Case Closed #4, page 20
Eliza looks at me with wide eyes.
But to my surprise, one of the rescuers carries out—after Bones—a thick, sandy-colored serpent on a long, skinny stretcher.
“RUMPLESNAKESKIN!” Frank cries. “What happened to you, buddy?”
“He seems to have swallowed a necklace. You can feel it in his body. Don’t worry—we’re taking him to the vet. They’ll save the necklace and the snake.”
Eliza turns to me, confused. “Wait a second. I thought I saw you reach down and grab something. That wasn’t the necklace?”
I grin. “Nope. It was Frank’s tooth.” I open my palm and show him a snake’s fang that I picked out of the sand for him. He blinks at it, and for a second, I’m terrified he’s going to be mad at me for lying to him—or, even worse, make me go back into the labyrinth to search for his real tooth.
But instead he reaches forward and says, “Whaaaaat? This was in my mouth?” Then he turns to the archaeologists proudly. “EVERYONE! LOOK AT MY TOOTH! It’s an important artifact!”
Eliza and I burst out laughing. But the laughter dies quickly. I see, across the pit, a local detective and Nadira Nadeem coming over to the rest of the group, walking away from where Bones is being lifted out of the pit. They both look serious.
“Carlos?” Nadira says as she approaches. My stomach flips. “We found your mom.”
Nadira takes me, Eliza, and Frank to Dr. Amanda Mandible’s medical tent, where she’s tending to Mom. Mom looks a little worse for wear—she’s disheveled, with eye bags and a bruise on her arm. But she lights up when we walk in.
“You look . . . ,” I say. I can’t even lie and tell her she looks good.
“Lousy,” Frank finishes for me.
Dr. Mandible hands Mom a brochure for Harmonia Clay. “Use our green tea mask as part of your nightly beauty regimen, and you’ll be back to a hundred percent in no time.”
“Mijo! Would you believe me if I told you I took a really, really, really long bathroom break?”
“Bones trapped her in a porta-potty at the edge of the dig,” Nadira explains.
“I think it’ll take years to get the stench out of my nose. Let me smell your head.” I walk over and she breathes me in, even though I probably smell sweaty and gross myself. “Much better.”
I really want to be happy, but guilt twists inside me. I hang my head low. “We disobeyed your orders. We went into the tunnels when you asked us not to.”
But she laughs and kisses my cheek. “The important thing is that you, Eliza, and Frank—”
“AND ME!” Frank says, brandishing his snake fang.
“—knew how to come together and work as a team. You listened to each other and strengthened your communication. That’s all I wanted when I designed that mock case to begin with. I didn’t mean to derail your teamwork.”
“You didn’t,” Eliza says, squeezing my mom’s hand. “We’re stronger than ever now.”
I turn to Nadira. “What will happen with the robe and necklace?”
She smiles. “Catalog, appraisal, museum. The usual track. You did a great thing, rescuing two priceless relics from the catacombs. And the other artifacts, as well—we’ll be able to get them back from Bones. All is harmonious with Harmonia, thanks to Las Pistas Detective Agency.”
I look around the room at my favorite team: Mom, Eliza, and Frank. No matter what case we take next, as long as I’m with them, I’ve hit the jackpot.
CASE CLOSED.
“SMARTY’S ASKING ABOUT Harmonia’s death? How did she die?”
“I’m certain I told you,” the professor says.
Eliza shakes her head. “You told us how Harmonia came to get the necklace—as a wedding present. And why Hephaestus cursed it—to get back at Aphrodite for cheating on him and having a child with Ares. But you never told us how Harmonia died.”
His long face quirks into a curious expression. “She and her husband were turned into snakes.”
“Awesssssssssome!” Frank says with a hiss.
Eliza and I look at each other.
“Why?” I ask.
“Before Cadmus—that’s Harmonia’s husband—married Harmonia and became the king of Thebes, he was Ares’s servant for eight years. It was Cadmus’s punishment for slaying a dragon that was protected by the gods. After that, as you know, he married Harmonia, and her cursed necklace brought ill luck and disease to their family. Near the end, Cadmus was so exhausted with his lot in life that he wished to become a snake. And the gods granted this wish.”
