“You could, but I doubt you’d come close,” Shelby replied with a glare.
You could say that Shelby and her brother have your typical sibling rivalry, although there’s nothing typical about either of them. Michael’s only sixteen, but recently started his freshman year at Columbia University.
Michael turned to me. “My baby sister is always under the impression that her intelligence is greater than it actually is. Yet here she is making an elementary concoction, while I’m learning a great deal at the university.”
I tried not to laugh since Shelby was mimicking Michael behind his back.
“For instance,” Michael continued unaware, “we spent all last week studying natural energy. Did you know that a bolt of lightning is five times hotter than the surface of the sun?”
Ah, no. Why would I know that?
“Did your college professor forget to mention that the surface of the sun is its coolest layer,” Shelby added dryly. “At the core, plasma temperatures can reach about fifteen million kelvins.”
Michael narrowed his eyes at her. “Oh, really?”
I sat on the floor rubbing Sir Arthur’s belly, knowing that they could spew random science factoids at each other for a while.
“I’m simply stating facts.”
“How unenlightening,” Michael replied in his usual monotone voice, but there was an edge of irritation.
“Let’s see,” Shelby said as she tapped her chin with her finger. “What else can I educate you on, dear brother. A full head of human hair is strong enough to support twelve metric tons.”
“Well, did you know that it would take you precisely forty-two minutes and twelve seconds to travel through the earth if someone drilled a hole from one end to the other?”
I raised my hand because I felt like I was in class. “Okay, but how do people know that? Like, nobody actually drilled a hole into the earth and jumped through.”
Both Shelby and Michael looked at me like I had just said something completely crazy.
“It’s a proven scientific fact,” Michael replied with a scowl that closely resembled Shelby’s.
“So by proven, you mean someone really did jump through the earth?”
Michael tilted his head like he was trying to decipher if I was making a joke. I wasn’t. I really wanted to understand exactly how they knew that. I’m sure it had to do with math and whatever. But who has the time to figure this stuff out? Shouldn’t we be spending all that brainpower curing cancer or something useful?
I shrugged. “I mean, it doesn’t really affect me if lightning is hotter than the sun. I never got into those hypothetical questions.”
“It’s not hypothetical; it’s a scientific fact,” Shelby corrected me.
“Not a fact that I need to know. It’s like, which came first, the chicken or the egg?”
“The chicken,” Michael and Shelby responded in unison, each looking surprised at the other by their answer.
I laughed. “Oh, come on, really? How would you know that?”
“A chicken has a protein necessary for the formation of an egg; therefore an egg could only exist if it’s been created by a chicken,” Shelby stated as if it was obvious.
“Okaaay. Is that thing almost done?” I asked, trying to move on from the Michael and Shelby Holmes Random Scientific Knowledge Show.
“Almost.” Shelby started to fill the cardboard from a toilet paper roll with the mixture.
“Well, good luck, with whatever that thing is,” Michael replied. Then he looked at me. “And dealing with him.”
Yeah, because I was the weirdo in this scenario.
Shelby put the finishing touches on the smoke bomb by placing a cardboard disk on top of the roll and inserting a fuse. Once she was satisfied, she put it in a paper bag and set it in the refrigerator with a sign that stated in large letters, “DO NOT TOUCH: PROPERTY OF SHELBY HOLMES.”
“Explain it to me again? Do I really need to do this?” I tried to not whine, but this all made me a little uncomfortable.
“The critical piece of information we need in order to successfully retrieve Mr. Crosby’s watch is the location of Ms. Semple’s safe. We need Ms. Semple to think there’s a fire so I can figure out where the safe is.”
“Okay …” She had explained this to me before, but I still didn’t understand how a fire—sorry, the appearance of fire—was going to help.
“When a mother hears a fire alarm, the first thing she does is go for her children, right?” I nodded. “Well, Mr. Crosby’s watch is valuable to Ms. Semple. Therefore, if she thinks there’s a fire, she’ll most certainly think of it, and her other valuables in her safe, when she sees the smoke.”
