Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle Page 20

  Bees were still swarming around the house but the two girls had no choice. Screaming and waving their arms they ran back to where Ivy, and yes, Gordon, who was covered with bees an inch thick, were standing, or in Ivy’s case, lying on the ground choking and puffing up.

  Ivy looked terrible. She’d been completely immobilized by the bee venom. Her face was purple, her eyes were swollen shut, and she was gasping for air. Simon was running back toward the road, presumably to get help. Nigel was barking at the top of his lungs.

  Amanda screamed, “Ivy, don’t you dare die!” She went for the baking soda and cream, then saw that there was something thick and brown on the sting on Ivy’s arm. It looked like mud.

  “Ew, what is that?” she said. Then she noticed that Gordon, in his bee blanket, was talking on the phone.

  “Yes, that’s right. Those are the coordinates,” Gordon said, eyeing Amanda and Fern. “Two minutes? Brilliant. Ta.” He ended the call. There was no way he could put the phone in his pocket, so he tossed it to Amanda, who hadn’t a hope of catching it. It fell onto the dirt. “The ambulance will be here soon. I pulled out the stinger and made a poultice for her. Simon went for help.”

  Amanda looked down at Ivy. She was swelling up like Violet Beauregarde in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” but she did indeed have a poultice on her arm. It was the brown, muddy thing. “Ivy!” she screamed. “Hang on. The ambulance is coming. What are you doing here, Gordon? Those bees are going to kill you.”

  “No they won’t,” said Gordon. “I grew up on a farm. I know bees.”

  “You’re kidding,” said Amanda. She wondered what else Gordon hadn’t told them. “Thank you!”

  “It’s no big deal,” said Gordon. “They’re really quite nice, bees.”

  “Gordon, you’re a hero,” said Fern. “I can’t thank you enough. If you ever need anything, just ask. Anything.”

  Amanda could hear the ambulance approaching. It would be there in seconds.

  “I already know what I want,” said Gordon tactlessly. Amanda hoped his request wouldn’t involve her having to be around David Wiffle. “I want to join your group.”

  Amanda let out a little gasp. Gordon wasn’t nearly as obnoxious as he used to be, but she wasn’t sure she wanted him around all the time. After all he had once been David’s close friend, and what did that say about him?

  “You do realize that we don’t like David, don’t you?” she said.

  “I know,” he said. “Either do I.”

  “But he was your best friend.”

  “I was a child then. I’m not anymore.”

  “Oh, I see. All right then,” said Amanda. “You’re one of us now, whatever that means.”

  “I want to sit at your table at meals.” Amanda thought for a moment, then nodded okay. She really did owe him. If he got out of line, she’d have to nudge him back in. Putting up with him seemed a small price to pay for Ivy’s life.

  The ambulance pulled up and two technicians got out. Simon got out of the back and ran to Ivy. Apparently he’d flagged them down and they’d let him ride with them. They gave Ivy a shot and loaded her into the vehicle. Within a few seconds the swelling had reversed itself and she stopped choking.

  “We’re taking her to Penrith Community,” said one of the technicians, a muscular young man with an appallingly ugly face.

  “Is that really necessary?” said Fern. “She’s fine now. I’m her sister. We’ve been through this before.”

  “Let me check her vital signs again,” said the fellow. Using the stethoscope around his neck, he listened to Ivy’s heart, then felt her pulse. “Age?”

  “She’s nearly thirteen,” said Fern.

  “No, I mean you,” said the guy.

  “I’m seventeen.”

  “Good, sign here,” he said, and shoved a clipboard in front of Fern’s face. “Release form. Just do this and you can take her.”

  Fern read the form carefully, then took the blue Boot’s pen the guy was holding out and signed it.

  “Drop off?”

  Amanda whispered to Simon, “How does he know Alexei?”

  “I beg your pardon,” said Fern.

  “We can drop you all off if you like,” said the guy. “Where to?”

  “I left my car by the stone circle,” said Fern.

  “Easy peasey,” said the technician. “Hop in.”

  Amanda was surprised at how little time it took to get from the farm to Fern’s Fiesta. What had required forty minutes or more to do on foot took about two minutes by car, including getting out of the ambulance.

