"In the height of Lake Chickadee's tourist season, a spate of home invasion burglaries begins making front-page news. Jan and Elaine discover that someone has left a gun behind in the tearoom. The gun appears to be the same one the newspaper reported as used in the break-ins. But why would someone leave that weapon behind, yet not try to rob the place? Or did they? Worried that their neighborhood is being threatened by a dangerous thief, the cousins set out to find the villain. What they discover goes far beyond anything they imagined! Meanwhile, Jan struggles to say good-bye to Bob, and Archie continues his pursuit to learn more about the beautiful but mysterious painting that the cousins found at the flea market. " -- Page [4] of cover.