“Mason.” Avery sighed. “We’ve been over this. If we break your dad out, he’ll just be a fugitive on the run for the rest of his life.”
I grimaced in frustration. “Then . . . then . . . we’ll take Talbot to the police,” I said. “We can make him testify that my dad is innocent.”
Talbot merely laughed. “You think what I just said is going to stand up in a court of law? Talk of magic and boons?”
I looked back to Avery for support, but she shook her head. “He’s right,” she whispered. “We need something more concrete if we want to save your dad.”
I knew she was just trying to make our case as strong as it could be, but it felt like a betrayal. After all this time believing that my dad was innocent, I was one step away from proving it.
“Guys,” Fluffball said. “Those Magix agents have a detector out. They’re going to spot our nifty newspaper in about ten seconds.”
Avery flipped open the atlas and grabbed a toothpick from the little tray with the salt and pepper shakers.
“Wait,” I said. “I’ve got one more question before we decide to take him or leave him.”
“Well, you better hurry!” squeaked Fluffball. “They’re heading this way!”
I leaned across the table. “Where can I find evidence?”
Talbot swallowed, his eyes flicking past the edge of the newspaper I was holding. “The Cleaner,” he finally said. “The Cleaner was the one who robbed the bank, and he stole the boons from the church, too. If you can locate him, he’ll have proof that will exonerate you from Magix, and your dad from prison.”
Avery reached across the table and touched Talbot’s shoulder. Fluffball rubbed his head against her forearm, and I lowered the newspaper and grabbed her arm.
“There they are!” shouted Agent Nguyen, spotting us.
“Take your hand away from that boon!” called Agent Clarkston. “I’m not going to tell you again, Miss Lawden.”
Lawden? I shot a confused glance at Avery just as she touched the toothpick to the atlas.
Chapter 23
FRIDAY, MAY 15
8:59 A.M.
A RANDOM PARK, GEORGIA
The world around us suddenly changed. The air was hot, and we definitely weren’t in the diner anymore. We were outside in a shabby-looking park with scrubby grass. Without a table or benches to support us, Avery, Fluffball, and I crumpled to the ground. Miraculously, Steve Talbot did not fall. He remained paralyzed from the necktie, seated in midair.
“We have to act fast,” Avery said, yanking the truth shoe off Talbot’s foot and stuffing it into her top hat. “Magix Headquarters will have picked up the atlas signal. Agents will be here any second.”
“He called you Miss Lawden . . . ,” I muttered, folding up the newspaper in my hands.
“We’re somewhere in Georgia,” she carried on, completely ignoring me. “We leave Talbot here, while you and I transport ourselves to a more defensible location.”
“What?” Talbot cried. “We had a deal! You can’t leave me like this.”
“We won’t,” said Avery, reaching out and ripping off the necktie. He collapsed to the ground with a groan.
“As in . . . Frank Lawden?” I continued, my gut tightening with nerves as I dared say it out loud.
“Just hold on to me,” Avery said, toothpick hovering over a new spot in the atlas. Fluffball jumped onto her foot, but I just stood there, confused. She jabbed an elbow into my side and touched the toothpick to the map.
Suddenly, we were somewhere else, a car whizzing past and honking its horn. We jumped onto the safety of the sidewalk, and I noticed that Talbot was no longer with us, left behind for Magix agents to gather up in Georgia.
“There’s a bus depot not far from here,” said Avery, shutting the book. “We’re about fifty miles from your house. If we hurry, we can catch a bus and be gone before the Magix agents follow the atlas’s signature.”
“No,” I said. My mind was reeling. First with the news I’d just received about my dad, and second with the name Agent Clarkston had called Avery as we’d escaped. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me who you are.”
“Oh boy,” mumbled Fluffball at our feet. “Here comes the drama.”
She shrugged defensively. “I’m Avery.”
“Lawden,” I said. “Why did he call you that?”
Avery shifted uncomfortably, glancing from side to side as if hoping for a way out of this conversation. “He’s my dad,” she finally said. “Frank Lawden is my dad.”
I was speechless for a second. Then I said, “Ha! I knew your last name wasn’t Lobster.” But she looked really upset. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to know,” she said. “I didn’t want you to think that I had special privileges because my dad is the director of Magix.”
“Just because your dad is in charge, doesn’t change the fact that you’re a great detective,” I said. “You did that on your own. The training, the apprenticeship . . .”
Avery held up her hand. “There is no apprentice detective program at Magix.”
“What?” I said.
“I’m not really a detective.” She stared off down the street, unwilling to look at me. “I don’t have any training or experience.”
“So, you lied to me?” I said. “You told me whatever it would take to get my trust so I’d escape with you?”
“Well, I’m sorry I rescued you from having all your memories wiped. How rude of me!”
“Uh-oh,” interjected Fluffball. “She’s getting snarky now.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me the truth from the start?” I asked. “I would have gone with you anyway.”
“Listen,” she snapped. “You don’t know what it’s like to live in your dad’s shadow. I want to work for Magix Investigation when I grow up, but even if I do make it through detective training, people will just say that I got there because of my dad. Just for once, I wanted to do something on my own. Something that really mattered. When I found that note in my locker, I thought that was the answer. Freeing you and proving you innocent would show everybody at Magix that I was legit.”