“And hears the alarm,” I reminded her of the other part of my task for tomorrow.
“Right. But remember it’s technically not the school alarm. You aren’t tripping anything. That would be illegal. We’re simply going to make Ms. Semple think there’s a fire.”
That was true. I was only pressing a button on Shelby’s phone, hooked up to a speaker that would be outside Ms. Semple’s office window, to simulate an alarm. Shelby had done research to figure out the exact make, model, and sound of the alarm system at Miss Adler’s School. She then replicated it with her computer, recorded it, and had it on her phone.
“So when I get the signal, I light the smoke bomb and then press the button.”
(Yeah, there was no way I wasn’t getting caught.)
“It’s a rather easy task.”
“I don’t see how we’re going to get away with this.” I made sure to say we, because if I was going down, I was taking Shelby with me.
“A few seconds. That’s all I need. Just enough time to see Ms. Semple’s initial reaction upon hearing the alarm and seeing the smoke. Then all will become clear. If we do everything as I’ve planned, nobody else in the school will even be aware of the pandemonium that will surely be ensuing in Ms. Semple’s office. And in the chaos, I’ll be able to quickly crack the safe, and then slip out with the watch in my possession.”
I put my head in my hands. I started to feel throbbing in my temple. Yeah, I wanted some more adventure in my life, but maybe this was too much.
“Watson.” Shelby placed her hand on my shoulder. “I would never let anything happen to you. You know that, right?”
I looked up at her. Her face, which was usually scowling, was almost soft. She really was concerned about me.
“Yes.”
“And you’re with me on this, right? We need to help Mr. Crosby.”
I nodded. I really liked Mr. Crosby. I didn’t want to let him down.
“Believe me, if I could trade places with you I would,” Shelby said. “But as much as I pride myself on being a master of disguise, I don’t really see how I could transform you into a girl. So it has to be me in there, and you outside.”
“I know,” I replied. And I did. It wasn’t that her plan didn’t make sense. It was just … smoke. Fake fire. It seemed like so much could go wrong.
“The most danger we’ll face is if Ms. Semple discovers who I am, but that’ll never happen. Then after we’re done, we’ll meet at our rendezvous point and you’ll simply have to try to blend in.”
Honestly, that might be the hardest part. We’re going to be at a swanky, all-girls’ school on the Upper East Side. I’m a boy. I’m black. I looked down at myself. “I think it’s going to be pretty hard for me to not stand out, Shelby.”
She studied me for a moment before a smile spread on her face. There was something about that smile that made me want to run the other way. Shelby rarely smiled, but if she did it meant one thing: trouble.
“Yes, you have a valid point, Watson. It’s come to that juncture in the case where we focus on your wardrobe.”
CHAPTER
16
“Oh, John, you look so nice,” Mom said on Monday morning when I came out of my room wearing a white button-down shirt with a tie. And pressed khaki pants. This was the only outfit Shelby found suit
able after she raided my closet last night. “All this for the museum?”
I should’ve known she would find this suspicious. I always complained when I had to wear nice clothes for church or holidays.
“Shelby thought I should dress up for the occasion.” I found myself regurgitating Shelby’s line when I asked her what I would say if anybody saw me dressed like this, on a day off from school, no less.
“Did she?” Mom asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’m surprised you aren’t hanging out with the guys today. You should have them over one of these days.”
Mom met the guys at a school open house the first week of school. She was happy to see that I had made friends so quickly.
“Yeah. I will,” I replied. I grabbed a piece of toast with peanut butter.
“What time are you leaving?”
“Soon,” I replied as I took a big bite of toast. I had to be out front in five minutes to keep to our schedule.
“That’s awfully early, isn’t it? I thought most museums didn’t open until ten.”
I stopped chewing. It was currently 7:24 in the morning. I tried to think of yet another lie she’d believe.
“Shelby wanted to give me a proper tour of Central Park first.”
