London Art Chase (10 page)

“Come on over and sit down, Maddie,” Mom said gently.

SEVENTEEN

M
om moved pillows on the couch to make a little nest for them and then found a box of tissues. Maddie took one and pressed it against one eye and then the other, soaking up her tears. Mom pulled her close.

“Now, what's all this, sweet girl?” Mom asked.

“No one will listen to me,” Maddie said. “I want to talk about how important this is and no one is taking me seriously.”

“Well, I'm here and I'm listening,” Mom said. “I want to hear what you have to say.”

“I know what I saw, Mom. Someone stole a painting and I don't think anyone is even looking for the thief.”

“What if what you saw . . .” Mom started, as though she was weighing every word carefully. “What if it was odd, but not a robbery?”

“You didn't see him, Mom. We watched him reach up and take the most beautiful painting in the whole museum off the wall. And he looked over his shoulder like he was afraid someone might see. It seemed so suspicious.”

“So, then what happened?”

Maddie pictured his retreating back as he'd hurried through the employees-only door. “He went into an employees-only door, and Mia wouldn't go in because
that would be breaking the rules. So we ran downstairs to see if we could cut him off . . .”

“And that's when you ran into the cello?”

“It's not funny, Mom,” Maddie said, catching the smile in Mom's voice.

“I know it's not, sweet girl. But I can just imagine the look on your face when you came around that corner, not expecting a cello, of all things.”

“I know everyone wants me to let it go—Miss Julia and Mia and the museum director. But then I saw him later, walking away with a painting-sized package wrapped in brown paper. That's not what happens with famous paintings, is it?”

“Sweetheart, I don't want to argue with you about this. Maybe you're right. Maybe you did see a robbery. But don't you think news of a stolen painting would have already been broadcast everywhere? Wouldn't we have heard about a theft at a famous place like the National Gallery and also about a citywide search for the thief? Or if it was a theft, and somehow the museum staff hasn't yet realized it happened, they still must have security footage from cameras and access to investigators who can figure this out much better than we can. It's not our job to find thieves.”

Mom was trying to make her feel better, Maddie knew, but she felt like everyone was
handling
her. No one was taking her seriously. She pushed one finger after another into the pillow on her lap, watching each of the indentations slowly disappear.

“I just . . . I have to prove—”

“Maddie, unfortunately, I don't think we can prove anything. The man is gone, and we wouldn't be able to find him even if we tried.”

“But, Mom . . .”

“Sweetheart, I don't want this to ruin your time in London. We're on a very special trip, and I want you to have fun. I don't want you to be filled up with worries, particularly when they're worries about something we can't fix.”

“But what if there is something I can do?” Maddie asked.

Mom didn't respond for a moment, considering. “Is there something you think we might be able to do?”

Maddie scrolled around her mind for options, but came up blank. She couldn't think of a thing. Mom was right, but she still didn't feel right letting it go.

“People shouldn't get away with doing wrong things,” Maddie insisted.

“You're right,” Mom said. “You're absolutely right. When I watch the news or when I see situations that are definitely wrong, and that I can't fix, I feel very frustrated. I want to do something, but sometimes the solution is beyond my capability.”

“So, what do you do?”

“I pray,” Mom said. “I know praying sounds like a very small thing to do. And of course, God knows all about every situation without my telling him. But
sometimes when I pray about things, God gives me ideas about ways that I
can
do something. Usually—almost always—what I can do turns up as a complete surprise.”

“You think I should pray about the thief?”

“I think you should bring anything that's making your heart heavy and worried to God, and let him hold it for you. There's a passage in Philippians that says, ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.' ”

“Guard my heart from what?”

“From worry,” Mom said. “Worry gets in our way. As soon as there's something we can do about the painting, if there's anything we can do, we'll do it. But until then, it's important to let go of worry. Do you see why?”

“Because then I'm not trusting God to work it out?”

“That's a big part of it,” Mom said. “Would you like to pray about this right now?”

“I'm not really sure what to say,” Maddie said.

“Remember, praying is just talking to God. You don't have to use fancy words. All you need to do is tell him what's on your mind. The way you'd tell a friend, or Mia, or me. Even though we can't see God, he wants to be as close to us as any friend would be.”

“It feels a little weird sometimes, talking to God when I can't see him. When he doesn't talk back.”

“We may not hear an actual voice,” Mom said. “But that doesn't mean God doesn't talk to us. Sometimes God gives us answers by causing an idea to pop into our heads, and sometimes his answers actually do feel like words we can almost hear. Other times, we don't hear anything at all. That's when we have to trust the very most. We have to trust that prayer matters, even when we don't see results right away.”

“I guess I'll try praying about this,” Maddie said, not feeling very sure at all.

“Good girl,” Mom said, kissing the top of her head. “I'm so proud of you, Maddie.”

Maddie closed her eyes and tried to think of how she'd explain the problem to a friend. Slowly, the words started to come. “God, I think I saw a man steal a painting today. I got in trouble for chasing after him, and it didn't feel fair. No one listened to me. Well, except Mom. And I feel like I should do something more to help, but I don't know what to do. So, maybe that's what I want to ask . . . If there's something I can do, will you help me figure it out? And if there isn't . . . I guess . . . help me let it go. So that Mia and Lulu and Miss Julia and I can all have fun. And Mom and Dad too. And thank you for letting us come to London to stay in this amazing hotel and see art and everything. In Jesus' name, amen.”

Maddie opened her eyes and looked at Mom. “Was that okay?”

“That was perfect,” Mom said. “Do you feel any better?”

