by James Leck
“I’ll let it go for now,” I said, and I let her guide me to a more private table at the back of the cafeteria. “But Max better watch himself. He doesn’t know who he’s messing with.”
“Forget Max,” she said. Then she leaned in and whispered, “I suppose Valda Pernickle may still harbor some feelings of animosity toward Tobias.”
“Valda Pernickle?” I asked. That name sounded more made up than a girl on her way to the prom.
“His ex-girlfriend,” she said. “They had a messy breakup. She blames the Academic All-Stars Trivia Tournament.”
“And you actually think this girl is capable of kidnapping Tobias?”I asked with a smirk.
“You don’t know Valda,” she said, without an ounce of humor.
“Is there anyone else?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“I’ll see what I can find out.”
“And remember, Jack, we need him back before tomorrow night,” she added, as we stood up. “Before the Regional Final starts.”
“What time is that?”
“Seven.”
“Then I’ll need two things. First, give me your number so I can get in touch with you. Second, show me where Valda’s locker is. I’ll need to ask her a few questions.”
Thursday, March 12, 12:43 p.m.
Iona High, Locker 225
Jennifer gave me her number and took me up to Valda’s locker. Jennifer’s hair smelled like pink cotton candy, and she had a cute way of talking out of the side of her mouth. I thought I could get hooked on a girl like her if I wasn’t careful, and I wasn’t planning on being careful.
Valda’s locker was in the science wing on the second floor. I said my good-byes to Jennifer and took up a position a couple of yards away from the locker. I casually leaned against the wall, pretending to look over a chemistry quiz I’d found on the ground, while the hallway filled up with students coming back from lunch. Mixed in with the crowd was a tall dame with pale skin and jet- black hair who stepped up to Locker 225. She wore a scowl that made her look like a red-hot poker, and I wasn’t crazy about burning my hands. But I had a job to do, and I wasn’t going to let a Sour Sally like Valda get in my way.
“Valda Pernickle,” I said, stepping over to her locker.
“What?” she barked, giving me a quick once-over.
“I was wondering if you know anything about the possible whereabouts of Tobias Poe.”
“I have no idea where Toby is,” she said with a sneer. “And I really don’t care. I haven’t thought about him since we broke up seventeen days ago. And who are you to be asking me personal questions, anyway?”
“My name is Jack Lime, and I’m trying to track him down,” I said.
“Well, I don’t want to talk about him, Jack Lime,” she said, fiddling with her combination lock.
I decided to try turning on the old charm instead of playing it straight up. “I’m sorry if I caught you at a bad time, Valda, and I’m sure an attractive young lady like yourself is better off without Tobias. But I need to find him, so if you could give me any information, I’d be forever in your debt.”
“I know I’m better off without him. I’ve never been happier, but I really don’t know where he is,” she said, pulling on the lock. It still wouldn’t open, so she started spinning the dial again.
“Is there anywhere in particular he used to go to get away from things? Somewhere he’d go to be alone? Somewhere he might go to hide?”
“Without Tobias holding me back, I can date anyone I want. I can go on a date every night of the week,” she said, trying the lock again. It still wouldn’t open. “What was your name again?”
“Jack,” I said. This conversation was getting dangerously off track. “Valda, is there anywhere Tobias would go to get away from things?”
Valda quit with the lock and turned to face me. Her expression went from irritated to fascinated faster than you can say Attention Deficit Disorder.
“What did you say?” she asked.
“Is there anywhere Tobias would go to get away from things?”
“His study.”
“His study?”
“He calls it his study, but it’s really just an old shed in his backyard. But enough about Toby,” she said, leaning in. “I don’t think we’ve ever met before, have we, Jack?”
“No,” I said. “I just moved here.”
“You’re the new boy from California,” she said, sliding even closer to me. “They were right.”
“About what?”
“You are cute.”
“Ah … yes … well,” I mumbled, inching away from her. “I don’t suppose you could give me Tobias’s address?”
