The Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase

by Wendy Mass

  “Trust me,” Miles said, “if I was related to someone who lived in a candy factory, I’d be living in a candy factory!”

  “Agreed,” Daisy said. “So let’s gather some stuff to test all our DNA against each other’s.”

  “What kind of stuff?” Philip asked. “Is this really necessary?”

  She nodded. Although truthfully, it probably wasn’t. But she wasn’t going to be able to think straight if she had to worry about AJ all over again. She handed out Q-tips to the boys and instructed them how to run the swabs over the inside of their cheeks. “Do one for the cat, too,” she said. “I want to make sure the computer can tell the difference.”

  Philip stared at her. “Seriously? You want me to swab a cat?”

  “I’d do it myself, but that cat hates me.”

  “I’m beginning to see why,” Philip grumbled, but he went back to his bed to find Aurora anyway.

  “And if anyone has an item they know someone else sneezed on or bled on or licked, bring it up, too. I can get DNA off of it.”

  “Something someone sneezed on?” Logan asked, scrunching up his face. “Why would we have that?”

  “Who knows what boys carry around with them,” Daisy said. “Lots of DNA in snot.”

  “Gross,” Logan muttered.

  Miles handed her the envelope his card had come in. He’d been using it as a bookmark. Might as well donate it to the advancement of science.

  “Perfect,” Daisy said. Then she called back to Philip, “Hey, bring some of those envelopes your fan letters came in.”

  Philip paused. He hadn’t known the others knew about those letters. “Wouldn’t hurt to have some privacy in this place,” he grumbled, grabbing them from under his mattress.

  “Hey, being adored by the candy-loving public is nothing to be ashamed of,” Daisy said, plucking the envelopes from his hand. She tossed the letters back onto his bed and stacked the envelopes on the table.

  One by one, the boys handed her their swabs. She placed them into the slots, just the way she’d done with her and AJ’s samples previously. Aurora wasn’t giving it up easily, though, even for Philip. Daisy could hear them wrestling as she carefully sliced off a section of each envelope’s seal. She didn’t bother with the envelopes that had premoistened, self-sealing flaps. Once the samples had been deposited into their slots, she had one thing left to do.

  “Ouch!” AJ said as Daisy stepped behind the driver’s seat and yanked out more hairs. “Are you kidding me?” He rubbed at the spot furiously as his other hand gripped the wheel harder. “You’re going to make me bald before my time!”

  “Quit complaining,” she said. “I totally took it from the other side this time.”

  She returned to the lab and examined her work. “Okay,” she announced, “we have five envelopes, three boys, one girl, one grouchy teenager—”

  “And one pissed-off cat,” Philip said, handing her the swab. She in turn handed him a Band-Aid and a tube of antibiotic ointment for his scratched-up hand.

  “AJ,” she called up to him. “When’s our next stop, so we can run this test?”

  “Right now,” he replied, switching off the engine.

  “Now?” she repeated. They all turned to face the front windshield and were surprised to find themselves in the back of a crowded parking lot. The lone building at the far end of the lot looked like an old theater, with thick white columns in front and a marquee across the top. It was too far away for anyone other than Daisy to read the name on it.

  “Are we parking here for Ain’t She Sweet?” Logan asked. “I thought our visit wasn’t until later this afternoon.”

  “We’re not here for the candy store visit,” AJ said, stretching his legs. “We’re here to see a show—more specifically, we’re here to go backstage after the show.”

  “Say what now?” Daisy asked. “You’re taking us to see a magic show?”

  Logan and Miles lit up. “A magic show?” Miles shouted. Logan was already slipping on his shoes. “You’re the best chaperone a kid ever had!”

  Daisy crossed her arms. “You want to take us to see a magician who calls himself the Great Shoudini? He’s obviously trying to rip off Houdini. We have a mystery to solve, remember?”

