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and her friends in our documentary.”
    Captain Greene practically choked on his coffee. “To prove the UFOs don’t exist?” he asked the TV producer.
    “Actually, just the opposite,” Izzy said. She smiledat me. “I confess, I’m an incurable eavesdropper, so I couldn’t help but overhear that you are some kind of detective?”
    Mayor Brody answered for me. “She is.”
    “ Amateur detective,” I pointed out. I was trying to maintain a guise of not having much experience, in case it ruffled anyone—but at the rate news was spreading about my sleuthing rep, I feared it was a lost cause.
    “So much the better,” Izzy said. “That’s the perfect touch. The camera will record your efforts to prove that the sightings are a hoax. The drama will be even more intense when the viewers realize, at the same time as you, that they aren’t. The detective bit gives more weight to the whole thing.”
    “Like I said before, I’m not interested.” I turned to ask Captain Greene about visiting the site, but he was already talking with someone else.
    “What can I do to convince you?” Izzy asked. I must say, I admired her persistence. It sure piqued my curiosity.
    “Why me and my friends, again?”
    “Like I told you earlier: You girls are young enough to appeal to our target audience; they’ll identify with you. The three of you will look good on-screen . . .”
    I finished her sentence for her. “And of course, there will be more drama when you convince me these hoaxes are real. But what if I don’t get convinced?”
    She wasn’t about to give up. “If you worked with us, you could move freely around some of the restricted areas—at least while the crew is around.”
    The woman was as dogged as I was. “You sure know how to play a person.”
    “That’s a big part of my job—convincing people to do something they think they don’t want to do.” She paused. I could tell she was waiting for my reply. I wanted to say no, but my need to get to the root of this mystery was too strong. The UFOs were a hoax, and in spite of what Izzy might think, I was going to prove it.
    “So?” she asked.
    “Okay, okay, you got me. I’m game. I can’t speak for George or Bess, though—we’re here together on vacation. If they don’t want to go ahead with the deal, then it’s off.” Of course, I knew Bess would jump at the chance to be on TV, and George would go along with the whole thing, if only because she was always a good sport in the end.
    “All right!” Izzy pumped her fist in the air. A second later she was all business. “I’ll have one of my people leave releases for you to sign in the morning. Part of my crew will be at the roadblock at the foot of the hill leading up to Brody’s Peak Resort. You can hook up with one of the camera teams there before lunch, if possible. It’ll give you a chance to get closer to the scene of your so-called crime.”

6
Booted Out
    I ’m sure the TV crew won’t bother with me,” George said the next morning after breakfast at the inn. When she looked up from signing her copy of the release Izzy’s people had left at the reception desk, relief was written on her face.
    “True,” Bess said, zipping up her fleece jacket. “Watching you fine-tune Winnie’s computer isn’t exactly the stuff of exciting television.”
    “Ah, but taping you shop—now that could make for some pretty hot TV drama,” George told her as we headed for the parking lot.
    “We’re going shopping?” I asked, looking at Bess.
    She brandished a Brody’s Junction flyer in my face. “We are not only in the land of the bargain clothingoutlets, we are also in the heart of major antiquing,” she informed us.
    I checked my watch. “Bess, we’ve already gotten a late start today. We might have to put off shopping until tomorrow.”
    “Not to worry,” Bess said, opening up her tourist map. “The shop I’m thinking of is just east of town, on the same road where the TV crew is