“What’s wrong?”
“We found the gym bag full of cash in the car, but that only accounts for a few thousand dollars at most. I got in touch with the bank manager, and according to him, there was close to a million dollars in that vault. But my officers say that the bags in there are full of nothing but sand. So where’s the rest of the money? Penny and Liam aren’t talking. Did you happen to overhear them saying where they might have stashed it?”
I thought back on everything that had happened over the past couple of hours. “They were really vague about it,” I said. “Penny did mention that moving the money was a ‘two-man job,’ though. So, something bulky or heavy?”
Bess shook her head. “Where could you possibly hide almost a million dollars in cash in this place?” she wondered aloud.
I slowly walked around the room, my shoes crunching on the still-sandy floor. My eyes passed over the mats, the exercise equipment, some shelves and chairs, the punching bags—
Wait a second.
“George,” I called. “Do you still keep a Swiss Army knife in your purse?”
She rummaged around in her bag for a minute before pulling out a small red pocketknife. “Here you go,” she said, handing it over. “Why? What do you need it for?”
“I have a hunch,” I replied. I walked down the line of punching bags, pushing each one with my hand. The first three were extremely heavy and barely moved. But the fourth one swung much more easily when I gave it a shove. I turned to Coach Ethan, who was watching me, curious. “If I’m wrong,” I told him, “I promise I’ll fix it.” And with that, I flicked open one of the blades, stabbed it into the punching bag, and ripped a long tear in the thick fabric.
Usually, punching bags are filled with sand, but that wasn’t what spilled out of the opening.
“Oh my goodness,” Bess exclaimed. “The money!”
Sure enough, bundles of hundred-dollar bills poured out onto the floor, and it was clear that there was much more where that came from.
Officer Nadeem walked over and stood in front of the gutted punching bag, hands on hips. “How did you know?” he asked me.
“It was something Jeremy said yesterday when George and I saw him training before class. Something about one of the bags not being as heavy as usual. ‘Either I’m getting stronger, or this bag is getting lighter,’ he said. It was just an offhand comment, but remembering just now, it made me think that a punching bag would be a perfect place to store a bunch of cash. But Penny would’ve had to empty it out a little at a time. She must’ve opened up a seam and removed the sand slowly so the students using the bag wouldn’t really notice. That’s why there’s been so much sand all over the floor. Then, when she was ready, she could empty out the rest of the sand to fill up the bags in the vault, making them still look full, and stuff all the money inside the punching bag. Tonight, all she and Liam would have needed to do was hoist the bag off its hook and drop the whole thing in the back seat of their car. Plus, if anyone had stopped them on the road to search the car, they wouldn’t think to look inside a punching bag. It was the perfect hiding place—the perfect crime.”
“It certainly would have been, if it weren’t for you,” Officer Nadeem said, patting me on the back. “Good work, Nancy.”
“It actually took me quite a few wrong turns to get there, but…” I suddenly felt really dizzy. I almost lost my balance, but luckily, Officer Nadeem caught me and pulled me over to one of the folding chairs at the side of the mats. Sagging into the seat, I murmured my thanks and tried to breathe deeply.
“Are you hurt?” he asked. I never really liked getting that kind of attention, and a crowd was starting to form around us, making me feel even more silly.
“I’m fine, really,” I said, squeezing my eyes closed to stop the room from spinning. “I mean, I got a pretty good wallop to the back of my head earlier. For maybe the third time this week. But I swear, give me a Coke and a few slices of pizza and I’ll be good to go.”
Carly, dressed in the same hooded sweatshirt she’d been wearing when we’d first met out on the street, rushed over, pushing through to my side. “Don’t be ridiculous, Nancy,” she said. “You need to be checked out. Let me take a look—I’ve had some paramedic training.” She turned to the group. “Can we get Nancy a Gatorade or something?”
While Ryan rushed to grab a drink from the lobby, Carly turned to me and started asking some questions and testing my vision. Ryan handed me a yellow Gatorade, and I drank half of it in one gulp. The sugar almost instantly made me feel more alert, and after a few minutes, I felt like I finally had gotten off the merry-go-round. “I think it’s just a mild concussion,” Carly said, squatting in front of me. “But you should still go to the hospital to get checked out.”
