Neverland Academy (13 page)

“You
da boss!” Toot saluted Daphne.

“It’ll
be great,” Daphne assured Lily. “You’ll see.”

“Okay.
I have to get back to work. See you later?”

Daphne
nodded and said goodbye. She was excited to have a project to work on now. She
enjoyed hanging out with Finn and getting involved in pranks, but it was
starting to feel mundane. She wanted to do something fun that wasn’t so risky
and intense. And after watching the Trappe video, everyone could use some time
to relax. Her mind swirled with ideas for party themes and decorations. She
felt energy rippling throughout her body, ready to get started. This was going to
be epic.

***

“Go
away, Belle.”

Rain
soaked through Finn’s hair, creating rivers of water washing down his face. He
sat on the edge of a tombstone in the old Trappe cemetery, a place where he did
his best thinking. He needed to form a plan, but his mind was clouded with
anger. It needed to dissipate before any cohesive strategy could be formed.
Belle’s presence was only fogging it up more.

“I
just wanted to see if you were okay.”

Belle
stood by an old oak tree at the edge of the cemetery, just outside the tilted
iron fence. Her copper hair stuck to the sides of her face, revealing just how
tiny her head really was. She looked like a wet cat.

“I’m
fine,” Finn barked. “I just need to be alone.”

“You
know, it wouldn’t kill you to accept some moral support sometime, Finn. You’re
not Superman.”

Finn
jerked around and glared at Belle. “I don’t need
moral support
, Belle. I need to think. And you’re distracting me.”

“Would
you say the same if I was
her
?”

“What
are you talking about?” Finn snapped.

“Daphne,
you idiot! You wouldn’t send me away if I were Daphne.”

“What
does Daffy have to do with anything? I can’t concentrate Belle. You need to
go.”

“I’m
not going anywhere.” Belle stood stiff next to the tree. She crossed her arms
defiantly; though it was obvious she was shivering under her drenched tank top
and shorts.

“Damn
it, Belle!” Finn growled. “Get the hell out of here! I don’t want you here. I
don’t want you at all. Go home and leave me the hell alone!” Finn had snapped.
He couldn’t control his anger any longer. His blood boiled, his veins
protruded. All logical thinking had disappeared. All he could think about was
Trappe’s dead body, cut up into pieces and dumped into a shallow grave.

Belle’s
eyes swelled up. Though her face was already glistening with streams of rain,
tears poured out of her lids. She turned and darted away from the cemetery,
away from Finn. He would feel sorry for her later. He would apologize later.
Right now, he had to think. Had to plan.

“What
am I going to do with you, Trappe?” Finn asked himself. Most of the pranks he’d
pulled before had been mischievous, harmless. Finn brushed those ideas aside.
He needed to get serious. He needed to do something that would really hurt the
headmaster. Until Daphne could unlock the priceless files on Trappe’s laptop he
couldn’t destroy him completely. But he had to send a message, just as Trappe
did to him.

Finn
glanced back toward the tree where Belle had been standing minutes earlier. He
felt like a part of him was missing. Or taken away. As hard as he tried to
focus on planning, he couldn’t get what Belle had said out of his head.
“You
wouldn’t send me away if I were Daphne.”

She
was right. He wouldn’t.

Chapter
Fourteen

The
Heist

Standing on the tips
of her toes and
grasping the long handle of a broom tightly in her fists, Daphne reached up,
brushing it over the corners where the walls met the ceiling. She’d gotten used
to running around barefoot now, and since befriending Lily, she had the means
to give herself a pedicure so her feet wouldn’t look like they belonged on a
troll. Though they were slightly dusty on the soles, her toenails brandished a
bright candy apple red that sparkled under the lantern light.

Rock
music played on the DVD player while the other boys begrudgingly tidied the
room. Hangman was lugging an armful of computer components to the boys’
sleeping area when he passed Finn entering the room.

