“You can’t argue with results, Faye,” said Kate.
“Actually,” said Melanie, “sorry, Kate, but I did think about this one. It’s all I’ve been thinking about all week long. I totally bombed today’s math test because of it.”
“Oh, no,” said Faye. “That was an important test.”
“Whatever,” said Melanie, clearly valuing the code above her grade.
“So, what’s your great idea?” asked Kate.
“Well, remember when I told you that my dad apparently used to be in Aztecs?”
Both girls nodded.
“When he told me, my mom said something at the time about how they used to enjoy going to float inspection. Apparently, each organization lets people come to see their floats before the parade. All the floats are parked in big float barns, which are basically just warehouses, and people can walk around and look at the floats up close.”
“You think we should go to the Aztecs float inspection?” asked Faye. “But you said inspection is before the parade. The Aztecs have already gone.”
“Right,” said Melanie slowly. “We can’t go to float inspection. It’s too late for that. But I thought, maybe, that we could go to the Aztecs float barn and inspect the floats ourselves.”
“Who’s going to let us in?” asked Kate in confusion.
“They’re not going to let us just wander around their warehouse,” said Faye. “Besides, I thought you were against asking for help.”
“I am,” said Melanie. “That’s why I thought we could…” She looked at Faye and Kate in consternation before saying quickly, “We could do it in secret.”
Faye and Kate remained quiet for a moment. Finally, Faye spoke.
“Are you suggesting what I think you are?” asked Faye. “Do you think we should break in?”
“Not break in, exactly,” said Melanie. “More like sneak in. I’m sure we could get in without having to bash in windows or anything.”
Kate and Faye looked at her in silence.
“It’s just an idea,” said Melanie.
“Yeah, it’s an idea,” said Faye slowly. She looked at Melanie with an incredulous expression. “A crazy one!”
“Hey!”
“Well, it is!” Faye stood up and began pacing the room. “We’re not burglars, Mel. I’m happy to chase all over town hunting for clues, but I think I draw the line at breaking into buildings that aren’t ours.”
“Ok, geez, never mind,” said Melanie.
“Do you know what my parents would do to me if we got caught?” said Faye, not listening. “And I can’t take jail! You can’t go to college with a record!”
“Calm down, Faye,” said Kate. “No one’s going to force any of us to do anything. Melanie was just making a suggestion.”
“A crazy one!”
“Yeah, you said that already,” said Mel, bristling. “I just can’t think of any other way to get at those floats. They’re pretty much done for the season, and we’ve got to think of something, or we’re going to run out of time.”
“Sorry, Mel, but I’m not willing to go to jail just to solve the Mardi Gras code, however much you care about it.”
Silence fell in the room.
“Fine,” said Melanie finally.
“Fine,” said Faye.
“Ok,” said Kate at last. “I’ve got a great idea. Let’s take a break from codes, puzzles, crime, whatever. No more talk about the mystery tonight, ok?”
“Whatever,” said Faye.
“Fine by me,” said Melanie. They wouldn’t look at each other.
“We could play cards,” suggested Kate.
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
Kate looked back and forth at them and seemed to decide it would be better to find an activity that didn’t require talking. “Or we could watch a movie.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
“And to think,” Kate muttered, “I said Faye never spoke up for herself.”
Melanie and Faye maintained a cold aloofness towards each other the rest of the night. Kate sat between them on the bed, holding the popcorn and trying to keep the peace. When the movie finished, Melanie crawled into her sleeping bag with only a short goodnight. Faye and Kate shared the bed.
Normally, the three girls would stay awake for hours, whispering and giggling into the night. Tonight, a library would have been louder.
Melanie lay awake in her sleeping bag for at least an hour, wrestling with doubts.
What had this mystery done to her? Had she gone too far?
Chapter 8
The next morning, Melanie woke up to sunlight streaming into Kate’s room. The light purple walls looked clean and bright in the morning sunlight, and the slight early morning chill in the bedroom made Melanie want to snuggle down into her sleeping bag.
The previous night had been filled with nightmares. Melanie dreamt she joined the police force. On her first day on the job, she had to arrest Faye for robbing a bank.
“You can’t arrest me,” shouted Faye as Melanie led her away to a waiting police car. “You did this to me. I turned to crime because of you.”
Kate stood nearby, tap dancing on the sidewalk and laughing as Melanie stuffed Faye into the backseat. “Just don’t think about it, Faye. All your problems will go away.”
On the whole, Melanie was glad to be awake.
“Mel?”
Melanie rolled over to see Faye looking down at her from the bed. She still lay covered up by blankets, but she looked alert. She’d whispered, so Melanie guessed that Kate was probably still snoozing.
“Morning,” whispered Melanie. “Listen, Faye,” she began before she lost her nerve, “I’m sorry about last night. I’m going overboard solving the code. I never should have asked you and Kate to do something as dangerous as breaking into a warehouse.”
Faye smiled at her. “Thanks. I’m sorry, too. I flew off the handle at you. I’m just getting all this pressure from my parents lately about school and that stupid violin – did I tell you my mom wants me to join the debate team now? – and I guess the thought of getting caught by the police doing something illegal… well, it just sent me over the edge.”
