Sleepover Stakeout (9780545443111) (2 page)

Saturday
could not come fast enough. When I woke up that morning, I was antsy with anticipation. Darcy and I weren't heading to Maya's house until after dinner, though, so I kept myself busy all day to make the time pass faster. I took Hubble, my dog, for an extra-long walk. I did my chores. Helped my mom cook dinner (spaghetti and meatballs — yay!). And then, finally, it was time to go.

Since this was my first time at Maya's and it was an actual sleepover, Mom insisted on driving Darcy and me over so she could meet Maya's parents. I told her we could easily ride our bikes there, but she just said that when I'm a mom someday, I'll understand.

I'd asked Fiona to come along, but she was already going to a big birthday bash one of the popular girls was throwing. She was disappointed, though, since a sleepover stakeout sounded totally exciting. But I guess it's tough juggling ten thousand friends. Fiona's social life was so busy she almost needed an assistant.

Darcy and I sat in the backseat surrounded by our sleeping bags and overnight stuff. Darcy was pulling the zipper on the end of her bag back and forth.

I said, “I invited Fiona to come tonight, but she had plans.”

The zipper stopped moving. “Why did you invite Fiona?” Darcy asked.

I shrugged. “Because she's in Partners in Crime now.”

“I wouldn't say she's
in
Partners in Crime,” Darcy said, a bit of annoyance in her voice. “She just helps out sometimes. She doesn't have to be involved with
every
case.”

In the agency … helping out … what was the difference? I pressed my lips together tightly, feeling kind of frustrated. “I didn't think it would be a big deal.”

“It's not.” Darcy started playing with the zipper again. “I just … I guess I wish you'd asked me first.”

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I held back. I swear, sometimes Darcy thinks Partners in Crime is all hers. We created it together. She's not the boss. It's called “Partners” for a reason.

The car pulled into the driveway and Mom gasped. “What a beautiful house.”

It had already gotten dark out, but there were little lights staked on either side of the driveway. The house was big and white with red shutters. Planting beds overflowed with pretty flowers my mom could name but I could not.

Darcy and I lugged our gear up the walk, and Mom rang the doorbell. A moment later, Mrs. Doshi opened the door with a welcoming smile. Her black hair was pinned up and she wore a long, flowy skirt that went to her ankles.

“You must be Darcy and Norah. Welcome!” She opened the door wide and we stepped in.

“Hey, guys!” Maya ran up to us, looking pretty excited. At the sight of her giant smile, my irritation from the conversation in the car went away. Maya added in a whisper, “You can take your shoes off and put them to the side there. House rule.”

Darcy kicked off her black Converse, and I slipped off my green flats. Meanwhile, Mom and Mrs. Doshi were making small talk.

“My husband is working at the restaurant right now,” Mrs. Doshi said. “I'm about to go join him, but Maya's older sister will be here to supervise all evening. She's sixteen and very responsible.”

Mom must have approved because, after a little more conversation, she gave me a kiss on the cheek and told us to have fun and call in the morning when we wanted to be picked up.

Mrs. Doshi led us into the kitchen and handed us each tall glasses filled with an orange, thick-looking drink. “Mango lassi?” she offered.

I didn't want to be rude and say no, but I was one of the pickiest eaters on the planet and I'd never heard of this concoction.

Maya whispered into my ear, “It's like a smoothie.”

Oh! I liked smoothies. I took a sip and it was really good. “Thank you. It's wonderful,” I said.

Darcy had started chugging hers as soon as she got it, so she agreed with a muffled “Mmm-hmm!”

Pleased that her guests were happy, Mrs. Doshi picked up her car keys and jacket. “Anya is upstairs in her room if you need anything. Rishi is already asleep in his crib. Anya will take care of him if he wakes. I want you to just enjoy yourself tonight with your friends, Maya.”

She placed a kiss on the top of Maya's head. I think Maya was a little embarrassed, but I thought it was nice. Since Maya had moved here only this year and mostly kept to herself at school, this was probably the first time she'd had friends over to her house.

After the front door closed, we finished up our drinks, put the glasses in the sink, and stood around awkwardly for a moment. I really wanted to go sit by the baby monitor and start investigating. But, even though this was our case, it was Maya's house. I didn't want to be too pushy.

