Amanda Lester, Detective Box Set

by Paula Berinstein

  “What’s wrong?” Nick said, taking her hand and holding it to his face.

  “I can’t do this,” she said. “It isn’t right. I love Scapulus.”

  He let go and looked into her eyes with such sadness she could hardly bear it. Then he looked away and said, “I don’t have the right to ask anything of you.”

  “No, you don’t,” she said, even while wishing he’d fight for her. She felt so torn between the cheerful boy who had always been good to her and the wild boy who had hurt her, but she knew what she had to do. Only one choice made sense. Still, she was sure that if he were to say one word, just one tiny syllable, she’d stay with him forever. It would take just that for her to throw everything away and follow her heart, but he said nothing, not even her name. So she said, “You really hurt me.”

  “I understand. I’m so sorry. I have no excuse.” He looked at the door. “You should go.”

  She got up and started to walk out, but she had to know one more thing. “Please, just tell me the truth. Why was my picture in your mattress?”

  Nick gave her a long look. She wasn’t sure he was going to tell her, but then he sighed and said, “Do you remember the night of the garage explosion?” She nodded. “You sneaked by Mrs. Scarper in that silly disguise so you could investigate.” She smiled remembering how easy it had been to get past the teachers, who never would have let her out of the dorm. He’d snuck out too, and they’d run into each other, the only two brave enough to break the rules. “That was when I knew.”

  So that was it. He’d targeted her then, and here he was finally admitting it. She felt her anger rise. “What, that I was the ideal patsy?”

  “No,” he said, his blue eyes as deep as the world. “That you were my soul mate, the one I wanted to be with forever. You’re fearless and curious and independent and passionate and you’re so wild and beautiful, and heaven help me, I love you with everything that’s in me.” She caught her breath. She was so surprised she thought she might faint, but she could see that he wasn’t finished and willed herself not to. Then he said, “And I knew we could never be together, which is why I’ve tried so hard not to.”

  Now he looked wild himself. She’d never seen him so full of life, even in the tunnels when he’d emerged from nowhere, bursting with electricity. Surely she wasn’t like that too. “I’m wild?”

  “Didn’t you know? You’re like the wind, my beautiful Amanda.”

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Simon had been right after all, except he’d missed one thing: Nick loved her too. She never would have guessed, not if she lived a million years. And she knew, knew without a doubt, that this was what she'd always wanted but never dared admit.

  He was looking at her with so much love in his eyes he couldn’t contain it, and tears started to run down his face. She reached out and brushed one away. He grabbed hold of her hand and kissed it, and his kiss burned like the sun.

  “Oh, Nick,” she said, and reached for him again. He held her even tighter this time and kissed her in a way she never could have imagined. “I never knew.”

  “No, you wouldn’t have,” he said, and kissed her again. Then he looked into her eyes and said, “Do you love me even a little?”

  She sat up, ending the embrace. His question shocked her. Until recently she’d fought the feeling, told herself he wasn’t her boyfriend, that the idea of being in love with him was ridiculous. It wasn’t just that he was a criminal. She’d denied it all, even before she knew what he was. Had she been fooling herself? Had she always felt the way she did now? Because at this moment she was sure she loved him more than the sky. But to admit it? That was terrifying.

  “No, don’t answer that,” he said, breaking off his gaze. He’d obviously picked up on her unease. “I’ve known for a long time that you could never love me. Even before Holmes. I knew it from that first day.”

  She reached out and turned his face back to her. At first he wouldn’t meet her eyes, but then he looked into her soul again. She could hardly stand it. “Why would you say that?”

  He grasped her hand and held it tight, as if he knew that after this he’d have to let it go forever. “Because of who you are. Who I am.”

  “I don’t care about that.” It was true. All she cared about was his voice and his arms and his hair falling in her face.

  He let go and his voice turned harsh. “You should. Anyway, you’re in love with Holmes.”

