Private Killer

by Franklin W. Dixon

  “So you’re not worried at all?”

  “Look, I got to get back to practice. Thanks for saying hi.”

  With that, she tossed the crumpled cup in the garbage and headed back out to the center of the field. It seemed weird that she wasn’t concerned about everything that was going on. But then, with the way she concentrated on the game, maybe she just didn’t have time to think about much else.

  I looked across the field as the players started to get ready to play again. They’d replaced the goal almost overnight, but you could still see the scorched remains of the grass beneath it. Hopefully no one would notice during the game.

  A movement caught my eye, and I looked up at the top of the hill above the soccer field. The truck that painted the white lines on the field was parked up there. It was moving very slowly toward the edge of the hill. It wasn’t on the road. And there didn’t seem to be anyone behind the wheel!

  I looked down at the soccer field. No one had noticed the truck was moving—they were all so intent upon the game. I looked up again. It was definitely moving faster, and it was almost on the hill itself. Their must have been someone behind it, pushing. Once it started heading downhill, it would be unstoppable. And unless my math skills had totally failed me, it was angled to run directly through the goal Destiny was standing inside! It was behind her, and she’d never see it before it crushed her.

  I had to get to that truck. It was shooting down the hillside at this point, going faster and faster by the second. I took off at high speed, running toward the hill. I made it to the base and then paused. I only had one chance to get this right. If I didn’t time it properly, I was going to end up as road kill—and so would Destiny.

  Behind me, I could hear the game going. No one had realized anything was wrong. In front of me, the truck was only fifty feet away. Then forty. Then twenty. When it was ten feet away, I got ready to jump.

  Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one!

  “OOMPH!”

  I leaped in the open window of the truck. My chest slammed against the door. I didn’t make it all the way inside, but thankfully, I didn’t need to. I yanked the wheel, turning the truck to the right. And just in time—it shot directly past the goal, narrowly avoiding hitting anyone on the field.

  Now, I thought, I just need to hang on and avoiding getting crushed.

  Thankfully, once it was off the hill the truck started to slow down. Someone must have taken off the emergency break and given it a push to get it started. And whoever did it was aiming right for Destiny.

  The truck finally rumbled to a halt about fifty feet from the field, and I dropped off. I was going to have a wicked bruise on my chest tomorrow, but aside from that, no one was hurt.

  “Are you all right?” Destiny was the first person to reach me. Lee was right behind her.

  “Quick thinking man! You okay?” asked Lee.

  “I’m fine.”

  TWEEEET! The coach blew his whistle. “Everyone back up! I know CPR. Son, are you all right?”

  I explained again that I was fine. The coach took one look at the truck and shook his head.

  “Maintenance! I’m always trying to tell them to be careful. Somebody could have gotten hurt by accident. Say—you’ve got pretty quick reflexes. Want to join the team next year?”

  I shook my head. The coach shrugged and blew his whistle again.

  “All right! Nothing to see here. Back on the field!”

  Somehow, I didn’t think this was an accident. I hadn’t seen anyone up on the hill, nor had there been anyone suspicious around earlier. But if people were using these hidden tunnels to get around, they could be anywhere, and I would never know.

  It was a long walk back to the dorm with that thought in my head. Every few feet, I thought I saw someone moving out of the corner of my eyes. I’d turn around, and it would just be the wind in the trees or a bird. But I knew that somewhere beneath me, people were moving. People up to no good.

  JOE

  11

  Bringing Down the House

  Even though I was worried for Destiny, I was excited when Friday finally rolled around. Tonight would mark the beginning of the Annual Firth-Blair Benevolence Weekend, which meant two things.

  First, if what Frank had overheard was true, the Brothers of Erebus were plotting something. This was our big chance to catch them in the act and bust them for good. We’d be saving Destiny, too—which would hopefully mean some more time to hang out with her. I’d barely seen her in the past week, ever since she’d called me cute and said she wanted to date me to make her dad angry. I was hoping she’d be even more interested once I’d saved her life. After that, we could get out of here, which meant no more dog duty (or doodie) for me.