Luckily, Darcy had a way of always putting into words what I didn't have the guts to say. “So where's the monitor?” she said, rubbing her hands together.

Maya raised her eyebrows. “Follow me!” First, she grabbed a bowl of popcorn and a package of cookies from the kitchen counter — I realized she'd prepared a bit for our sleepover, which was sweet. Then she led us into the living room. It had cream-colored couches, tall bookshelves, and a pretty red rug. The TV was on, showing a commercial for these trendy new sneakers that light up.

The three of us settled onto the biggest couch and stared at the baby monitor. It stood on the coffee table, one small blue light shining in its corner. I guess that meant it was on. But what now?

“How do we know when it picks up a sound?” I asked, reaching for some popcorn.

“We'll hear it and this whole area here” — Maya ran her finger over the middle of the monitor — “will light up red.”

As soon as she said the words, little red lights trailed across the monitor and then it went dark again. I paused with a kernel of popcorn halfway to my mouth.

“What was that?” Darcy asked, sitting up straight.

Maya frowned. “Nothing. Just movement upstairs. It picks up any little noise.”

The lights lit up again and then a pounding came from behind us. I felt a jab of fear.

Maya sighed and sank so far down into the couch, it looked as if she was trying to disappear. “Oh no,” she whispered. “I think
Anya's
coming downstairs.”

The way Maya said the words, it sounded like her sister was a feared demon, not a junior in high school.

“Has she heard the voice, too?” Darcy asked, looking over her shoulder. The footsteps went into the kitchen. “Maybe we could interview her for the investigation.”

“No!” Maya said urgently. “She doesn't know about it. Don't ask her anything.”

Sheesh. I knew Maya was shy and all, but this was her sister.

A minute later, the footsteps entered the room along with the sounds of ice clinking against glass. Anya came around the couch and stood in front of us with a drink in her hand. She wore a tank top and little shorts — probably her pajamas — and gave Maya a cold stare.

“So this is why I had to stay in tonight?” she snapped. “So you and your
friends
could sit around and watch TV?”

I didn't like the way she said “friends.” As if Maya was paying us to be here or something. As a matter of fact, I didn't like the tone of anything she'd said. No wonder Maya was afraid of her.

“I didn't make you stay in,” Maya replied in a small voice.

“No, but Mom did. Because she didn't want you to have to watch Rishi while you had friends over. Meanwhile, Rishi's fast asleep, you guys are just watching lame TV, and I'm missing a party.”

She huffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder, then stormed back up the stairs. The monitor flared red with each pounding footstep.

“Well, isn't she a ray of sunshine,” Darcy said.

The tightness left Maya's shoulders now that Anya was gone. “She's not always that bad,” she said. “She's very nice when my parents are here.”

I offered her a sad smile. That must stink to have a mean sister. Like Darcy, I was an only child and had always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling. Now I was kind of glad I didn't.

To change the subject, I suggested we get comfy in our pj's and
actually
watch some TV while keeping our ears pricked up for the monitor. Darcy and Maya agreed, though Darcy still looked angry about Anya's attitude.

I put on my favorite pajama pants — blue with white puffy clouds — and a Danville Middle School sweatshirt. Darcy wore a black T-shirt with the words
Freak of Nature
in white, which perfectly matched her black-and-white skull pajama pants. Maya's pj's were yellow and baggy, making her look even tinier. It was sort of fun to be having a slumber party, even if Darcy and I were technically on a case.

Darcy moved the coffee table off to the side, and we lined up our three sleeping bags so we all had a good view of both the TV and the monitor. Maya dimmed the lights, and we passed around the popcorn and cookies while we watched some silly reality show. A guy walked onto the stage, juggling lit torches. I thought it was an impressive feat, but the judges told him it wasn't “risky” enough. Darcy snorted at this. My eyes went to the monitor. I really wanted to hear something. But, at the same time, I had to accept the fact that the monitor might stay silent all night.