  But not the way she was in love with him. He was her soul mate as much as she was his. Why had it taken her so long to understand? She might never know that, but she did know one thing: she had to tell him he was her universe, and she had to tell him now.

  She took his hand again. “I need to tell you—”

  “Please don’t say it,” he murmured, looking away. “I couldn’t bear it.”

  What was he doing? He had it all wrong. He thought she was going to reject him. “Nick—”

  “No, Amanda, please don’t.” He was practically pleading.

  He didn’t want to know. The way he was behaving he might not believe her if she did tell him. Well if that was the case, perhaps he was right after all. Perhaps the obstacles were too great and they couldn’t have this now, or ever.

  She looked at him once more but he shook his head. She felt as if her heart would break. She had to get away from him, this beloved boy she could never have, never hold, never kiss again, or she would explode. She stood up and made for the door. On an impulse she turned around and looked at him one last time. He was gazing at her tenderly, tears flowing. Their eyes met for a moment, and he said, “Goodbye, my beautiful Amanda.” Then she turned slowly round and ran out the door without another word.

  In the hall she nearly collided with her mother, who just happened to be walking by. “I hope you haven’t been where I think you’ve been,” Lila said, dodging out of her way. “That boy belongs behind bars.”

  “That boy just saved us,” said Amanda hotly.

  Lila crossed her arms. “This isn’t over.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means I will continue to do whatever I have to do to keep you away from him.”

  “What do you mean ‘continue’? What have you done?”

  “I guess it doesn’t matter now since it didn’t work,” said Lila. “That helmet, the one you took to the castle? I was the one who put holes in it.”

  You what?” screamed Amanda. “I could have been killed!”

  “Not at all, dear,” said Lila nonchalantly. “I knew you’d give it to him. He would have been the one who was killed.”

  “You tried to kill Nick?” Amanda yelled. “How could you do that?”

  “I did it for your own good,” said her mother. “Just like I tried to get rid of those peacocks. I should have been more persistent.”

  “WHAT? You poisoned the peacocks?”

  “Of course I did. Nasty, dirty animals. They were distracting you from your studies. You don’t think you’re going to graduate if you keep running around after some old birds, do you?”

  Amanda was beyond fuming. She was so angry she burst into tears and screamed at the top of her lungs, “Fine, that’s the way you want it? That’s what you’ll get.” And the wild girl ran off.

  34

  The Plot Thickens

  Being a detective can be rewarding but it’s a sad profession. The kids had faced so much heartbreak with Wink Wiffle and Professor Redleaf dying and Professor Ducey becoming paralyzed that Amanda didn’t think they could take anymore, but when Darius Plover’s body was found in a tunnel near Penrith, they had no choice. They had to find a way to cope.

  Apparently when he had gone in search of Blixus, which he had foolishly done alone, on crutches, in the worst storm in years, Darius had tripped and fallen into an underground stream that had swollen to river proportions. There was no way of knowing whether he’d called for help, but even if he had it would have been futile. Amanda berated herself for letting him go, althoug
h she could have done nothing to stop him, or for not at least going with him, although she couldn’t have done that either.

  When the water had subsided and they had performed a thorough search they found Darius’s crutches and a backpack containing his camera, a small tripod, his phone, and his wallet, as well as a couple of soggy power bars. The electronics were unsalvageable, but the police had been able to dry out the wallet and preserve some of its contents. In it they’d found a card listing Amanda’s phone number, and they had called her to come get his effects. Thrillkill had driven her, and she had wailed the whole way there, but on the way back she was absolutely silent, for she found something amazing in the wallet and hadn’t the faintest idea what to do about it.

  When she got back to Legatum she called her friends together in the common room and showed them what she’d found.

  “You’re kidding,” said Simon.

  “I don’t get it,” said Clive.

  “It doesn’t make sense,” said Holmes.

  “What is it?” said Ivy.

  Amanda sat down next to her friend and took her hand. “It’s a picture of that girl who knocked Hugh out and saved us when we were prisoners in Blixus’s cave.”

