“Exactly,” the other girl replied. “Pretty wicked, huh? So easy to steal, too. The people around here are way too trusting. It’s sad, really.”
“You should give that back,” Freddie said.
The girl sounded scandalized by the idea. “Give it back? Why would I do that? Geez, Freddster, you really have gone soft on me. There’s no way I’m giving anything back. In fact, I have big future plans for this place.”
Freddie sighed. “Must you terrorize everyone?”
The other girl giggled. “Of course! That’s the pirate’s life!”
Pirate’s life? Ally thought curiously, and then it hit her.
Frosted tea cakes!
Ally’s mind was reeling. How could she have not seen it before? How could she have not realized? It seemed so obvious! A ponytailed shadow? Someone known for stealing stuff? A villain who already knew the ins and outs of the entire school because she’d spent a week sneaking around, pulling pranks on everyone?
Ally’s eyes widened in shock as she whispered the truth to her best friend. “CJ Hook is back!”
I can’t concentrate on my Spirit Weekend banner. Not at a time like this.
Everyone around Ally at the party was creating these beautiful blue-and-gold masterpieces with fancy lettering and pictures of Fighting Knights, and Ally had been dragging her paintbrush around in aimless circles for the past ten minutes. She was just far too distracted by what she had discovered to focus on banners. Apparently Jane was a better actress than Ally was, because Jane was at another table, chatting with the others and painting her banner like it was just another normal day at Auradon Prep. Ally had no idea how she did it.
Ally couldn’t focus. All she could think about was CJ Hook! Back in Auradon! Hiding out in Freddie’s dorm room again!
All the clues lined up. CJ matched Jane’s description of the ponytailed shadow creeping outside her dorm room. And she had motive. CJ loved to play pranks. She had probably gobbled up that cake just to mess with the big Spirit Weekend festivities. That was definitely CJ’s style. After all, she’d attempted to ruin the Neon Lights Ball, too. As for the watch, Ally was sure that was the valuable thing Freddie had mentioned. CJ was probably planning to sell it. Even Jane had agreed it was obvious after hearing that conversation. But then they’d had to rush to the banner-painting event.
Now Ally just had to figure out what to do with her newfound information. She suddenly remembered the promise she’d made to Fairy Godmother. She’d said that if she ever thought a crime had been committed, she’d go straight to the headmistress instead of trying to deal with it on her own. But she also knew if she went to Fairy Godmother with the information that CJ was back and wreaking havoc on the school again, then Fairy Godmother would deal with it on her own and Ally would get none of the credit for figuring it out.
And Ally was not about to lose this victory. She needed this. She needed to be the hero, for once, instead of the joke. She needed everyone to see that she was a real detective, who solved real mysteries.
She could just picture it now: Unveiling CJ to the whole school. Revealing the truth about the stolen cake and necklace. Everyone would gasp in shock. They’d pat Ally on the back, offering their congratulations and praise on a detective job well done. Then Mal would smile at her and say…
“Hey, Ally. What are you painting over there?”
Ally blinked and looked up at Mal, who was staring at her from across the table. “What?” Ally asked, confused.
“Sorry,” Mal said, sharing a knowing look with Evie. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your visit to Ally Land.”
Evie tilted her head to study Ally’s banner. Ally glanced down at it, too. Her mindless painting had resulted in an unsightly blue blob.
“I like it,” Evie said kindly. “It looks like the profile of a prince.”
Mal rolled her eyes. “Everything looks like the profile of a prince to you.” But then she walked over and peered at the banner from a new angle. “Huh. Actually, you’re right. It looks like Ben. See, there’s his nose, his ears, and there’s that little flip his hair does when he’s playing tourney.”
“Yeah!” Evie said excitedly.
While Evie and Mal continued to discuss the resemblance of Ally’s blue blob to Mal’s boyfriend, Ally tuned out again. A plan was already forming in her mind. A plan that would finally get her the glory she knew she deserved.
“I have to go,” Ally announced suddenly, dropping her paintbrush into the bucket of water on the table.
