"Yeah," Harvey said. "We get that this is about revenge and all that. But revenge doesn't pay the bills."
The three of them were going to get revenge? It seemed like I had them, but the timeline was all wrong. Rex had already been kidnapped and three clues discovered. Had Vy taken matters into her own hands and was now trying to bring Oak and Winters on board?
"Don't worry about that. It's lucrative enough for you," she spat.
"Where do we do this?" Harvey asked.
Uh-oh. Do what? Kill Rex? And how would that make them any money?
"We can't move the item now," Vy's munchkin voice said. "I'm getting some heat from the cops in that sad little town."
A wave of relief washed over me. Okay, if the item was Rex, that meant she was keeping him alive until she could do whatever. I had a little time yet.
And that was when my cell went off. It didn't buzz. It rang. The Dora the Explorer theme song was my ringtone, and I hit the screen, dropped the zip gun, and ran like hell toward the back of the house. I kept running up an alley until I felt that I'd gotten away. Then I circled the park through the alleys of the houses fronting it, hoping the zip gun would draw suspicion away from me and the girls, because who suspects little girls of having zip-guns? Well, Betty not included.
I found the troop inside a 1950s-themed diner, eating what looked like a couple dozen hot dogs, while a waiter on roller skates flirted and teased. I slid into the booth and ordered a footlong with chili and cheese, cheese fries, and a chocolate shake. The waiter grinned and skated away.
The good news was that if the three criminals tracked us down, we had a pretty ironclad alibi since the girls came here straight away. The waiter would probably include me in the entourage that had been here the whole time, especially if I tipped him well.
But no one came looking for us. And the footlong was so good I had another one, and we all finished with banana splits.
I had digital evidence. Betty made me proud, and ate a whole lot of junk food. Rex wouldn't like any of this, but all in all, things were looking up.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"Best winter vacation ever!" Ava shouted for the fifth time as she punched the ceiling of my van.
I had to agree. It was dark now, but we were heading back to Who's There with some valuable information. For once I felt like we had a break in the case.
"Did you get some good intel?" Betty leaned forward conspiratorially.
I had her, Ava, and the four Kaitlyns in my van. I'd wanted to thank her for her quick thinking without Kelly around to disapprove.
"Yes, I did." I beamed. "You did a great job out there!"
Betty sat back—didn't smile but nodded. "I'll settle for a reference letter to join the CIA. After college though. I'll need a good cover, so I'm majoring in international business."
"Really?" was all I could think to say.
"Yeah. I'm taking an online class in Arabic. Mom and Dad don't know about that. I used Bart's debit card to pay for it."
I know that I should probably discourage her from this behavior but opted instead for paying Bart a bonus.
"He hasn't noticed?" I asked.
"No. He never checks his account balance online. It wouldn't matter if he did. I've hacked it anyway." The girl found a pen in my glove box and began endlessly clicking it. Was she wondering how many ways she could kill a man with a pen? By the way, it's fourteen.
"You're hacking banks now?" Okay, now I should say something.
She looked thoughtful, stepping up the speed with which she was clicking the pen. "Not the bank. Just his emailed monthly statements. That he doesn't read. But you can never be too sure, right?"
"Um." My mind raced, searching for the right thing to say. "What are you going to do if he finds you out?"
Betty stopped clicking the pen. "I haven't really thought that far. I'll work on it."
It wasn't that Betty was a major troublemaker in the troop—she wasn't. Well, not the major troublemaker at least. The girl was smart, quirky, and terrifyingly confident and liked to motivate the troop with war speeches from Patton and 300. Sure, she did some things from time to time that made Kelly's head spin. But I had a soft spot in my heart for her. She'd make an amazing field agent. Too bad the CIA didn't have a junior division.
"Can I have my zip gun back?" She looked me in the eyes.
"About that," I said slowly. "Where did you get a zip gun? Did you know they're illegal?"
"I made it," she said simply. "It wasn't hard."
