Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis

  Just then Professors Stegelmeyer, Scribbish, Hoxby, and Pole arrived. Somehow their presence lent a sense of order to the scene. They told the girls to stand back while they investigated.

  “You haven’t touched anything, have you?” said Professor Scribbish.

  “Not the body,” said Amanda. “We didn’t go in there. But we dug up a bunch of these crystals. See? There in the evidence bags.”

  “Well done,” said Professor Scribbish, examining the bags. “Excellent procedure. But what are these crystals?” He held one of the bags up to the light. “Residue from the slime mold?”

  That possibility hadn’t occurred to Amanda. She wondered if it was true. Could slime turn crystalline? Maybe it could. Simon would probably know. She wished he were there and wondered if she should text him too.

  Just then Thrillkill came hobbling around the corner on his crutches. “Have you girls touched anything?” he said upon seeing the mess. “Oh my. That’s quite a hole, isn’t it?” There was no way he was going into the abyss with those crutches.

  “It’s okay, Gaston,” said Professor Scribbish. “They’ve followed procedure. What do you make of those?” He pointed to the pile of crystals.

  Thrillkill looked at the bags. “Nice work, Miss Lester, Miss Kapoor,” he said. The two girls beamed. It was about time someone recognized the merits of their explorations. Amanda wondered what he’d think about their findings on the third floor. For all she knew, the candy and skateboard stashes were his. Not the letters, though. Unless Headmaster Thrillkill had a secret identity, he wasn’t Kenneth, although all detectives had secret identities—lots of them. Nah. Couldn’t be.

  “Where did you find all those crystals?” Thrillkill asked. Then he noticed the one around Amphora’s neck. “Say, that’s not bad. The same?” He nodded toward the pile.

  “We think so, sir,” said Amphora. “Beautiful, isn’t it? I can’t see how it can have anything to do with slime mold.”

  “You’d be surprised,” he said, putting her off so much that she removed the necklace and stuck it in her pocket, first encasing it in a baggie. Amanda laughed. Not that she wouldn’t have done the same. Thrillkill wasn’t known for his tact.

  Then he really surprised Amanda. He stepped right into the big hole, crutches and all, and made his way to the mouth of the cavern. He extracted a torch from his pocket and shined it all around the space. When he had located the body, he said, “Hm,” then walked inside, along with the other professors. The space was large and it echoed, and Amanda could hear most of what they said, although she had to inch closer to do so. Amphora kept to the fringes with the crystals, as if guarding them from predators.

  Suddenly Amanda remembered that she had her listening device with her and stuck it in her ear, turning around to wink at Amphora. Now she could hear every word.

  “Not a clue,” Professor Hoxby, the pathology teacher, was saying. “I can tell you that it’s an adult male, but I won’t know anything further until I conduct the autopsy.”

  Oh no, not another autopsy. Post-mortems were not Amanda’s strong suit. Last term she’d got everyone puking in their dead bodies class. But of course the body would have to be examined.

  “No, I can’t see a cause of death,” Professor Hoxby continued. “And I’ve never seen anything like those crystals before. I wonder—”

  “Psssst,” said Amphora. “You don’t think these crystals could have killed him, do you?” She too had inserted her listening device and could hear everything.

  “I don’t see how,” said Amanda. “You mean you think they might be poison?”

  “Yes,” said Amphora. “Or some kind of blood sucker. Maybe it got me too.”

  “I think you’d have known that by now. Do you feel sick?”

  “I’m not sure.” She took the crystal out of her pocket and threw it on top of the other bags. “Yes, I do. Ugh. I just know the crystals killed that man.”

  “Amphora, please don’t do this. I’m sure there’s another explanation. How long have you been wearing that thing?”

  “I don’t know. A day, maybe.”

  “Well, then, I think you’re fine. If they were that dangerous you’d already be dead.” Amanda turned back to the cavern. Professor Hoxby was lamenting the state of the body.

  “It’s been burned, and whatever clothing wasn’t burned has rotted,” he said. “The teeth have been smashed in too. Anyone recognize these clothes?”