“Well, that stinks! Why would he wish for that?”
Professor Worthington raises one eyebrow at me.
I continue. “I mean . . . if you’re unhappy with your life, turning into a snake isn’t going to solve your problems. I’m pretty sure that only makes things worse.”
The professor laughs. “Indeed. Well, Harmonia was so distraught that she begged to join her husband, and so she became a serpent as well.”
Eliza shudders.
“That’s a really bad way to go,” I say. But then I wonder: If Harmonia lived out her life as a snake, was she really buried when she died? And if not, why is everyone calling this her catacomb?
“Is there a reason,” the professor says, “that you have a sudden interest in Harmonia? Because I would love to show you a few slides I have on her. I think it would further illuminate Harmonia’s importance.”
* * *
TO ASK TO SEE THE PROFESSOR’S SLIDES, CLICK HERE.
TO ASK WHY EVERYONE KEEPS CALLING THE TUNNELS THE “CATACOMBS,” CLICK HERE.
* * *
DEFINITELY THE Σ hole. That’s got to be the right one.
We send Frank through.
Suddenly, water pours into the hall, and the dirt turns to mud—super-sinkable mud! It pulls us down. And down. And down . . .
CASE CLOSED.
WE ENTER 354 into the ancient lock. I hear a click that lets me know that we got it. I open the door, which is heavier than I thought it’d be.
Inside the door is the world’s smallest tunnel. It’s barely tall enough for me, and it’s definitely not wide enough—I have to go in sideways. Same with Eliza. Frank fits just fine, sandwiched between the two of us.
“Um,” Eliza whispers, as we shuffle along the tunnel, “this is a claustrophobic person’s worst nightmare.”
“Are you claustrophobic?” I ask.
She just whimpers in response.
“And here I thought you were arachnophobic!”
“People can have more than one fear, Carlos!”
“She’s also scared of dogs!” Frank says. “And natural disasters! And the inside of black holes! And viruses! And seaweed!”
“Seaweed?” I say, trying not to laugh.
“My sister’s a scaredy-cat. Oh yeah, she’s also scared of cats!”
Eliza tries to shove her brother, but in this narrow tunnel, she can’t quite reach him. “Frank, that’s private!”
“Not anymore!” he says gleefully.
The tunnel is getting colder. I don’t know how much farther it goes on, or how much more of this I can take. I start to think about the person who built this elaborate underworld setting. At first, I thought maybe these puzzles and tricks were here so that only the worthy could reach the necklace.
But I’m beginning to suspect that the person who built this didn’t want anyone to find the necklace. At all.
At last I see a soft blue light up ahead, and I blink rapidly. Why is there light in this tiny underground cave that hasn’t been visited for a thousand years or more?
“Hurry,” I say, speeding up my side shuffles until I spill out of the tunnel into a tiny, circular room.
I don’t know what I was expecting—a lavish space full of gold, gems, and treasures, maybe? But the room is made of tan stone and lined with columns, cracked and weathered from time. The light, I realize, is coming from a colony of glowworms on the ceiling, bathing us in neon blue.
The perimeter of the floor has a snake inlay pattern—another ouroboros. Someone really went in hard on the alchemy theme.
“Mom?” I shout. “MOM!”
Nothing.
I’m starting to think Eliza’s right—Mom’s really not here. I look to Eliza, trying to blink back tears.
She looks nervous, but her voice is steady. “Don’t panic yet. We’ll find her.”
“Eliza! Carlos! Look at this!” Frank is on the floor—exactly in the middle of the room—and he’s wiggling one of the tan stones on the ground. “It’s loose! Like my tooth!”
“Is it . . . supposed to be loose?” I ask him. “Or did you break it?”
He shrugs. “It had a picture on it.”
“We’ve seen that before,” Eliza says excitedly, flipping open her book of alchemy symbols. “There! It’s iron.”
“So the necklace is made of iron?” I ask.