“Thirteen Oort Cloud Court,” she said in a husky whisper. “More important, Jack, what’s your address?”
“Say, it’s been a real treat talking to you, Valda,” I said, and tried to make a polite exit. “Thanks for the tip on the study. I’ll be sure to check that out.”
“Wait,” she said, grabbing my arm. “Could you just hold my books while I open my locker?”
Before I could think of a reason why I had to leave immediately, she threw her backpack into my arms. It weighed a ton. If this girl could lug around a bag that heavy, she might actually be able to overpower a brainiac like Tobias and lock him in a closet.
“Thanks,” she said, popping open her locker. What I saw made me a little scared, and a whole lot suspicious. Valda’s locker was wallpapered with pictures of herself and a boy; he was a little shorter than her, heavyset but not fat, with curly brown hair and glasses. “Is that Tobias?” I asked.
“Whoops,” she said, slamming the door shut. “I haven’t had a chance to take those down yet, but Toby doesn’t mean a thing to me anymore, Jack.” She grabbed my arm. “My, you’re strong aren’t you?”
“Not strong enough to hold this bag much longer,” I said. “What’s in here, anyway? A dead body?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to take them back, but Valda didn’t blink.
“I’m sorry it’s so heavy, but I read a lot of books,” she said, batting her eyelashes. “What I really need is more dating, less reading, don’t you think?”
“Right,” I said. “Well, I need to get going …” I couldn’t think of a logical way to get out of this intimate little conversation, so I put the bag down and started backing away.
“Come back anytime,” she said, and waved good-bye with her index finger.
“You bet,” I said, and made a quick exit down the hall.
Thursday, March 12, 4:07 p.m.
52 Katana Boulevard, The Mist
I decided it’d be best to investigate Toby’s shed under the cover of darkness. Folks in Iona don’t take kindly to kids snooping around in their backyards in the middle of the afternoon, and Jennifer had made me promise to keep this investigation quiet. Plus, I had another hunch I wanted to follow. Max Stromopolous was the only person on the team who had got all twisted up about me getting involved in the case. The way I figured it, Max might have been miffed that he wasn’t the top dog on the team and wanted to get rid of Tobias so he could have the spotlight. It was just a hunch, but I decided it was worth looking into. Plus, it gave me an excuse to call Jennifer.
“Jack,” she said, once I explained what I was thinking. “I understand that you’re the professional, but I believe you are wasting your time investigating Max.”
“Thanks for the concern, doll, but any gumshoe worth his salt will follow all the leads before crossing any suspects off his list.”
“Am I on that list, Jack?” she asked.
“Did you kidnap Tobias?” I asked.
“No,” she said.
“That’s good enough for me,” I said, and I could hear her smiling on the other end.
“I guess you have to do what you feel
is right, Jack,” she said. “But don’t press Max too much. He’s very sensitive.”
“I bet he is,” I said. “Now how about that address?”
Jennifer gave me Max’s address and apartment number. He lived in a luxury condominium complex called The Mist on the main drag in The Steppes. If you’ve never had the pleasure of visiting The Steppes, Doc, it’s a lot like wandering into Beverly Hills; the houses get a whole lot bigger, and the fences get a whole lot higher. Naming the place The Mist was in keeping with the mysterious quality Luxemcorp was trying to build around their highfalutin’ neighborhood.
I stepped into the main foyer and was about to buzz up when I noticed a nice old lady loaded down with grocery bags coming up the front walk. I decided to improvise.
“I can help you with those, ma’am,” I said, flashing her my pearly whites.
“Thank you, young man,” she said, handing me the bags.
“No problem at all,” I said. “I was on my way up to visit a friend anyway. Now I can surprise him.” Did I feel good about lying to a nice old lady? No, but when opportunity knocks, you’ve got to answer the door. Plus, it’s not like she didn’t get anything out of the deal. She didn’t have to lug a bunch of heavy bags up to her condo, and it gave her the chance to hang out with a handsome young man. She thanked me for my hard work with a homemade chocolate chip cookie.
