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That’s why I got it so cheap at the used office supply place.” He scanned Sidney’s desk and picked up a large paper clip. “All right, ladies. Time for your first lesson in breaking and entering.”
    “What?” Giulia and Sidney said in unison.
    “Lock-picking. All good investigators know how to do this—unofficially, of course. First, open the paper clip so you have a bigger half-loop and a smaller half-loop. Break it in the middle.” He snapped the thin metal in two. “Now open each loop into an L.”
    Sidney reached for the pink phone-message pad, but Frank stopped her. “If you stop watching to write it down, you’ll miss the technique. Okay, see this little hook at the end where I broke the clip in half? You stick that end into the bottom of the lock so the L points up.”
    He pushed the smaller half of the paper clip into the jagged opening using his left hand, working it till it stopped. “See how I’ve placed it below the section that holds the wafers?”
    “Wafers?” Sidney said.
    “The pins, in some locks. The pieces of metal that the key fits into. Now you bend the pick down. If I did this right, I’ll get torque.” He applied pressure to the paper clip, and it popped out of the lock. “Good. That’s what happens when you do it wrong.” He reinserted it and pushed down. This time the metal stayed in place. “Good. See how I turned the L out of the way of the lock? Now take the other half.” He manipulated it in his right hand until the straight end pointed toward the file cabinet. “Slide this end—not the broken end with the hook—under the wafers.”
    Giulia stood on tiptoe to see over his shoulder. “How do you tell when it’s in the right place?”
    “You can feel the wafers. Here, take it.”
    Giulia grasped the second half of the clip. “I don’t feel anything.”
    “Move it in and out. Yes, like that. Can you feel the pins shift slightly?”
    “Yes. Okay, now I get it. Here, Sidney.”
    When Sidney had mimicked Giulia’s and Frank’s motion with the straight paper clip, Frank took it back.
    “Here’s the tricky part. You’re going to want to practice this at home. A bike lock or a plain old padlock is fine. What you have to do with the bottom piece is turn the keyway clockwise, but without interfering with the pins—wafers. The pick does that.” He glanced over his shoulder. “You both watching? Okay. Keep your left index finger on the torque half and hold the pick half at the rounded bend. Now you jog the pick up and down, fast but not rushed; you want to feel the wafers move. At the same time, you put clockwise pressure on the torque half. It’s like driving a stick.” After a few more wrist movements, the lock clicked and the cylinder popped out of the top corner of the file cabinet.
    “There.” He removed the paper-clip pieces.
    “Mr. D., that was awesome.” Sidney took the broken metal from him and turned the pieces over in her hands.
    Giulia applauded. “I am officially impressed. However, I do not know how to drive a standard transmission.”
    “I do,” Sidney said. “Dad taught me on the roads in the cemetery near our farm. It’s super-easy, Giulia. I could teach you in like half an hour.” She handed her a large paper clip and dropped one in her knapsack-sized purse. “Does that mean you’re getting a car?”
    Giulia tucked the paper clip in the inner pocket of her much smaller purse. “Soon, I hope. Much sooner than I’ll need to break into a house or steal a bicycle with this new skill.”
    “Always be prepared. You never know when you might encounter a stray file cabinet in need of help.” Frank peered into his part of the office. “That’s right. I didn’t bring coffee because we went to Jimmy’s.”
    Giulia opened her mouth to offer to run downstairs to Common Grounds, but the Cosmo fairy sitting on her shoulder shut it for her.
    “Eh, I drink too much caffeine anyway. Sidney, any messages?”
    “Oh, yes. Sorry. I forgot when I