After a while, all the shows started to blur and my eyes got heavy. Darcy and Maya had fallen silent, too. I tried to keep myself awake, but I had a feeling nothing was going to happen. The baby monitor had been quiet for a while now. Except for when Anya had flushed the toilet upstairs a few minutes ago, but after that, nothing but silence … in the dark living room … with only the blue light of the television … I was getting … very … sleepy …

“Help! I can't …”

I shot straight up like I'd been given an electrical shock. Darcy did the same, her hair looking even more disheveled than usual. Maya rose more slowly, rubbing her eyes.

“Did you hear that?” Darcy asked.

“Yeah,” I whispered, and Maya nodded, looking terrified. There'd been static, so some of the words were muffled, but I'd heard it.

And then a voice came again through the monitor. Two unmistakable words that sent chills from my head to my toes.

“I'm … scared.”

All
three of us burst into action, climbing out of our sleeping bags and scrambling to our feet. We started running, following Maya's lead, going up the stairs as fast as we could and pounding down the hallway until we came to a stop outside the closed door of her baby brother's room. A little yellow sign with the name
Rishi
hung on the door. Maya reached out and turned the knob. It released with a click, and the door slowly swung inward.

My pulse raced as we stepped into the darkened room. My eyes were slow to adjust and only made out bumps and shadows that could've been furniture or a hunched-over person, for all I knew. Ragged breaths came from all around me, and though logically I knew the three of us were breathing hard from running up the stairs, it made me think of irrational things like monsters hiding in closets.

Maya ran her hand along the wall. “Where's that dimmer switch?” she said anxiously.

Finally, there was a click and the room was lit by a dim orange glow. We were in a cute little nursery with yellow walls and pictures of elephants and tigers. Rishi was sleeping peacefully in his crib. No creepy person hid in the room, begging for help. The closet was open and no monsters lurked within.

It was just us, standing there in the silence, trying to catch our breath.

“What are you doing?” a voice snapped.

Startled, I whipped around. Anya stood by the door frowning, with her hands on her hips.

Maya said, “We heard a sound in Rishi's room, so we came up to check on him.”

Not a lie. Well played, Maya.

Anya's eyes narrowed. “I didn't hear anything. And my room's right next to his.”

Darcy stepped forward. “But you were sleeping … right?” Her voice was suspicious and she had that look in her eye that she gets when she doesn't trust someone.

I examined Anya. Her eyes weren't glassy. She had no pillow marks on her face. No glaring evidence that she'd just woken up. Though she did have a bit of bedhead, but all that proved was that she'd been lying down.

Anya gave us one last glare and backed out of the room. “Just keep it down,
children
.”

I loved the way she talked down to us. And by loved I mean hated with every fiber of my being.

Darcy, Maya, and I quietly made our way back downstairs and sat on the couch. The TV was still on, casting its bluish light over the dark living room.

“I think I know what's going on,” Darcy said.

Maya's eyes widened. “You do?”

“You think it's Anya,” I said, and Darcy nodded.

“My sister?” Maya's face scrunched up in confusion.

“She has the means and the motive,” Darcy said. “She could've easily snuck into the room, whispered those words, and snuck back into her room before we got up there. All just to mess with us … you … whatever.”

I usually rolled my eyes at the conspiracies Darcy came up with, but this one seemed spot-on.

“There are two problems with that theory,” Maya said. “First, Anya wasn't here the other two nights I heard the voice. I was home alone with my brother.”

“Maybe you thought she was out but she really snuck in to trick you?” Darcy suggested.

Maya shook her head. “I doubt that. Plus, there's the other problem. This is the third time I've heard that voice on the monitor. And it's not Anya's voice.”

“How can you tell?” Darcy said. “It's fuzzy. There's so much interference, I couldn't even tell if the voice was male or female.”

Darcy was clinging to her theory, but I wasn't so sure. Maya had some good points there. Though Anya
could
have disguised her voice.

“Anya's a definite suspect,” I said, “but we need to investigate other possibilities. Gather more evidence. Someone really
could
be scared, and need help. It might not be a prank.”

Darcy heaved a sigh. “Yeah, you're right.”

I had a thought, and turned to Maya. “Has the monitor ever picked up any other interference before?”

Maya nodded. “When we first got the monitor, it picked up the sounds of a TV show from somewhere. My parents thought it was funny.”

“And it never happened again?” I asked.

