Amanda Lester, Detective Box Set

by Paula Berinstein

  “Let’s just try the tree thing, okay?”

  “All right.”

  There were several big trees near the peacocks, but Amanda could see that there was a problem. There was no way they could each hold an end of the net and climb a tree. Nor was there a way for one of them to hold the net while climbing and then throw it to the other in another tree. The only possibility was for one of them to hold the net, climb a tree, and throw the net over the peacocks.

  “I don’t think this is going to work,” she said.

  “I don’t either,” he said, “but let me just go up and try.”

  Amanda sighed. The idea was ridiculous, but if it made him happy to try, who was she to argue?

  The net was bulky and awkward. Holmes had quite a job trying to hold it and climb the tree at the same time. Meanwhile the peacocks weren’t exactly holding still. Despite their illness, they were moving all over the place, so that when he got to a reasonable height they were out of range.

  “How about a tranquilizer dart?” he yelled down to Amanda.

  “Very funny,” she said.

  “Why? You don’t think that will work?”

  “Even if we could find such a thing, do you really think our aim is that good?” she said. “Plus it takes at least five minutes for the tranquilizer to work. They could be long gone by then.”

  “What do you mean ‘five minutes’? Isn’t it instant?”

  “You’ve been watching too many movies,” Amanda said in a neat about-face. “It takes much longer in real life.”

  “How do you know that?” he called down.

  “Research.”

  “Oh.” He sounded terribly disappointed.

  “I think it might be time to regroup,” said Amanda, holding her hand up to him.

  “Um, I think I have a problem,” he said. “I don’t think I can get down.”

  It was a good thing Legatum had such a cordial relationship with the fire service because when Amanda called to get their help, they laughed in her ear and told her she should find a more athletic boyfriend. However, when she mentioned Headmaster Thrillkill the dispatcher said, “Legatum? Why didn’t you say so?” Within thirty seconds a fire truck had arrived, and within a minute more Holmes was safe and sound back on the ground.

  “A word of advice,” said the fireman, a short, muscular kid named Henshall. “Take your PE classes seriously.”

  “Right,” said Holmes good-naturedly. Amanda was glad he hadn’t heard the dispatcher’s advice, which frankly, was not only insulting, but subversive.

  When the firemen had left, Holmes said, “I wonder what they ate that made them so ill.”

  “Maybe we should check out those plants the gardeners put in at school,” said Amanda.

  “Weren’t they carefully selected?” said Holmes.

  “I guess, but what if they made a mistake?”

  “Good thinking.” He took her hand and kissed it. She was really getting to like this.

  Back at Legatum Holmes and Amanda went out to the garden to look at all the new plantings. It soon became apparent, however, that they had no idea what they were doing.

  “Do you know what that is?” said Amanda, pointing to a yellow flowering plant.

  “Haven’t the faintest. How about that?” He indicated a shrub with long, pointy leaves.

  “Nuh uh. Um, Scapulus, your mom is a botanist. How can you not know this stuff?”

  Holmes stopped for a moment and slapped his forehead. “Amanda, you’re a genius!”

  “I know.” She grinned.

  “And modest.” He grinned back. “My mum’s app.”

  “What app?”

  “My mum created a plant database. I made an app out of it. You can take a picture of a plant and the app tells you what it is.”

  “That’s fantastic,” she said. “Let’s try it.”

  Holmes took his phone out of his pocket and thumbed around. “Got it. Now, let’s give it a go.”

  He moved over to the yellow flowers, knelt down, and snapped a picture. But the app couldn’t find a match.

  “That’s crazy,” he said. “Look at that plant. It looks completely ordinary. There has to be a match.”

  “Why don’t you try another one?” said Amanda.

  Holmes sidled over to the narrow-leaved plant and snapped again. “Hm, I think there’s something wrong here.”

  “Why?” said Amanda. “What does it say?”

  “It says it’s a blueberry bush. It clearly isn’t. It isn’t even a bush.”