  When everyone was safely buckled in, the technician stuck his head into the driver’s side window, looked into Fern’s eyes, held out a card, and said, “Here’s my number. Call me anytime.” Then he winked.

  Fern looked as though she was the one who had been stung. Her face turned bright red and she seemed unbelievably embarrassed. She took the card gently and examined it. “Thank you, er, Salty,” she said hesitantly. The guy flashed a shy grin, then turned around, said, “Let’s go” to his very tall partner, and drove away.

  “OMG, have you ever seen anyone so good looking?” said Fern when he’d gone. “I think I’m in love. Salty Pinchbeck. That has such a lovely ring to it.”

  Amanda and Simon, who were sitting in the back seat, looked at each other at the exact same moment. Simon stifled a giggle while Amanda suddenly found something fascinating to look at outside the window. Gordon, who was now beeless and sitting to the left of Simon, shrugged. Fern started the motor, broke into a lively rendition of “Oh My Man, I Love Him So,” and headed back toward Legatum. Her voice was so good she could have been the next Adele.

  “We need to report the dead body,” said Amanda when she and Simon had stopped laughing.

  “What dead body?” exclaimed the other three in unison.

  “Not another one,” said Ivy.

  “‘Fraid so,” said Amanda. “I think it’s the farmer.”

  “Murdered?” said Simon, pumping his knee.

  “Yes,” said Amanda. “Shot, I think. Simon, you’re making me bounce.” It was almost the same thing that had happened earlier with Gordon and Amphora in the common room. Did this bouncing thing have something to do with the Y chromosome?

  “Oh, sorry.” Simon pressed his knees together. “You didn’t check?”

  “We were a little busy,” said Amanda. “You don’t have to shrink yourself. I was just getting a little sick is all.”

  “Got gingersnaps?” said Simon.

  “Always,” said Amanda, and extracted one from her bag. “Hm, last one. Oh well.” She bit into the cookie. It was stale.

  “Just the one?” said Gordon.

  “Gingersnap?” said Amanda. She wished she had something to wash it down with.

  “Body,” said Gordon patiently.

  “Oh right. Yes, just the one. Although, OMG, Fern, we didn’t look everywhere, did we?” For all they knew, there were dead bodies all over the house. Maybe that was where the so-called wretch society met and someone had massacred them.

  “No, we didn’t,” said Fern. “The police will have to search.”

  “Don’t tell Thrillkill how sloppy we were,” said Amanda.

  “We sort of had other things on our minds,” said Fern.

  “How dead was he?” said Gordon.

  “He’s been dead for a while,” said Amanda.

  “Smelly?” said Gordon.

  “Yes.”

  “And I missed it?” He seemed incredibly disappointed. Maybe that was one of the reasons he and David Wiffle weren’t getting along so well these days. David definitely did not like dead and smelly.

  “Sorry, Gordon,” said Amanda. “There will be others. What are you doing out here anyway? Say, you didn’t happen to see my relatives, did you?”

  “That fat woman and her dumpy husband? No.”

  Gordon certainly wasn’t diplomatic. He was observant, however. His description of Despina and Hill was acc
urate, if not kind.

  “Too bad. We think they might be lost. Well, not lost exactly. Something is weird though.”

  “Just because you haven’t heard from them for a while doesn’t mean they’re lost,” said Simon. “Maybe they don’t have reception.”

  “Possibly,” said Amanda. Simon might be correct, but Despina wouldn’t let a little thing like a lack of cell reception bother her. She’d send a carrier pigeon if she had to. Something wasn’t right. “How did you get out here anyway?”

  “Eustace,” said Gordon matter-of-factly.

  “Eustace!” said Simon and Amanda. Gordon was full of surprises.

  “I thought he was working,” said Amanda. Eustace was always working during the summer. There were lots of tourists in Windermere then and they wanted to see the sights.

  “I didn’t know you knew him,” said Simon.

  “Who’s Eustace?” said Fern.

  “Tell you later,” said Ivy.

  “So Eustace dropped you off out here?” said Amanda. “Why would he do that?”

  “I made a deal with him,” said Gordon.

  “A deal?” What could Gordon possibly have to offer? Was he rich? How much money did farmers make, anyway?

