“Are you fans of Madlynn Rose?” asked the woman sitting next to the children without looking up from her tablet or taking the phone from her ear.
“Our sister Violet is her biggest fan!” said Jessie.
“She’s going to be singing in just a minute,” said Benny. “Are you a fan of Madlynn Rose, too?”
“You could say that,” said the woman. “I’m her mother.”
“You must be really proud of your daughter,” said Jessie.
“Well,” said Madlynn Rose’s mother, “I just wish she would work a little harder and do what I say. She’s a pop star now, and she has to do interviews and perform at concerts. She just wants to live the life of a regular teenager, but she needs to realize that she’s not regular. She’s famous, and she needs to start doing things to become more famous and to get more attention. How will I pay for my next vacation if she doesn’t do enough to stay famous?”
“Being famous doesn’t sound like much fun at all,” Benny whispered to Jessie and Henry.
“Quiet on the set!” a voice yelled. It was Lester. The show was about to start.
Lester directed Violet to a microphone stand placed in front of the judges’ table.
“Okay, Violet,” the producer said, “you’ll sing into this microphone.”
Violet stepped up to the microphone and tapped it nervously. Then she looked at the judges. Wilfred Mayflower had his arms folded and looked very grumpy. Esty Gadooj smiled and sat waiting for Violet to begin. But the third chair at the judges’ table was still empty.
“Is Madlynn Rose going to hear me sing?” Violet asked into the microphone. She pointed to the empty chair. The other two judges turned and looked at the chair in surprise.
“She was just here,” said Esty Gadooj. “She must have gone to her dressing room to freshen up.”
“How unprofessional!” exclaimed Wilfred Mayflower. “Like I said, I haven’t got all day for this ridiculous behavior. I’ve been saying for some time that she has no place on this show, and that we have to get rid of her.”
Lester stepped up onto the stage. “Does anyone know where Madlynn Rose went?” he asked the crew. Then he repeated the question into his headset.
The Aldens looked around the set. Something was wrong. Henry saw the camera crew turn off their cameras. Jessie saw the makeup artists whisper to one another. Madlynn Rose’s mother stood up, her eyes wide. She abruptly ended her phone call and hurried off across the set.
“What’s going on?” Benny asked.
“I don’t know,” said Jessie.
“Everyone, listen,” Lester called out. “We have a situation here. The mall will be locked down while the security guards do a search. Nobody repeat a word of what is going on!” His voice was serious.
A crew member approached the Aldens.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “but Mr. Freeman thinks it’s best if you wait back in the mall for now. We’ll let you know when you can come back.”
As the children were led back out into the mall, they could see that the crowd of hopeful singers now waited in a long line that wrapped around the whole building.
The door to the set shut behind the children. Then Benny finally said what they all had been afraid to say out loud.
“Madlynn Rose is missing!”
CHAPTER 3
Good and Bad Voices
“Ssshhh!” Jessie hushed her little brother. “We aren’t supposed to say anything.”
“Jessie’s right,” said Henry. “We also don’t want to cause a panic by letting the news slip that Madlynn Rose is missing.”
“I’m sorry,” Benny whispered. “I won’t talk about Madlynn Rose going missing anymore.”
“Stop talking about it, then,” said Violet. “I’m really sad about it.”
Everything had happened so quickly that the others hadn’t had a chance to think about how Violet felt. She had wanted to sing for Madlynn Rose!
Jessie gave Violet a hug, and so did Henry. But Benny was looking at something else.
“Look!” Benny yelled. “It’s that creepy guy with the sunglasses!”
Benny pointed to the door to the set. Sure enough, there, right outside the studio, stood the man in dark sunglasses and a black suit, the same mysterious man the children had seen outside the mall earlier that morning.
Just as soon as they noticed him, he disappeared around a corner.
Just then, a voice behind them spoke up.
“Did I hear you say that Madlynn Rose is missing?” the voice asked.
The four children turned around. There, at the front of the audition line, stood a young woman wearing a Madlynn Rose T-shirt. She carried a tablet and her eyes were wide.
“Sssshhh!” Benny said to the young woman. “It’s a secret. We’re not supposed to talk about it.”
“It’s not a secret anymore,” she replied, tapping away furiously on her tablet, “because in just a second, the whole world is going to know!”
“What are you doing?” Jessie asked. “Are you putting the news of Madlynn Rose’s disappearance on the Internet?”
“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” said the young woman. “Madlynn Rose Online is about to break the news.”
“Madlynn Rose Online?” said Violet. “That’s my favorite website! Are you the one who runs it?”
“I sure am,” said the young woman. “My name’s Sophia, or Super Fan Sophia as I’m known online. My website has all the latest and greatest information about Madlynn Rose—her favorite foods, her favorite color, what she wears to all the awards shows, the lyrics to all of her hit songs, everything. I’m the biggest Madlynn Rose fan on Earth.”
“That’s not true,” said Benny. “My sister Violet’s the biggest Madlynn Rose fan there is. She’s even going to sing a Madlynn Rose song for the Pop Star Sensation TV show.”
“I was going to,” said Violet sadly. “But now Madlynn Rose is missing, so who knows if I’ll get the chance. What if the show doesn’t happen? This is terrible!”
