by Kathi Daley
“Millie Braydon,” we both said at the same time.
“Millie Braydon?” Alex asked.
“When we were kids, Zoe and I joined this club for junior detectives,” Ellie explained.
“It was one of those mail-in things,” I added. “Once a month, we’d mail in our money and then wait to receive a mystery kit.”
“Each mystery provided clues, and most of the clues were best understood by referring to the mystery lover’s workbook each junior detective received with the introductory kit,” Ellie explained. “Once you solved the mystery, you mailed in your answer and received a button. When you collected so many buttons, you were awarded a Millie Braydon Mystery Girl pin, and you were jumped up to the next level where the clues became more difficult, and the monthly mystery became just a bit more expensive.”
“Looking back, it was a total racket,” I sighed.
“But it was fun at the time even if it did eat up our allowance,” Ellie added.
“And these symbols?” Alex asked.
“I think that at least some of these might have been used in one of the codes,” I said.
Alex got up and crossed the room. I could see her talking to Zak. She must have been sharing our conversation because he looked in our direction and then put his head down to work. A few minutes later, he looked up.
“I got it,” he said. “The symbols are a cipher from the Millie Braydon Mystery week twenty-three.”
“Okay, so what is the document?” I asked. “The sign Scooter is holding says: What am I?”
“The symbols translate to: Life is loves legacy,” Zak said. “The number fifty-four is beneath it.”
“I know this,” I said, jumping up. “Life is Loves Legacy is carved into the seal which hung on the wall of the old Devil’s Den medical clinic.”
Everyone in the room, other than Alex, who’d I’d already shared the story with, looked at me with expressions of total confusion.
“How would you just happen to know that?” Zak asked.
“Remember about six years ago when Charlie and I met a man named Burton Ozwald at the hospital while we were there to do a therapy session?”
“Vaguely,” Zak said.
“Burton was in the hospital due to a heart attack. Apparently, he didn’t have long to live, and he knew it, but before he died, he wanted to find the gold his grandfather had left for his father. He wanted to use the gold to pay for his granddaughter’s college tuition. Of course, all he had was a very vague clue as to how to begin the search for the gold, but Charlie and I were game, so we teamed up with Pappy, Hazel, Nick, and Ethan to find answers long buried in the past.”
“Did you find the gold?” Ellie asked.
“We did, but it wasn’t easy. Anyway, along the way, one of the clues was to find the hidden message in the medics seal. As it turned out, Oz’s grandfather’s father had been the local doctor who’d decided to stay after the town pulled together to save one of the local girls who’d had a difficult delivery. It’s a long story that I’d love to share at some other time, but for now, suffice it to say, I recognize the message.”
“Scooter can’t be in the hospital,” Alex said. “There are people everywhere.”
“No, he wouldn’t be in the hospital.” I thought back. “But Life is Loves Legacy actually wasn’t the important part of the message. The fifty-four was.”
“Fifty-four?” Alex asked.
“It was a reference to the fifty-four men and women who pooled their money to hire the doctor in the first place. The old medical clinic is long gone, as is the saloon where the girls worked, but back then, our treasure hunt led us to the home of the local madam. A woman named Lilly England. Her home, the home she shared with the girls she’d taken under her wing, is still standing, or at least it was six years ago when we went looking for the gold.”
“Do you think it’s deserted?” Zak asked.
“It was back then.”
The six of us piled into Ellie and Levi’s eight-passenger Suburban and headed out of town. The house Lilly and her girls had lived in was a large two-story structure in an advanced state of disrepair on the outskirts of town. The drive to the house wasn’t paved, and the dirt drive hadn’t been graded, so after countless winters of runoff, the ride to the structure was bumpy at best, but eventually, we arrived to find the still abandoned structure. Zak, who had been sitting in the front passenger seat, jumped out and ran toward the house before Levi had even come to a complete stop. By the time Levi parked and the rest of us got out, Zak was emerging from the house with his arms in the air with his palms held out as if to stop us from following him inside. I had a sinking feeling he’d found Scooter and didn’t want me to see what he’d found.
“Is he…?” I asked, not quite able to come up with the word dead.
“He’s fine,” Zak said. “He’s in a cell which looks to have been recently constructed and has been rigged with what looks to be an explosive. He was able to stop my advance before I crossed the threshold and set off the timer, so unlike last time with Marlow, I think we can take a few minutes to think this one through.”
“The person who put Scooter in the cell wants something in exchange for his release,” I said.
“I would be willing to bet that will turn out to be the case,” Zak said.
“Was there a phone number?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. I came right back out to stop all of you from coming in once I realized what was going on. I’m going back inside, but I need all of you to stay here.”
“But…” I said.
“The more people who go inside, the more likely it is that someone will get hurt,” Zak reminded me.
I blew out a breath. “Okay, but be careful.”
“I will.” Zak took me by the shoulders, kissed me briefly on the lips, and then headed back inside.
Alex walked over and put an arm around my waist. I turned and hugged her tightly before taking her hand and walking her back toward the car. I figured it was safest for all of us to be as far away from the house as possible. Just in case.