“That’s fair,” said Melanie. “And you’re right. It is an insane idea. I really don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You were thinking that we have to solve this code. And you’re right. We do.”
Melanie sighed. “I have no idea how we’re going to now. Besides, I wouldn’t even know how to break into somewhere.” She giggled quietly. “What would we do, run down to the hardware store and buy crowbars and masks?”
Faye laughed. “I’d have a hard time explaining that one to my mom.”
Melanie smiled and rolled over. She stared up at the ceiling.
“You know, when we started all this, I didn’t even really know what I was looking for.” She sighed. “Life just seems so boring sometimes.”
“I know. Everyone feels that way. At least, at times.”
“But then, you find something like this, and you think, maybe it’s not so boring after all.” She rolled back to face Faye. “We’re so close to solving this mystery. I hate that we might never know what it’s all about. If we don’t figure it out – that would just stink.”
The girls lay quietly thinking. Finally, Faye spoke.
“You know,” she said, “it probably wouldn’t hurt anything just to go and look around.”
Melanie wrinkled her forehead. “Go where?”
“The float barns, of course.”
Melanie sat up, her sleeping bag pooling around her pajamas.
“Are you serious?”
Faye nodded. “I am not bringing a crowbar, of course, but maybe we could go nose around and see what we find. Without getting arrested.”
Melanie felt a surge of excitement.
“I think it’s time to wake up Kate.”
Later that morning, the girls took off on their bikes. An especially cold day, Melanie’s kn
uckles were stiff and chapped by the end of the long ride.
The three girls stopped their bikes at the corner of a quiet intersection. Melanie tried to rub feeling back into her hands.
“Anybody else feel like they’re about to be mugged?” asked Kate.
Melanie had to agree that the street did not form the most welcoming image. Large metal warehouses lined the road, some of them rusting around the edges. Nearby sprawled large empty fields, covered with dead grass waiting for spring to cover the rutted ground. Signs advertising bail bondsmen were the only decoration on the street.
“Let’s get moving then,” said Faye. “Which one belongs to the Aztecs?”
Melanie scanned the road. “I think it’s that one,” she said, pointing to a nondescript warehouse in the line. “If the pictures online were recent, it’s the third one from this end.”
“They all look the same,” said Kate.
“We’ll just have to hope our research is good,” said Faye. She turned to the other two girls, leaning over one side of her bike. “Plan of attack. We need to circle the warehouse and get the lay of the land. Once we know what we’re up against, we’ll be able to figure out a way to get inside. Preferably one that is not illegal.”
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” said Kate. She knocked her kickstand backwards and shook her head. “I can’t believe Faye’s leading the way.”
The girls approached the warehouse slowly. From the street, Melanie thought it looked impenetrable. The building’s large steel doors sealed the entrance, and the rest of the front was nothing more than a wide expanse of metal sheeting.
“Let’s try down the side,” said Faye, signaling for the girls to follow her.
They rode around the side of the warehouse, again seeing no possible way in. But at the back, they found more than they ever expected.
The three girls stopped their bikes and uttered a collective gasp.
“It’s open!” said Faye.
The back of the warehouse had large steel doors mirroring the front. Unlike the front doors, however, these weren’t completely closed. They stood about ten inches apart, a large rusty chain keeping the two doors from opening further.
They glimpsed black darkness just beyond the doors.
Finally, Melanie spoke. “This is great,” she said. “We don’t actually need to break in.” She jumped off her bike and ran to the crack. “I think we can fit.” She stuck her head inside. “And I see floats.” She turned back to Faye and Kate. “Well? Do we go in?”
“Should we wait until nighttime?” asked Kate. The girls paused.
“I don’t want to come back to this street in the dark,” Faye finally said, voicing what all three girls were thinking. Melanie nodded.
Kate blew out a breath of air. “Then, I guess now it is. Should we lock our bikes?”
They looked around the deserted street.
“I don’t see where we could lock them,” said Melanie.
“Besides,” added Faye, “we might want them free to make a fast getaway.”
Kate shook her head and groaned. “I am in an alternate universe.”
Melanie grinned. “Come on, Kate. I can hear clues calling to me.” She squeezed inside first.
Melanie blinked her eyes blindly. “It is really dark in here,” she said aloud.
“I wish we could open the doors some more,” came Faye’s voice.
Kate’s face lit up in the dark. “Have we forgotten something, ladies?” She held her phone’s flashlight under her face and made a spooky expression.
“Duh,” said Melanie, while she and Faye each pulled out their own phones. “Excuse me. I’m new to the world of crime.”
She turned her phone flashlight to the nearest float and was met with the ten-foot-tall head of an ancient Indian warrior. She jumped.
“Good news,” she said with a shaky laugh. “We’ve definitely found the Aztecs float barn.”
Finding the letters turned out to be harder. Because of the darkness, the girls were forced to walk very slowly. Even with their phones, they had to strain to pick out details in the floats. Then, because they were focused on looking up at the floats, they kept missing things at their feet and stumbling. Kate, with her height, had particular trouble with this. Twice she tripped over extension cords running along the floor.