  “Did you test this thing?” said Amanda. She was sure he had. He was so careful and so skillful with anything digital that he rarely made mistakes.

  “Sure,” he said. “I don’t understand what’s wrong.”

  “Has the data been corrupted, do you think?” said Amanda.

  “Always a possibility.” He shook the phone.

  “Scapulus!” she laughed. “You can’t fix it by shaking it.”

  “Reflex, sorry. That was pretty dumb, wasn’t it?”

  “Well, whatever the problem is, we’re going to have to try another way. We don’t have time to mess around.”

  “You’re right. Let’s ask the gardeners.”

  Now it was Amanda’s turn to slap her head. His magic must have been making her mind all fuzzy. Of course. Why hadn’t she thought of that?

  But that didn’t work either. The gardeners were nowhere to be seen.

  “Nuts,” said Amanda. “It’s possible there are some plants in there that are making the peacocks sick, and we have no way of identifying them.”

  “I’m not sure it even matters,” said Holmes. Amanda was shocked. Why would he give up like that? “They’re already ill. Taking the plants out would just prevent them from getting sick again. But we haven’t even figured out how to make them well. Anyway, if these plants really do repel peacocks, and they seem to because there isn’t one in sight, then the peacocks wouldn’t have eaten them anyway. I think it’s something else.”

  Amanda was becoming extremely discouraged. They couldn’t give the peacocks their medicine, they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with them, and the vet had been practically useless.

  “What are we going to do?” she said.

  “I have no idea,” said Scapulus Holmes. “No idea at all.”

  15

  Can You See His Shoes?

  In the end Liam decided that the best approach to the mechanic was the direct one—sort of. He phoned Alfie Kingsolver and told him that he was an archaeologist working with the British Museum, and they had discovered something that might pertain to his family tree. Apparently Mr. Kingsolver googled Liam and decided that he was legit, and a visit was set up.

  Liam and Darius agreed that it was best not to raise the idea of filming the interview until the ice was broken, so Darius waited down at the pub until Liam thought the risk had been lowered. Of course with Darius being as famous as he was, the man might have recognized him at once, which would probably have been helpful, most people being highly susceptible to the draw of celebrity. But on the off chance that Mr. Kingsolver was one of those people who disparaged Hollywood, which, to Amanda’s surprise many English people did, both thought it best to move slowly.

  Of course the kids couldn’t possibly go, not even Ivy and Simon, who had been allowed to go to Wales but had to return to school. Professor Sidebotham told them that she had been most lenient under the circumstances, but they had had their fun and would have to catch up with their studies.

  There was a saving grace to the situation, though, and that was that Darius agreed to let them watch through his camera remotely, should he be allowed to film Mr. Kingsolver in situ. This would have to be accomplished surreptitiously, however, with no leaks whatsoever, or he, the kids, and the entire school would be in big trouble. Amanda once again thanked her lucky stars that the director was so open-minded and generous.

  And so Liam went to see Alfie Kingsolver alone, while the other archaeologists, Twinkle, and
Darius waited. Amanda and her friends sat nervously in the common room, waiting for what they hoped would be a sneak peek at the man and fearing that Liam might be unceremoniously thrown out and the whole endeavor ruined.

  “I can’t stand it,” said Ivy, who still wasn’t speaking to Simon. She had placed herself as far away from him as she could. The gremlins had decorated the room to look like an ancient castle and she had installed herself on a stone bench at the south end. Simon was sitting cross-legged at the north end in front of the fireplace, which had been converted into a cooking area with antique iron skillets and other bygone implements. Amanda was sitting next to Ivy with Nigel between them, and Clive had perched himself on a low stone wall.

  Just because Ivy wasn’t speaking to Simon didn’t mean he wasn’t speaking to her, and now he said, “It will be what it is. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”

  “Shut up, Simon,” said Amanda. “If it doesn’t matter, why are you here?”

  “I didn’t say it didn’t matter,” he said. “I said it will be all right whatever happens.”