“They changed the channel thingy,” Maya said, pointing at the back of the monitor, “and that seemed to fix it.”

I picked up the monitor and saw a switch with two options: channel one and channel two. I wanted to play around with it but didn't want to mess things up.

Darcy's face lit up. “The monitor probably couldn't pick up interference from too far away. Let's go outside and check out the neighbors, see if anyone's watching TV.”

Maya wrapped her arms around her chest. “Like … sneak around in the dark and look in their windows?”

I understood how scary it sounded, but being a detective with Darcy had helped me become a bit braver. “We won't have to get that close,” I explained to Maya. “At this time of night, people watch TV with the lights off.” I pointed at the TV in front of us as an example. “All we have to do is look for the glow.”

We slipped our shoes on and headed outside. The crisp night air was chilly against my cheeks, and I was really glad I'd worn a sweatshirt. We walked down the sidewalk and stopped in front of Maya's neighbor. All the lights in the house were off. “Looks like it's all dark in this one,” I whispered.

“They might have a TV room in the back, though,” Darcy pointed out. “We should circle the house.”

Maya and I murmured in agreement. We tried to walk stealthily along the side of the house, but dead leaves and twigs kept crackling under our shoes. The moon was only a sliver of light in the black sky. Goose bumps rose up on my arms, but not from the cold.

I suddenly had the feeling we were being watched.

My eyes roamed all around … left, right. I was casting a nervous glance over my shoulder when I slammed into something.

“Ouch!”

Whoops. I'd walked right into Darcy. “Sorry,” I whispered. It would've been helpful if we'd thought to bring a flashlight. Darcy was dressed so dark, and with her black hair, I could barely see her.

She stepped behind and nudged me forward. “You lead the way, blondie.”

Great. My hair was being used as a torch. And now we'd reached the back of the house, which edged the woods. And I had to go first. I squinted over at Maya's house, mentally calculating how long it would take to run to the door if something happened.

“Keep going,” Darcy whispered from behind me. Maya hadn't made a sound.

I turned the corner into the neighbor's backyard. They only had a small patch of grass before the border of the woods. I shivered involuntarily. Woods at night creeped me out.

“Nothing,” Maya said in her small voice. “All dark.”

I tore my eyes from the spooky trees and looked at the reason we were standing there to begin with: the neighbor's house. It was all dark from the back, too. No TV light.

Something crunched underneath my shoe. I reached down and picked up a small white piece of paper. It was hard to see with only the light of the moon, but it looked like a drawing of some kind. I stuffed it in my pocket to check it out later.

“Okay,” Darcy said, glancing from me to Maya. “One down. We should check the neighbor on the other side of Maya's house and then maybe two or three houses across the street.”

My mouth fell open.
We had to do this several more times?!
I didn't think my heart could take it.

But before I could protest, a noise silenced us. A cracking twig. Like the sounds we'd made walking back here.

“What was that?” I asked in a tone that was hushed but also clearly terrified.

Darcy's eyes went wide, and Darcy didn't scare easy. She said, “A person stalking us, a big animal, aliens come to abduct us …”

Her imagination was really limitless. Maya let out a little squeak of terror.

I spun around, trying to see anything at all. “Where did the noise come from?”

“I … I couldn't tell,” Darcy said. “Maybe the woods. Maybe between the houses.”

Maya hugged herself. “We should go back inside.”

Another crack.

I whipped around and narrowed my eyes at the woods. I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest.

Another crack.

“It's not in the woods,” Darcy said. “It's behind us. Between the houses.”

How were we supposed to get back to Maya's if someone was blocking our way? I reached out and grabbed Darcy's arm. Somehow I felt safer knowing she was right next to me. “What should we do?” I whispered.

The whites of Darcy's eyes flicked back and forth in the darkness. “Two choices. Walk toward Maya's house and find out who or what is over there. Or head into the woods and hide.”

I didn't like either of those options.

But soon the choice was taken away from us. The footsteps quickened, got louder and closer. It was too late to hide in the woods. We were frozen to the spot. And a dark shadow emerged from between the houses, the way we'd come.

“Anya?” Maya's trembling voice called out.

“Nope,” the voice in the darkness said. A mean-sounding boy's voice.