In Too Deep - 39 Clues 06

by Jude Watson

  Isabel had whistled as she'd carried it herself to the private plane she'd hired to take them to Coober Pedy. She'd also arranged for a Hummer to be driven up from Adelaide.

  Irina hadn't known what was in the box until Isabel had opened it. Isabel had smiled as she shook out the jar of deadly spiders.

  She'd planned on releasing them into the Cahills' hotel room, but this was better still. Right down the shaft onto their heads! Isabel had also handled the snake easily.

  Not a drop of perspiration on her brow as she flipped the latch and grabbed him from behind, wearing the heavy gloves. She had enjoyed it.

  Enjoyed being close to so much deadly terror."I want you to keep track of the Cahill brats while I take Ian and Natalie with me. Report in on their movements. If by some slim chance they're on their way to Java, delay them. I'm tired of them in my hair."

  "And then?" Irina asked."And then what?" Isabel asked irritably. She was checking her lipstick in the rearview mirror, and she tilted it to look at Irina."They aren't going away for long," Irina said. "We have seen their tenacity.

  What are your ultimate plans for them?"Isabel shrugged. "I haven't thought that far ahead. I'm concentrating on this clue.

  We could even find all thirty-nine clues -- can you imagine that, children? -- because we're almost one hundred percent sure that Robert Cahill Henderson had most, if not all, of them. Amy and Dan will be immaterial.

  They'll be dust. Not worth dealing with." Isabel played with the gold charms on her bracelet, then turned her attention to her fingernails.

  Irina watched Isabel's careless indifference, as though her manicure was the most important thing in the world. She knew Isabel too well and for too long. It was true she cared deeply about nail polish. But she also cared deeply about getting rid of dust.

  Isabel had used some of her best tricks to scare them away. Soon she would unleash her rage. Irina could feel it building.

  This has been a long road, she thought. Now, I can finally see the end.

  CHAPTER 19

  "Robert Cahill Henderson was a brilliant chemist," Amy said, reading rapidly.

  "He was also engaged to a cousin of Queen Victoria.

  He was a champion of Darwin's theories. That's why the search engine came up with so many hits. This is fascinating...."

  "Yeah. Wake me up when it's over," Dan said. He lay stretched out on one of the twin beds in Ken's spare room. He glanced over at the closet. "Are we sure they caught the snake?"

  "We're sure. Anyway, one day he suddenly broke his engagement -- which was a huge deal in those days -- and took off for the South Seas.

  He said he was going to do further study on Darwin's theories. But he wasn't a naturalist, he was a chemist," Amy added thoughtfully. "So that's strange."

  "Whatevs," Dan said with a yawn. "When does the fascinating part come?"

  "He made his way around the islands of Indonesia until settling on one to conduct experiments. He was believed to have perished in the eruption of Krakatau in 1883."

  "Krak-a-wa?"

  "Krakatau," Amy said. "It was a huge volcanic explosion.

  Actually, a series of explosions. The mountain basically imploded, and then came these huge tsunamis that killed about thirty-six thousand people. They heard the noise of the final explosion all the way in Australia. The dust cloud that came afterward gave spectacular sunsets even in the United States."

  "Now you're getting to the cool part.""That's it! The upside-down ice cream cone!" Amy said excitedly. "It was a volcano! He was drawing Krakatau. But why did he suddenly leave his fiancee and go to Indonesia? There has to be a reason."

  "Sure," Dan said. "He was one smart dude. Get married or go lie on a beach. No contest. Even with the volcano, the dude was ahead."

  "So he must have been in the vicinity of Krakatau when it blew. He barely escaped with his life," Amy said. "He got to Sydney somehow. And Cahills and Madrigals have been looking for him ever since. Why?"If you found something, it belongs to all of us. If you keep it, you are thieves. Simple as that.

  It was the strangest thing. Dan's face was in front of her, but she had been gone, for just a moment. Standing in her nightgown, listening to the grown-ups."Earth to Amy," Dan said.

  She didn't fall asleep until the people left. She heard the front door shut. She looked out to make sure they were really gone. But they stood in a little knot right under her window.

  She raised it slightly so she could look at them again. All she could see was the top of their heads."Get some nerve," the beautiful lady said.