  Ivy sighed loudly and Amanda decided it wasn’t worth arguing with him. He was impossible and he would never change. Just when you thought he was maturing, he would turn around and act like a complete jerk. She was very close to being as finished with him as Ivy was.

  “No other possible descendants then?” said Clive, relieving the tension.

  “We don’t know, do we?” said Amanda. “Not for sure.”

  “That’s true,” said Ivy. “There are many other routes my dad could try.”

  “Again, then, what’s the big deal?” said Simon.

  “Hey, man, cool it,” said Clive.

  “Bah,” said Simon. Something definitely was eating at him. Amanda was half curious and half didn’t care. The more he said, the more her mood changed in favor of her not caring.

  Suddenly Amanda’s phone vibrated. She took it out of her pocket and saw a room overflowing with junk. In the middle was a large middle-aged man with a florid face sitting in an armchair and gesticulating wildly. Then she heard Liam’s voice. Darius was there and they were live!

  “It’s them!” said Ivy. “How does he look?”

  “Big, fat, and old,” said Simon.

  Amanda refused to dignify Simon’s remark by commenting, so she said, “It seems to be his living room, and he’s large and animated.”

  “Oh, I can tell that,” said Ivy. “Can you see his shoes?”

  “Um, no,” said Amanda. “Why is that important?”

  “I was just wondering if he had just come back from one of his expeditions or he’d been at work,” said Ivy.

  Everyone’s jaw dropped, even Simon’s. “What are you talking about?” said Amanda.

  “Well,” said Ivy, “it’s obvious that he’s really into his butterflies. Just look at all those nets and cameras and butterfly specimens.”

  “How do you know that stuff is there?” said Amanda.

  “He’s really intense about his hobby,” said Ivy. “He would have to surround himself with his trophies and accoutrements. That much is obvious. BTW, I’m wondering, is he a good sketcher? I know he’s got tons of drawings, but I’m dying to know if he’s got talent.”

  Clive coughed, Simon burped, and Amanda just about choked.

  “Well, uh,” said Amanda. “If Darius would zoom in I might be able to tell.”

  “Never mind,” said Ivy. “We’ll do it afterwards, with the recording.”

  “Right,” said Amanda, who in fact had been recording because that was what she always did.

  “I’m dying to know,” said Ivy. “I suspect he’s quite good.”

  “Ssh,” said Simon. “I want to hear what he’s saying.”

  “Why do you care where he’s just been?” Amanda whispered.

  “Silly question, really,” said Ivy. “I was just wondering how receptive he’d be to Dad. It’s obvious, though, that he’s been out butterflying. Listen to his voice, how exuberant he is. That’s not a work voice. It’s a passion voice.”

  Amanda never ceased to marvel at how perceptive Ivy was. She used to think her friend was a bit spooky, but now she just despaired that she’d never develop her senses as well.

  Liam was telling the mechanic what they’d found at the farm and explaining how he’d come to excavate the cave. The man seemed transfixed.

  “Ivy,” whispered Amanda. “Do you think he’ll be upset that your dad found a match in a criminal database?”

  “No,” said Ivy. “He’s figured that out already. If he were going to be upset he wouldn’t have agreed to the visit.”

  “Oh, right,” said Amanda. It sounded good anyway.

  “When can I go?” said the mechanic, winking at Darius. Not that they could see him, but they could tell he was the target based on the direction of the wink.

  “To the cave, you mean?” said Liam.

  “I’m ready to go now,” said Alfie Kingsolver.

  “Splendid!” said Liam. “We can take you there tomorrow.”

  “Not now?” said the mechanic.

  “It’s a bit late in the day,” said Liam. It was five in the afternoon and the light was fading.

  “First thing in the morning then?” said the mechanic.

  “Tell you what,” said Liam. “I will phone you at 7:00 and see how you’re doing. Once you’ve had your breakfast we can go.”

  The mechanic laughed. “Oh, I don’t know if you want to do that. I have my breakfast at 4:00 A.M. I’ll be ready at 4:30.”