I grimaced. “That’s what I figured. Thanks, Carly.”
“Me?” Carly shook her head, eyes wide. “Thank you, Nancy, for saving our academy. I’m just so relieved this whole thing wasn’t about my tournament. Now I can really focus on the competing.”
I sat straight up, almost spilling the rest of the Gatorade all over myself. “The tournament!” I exclaimed. “That’s tomorrow, isn’t it?”
“It sure is,” Coach Ethan said. “The police are almost done here, so the competitors should get home to bed. You guys need to rest up for the big day.”
“Are you going to come watch?” Carly asked me.
“Your fights?” I replied. “Do you want me to?”
“Are you kidding?” she said, laughing. “You and your friends are part of the team now. Of course I want you to be there!”
I smiled. “Well then, I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Winning and Learning
“OH WOW, THIS IS SO exciting!” Bess said as we walked into the River Heights Sports Complex the next morning. I’d only ever been in the building to watch one of my friends play field hockey, so I had no idea what awaited us inside.
“Um, Bess? Are you wearing a Jiu-Jitsu T-shirt?” George asked.
I squinted at Bess’s black tee, which read EAT. SLEEP. TRAIN JIU-JITSU in big block letters. “Seriously?” I asked. “It’s been literally less than a week.”
Bess shrugged. “What? Ernesto gave it to me. And he’s already given me a Jiu-Jitsu nickname, too! Tigresa—it’s Brazilian for ‘lady tiger.’ You know, because I’m fierce.” She beamed.
George and I exchanged a look. “She’s obsessed,” George muttered out of the corner of her mouth.
“I know the case is closed,” Bess went on, “but you guys are going to keep training, right?”
George sucked her teeth. “I don’t know,” she said. “My schedule is pretty full.… And as much as I love having strangers sweat into my eyeballs, it wasn’t exactly my idea of a good time.”
“Weak,” Bess said, rolling her eyes. “How about you, Nancy? I know you enjoyed it. Didn’t Coach Ethan promise to teach you for free if you solved the case? And your dad wanted you to learn self-defense. Think of your future as a detective! Think of all those bad guys you’ll be able to take down!”
Bess was giving me her patented doe-eyed stare, which, coupled with her heart-shaped face and blue eyes, was difficult to resist at the best of times. “Let me think about it,” I managed. I was still nursing a mild concussion and enough bruises to make me look like a jaguar, so the thought of being back on the mats again wasn’t particularly appealing. It had been a tough and exhausting case, and I needed a break.
The sports complex was crowded and alive with noise and excitement. A sea of mats was laid out in the middle of the arena behind waist-high plastic barriers. On each square, there were fights already in progress. Referees watched intently, coaches shouted commands, and fans stood behind the barriers, cheering the competitors on. Around the edges of the room, more than a hundred other grapplers dressed in Jiu-Jitsu gis of all different colors, each one patched with their team’s logo, awaited their chance to fight.
I scanned the roo
m, searching for our friends, and finally spotted fighters with the roaring silver dragon logo on the other side of the room. “They’re over there!” I called out to Bess and George before we made our way over.
“Nancy Drew,” Coach Ethan said, slapping me on the back. “So, you coming to class on Monday?”
I blinked. “I mean, I don’t know,” I said. “I was just kidnapped by bank robbers.…”
“Excuses, excuses,” he said, shaking his head. “Anyway, you made it just in time! Carly’s division is about to start. She’s already waiting down in the bullpen.”
“How many fights does she need to win?” George asked.
“Four to medal, five for gold,” Coach Ethan replied. “I’ve got to get down there to coach. See you on the other side, champ!” He smiled and gave me a thumbs-up before jogging away.
I watched him go, shaking my head. “What kind of mind game is he playing, anyway?”
“I don’t know, but it’s working, isn’t it?” Bess said wryly.
I crossed my arms. “Maybe,” I muttered.
