Madhattan Mystery (21 page)

“No more than usual. I'm fine.”

“You're sure now? Clare and I can cut our honeymoon short if there's a problem and—”

“No, no, everything's cool—great. Fantastic.” Lie, lie, lie. “Hey, Dad, can I ask a stupid question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Say a miracle happened—just suppose—and I suddenly came into a whole bunch of money. Like, a ridiculous amount. I want you to know I'd share it with the family—definitely—I mean, you and Kevin.”

“Um, okay, but that's not a question.” Breathy pause. “What's going on? Did you discover a buried treasure in Central Park or something?”

Oh. My. God
. Lexi was speechless for a second. “Not quite.”

“Your aunt wasn't talking about her will again, was she? You know how she can get carried away.”

“No, no, nothing like that. It's just—” Lexi was suddenly tongue-tied after sounding like a complete goofball. “Never mind.”

“Alrighty then. Well, we miss you two knuckleheads a lot, but it won't be long—we're flying to New York a week from Saturday, on the twenty-eighth. The plan is to meet up with you guys in Grand Central Station so we can all take the train home together. Won't that be fun?”

“Uh-huh.”

“It was great hearing your voice. You take care now, okay? Love ya, cookie.”

Lexi recoiled and her insides instantly crumbled into sawdust. “Don't call me that.
Mom
called me that.”

It was as if their candy-coated conversation hit a cavity with an exposed nerve.
Ugh!
Couldn't she simply have said “Love ya” back and let him hang up with a smile on his face?
Rewind—rewind!

“Well, I should go, Lex, checkout time was a half hour ago. See you kids soon.”

The
click
came fast, as if he didn't want to chance hearing another harsh word. Hot tears were forming but Lexi willed them away. How could she get through the day, let alone the stressful night that lay ahead, digging for the jewels in Central Park, if she allowed herself to be a crybaby weakling? No. She would be strong. She had to.

A perfumed breeze rushed by. It was Aunt Roz on her way to the front door. “There. Don't you feel better after speaking with your father?” She hoisted her giant straw tote over her shoulder and grabbed her keys off the wall hook. “Well, I'm off. The fridge is fully stocked, emergency numbers are by the phone. I hope you guys won't be too bored stuck around the apartment all day long. I'm sure Kimmy will keep you entertained.”

To say the least
, Lexi thought, collecting herself.

“I shouldn't be too, too late, but for goodness' sake, don't wait up!”

Even though it was Sunday, Aunt Roz had to work.
Shattered Glass
was in tech rehearsals, which meant a very long day at the theater—plus, she was doing what she
called “extra-work” after that. Kevin would happily spend the entire day fused to the massage chair, texting Space Camp Billy and messing with the laptop—so why shouldn't Lexi lounge around in bed? Where it was safe. At least until Kim Ling, the most ill-fated entanglement of them all, dragged her off to the park. The timing couldn't be worse. With Lexi's opal necklace gone, disaster was sure to strike. If phone calls counted, it was striking already!

“This photo I took of Aunt Roz in the Whispering Gallery,” Kevin said, staring into the computer screen, “with the mystery perp's inky fingers holding a cup in the background. I still think it might be a clue as to who he is. Waiter … novelist …”

“We went over that, Kev, forever ago. Anyone could have inky fingers.”

“But—” He peered over his shoulder at Lexi. “Are you ever getting out of bed?”

“Eventually.”

“When?”

As it turned out, not until 2:48 p.m., when Kim Ling came pounding at the door. Lexi had barely opened it when she burst into the room, sending a basket of pinecones flying off a small antique cabinet—and the chunky black book that served as a makeshift cabinet leg spun to the middle of the floor.

“Geez, did you booby-trap this place or something?” Kim Ling said, kicking away a pinecone. “Your aunt told me you weren't feeling well when I called earlier, Tex-Lex,
so I brought you some of my mom's soup. You can't buy this stuff.” She handed Lexi a sloshing plastic tub with doughy lumps bobbing inside. “Hot and sour matzo-ball. It's Chinese
and
Jewish—Chi-new-ish. If I were food, this would be me.”

“Thanks,” Lexi said, setting it on the coffee table. “It looks yummy but I'm fine.”

