“I don’t know,” said Ivy.
“That’s the problem,” said Simon. “There are too many unknowns right now. We have to find out what’s happening.”
“Our first priority is to keep my mom out of here,” said Amanda.
“Nuh uh,” said Simon. “Our first priority is to get Thrillkill and Fern back.”
“And Gordon,” said Ivy.
“And Despina and Hill,” said Amanda. “And I guess Jeffrey.”
“I thought you just said the first priority was to keep your mom out of here,” said Simon. “Now it’s Despina and Hill. You can’t have it both ways.”
Amanda was too exhausted from sparring with Simon, worrying about the new teachers, and her accident to fight. In fact, she was so tired she’d forgotten all about Nick. Until, of course, she realized that she was too tired to think about him and started to think about him again. And then she couldn’t shut her brain off.
3
Good News and Bad News
As soon as Amanda pictured Nick’s face watching her from the porthole of The Falls—a disturbing image if there ever was one—she remembered that her mentor, the great action film director Darius Plover, hadn’t shown up on the previous Friday as he’d promised. It was now Wednesday. That meant he was five days late and she hadn’t heard a word. At first she’d figured his plane had been delayed and had turned her attention to other things, but now she concluded that something had to be wrong.
This wasn’t the first time someone had failed to show up at the beginning of a school term, although the last time the no-show had been Editta. After a conspicuous absence, the girl had finally arrived on the third day, distracted, uncommunicative, and mysterious. As it turned out, she’d been mooning over Nick, who at the time was thought dead by just about everyone.
But Darius Plover was different. He was an adult, and he’d specifically told Amanda he’d arrive on Friday so they could start working on his new film about the search for King Arthur artifacts. Even though she was mostly a detective these days, Amanda hadn’t lost her passion for filmmaking or her ambition to be the world’s best director, and when Darius had offered her this chance of a lifetime, she’d naturally said yes, despite her heavy schoolwork load.
She knew entertainment people had complicated schedules and things came up at the last minute, but surely Darius should have texted her by now. She’d texted him a few times, trying not to be a nuisance but at least making an effort to stay in touch, but she’d heard nothing. Now she was feeling alternately abandoned and worried. She began to wonder whether she had imagined him offering her a job at all. Or maybe he was toying with her, although in all the time she’d known him, he’d never showed any inclination to lie.
The search for Camelot was actually humming along. Ever since the kids had discovered a silver King Arthur coin in David’s father’s lockbox and it had been declared genuine, Arthur-related activity had been heating up. Professor Also had turned the coin over to the government, since that’s what you were supposed to do with archaeological treasures, and they were apparently sending some investigators to set up a dig near Penrith. Ivy’s father, Liam Halpin, who taught archaeology at Bournemouth University, had been tapped to lead the investigation. He was worried sick about his daughter Fern, as was Ivy, but he had accepted the gig in the hope that, since the dig was near where Fern had disappeared, he might be able to find her himself.
It was the silver coins and what they might represent that had attracted Darius. Archaeologists had searched for Camelot before, but they’d never found anything as significant as a coin that dated to the proper timeframe and bore the face of what was likely to be Arthur. The project was incredibly promising and he wanted to document every aspect of it. The fact that he had invited Amanda to help him had turned the whole discovery into a fairy tale.
Except that the prince was missing and—wait a minute. Amanda’s phone was ringing and it was showing Darius’s number!
Amanda just about pounced on the phone. “Darius!” she yelled into the mic. “Where are you?”
“Hullo, Amanda.” It was indeed Darius. “I, uh, I’m in Windermere. I’ve only just got in and I need to crash. Phone you tomorrow?”
“Yes, of course,” she said. “Are you—” She caught herself. It wouldn’t do to be nosy.
“Bye,” he said without any explanation.
