Minutes later I’m inside the tree house, my spy pack propped on my shoulders. I put out sodas and some chips for my friends.
Becca arrives first, carrying a wooden crate—not a pet carrier like the one holding my kitten, but a long rectangular box with a spring to shut the hatch quickly—an animal trap.
“Mom loaned me the trap and gave me ferret kibble to use for bait.” Becca places a dish inside the trap. “Bandit won’t be able to resist this yummy treat.”
“I hope so,” I say with a sigh. “My parents won’t believe the ferret exists unless they see her. We have to catch her today.”
Becca squeezes my hand. “We’ll catch her—not just to prove Honey innocent but because a domestic ferret needs a real home. When I told Mom about Bandit, she was shocked that a ferret was surviving on her own.”
“Not exactly on her own,” I say. “Sergei has been feeding her and she sleeps in his shed and this tree house.”
“But she could get sick or hurt or attacked by an animal.” Becca picks up a bag of chips from the table and rips it open. “Once we catch Bandit, Mom is sure she can find her a good home.”
“Your mother is so cool.”
“Apparently the sheriff thinks so too—they’re officially dating now.”
“Are you okay with that?” I raise my brows, studying her.
“It’s still weird seeing them together, but I’m getting used to it. And I’m glad Mom is happy.”
“At least someone is.” I frown, remembering Honey’s plaintive mews. “I hated leaving Honey in a crate. I hope this trap works. Once we catch the ferret and give her to your mom, I’ll sweep up the nest and board the hole.”
A creaking noise makes me jump. Turning, I see a blond head appear through the trap door.
“Hey, Leo. You’re styling in black,” Becca says.
“Thank you.” He gestures to his T-shirt, jeans, and hoodie. “After a critical study of spy websites, I determined black is the appropriate color for subversive activities.”
“You look like a normal kid,” Becca teases.
“Almost normal,” I can’t resist adding. Although to be honest, I really like his spy style. He seems older and even a little dangerous.
But the big thing on my mind is the ferret. So when Leo sits between us at the table, I suggest we go over the plan.
“It’s simple,” Becca says confidently. “When Bandit comes in here, she’ll smell the yummy kibble and crawl into the trap. A spring will trigger, and”—she snaps her fingers—“ferret captured.”
“That’s great,” I say. “But it could be a long time before Bandit shows up. And she won’t do it while we’re here,” I add, gnawing on an uneven thumbnail. “She might stay in Sergei’s shed all week. And next week we go back to school.”
“So let’s add a Plan B.” Leo’s blue eyes shine as he pats the bag slung over his shoulder. “Instead of waiting for her to come to us, we go find her.”
“She’s probably at Sergei’s eating with the cats.” I glance at my watch. “Finding her will be easier than catching her. She’s not like a tame cat that will come running when you call her.”
Becca nods. “And if we try to grab her, she could be so scared she might claw or even bite us.”
“We’ll track her movements with GPF,” Leo says. “It’ll be interesting to see how it works on animal fur.”
“How do we get one on her?” Becca flips her ponytail over her shoulder. “Bandit won’t stick a GPF to herself like Kelsey and I did.”
“I’ve improved my method for attachment. Once the GPF is attached, we’ll know when she steps into the trap,” Leo explains.
“And when she’s caught, we’ll show her to Kelsey’s parents.” Becca reaches out to pat my shoulder. “Don’t worry. You will not lose your kitten.”
I nod but I’m still worried.
We don’t say much as we leave the tree house and move beneath the fog-shrouded trees. Dawn streaks through the grayness but it’s still hard to see where we’re going. When we reach the locked gate, I zip open my spy pack and pull out my key spider. I love this tool Leo made, not just because it can pick almost any lock, but because it looks cool, all silvery with spiky keys. A few twists of metal, and the lock opens.
Up ahead a gray blur bounds through the grass. Bandit! We follow as she curves along the garden path to Sergei’s house. We stop when we hear mewing.
“Wow! So many cats!” Becca whispers as we duck behind a tree.
“Over a dozen,” I say.
