“Indeed.” He moved his chair over the web of fractures spun across the stone floor. “I thought you retired to bed?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” she said simply, picking a piece of walnut from her massive front teeth. “Who can sleep with all the nonsense going on in this house? Crashing elevators, assassins on the loose, young children locked in their bedrooms. Honestly, Silas, is that really necessary?”
“It is,” said Silas firmly. “As you delight in pointing out—there is a killer on the loose. I have a moral duty to protect Isabella, Milo, and Adele, and that is what I am doing.”
“Which is all very noble, Silas,” said Rosemary with a roll of her big dark eyes. “But as I recall, the assassin tried to kill you, not them. Seems to me, you’ve locked the wrong person in their bedroom chamber.”
Silas covered his mouth and yawned. “How witty you are, sister.”
“Something has been troubling me,” said Rosemary, regarding her brother carefully. “And forgive me for saying this, Silas, but why on earth would someone go to all the effort of killing a man who is already dying? As a student of human nature, I would think that such a person must be filled with rage. Who on earth could hate you that much?”
Silas closed his eyes and took a shallow breath. “The assassin is insane,” he said slowly. “Who knows what twisted reason they may have conjured? I am a wealthy man, sister, and hate is drawn to wealth as bees are to honey. Anyone…anyone at all might have marked me for death.” He opened his eyes and glared darkly at her. “Even you.”
“Me?” Rosemary let out a snort. “Why on earth would I want to kill you?”
“Neglect, envy, spite,” said Silas coolly. “Take your pick. I ignored you for thirty years, and suddenly you turn up uninvited, demanding to stay. Then just days later an attempt is made on my life. The timing is rather interesting, don’t you think?”
Rosemary smiled, her teeth flaring under the moonlight. “Silas, if I really was the assassin, you would already be dead.”
“Would I?” His black eyes were locked into hers.
“Oh, yes, pet,” whispered Rosemary. She took three short steps toward her brother’s chair, looking over him. “I spent two years in the Amazon—met the most wonderful tribe living along the Japurá River. What they don’t know about poisonous plants wasn’t worth knowing. A few drops in your milk and your heart would stop within thirty seconds. And the best part of all? The poison leaves no trace.”
“You seem to have given my death a great deal of thought.”
“Not really,” said Rosemary with a shrug. “I’m just pointing out that if I was going to kill you, I certainly wouldn’t need to crush a perfectly good elevator in the process. You look tired, brother.” She kissed Silas on the forehead. “We can talk again in the morning. Here’s an idea—I’ll cook you an old-fashioned breakfast, just like Mother used to make us when we were children. Do you remember?”
“I do,” said Silas softly.
Rosemary licked her lips. “Fried bacon and mushrooms, poached eggs, and a lovely tall glass of milk.”
Throwing her brother a wicked grin, Rosemary departed. Silas watched thoughtfully as his sister ambled across the vast entrance hall and disappeared down a lengthy corridor, the loud thump of her heavy steps fading into a deathly silence.
***
Adele was perched on a broad tree limb peering through the curtains of Milo’s bedroom window. She had been out there for several minutes, gathering courage. Carefully she stepped onto the window ledge. With her right hand she parted the curtain and looked into the room.
Milo’s bed was empty. She leaned in for a closer look. Milo had to be there—his door was locked just like hers. Where could he have gone? Suddenly a hand gripped her wrist, pulling her through the window. She fell to the floor with a thump.
“Why are you spying on me?” Milo demanded to know.
Adele pulled her arm from Milo’s grip.
“I wasn’t spying!” said Adele as she got to her feet. “I need your help.”
Milo gazed at her suspiciously. It’s not that he disliked his cousin—she’d been rather nice to him, in fact—but he didn’t trust her. He didn’t trust anyone. “Help with what?”
“Stopping Uncle Silas,” she said simply.
He hadn’t expected that. Milo only had to look into his cousin’s eyes to see that she wasn’t kidding around. All of a sudden he was very interested in what Adele had to say. “Okay, I’m listening.”
