A Will to Survive (11 page)

Frank jumped up, too. He paused just long enough to grab some tissues from the box on Carl's desk. He pressed them to his forehead and ran out after Joe and the fleeing caretaker.

Carl had apparently meant to run to his car in the staff parking lot. Partway there he must have realized he wouldn't have enough time to get into the car, start it, and drive away. He changed course
toward the main building. His lead on Joe was at least fifty yards, but he didn't have Joe's strength or speed. With every stride, Joe narrowed the gap.

“Carl!” Joe shouted. “Wait! We just want to talk to you!”

Carl sped up.

Frank's running wasn't up to its usual pace. Still, it was fast enough for him to keep Joe and Carl in sight. As he neared the front entrance of the center, he saw a little group of interns and staff outside the door, drawn by Joe's shouts.

Carl saw them, too. He angled to the left, away from this new danger. Joe changed direction to cut him off. When they reached the entrance of the formal gardens, they were less than five yards apart.

Frank pumped his legs faster. He wanted to be there in case Joe needed him.

Carl reached the edge of the reflecting pool. He seemed unable to decide which way to go around it. He stopped and whirled to face his pursuers. His right hand reached back to his hip pocket.

“Joe, look out!” Frank shouted. “He's got a knife!”

Still running full tilt, Joe feinted to the left, then dodged right and tackled Carl around the waist. The knife whirled upward and came down with a splash in the pool. The momentum of Joe's charge carried Carl backward over the stone coping into the pool. They made a much bigger splash.

Joe got back to his feet first. He had a solid grip on Carl's elbow. Frank stood on the edge of the pool and leaned over to take Carl's other arm. The caretaker made a half-hearted attempt at shaking loose. Frank tightened his grasp.

A hand grabbed Frank's shoulder. “What do you idiots think you're up to?” Jack demanded. “Take your hands off him!”

Tanya was among the group rushing down to the scene of conflict. “It's all right, Jack,” she said. “Frank and Joe know what they're doing.”

Callie pushed past Sal and Rahsaan. “Frank!” she cried. “You're hurt! You're bleeding!”

Frank had forgotten the cut on his forehead. He still had the wad of tissues in his hand. He pressed it to his head. It stung.

The others helped Joe and Carl clamber out of the pool. They were both soaked.

Carl looked around at the curious faces. Frank felt him start to tremble. He knew this must be an emotional reaction. The plunge into the pool couldn't have chilled Carl so much. Even with the sun almost down, the afternoon was still warm.

Tanya caught Frank's eye. In a low voice, she said, “Bring him to my office.” She looked around at the little crowd. “All right. The emergency is over.”

As if on cue, from inside the building came the sound of the dinner bell. Reluctantly, the spectators turned and went inside.

Bruce stayed where he was. “Do you need my
help?” he asked Tanya. “Whatever the problem is here, I know Carl pretty well.”

“Thanks. We can handle it,” Tanya replied. She started toward the house. Frank and Joe brought Carl along behind her. Bruce hesitated for a moment, then followed. When they went into Tanya's office, he continued down the hall to his own.

“Now. What is all this?” Tanya demanded.

Frank and Joe told her about the rubber gloves and the dirty shovel they had found in Carl's workshop. They also told her about his violent reaction when he found them there.

“Carl?” Tanya said. “What do you have to say to all this? Are Frank and Joe correct?”

The caretaker had recovered from his earlier state. Sullenly, he said, “If you mean, have I been looking around the place, yes, I have. Mostly at night. I like my privacy.”

“What were you looking for?” asked Joe.

Carl pressed his lips together.

“We know you were searching for compartments hidden in the walls,” Frank said. “The building is full of them. What did you expect to find inside?”

“Treasure, what else?” Carl said. “I know old Mr. Parent hid a treasure here somewhere. I figured I'd find it and turn it over to the center.”

Joe couldn't quite hold back a skeptical snort.

“How do you know about this treasure?” Tanya asked. When Carl didn't answer, she continued. “If you are open with us, perhaps we can avoid filing charges against you. If not . . .”