“What’s
going on?” Finn asked, perplexed at the boys’ sudden attention to tidiness.

“Ask
the
girl
,” Hangman said with a sharpness
to his voice, as he continued on with his load.

“Daffy?”

Dropping
the broom, she leaned it against the corner of the cellar and wiped the sweat
from her brow with her shirt. She caught Finn looking at the exposed skin on
her belly and tugged the shirt down quickly, remembering that she was the only
one wearing a bra in a room full of boys. She smiled at Finn and pulled out the
stiff paper from her back pocket.

“Here,”
she said, handing it to him.

“Lily’s
birthday,” Finn whispered to himself.

“I
told her we would throw a party for her down here, so we wouldn’t bother any of
the other staff at her house. I hope that’s okay.”

Finn
grinned ear to ear and grabbed her by the shoulders. Daphne flinched at the
sharp electricity that jolted into her. “That’s a fantastic idea, Daffy!”
Warmth flooded her veins. The feeling was addictive—she wanted more. She
shoved the unwelcome craving out of her mind, reminding herself that Finn was
nothing more than a good friend.

“But
. . . how did you get them to help you clean?”

“I
told them I’d steal some of Trappe’s vodka. The good stuff that he keeps locked
away, not the cheap generic crap you guys always get. Lily said he’s got a
collection in his bedroom.”

“That
sounds dangerous.” Somehow Finn’s smile deepened, stretching to his eyes. He
didn’t just look happy. He had that same look her dad had when she’d won her
fourth grade spelling bee. He looked proud.

“You’re
just like a fine wine, Daffy. You keep getting better with age.”

“Well
that’s a lame pickup line if I ever heard one,” Daphne retorted. Finn chuckled.

“Sorry,
I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant that you’re really fitting in here. So
how’re you gonna do it? I mean, it’s locked up in his own bedroom. That’s
pretty risky, even for me.”

“Today’s
Tuesday, right?”

Finn
shrugged.

“It
is. Lily said there is a weekly assembly every Tuesday and Trappe always goes
to make announcements and talk to the students. I’ll just sneak in when he
leaves and pick the lock. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

“I
can personally guarantee you, Daffy, it will not be as easy as you make it
sound,” Finn warned as he carefully picked out dirt from under his fingernails.

“Are
you volunteering to help?”

“Maybe
if you ask nicely,” Finn turned away and crossed his arms.

Daphne
circled Finn so that she faced him. She placed her hands softly on his arms and
in very sweet, overly vulnerable voice, asked, “Finn, would you please help
me?”

“I
don’t know. I’ll have to think about it,” Finn teased.

“Pretty
please?” Flirting with Finn came naturally to Daphne. She hated herself for how
good it felt. Finn met her eyes and shook his head, grinning.

“How
could I say no to that? Of course I’ll help you! It’ll be just you and me this
time.”

“Okay,”
Daphne agreed. “But before we can do anything we have to get this place clean.
Lily was clear she did not want her birthday party in a filthy cave.”

“You
want some help?” Finn offered.

Daphne
pointed to a rag and a metal bucket filled with bubbly water. “You can start
scrubbing.”

Daphne,
Finn, and the rest of the boys spent the next hour, wiping, scrubbing and
scraping until every surface in the room was clean enough to eat off of. Once
finished, the boys collapsed onto their piles of pillows and switched on a
movie. Daphne opted for a nap, since it would be another hour before dinner.

When
Daphne awoke, before she could even open her eyes, a smell reminiscent of an
Italian restaurant seduced her. Finn was sitting across from her, holding a
steaming plate of lasagna and garlic bread ready to eat. He looked so comfortable,
she’d wondered how long he’d been there watching her sleep. It couldn’t have
been too long because the lasagna was still hot. They ate the meal together,
though neither was able to take more than a few nibbles. The anticipation
rising for her upcoming heist made Daphne feel a little nauseated. But she was
excited. And she would
not
chicken out.