The girl sat down on the bed and took a deep breath before beginning.
“The first thing you should know is that Uncle Silas asked me to spy on you and Isabella…and I agreed.” Before Milo could react, Adele pressed on, letting the whole story tumble out—about Ratchet’s House and Uncle Silas’s threats and the carving in the floor and the hidden shelf and what she had read in Dr. Mangrove’s book.
“Uncle Silas brought Mangrove here for a reason,” she explained. “He’s old, Milo—really, really old—and he has all these crazy ideas about the human soul. See, he’s invented some sort of chamber; only that chapter was torn out of the book and I don’t know what it does. What I do know is that Uncle Silas is planning something really bad…and somehow we’re a part of it.”
Milo looked at her doubtfully.
“Crazy scientists, hidden shelves, missing chapters—why should I believe any of this?” he said bluntly. “For all I know this is just some insane story you and Isabella whipped up to trick me.”
“Isabella has been working against me since I got here,” declared Adele. “What I’m telling you is true. Look around, Milo, Uncle Silas has locked us up, the phones aren’t working. He has sealed us off from the world. Do you really think he invited us here out of the goodness of his heart? We’re trapped on this island, Milo. We’re trapped whether you want to believe it or not.”
“I can leave anytime I want to,” declared Milo.
“No, you can’t,” said Adele sadly. “The truth is…I don’t think Uncle Silas intends for any of us to leave. Not ever.”
Milo saw the certainty and terror on his cousin’s face, and it scared him to death.
“You know how I feel about Uncle Silas,” he said, sitting down next to her on the bed, “and the truth is, I have my own suspicions about him. You’ve heard about the car accident that killed his fiancée, Lady Bloom?”
Adele nodded. “She left him Sommerset in her will.”
“Well, I’m not so sure it was an accident. I don’t have proof yet, but I’m working on it.”
“We need to stop him, Milo,” said Adele more urgently. “Dr. Mangrove is building something in the basement—I heard Mrs. Hammer and Bingle talking about it. Only I haven’t found a way down yet. I know where the blueprints for the house are hidden, but I’m going to need your help making sense of them.” She held out her hand. “Come with me, and I’ll show you.”
Milo hesitated, but only for a second. He quickly realized there was really no choice but to work with Adele. Uncle Silas was planning something horrendous, and he had to be stopped—it seemed their very lives were at stake.
After a brief nod of his head, Milo got up and climbed onto the ledge with his cousin.
Trying hard not to look down, Adele jumped first, grabbing the thick bough directly above her head. She moved easily between branches and reached the outer limbs of the tree’s summit in moments.
Following his cousin’s lead, Milo jumped out toward the sycamore. He landed clumsily, thumping his hip against a thick knot on the tree branch. He steadied himself, down on hands and knees like a cat. Carefully he arched his neck, as if he were howling at the moon, spotting Adele in the upper branches.
“Come on,” Adele whispered, “it’s easy once you start!”
“If you say so,” he replied doubtfully.
Shakily, Milo crawled along the large twisted bough.
He grabbed a nearby limb and managed to get onto his feet, splaying his legs along the branch to steady himself. With trembling hands, he grasped the limb above and slowly pulled himself up. Before he was even aware it was happening, Milo was climbing swiftly through the tree.
When he finally reached Adele his arms were aching.
“Did I mention I’m scared of heights?” he whispered, his breathing rapid.
Adele smiled. “You did great.”
“If it’s okay with you,” said Milo with a grin, “I’d really like to get out of this tree.”
“We just need to climb up to that next branch,” she said, pointing the way. “We can reach the window on the second-floor landing from there.”
Milo stood up and took his hand from the overhanging branch as he adjusted his footing. “Lead the way,” he whispered. “The sooner I’m on solid ground—”
Silence.