A few minutes later, after saying hello to the rest of the team, we went down to the mat where Carly was scheduled to fight. On the way, I saw “Master” Brock from Lockdown walk by with his team, including Lucy Hayes. Brock didn’t have anything to do with the crime at Iron Dragon, it was true, but there was still no excuse for the way he’d treated Carly. The hulking coach gazed around the arena like he owned the place. Lucy looked nervous.
Brock stopped when he caught sight of me and Bess and waved. “Well, hello, ladies,” he said, putting on his most winning smile. “Nice to see you again, Ana. Come to watch the best and brightest go for gold, eh? That’s good. So, when can I get you both in the office to sign up for full memberships? I do private lessons as well, you know. Extra charge, but very worth it. You’ll get your blue belts in no time.”
Bess and I exchanged glances. “Sorry, Mr. Vaughn,” I said. “But we’ve already chosen a team.” I nodded toward the Iron Dragons, who were all gathered to watch Carly’s first fight.
Brock followed my gaze, and when he saw who I was referring to, his face turned as red as a cherry. Lucy was standing next to him, listening. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of her former friend.
“You’re making a big mistake,” Brock said, trying with difficulty to keep that smile pasted on. “Iron Dragon is no place for you. It will take you years to be promoted over there, do you understand? You’ll get steamrollered by those guys. If you come to Lockdown, you’ll move up in the ranks like everyone else. Isn’t that what you want?”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” I replied. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Jiu-Jitsu over this past week, it’s that honor isn’t given, it’s earned.”
Brock scowled. “Fine,” he said, all trace of his charm gone. “Have it your way. But we’ll see whose champion will be left standing at the top of that podium.” He stomped away, but Lucy didn’t budge. She stood staring at us, seemingly lost in thought. A moment later Brock turned back and called out to her. “Let’s go, Lucy! Your first match is in five minutes!”
Tearing her eyes away from us, Lucy turned to follow her coach to the warm-up area.
The girls and I made our way through the crowd. Coach Ethan was already sitting on a chair beside the mat, waiting for the match to begin. Carly’s first opponent—a very tall girl with curly black hair and bronze skin—looked way bigger than her, even though they were in the same division. “Oh man,” I said to Tim, who’d squeezed in next to me. “That girl is huge!”
He chuckled. “She might look bigger. But Carly’s going to wipe the floor with her anyway. Just watch.”
Tim’s right, I thought as I studied Carly’s face. She doesn’t look worried at all!
Carly and the other girl bumped fists, and the referee shouted, “Combate!” I bit my lip as the two girls circled each other like a pair of lions. After some feints, the other girl lunged for Carly’s collar. But she was ready for it. Before her opponent’s hand could connect, Carly dove down and tackled the girl with an elegant takedown. The girl toppled like a felled tree, and Carly was on top of her in an instant, locking her forearm over the girl’s neck. Before I could even understand what was happening, the girl tapped the mat, and the match was over.
The whole thing took about thirty seconds.
The team around me was going crazy. “CARLYYYYYY!” they roared as one. Carly stood up and casually adjusted her gi top before walking over to the referee. The tall girl, who looked a bit like she’d been struck by lightning, did the same. The referee grabbed both their wrists and waited a moment before raising Carly’s arm as the winner.
Carly came over and exchanged a few words with Coach Ethan before she noticed us. “Nancy!” she said, her serious face lighting up with a smile. “You made it!”
“Darn right I did!” I said, giving her a fist bump. “I’m so excited to see you in action!”
She took a long drink from her water bottle. “Well, that was the easy one, unfortunately,” she said, wiping the perspiration from her face. “That girl was a brand-new purple belt, so I was pretty sure I could win the match. The other four girls won’t be as easy to beat.”
I put my hand on Carly’s shoulder. “You’ve got this.”
“I’ll do my best,” she said, then turned back to the mat for her next fight.
As Carly predicted, the next few matchups were nail-biters. In one of them, she was down by points and only ended up getting the submission in the last ten seconds. In the semifinal, the points were tied up until the very end, and Carly was given the judge’s decision, winning that match too. Everyone on the team breathed a sigh of relief. She’d made it to the finals!
