Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis

by Paula Berinstein

  Amanda leaned in again and felt a pang in her back. She winced and almost fell right into him. His breath smelled like toothpaste. He reached out to steady her. She remembered Nick doing that when they’d found her father’s watch in the secret room. She’d been so upset she’d almost collapsed.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “De nada,” said Simon. “But think about it. To save the crystals we’ll not only have to rescue whatever existing ones there are, but we’ll also have to kill the virus so he can’t make any more.”

  Amanda’s eyes widened. “You’re not talking about committing genocide on the virus, are you?”

  “No,” he said. “Not the virus.”

  She rubbed the sore muscle. “If we stop him from making more, the existing crystals will be the only ones on earth and there can never be any more. Killing the virus means killing the crystals forever.”

  “You got it,” said Simon so softly that she practically had to put her listening device in to hear him. “They’ll be extinct. But we don’t just have to kill the virus. We have to destroy the formula the Moriartys used to make it so they can’t bring it back.”

  Amanda gasped. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? Of course: because Scapulus Holmes, Gaston Thrillkill, and David Wiffle were always in her face, distracting her from what she needed to be doing.

  “This is terrible,” she whispered. “We lose either way.”

  “Yes,” he said. “But there is good news.”

  “I could use some,” said Amanda.

  “The crystals understand language.”

  “Don’t be silly,” she said. She leaned in toward him again, careful not to strain the muscle. Maybe she should take up yoga as her father had suggested. She caught the smell of toothpaste again. If she could smell him, he could smell her. What if she was stinky? “Hey, is my breath bad?” He shook his head. “Good. You know, it’s one thing to blink when they want to be rubbed. It’s another to conclude that they understand what we’re saying. They’re rocks, after all.”

  “Smart rocks,” he said. “I’ve been doing more testing and they respond to words.”

  “You mean they respond to tones of voice,” she said. “That’s not surprising.”

  “Nope. Words. I was really careful to keep my voice steady, and they changed color and blinked or didn’t blink depending on what I said.”

  “That’s nuts. They didn’t do that before. Remember when you tested that?”

  He shook his head. “‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’”

  “You know Hamlet?” Amanda cried. “Oops, sorry. That was kinda loud, wasn’t it?” She looked around to make sure no one else had heard, then lowered her voice. “You know Hamlet?”

  “Sure, I know Hamlet,” said Simon. “I’m English, aren’t I?” He gave her a goofy-looking smile. Suddenly a vision of Nick popped into her head. He would have known Hamlet, and it wasn’t because he was English.

  “Are you trying to tell me that the crystals can understand what we’re saying?” she said.

  “To some extent, yes. How much I don’t know. Not yet, anyway.”

  “But theoretically they could understand what we’re saying about Blixus and the virus and genocide and everything.”

  “I think that’s a bit over the top,” said Simon.

  “But they could sense our moods and intent from the way we talk, just the way Nigel does, right?” she said.

  “I think so,” he said. “At least as much as Nigel.”

  This statement surprised her. Simon loved Nigel almost as much as Ivy did and thought he was the smartest dog in the world. His describing the crystals as being more intelligent than Nigel meant he thought they were geniuses.

  “Wow,” she said. “Do you think they understand how much danger they’re in?”

  “Quite honestly, I wouldn’t put it past them. They are wicked smart. Please don’t do that.”

  “Do what?” She realized she’d leaned back again and was talking too loud. “Oh, sorry.” She huddled again. “Gosh, do you think they’d do well on one of Professor Sidebotham’s quizzes?”

  “Ha ha,” he said. “Although actually, I don’t think they’d fail.”

  “That’s a little creepy,” she said. “I’d really like to see a demonstration.”

  “You will. I almost brought one with me, but I remembered I was going to talk about stuff that would scare it so I left it in the lab.”

  “Yikes,” she said. “The thought of Blixus torturing these smart little cuties so he can make weapons out of them, or even use them as energy sources, makes me sick. I feel like running up to the lab and petting them.” She was amazed that Simon didn’t roll his eyes. He was so not a touchy-feely person. “What do we do about this?”

