Curse of the Arctic Star Read Online Free Page B

assist you with your unpacking if you like.”
    “Thanks,” I said again. “But I’m sure we can . . .”
    My voice trailed off. I’d just noticed something.
    “Hey,” I said. “Where’s my suitcase?”

CHAPTER THREE

Rumors and Surprises
    I SHOVED GEORGE’S DUFFEL ASIDE FOR A better look at the rest of the luggage. My friends’ stuff was all there, along with the big hobo bag I’d used as a carry-on for the plane. But there was no sign of my green suitcase.
    “Oh, dear,” Max said. “Is something missing?”
    “Only the bag with most of my stuff in it,” I exclaimed.
    “Are you sure it’s not here somewhere?” Bessglanced around the main room. “We watched the porter label it ourselves, remember?”
    “Of course I remember.” My words came out clipped and short, and I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself before continuing. “Who should I call about this?” I asked Max.
    “Me,” he declared, patting me on the arm. “Don’t fret, Ms. Drew, I’ll take care of it right away. There must have been some kind of mix-up with the room tags.”
    That didn’t seem possible, since Bess was right—I’d seen the porter label the bag myself. But I didn’t get a chance to say so, since Max was already rushing out of the suite with his cell phone pressed to his ear, leaving the door standing open behind him.
    “It’s okay, Nancy,” Alan said. “I’m sure your bag’s around somewhere.”
    “Yeah,” George said. “It’s not like we’re at the airport and it accidentally got on a plane headed to Timbuktu. The worst that could happen is they dropped it in the harbor.” She smirked.
    “Very funny,” I growled.
    George and Bess traded a surprised look. “Chill, Nance,” George said. “It’s not that big a deal. Max will track it down.”
    I took another deep breath, realizing she was right. What was going on with me, anyway? I wasn’t normally the type to freak out over minor mishaps like this.
    Maybe seeing that body shook me more than I realized, I thought. Even if it wasn’t real . . .
    That made my mind jump from my suitcase to a different kind of case. I wished I could talk to my friends about what had happened by the pool. But we couldn’t talk freely with Alan around. He’d just sat down at the piano and was picking out “Jingle Bells” with one finger.
    “What should we do now?” Bess asked. “Do you guys want to start unpacking, or—”
    She was cut off by a sudden loud, terrified shriek from just outside the suite.
    “Who was that?” Alan exclaimed.
    I was already rushing toward the door. When Iburst into the hallway, a young woman was standing in front of the next door down, looking horrified. She was wearing a Superstar uniform and clutching a stack of folded towels to her chest.
    “Is everyone okay?” Bess yelped, running out of the suite behind me.
    My gaze had already shot from the maid to the kid crouched on the floor just across the hall. He had his back to us at first, but when he glanced back over his shoulder, my eyes widened.
    “You!” I blurted out.
    It was the bratty eight-year-old I’d seen earlier. What was his name again?
    “Hey, it’s Tobias!” George exclaimed as she skidded out into the hallway and stopped short.
    “That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” the kid snapped.
    By now the maid had lowered the towels, revealing a name tag that identified her as Iris. “Oh!” she gasped. “I’m so sorry. He—he just startled me.”
    Tobias glared at her. “You practically broke my eardrum, screaming like that,” he said. “I should sue you.Then I could use the money to hire a helicopter to fly me out of here.”
    Just then a nearby door swung open. Tobias’s father emerged. “What’s going on out here?” he asked.
    “Nothing.” Tobias stood up, quickly shoving one hand deep into the pocket of his baggy cargo shorts.
    “Hmm.” His father leaned forward to peer at the maid’s name tag. “Iris, is it? Is Tobias causing