The Mystery of the Velvet Gown

actress!” she snapped.
    Jane turned on her heel and stalked into the wardrobe room, slamming the door behind her. Trixie stood in the narrow corridor, angrily clenching and unclenching her fists. I’ll find that costume yet! she vowed to herself.
    All through drama class, Trixie was seething, and at the lunch table, her anger finally erupted. Sputtering with indignation, she related the morning’s events to the rest of the Bob-Whites.
    Jim whistled when she had finished. “It looks as if you have an honest-to-goodness mystery here now.”
    “But, Trixie,” Honey asked, “why do you suspect Jane, and not Peter Ashbury, of taking the costume?”
    “He could have taken it,” Trixie admitted. “I think they both want it, but for different reasons. I have a feeling that Jane wanted to get Di in trouble so that she would be kicked out of the play.”
    “Of course!” Di cried. “You are so smart sometimes!”
    “Not always,” Trixie laughed dryly. “In fact, Di, you’re the one who made me suspect Jane instead of Ashbury. Now I’ve got to figure out how to get her to admit it. Do you think I could get a search warrant?”
    “How about a polygraph?” Mart suggested teasingly.
    “A polly what?” Di asked.
    “A lie detector,” Mart explained.
    Trixie jumped up. “That’s it!” she cried, gathering up her books.
    “You’re going to give Jane a lie-detector test?” Brian asked laughingly.
    “No, but I do have an idea that I think will make Jane more than happy to tell me everything she knows about that costume.”
    Trixie got up and quickly scanned the lunchroom, searching for Jane and her friends. She finally spotted Patty Morris at a table on the far side of the room. She strolled over casually.
    “Patty,” Trixie asked, “do you know where Jane is?”
    “She went home.” Patty shrugged. “She said she felt as if she was getting the flu.”
    I'll bet she did! Trixie thought. “Okay, thanks,” she said nonchalantly.
    “Well?” Honey asked eagerly when Trixie returned.
    “Jane went home sick,” she explained. “I think we should go and visit her after school, Honey, don’t you? She only lives a few blocks from here. We’ll just drop by to see how she’s feeling.” She grinned at Honey mischievously. “Brian, will you please tell Moms that Honey and I had to stay late tonight and that we’ll take a cab home?”
    “I don’t know about this, Trixie,” Jim said doubtfully. “Maybe one of us should go with you.”
    “Nonsense!” Trixie cried. “ I have everything under control.”
    Trixie spent the rest of the afternoon planning exactly what she was going to say to Jane, but it turned out to be unnecessary. Jane was waiting for her when she and Honey got out of their last class.
    “Jane!” Trixie exclaimed in surprise. “I thought you went home.”
    “I did,” the girl said nervously, “but I had to talk to you.”
    “Why don’t we get away from this crowd?” Trixie suggested. The three girls turned down a side corridor and found an empty bench to sit on.
    “Actually, I am kind of scared,” Jane said nervously. “I supposedly went home sick today. If any of my teachers should see me—”
    “Wasn’t your mother suspicious when you wanted to come back to school at three o’clock?” Honey asked.
    “My mom isn’t home during the day,” Jane explained. “She works. I just spent the afternoon alone—thinking.” Trixie and Honey waited for her to go on. “You’ll miss your bus if I don’t hurry up and tell you,” she said in a distracted way.
    “Don’t worry about that, Jane. We’ll get home later. Now, what is it?” Trixie asked impatiently.
    “I-It’s very hard for me to admit,” Jane began hesitantly, lowering her eyes. “You see, I didn’t mean to keep the dress. I—I just... borrowed it for a while.”
    “Where is it?” Trixie asked.
    “It’s at home, in my closet,” Jane said, her eyes filling with tears. “I don’t know what to
    do. I suppose I should go tell Miss Darcy.”
    “No,” Trixie said quickly. “Come on, let’s go get the dress, and then we’ll come back and tell her.”
    “Trixie!” Honey cried. “You know—”
    “I do know,” Trixie said, “finally! But I want to make sure. Come on, let’s go!”
    As the three girls walked the five blocks to the Morgan house, Jane desperately tried to explain. “You see, I wanted to play the part of Juliet so much, and Di looked so beautiful in that costume, I just