  “You mean about the genocide?” he said.

  She flinched. The word “genocide” gave her the creeps. “That and everything else.”

  “Considering that Blixus is going to kill them anyway if he gets his hands on them, we have no choice. We have to destroy the virus.”

  “But that’s terrible,” Amanda said. “Do we really need to do that? What if he doesn’t find them?”

  “Do you want to take that chance?” He looked at her in a way that said, “No, you don’t. You know you have to do this.”

  Amanda thought for a moment and said, “This is really hard, Simon.”

  “No one ever said being a detective was easy.”

  “I didn’t even want to be one.” She sat back and stared at the badminton net the gremlins had installed for the day.

  “But you do now.”

  “I do now.”

  “Then you’re going to have to toughen up,” he said.

  She thought she had. She was way tougher than she’d been when she arrived at Legatum a few months before. You had to be or you wouldn’t survive. She didn’t like the idea that she was still soft. That meant she was vulnerable, and there was no way she was going to let that happen. She opened her mouth to reply but then thought, “What am I going to say?” and stopped.

  “There’s something else,” said Simon. “This is separate, but it’s important.” He motioned for her to come really close.

  Something else? How could there be so many things to deal with at the same time? “Tell me,” she said, getting a whiff of peppermint again. “I need to know everything.”

  “Professor Redleaf’s computer. Remember when she looked at it and got upset?”

  This was a change of subject. She didn’t like the sound of it. Anything to do with Professor Redleaf involved Holmes. “Yes. What was that about? You know?”

  “I don’t know what it was, but I have a hunch.”

  “Blixus?”

  “Could be, but I don’t think so.”

  “The teachers have lots of enemies,” she said.

  “Yes, they do. But whoever did it and whatever it was, we have to make the data even more secure than it is. Even if they already got hold of some.”

  “Isn’t Scapulus already working on this? He practically admitted to me that Professor Redleaf had been hacked.”

  “He did? That’s interesting because I overheard him saying that they have to solve the hacking quickly or all the school’s data will be compromised. It might even be posted on the Web! We would be completely ineffective.”

  “That’s terrible of course, but is the situation any worse than it was when Professor Redleaf saw something?”

  “Actually, I think it is,” said Simon.

  Oh great. Another crisis. “What are you trying to say, Simon?”

  “For one thing, I think Scapulus is going to have to spend more time on the project. That means he won’t be able to keep helping us look. It might also mean he has to quit the film project. And, he might not be able to help us look for the virus.”

  As much as Amanda did not want to work with Holmes, this wasn’t the best news. She felt relieved that she could finish the
film without his interference, but they did need his help searching the school, and now that Simon had mentioned it he would be the best person to help them locate and destroy the virus formula. But what was going on with Professor Redleaf’s computer? Had Blixus—or Mavis—hacked into it, and if so, what kind of damage had they inflicted? Even scarier, if it wasn’t them who was it?

  “And?” she said.

  “You’re going to think I’m nuts,” he said.

  “I never think you’re nuts, Simon. Just argumentative sometimes. Tell me.”

  “I think Professor Redleaf saw something way worse than Blixus Moriarty. I think the real-life equivalent of Voldemort is out there.”

  25

  Acoustic Levitation

  Amanda was aware that Simon wasn’t one for conspiracy theories. He was the most rational person she knew. So if he had a hunch that Professor Redleaf had seen something terrifying, it was worth investigating. But how? She was sure Holmes had already checked the teacher’s browser history and digital activities. If he hadn’t come up with anything from that, what else could there be?

  She asked Simon if he had developed any theories about what the teacher might have seen, but he hadn’t. He couldn’t even explain why he thought what he did. This wasn’t like him, but she knew him well enough now to trust him. He probably just had to let everything swirl around in his head for a while and then he’d be able to articulate his reasons.

