. The actor,” said Rudy.
    â€œMe, too. We hung out at the Pizza Den last night.”
    Rudy laughed until someone else yelled, “It’s true.”
    The voice came from behind me, and it seemed familiar, but not in a good way. Once I turned around I realized why. It was Seth’s manager, Fiona. Or, more to the point, it was a very angry Fiona.
    â€œThis is Seth’s
second
time disappearing,” she told Rudy, pulling him aside, although not out of earshot, as if she didn’t want me to be a
part
of the conversation, but she wanted me to know they were talking about me. “He first did so last night, and when I finally tracked him down, he was with her.” She tilted her head toward me. “Which is highly suspicious, don’t you think?”
    Rudy looked from Fiona to me. “Is this true, Maggie?” he asked.
    â€œWell, yes,” I replied. “But the last time I saw Seth, Fiona was practically dragging him away.”
    â€œWhich was in his best interest and which I have every right to do as his manager and legal guardian,” she said to Rudy. “Part of my job is protecting Seth from the riffraff.”
    â€œThe what?” I asked, butting in. “Are you actually calling me ‘riffraff’? What does that even mean?”
    â€œLet’s all calm down,” said Rudy. He turned to me. “Please, Maggie. Is there any shred of truth to what Fiona is saying?”
    I gulped. “There is, but it’s not like she says.”
    I explained