  No one did. It would have been a neat trick to do so. They had been almost completely destroyed.

  “The cavern is completely charred,” said Professor Pole. “Let’s get some samples of that carbon, plus some of this plaster and dust.”

  “How do you think he got in here?” said Thrillkill.

  “Look here,” said Professor Pole, pointing to something Amanda couldn’t see. “He was walled up.”

  Amanda felt her stomach lurch. The man had been buried alive? Well, maybe not alive, but in a wall? It was horrible.

  “I’ll tell you what,” he said. “The heat the earthquake released started a fire that burned the body. That fire, together with the pressure, created the crystals. It’s quite unusual. Normally you’d need much higher temperatures and more pressure over a longer period of time. I’ll need to study this more, but that’s my best guess at the moment.”

  So the power of the earthquake had not only damaged the buildings and released all kinds of gunk into the air, but it had started a fire and created these beautiful crystals? From what, though? Surely not the slime mold. That was long gone.

  “I must say that if it weren’t so macabre, the sight of this body would be magical,” said Professor Scribbish. “Oh, quite ghoulish, but doesn’t it look like a fairy tale?”

  “I think you’re getting a bit carried away, Chris,” said Thrillkill. “All I see is a crime scene.”

  Typical. Thrillkill didn’t know the meaning of romance. The closest he ever got to it was his hair dryer and the icicle army he fought with it.

  Suddenly Amanda felt a whoosh of air and realized that a bunch of moths had almost flown into her. By golly, if it wasn’t already dusk. Could it be? Yes, it was. The moths were heading for the light of the crystals, which had grown stronger as the sky had dimmed. They were attracted by the light of the crystals in the skull! Professor Scribbish was right. The crystals were magical. She wondered what Editta would say. Come to think of it, where was Editta?

  The next task was to remove the body. Amphora did not want to see that, but Thrillkill told her it would be good experience and practically threatened her with some unknown punishment if she were to leave.

  Amanda not only didn’t mind watching the procedure, but wanted to video it. Despite the sickening nature of the experience, she wanted to learn and was eager to film as much as possible, not only for detective purposes but for her filmmaking. Every chance she got to practice was an opportunity. She’d have to make sure her lighting compensated for the darkening sky though. Filming would be tricky.

  “What’s this?” Oh great—it was Holmes. He just had to show up everywhere. She was in no mood to talk to him. “Amanda,” he called. “Amphora.”

  “Oh, Scapulus, I’m so glad you’re here,” said Amphora. “We’ve just found a dead body. It’s awful.”

  “Here? At the school?” he said. “Who is it?” He craned his neck toward the pit.

  “We don’t know,” she said, shrugging.

  “Amanda?” He looked at her.

  “Dunno,” Amanda said rudely. Holmes looked hurt.

  “Who’s in there?” he said, pointing to the dark opening.

  “Professor Thrillkill, Professor Scribbish, Professor Pole, Professor Hoxby, and Professor Stegelmeyer,” Amphora said. Amanda was surprised she could say all that. It was quite a mouthful. She probably would have used last names only. Sometimes Brits were so formal.

  “What are those?” he said, pointing to the crystals. “They’re quite attractive.”

  “They’r
e poison,” said Amphora, backing away. “You should stay away from them.”

  “They’re not poison,” said Amanda. “We don’t know what they are, but they’re fine.”

  “No they’re not,” said Amphora. “I found this one and I made it into a necklace and now I’m sick.” She pointed to the necklace.

  “Really?” said Holmes, picking up the bag with the crystal and examining it. “What are your symptoms?” He looked her up and down.

  “I feel sick to my stomach, my head hurts, and I feel yucky all over. Do I look weird?”

  “Not at all,” he said. “The crystals quite suit you.” She looked startled, then tried to hide a smile. “Did you feel that way before you found the body?”

  “Not exactly.” She was still trying to hide the grin. This wasn’t good. Now she’d start to follow him around the way she did the cook and would never get anything done.

  “I think you’re feeling ill because you found a body you didn’t expect to find,” he said.

  “Maybe they’re radioactive,” she said, losing the grin.

