Amanda Lester, Detective Box Set

by Paula Berinstein

  “No,” he said. “Any ideas?”

  “We need to narrow down the field to plants the peacocks like,” she said.

  “Stupid,” said Holmes. “I can’t believe I forgot about that. Sidebotham pulled out all the good stuff and put in plants they hate. But if that’s the case we’re too late.”

  “Not necessarily,” said Amanda. “Do you still have your database?”

  “The one from my mum’s data? Sure. And by the way, I fixed the bug.”

  “Fantastic! Can we mark every plant peacocks actually like and then scan the garden for only those plants?”

  “Amanda, I could kiss you,” said Holmes, and almost did. Then he looked up at the windows that faced the garden again and stopped himself.

  “How long will this take?” said Amanda.

  “Not long at all. There’s no peacock food field in the database, but I can add one and input the plant list we found earlier in about half an hour.”

  “Yay!” said Amanda. “You know, Scapulus, I don’t think my brain is working too well. I should have known how to do this better.”

  “Me too,” he said. “When I’m around you I don’t always think clearly.”

  “That has to stop, you know,” she said. “We’re detectives.”

  He sighed. “I know. But can’t we have a little fun too?”

  Holmes was true to his word. In half an hour they were back outside with his tablet, scanning planting beds, and within another ten minutes they had found a half-eaten plant behind the outbuilding outside the kitchen. It was a peacock favorite: lettuce.

  When they analyzed the sample in the lab, they weren’t surprised to find that there were remnants of poison on it. Oddly, it wasn’t a poison normally found in gardens, but one more likely to be used around boats. And then they really did have to talk about Nick.

  Amanda was horrified that the evidence surrounding the peacock poisoning pointed to Nick. If he had been the one to do it, his good boy act was not to be trusted, which meant that nothing he’d told her could be believed. He probably wasn’t even trying to divorce his father, although if he wasn’t, she had no idea why Balthazar Onion would have been on the deck of The Falls.

  She told Holmes, “The only thing I don’t understand is why. Did he do it out of spite, or is there a practical reason for eliminating those birds?”

  “It has to be practical,” said Holmes. “He must know about the ink, and there must be some strategic reason for keeping us from making more.”

  “If that’s the case,” said Amanda, “I have no idea what that would be.”

  “Me either,” said Holmes. “But it’s clear now who did it.”

  Amanda hesitated. He was right, but to her chagrin she was still resisting the idea. Finally, after battling with herself she said, “Yes. It’s obviously him.” She couldn’t even say Nick’s name.

  “We have to find him,” said Holmes.

  “The police have looked through all those tunnels and they haven’t found a thing.”

  “He’s out there,” said Holmes. “It’s just a matter of time. Meanwhile . . .” He gave her a puppy dog look. “Come to the chapel.”

  “Oh, Scapulus, I don’t know.”

  “Five minutes.”

  What could it hurt? She guessed it was okay but she felt she needed a moment to process everything they’d just said. “All right, but you go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “Don’t be long.”

  Holmes left the lab and Amanda looked out the window. The autumn leaves were a riot of color. Fall never looked like this back in L.A. Most of the trees there were evergreens, although a few, such as the sweet gums, burst into candy colors around Thanksgiving each year.

  So this was it for Nick then. His idea of hiding in plain sight was about to backfire. The chances of the detectives seeing him on the boat or in town were just too great. And with him still trying to thwart them, they’d never consider him worthy of becoming one of them. They’d throw him to the wolves, and she couldn’t say he didn’t deserve it.

  It was weird that they hadn’t already—found him, that is. He’d have to leave the boat now and then to buy supplies. He’d be exposed then. And she knew sometimes he went out on the deck. He’d be visible from there as well. How was it that no one had seen him? She certainly had. And she wasn’t the only person from Legatum who went near the place.

  If that was the case and he’d managed to escape notice this long, was it possible that Nick was in league with someone from the school? It had happened before. The detectives were always worried about moles infiltrating their ranks. Even though they had instituted extra security measures since Mavis, Nick, and Mrs. Dump had slipped their notice, nothing was ever airtight. Maybe the confederate was even the one who had poisoned the peacocks.

  Who could it be? Darktower seemed the obvious choice, although he was putting up a pretty good front, worrying about defending logic and protecting the detectives. But he was weird and she wouldn’t put it past him. There were other new teachers as well. Any one of them could be more than they seemed. And without the Punitori, who were especially adept at covert actions, anything could be happening.

  Then again, something else might be going on. Perhaps Blixus had paid the local police, or even someone at Legatum, to look the other way. Perhaps a student was sympathetic to Nick and was protecting him, another girl like Editta, or a boy who admired him. That was always a possibility, although Amanda wasn’t aware of anyone at Legatum who liked Nick other than her. But something had either kept the detectives from seeing him or from doing something about him if they had. What was it?

  There was another possibility. Maybe Nick had something on one of the detectives, or one of the students, and they were protecting him. Who could that be? She didn’t know everyone’s dirty secrets, so it was impossible to say. Off the top of her head, the only one she could think of who had dirty secrets was Nick, so that didn’t make sense. Unless . . .

