"Do you really think Nora took the money?" Cole asked.
"I don't know," Henry said. "She's just a little kid.
And she has always seemed pretty honest to me. Remember?
She even told the bus driver that his hairpiece looked fake."
Cole laughed. "I almost forgot about that," he said.
"Good thing the bus driver has a sense of humor!"
Maggie was several steps ahead of them.
She was in such a hurry to reach Nathan and Nora's house that she was almost jogging.
"Hurry up!" she called over her shoulder.
"I want to get my money back and open up my lemonade stand again."
Henry walked a little faster until he caught up with Maggie.
"I wonder why Nora would steal your money," he said.
"She seems pretty young to do something like that."
"That's true." Cole had caught up by then too.
"It's hard to believe that Nora suddenly decided to rob Maggie's lemonade stand all by herself."
He looked worried. "I just thought of something.
What if Nora and Nathan were in cahoots?"
"In cahoots?" Maggie echoed. "What the heck does that mean?"
"I heard it on that detective movie I saw on TV," Cole said.
"When someone's in cahoots, it means they're working together."
Henry nodded. "I see what you mean.
If Nathan and Nora were in cahoots, then Nathan could have distracted Maggie on purpose by talking to her.
He kept her distracted long enough for Nora to grab the money out of the cashbox.
Then once they got away, the two of them could have split the cash between them."
Maggie's eyes widened. "Do you really think that's what happened?"
"No," Henry said. "I don't think Nathan is like that."
"Yeah, I don't either," Cole agreed. "Maybe it was just Nora after all.
We already know she's a weird kid.
Nathan says she acts sneaky and secretive all the time.
Maybe she's a thief too."
"Maybe." Henry still had a hard time believing Nora was the culprit.
Something was bugging him about the whole situation, though he couldn't figure out what it was.
Then again those teenage girls had seen Nora grab something off the table.
That definitely made the little girl seem guilty.
Besides they were almost out of suspects.
Soon they were turning the corner onto Nathan and Nora's street.
From halfway down the block, they spotted Nora talking and laughing with another girl.
"Looks like Nora has a friend over," Cole commented.
"I don't care," Maggie said. "I'm going to get my money back."
"Slow down." Henry grabbed her by the arm.
"You can't just march up to her and demand your money back."
"Oh yeah? Says who?" Maggie said.
"Think about it," Henry said. "We already know that Nora likes to argue.
If you accuse her of being the thief, she'll just argue, whether she did it or not."
"Well, what else can I do?" asked Maggie.
"She and her friend haven't seen us yet.
Let's hide and spy on them for a little while," Henry suggested.
"Yeah. Like a stakeout!" Cole grinned.
"The detectives in that mystery movie did that.
They sat in their car in front of a suspect's house all night!"
"I don't want to sit around here all night."
Maggie still sounded a little grumpy.
But she followed the boys as they tiptoed behind a hedge that ran along the side of the yard.
The three of them crouched down behind the hedge.
They could see Nora and her friend through the branches, but the little girls couldn't see them.
"What are they doing?" Cole whispered.
Henry watched the two little girls. Nora was holding a stick in one hand.
The other girl had a crown made of vines on her head.
"It looks like they're playing princesses," Maggie whispered.
Nora and her friend still didn't see them.
The friend was picking dandelions to weave into her crown.
"I am the prettiest princess in all the land," she said with a giggle.
"So what? I'm the richest princess in all the world!" Nora cried.
"I have more jewels than all the other princesses!"
That was all Maggie needed to hear.
"Give it back!" she hollered, jumping out from behind the hedge.
"You took what's mine, and I want it back right now!"
Nora and her friend glanced up in surprise.
The friend looked confused—and a little scared.
But Nora instantly burst into tears. "I'm sorry!" she sobbed.
"I didn't mean to take it!"