  It was indeed. It was a headshot of a beautiful young dark-haired girl who looked exactly like their rescuer. There was no writing on either side, not even a date.

  “It can’t be,” said Ivy.

  “It is,” said Simon, examining the picture carefully. “I remember her mouth. It’s the same.”

  “Spit and image,” said Amanda.

  “Who is she?” said Clive, taking the picture from Simon, then handing it to Holmes, who shook his head.

  “She said something about her brother,” said Ivy. “Whose brother could she be?”

  “Not mine,” said Simon.

  “Or mine,” said Holmes and Clive.

  “You don’t suppose she’s related to Harry, do you?” said Ivy.

  “I have no idea,” said Amanda. “I’m not keen on asking him either.”

  “He didn’t seem to recognize her,” said Holmes.

  “You were watching him?” said Simon.

  “Yes,” said Holmes. “Keep thine enemies closer and all that.”

  “Me too,” said Simon. “I don’t trust that guy.”

  “I was watching him too,” said Clive. “He didn’t bat an eye.”

  “Well, then, what’s going on?” said Amanda, taking the picture back.

  “Maybe she’s delusional,” said Holmes.

  “She must be,” said Amanda. “But I’m glad she did what she did. Still, why would Darius be carrying her picture?”

  As for the aforementioned Harry, since the episode in the Penrith tunnels he’d gone downhill fast. After Sidebotham had kicked him out of Legatum, he’d taken to “hanging around” and was often seen staggering around Windermere, drunk. Eustace told Amanda he’d seen him wallowing in a ditch, and Professor Browning, who had been shopping for a lava lamp, said she’d spotted him sitting on a bench in the rain—barefoot. When she’d tapped him on the shoulder he’d stared up at her and said, “I don’t do autographs.”

  “What’s going to happen to him?” Amanda asked Ivy.

  “I don’t know,” said Ivy. “It’s sad, isn’t it?”

  “I hope you’re not saying it’s our fault.”

  “No way,” said Ivy. “He did it to himself.”

  “I wish it were him instead of Darius,” said Amanda. She knew she was being petty, but she was still reeling from the director’s death.

  “Amanda! How can you say such a thing?”

  “Sorry, but it’s true. He’s a waste of space.”

  “Who’s a waste of space?” said Simon, interrupting the conversation.

  “Harry,” said Ivy.

  “I’ll say,” said Simon. “Hey, I have to show you something. Amanda, look at this.”

  He was holding a magazine, which was open to a page somewhere in the middle. It was a women’s fashion magazine, so the sight was pretty incongruous—until Amanda recognized the figure in the picture he was pointing at.

  “OMG, it’s that girl!” she cried.

  “What girl?” said Ivy.

  “The girl who knocked Hugh out,” said Amanda. “She’s in the magazine.”

  “Is she a criminal?” said Ivy.

  “No, she’s a model,” said Amanda. “Unless it isn’t her.”

  “It’s her,” said Simon. “See the mouth?” He pointed.

  “So the girl who knocked Hugh out, has a brother who was in the tunnels with us, and was in Darius’s wallet is a model?” said Ivy.

  “Apparently,” said Simon. “But you do realize what this means?”

  “We can track her down,” said Ivy.

  “Yuppers,” said Simon. “Easy peasy.”

  “Oooh, this is weird,” said Ivy.

  “I know,” said Amanda. She was already dialing the media company that produced the magazine. Within a couple of minutes she had the name of the model: Basilica Pashmina. Apparently she was a huge deal and was predicted to be the next big supermodel, even though she was only eleven. Without even knowing who Amanda was, the PR person she spoke with assured her that if she hired Basilica for her photo shoot, her circulation would soar. Amanda gave Simon a thumbs up, squeezed Ivy’s shoulder, thanked the woman, and hung up.

  “Pashmina,” Ivy said. “There’s no one at Legatum with that name.”

  “I know,” said Amanda.