“Fourteen, plus one ferret,” Leo corrects. “If Bandit leaves, we’ll know where she goes.” He opens his bag and pulls out a handful of the GPF and a hollow metal tube. He pushes a GPF into the tube then aims it at the crowd of cats.
Before I can ask what he’s doing, Leo clicks a button. There’s a whirring sound and a rangy-looking tabby jumps. Although the GPF is practically invisible, I suspect Leo has shot one. The cat looks around, curious but not upset. With a flick of its tail, the tabby resumes eating.
“Wrong animal,” Becca mutters.
“Mistakes are impetuses to discoveries,” Leo says. “Success isn’t achieved in one moment but in numerous attempts. I’ll try again.”
I hold my breath as I watch him aim the tube again. Click. The ferret pops up, swiveling around as if searching for an enemy. Her whiskery nose points directly toward our hiding place. Gray fur blurs as she vanishes into the bushes.
“GPF fail,” Becca says with a groan.
“No, I succeeded. The GPF is attached to her fur.” Leo taps on his tablet screen. “She can run but her red dot can’t hide. See this squiggly line? It’s the path between Sergei’s house and the castle.”
“This black square is the castle?” I squint at the screen, trying to make sense of the symbols and lines.
“The main floor.” Leo trails his finger up a spiky line. “The map shows a skeletal view of buildings like an x-ray. Here are the turrets. Now back to the ground, I’m the blue dot by Sergei’s house. And the red dot—the ferret—is running around to the back of the house. Hurry!” Leo takes off running and I hesitate only a moment before I follow.
The fog has lifted now, so it’s easier to follow the worn path in the grass to the back of the house.
“Target sighted!” Leo calls out.
“Bandit is in Sergei’s shed,” I pant as I catch up with Leo. He’s so fast he should be on the track team.
“We’ll trap her there,” Becca says, running close behind me. “Then I’ll call my mom to come and help catch her.”
“And prove to my parents that she exists,” I add.
Leo is so focused on his tablet, he trips over a decorative rock but I grab his arm. “Watch your feet,” I say with a grin. He nods but his gaze stays on the screen.
When we reach the shed, the door is open a crack.
“Are you sure she’s in there?” Becca asks Leo.
“According to my map, she is.” Leo points to his tablet and I peer over his shoulder trying to make sense of the web of lines and three flashing dots on the screen. I know the blue represents Leo and the red is Bandit, but what’s yellow?
When I ask, Leo’s cheeks burn red and he doesn’t answer.
“I know!” I snap my fingers. “It’s that tabby cat you tagged by mistake.”
“It’s of no importance.” Leo turns to Becca. “You’re the animal expert. How should we proceed?”
Becca moves toward the door just when I hear a heavy footstep behind us.
I turn around and see Sergei, his arms folded across his chest as he stares down at us. He seems taller than I remember and his metal piercings glint menacingly.
“Um…Hi, Sergei,” I say feebly.
“You again.” Sergei points to my knee. “How is the injury?”
“Much better. Um…these are my friends Becca and Leo.”
Becca smiles sweetly and Leo gives a formal bow.
“Most pleased to meet you,” Sergei says in his thick accent. He t
ilts his head toward Leo. “You look much like my nephew Hugo. Do you have Russian family?”
“Yes.” Leo lifts his chin proudly. “I was named after my Russian grandfather.”
Sergei nods approvingly. “What is your full name?”
I lean in eagerly, hoping to finally learn Leo’s middle name.
“Leopold Polanski,” he says, and I sigh with disappointment.
“A fine name.” Sergei claps Leo on the shoulder then returns his attention to me. “If you are here to find Angel’s headband, it has already been found.”
“In the ferret’s nest?” I gesture to the shed.
He nods. “Angel joined me to search yesterday and we found the headband, an earring, silver pen, and a tooth.”
“A tooth?” Becca makes a face. “Gross.”
“Not human—small like a rat.” Sergei cracks a half smile.
“Was anything valuable found?” I think of the crystal pepper shaker.
“No. Is something else missing?” The silver arrow in Sergei’s left brow rises as if aiming at me. I don’t want to get Dad in trouble, so I shake my head.
Sergei gives me a doubtful look then slides the shed door open. “To make sure, I will search again.”