  "We have our answer. They traced him to Australia. This has to be taken care of tonight."Her fault."Amy? You're wigging."

  Dan peered at her. "Seriously, are you okay?"She looked at her brother. At his pale face, the way he was worried about her but trying not to be. The asthma attack had taken so much out of him, but he was pretending it hadn't. She could see the exhaustion in the dark circles under his eyes."I'm fine," she said."So, what's next, space shot?" Dan asked.

  "Back to Sydney?"She cleared her throat. Her voice sounded rusty to her ears. "Darwin. We have to keep following their footsteps."* * *

  On the plane the next morning, Amy settled back into the seat and opened the biography of Amelia Earhart she'd borrowed from Shep.

  She didn't know what she was looking for, so she leafed through the book,140reading various passages, while Nellie zoned out with her earbuds and Dan made his way through a package of chicken-flavored potato crisps.

  A good night's sleep had restored him to his usual ravenous self."Dan, listen to this," she called. "In 1935, when Amelia was in Hawaii, she consulted with a noted volcanologist!"

  "Fascinating!" Dan said, ripping open a Violet Crumble."Don't you see? She could have been gathering information about Krakatau, even then," Amy said.

  Dan closed his eyes and gave a huge pretend snore. Amy sighed and took out the pages she'd downloaded from the Internet and printed out on Ken's printer.

  She read through accounts of the original explosion. Occasionally, she'd read out an interesting fact to Dan, even though he had taken all his wrappers, balled them up, and was pretending to shoot baskets with them. Then she read a story that made her sit up. She read it slowly again. "Dan!"

  "Swish! Another three-pointer!"Amy threw a pillow at him.

  "DAN! Listen to this. During the day of the eruption, a ship heading for Batavia -- that was the name for Jakarta then -- got into trouble.

  They ran into this huge cloud of ash, and then all this pumice-- volcanic rock--started to rain on the deck. So the captain pulled into a harbor miles away. They never made it to port, they had to turn around. But get this -- the cargo was wolfram."

  Dan sat up straight. "Wolfram? That's tungsten, one of the clues."

  "Not only that, the captain mentions that they had all these myrrh plants on deck.

  And the pumice and ash was raining down, so he had to order the crew to take it all below. What are the odds of a ship carrying both tungsten and myrrh?"

  "They were bringing clues. Probably to Henderson, right?"

  "It must have been! He was assembling clues!" Amy cried. "That's it! He was a scientist, so he was working on some kind of formula. Maybe that's why trying to find him is so crucial -- why all the branches are looking. He set up some sort of lab...." Amy smacked her chair.

  "On Krakatau! That's it! He had to order stuff to be delivered. And then when Krakatau blew... the lab was destroyed. He must have gotten caught in the tsunami... but he survived."

  "So the only thing left... was in his head," Dan said. "And he was nuts."Amy nodded, remembering the crazy obsessive writing in the mine.

  "I bet we're right that he was an Ekat. He attacked Mark Twain, so he can't be a Janus. And Isabel doesn't seem to know much about him, so he can't be a Lucian. He sure didn't look like a Tomas."Dan frowned.

  "We know that a Lucian-- Constantine of Russia -- had found most of the clues early in the nineteenth century. It seems like tw
o of the branches were getting pretty close back then."142Amy tapped the papers. "You know what else is in here? The island of Java is part of this whole area of volcanoes in the Pacific called the Ring of Fire. RCH wasn't talking about opals. He was talking about Java. That's where we have to go next!"* * *

  Nellie took over the piloting and Shep came back to stretch out in one of the seats. He blinked when Amy and Dan mentioned Jakarta.

  "I said I'd do anything for you, and I will, but my plane doesn't have the range," he said. "I'd guess it's about sixteen or seventeen hundred miles. You'll be better with a commercial flight. Plenty of those from Darwin. I've got a satellite phone - I can set you up right from here."

  Shep hesitated. "I trust Nellie to take care of you. But is there any chance you can pass on Java? Danger seems to be tailing you guys -- that, or some incredible bad luck.

  You could hang out with me for awhile. Not that I'm a father figure or anything ... just a surfing bum. Can't you not do ... whatever it is that you won't tell me you're doing?"

