Skylar Robbins: The Mystery of the Hidden Jewels - Carrie Cross (most popular novels of all time TXT) 📗

But I knew I would find the jewels before Crew Gang did.

They followed me up the spiral stairs and we crowded into my little office. I told them how the fingerprints in the dusty windowsill had led me to the cupboard. Then I shined my black light on the secret message so they could read it:

Congratulations. You found the first clue.

Here is the second clue: Things in this room are not always what they seem.

“After searching my office from top to bottom, I finally found an envelope hidden above a fake ceiling in the cupboard.” I unlocked my clue box and showed them the symbol on the yellowed paper:

“I really had a hard time figuring out what the squares meant,” I said. Then I stopped short, taking a deep breath. “OK. Now I have to admit something.”

My dad folded his arms and my mom looked at me very seriously. “Yes, Skylar?” she asked.

Suddenly my tiny office was too small for the three of us. I needed some air but my mom was blocking the spiral staircase and I knew she wouldn’t budge until I spit it out. “I knew the square design was the next clue to finding Xandra’s hidden jewelry box, and I had already searched the whole house and the yard, so I knew it must be on a hidden floor. Remember Ms. Knight telling us there were either three or—”

My mom cut me off. “Yes,” she said slowly. My dad waited with one eyebrow raised. I took a deep breath.

“Well, the clue says you plus up plus four, so I rode the dumbwaiter to get to the fourth floor.”

“You did?” My dad shook his head and chuckled.

My mom glared at him, furious that he thought it was funny. Then she turned to me. “SKYLAR!” She shouted my name so hard that spit flew out of her mouth. “Do you realize how dangerous that was?”

Uh, yeah Mom, I did.

“It said the weight limit was 150 pounds, which is a lot more than me, so I figured it was safe.” Looking down, I pretended to brush some dirt off one sneaker with my other foot, hoping this conversation would just go away.

My dad looked at me seriously. “Do you remember how old this house is?”

“One hundred years old,” I recited.

“Correct,” my mom snapped. “You risked your life riding in a metal box supported only by hundred-year-old cables.”

“Nothing happened,” I said meekly.

“And you didn’t think you were taking a risk?” My mom scowled at me.

The metal wires holding the dumbwaiter up were old and might be rusty. They could snap in the middle of my ride, and I would plunge down three stories…

We could have a power failure and I could get trapped inside the wall.

I could starve to death or die of thirst.

While I was starving to death, the rats—

“I admit that I realized it was risky,” I said, looking at the floor. I wasn’t about to tell them I’d actually gotten stuck, and that if I hadn’t found the emergency button I might still be trapped inside the dumbwaiter, banging on the walls and screaming.

“You got lucky. Next time you want to do something that you even suspect might be dangerous, you ask permission first, understand? You know better.”

“I will, Mom. I’m sorry I didn’t ask first. I knew I probably shouldn’t ride the dumbwaiter, but I just had to find the hidden floor and the next clue. I promise I’ll ask permission next time.” I really did intend to.

“You bet you will. I am going to let you decide what your punishment should be.”

“Honey.” My dad touched my mom’s arm, trying to calm her down. “I would have wanted to find the ‘hidden floor’ too.” He made quotation marks in the air like he thought the hidden floor was just the attic, or maybe a storage area. I decided to let him believe just that, and keep the location of the secret floor to myself.

My mom wasn’t going for it. She was mad. “And if you choose an easy punishment you will not be attending the backward dance.” She stood there with her hands on her hips, waiting for my answer.

Oh no. I needed to think of something quick, and it had to be good.

I don’t get an allowance. My parents made up a list of chores, and each one has a dollar amount next to it. For example, I got $3.00 for vacuuming our old house and $2.00 for dusting it, but when we moved into this big one I got a little raise. Still, I have to work hard on Saturdays to earn my spending money. Even though we have a cleaning woman, I still have to do chores. My parents think this will teach me “the value of a dollar,” and “give me a good work ethic.”

“How about two Saturdays doing chores without pay?” I suggested. This would totally stink, but anything was better than getting grounded with the dance coming up.

“Two full Saturdays, ten in the morning to three in the afternoon,” my dad said.

“And next time you do something dangerous….” my mom warned. I could tell by the look in her eyes that I’d better think harder before I did something stupid again or I’d be grounded for sure.

“Well now that that’s settled,” my dad said, changing the subject, “what else did you find?” He loved hunting for treasures, just like me, and I think we were all relieved to get back to discussing the clues.

“I couldn’t figure out what that weird drawing stood for, until I saw this pile of boxes. Inside one box was a picture of Xandra Collins.” I pulled it out and showed it to them.

“She was beautiful,” my mother said.

“Yeah she was. In the box below that there was a map with numbered footsteps on it. But some of the steps were missing. I found another part of the map lining the bird’s nest in the gazebo. I must have remembered seeing paper in the nest from when we first looked at the house because I dreamt about it.” I didn’t tell them that there was a chunk missing, and that Smack probably had it. Clues left behind.

“You are quite the sleuth,” my father said, and I smiled. “What happened next?”