Eliza hums as Frank continues to jiggle the stone. I get on the floor next to him to see what we’re dealing with.
“It’s kind of stuck, Frank. There’s no way you can get that loose with just your fingers. We have to stomp on it.”
“Or perhaps . . . ,” Eliza finally says. She sounds measured, like she always does when testing the waters of a new theory. “We should feed the stone, like we did the last time we saw alchemical symbols in these tunnels.”
“Feed it . . . iron? I knew I should’ve packed a skillet in our bag,” I say sarcastically.
“We do have iron with us.”
“Where?”
Eliza looks at me seriously. “In our blood.”
There’s a pause as what she says sinks in. “That sounds dangerous. I can’t let us do that.”
“We’ve come this far,” Eliza offers.
“All the more reason to stop before we go too far.”
* * *
TO STOMP ON THE STONE, CLICK HERE.
TO GIVE THE STONE A DROP OF BLOOD, CLICK HERE.
* * *
I POINT TO the hole with this Greek letter: Ψ. Frank salutes me and inches in.
“How’s it looking in there, Frank?” I ask.
No answer.
“Frank?”
No answer.
“FRANK!!!”
Now you see him, now you don’t.
CASE CLOSED.
MAYBE IT’S BEST if we talk to Orlando Bones alone right now. “I know you’re busy,” I say to Nadira, “but we’ll try to find you later.”
“Good luck,” she says sincerely. Then she checks her watch again. “Perhaps it’s for the best—I can talk to my intern before meeting Zip!” Then she quickly gathers her items into a satchel and dashes out of the tent.
“Alone at last,” Orlando Bones says as he gestures for us to take a seat in the spare folding chairs.
We all sit down, and Frank immediately starts wiggling his tooth.
“Seems like you didn’t want Nadira around,” I say.
Orlando laughs a little too loudly. He adjusts his fedora. “About that . . . I don’t know who I can trust. Maybe Nadira is trustworthy, but maybe not, and I just don’t want to roll the dice on it. You see, I’m afraid that someone is going to steal the treasure in the catacombs before we get there.”
“Why are you so sure someone’s going to steal it?” Eliza asks. “When no one knows what it is?”
Orlando’s eyes dart toward the front of the tent, and he drops his voice. “But we do think we know what it is. And if other valuable artifacts have gone missing, then it’s a certainty that the biggest prize in human history will too. The treasure is in danger—and we must reach it. Before someone else does.”
* * *
TO ASK ABOUT THE TREASURE IN THE CATACOMBS, CLICK HERE.
TO ASK ABOUT THE MISSING ARTIFACTS, CLICK HERE.
TO ASK ABOUT WHO MIGHT WANT TO TAKE THE TREASURE, CLICK HERE.
* * *
I LOOK OVER Eliza’s shoulder at the paper she stole from Dr. Amanda Mandible. It’s a brochure for something called Harmonia Clay, whatever that is. It has a picture of Amanda on it . . . and another woman I don’t recognize. I read the words.
HARMONIA CLAY™
GLOW LIKE A GODDESS
ABOUT HARMONIA CLAY™
Studies have shown that bentonite clay is rich in magnesium, iron, sodium, potassium, and calcium—all healthy nutrients that your skin needs to shine. As you apply bentonite clay to your face, toxins beneath the skin rise to the surface and are extracted upon removal of the mask. With our soothing facial treatments, you can be your most radiant self, even from the comfort of your own home.
Our six all-natural, hydrating flavors:
Honey, to cleanse pores and rejuvenate
Charcoal, to absorb oil and exfoliate
Milk, to stimulate cell growth and moisturize
Aloe vera, to activate your skin and refresh
Avocado, to slow signs of aging and nourish
Green tea, to reduce puffiness and heal
ABOUT US
Dr. Amanda Mandible has been practicing medicine for more than a decade. Mabel Mandible is an esthetician with more than fifteen years of experience. Throughout our marriage, our passion for health and wellness has continued to flourish, and now we are so excited to share Harmonia Clay™ with you. Clay today, slay tomorrow!