  Amanda could hear Liam sigh. “How about 6:00 then?” he said.

  “Five-thirty,” said Alfie.

  “Five-thirty it is,” said Liam, and the feed cut off.

  “Yaaaaay!” yelled Ivy.

  Simon clapped, Clive pumped the air, and Amanda took hold of Nigel and did a little dance with him. The project was working out better than they could have hoped.

  The next morning, the media got hold of the news and all hell broke loose.

  Liam had always been careful about his work, but regarding the possible existence of a Merlin descendant he a was fanatic. He had lectured his team about confidentiality and privacy incessantly, until they couldn’t stand the sound of his voice. He had sworn them to secrecy. And he had performed evasive maneuvers in traveling to Aberystwyth. And still the press discovered that Alfie Kingsolver, an ordinary garage mechanic who loved butterflies, was most likely descended from the only magician in history whose existence was supported by physical and biological evidence.

  The worry was that if the public got wind of the discovery, they would descend on the dig and misinterpret Liam’s results, and all kinds of charlatans would emerge. It was important to handle the project professionally and according to academic and government protocols, and now that would be impossible.

  “I just can’t figure out how this happened,” said Liam to Ivy and Amanda on Skype.

  “Oh, Dad, I’m so sorry,” said Ivy. “I’m sure it wasn’t one of us, though, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “You don’t think Simon . . .” said Liam.

  “Simon can be a jerk, but he would never do something like this,” said Ivy. Amanda was thankful that as angry as she was with Simon, she was still able to give him the benefit of the doubt.

  “Amanda, any ideas?” said Liam.

  “I agree with Ivy that it couldn’t have been one of us,” said Amanda.

  “Then it has to be Kingsolver himself,” said Liam. “I—oh, hello, Twinkle. What is it?” Twinkle moved into the frame and handed Liam a piece of paper. He took it, read it, and crumpled it up. “I don’t know what to say, girls. This is an unmitigated disaster. It could ruin the project and the most important find of my career. In fact—oh no. I’m getting a text from the university. Hang on.”

  Liam looked at the text and his face went white.

  “What is it?” said Ivy.

  He could barely get the words out. “The university has opened
an investigation.”

  “Of what?” said Ivy.

  “They think I’ve acted inappropriately in contacting Mr. Kingsolver.”

  “Why?” said both girls at once. The archaeologist had followed every protocol. They’d seen how careful he was.

  “Apparently I should have gone through a special review process first,” said Liam. “There’s some new ethics board they’ve set up that I’ve never heard of. The Medieval Peoples Ethics Review Board. What does that even mean and why don’t I know about it?”

  “Oh brother,” said Ivy.

  “This is a disaster,” said Liam. “Twinkle, have you heard of this?” He shoved his phone in her face.

  “I’m so sorry, Professor,” said Twinkle, who didn’t look at all sorry. “No, I haven’t.”

  “I have to ring off now,” said Liam. He looked positively despondent.

  “Dad—” said Ivy, but the screen just went blank.

  Amanda didn’t know what to say. She wanted to do something to help but she didn’t have a clue what that could be.

  “Do you think it would help to figure out who leaked the news?” she said.

  “How?” said Ivy. “It won’t change anything.”

  “You don’t think Simon could have—”

  “Never. He may be the most annoying person on the planet, but he would never do that.”

  “And Amphora?” Wherever there was trouble, you could always suspect Amphora. She was too envious, jealous, and insecure to let people have their successes.

  “I don’t know,” said Ivy. “I truly hope not, for her sake as well as Dad’s.” It was the first time Amanda remembered Ivy not immediately jumping to Amphora’s defense, except in the matter of her bickering with Simon.

  “How are we going to find out?” said Amanda.

  “Oh, that’s easy,” said Ivy. “The news is out. I’ll talk to her about the discovery. I’ll be able to tell from her voice whether she feels guilty about something.”

  “Of course,” said Amanda. “How could I not have realized that? I shouldn’t be there, should I?”