“Don’t scare Bandit!” Becca cries but Sergei is already inside.
Becca, Leo, and I crowd around the doorway and peer into the shed. It’s dark, but with light from the doorway I can make out the shadowy shapes of a lawn mower, rake, and shovel. There’s an earthy smell of fresh dirt and a musty ferret odor. I can also see a shape that could be a nest.
I don’t see Bandit, though with all the gardening equipment, she could be hiding anywhere. I hold my breath when Sergei leans in toward the nest.
A rustling sound from the other side of the shed startles me.
I whirl around as a furry head pops up from behind the lawn mower.
“Over there!” I cry, pointing. “She has something!”
Bandit scampers toward the doorway, a red cloth waving from her mouth.
- Chapter 23 -
Shaker Shake-Up
“Kelsey!” Leo shouts as I chase after the ferret. “Wait for us!”
Glancing over my shoulder, I see Leo with his tablet in one hand and the silver tube in the other. He waves the tube like he’s trying to pantomime a message and shouts something I can’t hear.
But I keep running after the ferret. I have to prove to my parents she’s real. A gust of wind stirs my hair as if urging me to run faster. Trees blur by and bushes reach out with twig claws to snatch at me. Bandit ducks into the red-flowered bushes. I can’t see her but I follow a trail through the hedges.
I pass Sergei’s house and run into the beautifully manicured garden where red and pink and yellow flowers bloom like living art. I spot Bandit, scurrying through some rose bushes. Go back to the tree house! I want to shout. But instead of turning into the woods, she circles around to the castle entrance.
I hear footsteps behind me. I glance over my shoulder and see Leo has almost caught up. It’s amazing he doesn’t trip because he’s watching the screen and not where he’s going.
Bandit springs onto to a trellis where bougainvillea vines up the castle wall. I can now see what she’s carrying in her mouth—a sequined scarf that I’m sure belongs to Angel. The red cloth waves like a kite in the wind as Bandit scurries along the wall and leaps down to the grassy ground. She springs onto a brick planter the sequined scarf snags on a sharp-edged brick. Bandit disappears into the dark-green bushes circling the house. I’ve found the scarf but lost the ferret.
I grab the soft, damp scarf and pause to catch my breath.
Leo catches up to me, panting. “Why didn’t you wait? You didn’t have to chase Bandit. I told you I was tracking her.”
“I know, but if I hadn’t been chasing her, I might not have found this!” I wave the red scarf. “I’m sure it belongs to Angel.”
“Good work.” He returns his focus to his tablet. “Bandit is still running. See her red dot here?”
“Yeah,” I say. “What are these squiggly lines?”
“The castle’s stairs. She passed them and is crossing the driveway and…and…I don’t understand. How could she go there?” Leo shakes his head. “Impossible!”
“Did you lose Bandit’s trail?” Becca asks, catching up to us with Sergei. She pushes back a pink strand of hair that came loose from her ponytail.
“I know where she is,” Leo says with a bewildered expression. “But not how she got there.”
“So what’s the problem?” Becca asks.
“She’s underneath the castle.”
“That’s crazy. She’s a ferret, not a mole.” Becca puts her hands on her hips. “Ferrets don’t make tunnels.”
I jump as I have an idea. “She’s in the dungeon!”
Sergei frowns. “The castle doesn’t have a dungeon.”
“I mean, the wine cellar.” I turn to Sergei. “You and Angel disturbed her nest yesterday so maybe she was taking this scarf to another nest.”
“But how would she get into the wine cellar?” Sergei looks doubtful. “There is an outside cellar door but it is padlocked.”
“She’s a little Houdini,” Becca says.
“Can we look in the cellar?” I ask Sergei, rocking impatiently on my heels.
“I will take you.” Sergei rubs the stud in his pierced lip then gestures for us to follow him. “It will be quicker to go through the castle.”
We follow Sergei up the entry stairs to the castle.
“There’s the door knocker you told us about!” Becca squeals excitedly. “Finally! I get to see inside the castle.”
Sergei holds open the door for us as we file onto the marble foyer floor. He tells us to wait in there while he gets the key to the wine cellar.