“Okay, okay,” Carl said. He looked frightened again. Frank wondered if Carl had had brushes with the police in the past. Or maybe he was scared because this was the first time he had strayed outside the law. “Mr. Parent liked to talk to me about it. He used to laugh about how angry you'd be when you couldn't find his money. And all the time it was right under your noses, if you only knew where to look.”

“Did he tell you where to look?” Frank asked.

“I wish!” Carl said. “One time I said it'd be a shame if no one found the treasure. I thought maybe he'd give me a hint. But all he said was that he'd arranged for that. The nature center would have plenty of time to match wits with him. If they didn't solve the puzzle, they'd lose the money. It'd go to a fund for wildlife painters. Mr. Parent liked wildlife painting nearly as much as he liked wildlife. Maybe more.”

“I see why you prowled around at night and disturbed the display cases,” Tanya said. “But why force us to close the building with your smoke and awful smells? What was the point?”

“That wasn't me!” Carl protested. “Don't forget, I'm the guy who had to clean up after the dirty so-and-so who did it. And I can tell you, it wasn't fun!”

“What about the tree that almost hit a kid?” Frank asked. “You rigged that, didn't you?”

“I'd never do a rotten thing like that!” Carl declared. “You want my opinion? Take a good look at that kid Dylan. More than once, I've caught him
where he shouldn't be. He was tapping on the walls and stamping on the floor. He probably set the stink bomb and smoke bomb, too. I don't know why.”

“But you
did
dig the pit that almost sent us to our deaths,” Joe said. “Didn't you? We found the shovel.”

Carl looked away. “It was a spade,” he muttered. “Most people don't know the difference. You were asking all those questions. I figured you were after the treasure. I wanted to scare you off. I didn't mean for you to get hurt, just scared.”

Tanya picked up her phone and pressed a button. “Bruce? Will you come see me, please? Yes, right away. Thanks.”

She turned to Carl. “Will you wait in the hall?”

Carl left as Bruce came in. Tanya gave a summary of the Hardys' discoveries and Carl's confession. “He'll have to go,” she concluded. “After that booby trap on the cliff path, we can't possibly keep him on staff. If anything happened to a visitor or one of the staff, we'd be looking at a ruinous lawsuit against the center.”

“I agree,” Bruce said. “We should clear this with Roger, though. We don't want Carl suing for wrongful dismissal. As for this treasure business, we shouldn't take it too seriously. Whenever a rich eccentric dies, you hear tales of fabulous troves of diamonds hidden in the walls.”

“If we
did
find a treasure, it would resolve our current crisis,” Tanya said wistfully.

Bruce glanced at Frank and Joe, as if wondering
why they were in on this discussion. Then he said, “We need a real-life solution, not a fairy tale. We are lucky enough to have one available, if we act promptly and decisively.”

“Cleland's proposal?” Tanya snorted. “In trying to save Shorewood, we would destroy it! After selling off the water frontage, perhaps we should clear-cut the forest as well. Then we would have given up both our
shore
and our
wood!”

• • •

While Joe ran upstairs to change into dry clothes, Frank thought over Carl's statement. If it could be believed, his only motive had been to find the treasure. Why would he also try to wreck the center? If nothing else, the harassment attracted attention and made it harder for him to carry out his secret searches of the building.

If Carl hadn't set the skunk scent and the smudge pot and the deadfall, who had? Frank thought. And what about Carl's accusation against Dylan? No question, the guy was a riddle that called out for an answer. Was he hanging around simply because of Wendy? Or did he have some hidden purpose?

Joe returned, and he and Frank went down to the dining room. Dinner was almost finished, but Maureen made plates for them. As they headed to the table, Rahsaan approached Frank. In an undertone, he said, “If you dudes need a hand anytime, I'm your man.”

Frank gave him a puzzled look.

“The nickel finally dropped,” Rahsaan said with
a grin. “I remembered where I'd heard your names before. My oldest sister is married to a guy who's on the force in Bayport. You probably don't know him, but he sure knows about you two. Don't worry—I can keep my lips buttoned.”

Frank and Joe took seats with Callie. By now the room was almost empty. Frank leaned closer and said, “Can you talk to Wendy? We need to find out what she knows about Dylan.”