  But even better than saving Destiny’s life, busting the Brothers of Erebus, and getting away from Killer, tonight meant something else: party! This school was a little stodgy for me—except when it came to killing—and it seemed like they could really use some fun.

  “I can’t wait for the party tonight,” I said to Frank as we got ready in his room. Neither of us had tuxedos, so we’d had to borrow some. Luckily, Firth Academy kept some on hand for just such an occasion. “Finally, a chance to have some fun on this mission.”

  “Fun?” says Frank. “If by fun you mean an incredibly stressful evening full of new people who may or may not be trying to kill some students on campus, then I totally agree.”

  “Sure, sure. There could be death. But there will definitely be cake! And music. You haven’t heard Devoured by Bears yet—they’re really good.”

  “Well . . . I guess I do like cake.”

  Frank smiled and gave me a high five. I checked us out in the mirror. We looked good in the tuxedos, I had to say. Very James Bond. Ladies, look out. There were some superspies headed your way.

  Oh, that’s right. The other exciting thing about tonight? The Hallie Blair School was coed. Which meant that after dinner, during the Devoured by Bears show, there would be dancing. Like, with girls.

  Once we were all decked out, we headed off toward the Marks Student Center—named after the great-great-grandfather of Ellery Marks, who had recently managed to accidentally kill and wound a number of his fellow students. I couldn’t help but think it was a bad omen.

  I reached down and slipped a bow tie onto Killer’s collar. He was coming to the party tonight, so he might as well be dressed properly. If anything went down tonight, he’d already shown himself to be good backup. Plus, girls loved dogs. It was a proven fact. Killer was my in.

  When we got to the party, it was crazy. Between the Firth Academy students and the newcomers from The Hallie Blair School, there were nearly three hundred people in the room. Thankfully, the great hall of the Marks Building was like the size of an airport. So even with all the tables for dinner, and the stage set up for the band, there was still room for people to wander around and mingle. There were waiters passing trays of fancy finger food and champagne flutes full of sparkling apple cider.

  “Okay,” I said to Frank. “I could get used to this.”

  About ten seconds later, I was mobbed by three girls from the Blair School. They surrounded me on all sides, exclaiming at a high pitch.

  “He is the cutest!”

  “Look at his little face.”

  “Who’s a good guy?”

  Sadly, they were talking about Killer, not me. Frank wandered off through the crowd, trying to find Destiny so he could keep an eye on her. Usually, she stood out in the crowd of guys that was Firth Academy, but tonight, she was one woman among many. Maybe Frank was right about this being tricky.

  Killer provided the perfect opening, though, so I chatted with a few of the Blair students about Destiny. Maybe they would know if there was anyone in particular we should watch out for.

  “Ugh!” said one. “She’s such a total loser.”

  “Yeah,” another added. “Mean as a snake, too.”

  “And she always needs attention. Me, me, me—that
’s Destiny.”

  It looked like we might have to protect her from all of the Blair students. The three of them seemed ready to go on all night about how much they hated Destiny. Thankfully, Dr. Darity came on over the microphone. “If students could please find their seats, dinner will be served momentarily.”

  I pulled Killer away from the girls, and headed over to the Firth staff table. They’d hired special caterers for one night only, so that “everyone in the Firth community” could take part in the celebration. We were all the way at the back of the ballroom, as far from the stage as possible. But there was one perk: we were the closest to the kitchens.

  This wasn’t a normal cafeteria meal, either. The school had gone all out to impress their rivals. Soup, salad, steak, lobster, lamb, roasted vegetables . . . dish after dish was brought to the table. I ate until I thought I would explode. And then they started bringing out desserts: chocolate mousse, strawberry shortcake, ice cream, and apple pie. This was my kind of meal!

  As we were eating dessert Dr. Darity took the microphone again.

  “I’d like to thank everyone for being here tonight, especially our esteemed colleagues from the Hallie Blair School. This weekend has been a tradition going back more than one hundred years, and we are proud to continue it tonight.”