  AJ grinned that grin of his that made all the girls (except for Daisy) swoon. “That’s why we’re here.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  AJ reached over to the table, picked up the contract, and pointed at the names. “Sam is gone. Henry won’t talk to us. This Frank fella is clearly antisocial. That leaves this one.” He tapped the paper over Evy’s name. “That’s who we’re going to meet right now.”

  Their eyes widened. Philip dropped the tube of ointment he’d been clutching. “You found out Evy’s going to see the Great Shoudini?”

  AJ shook his head. “I found out Evy is the Great Shoudini!” He laughed at their shocked expressions. “You should see your faces!”

  “I get it!” Miles shouted. “The word she plus Houdini equals Shoudini! Evy is the female Houdini!”

  “How did you find this out, AJ?” Daisy asked, admittedly impressed.

  “I did a little research on her from the back bedroom last night.”

  “Looks like some of us have privacy,” Philip muttered.

  Ignoring the comment, AJ said, “It turns out she recently came out of retirement to do a few shows. Had to drive two hours out of our way, but we’ll still make it to the shop on time.”

  “Does she know we’re coming?” Daisy asked.

  “She does not.”

  “How will we get backstage, then?” Miles asked.

  “Please, you’re with me. Of course we’ll get backstage.”

  Daisy rolled her eyes, but it was true. AJ could talk his way into or out of practically anywhere.

  “What are we waiting for, then?” Logan asked, standing by the door. “She knew my grandfather! She has answers—I just know it!”

  “Easy, tiger,” Daisy said. “She did sign that contract to keep quiet. Getting information out of her is going to require a delicate touch.”

  “Your delicate touch, I suppose?” Philip asked.

  “Yes. I can talk to her woman to woman.”

  “Who’s the other woman?” Philip asked, then immediately backed out of range of Daisy’s kick.

  “We’ve probably missed two more tricks by standing here,” Miles said. “Let’s go!”

  Daisy turned back to the lab. “You guys go watch the show. I’m going to stay here and run these tests while I have the chance. Let me know when the show’s over, and I’ll meet you backstage.”

  “Me too,” Philip said. “I could use the quiet to practice.”

  “Suit yourselves,” AJ said, closing the door behind him. Logan and Miles were already halfway across the parking lot.

  Daisy turned to Philip. “Don’t like magicians, eh?”

  “Just wanted a break,” he said, grabbing his violin case and notebooks. He saw no need to tell Daisy that magicians freaked him out. He didn’t like feeling tricked.

  AJ hadn’t made up the bed in the back, so Philip did that first and then sat down to think. A bark outside the door let him know the cat wanted in. He slid it open and watched as Aurora went straight for the bathroom. Lovely. He closed the bathroom door to give her privacy. He’d tried to bring back the brief memory he’d had of a woman with brown hair streaked with gray, and an orange cat, but it kept slipping away. The trip was going quickly. He knew if he had any chance of finding her, he had to act soon. Finally alone, he pulled his mother’s passport out of the violin case and opened it.

  On the other side of the door, Daisy double-checked that she had written a number on each envelope and that each one matched the correct slot. She had rebooted the entire system, so if there had been a glitch before, that should no longer be the case. Satisfied that everything had been set up correctly, she pressed the button to start the processing. The screen began counting down from twenty-two minutes. Not too
long to wait at all. She pulled out her vid com to see where they were on the map, then tucked it back in her pants.

  “I’m going for a run,” she called out to Philip. When he didn’t answer, she added, “There’s a park across the street. I’ll let you know when it’s time to go into the theater.” She waited for a reply but didn’t get one.

  Philip heard the door close but barely noticed it. His mother must not have updated her passport when she got married, because it still had her maiden name on it. Karen Rickman. His parents had only been together for nine years before she died, after all.

  He couldn’t take his eyes off the passport picture. He’d only given it a quick glance when he’d first found it. She looked so young. Not much older than Andrew, although of course she was, even when the picture had been taken. He looked below the picture, expecting to see the address of the apartment Reggie had shown him. But the address wasn’t in Spring Haven at all. It was in River Bend, a larger town about an hour away.