  “Perhaps,” he said, “but unlikely.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Radioactive minerals are unstable—”

  “Oh no!” said Amphora.

  “However,” said Holmes, “they break down so slowly that you don’t have to worry. Also, they tend to be bright neon yellow or green. Or, they may look like metamicts.”

  “Meta who?” said Amphora.

  “Metamicts. They’re opaque and dull, with rounded edges. These crystals don’t look like either of those things, but if you’re really worried let’s test them. I’ll get a Geiger counter.” He turned and ran back toward the north entrance.

  “He’s so smart,” said Amphora, watching him go.

  “La-di-dah,” said Amanda, refusing to look.

  “Why don’t you like him? He’s very sweet.” Was that a blush? Gosh, Amphora was boy-crazy.

  “He’s a know-it-all.”

  “I don’t see why you say that. He’s just smart. Now if you want to know who’s a know-it-all . . .”

  “Fifty p,” said Amanda.

  “You can’t do that,” said Amphora. “Only Ivy can. And besides, I didn’t even say a name.”

  “I know what you were thinking,” said Amanda.

  Suddenly a huge “Whoops” could be heard from the opening of the cavern. It seemed that the salvage operation was not going well. Of course considering the state of the skeleton, it was hardly surprising. As soon as the professors attempted to move it, it fell apart. This caused both girls to become nauseous, and because Amanda had used up her last gingersnap and had nothing with which to settle her stomach, she threw up in the crater, causing Amphora to lose her last vestige of control and do the same. This was not good for her image or the evidence. Contaminating the crime scene like that was a huge no-no, and Professor Scribbish took both girls to task. Still, Amanda wasn’t sure he was all that unsympathetic because after he had delivered his criticism, he winked at each one of them, confusing her completely. Was it or wasn’t it okay to throw up at a crime scene? This was something she’d have to research.

  Suddenly it occurred to her that maybe the body was the whatsit. The teachers had acted like they didn’t know who it was, but what if that was all for the girls’ benefit? Maybe they knew all too well. If that were the case, was the fact that the person was dead going to change everything, or had it just been his whereabouts that was the issue? If either was the case, who could be so important that his disappearance would have the teachers practically in crisis?

  She thought about Professor Feeney’s conversation—the one she and Simon had overheard. It hadn’t sounded like she was talking about a person, but maybe she was. They’d accounted for the teacher who’d gone missing at the beginning of spring term, but could there be someone else? She couldn’t think of anyone. Maybe Ivy’s sister would know. She made a mental note to ask. At the same time, she would speak to Ivy and the rest about the possibility that the body was the thing the teachers had been seeking. She didn’t really believe it was, but they had to consider every possibility, no matter how implausible.

  Then Holmes came running up. “Here,” he said. He was holding a Geiger counter. Was there anything Professor Stegelmeyer didn’t keep in his labs? “Let me test those crystals.” He waved the Geiger counter over the pile of crystals, including Amphora’s, which he’d carefully laid on top. Nothing. “These seem perfectly safe,” he said.

  “Are you sure it’s on?” said Amphora.

  “Yup. Absolutely sure.” He double-checked the on/off switch.

  “Maybe it isn’t working right.”

  “I thought about that,” he said, “so I brought a sample of a radioactive mineral from the lab.”

  “Eeeek,” said Amphora, stepping away.

  “Please don’t worry,” he said. “I’m just going to test this tiny sample.” He took a leaded box from his pocket and opened it, then placed it on the ground. “This is a metamict—the kind of radioactive mineral I mentioned before.” The nugget was silver and chunky.

  “I don’t want to see,” said Amphora.

  Amanda did want to see, and not only took a good long look, but also snapped a couple of pictures.

  “Ready?” said Holmes.

  “I’m ready,” said Amanda.

  “Amphora?” said Holmes.

  Silence.

  “Okay, here we go,” said Holmes. Amanda thought it interesting that he had taken Amphora’s silence for a yes. He turned on the Geiger counter and passed it over the metamict. It buzzed. “Hear that?” he said. “It’s positive.”