I thought Carly was smiling as she walked off the mat after the semifinal, but as she got closer, I saw that she was actually grimacing with pain.
Oh no!
Coach Ethan and the rest of the team gathered around her. “What happened?” the coach asked, his brows furrowed in concern.
“It’s my hand,” Carly said, wincing as she lifted it to show him. “My fingers got jammed during the match, and they’re starting to swell up. I can’t bend them.”
Coach Ethan called the medic over, and after a quick examination, she announced that though the fingers weren’t broken, they were pretty badly sprained. “I would consider quitting while you’re ahead, young lady,” the medic said as she taped Carly’s fingers together. Once the medic had gone, Carly turned back to Coach Ethan.
“I can’t forfeit now,” she said, still a little breathless with the pain. “Did you see who I’m fighting in the finals?”
Coach Ethan nodded grimly. “I know.”
“Lucy Hayes,” I muttered.
Tim nodded. “Carly’s archenemy.”
The tension and excitement in the room were palpable. “Omigosh, what I wouldn’t give for some popcorn right now!” George said, her palms pressed against her cheeks.
The referee motioned to get Carly’s attention. “Miss Griffith, the final match will start in a few minutes. Are you ready?”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” she said. The referee nodded and walked away. Carly started to pace behind the barrier. “I don’t know, I don’t know,” she mumbled. She turned to Coach Ethan. “Coach, what do I do?”
Coach Ethan spoke softly, so I had to lean in to hear the words. “Listen,” he said to her. “You don’t need to prove anything to Lucy, or me, or anyone else—do you understand? If you want to do this, do it for yourself.”
Carly took a deep breath and closed her eyes, tilting her face upward. She stood there silent as everyone looked on, waiting. Finally she opened her eyes; her expression was calm but determined as she walked over to speak to the referee.
By this point, Lucy had arrived. She was standing on the other side of the mat with Brock Vaughn. They were both staring intently at Carly.
I held my breath. What had she decided to do?
A moment later the referee
nodded and walked to the center of the mat. He faced the crowd and called the two competitors in. The Iron Dragon and Lockdown teams cheered. The match was on!
“This is for the gold,” I overheard Brock say to Lucy. “Go hard right off the bat. You see her hand? She’s hurt, and there’s no rule against taking advantage of that. Take her down, Hayes.”
Bess and George heard it too. “Hey!” Bess said, squaring her shoulders. “That’s not fair! We should say something—”
I put my hand on her arm. “No, Bess, we can’t. It’s like Brock said: there’s no rule against Lucy changing her strategy because of Carly’s injury. Carly agreed to the fight, and everything that comes with it. We have to trust that she’s got it under control.”
Bess sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
I sounded calm and confident. On the inside, though, I felt anything but.
The crowd was riveted as Carly and Lucy faced each other, slapped hands, and bumped fists. The referee chopped his arm down between them and yelled, “Combate!” and the fight began.
Following Brock’s instructions, Lucy wasted no time at all. She immediately stepped in and got her grips on Carly’s collar and sleeve. Carly tried to break them, but it wasn’t easy with only one hand. Lucy snapped her down and waited for Carly to stand up straight again before she dove in low, grabbing at Carly’s legs in an attempt to take her to the ground. Working on instinct, Carly put her hands out to slap the mat and break her fall, but in doing so, she slammed her injured fingers onto the ground. A gasp of pain escaped her lips and Lucy hunkered down for the kill, setting up a choke that would end the match.
All around me, the Iron Dragon team’s spirits started to sink.
“I don’t know much about Jiu-Jitsu,” George whispered to me, “but this is bad, right? This looks bad.”
Bess nodded. “She’s down two points for the takedown. She’s in a tough spot, but it’s not over yet.…”
Coach Ethan was leaning so far forward in his chair, it looked like he was going to fall out of it. “Get out of there, Carly,” he was shouting. “Don’t let her get that elbow in. You know what to do! Push, Carly—PUSH!”
Danger at the Iron Dragon Page 11