  “So whose sister could she be?” said Ivy.

  “No idea,” said Simon, “but here’s her Web site. Ask her yourself.”

  Amanda stared at the contact form on the girl’s site. “What do I say?”

  “You’re a detective,” said Simon. “You’ll think of something.”

  After dinner Simon came waltzing into the common room with a book under his arm. He was wearing the stupidest-looking grin Amanda had ever seen. She nudged Ivy, who said, “What’s he doing now?”

  “Why are you looking so weird, Simon?” said Amanda.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe a little thing like this.”

  He shoved the book in her face. It was The Worst Archaeological Fraud in History: An Eyewitness Account of the Merlin Debacle, by Twinkle Earnshaw.

  “So?” she said. “It’s disgusting.”

  “What is it?” said Ivy.

  “Twinkle’s book,” said Amanda.

  “What do you want with that?” said Ivy.

  Simon started to turn the book over. Slowly, slowly he rotated it until Amanda could see the back. It was like he was putting on a show. She couldn’t stand his theatrics, so she grabbed the book out of his hands and looked at it. Under the blurb, where the author photo should be, was a picture of a capuchin monkey!

  Within one second Amanda was laughing so hard she couldn’t speak. “What is it?” said Ivy. “What’s so funny?”

  Simon took the book and put it in her hands. “We got her,” he said. “She’ll never bother your dad again. Oh, and in case you’re interested, her first print run was a hundred thousand copies.”

  “You don’t mean . . .” Amanda managed to squeak out.

  “Yup,” said Simon. “You can thank me later.”

  Nick may have been admitted into Legatum provisionally, but the detectives refused to let him live there. After he recovered from his injuries he left the campus, stopping to furnish his DNA sample, which, surprisingly, he had never done.

  He went back to the boat. The police had lost interest in it and technically it still belonged to Blixus, which made it a convenient place for him to stay. Amanda suspected that Thrillkill had made a deal with the police, since normally they would have seized the vessel. She was relieved that Nick wouldn’t be living on campus, and also that he had a place to go. But she knew she’d run into him, and she knew that things would be awkward between them, and she was as uncomfortable as she could be.

  She still couldn’t get over his confession, admissi
on, declaration, whatever it was. When he’d said he loved her it was as if the world had stopped. She found herself thinking that it would have been the perfect time for Simon to get in there and make his adjustments to the earth’s axis, which only showed how off-balance she was. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be normal again, if she ever had been. She felt so lost in love and regret that she could barely function.

  But then Professor Hoxby stopped her in the hall and told her he was facing a dilemma. At first she didn’t hear him, but when he said that there was a problem with Nick’s DNA, the pathologist finally registered on her radar screen.

  “Sorry, Professor, what did you say?” she said.

  “I said there’s an issue with the Moriarty boy’s DNA,” said Professor Hoxby. “It doesn’t match his parents’.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I thought we might have got a bad sample, so I asked him for another one, and I checked several times but there’s no match with either parent. Mr. Moriarty isn’t—a Moriarty, that is.”

  “I don’t understand,” she said. “Of course he is.”

  “I’m 99.9% certain,” said the teacher.

  “But what does this mean?” said Amanda.

  “I suspect the boy was adopted,” said Professor Hoxby.

  “But who are his parents?” she said.

  “I don’t know about the mother, but I did find a match with a male in our database.”

  And then he told her, and she could scarcely believe it. Gobsmacked would be the word. Beyond gobsmacked. She was so shocked she couldn’t speak.

  “Does he know?” said Professor Hoxby.

  Amanda was reeling. “I don’t think so,” she croaked. Then, “Do we have to tell him? There’s been so much upheaval already.”

  “It’s probably in his best interest to know.”

  She wasn’t at all sure she agreed. This news would devastate Nick. After all he’d been through, and now this, she couldn't leave him now. He was about to need her more than ever.

  She would go to him and tell him. And she’d tell him how she felt, and it would be the two of them against the world.