“It’s not very terrible for me,” said Super Fan Sophia. “If I’m the one who reports this news first, my website will get millions of visitors. I’ll be more famous and popular than ever!”
“But there’s not really any news to report yet,” said Henry. “We don’t know what happened to Madlynn Rose or where she went.”
“That’s right,” said Jessie. “So there’s nothing for you to say on your website. Nobody’s supposed to say anything about it either. It’s all still a mystery.”
“A mystery!” said Benny. “That sounds exciting. We should try to solve it. We’ve solved lots of mysteries.”
Sophia rolled her eyes. “You’re just kids,” she said. “How could you solve mysteries? It’s not like you’re detectives or anything.”
“We’re a good team,” said Henry. “And we have figured out quite a few mysteries. I think Benny’s idea sounds pretty good. I think we should try to solve this mystery of the missing pop star.”
“We’d better solve it,” said Violet, “to help Madlynn Rose.”
“And to help Violet get another chance to sing for her,” said Benny.
“Isn’t she a little young to sing on Pop Star Sensation?” asked Sophia.
“Our grandfather is friends with the show’s producer,” Henry explained. “Violet isn’t going to compete on the show, but she wants to sing for Madlynn Rose.”
“Well, I’m going to win the competition,” said Sophia. “I’m not only Madlynn Rose’s biggest fan, but I can also sing just like her.”
“Why wouldn’t you just want to sing like yourself?” asked a voice from behind them.
“What?” asked Sophia, turning around. “Who said that?”
The Aldens turned too. They saw the girl they’d met outside the mall that morning with the flower in her long blond hair. She still wore her sunglasses, even though she was inside now.
“Why would you want to sing just like Madlynn Rose?” Lonny Dreams asked Sophia. She was taking
her guitar from her flower-covered case.
“I’ll have you know, I can sing even better than Madlynn Rose,” Sophia snapped. “In fact, maybe I should be the big pop star instead of her. Maybe it’s a good thing she’s missing. Because then the world will see how talented I am. You know, maybe I won’t say anything about Madlynn Rose missing on my website. Maybe I’ll wait and tell the world that there is a new pop star—Super Fan Sophia!”
With that, Sophia began to sing the same song Madlynn Rose had sung to the crowd earlier that morning.
“She doesn’t sound anything like Madlynn Rose,” Jessie whispered to her siblings. They all nodded.
“She sounds like Watch when he howls,” Benny whispered back. Watch was the Alden children’s dog and sometimes he would howl when he sensed danger.
“This won’t be good-bye, oh no,” sang Sophia. “This won’t be good-bye.”
“I wish she would say good-bye,” Benny whispered to Violet. He tried not to say it too loud so that he wouldn’t hurt Sophia’s feelings, even if her singing was hurting his ears.
But as Sophia kept singing, another voice drowned hers out. This voice was louder but also much better:
“Everybody telling me what to do,
Everyone telling me who I should be,
But I can’t be you or you or you.
I’ll follow my dreams and be me.
So let me be me.
Please let me be me.”
The singer was Lonny, who was strumming her purple guitar. A small crowd had gathered to listen, and when she finished her song, everyone clapped and cheered. The Aldens did too.
“I’ve never heard that song before,” said Henry.
“Me either,” said Violet. “But it was really nice.”
“It was great!” cheered Benny.
“It wasn’t that great,” said Sophia, who put her tablet into her bag and stomped away. “Like I said, the next news that Madlynn Rose Online posts will be that I am the next Pop Star Sensation superstar!”
“Don’t listen to her,” Jessie told Lonny. “She’s probably just jealous that she can’t sing as well as you.”
“I don’t know if anyone can sing as well as you,” said Violet. “I wish I could sing like that. That was a really nice song too.”
“I wrote it myself,” said Lonny.
“You did?” asked Violet. “That’s amazing!”
“Thank you,” Lonny said, blushing as much as Violet often did. “I was hoping to sing one of the songs I’ve written for the Pop Star Sensation judges today. But I couldn’t help overhear what you guys were just talking about. You said someone is missing? And that the show might not happen?”
“It’s a secret,” Benny whispered.
“It’s not going to stay a secret if you keep telling everyone,” said Jessie.
“That’s okay,” said Lonny. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
“Madlynn Rose is missing,” Benny continued. “And now we’re going to solve the mystery and find her.”
“That sounds exciting,” Lonny said. “Let me know if you need my help, okay?”
“We will,” said Henry. “But we’re just getting started—”
“Look!” Benny cut in. “It’s the creepy man again!”
There, standing in the same corner the children had seen him a few minutes ago, was the mysterious black-suited man with the sunglasses.
“Come on,” said Henry. “Let’s follow him.”
Just then the loudspeakers of the mall’s PA system called out their names.
“Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, please report to the main entrance. Repeat, Alden children, please come to the main entrance of the mall.”
CHAPTER 4
Nobody In, Nobody Out
“That’s us!” shouted Benny. “Someone’s calling our names!”
“It must be mall security,” said Jessie.
“Or maybe the police,” said Benny.