Finn
glanced at his watch and then back at Daphne.

“Ready?”
he asked.

She
took a deep breath and shook out her arms to try and relieve the buildup of
adrenaline. “Yes.”

***

Climbing
to the upper level of the main house at Neverland Academy was tricky. First of
all, the paths inside the walls were like a maze, with dead ends all over the
place. To get to Trappe’s room Daphne and Finn would have to take the route
that passed through the administrative offices, through the curved wall that
the staircase ran along, and up another ladder that had three rungs missing.
Then, once the top floor was reached, you had to be fairly lean to even fit in
the upper level walls. Finn was just barely able to slide by sideways without
getting stuck between the posts.

Finn
checked the peephole to make sure the coast was clear. It wasn’t. Trappe was
still in the room sipping on a glass of brown liquid as he peered out the window.
The liquor cabinet was right next to him and between him and the window stood a
long table that held shiny, clear glasses and a sparkling crystal decanter on a
silver tray.

“Is
he there?” Daphne whispered. Finn placed his finger to his lips. His other hand
rested against the wooden support, steadying him like a statue. He slowed his
breathing to control his racing heart and remain quiet.

There
was a knock at the door. Finn watched as Trappe set his drink down on the
table, shut the heavy crimson curtains, and answered it. Finn couldn’t see who
it was since Trappe was in the way and the only sound he could make out was
some mumbling. It didn’t matter. Trappe picked up his cane and left the room,
closing the door roughly behind him. The silence enhanced the clicking sound of
the door being locked.

“Now,”
Finn said as he shuffled three times to the right. The panel here was more
difficult to remove. Finn had only used it once when he tried to steal Trappe’s
laptop unsuccessfully, but never again for fear that he wouldn’t replace it
correctly and Trappe would discover the cracks, leading him to the tunnels.
Trappe’s bedroom was wallpapered, so if Finn didn’t line up the panel correctly
it would be too obvious. When he pulled the panel away he sighed in relief. A
tall bureau stood just in front of the opening.

Carefully
with his knee, Finn pushed the bureau away from the wall. He could hear some
china rattling on the bureau and stopped pushing. Then he started again and
stopped, repeating the process until there was just enough room for him and
Daphne to lower their bodies through the open panel and slide past.

The
room was darkened behind the curtains, even though the daylight still broadcast
outside. But Daphne and Finn were used to the darkness. And she didn’t need too
much light to do her work.

“You
know what you’re doing?”

She
nodded. “I’ve broken into all kinds of liquor cabinets, Finn.”

Trappe’s
liquor cabinet wasn’t simply lock and key. It had a digital combination and
Finn worried that using the wrong code repeatedly might set off an alarm. He
took a sip of Trappe’s leftover drink and enjoyed the burning sensation he felt
as the bourbon glided down his throat. Then he stood by the bureau, ready for a
quick escape in case Daphne failed.

“Finn,”
Daphne whispered. “I need the flashlight.”

He
handed it to her and watched as she carefully shined the light from different
angles over the numbered keys.

“Can
you do it?” he asked.

“Yeah,
this is the easy kind. Usually we would need a UV light to do this right, but
this has been used so often we don’t really need it. See this?” Daphne pointed
to the number four, which had been rubbed off slightly from overuse. “Luckily,
this is an older system. When the code was set, the security system only
recognized the numbers used, not the sequence in which they were used. I can
punch the numbers in any order and . . .”

Finn
eagerly watched Daphne press a set of numbers. He heard a click, and admired
her as she opened the doors to the cabinet. She turned and waved a bottle of
Captain Morgan’s in one hand and Bombay Sapphire in the other. Finn joined her,
taking a bottle of Grey Goose and what looked like a really expensive bottle of
scotch whiskey. He felt like a kid on Easter morning.

“I’ve
got one more thing to do,” Finn whispered. “Go ahead and lock it back up.” He
grabbed one of the bottles from Daphne to lighten her load and then set the
bottles on the nightstand next to Trappe’s bed.  He snatched the decanter
from the tray.