  She and Ivy overheard the teachers saying that the last aftershock had damaged parts of the school so badly that they were going to have to block them off and get repair crews in at once. The dorms had been spared, but the administrative area that housed Headmaster Thrillkill’s office and the hospital were now off limits. Fortunately there was unused space in the main building, and both departments were to be relocated to the top floor near Professor Tumble’s Disguise classroom. The severe damage also extended to the front door, and the south lounge, which belonged to Van Helden House, was touch and go. If Thrillkill were to close it, David and Gordon would not be happy, but then they were never happy, so what did it matter?

  It seemed to be a particularly talky day because the kids overheard a lot of other noteworthy stuff as well. For one thing, even though the teachers still weren’t mentioning the whatsit by name, they too believed that Blixus might have it and thought they should track him. In fact, they were sending two teachers to London to check the factory ruins and all his known hiding places. This prospect worried Amanda because she knew she was also going and didn’t want to run into Professors Scribbish and Feeney, who had been selected for the job. Amphora thought the two teachers would make a cute couple, but Simon told her this was serious stuff and to stop making frivolous comments. Ivy wasn’t around or she probably would have fined him.

  They also heard a lot of squabbling. Professor Peaksribbon said that he didn’t care what anyone said, he was going to make a plan for replacing the whatsit. (He didn’t say “book.” None of the teachers used that term. They all called the whatsit “it.”) Professor Feeney said that she was going to hunt down whoever had taken it and neutralize them. Professor Tumble kept trying to calm the others and urged them to take a wait-and-see attitude. And Professor Mukherjee said emphatically that they should close the school.

  It was becoming clear to the kids that the teachers were divided on the topic of the whatsit and that the schism that was forming was starting to tear them apart. They knew they couldn’t speak to the teachers about the problem because they weren’t supposed to know about it, although how anyone could fail to be aware with all that talk going on was beyond Amanda. What she and the others did know, however, was that the sooner they found the book the sooner the teachers would calm down and be able to direct their energy to other things, like fixing the school.

  Of course because they had their listening devices in their ears, they heard a lot of other stuff too, and Amanda was beginning to understand how too much information could wear a person out. Perhaps when she wasn’t trying to overhear important stuff, Ivy should put cotton in her ears to tone it down and give herself some peace, assuming her hearing was working better. Amanda was afraid to ask.

  But at least some of the talk was funny. The décor gremlins always raised her spirits. At one point she heard Noel say that Alexei’s design for the day was so sloppy that he should go back to school. Hearing this, Alexei said that Noel’s taste was paleolithic and he should get into a time machine and go where he would be appreciated. Noel countered by saying that Alexei needed a brain refresher, and Alexei, even more unkindly, said that Noel was fat.

  One thing she did feel guilty hearing was, wonder of wonders, Holmes being taken to task by Professor Stegelmeyer for a mistake he’d made in Crime Lab. Then later she heard Professor Pole, the nicest person in the world, lose his temper with Holmes over another supposed error. The teachers weren’t simply offering constructive criticism. Holmes had done something that had actually angered them, although she couldn’t tell what. That such a thing could happen was so startling that Amanda thought she must be hearing wrong, but Ivy confirmed her perception. Either the teachers had gone mad or Holmes was losing his grip. Could it be the stress of teaching the cyberforensics class, or maybe the hacking project, or trying to do both?

  Yes, he was under stress, but Amanda decided that the real problem was that Holmes was a jerk. He’d waltzed into Legatum thinking he’d be a star, but he wasn’t up to it and now the truth was coming out. When she expressed this opinion to the others, they just looked at each other and said nothing.

  Then Amphora found a new piece of evidence. She had been poking around in the area where they’d found the crystals and had even ventured into the cavern where the skeleton had been walled up, when she spotted something shiny. She squatted down and looked at it closely and saw that it was a key. Fortunately she had brought evidence bags with her, so she sealed it up and brought it right to Professor Stegelmeyer for analysis. When this occurred, all the teachers came running to see the new treasure. Amanda hadn’t been present, but as soon as she’d left the lab Amphora had run to tell her and Ivy.