“I already thought of that,” Callie replied. “We had a talk. Frankly, I don't understand her
or
Dylan. She's seeing so much of him, and she doesn't even know where he lives or who his parents are! He said he'd tell her everything in a few days.”

“Tell me again how they met,” Joe asked.

“He came to take a tour of the center,” Callie said. “Wendy was the guide. They obviously clicked. The rest is history.”

“So he could have come looking to worm his way into the center,” Frank mused. “Who knows? If he hadn't found Wendy, he might have tried to hit on you instead.”

Callie gave him an indignant look.

“Not that you would have fallen for it,” Frank added hastily. “You would have known right away that it had to be an act.”

“Exactly what are you saying?” Callie demanded. “That no one could possibly be attracted to me for real?”

Frank tried to think of a reply that would steer the conversation back into calmer waters.

Suddenly Frank raised his head and frowned. Was that a shout he had heard? A moment later any doubts vanished. Somewhere nearby two people were having a loud, angry argument. The words were muffled, but the emotion wasn't.

Frank gave Joe a quick glance and jumped to his feet. As he hurried toward the door, he heard a startled yell, a thunderous crash, and the sound of shattering glass.

Joe, Frank, and Callie dashed up the stairs to the main floor. They found Jack, Sal, and Rahsaan clustered in the doorway to the first exhibit room, staring inside.

Joe edged through them into the room. Bruce was stretched out on the floor near the windows, looking dazed. Dylan was hunched on the other side of the room, looking just as dazed. Between them was an overturned display case. The dozens of geological specimens it usually held lay scattered amid the shards of broken glass.

“What has happened now?” Tanya wailed, pushing through the crowd into the room. “Is there no end to these disruptions?”

Bruce reached for the windowsill and pulled himself to his feet. Rubbing his cheek, he said, “I came upon this boy behaving suspiciously. I asked
what he was doing here and reminded him that the center closes to the public at six.”

He paused.

“Yes?” Tanya said. “Go on.”

Bruce looked embarrassed. “Well . . . he threw a punch that caught me off guard. I stumbled against the display case and knocked it over, then fell down and bumped my head.”

“You're a dirty liar!” Dylan shouted. “I never touched you!”

Wendy hurried over and took his arm. Dylan gave her a pleading look. “It's true!” he declared. “You believe me, don't you?”

“Of course, of course,” Wendy replied. She sounded doubtful.

“Dylan? What just happened here, according to you?” Joe asked.

“I don't get it,” Dylan replied. “I was hanging out in here, not doing anything wrong, just looking around. All of a sudden Bruce charged in and grabbed me. He started shouting that I was a thief. I tried to push him away. He deliberately turned over the display case. Then he flopped on the floor and pretended to be hurt.”

“That's ridiculous,” Bruce said. “What a feeble attempt to dodge blame. I don't know what you were doing in here, but you certainly acted guilty when I caught you at it.”

“You didn't catch me at anything!” Dylan said. His voice cracked.

“That is quite enough,” Tanya declared. “Young man, you are not a member of the Shorewood staff. You have no right to be on the grounds when the center is closed. I must ask you to leave at once.”

“Wait, you don't—” Dylan began.

Tanya raised her voice and continued.
“If
you behave yourself, you can come back during our normal hours, when we are open to the public. If you cause any more trouble, I'll be forced to call the police. Is that clear?”

“But he's visiting me,” Wendy protested. “Can't I have a guest?”

“Ordinarily, yes,” Tanya said. “But he has abused that privilege. I'm sorry, Wendy, but I've made my decision.”

Dylan took a deep breath. Joe thought he was going to try to argue further. But all he said was, “Huh!” He patted Wendy on the shoulder and walked to the door. Before leaving, he turned and said, “I didn't do anything wrong. I'll show you.”

Tanya's shoulders sagged. “I don't know how much more of this I can take,” she said. She looked down at the wreckage of the display case. “I must get Carl in here to put the room to rights.”

“It's okay,” Joe said. “We'll sweep up. Do you have a box we can put all the rocks in?”