“You don’t have one?” I ask, surprised. I mean, he’s the housekeeper, and I assumed he had access to every room.
“Irwin keeps the key,” Sergei says with a shrug. “He is working in the study with Mr. Bragg. I’ll be back shortly.”
While my friends admire the marble floor, gilt framed pictures, and antique furniture, I gaze at the jukebox and think of the ARC kids. Gavin said that Zee Zee loved to dance to the jukeboxes. I can almost hear the music and imagine her pirouetting on the marbled floor. They might have run up the staircase and slid down the banister—that’s what I’d do if I hung out here. But mostly I’d be in the toy room.
I’m still having a hard time believing Mr. Bragg has a grandson. Why does Mr. Bragg say that Irwin is his only heir? Even if RJ stole the chess piece, he’s still Mr. Bragg’s grandson. Why pretend he doesn’t exist?
I’m snapped out of my thoughts when I hear footsteps. Sergei is back and Irwin is with him. The last time I saw Irwin, he was in the role of castle tour guide, spouting off facts about game history. Now he’s all business in a long-sleeved white shirt, black pants, and blue striped tie.
Irwin nods at me. “Nice to see you again, Kelsey. But shouldn’t you and your friends be in school?”
“We’re on spring break,” I say and introduce Leo and Becca.
“Instead of sunning at a beach on your vacation, you want to go into the wine cellar?” Irwin asks in a joking tone. “Aren’t you kids young for wine tasting?”
“This isn’t about wine,” I say hurriedly, impatient to go after Bandit. “We’re here to catch a thief.”
Becca nods. “She’s hiding in the wine cellar.”
Irwin’s bushy brows fuse together like a fuzzy black caterpillar. “A thief?”
“Yeah,” I say. “She’s been stealing from my house and the castle—a shoe, headband, crystal pepper shaker, and just now she dropped this.” I lift up the red sequined scarf.
Irwin takes the scarf from me, frowning. “This belongs to Angel.”
“I thought so,” I say, pleased to be right. “She can’t resist shiny things. She went into the cellar where she probably hid more stolen stuff. We’ll lose her if we don’t hurry.”
Irwin stares the same way my parents did when I told them about the ferret. He doesn’t believe me! I realize with despair.
“I’m telling the truth,” I insist. “We know she’s in the cellar because Leo is tracking her movements on his tablet.”
“The connection fades in and out,” Leo admits, frowning at the screen. “But it’s working now and this red dot is the thief.”
“She can’t help herself from stealing,” Becca says with a sigh. “It’s her nesting instinct. Female ferrets can be little thieves.”
“The thief is an animal?” Irwin rubs his forehead like we’re giving him a headache.
“Yes, sir. There’s a ferret in the castle cellar.” Sergei holds out his hand. “Please, may we have the key?”
Irwin looks completely confused, and I don’t blame him. He has enough to deal with after switching careers, moving in with uncle, and learning how to run a business. “Of course,” he says finally. “But I have don’t have the key on me. It’s upstairs in my room. I’ll get it.”
“Thank you,” Sergei says with a half bow. “We’ll wait here.”
Wait is my least favorite four-letter-word. I’ve never been good at waiting. I confess it’s something I need to work on. But not right now.
“Sergei, I’ll return the scarf to Angel,” I say in a rush as I head for the staircase. “She’s probably in her room. I’ll be so quick I’ll be back before Irwin.”
Before the housekeeper can argue, I run up the staircase, my fingers trailing on the polished banister. I make a few turns, surprised at how quickly I’ve learned my way around the castle. Angel’s room is the one at the end of the hall a few floors up. The door is partially open so Angel must be inside.
But as I reach her door, I glance into the room and stare in shock.
Someone is in the room, but it isn’t Angel.
Why is Irwin in Angel’s room and not his own?
His back is turned toward me as he rummages through Angel’s jewelry cabinet, the doors open wide like they are wings. He swears under his breath and tugs on the bottom drawer where Angel keeps her valuable jewelry. When the drawer slides open, he moves slightly and I see what he’s holding in his hand.
The Secret of the Shadow Bandit Page 13