Adele looked over. He was gone. His muffled screams exploded from underneath her and Adele looked down just in time to see her cousin smash against a thick branch and tumble down, his body jolting as he hit the ground.
“Milo!”
Adele swung from limb to limb until she was low enough to leap to the ground. She knelt over Milo’s body, his arms and legs twisted and tangled like a rag doll. A river of blood flowed from underneath his body.
She screamed and lights began to illuminate like spot fires all over Sommerset House.
19
Aftermath
He is dead,” said Isabella, tears pooling beneath her blue eyes.
“No, please don’t say that,” cried Adele. “Milo can’t be dead.”
She slumped down onto the floor outside Milo’s bedroom and leaned her head against the wall.
“What on earth were you two doing up a tree?” Isabella asked her cousin yet again. “It does seem very strange, cousin.”
“I told you…we were just talking,” was all Adele could manage in response.
“Talking in a tree at midnight?” said Isabella doubtfully. Then she smiled softly. “Poor Adele! You must feel so dreadfully guilty. After all, Milo wouldn’t be lying in there close to death if you hadn’t made him climb that silly tree.” She patted her on the head. “Still, you mustn’t blame yourself.”
Adele covered her face and began to cry. It was all her fault, and she knew it.
When the medical team arrived from the hospital they immediately braced Milo’s neck and had him moved upstairs to his bedroom chamber for a thorough examination. It was early afternoon before his door opened again.
Both girls looked up at the same time as Rosemary stepped out into the corridor.
“How is he?” cried Adele, jumping to her feet.
“Milo’s dead, isn’t he, Aunt Rosemary?” Isabella wailed. “That poor little orphan has crossed over to the spirit world!”
“He hasn’t crossed anywhere,” said Rosemary firmly. “Your cousin is alive and well, but he has been badly injured. He has a broken leg and a lot of bruising on his back and arms. You can go in and see him—but only one at a time. Doctor’s orders.”
“He’s going to be all right?” asked Adele anxiously.
“He will be.” She wiped the tears from Adele’s face. “He’s asked to see you.”
“He has?” Her eyes widened. “Is he angry with me?”
Rosemary smiled. “Go and find out for yourself.”
***
As Adele approached the bed she studied Milo carefully—his black hair falling lazily around his face, his plastered leg propped up under a pillow. There were cuts on his chin and a bruise on his left cheek. One of his fingers was bandaged, and she saw a dark purple bruise covering his right arm like a tattoo.
“Are you…does it hurt much?” she asked.
“No,” said Milo, “not too much. Just a little.”
“Milo, I’m so sorry,” she said, the tears once again falling down her face. “You are hurt because of me. You could have died! This is all my fault!”
“No, it’s not, Adele,” declared Milo firmly. “It was my choice to jump out that window; no one made me do it.” He glanced over at the group of nurses and doctors who were busy packing away their equipment and lowered his voice. “Besides, we had a good reason for being out there last night. Nothing’s changed, Adele—we still have to stop Uncle Silas.”
“I was hoping you would say that,” said Adele, relieved. “In fact, I have an idea that just might work. Listen—”
Just then the door opened and Bingle entered the room. Stiffly, he crossed the floor and stood against the far wall with his arms folded behind his back.
“Um, Bingle,” said Milo, after a few moments, “what are you doing?”
“Your uncle has asked that I keep an eye on you.” He smiled, but it was hardly convincing. “Just to make sure you don’t suffer a relapse. Don’t worry, sir; you won’t even know I’m here.”
“I don’t need a baby-sitter,” said Milo firmly.
“Of course not, sir,” explained Bingle. “This is purely a precaution. As you know, there is an assassin running about the place, and I suppose your uncle is worried.”
Realizing that they would no longer be able to speak privately, Adele announced that she had better leave so that Isabella could come in and visit.
“Thanks for coming,” said Milo. “And remember, none of this is your fault.”
“I’ll try. Thanks, Milo.” Adele leaned down and kissed her cousin on the cheek.
