Alexis and the Lake Tahoe Tumult - Erica Rodgers [25]
“I have an idea!” she said. “How about if we invite our movie makers to the party! They can film some of it for their documentary … and get to meet some really cool people!”
“That’s a great idea!” said Karen.
“I don’t know,” said Jake. “Haven’t we gotten them in enough trouble?”
“It won’t be an issue, Jake,” said Misty. “The party’s at their hotel this year! They won’t even have to go anywhere.”
The girls sat on the edge of the couch, leaning toward Jake. Alexis tried not to look too excited, but the idea of being in a room full of stars had her head spinning.
“All right,” said Jake with a smile. Bailey and Misty squealed together and then immediately began talking of dresses and high heels. Alexis was excited, but her mind went in another direction. She was thinking about the spray paint and the red handprint again. She and Bailey had to solve this case, because it wouldn’t matter how much money was donated to the reserve if the government shut it down.
Alexis went over all of the clues in her mind. There had to be something she was missing—somewhere they hadn’t looked. And then it hit her.
“The letters!” she said, startling everyone in the room.
“What d’you mean, Lexi?” asked Bailey. “What letters?”
“The threatening letters Karen and Jake have been getting—we haven’t looked at them yet. Jake, do you think we could browse through them?”
“Sure, Alexis. They’re in the top drawer of the desk.”
Alexis and Bailey sat behind the desk again like they had that morning making phone calls. Alexis spread about twelve letters out in front of them. A few were old and wrinkled and looked as though they had been made out of old newspapers. The newest ones, however, were very different. Their words weren’t cut from dull gray newspaper. Instead, they were shiny or glossy, like a magazine.
Alexis prodded the edge of one of the glued words and realized that, unlike a magazine, the paper was thick—almost like cardstock, the heavy paper used for index cards, menus, and other things that need heavier paper.
“Look, there’s a picture on the other side of that word! That’s a picture of our hotel!” shouted Bailey. Sure enough, as Alex pulled the word up, the back side of it showed the stone tower and part of the hotel’s title in lights. Bailey was right!
“Bailey,” said Alexis, “I think these letters are made out of brochures! Pamphlets advertising hotels around Tahoe!”
By this time, the others had gathered around the desk to look over the girls’ shoulders.
“I think you’re right,” said Karen. “Look—this is Harrah’s!”
“And this one’s from Caesar’s,” said Jake. “These are the most recent letters we’ve gotten. What could this mean?”
“I’m not sure,” said Alexis. “But it narrows things down. Whoever is bothering you guys must hang around the resorts, where it’s obviously easy for them to get their hands on these brochures.”
Alexis pulled out her camera and started taking pictures of the brochures.
A horn honked from outside.
“That’s Lisa,” said Jake. “Time for you all to get back to the hotel. We’ll be in touch about the party.”
The girls smiled and said their good-byes. The bus ride back was quiet. Both Bailey and Alexis were thinking about the new clues they had. What did “Chloe” and the snowmobile have to do with the brochures and the man with the red spray paint? Were they connected? Alexis looked out the window into the wall of white and pleaded with the One she knew could help them piece together the puzzle.
Please, God! We need a break. We have all of these clues but no way to connect them.
When the girls got back to the hotel, they zoomed straight to Mrs. Howell’s laptop. Alexis uploaded the photos of the letters and posted them on the CCG website. Then she started writing in the CCG chat wall. She told the girls about the threatening letters and about the message in the red spray paint, as well as the handprint.
Soon the girls were responding