I gave her a look. "Yeah, you're not getting it back. And please don't bring another one to anything ever."
Betty shrugged. "Okay."
There should be a Scout badge for improvised weapons. Zip guns weren't easy to make, which meant Betty's brain was scary. Hers actually looked like a gun, with a rudimentary wood frame and some metal pieces. I've used flashlights, pipes, and one time I was able to fashion a zip gun using a coat hanger, a lipstick tube, and aluminum foil.
The girls launched into a medley of Scout songs, and I wondered what Officer Weir was going to think of my little investigation at Vy Todd's house. I probably bent a law or two, and I didn't want to get into trouble. I could send it anonymously. Or I could just be up front about it.
Like he was about the investigation at Juliette's house? Why hadn't I heard anything? We'd agreed to share information. Yes, I know. I didn't exactly let him know before I broke into the redheaded psycho's house. And I kind of ran off to Des Moines half-cocked.
Communication was a two-way street, and in some cases, a three-way street, but only in Brazil. The best thing to do would be to sit down with him and go over what I had. He was a rookie and young. It was up to me to be the adult. Rex would want that.
"Mrs. Wrath!" Ava called out from the back seat. "Mrs. Albers wants to talk to you!"
She handed her phone to Betty, who thoughtfully hit the speaker button. I immediately warned Kelly that she was on speaker, so saying anything could cause trouble.
She seemed breathless. "Linda called. She's solved the puzzle!"
It felt like everything had stopped suddenly, including my breathing. We were so close! Rex was so close! There was no way I was going to wait one more minute. We were going to solve this. I just knew it.
"Girls," I said, "we're making a quick stop."
Kelly hung up. I handed back Ava's cell phone, and the girls started texting their parents to explain the detour. The girls' folks were used to this kind of thing. They didn't really care how long I kept their kids, which seemed like a good and bad thing. At any rate, it wouldn't be a problem.
"Who's Linda?" Betty asked.
"She was my fourth-grade teacher," I said. "She's very good at puzzles and is helping me find Detective Ferguson."
"Oh. So she's kind of like you are to us?"
I thought about that for a moment and tried to picture Linda Willard making ghillie suits for sniper practice or allowing the girls to go through two boxes of matches because they loved starting fires.
"Kind of," I replied. "Except she's more responsible."
"Did you like her?" Ava asked. "I like my teacher. She doesn't yell at us…much."
"Yes," I answered. "She was one of my favorite teachers."
"Why?" asked one of the Kaitlyns.
"Well, she gave us amazing books to read and taught us to work hard. She knew we could handle whatever she had us do, which gave us confidence."
"Sounds like a lot of work," Betty grumbled.
"It was, but it was worth it. I was proud of everything I did in that class because I worked at it. It didn't come easily. Nothing should come easily."
"What about cotton candy?" piped up another Kaitlyn. "Cotton candy should come easily."
"Um, I'm not sure that fits what I'm saying…"
"I wish I had some cotton candy now," said one of the other Kaitlyns, and the others agreed.
"Was your teacher nice?" Betty asked.
I nodded. "She was very nice. Tough but ni
ce. If you did your part, you were rewarded with one of her smiles. We all worked hard to get that smile."
"That's it? No trophy or anything?" Betty seemed scandalized. "We get trophies for everything these days."
And that was the problem with this generation. "What's the point of getting a prize just for doing what everyone else is doing?"
Betty rolled her eyes. "Cuz it's a prize! Duh!"
"A prize that you worked for that is the only one of its kind is way better than everyone getting a prize just for being there." I felt proud dispensing a little wisdom.
She looked at me for a moment. "You've lost me."
My mind raced for an analogy and found one. "Well, think about the Halloween parade. We've won first prize three years in a row, right?"
Betty nodded. "The first prize trophy is way bigger than the others."
"That's what made it so special," I said. "It would've been okay to win second place, but we worked hard and, in the face of several adversities, pulled together and won."