“I’ll come back after dark,” she whispered in his ear. “Leave the window open. We don’t have much time left.”
***
“You have seen the boy?”
“I have. Bingle alerted me as soon as the medical team returned to the hospital,” said Dr. Mangrove, placing his medical bag on a table beside Silas’s bed. “Milo was given a sleeping pill with his dinner, so there was no danger.”
“Will he recover fully?” said Silas tensely.
“He will,” confirmed the doctor. “Apart from his injuries, the boy is in perfect health.”
A look of relief swept across Silas’s ashen face. “We can proceed then.”
“Most definitely.”
“Now tell me about the elixir,” said Silas, his eyes glistening wildly. “Were you able to salvage any of the roses my idiotic niece cut up?”
“Most of them,” said Dr. Mangrove. “However, it was a complicated matter. The cell structure of the Phoenix rose is very temperamental. Extracting the elixir was never going to be easy.” His small eyes clouded over. “If only I had more of the panacea; from that miraculous plant all things are possible. As it is, I have barely enough to survive the year.”
“We will get more, Mangrove,” said Silas with certainty. “You have my word. But the elixir…there is enough for our purposes?”
“Yes…but only just.” Dr. Mangrove pulled the small glass bottle from his jacket and held it up to the light. “This is all we have…every drop.”
“Give it to me,” said Silas, eyeing the elixir greedily. He held out his trembling hand, and Dr. Mangrove gently placed it on his palm.
“Every single drop is precious,” the doctor reminded him. “It has taken several lifetimes to finally produce a perfect batch.”
Silas eased his frail body up and placed his bony finger under the side table next to his bed. A wooden panel slid back from the headboard. Carefully Silas placed the elixir into the compartment before shutting it again.
“When can we begin, Doctor?”
“The chamber should be ready by tomorrow.”
Silas smiled darkly. “Excellent.”
20
The Way Down
After dinner Adele returned to the eastern wing and knocked on Milo’s bedroom door. As usual Bingle answered.
“Yes, Miss Adele?”
“I’ve come to see Milo,” she told him, trying to peek over Bingle’s shoulder to catch a glimpse of her cousin.
“I’m sorry, Miss Adele, he is still sleeping.”
“You said that three hours ago,” said Adele, unable to hide her frustration. “Can’t I just come in and sit awhile?”
“That’s very thoughtful of you, Miss,” said Bingle, “but I have strict instructions that Milo is not to be disturbed. Perhaps you could come back in the morning?”
“I guess so,” she replied doubtfully.
All afternoon she had been troubled by a strange feeling—Milo was in danger, and she could not wait until after dark to see him. In an effort to ease her worry she had tried several times to visit her cousin, but every time Bingle had an excuse why she could not.
The Butler was trying to keep them apart, she was sure of it.
“Well, good night, Miss,” said Bingle as he closed the door in her face. Then she heard the key turn in the lock.
Moments later, Adele took off down the corridor breaking into a sprint.
She was going to find a way into the basement even if it killed her.
***
Isabella had been looking for her cousin all over Sommerset House, and when she got to the library and found a pile of moldy old books strewn across the floor beneath a concealed bookshelf, she knew that something suspicious was going on. But what?
She searched the library and the drawing room but found no trace of Adele. Frustrated, and rather hungry, Isabella headed for the kitchen—an apple and a cup of iced tea was just the tonic she needed to clear her head and figure out what her cousin was up to. Turning down the long hallway of the east wing, Isabella caught sight of a wild mop of tomato-colored hair disappearing around the corner. Adele!
But where on earth was the silly girl going?
Then it hit her. The basement—that had to be it.
Adele had found a way in!
Suddenly a great many things made sense to Isabella—including why Adele and Milo had been up in that tree last night. They must be in on it together. Yes, that had to be it! Those double-crossing little rodents had made a pact to find Uncle Silas’s priceless treasures and split the loot fifty-fifty.
The Body Thief Page 13