  What if Nick were being blackmailed by someone who had seen him? Perhaps someone had made a deal not to expose him. That would mean Nick would have to give them something in return. She didn’t think handing some boy his Explosions! game would do it. It would have to be something much more valuable than that. What did Nick have to trade? The only thing she could think of was Blixus’s location, or Hugh’s, but if he’d given a detective that information, the Moriartys would have been arrested. More of the living crystals? Perhaps, but those were so delicate that they wouldn’t last long outside their natural environment, and they probably would have died before he’d had a chance to offer them.

  When she was inside the cabin of the boat, she hadn’t seen anything likely. Of course she’d been woozy at the time, so she might not have noticed. Still, she supposed she at least had to give Nick credit for saving her. If he hadn’t had a clear view of the peacocks’ gathering place he never would have been able to, so that was lucky. The boat had a nice view, and she could see him looking out the window often. Windermere was so scenic and—

  Hang on. Nick could see the peacocks. That meant he could see them fighting over the Bible pages. Nick was naturally curious, so he’d probably have gone to see what all that was about. Which meant he might have found part of the Bible, or most of it even. Which would definitely be something to trade. Perhaps he’d given that up in exchange for someone’s silence. But who, and how did they know he had it? Perhaps they’d seen him pick it up in the first place, and—

  And then she knew. Who had turned up with another page from the missing Bible? Who had been evasive when she’d asked him where he’d found it? And who had tried to make her believe he wasn’t aware of what he had?

  Fuming, Amanda marched down to the chapel, tore aside the yellow tape, and made her way to the far end where Holmes was standing. He smiled and opened his arms.

  “You manipulated me,” she screamed. “You purposely kept Nick and me apart.”

  Holmes looked stunned. “What are you talking about?
”

  “Don’t play dumb. You know full well what I’m talking about. You saw him with that page and you made a deal with him.”

  Holmes became visibly angry. “You’re darn right I did,” he said, shocking her. Just because she’d thought she’d figured everything out didn’t mean she’d accepted it emotionally. “I had to do something to keep him away from you. He’s dangerous.”

  “You didn’t do it for that reason and you know it.”

  “I did. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” He almost sounded sincere. Well she wasn’t going to fall for his lame excuses.

  “You just want me for yourself, Scapulus. You can’t stand the thought of me with him.”

  He got even angrier and said, “So you admit you love him?”

  She was absolutely livid now. “I admit nothing. I admit that you think I love him.”

  “You’re ruining your life, Amanda.”

  “Who do you think you are, my father?”

  “Of course not. I just want to protect you.”

  This made her even angrier. She could take care of herself and he knew it. Why was he trying to make her seem weak? “You know what the problem with you is, Scapulus? You want to own me. Well, you don’t and you won’t.”

  He got very quiet for a moment, almost said, and said, “I don’t want to own anything, Amanda. I just want to be with you.”

  “Aha! So you admit that’s the real reason you made this deal with Nick.”

  “No, I—”

  “I’m not your property. You can’t tell people not to associate with me.”

  “I didn’t.” He’d lost the fire now. It was obvious he knew she was slipping away from him.

  “Yes you did. I knew it was weird that I hadn’t heard from him.”

  He looked shocked. “You knew he was there and you didn’t turn him in?”

  She sighed. “It’s complicated.”

  He turned away. “People always say that when they don’t want to admit they’re doing something they shouldn’t.”

  Suddenly there was a noise. “What was that?” said Amanda.

  “You mean that cracking? I don’t know. A badger.”

  The two of them looked around but didn’t see anything. Then there came another crack, louder this time.

  “What’s that dust over there?” said Amanda, eyeing a cloud that was emanating from the side of the chapel.

  “What dust?”

  “Over there by that pillar,” she said.

  Holmes looked in the direction she was pointing, then grabbed her hand and yelled, “It’s collapsing! Run!”

  They ran as fast as they could, but the chapel was an obstacle course. Holmes led Amanda through the maze as best he could, but he hit one, two, three dead ends, and the noise was growing louder. He let go of her hand and pushed her ahead of him. The two separated and raced for the door.

  The cracking grew louder and louder, and the dust billowed around them, and still they hadn’t found their way out.

  “Scapulus!” Amanda screamed.

  “Just run!” she heard his voice from far away.

  “I won’t leave without you,” she cried.

  “Go!” he yelled.

  Amanda turned around and looked, but there was too much dust and she couldn’t see him. He was somewhere behind her—that was all she knew. She stood rooted to the spot.

  Suddenly he was there next to her, wheezing and panting. He grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction of the exit. She stumbled and he caught her. And then he fell.

  “Scapulus!” she cried, trying to pull him up. Things were falling now, behind them.

  “Go on,” he said.

  “No! Not without you.”

  “I’m fine,” he said. “Just get out of here.”

  “Why aren’t you getting up?” she said.

  “I twisted my ankle.”

  “Here, hold onto me.” She reached down and grasped him by the hands. “Don’t put your weight on it. Just hop if you can.”

