Chapter Ten
Words Overheard
“I swear,” Sara gasped, as she and her sister departed their point of cover and began racing toward Evelyn’s office. “Keeping an eye on this goon is becoming a full time job!”
No longer fearful of causing too much noise, the sisters accelerated their pace to a jog. They had not an inkling of what they could do to help Evelyn out of her jam, but they raced ahead, nonetheless. They knew only that Jasper was a scoundrel – a villain who they would stand up to, no matter the odious details of his nefarious doings.
As they approached, they saw that there was a brass placard centered at eyelevel in the rich, dark wood of the door. It read E. MAGELLAN on the first line, and CHIEF CURATOR on the second.
Maria’s first impulse was to reach for the doorknob to the office and bust right in without a moment’s hesitation. She was going to wing it, as Coach often said, which basically meant to act impulsively and fly by the seat of your pants. But as she extended her hand, Sara grabbed her wrist and pulled her to a halt.
“Hang on,” she whispered. “Before we do anything, let’s try to have a listen first.”
Maria nodded her head in silent agreement, and the two of them slowly leaned in. They turned to the side, so that they were facing each other, and each of them could place one ear against the door’s surface. Though there was a slight muffling effect through the wood, the words of the speakers came through surprisingly clear.
“I assure you… I can’t begin to imagine why you’re here,” Evelyn could be heard saying on the other side of the door.
Jasper chuckled briefly before answering. “Oh, really? I find that difficult to believe, coming from such an intelligent agent. Surely you can piece together the reason for my presence.”
At this, Maria scrunched her eyebrows together and inquisitively looked to her sister. Sara could only shrug, and the two of them continued to focus every ounce of their attention on listening to the strange conversation.
There was a pause that lasted a few long seconds, punctuated only by the slightest sound of creaking wood – perhaps Jasper was pacing in the office, or shifting his weight from foot to foot. The sisters strained to hear more, over the sounds of their own breathing.
Finally, Evelyn spoke. “You’re jeopardizing everything by contacting me here. We were not supposed to meet until later. This entire thing has been a terrible idea – rushed and sloppy from the very start. I can’t even believe this last minute alteration was ever conceived… to risk our plans, simply for some egotistical nonsense… not that I’ve been let in on all the details, mind you. I’m very disappointed in both of you.”
At these words, which Maria and Sara could not have possibly predicted, they exchanged worried, confused glances. Evelyn knew Jasper? And she was in league with that buffoon? And what did she mean when she had said “both of you”? Who was the other person she was referring to? Just wait until they reported these findings to Neil and Jack – their minds would be blown, the sisters knew.
Breathing shallowly, they continued to listen, with their ears pressed flat against the door, their eyes now grown wide with anticipation and interest.
“Hah!” Jasper let loose with a bark of laughter. “You worry far too much, Evelyn. Things are well in hand. You know better than to question our judgment. This is a monumental step toward what we’ve been working for all these many years. This minor modification is but the icing on the cake.”
“We were supposed to wait for his signal. Only then were we to rendezvous for the next stage,” Evelyn said. “You’re not supposed to be here, not now.”
The sisters were doing their best to silently communicate their growing alarm to one another. Who was this “he” that they were referring to, this other person? Could it be…?
“Don’t worry,” Jasper replied with an air of dismissal. “I’m meeting you early, but it matters not. The plan is unchanged, and it will succeed. It must succeed!”
“Oh, is that so? Your plans always go smoothly, do they? Tell me, Jasper, how exactly did you acquire all those bumps and bruises? Or was that all part of the master plan?”
There were dark murmurings from Jasper, before he gathered enough of his senses to offer an articulate reply. “Oh, they’ll get their comeuppance, they will, those misbegotten whippersnappers. The ones who are responsible will be made to pay, I promise you that. Oh, yes… this will be justice at its finest, and my appetite for vengeance will be satisfied… four times over!”
Maria and Sara exchanged another alarmed glance. They knew that Jasper was a cantankerous lout who would never forget a grudge, but they were surprised to hear that he already had another dark scheme in mind for the Beans. His reference to the number four was undoubtedly reserved for Neil, Jack, Sara, and Maria – the children he most despised in all of Hollow Oak Elementary. Didn’t Jasper have anything better to do, they wondered?
“But enough of that,” Jasper said, his tone noticeably cheering up. “I wanted to commend you on your excellent performance out there. Since your initiation, you’ve been one of our finest and most accomplished agents, and it’s clear to see why. You really had me sold. Why, even I almost believed that act you put on out there!”
Evelyn laughed without mirth. “You know something? It really wasn’t hard to summon the energy for that ‘performance’. You just sort of naturally exasperate me, Jasper.”
“Now, listen here, Evelyn. I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but when our backs are against the wall, we’ve always pulled together for the common goal. Our objectives remain the same, our vision united!”
Evelyn could be heard sighing, and when she spoke again, it was with a tone of distraction. “I have work to do. You had best leave me to it.”
Maria and Sara heard these words, but they barely had the time to register them before they realized the danger they were in. With Evelyn’s dismissal of Jasper, he would surely come bumbling out the door within seconds, and the sisters would be standing right there, their eavesdropping completely exposed.
They had been intent on coming to the aid of the curator, and standing up to Jasper. Too late, they had realized that Evelyn did not need protection from the janitor, for she was in cahoots with him.
Though Maria and Sara had gathered valuable information, they had also succeeded in placing themselves in a hostile place where two powerful enemies were present. They exchanged identical, horror-stricken looks with one another, and they simultaneously seemed to gather the will to flee.
But it was already too late.
“Very well!” Jasper boomed to Evelyn in departure, his voice closer to the door.
And then… to the utter dismay of the sisters… they heard the doorknob begin to turn. It happened as if in the slow motion inspired by a dark nightmare, where one’s limbs refused to work as they should. The girls attempted to reverse their momentum, and get away from the door upon which they had been pressing their ears.
Yet, they had only the briefest of moments to react, and they were essentially paralyzed by the sense of detached reality with which this terrible sequence was occurring. Before they could even begin their retreat, the knob had been turned, the latch disengaged, and the door popped open.
As it did so, Maria and Sara felt their weight come tumbling forward in a terrible instant of undone balance. As one, they toppled to the floor in a flurry of arms, legs, and ponytails.
Feeling extremely vulnerable, they sensed the dark shadow of Jasper fall upon them. The janitor towered above, clenching his mahogany broom and impulsively swishing its bristles against the floor. Whish, whish went the broom, in what seemed to be animated agitation.
“Well… well… well,” Jasper murmured. His voice was full of confidence, and whatever uncertainty he had suffered from earlier, it was now gone. He had returned to his arrogant, surly self, and he seemed to be at once angered and pleased to discover these young interlopers. “And what do we have here?”