  “How do I know that’s the sample doing that?” said Amphora.

  “You’re a tough cookie, you know that?” he said, smiling. She blushed again. “I’ll show you.” He closed the box and passed the Geiger counter over it. Nothing. He looked at Amphora to make sure she’d seen the demonstration. Then he opened the box and passed the Geiger counter over it again. It buzzed.

  “You win,” said Amphora. “The crystals aren’t radioactive. But are you sure that sample is safe?”

  “It’s fine,” he said. “It was open for about twenty seconds.” He closed the box, turned off the Geiger counter, and slipped the box back into his pocket.

  “Told you,” said Amanda.

  “So what?” said Amphora. “It’s not a sin to be careful.”

  “You’re right,” said Amanda. “It isn’t.” She almost wanted to thank Holmes for calming Amphora down, but she couldn’t get the words to come out. Amphora did manage to express her gratitude, however.

  “Thank you, Scapulus,” she said. “You’re a good guy.”

  Holmes gave her a huge smile, but when he looked at Amanda the smile faded. She could not get herself to express approval of any kind. He looked disappointed but she didn’t care. So what if she didn’t like him? That was his problem. Anyway, he had charmed the entire rest of the school—even grumpy old Stegelmeyer and Buck. Wasn’t that enough?

  At last the teachers managed to extract the skeleton from its hiding place and get it into a body bag in a process that was both painstaking and infuriating. Pieces of bone, fiber, and what-have-you kept dislodging, falling, and disintegrating and had to be gathered carefully. This caused a lot of dirt and other matter to be mixed in with the remains, which at first Amanda thought would cause problems in the lab, but then realized that they’d have to analyze it all anyway.

  Then came the long, tedious process of evidence collection. Thrillkill wanted the students to learn from the experience, but because inviting all two hundred of them to the scene would undoubtedly result in compromised evidence, he told Amanda that she could text a few people and video the action carefully for the benefit of the rest of the school. They’d set up lights and work into the evening. He also enlisted a few more teachers to help scour the scene. These included Professors Also, Pargeter, and Buck, as well as Professor Browning, who would help the kids
with their sketching.

  Everyone knew what to look for by this time. First and most important was a murder weapon. Next came fibers, substances that weren’t supposed to be there, blood, and anything the murderer or the victim might have dropped or lost, for of course, it was a murder. The man whose skeleton had been found hadn’t walled himself up. How he’d died and whether he’d had a hand in his own demise no one yet knew, but that much was clear. Someone, or more than one someone, qualified as a culprit, and they needed ways to identify him or her.

  Of course Amanda texted her friends, who were first shocked and then eager to participate. She thought it might be politic to invite David Wiffle and Gordon Bramble as well, and in that way avoid the fits that would ensue if they felt left out. All came running, with the exception of Editta, who had either ignored or not received Amanda’s message. When Wiffle and Bramble came running up, they each gave her a most unappreciative look, which made her wonder if she’d done the right thing. She probably hadn’t gained any brownie points for her generosity after all.

  Professor Scribbish took on the role of coordinator. Of course being the evidence teacher, he would. Before everyone started their search, he patiently explained how they could avoid stepping on each other’s toes by assigning territories, reiterated the rules of collection, and told them in no uncertain terms how appreciative he was of their efforts, which got everyone all pumped up. Then he gave the go sign and they were off like a bunch of party kids on a scavenger hunt.

  Ivy came up with a couple of observations Professor Sidebotham would be proud of. Come to think of it, thought Amanda, why wasn’t Professor Sidebotham there? She should have been one of the first people Thrillkill called. People seemed to be missing all over the place, although Sidebotham’s failure to arrive was far less disturbing than Editta’s behavior over the past couple of weeks.

  Ivy contributed two pieces of evidence no one else had observed: a faint humming coming from the crystals, so low that no one else could hear it, and a sweet smell in the cavern that she swore was aftershave. This, said Professor Scribbish, was most interesting but may have been the smell of decay. Nevertheless, he asked her to write up her findings and characterize them as carefully as possible, just in case.