  “Yes. I told him I’d help him become a detective in exchange for transportation.”

  “You what?” said Simon.

  “Oh, brother,” said Amanda. “This is wild.” Gordon help someone become a detective? Gordon? He was a mediocre student at best. She hoped he hadn’t sold Eustace a bill of goods.

  “Was he going to pick you up too?”

  “Oops. I was supposed to meet him. I’d better text him.”

  “You mean he’s waiting for you in Penrith?” Amanda could see Eustace sitting there for hours waiting. He was an easygoing guy but he wouldn’t be happy about that. Gordon had a lot to learn.

  “He might be,” said Gordon. “Actually, that might not be a bad thing, though.”

  “Keeping someone waiting forever isn’t a bad thing?” said Ivy.

  “He might see something,” said Gordon mysteriously.

  “Yes, he’ll see Penrith,” said Ivy. She laughed at her own joke. Amanda had to admit it was pretty funny.

  “No. Other things,” said Gordon.

  “Like what?” said Amanda. Pizza?

  “Zombies,” said Gordon.

  “What about zombies?” said Ivy.

  “I quite like zombies,” said Gordon.

  “Who doesn’t?” said Simon.

  “I heard there were zombies around Penrith and I wanted to see them,” said Gordon.

  “Same as us,” said Simon.

  “Ssssh,” said Amanda. Even if he had saved Ivy’s life, she wasn’t sure she wanted to share all their findings with Gordon.

  “So I got Eustace to take me, and that was when I saw it.”

  “Would you get on with it already?” said Amanda. “What did you see?”

  “I saw a rainbow come out of a hole,” said Gordon.

  23

  The Lockbox

  The kids might not have seen a zombie in Penrith, but things were getting verrrry interesting all the same. Secret tunnels, a strange church, gold leprechaun coins, crazy rainbows, a lockbox, killer bees, a dead farmer, wretch societies, romance for Fern, Gordon full of surprises, and now another rainbow, although this one was coming out of the ground. Amanda desperately hoped that these discoveries would help her cross some of Thrillkill’s tasks off her list. Certainly finding the lockbox, if indeed it was Wink’s, would contribute. She wasn’t sure about the rest, especially the rainbow.

  When they returned to the school, Amanda, Simon, Ivy, Fern, and Gordon, who had texted Eustace to say he was riding back with the others, reported the dead body and the local police were dispatched to examine it. Thrillkill was overjoyed at what he called “a break in Wink’s case.” He went to get the notorious key, attempted to clean the honey off the box, and stuck it in the lock. It turned! They had indeed found the answer. Crowding around Thrillkill’s desk, the kids watched as he lifted the lid with gloved hands.

  The lockbox, which had gotten a bit sticky on the inside as well as the outside, contained a pile of letters and a small silver coin in a little bag. Thrillkill changed his gloves, which were thick with honey, and picked up the coin. It looked ancient. It lacked writing, but as worn as it was it was possible to make out an image of a man with a crown on his head. Thrillkill whistled, dropped the coin into an evidence bag, and labeled it.

  Then he turned his attention to the letters, and that was when the group got the shock of their lives. They were love letters from Mavis Jamm (Mavis Moriarty before she married Blixus) to Wink Wiffle! Thrillkill shook his head and buried his face in his hands.

  “OMG,” said Amanda. “Mavis with Mr. Wiffle? This doesn’t make sense.”

  “It was a long time ago,” said Thrillkill. “Look at the postmark.”

  Sure enough, the letters were fifteen years old.

  “Interesting,” said Simon.

  “I’d say it’s a little more than that,” said Ivy.

  “I wonder if David knows,” said Gordon.

  Amanda and Ivy gasped. “This isn’t good,” said Amanda. “He’s been through enough already. To think that his dad was once involved with that woman . . .”

  “This explains the ring we found in Mavis’s room,” said Thrillkill. Everyone had been aghast when David had identified the ring in the criminal’s jewelry box as belonging to his father. “I think she’s been nursing a grudge all this time. Look at this letter.” He read aloud, “’I can’t believe you’d leave me. You said you loved me, and now you go and do this, all over nothing. Please, Wink. I love you. Don’t go.’”