“Go?” asked Evie. “Go where? Aren’t you going to finish Ben’s portrait?”
But Ally didn’t answer. She was already darting away from the carnival grounds, a girl on a mission.
By the next morning, Ally had it all figured out. Her plan was fully formed. She barged into Jane’s room without knocking and closed the door behind her. Jane was still in her pajamas, her hair unbrushed.
“Ally?” Jane asked, surprised. “I’ve been trying to find you since you ran off after the banner painting yesterday.”
“Sorry. I had to be alone for a bit. I needed to come up with a plan. But I figured it out: how to catch CJ Hook red-handed!”
“Well, I did some thinking last night, too,” Jane said slowly, “and I’m having some little doubts about accusing Freddie. It just seems really harsh. I mean, how can you know for sure—”
Ally harrumphed, cutting Jane off. “Because I just do! Detectives rely on instinct and I have that in hearts.”
“I think you mean ‘in spades,’ ” Jane said.
Ally squinted. “No, I mean I have it in hearts.” She put her hand to her chest. “Instinct comes from the heart. But the point is, CJ is back, she’s wreaking havoc on the school again, and I need to expose her. We need to expose her.”
Jane looked taken aback and a bit nervous. “We?”
“Yes,” Ally said, as though it were obvious. “I need your help exposing her.”
“And how do you expect us to do that?”
Ally was prepared for the question. She had been up all night thinking about it. She needed a plan that would guarantee maximum shock value. Something dramatic. Something with flair. And most important, something that would prove once and for all that Ally was a good detective.
“We need to gather up as many people as we can and bring them to Freddie’s dorm room. Then we’ll demand that Freddie open the door. She won’t be able to refuse with all of those people standing there. When I reveal CJ to be hiding inside, everyone will be there to see it and then no one can deny that I was right.”
Jane stared at Ally with a strange expression on her face. Ally could tell Jane wasn’t exactly on board with this plan. “And why do you need my help for this?” Jane asked.
“I need you to back me up. I need your help rallying everyone. No one believes anything I have to say. Everyone thinks I’m just a silly girl who makes things up in her head. They won’t follow me anywhere.” She took a breath and gave Jane a pointed look. “But they’ll follow you.”
Jane pursed her lips, contemplating. “But why do we need to catch her at all? Why can’t we just tell my mom and let her handle it? That’s her job. And that’s what we’re supposed to do.”
Ally sighed. She knew Jane would go straight to “the rules.” The “right” thing to do. “Do you really want to tell your mum that you were so irresponsible with her valuable family heirloom that it was stolen?”
Jane bit her lip, clearly not having thought of that. Then she shook her head. “No, you’re right. Maybe your way is better.”
Ally smiled, pleased with herself. “Of course my way is better. I use Ally logic.”
Jane’s face scrunched in confusion. “What’s Ally logic?”
Ally waved this away. “Not important. Anyway, let’s discuss the plan of how we’re going to get everyone to Freddie’s room.”
“Wait,” Jane said, still looking uncertain. “Maybe we should be one hundred percent certain about this before we go through wit
h it.”
“I am one hundred percent certain,” Ally said, losing patience.
“But we don’t have any evidence that it was CJ who took the watch or ate the cake. Maybe we should try to gather some more clues before we just go marching in there and accusing her.”
Ally crossed her arms over her chest. “Like what?”
Just then, the two girls jumped and turned toward the window of Jane’s dorm room, their eyes wide with alarm.
Outside, somewhere on the Auradon Prep campus, someone was screaming.
As soon as we heard the screaming, we ran straight to the carnival grounds, hoping we weren’t too late.
Audrey stood in the middle of a chaotic mess of Spirit Weekend banners, which were strewn about on the ground. Except they didn’t look much like Spirit Weekend banners anymore; now they looked more like an explosion of paint on paper.
“What happened?” Ally asked immediately.