  He pulled out his vid com and did a search for the address. In seconds, the sales records for the last four people to own the property came up. Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Rickman were first on the list. He stared at the screen. He’d found them so quickly. Well, not them, but a record of them. The name, at least. He called out to Daisy, remembering a second later that she’d left.

  He bet he could track them down. It might not even take more than a few minutes. Instead, he closed the vid com, took out his violin, and began to play.

  “Mom?” Daisy said, stopping short. A guy biking behind her had to swerve to avoid colliding. “Sorry!” she called out to him. When her vid com had buzzed, she figured it was AJ. Her mom’s face on the screen came as a shock. They’d spoken a few times when she was on the camp gig, but not since.

  “Hi, honey!” her mom said, waving from a corner booth in a restaurant. “Enjoying your road trip?”

  “Um, just doing a dead drop with AJ,” she replied, not sure what to say.

  “Uh-huh,” her mom said with a slow nod. “Look, I only have a second, but I just wanted to tell you I miss you and I’m proud of you. Did Grammy tell you we have a family gig coming up next month?”

  Daisy shook her head.

  “Yup. Heading out west, all of us.”

  “All… meaning you and me and Dad and… my brother?”

  Her mom frowned. “Are you still on that?”

  “Just tell me!” Daisy insisted.

  “Honey, listen.” Her mom pulled the screen closer to her face. Daisy could see some new thin lines that she wouldn’t dare point out. “In a few more years you’ll find out everything you want to know. Until then, for your own good, can’t you forget I said anything?”

  Her mother looked so earnest and vulnerable that all Daisy could do was nod. “I can try. Not promising anything, though. Might help if you told me some other secret so I don’t feel so bad.”

  Her mom looked thoughtful, then said, “I’ve got one! When AJ was little, he used to sleep with a stuffed unicorn named Corny. He would sing to it before he fell asleep.”

  Daisy laughed. “That’s pretty good.”

  “Now, get back to those friends of yours. You look stressed. Have some nice hot tea with cinnamon to relax.”

  Tea? How old did her mom think she was? Sixty?

  “And be careful crossing the street. That’s a blind curve.”

  “Hey! How do you know where I am?”

  Her mom smiled. “You’re my baby girl. I always know where you are. That, and the GPS I implanted under your fingernail when you were born.” Daisy’s horrified expression made her mom laugh. “I’m kidding! I picked up the map from your vid com coordinates. Plus I can see over your shoulder.” She waved one more time, and the image winked out.

  Daisy smiled at the dark screen. No matter how many miles were between them, her mom always made her feel loved. She hurried back to the RV (careful to look both ways before she crossed). She meant what she’d said. She really would try to put the brother thing aside. She’d check the test results just to complete the project, and then would put it to rest for four and a half more years. But after that all bets were off.

  She checked the time. Still six minutes left. Her vid com buzzed again, and a message from AJ popped up. D & P, show just ended. Tell box office lady you’re Evy’s great-niece and nephew. They’ll let you up to the dressing room, where we will meet you in the hall.

  Philip hopped out of the RV, clearly having gotten the message, too. “Ready to solve the mystery?” she asked.

  At first he seemed surprised by the question, then recovered quickly and nodded. “I’ve decided something,” he said as they hurried across the parking lot toward the theater. Daisy would have come back with something silly, but he sounded so serious that she didn’t dare interrupt.

  “I’ve decided that even if my grandmother is alive, I don’t want to find her. Anyone who would just drop out of her grandchildren’s lives after they lost their mother isn’t someone I want to know.”

  Daisy didn’t say anything at first. Then she admitted, “I just let my brother go, too. Or the idea of him. If there even is one.” She sighed. “Relationships are hard.”

  “They shouldn’t have to be,” he said. And it may have been a gust of wind, or the fact that the pavement wasn’t entirely level, or that Daisy tried to avoid a pothole to her left, but for a second their hands brushed against each other, and they both felt better.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  You wouldn’t believe it!” Logan gushed as Philip and Daisy joined him and Miles outside the door with a big silver star painted on it. “Evy was amazing! She pulled these doves out of nowhere, and then she put them in this cage, one by one, and then—”

  Miles, his face flushed, jumped in. “And then she made the whole cage disappear right into thin air! With all the doves inside!”