  Amy blinked back sudden tears. "We'd be honored to hang with a surfing bum like you." She swallowed hard.

  "But we have to do this."

  Shep held her gaze for a minute. Then he nodded.

  "I never tried to talk Artie out of anything, either."While Shep made arrangements, Amy looked down. They were flying over red earth and tall cliffs, a dark blue river snaking through a canyon. It was spectacularly beautiful."Katherine Gorge,"

  Shep told her, hanging up. "There are some amazing sights here in the Top End."

  "I wish ..." Amy said. She didn't complete the thought. The next time I go around the world, it would be nice to actually see it."I've got you on a flight leaving about an hour after we arrive," Shep said.

  "It's going to be tight, but I know the airport. We can swing it." He looked at Amy and Dan. "Things will be hectic when we get there, so it seems like a good time to tell you that if you ever need anything from me, it's yours. I won't fail you guys again."

  "Thanks," Amy said. "And you didn't fail us.""You helped us when someone else would have screamed and run," Dan said. "Cousins for life."

  "And one more thing," Shep said.

  "So far I've been chased off my favorite beach, almost crashed into on a runway, almost killed in a mine, and had to entertain the biggest bore in Coober Pedy in a pub for two hours.

  Not to mention that I've grown fond of you three. So out with it.

  The truth. I think I deserve to know. What's really going on? And leave out the aliens."Amy and Dan looked at each other.

  "Okay," Amy said, blowing out a breath. "Our grandmother Grace left a will that gave us a choice between a million dollars and a hunt to find thirty-nine clues, which, when we put them together, will make us the most powerful people in the world.

  So we chose the hunt. Along with various assorted horrible Cahill relatives, all of whom have tried to kill us at one time or another."

  Shep sighed. "If you don't want to tell me, I guess that's up to you."* * *

  Within an hour, the city of Darwin loomed ahead, curling around a beautiful harbor. Beyond lay a vast blue sea. They landed and ran through the airport to Qantas Airlines.

  "This is impossible," they heard a voice say. "There have to be seats in first class."

  The desk clerk leaned over to murmur. Amy, Dan, and Nellie backed up behind a pillar.

  Shep followed curiously. "What's up, gang? Another pack of bloodthirsty aliens?""You got it," Dan said."We can't get on that plane," Amy whispered.

  Shep peered around the pillar at Isabel, Natalie, and Ian. "They don't look so bad to me."

  "They just tried to kill you with the most venomous snake on the planet," Dan said."We've got to get to Java," Amy said.

  Shep shook his head. "This is just too dangerous. I can't let you go."Amy gave him a level look. There was no pleading in it, only determination.

  "You said you'd be there for us, no matter what." Reluctantly, Shep nodded. "I don't like it, but okay.

  Time for Plan B. Let's check out the pilots' lounge."* * *

  Shep took them to the part of the airport where chartered flights came in. He walked into the plush lounge as though he owned it and scanned the room.

  "We are in luck," he whispered to Amy, Dan, and Nellie. "I see somebody who owes me a favor."

  They followed in his wake as he moved casually toward a tall man in a pilot's uniform who was sitting with a cup of coffee by the window.

  "Greg!" Shep called. "Fancy seeing you here, mate!""Shep, haven't seen you in donkey's years. When are you going to get respectable and find a real job?"

  "Never, I guess." Shep quickly introduced them. "Thing is, mate, we're in a bit of a jam. We need to get to Jakarta. And I happen to remember that you owe me a favor."

  "No, mate. You owe me a favor.""What? Remember that turn I did for you back in Brissie last year?"

  "Paid you back in Perth last December."

  Shep scratched his head. "So you did. Well, have you got a job going right now?"

  "Just got back from one. Taking a few weeks off."

  "Perfect! Then I'm about to owe you another favor." Shep grinned at his friend.

  "Loan me your plane."

  * * *

  They didn't know how he arranged it, but he did. As part of a charter service, they were whisked through security. They waited in the cushy lounge while Shep handled the details of departure."All right," Shep said, rubbing his hands together.

  "We're all set. Hangar Eight. I can't wait to get my hands on this plane. It's a luxury prop jet. Awesomely sweet."

  "You really came through for us," Amy said. "Thanks."