That stung. So it wasn’t about saving me from having a lifetime of memories wiped away. It wasn’t about discovering the truth to uphold justice. Avery was only using me to prove how important and smart she was. . . .
“Well, I think you got what you need,” I said. “We’ve got tons of useful information. Isn’t it time to go running back to Daddy?”
“What are you talking about?” she retorted. “I can’t go back now. There’s a mole at Magix Headquarters.”
“Look at you, using big fancy detective words,” I said. “Probably makes you feel cool.”
“Really?” said Fluffball. “You don’t know what a mole is?”
“Of course I do,” I barked. “It’s a little rodent that burrows underground.”
“It means there’s a spy,” Avery said, “or someone who is on the inside but working against the organization.”
“Probably your dad,” I taunted, slapping the rolled-up newspaper against my open palm.
“It’s not him,” said Avery.
“Think about it,” I said. “He’s at the top of the command chain. He could have easily delivered the note to your locker, knowing that you’d chomp on the bait as hard as you could. And we know the note was written by the same person who robbed the boon church and the bank.”
“It’s not him,” Avery said again, her voice growing more tense.
“Your dad was the first person I saw in headquarters, and he was the one who led the discussion in my trial,” I carried on. “He could have made sure that the evidence against me looked convincing, and—”
“It’s not him!” Avery bellowed.
“Just because he’s your dad?” I shouted back. “If you think my mom is a suspect, then your dad should be our prime suspect. At this point, I don’t even know if I can trust you. What if you’re just stringing me along to look like a hero so yo
u can get into your stupid Investigation program?”
Avery clenched her jaw, a look of obvious anger on her face. “I risked everything to help you,” she whispered through her teeth.
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have,” I spat. “I would already have this solved if I was on my own.”
She threw the magic atlas down on the sidewalk between us. “Have a nice life.” Then she turned and stalked away.
I glanced at Fluffball, who looked back and forth between us, twitching his ears. “Sayonara, kid,” he said, waving a paw at me. “When in doubt, a rabbit always follows the less stinky path.” And with that, he hopped to catch up to Avery.
I stood there fuming for a few moments, totally expecting them to turn around. But they didn’t. Without looking back even once, Avery reached the bus depot, scooping up Fluffball as she moved out of sight around a corner.
I breathed out in a slow sigh. So, I was really on my own.
I folded the newspaper one more time and stuffed it into my pocket. Stooping, I picked up the atlas, noticing the toothpick poking out the top like a makeshift bookmark. Thumbing through the pages, I knew exactly where I wanted to go. Magix agents would be tracking the signal of the atlas, but hopefully Talbot would slow them down in Georgia. Besides, it wouldn’t take me long to do this. I’d been saying it all along.
It was time to free my dad.
Chapter 24
FRIDAY, MAY 15
9:57 A.M.
COSFIELD PRISON, INDIANA
I waited outside the tall chain-link fence at the prison for nearly an hour before I got a glimpse of my dad. He was with a bunch of other inmates, using up their time outside.
I slowly lowered the newspaper boon I had been shielding myself with, feeling confident that even the security cameras couldn’t see me while it was in use. I wondered about trying to use the atlas to get myself inside, but it wasn’t precise enough. I had decided to leave the heavy book on the ground a safe distance from the fence.
My heart began to race as I thought about what I was about to do. My dad was going to be so proud of me. He probably wouldn’t know what to say. I knew we’d have a lot of catching up to do, even without all the magical stuff. I had only visited my dad three times since he’d been moved to this prison six months ago. It was a far drive from our house, and Mom was always so busy with her jobs. . . .
What was Mom going to think when I showed up with Dad? She was mad at him, but I knew she still loved him, too. And once I explained about how the Cleaner had framed Dad, Mom wouldn’t be able to hold anything against him.
Finally, I saw my dad move off on his own, sitting next to the basketball court while a few other inmates got a game started. Basketball was never really Dad’s thing. But he did like baseball.
Letting go of the paper with one hand, I fished the baseball out of my pocket. I’d been holding it safe since Gran’s. I’d have to act fast now. If everything went as planned, I could get to my dad in just two throws.
My first toss was almost straight up, hard as I could. It arched just enough, coming down on the inside of the barbed wire–topped fence.
And just like that, I was inside the fence, instantly reappearing in the spot where the baseball landed.
Scrambling, I picked up the ball once more and threw it toward the basketball court. It landed just behind my dad, and poof. I was standing there, feeling nervous and excited at the same time.
I quickly held up the newspaper, its magical effect camouflaging me from unwanted eyes. “Hey, Dad,” I said, trying to sound casual.
He turned, glancing in my direction. I lowered the newspaper, suddenly becoming visible to him. My dad’s eyes grew bigger and bigger until I was afraid they might pop out of his head.
“Mason!” he cried. “What on earth—”
“Shh!” I said, gesturing for him to join me behind the newspaper. “I’m here to take you home.”