Mom studied me for a second. I tried to look natural so she couldn’t smell the deceit. “Well, I guess I should be happy you’re spending your day off getting an education.”
She bought it!
“I have to get to the hospital. Have a great day. And be careful.” She gave me a quick kiss before grabbing her bag and leaving. I waited two minutes before heading out.
The hallway was clear. But when I opened the front door to our building, I froze. Mom was deep in conversation with Shelby. Yet she didn’t know it.
“John, have you met Mrs. Hudson’s niece, Basia?”
Shelby was in full undercover mode. She had told me that she would be in character on the bus ride over since you never knew who would be following us.
“Ah, yeah, hey,” I stumbled over my words. “Nice to see you, Basia.”
“Yes, my auntie already introduced us.” Shelby, or Basia Rathbone, was dressed up like the other day. “John, I hope you don’t mind if I accompany you and Shelby today on your trip to the museum.”
“Cool,” I responded. Every word was difficult to speak since my voice was shaking. We were so close to being caught. Shelby looked as unaffected as ever. But why would she be as freaked out as me? Nothing would happen to her if Mom knew who she really was. I, on the other hand, would be in so much trouble for the growing number of lies I’d told.
“Well, have a great day, you two,” Mom said with a wave before heading to the subway.
I waited until she turned the corner onto Lenox Avenue before I exhaled with relief.
“We should get going, Watson,” Shelby said in her sweet Basia voice. She slung a fancy messenger bag over her shoulder and then picked up her ratty, purple backpack that was beside her feet and handed it to me. “I am entrusting you with this today. I think it goes without saying that you need to be careful with it.”
I took it by the handle. It had to weigh at least fifty pounds. “Whoa. How can you lug this thing around all the time?” I put it on as we headed to the bus stop.
“It has everything required to be a good detective. It’s important to be prepared.”
True, that backpack always seemed to have whatever Shelby needed when we were on a case: measuring tape, binoculars, magnifying glass, tape, tweezers, makeup (to dust for fingerprints), pretty much anything you can think of. Oh, yeah, and it currently held two smoke bombs (in case one didn’t work).
Once we boarded our bus, Shelby leaned into me to whisper, “When we get off at our stop, follow behind me, but don’t make it obvious. Sit down at the bench and read the book I brought for you. Wait precisely twelve minutes after the bell rings, then go to the window I told you about. There’s plenty of room for you to stand underneath it without being seen. Wait for the signal.”
“Got it.” I unzipped her backpack, looking to see what book she had for me to read. And groaned at the sight of a ginormous chemistry book. “You want me to do homework?”
Seriously? Today was a day off from school.
“No. However, I presume that nobody would think that a smartly dressed young gentleman reading a huge textbook would be up to trouble.”
Fair enough.
I leaned back on my seat as the bus drove through Central Park. I was still in awe of the city. Anytime I saw the Empire State Building peek up from behind buildings in Midtown, I still got chills. I doubted I’d ever be bored by Manhattan.
Shelby pressed the STOP strip, signaling the bus driver for the next stop, Fifth Avenue. We both exited, but I remained a few paces behind Shelby as instructed, looking over at the park every once in a while. When we got to the school, there were girls filing into the building. A girl with long black hair in a high ponytail and an olive complexion approached Shelby to greet her. Well, she greeted Basia.
“You must be Basia. Welcome to Miss Adler’s School for Girls. We’re so happy to have you here,” the girl said in the same sweet tone Shelby had been imitating. Was this the official voice of the rich and privileged on the Upper East Side? “I’m Moira and I’ll be showing you around today.”
I kept walking over to the other side of the building, sat on a bench that faced the school, and opened up the textbook. Inside it were tons of notes that Shelby had taken about different kinds of chemical reactions. No wonder she knew how to make a smoke bomb off the top of her head.
I stole a glance to see Shelby still talking to the Moira girl. Before they walked in, Moira turned around and made eye contact with me. I quickly looked down at my book.