“The blinking light on Marlow’s cage wasn’t actually hooked to a bomb,” Alex said. “Maybe there isn’t a bomb here, either.”
“Maybe not, but not hooking a real bomb to Marlow’s crate might have been a decoy to make us overconfident. I think we have to act as if there is a bomb and hope there isn’t.”
“Should we call Salinger?” Ellie asked.
“I guess we should,” I answered.
“I’ll do it,” Levi said, taking out his cell and walking a few steps away.
Alex walked into Diego’s arms, and Ellie took my hand in hers. The waiting was unbearable.
After what seemed like hours later, Zak emerged from the house. Alone.
“Scooter?” I asked, running toward him.
“He’s fine. The person on the other end of the phone line wants me to hack into the NSA and download a couple files. If I deliver the files to the dark web address provided to me, I’ve been assured that I will receive the code to open Scooter’s cage before it explodes.”
“Before it explodes?” I screeched. “Was a timer activated?”
Zak nodded. “A blue light began to blink when I made the call. I guess it must have been activated remotely.”
“Hacking into the NSA won’t be easy, but we need to get those files. How long do you have?” I asked.
“An hour.”
An hour wasn’t long enough. The drive out to the house had taken a good thirty minutes. Maybe even forty.
“I called Pi,” Zak added. “He’s getting the files. I’m going to head back into the house and take a closer look around. I want to see if I can figure out a way to get Scooter out of there without getting us both killed. I know Pi is a better hacker than I am, but I really feel like we should have a backup plan just in case.”
“I’m coming with you,” I said.
“No,” Zak said firmly. “Stay here.” He looked at the group. “All of you.
If I figure something out and need extra help, I’ll come back out and let you know.”
Levi put his arm around my shoulders, but he was looking at Zak. “Anything you need, man. Anything at all.”
After Zak went back into the house, I looked at Levi, Ellie, Alex, and Diego. “We can’t just stand here. What if Pi can’t get into the NSA before the deadline? An hour isn’t very long to hack into a government agency.”
Alex took my hand. “We did it before. Diego, Shredder, and me. Two years ago, when Claudia had Zak. After the whole thing was over, I spoke to Zak about it, so he knows how to get in. At least he has an idea of how to get in. I know the security changes all the time, but between Zak and Pi, they’ll figure it out.” She squeezed my hand. “They have to.”
“Maybe we should be in there,” Diego said. “To explain what we did the last time.”
Alex looked conflicted.
“He won’t want to put either of you in danger,” I said. “I’ll go in and ask him to come out and talk to you. I’ll stay and sit with Scooter. Zak won’t like it, but I’m sure once he thinks about it, he’ll know I’m right.”
I entered the dark, dusty house slowly. I could hear Zak at the back of the house, talking to someone. Probably Scooter. Zak frowned when I arrived at the doorway to the room he was in, which opened up into the room where Scooter’s cell was located.
“I thought I told you to wait outside with the others,” he said.
“You did say that, but Alex reminded me that she, Diego, and Shredder hacked into the NSA when Claudia had you two years ago. They think they can help. They want to help. You should go, and all three of you can talk to Pi. I’ll wait here with Scooter.”
Zak looked like he was going to argue.
“I’m staying, so you might as well go.”
Zak, who’d been on the phone told whoever was on the other end, probably Pi, to hang on a minute. He then got up from where he’d been sitting on an old dining table. He looked me in the eye, kissed me briefly, warned me not to cross the threshold to the room where Scooter was being held for any reason, and then headed down the hallway toward the front door.
“You don’t have to stay,” Scooter said. “In fact, you should go. If this whole thing blows, there’s no reason for both of us to die.”
“No one is dying, and I’m not going anywhere.” I slid up onto the table where I could see and speak to Scooter without crossing into the other room. “So, what happened?” I asked, trying to ignore the blinking blue light that was raising my blood pressure with each blink. “How did you end up here?”
“I went to the Burger Barn for lunch yesterday with a couple guys from the soccer team. I was waiting in line when you walked up, or at least someone who looked exactly like you walked up. This woman told me there had been an emergency at home and I needed to come with her. I didn’t even hesitate; I just went. She stuck me with something sharp just as I was getting into the car she was driving. I guess it must have been a syringe with a sedative because I woke up here. I sort of remember someone coming in and asking me to hold a sign while they took a photo, and then I fell back to sleep. I really had no idea how long I was out, but Zak told me that all that happened yesterday, and now it’s Saturday.” Scooter swallowed hard and glanced at the light. “Am I going to die?”
“No,” I said with conviction. “Absolutely not. Zak and Pi will get the crazy lady who took you what she wants. We’ll get the code to open the cell, and then we’re all going home. I bet you’re hungry.”
“Starving. I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday morning.”
I glanced at my watch. It had probably been twenty minutes since Zak had come out to tell us we had an hour. I knew that even with the combined genius of Pi, Zak, Alex, and Diego, getting the information the crazy woman wanted would not be easy. If it weren’t for the fact that Alex and Diego had hacked in before, I’d say their task would pretty much be impossible.