Maddie stared down at the pillow and considered. “Maybe a little bit.”

“Do you want to go see if we can catch the end of Dad's story?” Mom asked, nodding toward the peals of laughter coming out of the girls' room. “Sounds like it's a good one.”

Maddie grinned, realizing it had been hours since she'd truly smiled. “Let's go!” She led the way back to the bedroom, back to her sisters, leaving as much of her worry behind as she could.

EIGHTEEN

E
arly the next morning, the girls and Miss Julia ate toast and berries. Then they loaded up into a cab and were off to the Tower of London. They'd decided to take the first tour at nine a.m. so they'd also have time to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.

“And we're really going to see crowns?” Lulu asked. “Real ones with jewels?”

“Yes,” Miss Julia said, snapping a photo of Lulu's wide-eyed expression for the travelogue.

“Ones that kings and queens wore,” Mia added. “I wish we could try them on. Do they ever take them out?”

“They use the crown jewels for coronations,” Miss Julia said. “So, when a new king or queen is named, they take out pieces from the collection for the ceremony. The crown jewels aren't just crowns, either. We'll see scepters and swords and necklaces and bracelets, and some of the most famous diamonds in the world.”

“I wonder if anyone will put my jewelry into glass boxes and look at them when I'm old,” Mia said.

“What, because we're royalty?” Maddie teased, remembering Mom's story about Sir Robert Peel.

“Well, we are Glimmer girls,” Mia said. “And that's nearly as good.”

“As fun, at least,” Maddie said.

“Glimmer girls, sparkle and shine!” Lulu shouted.

“Yes, but never leave out the most important part,” Miss Julia said.

“But most of all, be kind!” the girls shouted in unison.

Maddie pushed all thoughts of being a detective out of her mind. Today, she had decided to have a fun day no matter what. Soon, the cab pulled up to the curb at the Tower of London, which turned out to be a castle, not just one tower. High stone walls surrounded the fortress, with a wide stone bridge leading up to an iron gate. Miss Julia paid their admission, and then they gathered with a small group to listen to a man wearing a top hat with a red band, and a black and red jacket.

“He's called a yeoman or Beefeater,” Miss Julia whispered to the girls.

“What's that?” the yeoman asked. “Speak up, if you're going to speak at all. Well, actually, no. Don't speak. This group has paid top dollar for this tour, so we'll all keep our mouths shut and listen up. Got that?”

Maddie glanced over at Miss Julia, unsure whether they were really in trouble or if the man was joking. Miss Julia winked.

“Now, is anyone here from Australia?” the yeoman asked.

No one said anything.

“Now, now, speak up. Ignore what I said before,” he said, cracking a smile. “How about anyone from America?”

A few people raised their hands, including Maddie, Mia, and Miss Julia. Lulu jumped up and down as she raised hers.

“Love to see that national spirit!” the yeoman said, indicating Lulu. “How about anyone from Europe?” he asked. “There's no one here from France, now, is there?”

No one raised a hand. Maddie caught Miss Julia's eye and grinned, happy to be in the know about at least something.

“Anyone from France?” he repeated, looking for any offenders. “Good.”

Everyone laughed.

“Well, no matter where you're from, you're all welcome here at Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress. My name is Thomas. I'll be taking you on a tour of the tower and telling you stories. Stories, ladies and gentlemen, but not necessarily the truth.”

Everyone laughed.

Thomas, the yeoman, continued on, explaining the history of how the Tower was built. William the Conqueror defeated the Norman people, and they weren't happy about being defeated and having him as their ruler. He wanted a fortress to impress and dominate them. William's fortress started with the White Tower, which is part of the current Tower of London. Over time,
other kings added to the fortress. Sometimes it has been a palace, other times it has been a prison, and the Tower of London was even bombed during World War II. But after the war, the damage was fixed so people could continue to tour the grounds and see the Tower of London as it had been hundreds of years ago.

After Thomas had talked enough to fill Maddie's head twice, he told everyone to follow him, and they crossed the bridge and went through the gates. Inside the outer wall, they found another wall made up of a number of buildings. Thomas explained that Sir Isaac Newton had lived and worked in one of those buildings.

“A very important man. He invented gravity, you know,” Thomas said.

Mia nudged Maddie. They'd done a report together on Newton this year in school and had learned just about everything there was to know about gravity. Well, probably not everything there was to know, but a lot, anyway.

The group followed Thomas past the inner wall, where the tower grounds opened up to grassy grounds, and in the center, a stone tower.

“That's the White Tower,” Thomas said. “Home of the Crown Jewels.”

He led them around the Tower grounds a little longer and told story after story. Miss Julia clicked so many photos that Maddie stopped counting, and she let Lulu take a number of pictures too. Maddie liked the
way Thomas joked while keeping a completely straight face. Then, when he did smile, it was like the sun coming out on a gray day. Whenever he smiled, she couldn't help smiling too.

At the end of the tour, Thomas led them into the White Tower so they could walk through and look at the jewels. Maddie had been looking forward to seeing the collection, but she hadn't expected to feel so . . . awestruck. Even Lulu whispered the entire time they were inside the White Tower. The jewels on the crowns and swords glimmered and glinted in the light. Maddie thought about the people who had worn them, people who had been crowned king or queen. What made someone special enough to be made a queen? In England, you became a king or queen because of your family. Even being in the Glimmer family, Maddie knew that just because you were part of a certain family didn't mean you were a certain kind of person. She may be able to get up and sing with her sisters and enjoy the feeling, but she couldn't imagine what it would feel like if she was expected to grow up and be a singer like Mom or a producer like Dad.