False Notes Read Online Free

forgetting about her stomach for a moment. “Maybe whatever legal thing they’re dealing with has to do with her.”
    “Like what?” Bess asked.
    George shrugged. “Well, everyone says she’s a shoo-in for that music prize thing, right?”
    “You mean the scholarship to the conservatory?” I said. “I suppose that’s true. She’s a great pianist. I can’t imagine anyone else in town who could beat her out for the scholarship.”
    “So maybe that’s it,” George said. “Maybe her folks want to make sure they’re not going to be signing anything they don’t want to sign—you know, if she wins.”
    I thought about that for a second. “Maybe,” I said. “But why would Dad seem upset about that? Besides, I have a hunch there may be something much stranger going on here.”
    Bess giggled. “Aha, I see what’s going on here. We’re dealing with a patented Nancy Drew hunch. We might as well just give up right now.”
    I smiled patiently as George burst out laughing. My friends love to tease me about my hunches.
    “Very funny,” I said. “Anyway, I really do have a hunch about this, and I was hoping you guys could help.” I smiled pleadingly at George. “Feel like doing a little snooping on the computer?”
    I knew I wouldn’t have to ask twice, no matter how skeptical George might be. She loves anything having to do with the computer. She’s practically a computer genius—she can find anything on theInternet, and has been the information systems manager for her mother’s catering business since we were all in junior high.
    Soon she was online, scrolling through her search results for any information on Heather and Clay Simmons. I stood up and peeked over her shoulder at the screen.
    “Sorry the monitor’s so small,” George said, glancing up at me. “If I had the money, I’d definitely get a nice, big flat-screen.…”
    Bess and I exchanged an amused look. George is almost always short of money. As soon as she gets a few dollars together, she can’t resist spending it on a new video game or DVD, or the latest gadget she sees down at Riverside Electronics.
    Even on the small screen, it soon became obvious that the search wasn’t going to turn up anything juicy. Most of the entries led to newspaper articles from the Bugle about Heather’s comments to the school board or Clay’s speeches in front of local groups.
    I pointed to a link on the Bugle ’s homepage for the River Heights official town Web site. “Let’s check that out,” I suggested. “Maybe it will tell us something interesting.”
    George clicked on the link. Soon the screen was flashing a photo of the town hall, along with a list of topics, from local school information to sources fortown maps. “Anything strike your fancy?” George asked, the cursor hovering next to the list.
    “Let’s check out ‘Latest News,’” I suggested.
    The page that came up featured recent press releases and other articles, as well as an archive of past stories. I leaned closer as George scrolled slowly down the list, squinting to read the tiny print.
    “Look,” I said, pointing to an item near the top of the page. “This mentions the mayor’s retirement, and the election for his successor.”
    Bess was reading too. “Looks like Morris Granger has already filed the paperwork to run for mayor,” she said, pointing to a section of text about halfway down the screen. “It says he’s the only one so far. Oh! But look—here it says that ‘another citizen’ has declared an intent to run but hasn’t turned in the rest of the necessary paperwork yet.”
    “That must be Heather Simmons,” I mused. “And look—it says the deadline for the paperwork is this coming Friday. That’s interesting.”
    “Interesting? Maybe,” George agreed. “But a mystery? Not really.”
    I shrugged. “You may be right. She’s probably still working on it,” I said. “It’s only Monday. She has all week to get it in.” But my mind was buzzing along,