Audrey reeled on her, her eyes wide with anger. “What does it look like? Someone ruined the banners. All of them! I hung them out to dry last night after the party and now they’re all a mess!”
Ally picked up the banner she’d seen Evie working on before she’d left the night before. It had been completely destroyed. Ally was unable to make out any of the letters.
“Who would do this?” Audrey cried. “Who would ruin Spirit Weekend like this?”
Jane and Ally exchanged a knowing look. They both knew full well who would do something like this.
“CJ?” Jane mouthed to Ally, and Ally nodded her head decisively.
This was clearly part of CJ’s big plan. She was infamous for being a prankster. She’d tried to ruin the Neon Lights Ball, and now she was trying to ruin Spirit Weekend, too! Well, not if Ally had anything to say about it.
More people were arriving at the carnival grounds by the second. It seemed everyone was following the sounds of Audrey’s shrieks just as Jane and Ally had. Within a few minutes, what looked like half the student population was gathered around the paint catastrophe.
“Maybe it was a gust of wind,” Lonnie suggested, picking up her own destroyed banner with the tips of her fingers, like she was afraid it might bite her.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Audrey snapped. “The weather is perfect today. It’s perfect every day!”
“Maybe it was Dude,” Jay said, giving Carlos a rough nudge.
“Hey!” Carlos said. “Why does everyone blame my dog when something bad happens around here?”
“Will everyone just relax?” Freddie said, stepping forward to take control of the situation. “I know exactly who did this.”
Ally and Jane looked at each other again. Was Freddie going to confess? Was she going to come clean about CJ hiding out in her dorm room again and wreaking havoc on the school?
Ally felt a pang of panic in her chest. As much as she wanted CJ caught and exposed, she was supposed to be the one to do it. If Freddie confessed now, Ally would lose her big moment in the spotlight. She’d lose her chance to prove to everyone what a good detective she was.
“You do?” Audrey said heatedly, pushing through the crowd to get to Freddie. She stood before Freddie with her hands on her hips, her narrowed eyes demanding an explanation.
“Of course,” Freddie said, with a wave of her hand. “It’s pretty obvious.”
Audrey threw her hands in the air. “Then tell me already!”
Freddie flashed a smug grin, clearly enjoying the attention. “We see this kind of thing all the time back on the Isle of the Lost. This is definitely the work of a ghost.”
Audrey was speechless for a moment, as though she’d forgotten how to form words. “A what?” she finally spat.
“A ghost,” Freddie repeated. “They are such troublemakers, those ghosts.”
A few people laughed nervously, as though Freddie had cracked a joke.
Ally peered over at Jane, who whispered, “What is she doing?”
“I don’t know,” Ally whispered back. “Covering for CJ?”
“That is not funny,” Audrey said, her hands balled into fists. “Everyone knows there’s no such thing as ghosts.”
“I beg to differ,” Freddie said. “My father—”
“In Auradon,” Audrey added hastily. “There’s no such thing as ghosts in Auradon.”
“Actually,” Evie chimed in, “that’s not true. I was just reading a book in the library about spirits, and it said that they can pretty much go wherever they want.”
“Stop!” Audrey yelled. “Stop this nonsense right now. We’ll never get to the bottom of this if everyone is joking around.”
But no one seemed to be listening to Audrey—especially not the VKs.
“Maybe,” Mal began with a chuckle, “the ghost found out about our Spirit Weekend and got confused, thinking it was some kind of ghost party!”
“Is that possible?” Lonnie asked with a gasp. “Do ghosts get confused?”
“Of course they do,” Freddie said. “Ghosts are not very bright.”
“Yeah, in fact, they’re pretty dim,” Carlos added, and all five VKs—Mal, Evie, Carlos, Jay, and Freddie—broke out into hoots of laughter. No one else seemed to be in on the joke. They all just stared at the VKs, completely dumbfounded.
“Stop this,” Audrey demanded sharply. “Stop this right now.”
“Maybe the ghost will bring some friends to the concert tonight,” Jay said, seemingly enjoying the effect this was having on poor Audrey.