  "I'm doing this for Artie and Hope," Shep answered. "And you two. We're family. I think after all these years, I finally get what that means. So I owe you a bigger thanks."

  "Family, dude." Dan held out a fist, and Shep did the same. They bumped knuckles."Family," Amy repeated. She bumped knuckles with Shep, too.

  Shep cleared his throat. "All right. Now let's get on the plane before I change my mind."They were met with a blast of humid air as they exited the lounge and walked to the plane. Dan climbed the steps and peeked inside.

  It was luxurious, with plush seats, a dining area, and screens at every seat. "Whoa," Dan said. "Traveling in style! At last!""We've got about an eight-hour flight,"

  Shep said. "There should be plenty of food stocked aboard, and147movies, games, whatever you want." He turned to Nellie. "Bet you haven't seen one of these babies before."

  "Actually, I've flown one from Akron to Reykjavik," Nellie said."Whoa, Madame Mysterioso," Shep said. "What kind of au pair are you?"

  "I just like to fly," Nellie said."I can see my cousins are in good hands," Shep said to her. "Cool in the face of a taipan snake and capable of flying a plane overseas. Awesome combo."

  Amy frowned at Dan. Just how many more surprises was Nellie going to pull?

  Just then several uniformed officers came toward them. "Excuse me, sir," the tallest one said politely to Shep. "May I see your passport?" The officer held out his hand.

  "We've already gone through security," Shep said. "Your passport, please." The officer's voice was firm.

  Shep checked the pockets of his shorts. "I thought I had it here. Hang on."

  "Can you all come with us, please?"

  "It's them! It's my babies!" The voice echoed across the hangar.

  A woman in a black dress hurried into the hangar, clasping her hands together. It took them a moment to recognize Irina.

  She was wearing a scarf tied under her chin and small rimless glasses.

  "There they are, my little pierogies!" she cried. "Are you all right? Did he hurt you?""Did who hurt us?" Dan asked."This woman claims to be your cousin," the officer said."She is,"

  Amy admitted, "technically, but..." The officer turned to Shep.

  "In that case, you're under arrest for kidnapping."

  CHAPTER 20

  "This is ridiculous!" S
hep said as they walked back into the hanger. "I'm their cousin, too!"

  "You see how he makes big lie from mouth," Irina said, pressing her handkerchief to her eyes. Her Russian accent had thickened. "Maya morkovka!"

  she cried to Amy. "My little carrot! How my eyes have longed to plant themselves on your face!"Amy grabbed Shep's arm. "He is our cousin!"

  "May I see your passport, sir?" the officer asked Shep sternly.

  "I just had it a minute ago....""Come here, little treasure," Irina said, trying to hug Dan.

  "I am like grandmother to these children. They ran away from guardian in Boston. You see I have papers. Look! Office Social Services, city of Massachusetts, have been looking. I have been sent to bring them home."

  "Everything looks in order," the officer said, consulting the papers. "Apparently, Social Services are looking for these two back in the States."

  "That woman is a lying, homicidal spy!" Dan cried, pointing at Irina."She tried to kill us!" Amy yelled.

  Irina dabbed at her eyes again, which were completely dry. "They have always had trouble with authority," she said to the officer. "You know American children, so spoiled. But they are my little pierogies, and I love them. They are family."

  "You say you're their nanny and their cousin?" the officer asked."Oooooo," Irina cried, throwing her handkerchief over her face.

  "My heart in broken pieces like teacup, just seeing sweet angel faces again!""My heart is throwing up in mouth," Nellie said, rolling her eyes.

  Even the security officer lifted an eyebrow. Amy thought Irina was piling it on a little too thick. Obviously, she didn't have much practice at sentiment.

  "If you could let me go back to the plane, I could get the papers," Shep said. "I've clearly misplaced them, but they can't have gone far."

  "Don't move." The officer turned to Amy and Dan. "This lady is Irina Cahill, and she claims ""She's not a Cahill!" Amy cried. "I mean, she is, but that's not her name!"The officer wiped some sweat from his forehead. "Can everybody stop shouting? We're trying to straighten this out."

  Another officer hurried from the building. He whispered in the head officer's ear. Amy heard the word Interpol.The head officer turned to Irina. "Do you happen to know an Irina Spasky?"