She frowned. "It was hard work. We had to come up with something fast when our float was wrecked."
"That's right. We could've given up or done something lame. But we didn't. We worked on it until the last minute. Didn't that make the win better?"
The girl was silent for a moment, the wheels turning in her head. That was when I noticed that Ava and the Kaitlyns had been listening. Good. Maybe like Linda taught me, I could teach these girls a valuable lesson.
"Okay. That makes sense. I guess you're right," Betty said at last, and the other girls responded by cheering. "Bigger is better, after all."
As they launched back into some Girl Scout songs, I felt a little swell of pride. Was this how Linda felt when the class did well? It was a wonderful feeling. I could get addicted to this.
We pulled up into Linda's driveway, and I left the car running and ran inside. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kelly get out of her van and walk over to talk to the girls in mine.
The door opened before I got there.
"I solved it." She handed me the piece of paper. "I don't know what it means, but it looks like we have to move quickly."
I read the clue.
Down the street is where you meet. Hurry before you miss your treat.
"I know what it means!" I ran to the van and got in.
Linda climbed into Kelly's van, and we took off. I loved that she wanted to be part of this. Linda totally had my back. The girls in my van seemed to know something was up, because they were very quiet. How could I explain this to them?
My brain was in save-Rex mode, however, and I probably wasn't thinking very clearly. For now, the troop was with us, and there wasn't much to do about it. Wait! What if there was a dead body? Corpses had popped up for the other clues. Why wouldn't there be one here?
A few minutes later, we were pulling up in front of the elementary school where my troop met. I told the girls and Kelly to wait with the vehicles. If someone had been murdered, I didn't want them involved. Linda jumped out of the van and followed me inside. I didn't try to stop her.
From a distance, I could see that a light was on in the room where my troop had meetings. To my surprise, the front door to the school was open. My senses were on alert for a trap, but I didn't stop until I burst into the classroom.
No one living or dead was there. The lights were all on. Where was my treat? I began to search the room in a frenzy, tearing things apart, searching every desk. Linda followed my lead but was far more careful than I was. This was, after all, a teacher's room.
Kelly and the girls joined me.
"I couldn't stop them," Kelly said. "They wanted to help."
If I'd been a responsible adult in my right mind, I probably would've sent them back out. But I wanted to find Rex. I knew there was another clue yet. But maybe this one would lead us to Rex sooner. I could use the help.
Kelly ordered the girls to follow my path of destruction and in my wake put things back where they were supposed to be. In the distance I heard a siren.
"I called Officer Weir," Kelly said when she saw that I'd noticed. "I thought this was easier than us getting arrested for breaking into the school."
I gave her a quick nod. No matter what I did, Kelly would always be more responsible than me. I'd have to live with that. Besides, I didn't want the girls to have breaking and entering on their records at age ten.
"Ms. Wrath?" Ted Weir and Kevin Dooley walked into the room, but I didn't respond because I found what I was looking for.
There, on one of the bulletin boards, was a cell phone. It was Rex's.
And that was when I heard the lyrics of the music playing on a cassette in a radio on the desk:
It doesn't matter if you have millions of dollars or a single dime…
Because all of us are living on borrowed time…
I didn't recognize the song, but then, I didn't listen to the radio much. The song had to be a clue. It could wait. The cell was the most important clue here. Without asking, I reached over and pulled a pair of rubber gloves from Ted Weir's utility belt and put them on. Then I gingerly removed the tape from Rex's phone and looked it over.
"Do you know the password?" Ted asked. He didn't seem upset. He obviously wanted Rex back also.
I nodded. "Yes, but I have to take off my gloves to do it. I think you should brush it for fingerprints first."
Because I was wearing his pair, Officer Weir took Kevin's gloves from his belt. Kevin just stood there like he expected Ted to do that. I handed the policeman the phone.
He squinted at it. "The clue sent you here?"