  There was a polite smattering of applause, though most people were too busy finishing off their desserts to really put much energy into it.

  “And of course, tomorrow will be the big game, which I know you’re all excited for.”

  That was a much bigger applause line. The entire soccer team clapped and stomped in rhythm—they must have practiced ahead of time. It took Dr. Darity a few minutes to get the room to quiet down again.

  “Now, I know you’re all excited for the concert to begin, but we have one more order of business before we can get to that: the Excellence Awards. Every year, Firth celebrates our best students—academically, physically, socially.”

  One of the other staff nudged me in the side. “Funny how he doesn’t mention the real reason they do this tonight: it’s a good chance to thumb their noses at the Hallie Blair School. They’re always trying to one up each other and show off their students.”

  For the next thirty minutes, Dr. Darity read off the names and achievements of students at the Firth Academy. Highest GPA, Best Athlete, Most School Spirit. The list went on and on. Surprisingly, Frank’s roommate Zeke won the Student Poetry Award. I didn’t think he even knew what poetry was! He looked pretty embarrassed when he accepted it. I had a feeling I wasn’t the only one he’d been hiding his artistic side from.

  Finally, Dr. Darity got to the main event. The Willis Firth Spirit Award, given to the student who best exemplified the ideals of Firth Academy. Dr. Darity went on and on about how much the award means, how this person must show intelligence, leadership, morals, and everything that is good and pure in the world. He explained that former recipients had gone on to be senators, governors, even a Nobel Prize winner. Finally the big moment came.

  “This year’s recipient of the Willis Firth Spirit Award is . . . Lee Jenkins!”

  There was thunderous applause from around the room as Lee walked up to the platform to receive the award. Aside from whoever had trashed his locker, Lee was almost universally loved at the Firth Academy. And from what I’d seen so far, he deserved the award more than anyone else on campus.

  “Gee, thanks,” said Lee, blushing. The room cracked up laughing. “No, really,” he continued. “I never in my life thought I’d get to go to a school like this, growing up where I did, with no money. So this means a lot to me. And I’d like to thank everyone who helped me fit in here at Firth. And most especially Dr. Darity, who made it possible for me to go here at all.”

  Lee turned to Dr. Darity and began applauding him. After a second, the entire room joined in. One by one, people began to get to their feet. Soon, Dr. Darity was getting a standing ovation from nearly the entire room. I couldn’t help but notice that sourpuss Mrs. Wilson was the only person at the staff table still seated. Did she like anyone other than Dr. Montgomery? I noticed Patton wasn’t standing either. He had a jealous frown on his face. Looks like maybe he was hoping to win the Spirit Award himself.

  Once Lee got off the stage, people were up and mingling again. All of the winners were mobbed with congratulations, but Lee had the biggest line of students and teachers coming up to him. Even some of his opponents on the Blair soccer team came up to shake his hand! He really was that well liked.

  While everyone was standing, the caterers began to clear away all the tables and chairs. Up on the stage, I saw Mill, Albert, Aloysius and Alastair begin setting up the equipment for the concert. I hopped up on stage to give them a hand. I’d be sitting behind the band tonight, running the sound board.

  “I wonder if they’ll let Lee alone long enough for him to get changed and help set up,” said Alastair. Or was it Albert? I still had a hard time telling them apart.

  “I’m just hoping they let him go long enough to play! Look at that line.” Mill pointed to the audience. You’d have thought that Lee was some celebrity from the way people were competing to shake his hand.

  Finally, Lee was free from all the congratulators. He hopped up on the stage and took off his tuxedo jacket. From behind the curtains, he lugged out his drum set piece by piece. Once all of the instruments and the sound board were hooked up, he and I each grabbed an end of the giant DEVOURED BY BEARS sign that the band had made, complete with their logo—a stylized version of the Willis Firth Academy with a bite taken out of it.