I tried to tell myself that she was simply looking around and seeing some black kid reading a huge chemistry book on a bench who did, in fact, stand out. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was actually looking for me.
CHAPTER
17
Don’t stand out. Don’t stand out.
I kept repeating that in my head as I placed the watch that was synced with Shelby’s in the spine of the chemistry book. I took a chance and looked up to survey the area. Not one single person was paying any attention to me.
Maybe this undercover business wasn’t so hard.
As there were only a few minutes left until class started, the line of black SUVs and a few limos started to thin out as the girls made their way inside the school that was built like a stone castle. It even had a turret, which made it different from the rows of town houses and apartment buildings that lined Fifth Avenue.
I studied the girls, some who were dropped off by nannies, a few by maids in uniforms, and one was even escorted by a dude who looked like a butler, top hat and all. I observed that the girls were all giggling, and well … girly until they approached the school. Then they all straightened their posture and started to behave like the prim and proper girls Shelby had been imitating all morning.
My mind wandered to what Shelby would be doing right now. She was probably biting her tongue because someone didn’t have a fact right, or forcing a smile as someone droned on and on about a story that she didn’t find educational.
It must be driving her nuts.
Oh, how I wished I could be a fly on that wall.
By the time the school bell rang at 8:30 sharp, the front was completely empty. The only people on the street were adults in business suits on their way to work. At precisely 8:42, I walked around the corner to the window that Shelby had assured me was in the headmistress’s office. And true to her word, I could stand underneath it without being seen. I casually put the smoke bomb on the sidewalk and used my feet and bag to conceal it. I shoved the phone and speaker to sound the faux-alarm in my pocket and waited for my signal.
I wasn’t exactly sure how Shelby was going to get the headmistress to open the window, but if I’ve learned anything from working with her, it was to never underestimate Shelby Ho
lmes.
Less than a minute later I heard the window open above me. My heart skipped a beat. I could faintly hear Shelby’s sugary voice, “Thank you so much. I have no idea what came over me. How horribly embarrassing.”
The window was open. That was my cue.
I lit the fuse of the smoke bomb and hit the fake alarm. The smoke bomb began to emit a ton of white smoke, which blew directly into the open window because of the wind.
I held my breath and prayed that this would not be the one time that Shelby Holmes was wrong.
CHAPTER
18
My heart was racing as I waited for Shelby on the corner of Madison and 74th, our designated meeting spot.
When I spotted her approaching, she was strolling casually like it was a Sunday afternoon, she didn’t have anywhere to be, and, oh yeah, she didn’t just steal something.
Well, she didn’t just steal something back.
I was practically jumping out of my skin. “Did you get it?”
She paused, and a confident smile widened on her face. Even though she still had on her Basia Rathbone costume, every mannerism was pure Shelby Holmes. She reached into her bag and pulled out a watch. She twirled it around her finger. “It should go without saying that I would acquire our item.”
“How’d you do it?” I asked.
“By sticking to our plan,” she replied as she started walking down the block. “Put thought into a plan and come up with every possible scenario, and you’ll be successful, Watson.”
“Come on, Shelby,” I prodded her. “Tell me what happened!” She usually relished telling people how brilliant she was to pull something off.
“Old news,” Shelby replied with a wave of her hand.
“Yeah, well, won’t I learn more if you tell me how you got the watch?”
“You make a valid point. I should take every opportunity to educate you.” Shelby took a quick glance at the watch before putting it back into her bag. “After receiving a tour of the grounds from Moira, a seventh grader, I was escorted to Ms. Semple’s office. As the interview commenced, I tried to pinpoint the various locations Ms. Semple could hide a safe. Behind framed art on the wall and in her desk were the most obvious places. Of course as I looked around, Ms. Semple assumed I was simply in awe of my surroundings: the plush, rich furniture, the large paintings of former headmistresses, and the antiques that adorned her office.
The Great Shelby Holmes Meets Her Match Page 7