He must really have been tired. He sounded completely wiped. Probably jetlag. Who knew what he might have been through? For all she knew, he’d been held up for days in some Podunk airport waiting for a broken plane to be repaired. Or maybe he’d been a hostage, or the plane had crashed, or—or not. She’d have heard something on the news. Well, if he was going to be mysterious that was his business. He was alive, he was in Windermere, and everything was fine.
But when she met Darius the next day he was a mess. He looked completely disheveled and seemed distracted. She’d always thought he looked a bit like the actor Viggo Mortensen. Now, in person, he looked more like how she pictured Captain Ahab from Moby Dick—old, faded, and tempest-tossed. She wasn’t sure if he just looked different in pictures and on Skype, or if something had aged him.
Sitting with her on the very same bench in the little park where she had contemplated Nick’s return, Darius did not volunteer any information about where he’d been or why he was so late, and she didn’t ask. Instead he launched right into a discussion of their plans.
“So,” he said, “I imagine you have classes until about three in the afternoon. Is that correct?”
“Starting next week, yes,” she said. She noticed that he had a long white scar on his left forearm and another one by his left eyebrow. She wondered how he’d got them.
“Then at this time of year we’ll have a couple of hours in the afternoons and all day on the weekends—subject to your classwork, of course.”
She hadn’t thought about her schedule. His assessment was correct, but it made her feel panicky. With her classes, homework, the search for Thrillkill, and various other pursuits claiming her time, when would she actually work on the film? She’d just have to stay up late and get up early. She’d done it before and she could do it again. It was a good thing she hadn’t got back together with Holmes. She certainly didn’t have time for a relationship.
“That sounds about right,” she said. “Is that enough?”
“I have some ideas,” he said, but he didn’t elaborate. She realized he hadn’t answered the question. Then suddenly he said, “Blixus Moriarty.”
Amanda was shocked. What did Darius Plover know about Blixus, and why would he bring him up?
“Excuse me?” she said.
“Moriarty. Have they found him?” He scratched at the arm scar.
“I don’t know who you mean,” she said.
“What are they teaching you here in England?” he said. “You can’t tell me you don’t know who Blixus Moriarty is.”
Of course Darius didn’t know that Amanda was a detective. He didn’t know that Legatum was a school for detectives, and having been sworn to secrecy, Amanda was not about to let on that she knew anything about detectives, criminals, or crime fighting.
“Sorry. The name sounds familiar but I can’t place it.”
“Amanda, you are a filmmaker,” he said. “Surely you’re familiar with Sherlock Holmes.”
“Yes, of course,” she croaked. This was getting awkward.
“And Professor James Moriarty? Blixus is his great-grandson. He’s the most infamous criminal in the country.”
“Oh, that Blixus Moriarty,” she said. “Yes, of course. Now I know the one you mean.”
“If you’re not familiar with him, I suggest you brush up,” said Darius. “For all you know you could run into him out here in the Lake District. He was last seen here, you know.”
“No,” said Amanda, feigning ignorance. “And he’s dangerous, you say?”
Darius laughed. “Yes. So don’t go wandering around the countryside by yourself. He could be lurking anywher
e.”
“No, I wouldn’t,” she lied. Amanda went all over the place by herself. She also knew Blixus quite well at this point. She just hoped Darius didn’t know anything about Nick.
“And that son of his—what was his name—Nathan? I hear he’s actually alive. Everyone thought he died in that factory explosion. But I suppose you wouldn’t know anything about him. Just be on the lookout for strange boys about your age. Will you do that?”
If he only knew. But there was no reason he’d find out. She wasn’t going to help Nick, and she wasn’t going to see him again. There was nothing tying him to her.
“I understand that the archaeologists arrive at the site where the coins were found tomorrow, is that correct?” Actually, there was more than one coin. It was just that Blixus had the rest. He’d got them from his henchman, Crocodile Pleth, when the underling had stolen them from the farmer on whose land they’d been found—the farmer Blixus had murdered so he could search undisturbed.
“Yes,” she said. “My friend Ivy’s father is the lead investigator.”
“Do tell,” he said. “Then you have a bead on him already.”