“How is it that a lady who looks exactly like you is walking around town?” Scooter asked after a minute of mutual silence.
“I’m not sure.” I took in a deep breath. “The woman who kidnapped Zak two years ago is a master of disguise and can look like anyone she sets her mind to looking like, but she’s tall, and I’m short, so I don’t think it can be her.” I paused, licking my lips and thinking about Scooter’s question. “She might be in on this whole thing, however. This crazy game playing scenario is exactly the sort of thing she enjoys.”
“Is she dangerous? She didn’t kill Zak, and she didn’t kill Marlow, but she has killed before. Right?”
I nodded. “She has killed before, but you’re right. She only made it look as if she was going to kill Zak two years ago. He was never in any real danger. Marlow, either.” I glanced at the blinking light. “That doesn’t mean she won’t kill again, but I have a feeling the bomb she’s trying to convince us is real actually isn’t.”
Scooter swallowed hard and looked at the light. “I hope not, but I’m still scared.”
“Me too,” I admitted.
I glanced at my watch. It had been forty minutes. I should have asked someone, maybe Levi or Ellie, to call me with updates. I thought about calling them, but I had seen shows on TV where a call from a cell phone actually activated an explosion. Of course, Zak had been on the phone when I’d come in, so maybe a call was safe in this instance.
“You probably should go,” Scooter said. “The light is blinking faster.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said. I frowned. “Where’s your phone?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I had it at the Burger Barn, but I don’t have it now.”
“Did you text Tucker yesterday to say that the plans you had with him weren’t going to work out?”
“No. I saw Tucker in the morning before first period. We both confirmed our plans. I never texted him.”
“Did you text me to say that you were staying overnight with Tucker? Maybe before you were grabbed?”
“No. I never did get around to confirming with you.”
I didn’t like this at all. “Do you remember mentioning to the person who forced you into the car and brought you here that you had plans with Tucker that you would need to cancel with him?”
“No.”
“Did you mention that you had planned to text me with a confirmation?” The woman who kidnapped Scooter could have taken his phone and sent the texts, but how did she know who needed to be notified and what sort of message needed to be conveyed with each text? “Did you mention to anyone that you needed to text me to confirm your plans with Tucker?”
“I said as much to you. At home, before I left for school. I said that I might be staying overnight with Tucker, and you said I should text you to confirm. I said I would.”
Suddenly I wondered if the kitchen was bugged. Someone had been in our house.
“And Tucker? Did you tell him you’d text him?”
“No. We chatted before school and arranged to meet up after soccer. There was no need to text him.”
“So whoever texted Tucker to cancel must have known you had plans with him that needed canceling to avoid him calling us looking for you. Any idea who knew or how they knew about your plans?”
Scooter shook his head. “I don’t know. I guess some of the other guys were around when Tucker and I spoke, but I can’t see any of them being involved.”
“Did you have your school sports jacket on yesterday morning?” I asked.
He nodded. “I always wear it when it’s cool enough to require a jacket.” He turned and picked it up off the cot someone had put in the cell.”
“Is there something in a pocket? Something pinned to it that might actually be a listening device?”
Scooter put his hand in one of the pockets and pulled out something that actually looked like a small spider. He dropped it on the floor and stepped on it. “Has someone been listening to everything I say? For how long?”
“I don’t know.” I turned and looked
behind me. Zak had just come in.
“Did you get the code to open the door?” I asked.
“I did.” He pulled me close and hugged me. “You go and wait outside with the others.”
“But…”
“Just do it, Zoe.”
“Yeah,” Scooter said. “You should go. I don’t want any more people risking their life for me than is absolutely necessary.”
I really didn’t want to leave, but then I thought of Alex and Catherine. If anything happened to Zak and Scooter, they’d need me. I forced back the tears that were pushing at the back of my eyes. I turned and left the house and joined the others. The car had been moved well away from the house. Zak must have instructed everyone to wait near the car. Alex held a phone and seemed to be describing everything that was happening. I supposed she was keeping Pi updated.
A few minutes after I joined the others, Zak walked out with Scooter. Salinger pulled up just as they crossed the threshold to the front porch. The pair hurried toward us as quickly as they could move and had barely made it to the spot where the car had originally been parked when there was a loud bang, and the entire house blew up in a flash so bright it could probably be seen for miles.
Chapter 9
Zak grabbed Scooter and pulled him toward the spot where Salinger, Ellie, Levi, Alex, Diego, and I were waiting. The eight of us huddled behind the cars, arms over our heads as debris rained down all around us. I clung to Scooter, and Zak clung to both of us. I could hear both Alex and Ellie sobbing nearby as the heat from the flames penetrated the cool fall air. There had been a part of me that had felt secure in the fact that the crate Marlow had been trapped in hadn’t actually been rigged with an explosive device as we’d believed. A few more minutes — no a few more seconds — and both Zak and Scooter would have been no more than a footnote in history.
“Oh God,” I said as I gasped for breath.
“It’s okay,” Zak said from somewhere beyond the tangle of arms wrapped around one another. “We’re safe. We’re all safe now.”