“What
are you doing?” Daphne asked as she shut the doors.

“Sending
a message.” Finn pulled back Trappe’s bedspread and dumped the contents of the
decanter all over the pristine white sheets. Returning the bedspread to its
original position he had another idea. He dropped to the floor, laying his face
against the surface to check under the bed, but was startled by the crashing
sound of broken glass. Something wet grazed his cheek and he turned his head to
see a large clear puddle peppered with shards of glass. Just beyond that, were
two pairs of feet. Daphne’s, naked with glossy red toenails, and behind them, a
pair of shiny, black leather boots.

Had
Finn been alone, he would have heard Trappe coming long before he had a chance
of being caught. But he’d been distracted. He’d let his guard down. And now Trappe
had Daphne. Had it been one of the other boys, he might have escaped and left
the boy to fend for himself. But he couldn’t do that to Daphne. He needed her.

“Preston
Price,” the old man hissed. “It’s about time you showed your face, you little
coward.”

Finn
rose to his feet, his eyes fierce with fury. Trappe’s arm sank into Daphne’s
chest and his other hand clutched her neck. She could have been an ice
sculpture, frozen with fear.

“I
see you’re letting girls into your little club now, hmm? What’s your name,
darling?”

Daphne
remained silent. In the darkness behind the closed curtains he wouldn’t
recognize her.

“Let
her go, Trappe,” Finn demanded. Trappe snickered.

“Gladly,
Preston. Turn yourself over to me and all of your friends may go free. I’ll
even forget about the attempted burglary, theft, and vandalism of property.”

“You
want me?” Finn sneered. “Come get me.”

Trappe
kicked the door shut behind him and pushed Daphne away. Finn stood still,
feigning surrender. But as Trappe approached he dropped down and slid under the
bed. The darkened room worked to Finn’s advantage now, because Trappe couldn’t
be sure which side he’d come out of. Trappe launched himself over the bed to
the other side, waiting for Finn to reappear.

“Get
out of here, Daffy!” Finn cried from under the bed. He watched as her feet
scurried back behind the bureau and disappeared into the black hole. As he
turned back he noticed that Trappe’s boots were not visible on all three sides
of the bed. He must have been sitting atop it, waiting for Finn to make his
move.

He
had to get out of there. After all these years of never letting himself get
caught, there was no way Trappe was going to ensnare him now. Not ever.

Finn
tried to find something under the bed that he could use to distract Trappe, but
there was nothing. Most people take advantage of storage area under the bed,
but not the headmaster. All Finn could find was a handful of dust bunnies. With
no other options, he slipped out the side he came from.

Large
fingers clamped the back of Finn’s shirt, the collar cutting into his neck, and
he was lifted from the floor. Finn writhed and flailed his arms, desperately
trying to escape. He could hear Trappe’s sinister laugh behind him. He reached
out, grabbed the neck of the whiskey bottle he placed on the nightstand and
flung it around, making contact with Trappe’s brow. He cursed, but did not
release Finn. Finn slung the bottle again, striking the back of Trappe’s head.
His grip tightened. The next time Finn swung the bottle, Trappe’s hand met it
and ripped it from Finn’s grip. As Trappe’s arm stretched back, ready to pay
back Finn with the same attack, Finn stomped his heel down on Trappe’s left
foot. Trappe howled and dropped the bottle.

Relieved
that the bottle remained unharmed, Finn scooped it up and dashed to the hole in
the wall. He could have stayed and tormented Trappe some more, but he was
worried about Daphne being alone in the wall waiting for him. Trappe followed
Finn, but when he reached the dark opening he was much too big to fit. His arm
reached into the hole and thrashed about. Finn looked back and made sure he
laughed loud enough for Trappe to hear him. Adrenaline coursed through his
veins. This was his best adventure yet. And he’d had Daffy to thank for it.