“Lift your feet,” said Faye. “Like this.” She pantomimed lifting her knees high in the air like a soldier.
“I am not walking like that,” said Kate. “I’d rather trip.”
They walked through the warehouse, examining each float and sign one by one, searching for any backwards or upside-down letters. Whenever they found one, they made a note of it in Melanie’s phone, along with the corresponding float number to keep them in order.
The warehouse felt like a meat locker, and every now and then, Melanie thought she felt a small cold breeze down the back of her neck. She briefly entertained the thought that if someone were standing behind her in the dark, she’d never even know, before quickly shoving the thought out of her mind. The situation was spooky enough without her imagination making it worse.
They snaked up and down the rows, walking first towards the front of the warehouse before heading back down a row towards the back. They progressed up the final row and reached the last float.
Melanie examined the large float bearing a model of a medieval castle, when Kate suddenly popped up into view. She had climbed aboard the float.
“Kate!” said Melanie. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, come on,” said Kate, grinning. “You’re the one who told that Sasha girl that I’m an artist. Of course I’ve got to examine the float up close. It’s part of my artistic temperament. Besides,” she began a queenly wave to imaginary crowds below, “you can’t say you’ve never wanted to climb on one of these.”
“I have not,” said Melanie.
“Well, I have,” said Kate.
“Me, too,” said a small voice, and Melanie swung her phone around to light up Faye.
“Faye! Not you, too.”
Faye leaned out over the side of the float and examined the silver leaf detail along the edges of the fake stones. “I’m not going to get a chance like this again, am I?”
“This is so cool,” said Kate. “I’m absolutely going to join an organization when I’m older.” She disappeared below the side of the float. “Hey,” her voice floated up, “there are no bathrooms on here. What do they do when they’ve gotta go?”
The girls started giggling, when they suddenly were cut short. The warehouse echoed with a loud clang, and the room filled with light.
Someone had opened the front doors.
Chapter 9
Faye immediately ducked down, and seconds later, she and Kate rejoined Melanie at the bottom of the float. All three girls huddled behind the side of the structure, grasping each other’s hands with frozen fingers.
Melanie felt waves of fear sweep through her. She stared at a paper mâché crocodile swimming in the float’s castle moat, and felt as trapped as if she were in that moat herself.
They heard voices.
“Dang, it’s cold today,” said a deep voice with a thick southern accent.
“Yep,” said another slightly higher male voice. “I’m glad we’re not parading tonight. I was thinking about running the boat later, just to keep it up, but I’m sure as heck not going out in this weather.”
The other man grunted in reply. “So,” he said, “which floats are they coming to get?”
“Please don’t say the castle float,” thought Melanie. “Don’t, don’t, don’t.”
“Uh… Knights of the Round Table,” said the higher voice.
Melanie, Faye, and Kate looked at each other with wide eyes. Faye pointed to the castle float they were hiding behind, her eyebrows raised in question, and Melanie and Kate mutely nodded. Faye moaned softly.
“What now?” thought Melanie, biting her lip in anxiety. She felt a tug on her sleeve. Kate waved for her f
riends to follow her as she began walking in a crouch down the length of the float. Melanie and Faye quickly followed.
“How long ‘til they get here?” asked the first voice.
“Can’t be more than five minutes,” said the second. “Let’s go ahead and clear it out.”
The girls began waddling faster down the row of floats. They had passed beyond the castle float, but the men would only have to look down the back row to see the girls plainly.
“Go, go, go,” thought Melanie. They scurried along, panic rising in them.
They reached the end of the row and turned the corner. They hid behind the very last float. Melanie spotted one more backwards letter she’d missed before and made a mental note.
They could see the cracked back door. But to get to it, they’d be exposed for a few seconds. Where were the men?
Waiting was intolerable. Melanie felt like sticks were poking her insides as adrenaline coursed through her. She expected at any moment for one of the men to put his head around the corner of the float and demand to know what they were doing there. They had to make a run for it.
Melanie motioned for Kate to go first.
Kate took a deep breath and took off for the opening. She slipped through the crack so silently that Melanie smiled.
She could hear the men talking again, and though they sounded closer than before, she was relatively sure that they were still near the front of the warehouse.
She motioned for Faye to go next.
Faye sprinted to the door. She slipped through quickly enough as well, but the chains rattled slightly on her way out.
“Did you hear something?” asked the man with the higher voice. “That was weird.”
“What?”
“Sounded like it was at the back. I hope we haven’t got another raccoon in here.”
“Better check it out.”
“They’re coming,” thought Melanie in a panic. She could no longer wait and took off for the door, feeling as if she were trying to outrun her own fear. She dashed through the opening, scraping her shoulder on the side of the door. She found Faye and Kate already seated on their bikes waiting for her. Kate was holding Melanie’s bike for her so Melanie only had to jump aboard. They all began pedaling madly. As soon as they reached the end of the next warehouse, they turned left so as to be hidden from the float barn’s back door.
The Mardi Gras Chase Page 5
