The Case of the Missing Deed (19 page)

Then you went to row
L
and wrote down the letter in column
T
, which was
E
.

So, using the keyword
CLOWN
, the cipher for
OTTER
was
QEHAE
.

Going in reverse, you used the keyword and the alphabet table to decode the cipher and arrive back at the secret word.

Sébastien’s excitement grew as he copied out the table and figured out how to convert
OTTER
into
QEHAE
and back again. Grandpa would’ve loved this, he thought, running his finger across the rows and columns to find the hidden letters.

Eagerly, he chose the first letter in the list of bold letters – and then stopped short. There was one big flaw in his system. To use the Vigenère Cipher, the person who created the secret
message had to pass on the keyword to the person who was supposed to unscramble it.

Sébastien didn’t know the keyword. Without it, there was no way he could figure out how to decode the letters. He had the first letter,
T
,
but no idea where to look on the table. If he looked in row
T
, column
A
, he got
T
. If he looked in row
T
, column
B
, he got
U
. There were twenty-four more possibilities.

Sébastien pounded his hand on the table. This was hopeless. He was floundering around with secret codes and theories and puzzles, and he was getting nowhere. And meanwhile, Charlie was plotting with Wilensky and Saxby to help the mine go through.

Oh, if only Grandpa were here, Sébastien thought, dropping his chin on his hands. He’d figure out the darn message and stop Charlie in his tracks.

But then, if Grandpa were here, the cottage wouldn’t be threatened in the first place.

With a strangled laugh at his own tortured logic, he turned off the computer.

randma and the children were back at the kitchen table, going through the recipes. Alex had just found a notation in the recipe for
Caraway Rye Bread
that said
“So delish I’m carawayed!”
– and had gotten all excited, until Grandma explained that Grandpa was just making a joke out of caraway and carried away – when there was a knock at the front door.

“I’ll get it,” said Claire, running to open it.

There stood Mark Saxby, Valerie London, and Wayne Cheng.

Mark Saxby said, “Aren’t you the little girl who was choking the other day?”

“Yes.”

“Are you all right now?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Excellent.” Smiling, he patted Claire on the head. “Is your grandmother home?”

“I’ll get her,” Claire said. She ran back to the kitchen. Grandma and the children were laughing, pointing at something in one of the cookbooks.

“Grandma?” Claire said.

“Yes, sweetheart?” Grandma said, still chuckling as she looked up.

“The Tantalus Mining people are here.”

A hush fell over the table. Grandma went pale. “Oh, dear. I – oh, dear.” She swallowed. “Could you show them into the living room? I’ll be right in.”

“I’ll get Mom,” Sébastien said. “And Charlie,” he added, though he wasn’t sure that was a good idea. Still, better to keep Charlie where they could see him than to let him hide in the background.

By the time Sébastien came downstairs with Eve and Charlie, the children and the Tantalus people were in the living room. Saxby, London, and Cheng were squished on the couch, looking uncomfortable and hot in their city clothes. The cousins were sitting across from them, on the floor.

Grandma came in, and Mark Saxby stood up. Or, he tried to. First he had to unwedge himself from the other two, who nearly toppled over when he removed his body from the couch. They shot to their feet too.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Honeyman. So good to see you,” Saxby said.

Grandma didn’t return the greeting, though she did nod and make introductions: “My daughter, Eve Brossard, and her friend, Charles McNulty.”

Sébastien watched closely. A look passed between Charlie and Mark Saxby, though neither man said anything to indicate that they’d already met.

You lying weasel
, Sébastien thought. No matter that Charlie actually had flown to the mainland and back the day before, just like he’d said. That didn’t mean he wasn’t lying about everything else.

The three company representatives wedged themselves
back onto the couch.

“Well, Mrs. Honeyman,” Mark Saxby said with a smile, “I wonder if you’ve had a chance to reconsider our very generous offer.” He opened his briefcase, withdrew a sheaf of papers, and placed them on the coffee table.

Grandma shook her head. “I told you before, Mr. Saxby, that I have no interest in selling.”

Saxby’s smile twitched. “Now, listen here–” he began.

Valerie London put her hand on his arm. She turned to Grandma, and the thick gold links of her necklace flashed. “Mrs. Honeyman,” she said sweetly, “I’m not sure you understand just how impressive this offer is. We are prepared to pay well above the market price. Why, you’d be able to relocate anywhere you liked, from one of the other islands to a penthouse in downtown Vancouver!”

Grandma opened her mouth, but Eve spoke first. “I don’t think
you
understand, Ms. London. This is my mother’s home. She is not going to sell it – for any price.”

Valerie London’s face flushed.

“I was afraid you were going to stick to that regrettable position,” Mark Saxby said. “Very well, Mrs. Honeyman. We expect to get the permit in three days. At that point, if you have not accepted our offer, you will be required to prove ownership of your property. As you know, if you cannot, your property will revert to the government, who no doubt will turn it over to us. If you do prove ownership, you can stay here. But I’m warning you that construction of the road to the mine will begin immediately, and the road will go right around your property. That may not be pleasant for you.”

Grandma gasped.