  Soon all of the equipment was in place. The band started warming up and I took my seat behind the mixing equipment at the back of the stage. From here, I had a great view of the entire audience. Almost all of the tables and chairs had been broken down by now, and the students had removed their jackets and ties. Everyone was in the mood to party. Even the soccer players, who all needed to be at their best for the game tomorrow, looked ready to dance all night.

  I could see Frank in the middle of the crowd, toward the right hand side. I looked around him, and sure enough, there was Destiny, five feet ahead. I felt glad Frank was near her. I could keep an eye on her from here, but if something happened, I’d be too far away to be of any help. I had handed Killer over to Frank since the dog was so in love with him, and he was behaving like a perfect angel by Frank’s side. Figured.

  The band struck up the opening notes of their first song, and the crowd let out a howl. When these buttoned up prep-school types had a party, they really knew how to get down! Within a minute, the room had become a seething mass of tuxedos and dresses, sweat and hair. The room had amazing acoustics, and the band was on fire. The energy of the audience seemed to energize them, and vice versa. The sound just kept getting stronger and better by the second!

  Mill was singing and screaming louder and louder. The vibe of the audience seemed to flow right into him, and he was whirling around along with them. He jumped up and down, ran across the stage, and generally acted like a man on fire—and the crowd loved it!

  The big finale of the first song came. Mill leaped straight up in the air on the final note, and came down right at the dead center of the stage. There was a terrible shattering noise. Mill screamed—and went straight through the floor!

  FRANK

  12

  The Secret Passage

  After Joe handed Killer off to me, I quickly made my way over to where Destiny was hanging out. Usually she had Casey with her, but tonight he was nowhere to be found. I almost felt bad for her.

  “Hey Destiny,” I said, walking over.

  “Buzz off.” She waved her hand at me, like a queen issuing an order.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Look, I don’t need your pity. I don’t need friends. I’m actually enjoying just for once not being the only girl on campus, and having a hundred guys staring at me. Plus, I was in here all day helping my dad set everything up and I’m tired. So please, leave me alone.”
>
  I walked off, a little offended. But I could understand what she meant. It must have been hard to be the only girl and the subject of so much harassment. Still, she didn’t need to be a jerk about it. But I guess that was how she got by.

  I managed to stay near her for most of the evening. I couldn’t sit with her at dinner—she was up at the headmaster’s table with her father, Dr. Montgomery, and the headmaster of the Hallie Blair School—but I took the table nearest to them. As luck would have it, Lee was sitting there as well, so I could kill two birds with one stone.

  Patton was sitting at a table nearby, trying his best to get Spencer to talk to him. It was the first time I’d seen Spencer since I’d nearly gotten caught in his room. He avoided meeting my eye, and I made a mental note to try to talk to him when dinner was over. Casey, I noticed, was sitting over with some Blair students. Unlike Destiny, they still seemed to like him.

  Everything seemed fine throughout dinner. Killer lay on the floor at my side, drooling when I cut into the steak but well behaved as usual. When Lee was given the Willis Firth Spirit Award, our whole table exploded into applause.

  During the standing ovation, Spencer must have slipped out of the room. When the award ceremony was over and everyone stood up, he was gone. But there was nothing I could do. Joe was already on stage helping set up for the band, and someone had to keep an eye on Destiny. Still, it was definitely suspicious.

  I positioned Killer and myself near Destiny in the crowd as the band started. Everything Joe had said was true; they were incredible—for about three minutes. Then came the horrible crashing sound, and Mill disappeared through the stage floor.

  For a moment, everyone was still. No one was sure if it was part of the act or not. Then Killer let out a low growl, and Mill started screaming. “Help! My legs! Someone help!”

  I tried to fight my way through the mass of people, but it was madness. Some people were rushing toward the stage, others were rushing away. People were screaming. Dr. Darity and the faculty were trying to get the students to calm down. By the time Killer and I finally fought our way to the front of the room, Joe was already climbing down into the hole in the floor. Lee and the other band members were starting to follow him. Luckily, ATAC trained us in the latest paramedic procedures.