I ate my cookie and made my way up to the penthouse suite. The door was a big, wide piece of dark wood that looked heavy and thick. There was no peephole in the middle (that would probably ruin the aesthetics), which was a bonus, since I didn’t want to have this conversation through the door anyway. There was no bell, so I did things the old-fashioned way: I knocked.
After a short wait, the door opened, but only a crack.
“Lime,” Max said, peeking out. “What are you doing here?”
When I met Max in the cafeteria, he came across as tall, dark and dour. Nothing had changed. He still looked as grim as a nuclear scientist at a reactor meltdown. The way he kept the security chain fastened told me he wasn’t going to invite me in for a warm cup of tea. The cool reception made me think Max might be my man after all.
“I just have a few questions for you, Max,” I said, trying to seem as friendly as possible.
“I don’t have time for questions,” he said.
A voice, a distinctly female voice, called from inside the condo. “Who is it, Max?”
“No one,” Max said, without turning around.
“That hurts, Max,” I said. “I don’t suppose you’d mind telling me who’s in there with you?”
“Yeah, I would mind, actually,” he said.
“We can play it that way if you want, Max,” I said, taking a step toward the door. “But you’re only making things harder on yourself. If you’ve got nothing to hide, I can be a real sweet guy. But if I find out you’ve been holding back on me, Max, I’m going to come down on you like a hammer on an anvil.”
Max opened his mouth to say something, then stopped and just closed the door. I heard the deadbolt click and knew that our interview was over. But I wasn’t quite done with Max. I needed to find out who was in there with him, and I was willing to wait.
I strolled down the hall toward the elevators. The great thing about classy places like The Mist is that they always have perks, like places to sit while you wait for the elevator to arrive. In this case, it was a neat little nook with a comfortable pleather chair. They even had a copy of the day’s paper to read.
While I waited, I flipped through the paper, but I was too busy keeping my eyes peeled for Max’s female friend to pay much attention to what I was reading. That is, until I got to page three. There, in black and white, was a story about the big Academic All-Stars trivia match between Iona High and Montgomery Academy. It turns out Montgomery was a prestigious private school, jam-packed with the best and brightest our slice of the world has to offer. They were three-time defending champions. Iona High was touted as the new kid on the block that was set to dethrone the old guard. The journalist who had written the piece had interviewed Jennifer and had quoted her as saying that Tobias was the main reason they’d made it to the finals. There was no mention of Max or any of the other people on the team, which I was sure would have added fuel to Max’s fire. I was just starting to read about Montgomery Academy when a small, mousy girl marched past me and down the stairs. It was Lisa Aucoin, the team alternate.
I tailed her, making sure I kept my distance until she was clear of the front door. I didn’t want her scurrying back to take refuge in Max’s arms.
“Lisa,” I called, when she’d reached the edge of the parking lot. “Could I have a word with you?”
“I’m too busy right now,” she said, picking up the pace.
“Then, why don’t we walk and talk?” I asked, practically breaking into a jog.
“We don’t have anything to talk about,” she said, trying hard not to look at me.
I cut to the chase. “Is Tobias at Max’s?”
“No,” she said, putting on the brakes. “Of course not.”
“And I suppose Max doesn’t know squat about his whereabouts?”
“I’d know if Max had anything to do with Tobias’s disappearance because we’re …” she started, and then caught herself. But it was too late. The cat was out of the bag.
“Because you two lovebirds are an item,” I said. It wasn’t a question.
“We’re just getting ready for tomorrow night,” she said, but the red patches that suddenly blossomed on her cheeks told me otherwise.
“Of course,” I said. “And now that Tobias is out of the way, you’ll be center stage instead of watching from the sidelines.”
“Well, I didn’t kidnap him, if that’s what you’re implying,” she said, and started to walk away again.
“Getting a shot at the limelight is a pretty good motive,” I said, following along.