“A bead?” she said before catching herself. She was looking downright ignorant. First she hadn’t heard of Blixus, and now she didn’t know what a bead was—in that context, of course. Which was frustrating because she was anything but dumb. Maybe he would regret taking her on and fire her before they’d even started.
“Why don’t you introduce me?” he said. “I’ll meet him anyway, but the personal connection is best.”
When Amanda’s friends learned that Darius Plover had come to see her they just about went crazy. She had kept her association with him secret for a long time, and if he hadn’t phoned when she was with Simon and Clive they probably would never have found out that she was working with him. Of course now they all wanted to meet him, which was to be expected, but there was the issue of Legatum’s secrecy to consider. The locals thought the place was an ordinary boarding school, but there was always the chance that a student or a parent (never a teacher) would let something slip, or some nosy Parker would put two and two together and that would be the end of them. So Amanda was rather hesitant about introducing them. But the fact that Ivy’s father was involved meant that she was entitled to do so, and Simon and her friend Clive Ng thought they might have something to offer. She wasn’t sure what that would be but they hounded her so much that she gave in. That left Holmes and Amphora. Amanda sighed. All Darius needed was to be inundated by a bunch of teenagers. Not that he wasn’t used to it, but this wasn’t the time and it was embarrassing.
But when the meeting did occur the next day, it wasn’t as bad as she’d feared. When the kids met Darius they all went speechless, except for Amphora, who gushed in typical fashion.
“Ooh, Mr. Plover, I just love your film ‘Avatar.’ I saw it three times.”
“Shut up,” mouthed Simon, elbowing her. “That was James Cameron.”
Amphora hissed at him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Then she said, “And ‘Thelma and Louise’ is my favorite. I just love that scene where they go sailing over the cliff. Did a real car actually go off the edge there or was that a special effect?”
Now it was Amanda’s turn to poke her, which she did by stepping on Amphora’s foot. “Ridley Scott,” she said in a stage whisper.
Amphora pressed her foot upward to dislodge Amanda and said very quietly, “You don’t know everything.” Then she faced Darius again and smiled sweetly. Holmes grabbed her hand and tried to lead her away from the little circle, but she glared at him and he let go.
Darius seemed too tired to protest. He simply said, “I’m glad you like my movies” and turned to Ivy. “Your father is the lead investigator on the Camelot project, is that correct?” He was a bit gruff but Ivy didn’t miss a beat.
“Yes, sir,” she said. “Liam Halpin.”
“Amanda tells me you’ve been on digs with him,” said Darius.
“Yes, sir. We found a peat bog mummy.”
“Well, then,” said Darius, “how would you like to come along tomorrow?” causing both Simon’s and Clive’s jaws to drop. Holmes smiled and Amphora narrowed her eyes. Ivy, who was standing next to Amphora, kicked her.
“Ow,” said Amphora.
“Muscle spasm?” said Ivy.
Amphora huffed and leaned over to Holmes. “How does she know?” Holmes just shrugged. All the kids had attempted to emulate Ivy’s ability to see without seeing, but so far no one had succeeded.
“I’d be honored,” said Ivy.
“Eight o’clock, then?” said Darius.
“We’ll be there,” said Amanda, smirking at no one in particular.
“Say, isn’t that your mum?” said Holmes when they returned to Legatum.
Sure enough, there was Lila, and she was coming straight toward Amanda and her friends. Click, click, click went those high heels of hers, this time a pair of pink Jimmy Choo pumps that made her look almost normal sized. Lila was almost as short as Amanda, which didn’t give her daughter much hope in the height department. She fervently wished she were as tall as Amphora, who was a good five foot seven. Then maybe she’d be able to see over tall people in elevators.
But height was not the issue at the moment. The only reason Lila could have been there was that she had come for an interview, which meant that Sidebotham was seriously considering hiring her. And that was not good.
“Amanda, darling!” Lila called out from way down the hall. Two students who were walking by winced and covered their ears. “I’ve the most wonderful news.”