“Good. I need you in peak form for tonight.”

Without even stretching first, Kim Ling slid into half-splits on the floor and started tossing the scattered pinecones one by one back into their basket. With her blue-streaked hair and multicolored toe socks, she looked like something out of Cirque du Soleil.

“Slight change of plans,” she said. “My mom freakin' booked us on a freakin' Father's Day dinner cruise tonight, unbeknownst to me. It's the early bird one so we can still make it to the park by around twenty-one hundred hours.”

“What's that in human time?” Lexi asked, plopping down next to her.

“Nine.”

“Are we sure we want to do this? I'm not even supposed to leave the brownstone, let alone venture into the park at night. The more I think about it, the stupider the whole thing seems. I mean, who in their right mind buries a bunch of jewels in Central Park?”

“Who in their right mind thinks criminals are in their right minds? Didn't you hear the latest on Benjamin Deets? Apparently, he pulled some pretty outrageous pranks
during his college days at NYU—like hacking into the school's computer system and changing grades. That's just for starters.”

“I saw that too!” Kevin shot across the room carrying his open laptop and sat between the girls. “Billy says a lot of criminally minded youth go into law enforcement. Looks like Deets did a full three-sixty right back into a life of crime.”

“He actually talks like that?” Kim Ling asked Kevin. “‘Criminally minded youth'? Sounds pretentious.”

“Maybe you two are related,” Lexi said with a smirk. “Oh, Kim, I meant to tell you. When we were at the Met, I was eavesdropping on some security guards …”

“You do that a lot, don't you? And?”

“They were talking about Deets. How he'd had everything in life, and now he had nothing and wanted revenge.”

“Against the Met for firing him,” Kim Ling said, thinking about it. “Makes sense. And revenge, like that scab on your shin, can get really, really ugly.”

Lexi stretched her nightgown over her knees as far as it would go and stuck out her tongue as far as
it
would go.

“So,” Kevin said, scratching his chin as a Saturn screensaver spun onto his laptop, “Deets winds up with a job as a Central Park groundskeeper, right?” His eyebrows jumped. “That means he could be digging around Cleopatra's Needle all he wants and never be suspected of foul play.”

“Exactly!” Kim Ling rose to her knees with a victory
grunt worthy of a football jock. “Nice work, you guys. How stoked am I that this is all beginning to make sense!”

Lexi was still wallowing in doubt, but Kim Ling seemed unstoppable. Her enthusiasm was a lot like quicksand—bubbly but deadly.

“Okay, let's get real here.” Lexi hugged her knees tightly and spun to face Kim Ling. “How dangerous do you think this whole mission's gonna be tonight? Honestly. On a risk-your-life scale from one to ten—ten being you're-crazy-for-even-attempting-this?”

“Oh, about a fifty.”

“
What
?”

“Well, think about it,” Kim Ling said, sitting back on her heels. “These are thieves we're dealing with, so anything could happen. Then again, it might all turn out to be just a stroll in the park. Ha! No pun intended.” She snorted, glancing at the McGills' blank expressions. “And apparently none noticed.”

“A fifty?” Kevin said. “For real?”

“You don't have to tag along, sprout. Nobody's holding a gun to your—I mean, if you want, you could spend the evening with the Family Levine, which is an adventure unto itself.” Kim Ling tousled his hair and sprang to her feet. “You guys work it out, but I've got to jet.” Then she made a mad dash to the door and did an about-face. “So, Lex, we'll rendezvous on the front stoop at twenty-thirty hours with or without the sib.”

“Speak English.”

“Sib-ling. Eight thir-ty,” she said, spelling the words out in sign language. “Just come carbo-loaded for energy, and wear dark clothes and sensible shoes. Oh, and pray, pray, pray it doesn't rain. I'll have the rest covered.” A burst of excitement had her drum-rolling on the doorframe. “I'm totally psyched, aren't you?”

Quicksand
.

As soon as she left, Kevin slammed the laptop shut and popped up like a done piece of toast. “I'm definitely going with you!” he announced.

“Are not. You could stay with Kim's parents, like she said.”

“Listen, Billy got to experience weightlessness in an actual Space Shot simulator. Me? I get dumped at City Camp for a lame game of Red Rover while you and Kim Ling go off and have all the fun—so you've gotta give me something. I'm going!”

