California Schemin': Book One in the Malibu Mayhem Trilogy by Carolyn Keene Page A

Mallory own up to what they’ve done.”
    I nodded. “They can’t get away with trashing beaches and threatening people.”
    “What about our surfing lesson?” Bess asked. She pointed to Ty and Devon riding the waves. “The guys are probably waiting for us.”
    I shook my head as I watched Ty and Devon carve the same wave. “Are those two really that clueless about what’s happening on our beach?” I asked.
    “Woo-hoo,” Ty cheered to Devon. “The waves today are, like, totally sick!”
    “X-treme, dude, x-treme!” Devon shouted back.
    George rolled her eyes. “They’re clueless. Now let’s pay their girlfriends a visit.”
    We returned our surfboards to the shed and walked to the villa. This time the door was opened, not by the housekeeper, but by Bev, the producer.
    “Okay, here’s the scene,” Bev babbled to us. “You all come through the door and demand to see Mandy and Mallory.”
    “We were just going to do that,” I said.
    “Good,” Bev snapped. She then turned and yelled over her shoulder. “We’re taping here!”
    Before I could say another word, we were blinded by the lights.
    “I don’t care if we’re on TV or not,” George said as she pushed her way inside. “It’s time the world saw what those sisters are really about.”
    Bess and I followed George into the house. Unfortunately, the cameraman and soundman followed us. So did Mandy’s dog Peanut Butter, yapping at our heels.
    With Bev’s help, we found Mandy and Mallory lounging on a snowy white sofa that swept halfway around the living room.
    “I suppose you got our messages,” Mandy said coolly.
    “Your messages, huh?” George demanded. “So that voice mail and those lipsticky warnings were yours.”
    “By the way,” Bess told the sisters, “River Heights is spelled with an e .”
    The camera was rolling, but I no longer cared. I stepped right up to them and said, “I know you two are famous, but what gives you the right to do what you did?”
    Mandy jutted her chin out and said, “What gives you the right to steal our boyfriends?”
    The three of us stared at the Casabians.
    “Huh?” George asked.
    Mallory began to sob. “We saw you surfing with Ty and Devon. And flirting with them too.”
    “Especially that redhead over there,” Mandy said,pointing at me. “Falling off her surfboard so Ty could help her.”
    “We were not flirting with them!” I insisted. “Okay, maybe Bess was—but it was only to get information.”
    “What information?” Mallory sniffed.
    “On the mess that was made of our beach,” I explained. “We thought the guys might know something about it.”
    From the corner of my eye, I could see the director motioning the camera and boom mike closer to me.
    “You still think we did it?” Mandy demanded. “Seriously, do these look like hands that would have anything to do with garbage?”
    To prove their point, Mandy and Mallory held out perfectly manicured hands.
    “What about the messages?” I demanded.
    “You had to have been trespassing to write on Nancy’s surfboard,” George said.
    Peanut yipped as he jumped on Mallory’s lap. Stroking the dog’s silky fur, she said, “We called in the first message. That was easy.”
    “The other message was harder,” Mandy said. “We had to wait until you left the house last night. That’s when we snuck onto your beach and wrote the message on the board.”
    “So you were trespassing!” George said.
    “Only for a few minutes,” Mandy said. “Then we went to an awesome movie premiere in Westwood. But now that we know you’re not after our guys, we won’t be doing stuff like that anymore.”
    “Gee, thanks,” George said sarcastically. “You’re just lucky we didn’t go to the police or call Stacey.”
    “That would have been awkward,” Mallory said.
    I was glad we got Mandy and Mallory to come clean about the messages. But there were still unanswered questions about the trash and that horrific needle.
    “Can I ask you