“Look, Jack, I deserve to be on that team. Everybody knows it. In practice, I consistently score higher than anyone else. But I’m in Grade 10, so I have to wait my turn.”
“You’re telling me that you can beat Tobias?”
“Definitely,” she said, like I’d just figured out that two plus two equals four.
“I’m sorry, Lisa, but I find that hard to believe.”
“Believe whatever you want,” she said, picking up the pace again.
“So maybe Max did it,” I said. “With Tobias out of the way, there’d be room for his secret girlfriend on the team. Plus, he wouldn’t have to play Robin to Tobias’s Batman in front of the whole school.”
“First of all, I’m not his secret girlfriend. Second, Max isn’t anyone’s sidekick, especially not Tobias’s,” she said and then broke into a sprint.
“So where do you think he is?” I asked, grabbing her arm. I’d had it with this traveling interrogation.
“I don’t know,” she said, yanking her arm out of my hand. “I don’t know if he went on a vacation, or the other team took him, or if the boys running the silly betting pool locked him away to mess around with the odds. I don’t have a clue. That’s why Jennifer hired you, isn’t it? To find him? She’s the only one who cares if he makes it to the match tomorrow night anyway.”
Lisa stormed away, but I didn’t care. Alarm bells were going off in my head.
Thursday, March 12, 4:45 p.m.
A street with no name, Grandma’s House
The case and all its angles had me twisted up. I certainly hadn’t eliminated the possibility that Max and Lisa were playing me for a chump and had Tobias tied up in Max’s fancy condo, but a numbers racket put a whole new spin on things.
If Lisa wasn’t just cracking foxy, then a betting pool would be a big lead. Not only would the ringleaders have reason to kidnap Tobias, but they’d be exactly the kind of wingnuts who would pull a stunt like this. What I
needed to do was find a way to get on the inside of this betting ring and crack it wide open. That’s what I was thinking about when I started up my grandma’s front walk, so I didn’t notice Valda Pernickle sitting on the porch.
“Hi, Jack,” she said, bounding down the walk toward me.
“Valda,” I said, ready to make a run for it. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see how your investigation was going.”
“How long have you been here? Where’s my grandma?”
“I’ve only been here for about an hour,” she said. “Your grandma’s inside. She invited me to stay for supper. Isn’t that great? I can’t wait to hear all about your day.” She grabbed my arm and started dragging me toward the door.
In my former life, my mom and dad used to make things like steamed salmon on wild rice for dinner. Or we might have pad thai with a glass of mango lassi on the side. I hated to admit it, because I considered myself a bit of a sophisticated city slicker, but none of that stuff compared to my grandma’s meatloaf, and Thursday was meatloaf night. Unfortunately, the meatloaf didn’t taste quite as good with Valda staring across the table at me like a cougar on the prowl.
“So tell us all about your day, Jack,” Valda said, while I plowed food into my mouth. I figured if I could eat fast, I might be able to get out of this ambush without getting hurt too badly.
“Not much to tell,” I said, in between hunks of meatloaf.
“Oh, I’m sure a detective like you must have lots of interesting things to tell us,” Valda said, reaching her foot under the table and rubbing my calf. I jerked away and accidentally flung a spoonful of potatoes at my grandma’s face. Luckily, Grandma is quick for her age, and the potatoes ended up on the wall behind her.
“You’re awfully jumpy, Jack,” Grandma said, scooping the potatoes off the wall.
“Sorry about that,” I said, getting up. “Let me throw those out.”
“Nonsense,” she said. “You stay here and talk to your friend … and try to relax.”
Once Grandma was out of earshot, Valda leaned across the table with a crazy look in her eyes. I thought she was going to try to smooch me, but she only wanted to talk. “Jack,” she said, in a low voice, “I wanted to tell you that there are people betting on the game tomorrow night. I heard them talking about fixing it so Montgomery would win. They think they’re going to make a fortune. Do you think that might have something to do with Tobias’s disappearance?”