  Amanda almost couldn’t listen. The idea of Thrillkill saying mushy things like that, even if the words were someone else’s, was embarrassing. He didn’t seem bothered though.

  “Hoo boy,” said Simon. “That clinches it, doesn’t it?”

  “It certainly adds weight to our theory that Mavis killed Wink,” said Thrillkill, waving the letter around.

  “Are there any letters from Mr. Wiffle to Mavis in there?” said Fern.

  Thrillkill riffled through the pile. “Apparently not. Hard to say whether he never answered or she has them. Had them.”

  “Too bad,” said Fern. “They would be helpful.”

  No one said anything for a moment. They all seemed to be in shock. Then Gordon spoke.

  “David can’t know about this.”

  “I’m afraid it’s going to have to come out,” said Thrillkill.

  “How about Mrs. Wiffle?” said Amanda. Celerie was a volatile woman. She’d go ballistic.

  “Yes, the indomitable Mrs. Wiffle,” said Thrillkill. He sighed. “The lawsuit. This is going to make things much worse—unless, of course, she already knows.”

  “Do you think so?” said Amanda.

  “Maybe David does,” said Simon.

  “Uh uh,” said Gordon. “No way.”

  “I’m going to have to tell him,” said Thrillkill. “I’m just not sure whether to tell him or his mother first.”

  “So what’s this coin?” said Gordon, suddenly losing interest in his ex-friend and eyeing the piece of silver. Amanda had visions of him as a pirate with his ill-gotten doubloons. “Do you think it’s real?”

  “I’m not an expert,” said Thrillkill. “We’ll have to have it evaluated. Obviously Wink thought it was important or he wouldn’t have hidden it.”

  Gordon peered at the coin. “It’s a king,” he said.

  “Let me see that,” said Simon, taking the evidence bag out of Gordon’s hand.

  “Simon!” said Ivy. “I heard that.”

  “Oh, sorry,” said Simon, but he didn’t give up the bag. He examined the coin closely. “I think you’re right. He’s wearing a crown. Either that or his cowlick is worse than mine.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “I wonder,” said Amanda, and stopped.

  �
�Go on,” said Simon.

  “Say this coin is valuable—very valuable. Where did Mr. Wiffle get it? We know he was watching Crocodile, and we know that Crocodile was associated with that farm. We also know that someone had been excavating at the farm. Do you think they were looking for more of these coins?”

  Simon grabbed Amanda and planted a big kiss on her mouth. What was with him anyway?

  “Would you stop it already?” she said. The kiss did feel nice. She wondered . . . No. Don’t think about you-know-who.

  “Don’t you see?” said Simon. “You’ve cracked it.”

  “It does sound like a good working theory,” said Thrillkill. “If Miss Lester is correct, then this coin is indeed valuable. Otherwise whoever dug up the farm wouldn’t have gone to the trouble.”

  “Unless they were looking for leprechaun coins,” said Ivy.

  “Leprechaun coins?” said Thrillkill.

  “Uh, another long story,” said Amanda. “We’ll tell you in a minute.”

  “Do we think Crocodile knew about the coin?” said Ivy.

  “He must have,” said Simon. “If he went to the farm he would have seen the digging and wondered what it was. He may have even stolen some—aha! I’ll bet he killed the farmer for the artifacts.”

  “Or the other way around,” said Ivy. “Perhaps Crocodile stole artifacts and the farmer killed him to get them back.”

  “Let me make sure I’ve got this straight,” said Amanda. The chain of events was hard to follow. Stories were always like that until you figured out the flow. “Mr. Wiffle watches Crocodile and finds out about the bee thefts. Then he goes to one of the farms on Crocodile’s list and finds a coin. He also sees the excavation so he knows it’s important, although maybe he gets it evaluated and that’s how he knows. Hm, that implies that the coin is valuable. I can see why he’d put it in the lockbox but I’m not sure why he’d stick the box in a haystack.”

  “Do you think Crocodile found out about the lockbox and Mr. Wiffle put it there to protect it?” said Fern.

  “Wait a minute,” said Simon. “You don’t suppose Crocodile found out about the letters and was blackmailing Mr. Wiffle, do you? Or Mavis? What would Blixus do if he found out about them? Do you think he already knows?”