  “I’m really chuffed,” she said, showing them a picture of the key.

  “You should be,” said Amanda. “The key could tell us who the victim is.”

  “And the murderer,” said Ivy.

  “If I tell you something, promise you won’t tell anyone?” Amphora said.

  “Of course,” said Amanda.

  “I swear,” said Ivy.

  “To tell you the truth,” Amphora said, “I’ve been feeling pretty insecure about my skills. I mean you guys all find important clues and figure out what they mean. And Simon is so good in the lab it’s intimidating. I feel like a dummy.”

  “You’re not a dummy!” said Ivy. “How can you think such a thing?”

  “Yeah,” said Amanda. “You contribute as much as the rest of us. Why do you say that?”

  “I’m not clever like you,” said Amphora. “You guys are always coming up with brilliant ideas and solving difficult problems.”

  “So are you,” said Amanda. “We couldn’t have solved the class project last term without you.”

  “All I did was tag along,” said Amphora.

  “Not true,” said Ivy. “You were the one who researched all the teachers. Without all that deep knowledge we never would have been able to come up with potential perpetrators. And we never would have known that Professor Pickle was involved in that big dispute with Clive Ribchester.” Ribchester was Professor Pickle’s commercial rival. They both came from pickle-making families and were highly competitive. For a long time the kids had suspected that he’d blown up the professor’s car to send a message, but it turned out that Professor Pickle wasn’t the bomber’s target after all. Amphora had been key in figuring that out too. “You’ve got the complete dossier on the teachers. No one else knows half what you do about them. That’s hugely valuable.”

  “It’s just a bunch of gossip,” said Amphora
.

  “Uh uh,” said Amanda. “You have research skills way beyond what the rest of us can do. We need you.”

  “Thanks,” said Amphora. “I hope you’re right. Anyway, I was feeling insecure and I wanted to see if I could be a hero. Maybe I could find something everyone else missed. But also I wanted to see if I could find more crystals. I’m really interested in them.”

  “And look what happened,” said Ivy. “You did.” She squeezed Amphora’s hand.

  “So I did,” said Amphora, drifting off into space.

  “I can’t wait to find out what the teachers think about the key,” said Amanda. “I don’t know anything about keys. I can’t even tell from the shape what kind of lock it goes with.”

  “Let’s go see if we can find out something,” said Ivy.

  When the girls entered the lab, Professor Stegelmeyer told them that the key probably belonged to some kind of lockbox or chest. Unfortunately no one had yet been able to identify it or link it to a specific individual. The teachers figured that whoever the dead man was, he had swallowed the key and it had fallen into the dirt as the skeleton was shaken during the earthquake. It was frustrating that they still couldn’t tell who he was, but now they had new lines of inquiry to pursue. Who would swallow a lockbox key and why? Where was the lockbox or chest and what could be in it? Professor Stegelmeyer told them that he and the other teachers hadn’t begun to theorize about those questions yet.

  Amanda texted Simon to let him know what was going on. He was very excited about the key and even said something nice about Amphora. He also told her that they’d better get to London as soon as possible. Suddenly Amanda realized that if there were indeed crystals in the wreckage, the sunlight beating down on them might overfill them and kill them. It might even be too late. They’d better skedaddle. They prepared to leave first thing the next morning.

  Of course to get to London, Amanda and Simon, who had decided that just the two of them should go or else they’d move too slowly, would have to sneak out of the school. Amanda had been through that before. Last term she’d pretended to be a maid and had stowed away on a delivery vehicle. That strategy, however, had turned into a disaster when the lorry had taken her all the way to Edinburgh, which lay in the opposite direction from the factory in London. As a result, she’d arrived at her final destination when it was dark and had had little time in which to find and save her father before the Moriartys planned to kill him. Luckily, with Ivy’s remote help, she’d been able to bypass the security keypad, enter the building, and save Herb Lester in the nick of time.