“Are you threatening my mother?” Eve said.

“Of course not,” Saxby said. “Simply stating the facts. The mine will soon be a reality–”

“If you get the permit,” Eve said.

Saxby’s face colored. “We are quite confident of that. After all, we made a very persuasive case for the project, showing significant economic and environmental benefits.” He put the papers back in his briefcase. “I’m sorry it’s come to this, Mrs. Honeyman. You can sell – or you can live next to the access road. It’s your choice.”

He wiggled forward on the couch to free himself and stand up. Valerie London and Wayne Cheng rose as well, straightening their clothes.

“If you change your mind, you know how to contact me,” Mark Saxby said. “Good day.”

He left, followed by London and Cheng.

Grandma put her face in her hands. “What am I going to do?”

“They’re not going to get your home, Mom,” Eve said.

“But what then?” Grandma lifted her head. “You heard him. Even if I find the deed, I still have the road on top of me. And if I can’t produce the deed, the government will take my land—” She began to cry, the same heart-rending cries that Claire had heard the first day they’d come.

“But Grandma, we’ll find the deed. We already have six clues. We must be close,” Alex said.

Grandma shook her head. “It’s no use. I thought maybe – but it’s hopeless. The cottage is doomed.” She burst into fresh sobs. Weeping, leaning on Eve and Charlie, she trudged upstairs. A moment later, the cousins heard the creak of her
bed.

They looked at one another. No one said anything.

But all of them were thinking,
Three days
.

And now they had to do it without Grandma.

he five cousins trooped back to the kitchen. They placed the key, the flashlight, the prism, the knitting needle, the vinegar, and the paintbrush in the middle of the table.

“Six things that have nothing to do with each other,” Geneviève said. “What on earth are we supposed to do with them?”

“Well …” Alex began, “maybe the prism is supposed to hang from the knitting needle …”

“Or maybe the flashlight lights up the prism,” Olivia said.

“Which focuses light on the vinegar and heats it up,” Sébastien finished.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Geneviève said.

“Well, I don’t know!” Sébastien said.

“We’re nowhere,” Olivia said gloomily.

“No, we’re not,” Sébastien said. “At some point, Grandpa’ll probably give us a clue that tells us what we’re supposed to do with everything.”

“But when?” Geneviève said. “We only have three days.”

“I know that!” Sébastien said.

“If we hadn’t wasted time spying on Rachel and Chad–”

“If we hadn’t wasted time looking for bioluminescence–”

“Guys!” Alex shouted.

They all looked at him.

“We can’t fight. We don’t have time. We just have to keep going. Now, what is it about these six things that Grandpa wanted us to see?”

There was no answer.

“Okay,” Alex said, “let’s try it another way. Each one came from a clue in a recipe. So what is it about the recipes?”

Sébastien pointed to the knitting needle. “Well, the clue to that was in
Muriel’s Berry Pandowdy
. And the only thing I know about that recipe is that it’s my favorite.”

Olivia pointed to the paintbrush.
“Painterman Eggs
is my favorite. All that gooey, runny yolk!”

“The flashlight came from
Emergency Fudge,”
Claire began, “and that’s my all-time favorite candy, even if I did get a little sick–”

“Guys!” Alex interrupted. “Don’t you see?”

“No. What?” Olivia said.

“Yes!” Geneviève said excitedly. “That’s what Grandpa was doing! Putting the clues into our favorites – so we would find them!”

“Right!” Sébastien said. “So what do we have?” He started pointing to objects, then to people.
“Muriel’s Berry Pandowdy
– me.
Painterman Eggs –
Liv.
Emergency Fudge –
Claire.”

“Sparkle Cookies –
Gen,” Alex went on.
“Zucchini Pickles
– me. Who am I forgetting?”

“Oh, I get it,” Olivia said.
“Pesto –
Grandma.”

“Right, that was the first one,” Alex said. “But there’s got to be another clue, to tie them all together. Clue number 1. Who are we missing?”

“Grandpa!” Claire shouted.

“Of course,” Sébastien said. “What was his favorite recipe?”

“
Osprey Cove Clam Pot!”
Alex and Claire said together.

Everyone started frantically paging through the recipes. Alex found it in the battered black notebook.

Osprey Cove Clam Pot

Treasure in the sand, treasure in the pot

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 white onion

2 cloves garlic

1 1/2 pounds new potatoes

1 1/2 cups white wine or vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 pounds fresh clams, cleaned

1 lemon

Instructions:

1. Clean clams according to instructions below.

2. Thinly slice onion; finely chop garlic. Halve potatoes and set aside.

3. Heat olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Add sliced onion and stir until it starts to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

4. Add garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until it starts to release a great smell. Add potatoes, wine or stock, and salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.

5. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are just barely tender, about 20 minutes.

6. Add clams and toss to distribute them throughout the pot. Cover and cook, shaking pot occasionally, until clams open (about 12 to 15 minutes).

7. Remember to discard any clams with unopened shells!

8. Cut lemon into quarters and arrange on plates.

9. Serve Clam Pot with crusty bread for soaking up the juices from the pot. Be sure to set bowls on the table for clam shells.