“We still need to get out, you guys!” said Akimi. “Hurry, floor. Do something!”
The eight tiles surrounding the glowing tablet also started to glow. First yellow, then orange, then purple.
“Our secret square,” said Akimi.
There was a series of clicks, and the tiles began folding up on themselves and retracting into the floor, opening up like an origami trapdoor.
“Look,” said Haley, “there’s steps.”
Mr. Lemoncello peered down into the hole at the well-lit staircase and tunnel. “My, my. Dr. Zinchenko has certainly cleaned things up since Mr. Loblolly was here.”
“Of course she did,” said Haley. “So we ‘can walk out the way bandits crawled in in nineteen six-ate.’ ”
“Hurry, everybody!” said Mr. Lemoncello. “I don’t want to be late to my own birthday party.”
Kyle led the way up the tunnel and brought his team (plus Mr. Lemoncello) into an empty basement filled with mannequins and cardboard boxes.
“This must be the cellar of one of the clothing shops in Old Town,” said Kyle.
“The Fitting Factory,” said Haley, reading a tag on a shipping crate. “It’s one of my faves.”
“And,” said Sierra, “back in 1968, it was the real dress factory that Leopold Loblolly and the Dandy Bandits used.”
“There’s some steps over here,” said Miguel, climbing a wooden staircase. “And a door.” He jiggled the knob. “Oh, man—it’s locked.”
Kyle looked up at the dingy casement windows, about ten feet above the cellar floor.
He couldn’t help grinning.
It reminded him of another game he’d won once. This time, he’d just have to reverse things a little.
“Help me drag over a couple cartons,” Kyle said to Miguel. “We can stack them on top of each other underneath this window.”
After they built a step unit out of boxes, Kyle climbed up and examined the window latch.
“Great,” he said.
“Don’t tell me,” said Akimi. “Another game?”
“Yep. There’s a combination lock—the kind with four wheels of random letters.”
“Warning,” said the voice.
“What?” said Akimi. “Dr. Zinchenko put loudspeakers in this basement, too?”
“This game will terminate in FOUR minutes.”
“Yo, open the lock, Kyle!” said Miguel.
“Hang on. It’s some kind of word game.”
“Is there a clue?” asked Haley.
“Of course.” Kyle read the tiny slip of paper taped to the glass. “ ‘Once you learn how to do this, you will be forever free.’ ”
Everyone started laughing.
This last puzzle was ridiculously easy.
“Ready, children?” said Mr. Lemoncello. “All together now!”
And they all shouted it at the same time: “READ!”
Kyle thumbed the wheels to spell R-E-A-D. The lock clicked. The window opened.
And this time, he didn’t need to shatter any glass to win the game.
Kyle and Mr. Lemoncello stood on top of the highest box and helped the others up and out of the basement.
When Haley crawled through the window frame, someone in the crowd that had gathered around the library for the game’s big finale saw her and started screaming.
“Look! It’s Haley Daley! She’s the first one out. She won! With just two minutes to go!”
“Nuh-uh!” Kyle heard Haley shout in her perky cheerleader voice. “I’m just one member of a super-amazing team. We’re all winners. Whoo-hoo!”
When Akimi climbed through the window, the crowd chanted her name.
“How do you people know my name?” Kyle heard her say. “Dad? Did you tell them?”
Sierra Russell was set to crawl out next.
“Mr. Lemoncello?”
“Yes, Sierra?”
“What time does the library open tomorrow?”
“For you, Sierra, nine a.m.!”
Smiling, she stepped into their hands and climbed out the window.
Kyle felt bad when Sierra stood up on the sidewalk. Who was out there to cheer for her?
But then he heard Haley shout, “Hey, you guys. You gotta meet our amazing new friend, Sierra Russell! She’s so smart, she could tell you who wrote the phone book!”
The crowd went crazy. “Sierra! Sierra! Sierra!”
“Okay,” said Kyle, “you’re next, Miguel.”
“And, Miguel,” said Mr. Lemoncello, “if your summer schedule permits it, I’d love for you to head up my team of Lemoncello Library Aides.”
“Thank you, sir. It’d be an honor.”
“And please invite Mr. Peckleman to join you.”
“But Andrew thinks this library is stupid.”
“All the more reason for him to spend time getting to know us a little better. Now, off you go!”
They gave Miguel a boost up and out the window.
The chanting outside grew even louder.
“Miguel! Miguel! Miguel!”
“You guys?” Miguel shouted. “This library is like a good book. You just gotta check it out!”
The crowd laughed. Kyle groaned.
“You’re next, Mr. Keeley,” said Mr. Lemoncello.
“Okay. Can I ask one last question?”
“Certainly. And I hope it won’t be the last.”
“Are you really going to put all of us in your television commercials?”
“Oh, yes. You’ll be quite famous.”
“Cool.”
“Indeed. Who knew spending time in your local library could be such a rewarding experience?”
Kyle smiled. “You did, Mr. Lemoncello.”
“And now you do, too.”
Kyle put his foot in Mr. Lemoncello’s hands and grabbed hold of the window frame.
“See you at the birthday party, sir!”
“Oh, yes. And you know what, Kyle?”
“What?”
“There might be balloons!”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Is the game really over?
Maybe not.
There is one more puzzle in the book that wasn’t in the story. (Although a clue about how to find it was!)
If you figure out the solution, let me know. Send an email to author@ChrisGrabenstein.com.
THANK YOU …
To R. Schuyler Hooke, my longtime editor at Random House, for his incredible patience, faith, and input on this project.
To designer Nicole de las Heras and artist Gilbert Ford, who made the book look so darn good.
To my wife, J. J. Myers, who is a terrific first editor.
To Ms. Macrina, librarian, and all the folks at P.S. 10 in Brooklyn, whose library gave me the initial inspiration for this story.
To Darrell Robertson, Gail Tobin, Amy Alessio, Erin Downey, Yanna Zinchenko, Scot Smith, and all the other librarians and media specialists I have met in my travels as an author, at public libraries and in schools. When I see how you inspire the love of reading on a daily basis, I realize you are much more amazing and incredible than Mr. Lemoncello.
CHRIS GRABENSTEIN is the coauthor (with James Patterson) of the number one New York Times bestseller I Funny. He is also an award-winning author of books for children and adults, playwright, screenwriter, and former advertising executive and improvisational comedian. Chris was a writer for Jim Henson’s Muppets and is a past president of the New York chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. He also cowrote the screenplay for the CBS TV movie The Christmas Gift, starring John Denver. He lives in New York City with his wife, three cats, and a rescue dog named Fred, who starred in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Broadway.
You can visit Chris (plus Fred and the cats) at ChrisGrabenstein.com. He also loves hearing from readers, so send your email to author@ChrisGrabenstein.com.
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