Linda stepped up and showed him the puzzle, but I was lost in thought. Why put the phone here in the school? Why not in my house or something like that? And what was up with the song about borrowed time?
"Something's wrong," I said at last. "The kidnapper is telling us something different."
"What do you mean?" Kelly asked.
"He or she took Rex. Then took Juliette. They aren't beyond hurting people close to me."
Kelly looked stricken. Linda and Ted frowned. The little girls were staring at me with hopeful, shining eyes. Kevin was going through the teacher's candy jar.
"They sent us here because they know this is where the troop meets," I said slowly. "I think the girls might be the next target."
Before we could stop them, Betty walked over to the chalkboard and grabbed the pointer stick and began spinning it like a martial arts fighting staff. Lauren started weaving a bullwhip with rope from the blinds, and Inez broke a small wooden stool and handed the broken legs to the Kaitlyns.
Betty jumped up on the teacher's desk and shouted, "Let them come! There's still one dwarf in Moria who still draws breath!"
"What did she say?" Ted asked.
"Someone's been watching Lord of the Rings." I sighed and held my hands up. "Hold on, ladies! Stop arming yourselves! It's just a theory!"
Officer Weir insisted we leave as he gently collected the makeshift weapons, and I left a note telling the teacher I'd replace the stool. Kelly gathered up the girls, and Linda helped get them into the two vans. I shut off the lights and followed the policemen out of the building.
Ted pulled the door shut, and I heard a satisfying snick, indicating it had locked.
"What do you think?" he asked me.
"I have no idea," I answered. "Maybe Rex's cell has something on it?" Should I touch it? If there were fingerprints on it, that might be the quickest way to find this guy. On the other hand, the kidnapper might have wiped it clean.
"It may not," the officer said. "That may be all the kidnapper intended. To prove he has Rex. Kind of like a proof of life." He looked back at the door. "I'll call the sheriff to come over with his team to check the place out. I'll come here before school starts and question the teacher and inform the principal."
Ted was a good cop with a tough job. I felt a twinge in my stomach. It was time to come clean. "I have something else to tell you. And you're probably not g
oing to like it."
His eyebrows went up, and I told him about the conversation I recorded at Vy Todd's house.
"All three of them were there, and they were up to something," I stressed.
The policeman sighed a sigh I was well acquainted with after years of getting involved in cases that weren't mine. I wished that it was Rex sighing at me in frustration. We had to find him, and soon. Too much longer and bad things would happen. I just knew it. Time was not on our side when someone sinister was calling the shots.
Ted looked puzzled. "If you're right, and Vy Todd is behind this, your troop may have tipped their hand. That's why they used the school."
I really didn't want to hear that.
"I don't like this." He frowned. "When it was just you, sure, you've had experience and can take care of yourself. But these little girls…"
"Did you not see them making weapons just now?" I asked. "Lauren booby traps her bedroom, and Betty is lethal. I don't know how, but I just know she is."
"Still." Ted wasn't giving up. "This is getting bad."
I threw my hands up in frustration. "It already was bad when Rex was kidnapped!"
We stared at each other for a minute or two.
"Send me the recording," he said finally. "Immediately. And get those girls home. Tomorrow, I'd like to meet with you, Mrs. Albers, Linda, and Mr. Andrews. We're going to have to hammer out some rules."
I agreed.
As Kelly and I drove to the end of the block to my house, several cars filled with parents staring at cell phones waited for us. My co-leader unloaded the girls and left to take Linda home.
"Keep this to yourselves," I said quietly to the girls before letting them go. "And keep an eye out for anything dangerous. If you see something, call me immediately."
"Should we kill them first?" Caterina asked.
"Hog-tie them," Lauren insisted. "That way we can interrogate them." She slammed her fist into her open palm.
"Don't do anything! Just call me!"
Once they pinky swore to agree (there are very few things that can break a pinky-swear promise), I released them. Kelly texted that she was heading home to check on Robert and Finn. When the last car pulled away, I walked across the street to Rex's house.
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