I look up. “So . . . Dr. Mandible is starting a skin-care company with her wife? And they’re calling it Harmonia Clay?”
“Don’t forget the T-M!” Frank says.
Eliza nods. “Harmonia Clay—”
“T-M!” Frank shouts.
“—clearly has some link to the Necklace of Harmonia.”
“And,” I add, “it explains why we saw her in the tunnels yesterday. She was testing the soil or clay or whatever, and collecting it.”
“I wonder if the clay in this area of Greece is exceptional, or whether the special properties come from being near the Necklace of Harmonia.”
I think for a second. “That would give her a motive to steal the necklace, for sure. But what about the other artifacts? Why would she need those?”
Eliza thinks for a moment. Then she says, “It takes a lot of money to start a company. She could sell the artifacts for millions, then use that as seed money to pay for Harmonia Clay’s production and marketing costs.”
“I don’t want her to be guilty.” Frank pouts. “She gave me lollipops.”
“We should confront her with this brochure,” Eliza says. “She won’t be able to fake-smile her way through our interrogation then.”
“Do you think . . .” I trail off. Eliza looks at me with a furrowed forehead. I take a deep breath and continue. “But what about my hunch about Nadira Nadeem? Because what we saw on her computer yesterday was pretty incriminating.”
Eliza looks a little disappointed and defiant. “How about this—whoever we see first, we talk to?”
And she storms out of Dr. Mandible’s tent. I sigh in frustration and hurry after her.
The sun is blazing. I can’t believe it’s been a full twenty-four hours since I last saw Mom. I don’t know how I can even keep investigating while she’s missing, except I know that the closer I get to the culprit, the closer I get to Mom. With each passing hour, I feel more and more certain that they’re linked.
Eliza has stopped behind a tent, watching Professor Phineas Alistair Worthington and Smarty Marty having some sort of heated conversation that grows louder with every sentence.
“I have a doctorate!” the professor says.
“Perhaps they shouldn’t have let you graduate!”
“How dare you—”
“Are you going to tell me about Harmonia’s death or not?” Smarty snaps.
Professor Worthington jeers at her. “If you really could do my job better than I could, then I suspect you’d already know about Harmonia’s fate. It seems you’re not as good a researcher as you say you are!”
Smarty stomps away in a huff. Professor Worthington takes off his glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose.
“Well, a deal’s a deal,” Eliza says, shrugging at me. “He is the first person we’ve seen.” And then she rushes out to question him without even asking me about it! What gives?
“That was an impassioned argument,” Eliza says to the professor.
He jumps and holds his hand over his heart. “You gave me a fright! But I’m pleased to see you again. How are your young and moldable minds?”
“Your mind is moldy, not mine!” Frank says.
“Do you fight with Smarty often?” Eliza asks.
He frowns. “I didn’t get a PhD in classical studies to be undermined by a twenty-two-year-old almost-valedictorian with a bachelor’s degree,” he says snootily. “She is insufferable, and I once attended a dinner party with a dozen moral relativists.”
“Oh, yeah, sure, I can see how that would be insufferable,” I bluff.
“She even thinks she can do your job better than you. She wanted directions to the ruins of the fire.”
My heart skips a beat. “She did? When?”
“Yesterday morning. Just shortly after your mother asked for them.”
Eliza and I exchange a dark look.
* * *
TO ASK THE PROFESSOR IF HE’S SEEN MOM, CLICK HERE.
TO ASK THE PROFESSOR HOW HARMONIA DIED, CLICK HERE.
* * *
WE HAVE TO throw sand at the snakes! It’s the only thing I can think of to stop them from approaching.
I grab a fistful of sand and lob it. Eliza does too. Frank just mopes on the sand mound.
I pitch more and more sand at the serpents. They hiss angrily, but nothing happens. They don’t stop approaching.
“I don’t understand! Why didn’t it work? They don’t even have eyelids!”
Eliza groans. “Oh no! I just remembered—snakes have a membrane over their eyes to protect their corneas from irritants.”
