Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy

  Chapter 23

  Threats

  As Amanda focused on the gold object in her hand, the light it reflected seemed to intensify and she blinked.

  “What do you mean it’s your father’s?” said Nick, grabbing the watch from Amanda. “It can’t be.” He held it up in what little light there was.

  “It is,” said Amanda. “Look. It’s got my mother’s inscription on it. ‘To my darling Herb. All my love, Lila.’” She pointed to the tiny cursive letters.

  Nick turned the watch over and looked at the back. “There must be some mistake.”

  “No. It’s his. I recognize that scratch. See?” She pointed to a hairline fracture on the face.

  “There could be other watches with the same inscription.”

  “‘To my darling Herb. All my love, Lila’? I don’t think so.”

  “Well, what is it doing here?” he said.

  Amanda hung her head. She wasn’t looking forward to discussing her father’s disappearance, and she was afraid Nick might be upset that she hadn’t confided in him. She wasn’t sure she could even get the words out.

  “I have to tell you something.”

  “What’s that?” He was watching her with such concern that she almost couldn’t stand it. No one had ever looked at her like that before.

  She hesitated. If she told him it would seem all the more real, no longer contained in the protective shell provided by the teachers and the headmaster. But maybe Nick could help somehow, and he was so concerned that she felt she had to. Otherwise she’d be letting him down.

  “My father’s been kidnapped.”

  “What?!” He practically dropped the watch. “Oops, sorry.”

  “I found out about it earlier. Thrillkill told me.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he said, moving to take her hand.

  “I didn’t feel like talking to anyone. I hope you understand.” She looked at him but his face didn’t register. Everything seemed to be closing in on her again.

  “Of course I understand. But Amanda, this is terrible.” He held her hand tight.

  “I know.” She was so upset she didn’t even notice that he’d touched her. It was all too much. The room started to spin and she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

  “Did they ask for a ransom? Whoa, are you all right?” He reached out to steady her.

  “No. I think they did it for revenge.” The waves were still coming. “I feel so dizzy.”

  “Here, lean against the wall. Hold onto me. That’s right.” She rested her back against the sticky wall and held onto his forearms. “What do you mean?”

  “My father used to be a prosecutor in Los Angeles. He has a lot of enemies. Ugh, I’m all sticky.”

  “Me too. We’re a right pair.” He smiled. “But surely they wouldn’t follow him here.”

  “Probably not,” she said. “But maybe he’s made some new ones.”

  “In this short amount of time? I don’t think that’s very likely. Feeling better?” He was looking completely doe-eyed now.

  “I don’t either, but who then? A bit better, yes. Thanks.” She let go of his arms and felt her head. “Now my hair’s all sticky.”

  He reached for a lock of her hair and took it between his fingers. “Hm, so it is. Well, that’s easy to fix. Look, I don’t know what’s going on but we’ll figure this out together. It does seem that your father has been here, though.” He looked around the room as if to validate his statement.

  “I know this is his watch, but why would he have been here? He has nothing to do with the school.”

  “He is descended from a famous detective, and his daughter goes to the school.”

  “Sure, but I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

  “I don’t either, but obviously it does.”

  “Maybe. But what happened to the sugar? And the gluppy things?”

  “I don’t know,” said Nick. “Let’s go upstairs and sort through the evidence.”

  He circled his arm around her and they made their way back up the stairs. He didn’t seem to care who saw them. He supported her until they got back inside, onlookers be damned. It seemed that there was such a to-do that no one noticed anyway, or cared, if they did.

  When they returned to the hallway outside the kitchen, Professor Buck took them aside.

  “I said no one was to leave,” he said roughly.

  “We were just outside,” said Nick politely.

  “That’s leaving,” said the teacher. “Where were you?”

  Amanda looked at Nick. They weren’t going to get out of this one. “There’s something we have to tell you,” she said. Nick motioned to her not to say anything but she spoke anyway. “We need to show you something, Professor.”

  “Oh, and what’s that?” said Professor Buck.

  “There’s a secret room that had a bunch of sugar in it, and some slimy things came and ate it, and now it’s empty.” If she hadn’t been so out of it she’d have been embarrassed to tell such a tale, but now she was quite matter of fact.

  “You what?” said Professor Buck.

  “Yes, Professor,” said Nick, giving in. “Please let us show you.”

  “This had better be good,” said the teacher, following them to the room and carefully stepping around gluppy thing residue.

  But when they opened the door for him, he was unimpressed. “This room is empty.”

  “I know, but it wasn’t,” said Amanda.

  He glared down at her from his more than six feet. “First of all, you are not supposed to be in this area. And second, if there was something here where has it gone?”

  “We don’t know, Professor, but I have proof,” said Amanda.

  “What proof?”

  “I took a video,” she said. “See?” She took out her phone and played the video from their first investigation.

  The teacher showed no reaction whatsoever. “I’ll need a copy of that,” he said, turning to go.

  “Yes, sir. I’ll put it on the intranet and send you a link.”

  “See that you do.”

  “There’s something else,” she said.

  “What’s that?”

  “See there in the corner? It’s my father’s watch.” They’d put it back so as not to disturb the evidence, even though they’d done just that. At least she’d worn gloves.

  “What do you mean your father’s watch?”

  “It’s inscribed, sir. There’s no mistake.” She took out the gloves and offered them to the teacher.

  “Your father who’s been kidnapped? That father?” he said, ignoring the gloves.

  “I only have one, sir.” She tried again.

  “What is your father’s watch doing here?” Professor Buck looked at the gloves with disdain and shook his head. Amanda put them back in her bag.

  “I don’t know, but we can only guess that he’s been here. We don’t know when.”

  “Was the watch here when you took the video?”

  “We don’t know,” she said looking at Nick. “There was too much junk in the room and the door wouldn’t open very far. We couldn’t go in.”

  “Very well,” said Professor Buck. “Send me the link and return to the hall outside the kitchen for questioning. Do not come back here, do you hear me? This area is now off limits.” He produced a Post-It from his pocket, scribbled “Do not enter” on it, and slapped it on the door.

  “Yes, sir,” they said in unison.