“Uh oh,” said Amanda. Miraculously, no one rolled their eyes. But they did start sneezing because apparently Lila had changed perfumes and the new scent was so strong that it permeated the entire hallway. It wasn’t pleasant either.
“Sweetheart,” said Lila when she had reached the little group, “I’m going to be your teacher. Isn’t that fabulous?” She showed her cosmetically whitened teeth and glanced from one kid to another. Ivy, Holmes, and Simon were trying not to sneeze. Ivy, of course, had a very acute sense of smell, and she seemed to be suffering more than the others, as was poor Nigel, who did sneeze, repeatedly. Amphora, on the other hand, was sniffing the air and trying to stick her face through the smell so she’d get perfume on herself. There was no accounting for taste.
“Um, that’s wonderful, Mom,” said Amanda, trying not to gag. She would need an entire package of gingersnaps after this to keep herself from hurling.
“Three days a week: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday,” said Lila breathlessly. “Of course I’ll be spending the rest of my time in London with Banting.” Banting Waltz was Lila’s new flame, following her separation and impending divorce from Amanda’s father, Herb Lester. Amanda hadn’t met him yet, but Professor Scribbish had warned her that he was not a good person. Apparently he bribed juries and planted evidence. She was not about to tell her mother though. That would just drive her further into the man’s arms. Lila could be incredibly contrary and monumentally stubborn. Amanda was worried, however.
“Of course I’ll be teaching History of Detectives,” said Lila. “That’s the most important course at the school. And I must tell you that I will not be teaching the way that Also woman did. Her methods were completely inadequate. The only way to understand our forebears is to become them. We’re going to be doing a lot of role-playing in this class. It’s not about your mystique. It’s about the personalities, struggles, and achievements of the detectives who came before you.”
Amanda couldn’t believe her ears. Was this the same woman who had told her a million times how frivolous filmmaking was? Didn’t she realize that role-playing was exactly what actors did?
“Now,” Lila continued, “if you work hard, someday other youngsters will sit here and emulate you. But all this mystique nonsense? Completely premature. I don’t know what that woman is thinking.”
“Um, Mom,” said Amanda, “that sounds a lot like
filmmaking.”
“Now, Amanda, don’t start that again,” said Lila. “You know perfectly well that filmmaking is nothing but smoke and mirrors. History is real.”
Amanda threw up her hands and said, “Uh huh.” Fortunately Lila didn’t see her because she was staring at Ancillary Darktower, who was clomping down the hall.
“Oh my,” she said. “What a stunning man,” and moved to follow him. “Now don’t forget,” she yelled back at the kids. “Monday morning, bright and early. And Mr. Binkle, no fedoras. We’re not interested in who you think you are. You will be studying Hercule Poirot and will disappear into the role.” Then she power walked until she reached the giant, click, click, clicking all the way.
4
Peacock-nip
Before she was to meet Darius and Ivy the next morning, Amanda decided that she just had to get a look at the peacock that had collided with her. She was still worried about it. If anything had happened to it she’d never forgive herself. Perhaps it had crawled off somewhere to nurse its wounds, or even die!
She got onto her skateboard and went back to the scene of the crime. There, under a maple tree, she saw a beautiful all-blue peacock—even more striking than the usual version, and quite different. She’d never seen anything like it. Instead of having a dark blue breast, it was blue all over—a magnificent turquoise like the kind you find in semi-precious stones, but deeper and more electric. It was dazzling. And there wasn’t just the one peacock. There were at least five of them, thank goodness none the worse for wear, fighting over a piece of paper.
It was quite a scene. All five peacocks were jumping, pecking, running, and screeching, attempting to get hold of the paper. What was really strange, though, was that despite the violent way they went after it, it didn’t seem to tear. It flew up in the air, got stomped on by sharp peacock claws, crumpled, and changed shape, but it never ripped. Amanda wondered what it was made of that was so strong.
Amanda Lester, Detective Box Set Page 110