“I'm still not a hundred percent sure
I'm
even going. This is idiotic and dangerous—and you're only ten, Kev, seriously.”

He fell face-first onto the chaise lounge. “I'm not a baby. Why're you always acting like I'm afraid of every little thing?”

Because he
was
afraid of every little thing—they just never talked about it. “You know why.” Lexi rolled him over and glared down at him over folded arms. “Two words: Kingsley Park.”

Kevin just lay there, gritting his teeth. “Okay, maybe
I freak out once in a while on amusement rides—or in tunnels,” he said, sitting up, his cheeks turning bloodred, “but other than that, I'm fine! I've been fine for a really long time.”

“Oh, really? I think not.”

“Yuh-huh.” He shot to his feet. “
You're
the one who still has to see Dr. Lucy every Saturday, Lexi—not me!”

Ouch
. That was something else Lexi had never talked about. And definitely tried not to think about between therapist appointments. Ever.

“Admit it, Kevin. The only reason you wanna come with is ‘cause I don't want you to, which is tough ‘cause I'm in charge and what I say goes. Case closed.”

Kevin flapped his arms like a frustrated penguin and zoomed out the front door.

“Hey,” Lexi said, chasing him, “you're not allowed to go outside alone.”

“I'm just gonna sit on the front steps, Mother!”

He did
not
just say that!
“Don't talk to strangers. Under any circumstances. I don't care how brave you think you are all of a sudden.”

Lexi slammed the door, then rushed to the window and peeked through bended blinds, waiting for Kevin to appear on the porch below. Geez, she really was acting like a smothering mother. What was happening to her? She slowly slunk away and—“
Ow
!”—stepped on a corner of that chunky black book—the one Kim Ling had knocked out of place. She was about to give it a good kick but the
title caught her eye:
The Book of Answers
by Carol Bolt. “Sounds promising,” she muttered, and snatched it up. There were instructions on the back cover, so she hopped into bed and sat cross-legged reading them while she massaged her throbbing big toe. Apparently, the book worked like a Magic 8 Ball, answering life's burning questions. Exactly what she needed.

Following the instructions, she held the book between both palms, stroking the edge of the pages back to front, while asking her question out loud. “Should I go to Central Park tonight with Kim Ling to dig up Cleopatra's stolen jewels or is that as nutty an idea as I think?” Too complicated. She streamlined it to “Should I go to Central Park tonight?” Lexi repeated her question over and over again, feeling a bit idiotic, but stroking the pages anyway and visualizing the scene in the park. When she felt an inner
ding
, she cracked open the book. A feather fell out! White. Perfect.
Whoa
. Was it an odd coincidence? Or had she left one of her feathers lying around the apartment that Aunt Roz had used as a quick bookmark? Either way, it certainly added weight to the answer on the page. Lexi's heartbeat sped up as she slowly lowered her gaze.

You will find out everything you'll need to know.

At 2030 hours, the sky was stuck somewhere between daytime and night, as if the sun was too stubborn to set and make way for the moon. The air was so breezeless and sticky even birds refused to take wing, but somehow Lexi remained cool and strangely calm on the way to their adventure in Central Park. She knew her guardian-angel mom was watching over her—that last white feather was a definite sign. So, of course she added it to her pocket of good luck charms: the rabbit's foot keychain, laminated four-leaf clover, and nine shiny pennies. She would never reveal her superstitious quirks to anyone, not even Kevin, who she had decided could tag along just to end his whining—and avoid World War III.

The cab pulled up at Seventy-Ninth and Fifth, and Lexi's hand flew out the door before she did, checking the weather. “Not a drop of rain. So far, so good.”

“Shhh!” Kim Ling hissed. She dragged Kevin and a deflated duffel out of the back seat and slammed the cab door. “Now you put a
kenahara
on it.”

Lexi's face scrunched up. “A what?”

“A Yiddish jinx. You can't brag about things going right or they'll fail.
Pu-pu-pu!
” she puffed, doing a ritualistic kind of fake spitting on her fingers as she led the way into Central Park. “Not that I believe in that drivel, you understand, but why risk it?”