“I bet they’re all wearing their most fa-boo-lous dresses,” Evie added.
“And jewels to die for,” Freddie added with a chuckle.
“Well,” Mal said thoughtfully, “you know a diamond is a ghoul’s best friend!”
The VKs busted up with laughter again, and Audrey looked like she was about to explode.
Ally knew this was it. This was the moment. It was now or never. They needed to put their plan into action.
“If someone doesn’t fess up about this right now,” Audrey shouted over the commotion, “then I’m going to—”
“I know who did it!” Ally announced, launching her hand into the air.
Gasps permeated the crowd and all eyes were suddenly on her. She cowered slightly at the attention but told herself to be brave. Be strong—just like Mal would do. Mal always seemed to face her fears head-on. Plus, this was what Ally had wanted all along: a chance to prove her worth. Now she had it.
“It’s the same person who ate my cake and stole Jane’s mother’s watch and is now terrorizing our school. I know who the culprit is. And if you follow me, I will lead you to the person responsible!”
The group quieted down, and everyone was looking to one another, trying to figure out what to make of Ally’s statement. Then small titters of doubt started to spread throughout the crowd.
“Are you still going on about that cake?” someone shouted.
“Give it up, Ally!” someone else yelled.
“My money’s on the ghost!” came a third voice. Ally was pretty sure it was Chad Charming.
The crowd broke out into laughter, and suddenly Ally felt like she was back on that stage, being teased by everyone.
Just as she suspected, they didn’t believe her.
She needed Jane. She needed her backup. But when she turned to her left, where Jane had been standing just a moment before, there was no one there.
Jane had abandoned her and left Ally all alone to fend for herself.
It felt like her heart was sinking to the bottom of her chest. How could Jane do that? She was supposed to be Ally’s friend! She was supposed to—
“She’s right!” Ally heard the voice from somewhere above her, and everyone fell silent. She glanced up to see Jane standing on a tall chair, towering over the group. “Ally knows who did this. She’s a good detective and she’s solved the case.”
Ally felt a swell of pride and gratitude rise up inside her. Jane came through! She’d saved Ally! Just as best friends were supposed to do.
“So listen up,” Jane continued, speaking louder than Ally had ever heard her talk. Jane was normally much more soft-spoken. Now her voice was big and bold, commanding attention. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to follow Ally, find this criminal who’s been terrorizing our school, and bring them to justice!”
Cheers rose up from the crowd. Fists pumped in the air. This was the reaction Ally had wanted all along. She just wanted people to believe her. To trust her. To respect her.
“Let’s go!” Ally shouted, and she set off for the dorm rooms, feeling the supportive shadows of her friends and fellow students behind her the whole way.
With Jane on my side, I felt superconfident. I was about to bust this case wide open.
Ally led the crowd through the campus, up the dorm room steps, and down the hallway, stopping right in front of what everyone recognized as Freddie’s dorm room. A few people in the crowd gasped and turned to glare at Freddie, who looked just as surprised by their destination.
But Ally knew she was pretending. Freddie was well aware of why they were all there.
“What are you doing?” Freddie asked, pushing her way through the throng of students crowded into the hallway. “Why are you stopped at my dorm room?”
“You know why,” Ally said accusingly, sparking a series of murmurs in the group.
“Was it Freddie?” Ally heard someone ask.
“But I thought Freddie was good now,” someone else said.
“It’s like I’ve always said, you can’t trust a VK,” another person murmured.
Freddie crossed her arms over her chest. “Actually, I don’t know why, Ally. I thought we were friends. Now you’re accusing me of stealing stuff?”
“No,” Ally said, setting off another round of titters. “I’m accusing you of lying to us about who did.”
Freddie squinted in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“You lied to me! To all of us! You have been harboring a criminal!”
“What?” Freddie cried.
Ally had to admit Freddie really did look genuinely surprised by the accusation, which made Ally’s stomach do a little flip in a momentary lapse of confidence. Could it be possible she was wrong about this?