  Logan pushed forward again. “And she had a guy assistant! You know, instead of how the magician is usually a man with a female assistant?”

  “She’s one of the only professional female magicians,” Miles added, waving the show’s program. “Isn’t that amazing?”

  Daisy agreed that it was, in fact, groundbreaking.

  “Man, it was great,” Logan said, shaking his head. “You guys should have seen it.”

  The door opened just as Philip said, “I don’t really like birds.”

  AJ stuck his head out. “Come on in. She’d like to meet you.”

  Miles and Logan rushed in, clutching their programs in sweaty hands. Vases filled with flowers covered every flat surface. Assistants rushed around packing up crates and boxes with colorful scarves and sparkly things, and Daisy was pretty sure she spotted a plastic skull.

  The Great Shoudini sat at her makeup table in front of a large mirror with lights all around it. She looked up when they entered, but her hands continued shuffling a deck of cards so fast the kids could barely follow it. She wore a sequin-covered dress and a black cape pinned at the neck with a red rose. Her white hair flowed halfway down her back, and she’d kicked off a pair of high-heeled shoes at her feet. She still wore her stage makeup, which made her look even more otherworldly. Daisy couldn’t take her eyes off the woman.

  Evy’s eyes roamed over their faces until they landed on Logan and settled there. If it were anyone else, he would have thought she was staring at his scars. And maybe she was a little, but she was seeing other things, too.

  A slow, broad smile spread across her face. She tossed the cards onto the table and held out her arm for him to approach. He hurried forward. “Dear boy,” she said, putting her hand on his arm. “When your friend here told me Samuel Sweet’s grandson was at my show, I could hardly believe it. Seeing you makes me believe Sam found some kind of time machine and returned to me.”

  Logan beamed. “When I knew him, we didn’t look that much alike!”

  She laughed. “No, I wouldn’t think so. But you have his eyes, and his spirit. I can see it bursting out of you.”

&n
bsp; Daisy knew what she meant. She’d felt the power of Logan’s spirit the first time she touched him.

  One of Evy’s assistants approached the chair. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we only have twenty minutes to clear out before the next performers show up. And our train leaves in an hour.”

  Evy nodded. She leaned closer to Logan as if to tell him a secret. “That’s show biz for you. The stage isn’t even cold yet. But I don’t do this for the glory. I do it for the wonder on people’s faces.” She waved a hand in front of the rose at her neck, and it turned from red to white!

  Logan and Miles gasped and clapped joyously. She leaned back and smiled. “Yes, like that!”

  Behind them Philip cleared his throat. Logan knew he had to act quickly. “Um, Ms. Shoudini, I…”

  “Please, we’re old friends. Call me Evy.”

  “Um, okay, Ms. Evy… these are my friends Miles, Philip, and Daisy, and you met our chaperone, AJ. We have a favor to ask you.”

  Miles pulled out the contract from his back pocket and handed it to her. “Please,” he said, “we need to know where to find the beans.” As she took the paper from him, he blurted out, “And you were amazing on the stage. I still can’t figure out where those doves came from!”

  No one spoke again as they watched Evy slowly realize what she was holding. Her hand shook as she rested it in her lap. “I… I thought this was destroyed. I saw Sam put it in the fire myself.”

  “It looked a lot worse before,” Daisy said, speaking for the first time. “I was able to recover most of it. Modern technology, right?”

  But Evy wasn’t amused. She frowned. “I don’t suppose you can forget you saw this?”

  They shook their heads. “It was in a box of my grandfather’s old papers,” Logan explained. “Franklin Griffin sent it.”

  She blinked hard. “Frank? Frank sent this to you?”

  Logan didn’t seem to know what to say, so Miles came to his rescue. “It was tucked in the back of a small notebook,” he explained. “He may not even have known it was in the box.”