  Holmes held on tight and Amanda helped him get to his feet. The far end of the chapel was collapsing at an alarming rate. Both of them were choking and wheezing. He leaned on her and hopped on his good foot.

  “I’ve got it,” he said. “Please just go.”

  “No,” she said. “We’ll make it together.”

  As they made it through the door and into the hall of the north wing, they heard a long crash, and the rest of the chapel collapsed behind them. Amanda pulled Holmes into a supply closet and said, “We have to get cleaned up or they’re going to know we were there. We’ll be expelled.”

  “Agreed,” he said, still leaning on her.

  “I’ll text Simon,” she said, pulling her phone out of her pocket. It was a good thing she always carried it. “He’ll bring you some clothes.”

  “What about you?” he said, wincing.

  “I’ll just slip on one of these maid’s uniforms and sneak up to my room.”

  He squeezed her with the arm he had around her. “You think of everything. Thank you.”

  But he couldn’t get to her this time. She was furious that he’d lied to her, and livid about what he’d done to Nick. “I’m still mad at you.”

  “I know.”

  “Just take care of that ankle. Make up a story for Dr. Wing.”

  “I’m getting pretty good at that.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “You are.”

  23

  Charlotte

  The collapse of the chapel briefly eclipsed Amanda’s discovery of the deal between Holmes and Nick, but only briefly. Now that she knew Nick was aware of the Bible pages, she was desperate to find out if he had more. Just because he had given Scapulus one of them didn’t mean he hadn’t found a bunch. She had to search The Falls.

  As she was sitting with a cup of tea contemplating how she might accomplish such a feat, Professor Kindseth came into the dining room and sat down next to her. She hadn’t seen him for a while and was glad to have a chance to visit. She still wasn’t sure what was going on with him, but since he hadn’t made any more weird comments about the wretches, she figured whatever it was had passed.

  They had just got onto the topic of cinematography in French film when Professor Kindseth’s phone sounded. He pulled it out of his pocket and gasped. There on the screen was a wretch, obviously standing in a tunnel, and she was looking right at him.

  “Hello, Ken,” she said, and then the screen went blank. Professor Kindseth went as white as a zombie and dropped the phone.

  Amanda was shocked. “You know her?” she said.

  He nodded weakly.

  “Who is she?” said Amanda.

  “Oh, God,” he said.

  “What, who?”

  “Charlotte,” he croaked.

  So he was the Ken of Ken and Charlotte from the love letters Amphora had found. And this was Charlotte? A zombie?

  At that moment Simon walked in. He was no dummy. He instantly knew that something was wrong. He looked from one of them to the other. “What’s going on?”

  “It was Charlotte,” said Amanda. She was completely freaked out.

  “What was Charlotte?” said Simon, taking the phone from Professor Kindseth and flipping around. The teacher didn’t even try to stop him.

  “She’s a zombie,” said Amanda. The image had occupied the screen for a split second, but she really had resembled a brain-eater. She looked terrible. What would Professor Kindseth want with a mess like that?

  “You mean the Charlotte?” said Simon. “From the letters?” Amanda nodded. “So this is Ken then. Sorry, Professor. Don’t mean to be too familiar.”

  Professor Kindseth made a noise in the back of his throat. It sounded like he was about to cry but was trying not to. Amanda didn’t know what to say, but Simon didn’t hold back.

  “Do you know where Thrillkill is, Professor?” Kindseth shook his head. “But you know this Charlotte?” Kindseth nodded. “And she has Thrillkill?” said Simon. Kindseth made a te
rrible noise and then said, “I think so.” Simon lost whatever shred of patience he might have had. “Why don’t you ask her then?”

  “It’s not that simple,” said Kindseth so softly that Amanda could barely hear him.

  “Why not?” said Simon harshly.

  “Yeesh, Simon,” said Amanda. “Give him a chance to explain.”

  “I don’t know how to reach her,” said Kindseth, looking down at his shoes.

  “Just use the number from her call,” said Simon.

  “Can’t,” said Kindseth, snuffling. Amanda was embarrassed for him. He was a teacher, after all. He wasn’t supposed to cry in front of students. In fact, considering that he was supposed to be a detective he wasn’t supposed to cry at all.

  “Why not?” said Simon. It was as if he were the teacher and Professor Kindseth the student.

  “She won’t answer.”

  “So?” said Simon. “Send her a text. She’ll read it.”

  “No she won’t.”

  “Why was she calling you then?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Simon was so exasperated Amanda thought steam would come out of his ears. “You seem to be making an awful lot of assumptions, Professor.”

  “I know her,” said Kindseth. “I know how she thinks.”

  “And you were going to tell us this when?” Amanda had been thinking the same thing.

  The teacher broke into sobs. “I should have told you as soon as I knew.”

  “Yes, you should have,” Simon said in a way that sounded like Lila. “Why didn’t you?”

  Kindseth put his face in his hands. “Because the whole thing was my fault and I didn’t want anyone to know. I’m so ashamed.”

  “Professor,” said Amanda. “Are you telling us that it’s your fault the zombies took Thrillkill and the others?”

  “Oh no,” said Kindseth. “I didn’t mean that.”