“What?” He stood abruptly, his face twisted in confusion. “How did you get in here?”
“We don’t have very long,” I urged.
He finally ran forward, catching me in a huge hug. It was nice, and I felt all warm inside, but we really didn’t have time for that.
I pulled away, raising the newspaper to shield both of us. “Pick up that baseball,” I said, pointing at it with my foot.
“Mason, you can’t be out here,” he said, glancing over his shoulder. “You could get—”
“We’re fine for the moment,” I said. “No one can see us while we’re behind this.”
“A newspaper . . . ,” he said skeptically.
“It’s actually a magical item called a boon,” I said. “That baseball is, too. It’ll transport you to wherever you throw it.”
He scrunched up his face, probably wondering why I was goofing around with make-believe stuff at a time like this.
“I’m serious,” I said. “Try it.”
Reluctantly, my dad gave the baseball a timid underhand toss. It landed a few feet away, and my dad was suddenly standing over there.
His look of surprise doubled. “What the—”
“There are lots of different boons,” I said, quickly moving over to him. “I can explain more on the way.” I scooped up the ball and pitched it to him. “Catch!”
I lifted the newspaper into position again as he caught it. Neither of us were transported anywhere. Fluffball had explained that the baseball didn’t work if it was caught by another person. It was a fact I was relying on to get us both out. Dad would go over the fence first, then throw the ball back to me. I’d catch it and throw it over to transport myself.
Just a boy and his dad playing ball and escaping from prison. Nothing to see here.
“Come on!” I said, moving toward the fence.
“Magic, Mason?” My dad shook his head. “There’s no such thing.”
“Seriously?” I shrieked. “Didn’t you just teleport? How do you explain that? And you saw how invisible I was behind this newspaper.”
“I don’t know.” He held up his hands. “It’s just a lot to wrap my head around.”
“Magical items are all over the world,” I explained. “It’s just, most people don’t know what they really are, so they can’t access their power.”
“So, it’s only magic if you know about it?” he said.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Everybody else just gets some luck rubbed off.”
He scoffed. “I could have used some luck a year ago.”
“You had it,” I said, suddenly remembering the reason he was framed. “Up until the day before you got arrested.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Look, I know you’re innocent. I’m working with a Magix apprentice detective . . .” I trailed off. “I guess she isn’t really a detective, but I was working with her. And we found out who framed you.”
“You did?” he cried.
“Well, we don’t know who he is or where to find him,” I said. “But we know he’s called the Cleaner. Anyway—the Mastermind wanted to get you arrested because you had a powerful reversal boon that you were planning to give to me for my birthday.”
“Mason . . .” Dad scratched his chin. “What are you talking about?”
I grunted. “It’s a lot. I know. Let’s just get out of here, and I can explain more once you’re free.”
Suddenly, my dad threw the baseball back to me. Instinctively, I caught it, letting go of the newspaper with one hand. But the look on my dad’s face wasn’t full of excitement like mine. In fact, he looked sad.
“I can’t go with you, kiddo,” he said, voice quiet.
“What?” It felt like something was squeezing around my heart. “Of course you can. We can get out of here.”
He reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. “It’s not that simple.”
“Yes, it is. We just have to throw the baseball . . .”
“Where would we go?” he said. “I’d be a wanted man. That wouldn’t be freedom. All it would do is put you
and your mother in danger.”
“I don’t . . . I don’t understand.” I was fighting back tears. “You don’t want to come with me?”
“Of course I do,” my dad said. “More than anything, I’d love to come with you. But it’s not right.”
“But you’re innocent!” I cried.
“I know,” he said softly. “And I’m glad you know it, too. But that doesn’t change what everyone else thinks.”
“We can get proof,” I said. “The Cleaner . . . If we can find him, we might be able to get proof that you’re innocent.”
He smiled sadly. “That would be nice.”
I gritted my teeth. I couldn’t tell if he really believed in the magic or not. Did he think I was just making all this up?
“Hey!” someone shouted from across the yard. I turned in time to see a guard moving toward us, his gun drawn. Lost in the conversation, I had forgotten to hold up the newspaper. Now my cover was blown.
“Go, Mason,” Dad said. “If you find out the truth, you know where to find me.”
The guard shouted at me again. “Put your hands where I can see them!”
I looked at my dad. “The present,” I said. “The one you were going to give me for my birthday last year . . . What was it?”
This time there was a little happiness behind my dad’s smile. “It’s something you’ve wanted for a while. I was worried Mom wouldn’t let you have it, so I had asked my buddy Carson to hang on to it until your birthday. But things changed . . .”
“Mr. Kilpack?” I asked. “What was it?”
“Carson still has it,” Dad answered. “Go find out.”
Another security guard was joining the first. “I’m not going to ask again! Put your hands up!” They were closing in on me quickly.
“I love you, Mason,” my dad said.
“Love you too, Dad.” Then I pulled the newspaper up in front of my face and heard the two guards gasp in shock at my disappearance.
I ran for the fence, keeping the boon paper between the guards and me. When I was close enough, I let go for just one second so I could throw the baseball. It landed outside the fence, transporting me away from trouble. But also away from my dad.
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