F
inally!” Xander nearly danced with impatience as his mother came in with a box from the bakery. “It's about to start!”
It was just over a week since Alice had been discovered in the hidden room in the Borogovian mansion. The definitive DNA test had come back, and there was no doubt that Miss Jenny and Gemma, not Alice, had the blood of the royal family of Borogovia in their veins.
The producers of
Talented Brits
knew that if someone who had been in the news so much sang on their program, the number of viewers would be enormous no matter how good or bad a singer she was, so they told Alice she didn't have to do the live audition. Now, the show was going to start in five minutes, and Xena and Xander were tornâsee their friend sing on live
TV or watch Miss Jenny being crowned in the Borogovian capital?
“Scoot over,” their mother said. Their father joined them on the couch, and they were so crowded they could hardly breathe. But nobody minded.
A troupe of jugglers took the stage on
Talented Brits
, so Xena clicked the remote. Pre-coronation ceremonies were being shown on the international channel. “Oh, I forgot to tell you,” she said. “Miss Jenny called while you were out.”
“Really?” Their mother sounded pleased. “About to be crowned, and she makes a phone call? She's a calm one!”
“Very,” Xander said. “She'll be a good queen. What did she want?”
“She said that Alice's aunt confessed that she always suspected she and Alice weren't related to the royal family of Borogovia, and the letters confirmed her fears. She had to have the crown to make the coronation legal, but when Jasper failed to get it, she was going to go ahead with it anyway and hope that the Borogovian people would accept the coronation.”
“Well, that clinches it.” Xena clicked the remote again. “Oh, look!” Alice was taking
the stage. She looked small in the spotlight until she began to sing. When she reached the end of the Borogovian national anthem, the crowd was on its feet. Alice, her cheeks pink and her eyes shining, took bow after bow.
“Quick! Let's look at the coronation!”
Miss Jenny, a gleaming crown on her head, was addressing a crowd in a huge, sparkling hall. She was speaking Borogovian, but Xena and Xander didn't need to read the subtitles. They knew that she was making a passionate speech about Borogovian independence.
Xander, his mouth full of muffin, glanced at Xena. Silently, she high-fived him. They had not only solved a case, but had also helped a friend and ensured that a tough little country would stand on its own feet.
School had started again on Monday, and Alice hadn't been there to sing the solo in the school concert. Xena and Xander Holmes didn't mind, though. It had been a great spring break!
Copyright © 2011 by Parachute Publishing, L.L.C.
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eISBN 9781466825802
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Barrett, Tracy.
The missing heir / by Tracy Barrett.â1st ed.
p. cm.â(The Sherlock files ; 4)
Summary: Xena and Xander Holmes, an American brother and sister living in London, use clues from their ancestor Sherlock Holmes' casebook to help classmate Alice Banders, who goes missing following the announcement that she will be crowned queen of Borogovia after her thirteenth birthday.
ISBN 978-0-8050-8047-6
[1. Mystery and detective stories. 2. Missing personsâFiction. 3. PrincessesâFiction. 4. IdentityâFiction. 5. Brothers and sistersâFiction. 6. London (England)âFiction. 7. EnglandâFiction.] I. Title. PZ7.B275355Mis 2011 [Fic]âdc22 2010041012
First Editionâ2011