Victor Perrelli sank to the edge of the bed. “Oh, my,” he said, and ran his hands through his hair. “Do you suppose someone came in here and took the score?”
“We’ve looked everywhere,” Jessie said. “It doesn’t seem to be here.”
“This is terrible, terrible,” Victor said. “But who would do such a thing?”
“The score is very valuable,” Henry said. “Many people might like to have it.”
Victor popped to his feet. “Great music belongs to the world,” he said. “This cannot be! I will not let this happen!” He strode out of the room.
The Aldens followed at his heels, out of the hotel.
As they marched back to the Civic Center, Benny said, “Don’t worry. We’ll help you find the music.”
But now the great Victor Perrelli was humming, and he didn’t seem to hear.
Back at the Civic Center, Melody was talking on the lobby phone. When she saw them, she looked nervous, and abruptly stopped talking. As they came closer she hung up quickly and hurried over. It seemed as though she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t.
“Oh, there you are,” she said. “I was just — ”
“Why is there no music?” Victor demanded. “We must rehearse!”
Melody’s face was nearly as red as her hair. “We took a break,” she explained. “Now that you’re here, Victor, you can take over.” Her voice was sharp.
Without another word, Victor headed into the auditorium.
Melody started after him.
“Don’t you want to hear what happened?” Benny asked her.
Melody halted. “Yes, of course,” she said. “Did you find the score?”
“We looked everywhere,” Jessie answered. “But we couldn’t find it.”
“Victor doesn’t lock his door,” Henry told her. “Anyone could have walked off with it.”
“I can’t worry about that now,” Melody said. “I have to rehearse!” She stomped off.
“She’s acting a bit strange,” Henry said.
“She’s probably worried about the missing music,” Violet defended.
“She can’t be too worried,” Benny said. “She didn’t even ask us about it.”
“You can’t think she took it,” Violet said. “Why would she do that?”
No one had an answer.
“What about the phone call?” Jessie asked. “It looked as though we’d caught her in the middle of something she wanted to keep secret.”
“Melody was probably just calling the hotel looking for us,” Violet suggested.
Soo Lee nodded. “That would mean she is worried about the score.”
“Of course she is,” Violet said. “That’s why she phoned: She wanted to know if we’d found it.”
“Funny she didn’t say something when we got back here,” Jessie said.
“Victor didn’t give her much of a chance to say anything,” Henry reminded her.
Music drifted into the lobby.
“Let’s talk about this later,” Jessie suggested. “I want to hear the rehearsal.”
The Aldens went into the auditorium.
Victor was at the podium. “Let’s try it once more,” he was saying. He took up his baton. “Now, remember, this passage should be sweet, full of heart.” He waited until everyone was ready. Then, with a downward stroke of the baton, he started the music again.
The Aldens sat quietly. Music surrounded them. They felt as though they were being lifted up and carried away to beautiful new places.
Victor tapped his baton against the podium. “No, no!” he said. “The strings are coming in late. Ms. Carmody, are you with us?”
Melody mumbled an apology.
“It sounded good to me,” Benny said.
“But Victor has a trained ear,” Violet said. “He hears things we don’t.”
“I don’t know how he can conduct at all with the missing score on his mind,” Jessie put in.
“He’s probably forgotten all about it,” Henry said.
Jessie wasn’t so sure. “He seemed awfully upset about it at the hotel. How could he forget it so soon?”
“He remembers all that music,” Soo Lee said.
“And Mozart’s long name,” Benny added. “But nothing else.”
“Do you suppose … ?” Violet said.
“No,” Henry answered firmly. “Victor didn’t steal the score. We shouldn’t even think it.”
“Nobody would think it,” Jessie said. “Maybe he knows that.”
“Right,” Benny piped up. “Maybe he just pretends to be so forgetful to throw everyone off the trail.”
“I think he really is forgetful,” Henry argued. “Remember what he said: ‘A head full of music has no room for details.’”
“Is valuable missing music just a detail?” Soo Lee wanted to know.
No one, not even Victor Perrelli, could answer yes to that.
They fell silent as the music began again. But their heads buzzed with unanswered questions. |