“I put the map together and followed it to this hidden compartment in the greenhouse where I found the rusty metal box I showed you. The leaf, the buckle, the flower, the measuring tape, the seeds, and the twine are the next clues. I just have to figure out how they fit together. And remember what Ms. Knight said?”

“Which thing that she said?” my mom asked.

“That Xandra Collins had left a mysterious note saying whoever is smart enough and brave enough to follow the clues and figure out where she hid her jewels will inherit them? Well that smart, brave person is going to be me.”

“Go for it,” my dad said, and a moment later my mom nodded.

 

27

Busted

The next morning I walked into English feeling nervous, but confident. My parents’ faith in me had given me courage. I ignored Emelyn’s dirty look and sat down at my desk. Pat walked slowly down my row taking the long way to her seat, and when she passed me, she mouthed, “UN-invite,” with an ugly sneer on her face. I ignored her too.

I should have paid attention to both of them.

Alexa scribbled me a note: what hapenned with elemyn?

I told Dustin that Emelyn took Sharon’s pen and he said I should tell Sharon, so I did. I told her to tell a T.A. or a teacher. I’m sick of thinking about it and of my parents fighting about what I should do.

Im sick of elemyn caling me dislexa. I hope she gets what she desreves.

Class passed, and nothing happened to Emelyn. But lunch was a different story.

“I’m getting the chili,” Alexa said, grabbing a bowl and a green salad as we moved through the cafeteria line.

“I’m having a sub. Tell me if I have anything stuck in my teeth when we’re done, OK? I don’t want to wear any salami to Science.”

We headed toward an open table when all of a sudden Alexa stopped and grabbed my arm. “Look over there. Cops.” Two police officers walked across campus toward the principal’s office. “Did you ever send anybody the pictures or the video?”

“No. Not yet.” I didn’t think stealing an armload of Cheetos would have brought the police to Pacific, but you never knew what else Emelyn Peters could have done.

We sat down at the very end of the table so we had a good view of what was going on. Emelyn sat on the lawn surrounded by Pat, Trish, and a handful of guys. Emelyn glanced over at the cops and didn’t even flinch. Dustin was at a table near us, eating with his friends. The dark-haired boys at the far end of our table started speaking quietly in Spanish and pointing. One by one, heads turned as the word cops and policía spread across the lunch area. The police walked toward the principal’s office and through the door to its reception area.

“Sharon must have told the principal Emelyn stole her pen,” I said. “I hope she didn’t say I was the one who told her.” I tore a bite off my sub and chewed it like a dog gnawing on a sausage treat. Sometimes when I get nervous I feel like I’m starving.

“Do you think they’re going to search Emelyn’s purse?” Alexa asked me. “Or her locker?”

“Probably. Wait. Here they come.”

The cops, the principal, and the vice principal came out of the offices and marched across the lawn toward us. I had the terrifying thought that they were going to walk right up to me and accuse me of taking sneaky videos while the whole school watched. But they stopped when they reached Emelyn and her friends. She stood up and started gesturing and shaking her head.

“I wonder if she has stolen games in her purse,” I said.

“Or if she still has all those bags of snacks. They’ll figure out she was the one who vandalized the vending machine.”

“They broke it?”

Alexa nodded. “It has an OUT OF ORDER sign on it now.” The cops walked back toward the principal’s office, and Emelyn, the principal, and the vice principal followed. “Is she getting arrested?” Alexa squeaked.

“I don’t think so. Not yet anyway.”

Sharon hurried down the hall and followed them inside.

“Somebody’s busted,” a cute boy at Dustin’s table said loudly.

“She’s in truh-bull,” Brendan sang.

“Emelyn is finally getting what she deserves,” Alexa said. We looked at each other and nodded.

My satisfaction didn’t last long.

The next morning, Emelyn didn’t show up for English. Rumors were flying. Did Emelyn get arrested? Was she locked up in Juvenile Hall? Or did she just cut class again? Dustin came right up to me as soon as I walked into the room and asked me if I had heard what had happened. His blue flannel shirt looked so soft it distracted me. I looked away while I tried to figure out what to say. Then I looked back at him—right into his eyes. “I took your advice and told Sharon that Emelyn took her Cross pen, and I think she told the principal. Do you know why the cops were here?”

Dustin shook his head. “Uh-uh. But I think Emelyn got suspended. She’s rude, anyway,” he said, surprising me. “She really talked some trash about you.” He took a step closer to me and I felt my face grow hot, wondering what she had told him. “Emelyn said you were going to un-invite me to the dance. That you changed your mind and didn’t want me to go with you. She said you wanted to go with Brendan instead.” He looked at me with those awesome hazel eyes and I felt my jaw drop open.

“Brendan Tadman? No way.” As if I would ever betray Alexa and ask him. “She’s lying. I was never going to un-invite you, even after she threatened to beat me up if I didn’t.” I looked Dustin right in the eye. I think he knew I was telling the truth.

He clenched his jaw and shook his head. “That’s what she was talking about when she said you were going to get your butt kicked? How weak. She must be jealous.” Dustin smiled at me, and then looked at the floor with