The Hunt for the Missing Spy by Penny Warner Page A

how large it was. She’d seen pictures on the back of pennies and five dollar bills, but nothing prepared her for this. The Lincoln Memorial was built out of marble, surrounded by columns, and decorated with lion heads, wreaths, eagle wings, and the names of the states. But the most impressive sight was Abraham Lincoln in his chair. Over sixty feet high, sixty feet long, and seventy-four feet long, the president was ginormous!
    Cody followed the others up the steps to get a better look at the statue of the sixteenth president. She had heard his hands were shaped to represent the ASL letters
A
and
L
so she checked to make sure. She was happy to see the rumor was true!
    After pausing to admire the memorial, the kids began searching the area for their next clue. They circled the monument several times before finally gathering at the steps.
    â€œAny sign of the clue?” Cody asked, glancing at the tourists visiting the monument to see if shespotted the stranger.
    â€œNope,” Luke said. “You guys?”
    The others shook their heads.
    â€œMom, do you know where the hidden clue is?” Mika asked as she headed down the stairs to her mother, who was talking on her cell phone.
    Mrs. Takeda held up her index finger, signaling, “Just a minute.”
    Mika waited for her mother, while the others sat on the steps of the memorial.
    Suddenly, Mrs. Takeda gasped. She looked pale. Something was wrong.
    The Code Busters got up and headed down the stairs to wait with Mika.
    â€œWhat’s up?” Luke whispered to her.
    Mika shrugged and stared at her mother.
    They stood, listening, but all Mrs. Takeda said was, “No . . . no . . . yes.” Moments later, she ended the call.
    â€œWhat happened?” Mika asked as the others looked on anxiously.
    Cody wondered if it might have something to dowith the man she thought had been following them. Had he been trailing the other groups, too? Had he done something? Hurt someone? Had the police caught him?
    Mrs. Takeda looked at the kids. “That was your teacher, Mrs. Stadelhofer,” she began slowly.
    â€œWhat did she want?” M.E. asked. “She said we have to stop the hunt and return to the Spy Museum.”
    â€œBut why?” Quinn complained. “This is fun! We don’t want to quit now. We’re ahead of everyone else.”
    Mrs. Takeda took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, kids, but we have to go now.”
    â€œMom, what happened?” Mika pleaded. “Please tell us!”
    Mrs. Takeda leveled her eyes on her daughter. “It seems that one of your classmates has gone missing.”
    â€œWhat? Who?” Cody asked.
    â€œA boy named Matthew Jeffreys,” Mrs. Takeda replied. “No one has seen him since the Spy Museum tour.”
    Whoa!
Cody thought.
Matt the Brat is missing!
    Then she wondered if the man who had been following them had something to do with Matt’s disappearance. Maybe she should have said something earlier.
    And now it was too late.

Chapter 8

    B y the time the Code Busters’ group returned to the Spy Museum, most of the other students were already there and on the bus. Cody spotted Ms. Stad standing next to the bus doors, talking on her cellphone. She was frowning and gesturing wildly.
    Cody had never seen her teacher look so worried.
    She gestured for the other Code Busters to follow her and headed over to see what was going on. Maybe the Code Busters could help. After all, theywere great at cracking codes and solving puzzles and finding missing treasure. Maybe they could find Matt.
    When they reached Ms. Stad, she ended the call and began talking to one of the Spy Museum security guards. His name tag read “Youngblood.”
    â€œThe police are on their way,” Ms. Stad said to the guard. “Now, are you sure you’ve searched the entire museum?”
    Mr. Youngblood nodded. “Every inch, ma’am. We’ve called an Adam Alert and closed the museum. No