“Maybe they know something about Madlynn Rose,” said Violet. “Maybe they found her!”
“Come on, guys!” Henry called, already heading back the way they’d come that morning. “It’s this way to the front entrance.”
The Alden children dashed back through the mall, past the audition line that seemed to never end.
Violet paused to look at a display for a store that sold sunglasses of all types. A pretty flowered pair had caught her eye.
“Ooh!” said Violet. “I want to buy these sunglasses sometime. They’re just like the ones that girl Lonny has.”
She wished she could take a closer look, but the others didn’t stop. Violet had to sprint to catch up as they ran to the front entrance.
At last the Aldens reached the main doors of the mall, where a familiar face stood on the other side of the glass.
“Grandfather!” Benny yelled, running toward the door.
But two large security guards blocked the Aldens’ path. “I’m sorry, kids,” said one of the guards. “I can’t let him in, and I can’t let you leave.”
“But that’s our grandfather,” said Henry. “He’s here to watch our sister perform on Pop Star Sensation.”
“Nobody in,” said the second guard, “and nobody out.”
Grandfather Alden looked at the children and nodded. “I’m afraid he’s right,” he said through the slightly opened door. “The mall is locked. I just spoke with Lester on the phone, and he said there is a bit of a situation.”
“Does he mean the situation with Madlynn Rose missing?” Violet asked.
“Ssshhh!” hushed the other security guard. “That’s a secret.”
“Or it would be,” said the first guard, “if anybody was missing.”
“Oh, I get it,” said Jessie. “You’re not supposed to talk about Madlynn Rose missing.”
“Whoever might be missing,” said the second guard, “it’s a secret.”
The first guard pretended to zip his lip and throw away an imaginary key. “We already have enough to do, anyway, what with a shoplifter on the loose, swiping things from stores in the mall.”
“But why can’t Grandfather come in?” Violet asked.
“And why can’t we go out and see him?” asked Benny.
“That’s just what we were told,” said the first guard.
“Yep,” said the second guard. “Those are the rules.”
“It will be okay, children,” said Grandfather Alden. “As I said, I just spoke to Lester on the phone. He says you can come back on the set, so long as you’re quiet and well-behaved. You’ll be safe there.”
“But what about you, Grandfather?” asked Benny. “Where will you be?”
“I’ll be here. I’m sure one of these guards will show you back to the studio, won’t you?”
“I’m afraid not,” said the second guard. “We’ve got to stay here in case the missing girl turns up.”
“That is, if it’s a girl that’s missing,” said the first guard.
“It’s okay, Grandfather,” Jessie said. “We know our way around the mall. We’ve been here so many times before.”
“And we’ve already run through it twice today too,” said Benny.
“Why don’t you children get yourselves something for lunch,” Grandfather suggested. “You must be getting hungry.”
“That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day!” said Benny.
“We’ll get something to eat soon, Benny. But first let’s get back to the studio.”
The children told their grandfather good-bye and walked back through the mall.
“This sure seems serious, guys,” Violet said. “There are guards and everything.”
The Aldens made their way back through the crowd of fans. Violet kept falling behind a few steps because she was having a hard time walking fast in her best shoes, which she had worn just for the show. Once, as she paused to adjust them, Violet thought she saw the man in the dark sunglasses snooping around at the front of the line.
“Look,” she said to her siblings
. But they were too far ahead to hear her.
Violet shrugged and rushed to catch up with the others. She was more worried about finding Madlynn Rose than paying attention to the mysterious man.
Benny was the first to reach the front of the line and the door to the studio. Knowing that the sooner they went inside and found Lester, the sooner he would be able to eat, Benny knocked loudly on the door. “Hello!” he called. “It’s Benny Alden. Me and my brother and sisters are supposed to come back in!”
Before the other Alden children could hush Benny, the door swung open. There stood Lester, his radio headset still on his head.
“Children, you’re back,” Lester said, showing the Aldens inside. “I’m very sorry about earlier. I’ve got a show to run, you see, and time is money. Just stay out of everyone’s way, okay?”
“We will,” Jessie promised.
But the busy producer had already turned to the production area, where his assistants sat in front of several TV screens playing back the video clips that had been recorded earlier that day.
“There!” Lester yelled, pointing at one of the screens. “See, right there! That’s from when Madlynn Rose was here in the studio this morning! Keep that video clip, and find more. This is very important. We need her for the show.”
The Alden children caught a glimpse of Madlynn Rose on the screen, sitting behind the judges’ table. And then she stood up.
“That moment right there is exactly what we need,” said Lester. “That is—children, what did I just tell you about staying out of the way?”
Before the children could see what happened on the screen, Lester shooed them away from the monitors.
“Come on,” Henry whispered to his siblings.
“There have to be some clues somewhere,” said Jessie.
“Maybe we should see if we can find the other judges,” said Violet. “Maybe they have an idea of what’s happened to Madlynn Rose.”
“That’s a great suggestion, Violet,” said Henry. “The judges have to be around here somewhere, since nobody’s allowed in or out of the mall.”
“And we know neither Wilfred Mayflower or Esty Gadooj stepped out into the mall,” said Jessie, “because all of those fans would have gone crazy.”