The Secret Keepers

  “I was kind of in a pickle. I had the Counselor and two of his men in my car with me, and two more following in a limousine. I also noticed, driving into the neighborhood, that there were an awful lot of those guys—the Directions—on the streets around there. I got the feeling that the Counselor had made a private call. They were going to set up a perimeter to keep me and my associate from giving them the slip. But here’s the thing: these guys aren’t pros. It’s clear they aren’t used to having trouble with people. I guess that’s the benefit of having everybody scared to death of your boss. But then when you do have trouble, you’re completely unprepared.”

  “How did you get away?” Penny asked, tugging anxiously at her hair, as if Jack hadn’t already escaped.

  “Well, I’d told them I was supposed to leave the Counselor’s briefcase by a particular bench in the middle of the park. But then, just before we got to the park, the Counselor made me stop the car, and he got out. He said he would put the briefcase there himself.

  “I was still playing a role, so I had to argue a little, but actually I was thrilled. I knew that with him gone I had my best chance. Anyway, he told his men to keep an eye on me and took off. After that it was fairly easy. I gave it a minute, then fired up the engine and started driving fast. The two guys in the back couldn’t believe it—they didn’t know what to do. They were yelling at me to stop, but what else could they do? Grab me? Not if they didn’t want to crash.

  “After a few blocks I slammed on the brakes, jumped out, and started running. Naturally, they jumped out to chase me. When I spun around and ran straight back at them, the first guy was so surprised he got out of my way—I didn’t even have to touch him. The other one had been a few steps behind, so he had a second to recover and try to grab me.”

  “Morrison,” Reuben interjected. “That’s the one you hit.”

  Jack looked at him, impressed. “I think that was his name, yeah. What, were you there?”

  “No, I heard about it afterward.”

  Mrs. Genevieve and Penny were looking at them expectantly.

  “It didn’t take much,” Jack continued, “just a little pop on the nose. I got back in the car and took off. The limousine was pulling up by that point. Morrison and the other one jumped in and they followed me. The trouble was, every time I managed to shake the limo—which wasn’t hard—some other group of Directions on a street corner would spot me. They were all on their radios gabbing it up. Sure enough, here would come the limo, cutting me off at an intersection, and the chase was on again.

  “This went on long enough for someone to get the idea of following me in a different car, one I wouldn’t recognize. I saw more Directions pointing at my car and talking into their radios, but that limo never showed up again. So I kept my eyes on the mirror until I spotted the tail—a van with tinted windows, probably chock-full of the Counselor’s men. I took it on a wild-goose chase, nice and slow, like I didn’t realize I was being followed, and finally ended up on the ferry. That’s the story. You know the rest.”

  “Wow,” Penny and Reuben said at the same time. They looked at each other. Jack seemed so nonchalant about all of it. He seemed, in fact, to have enjoyed it.

  Mrs. Genevieve, for her part, had listened to Jack’s account with a pained expression, punctuated with winces. She was tightly gripping the arms of her chair. Reuben wondered if she ought to take one of her pills.

  “But, Jack, what about your car?” Penny asked. “Won’t they be able to trace it to you?”

  Jack gave her a reassuring smile. “You’ll be happy to know that I removed the license plate, the registration papers, pretty much everything that would link it to me. Took me all of two minutes.”

  “Wow,” Penny said again, and Reuben could only shake his head.

  And now they were all turning to him, wondering what tale he had to tell.

  “I was trying to buy you time to do some snooping at the mansion,” Jack said. “I don’t suppose you got any leads on The Smoke?”

  Reuben couldn’t help it—he broke into a grin. “Well,” he said, “as it so happens…”

  That dog!” Jack cried when Reuben told them the Counselor’s secret. He sounded angry but also impressed. “What a trick! I can’t believe it!”

  “It never would have occurred to me…” murmured Mrs. Genevieve. She reached reflexively for her glasses and squinted at them, as if a defect in the lenses had prevented her from seeing the truth.

  Penny had drawn her feet up under her with a look of revulsion, as if she’d spied a snake on the floor. “It’s so creepy. It reminds me of Bartholomew.”

  “Faug’s no Bartholomew,” Jack muttered, agitated. He leaped up from the sofa and began to pace (three steps one way, then three the other, for that was all the room he had). “He’s crafty, I’ll give him that, but he’s only halfway on his rocker. If I’d only known! I was this close to him! I could have clocked him and taken the watch right then and there!”

  “I’m glad you didn’t try,” Reuben said, and told him about The Smoke’s little black club.

  Jack, frustrated, would have none of it. “A blackjack? That wouldn’t have done him much good once I knocked him out,” he muttered. “I had the jump on him. I just didn’t know to jump!”

  “You’re being ridiculous, Jack,” Penny said. She reminded him about the four Directions who would have intervened—and none too gently—if Jack had attacked their employer.

  “That’s a good point,” Jack admitted, and he stopped pacing. He actually looked relieved. “Okay, thanks, Pen. That makes me feel better. I guess I probably couldn’t have done it after all.”

  “We’re going to get his watch regardless,” Reuben said. “I saw how it could be done.”

  Mrs. Genevieve stared at him, aghast. “You can’t be serious,” she said sharply. “After all this?”

  Reuben gave her an apologetic look. “I know you’re worried, Mrs. Genevieve, but think about it. We know his secrets now. That was the whole point of going there—to figure out where we could find The Smoke. But this is even better! Not only do I know where he lives, I know where he puts the watch when he’s sleeping—and I know how we can get it. I have a plan.”

  “Let’s hear it,” Jack said, suddenly all business.

  Mrs. Genevieve wouldn’t hear it, however. Not just then, at any rate. Reuben’s account of sneaking around inside the Counselor’s mansion had upset her very much. With a despairing look at him, she shook her head and said she needed to lie down. She rose so unsteadily that Jack sprang to her aid and helped her into her bedroom.

  “I’m worried about her,” Penny said quietly when the door had closed.

  “She’s just worried about him,” Jack said with a nod toward Reuben, who lowered his gaze. What could he say? He knew it was true, and he felt bad about it. But one way or another he was going to have to face The Smoke. Wasn’t it better to do it on his own terms?

  “How would you feel if you were her?” Penny was saying. “Her hands are tied. She doesn’t know what to do.”

  Jack grimaced and scratched his bristly red scalp. “I know. But once this is all over, she’ll be fine. Even better than fine, because the kid’ll be out of danger and The Smoke will be out of business.” He turned to Reuben. “So tell us how we’re going to do that.”

  Reuben leaned forward. “Okay, the main idea is simple, anyway,” he said, and told them his plan.

  Penny and Jack blinked a few times, looked at each other, then looked back at Reuben.

  “He keeps it on his nightstand?” Penny said. “You’re sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  Jack looked at him askance. “And you’re just going to hide under the bed until he falls asleep? That’s it?”

  “I’ve left out some important details, but yeah,” Reuben said. “The thing is, getting away might be tricky. I was hoping you could hide somewhere close, Jack, in case I need help. I haven’t thought it through yet, but—”

  Jack reached out and swatte
d Reuben’s shoulder, a gesture evidently meant to reassure him. “Of course I’m going to be in there with you! We’ll find a good hiding spot for me, and then if the least little thing goes wrong, I’m there.”

  “That’s great,” Reuben said, and heard the relief in his own voice. There was no masking it. He didn’t even resent the swat, which had actually stung his shoulder quite a bit.

  “Oh, it makes me so nervous!” Penny said. She was clutching her knees, which were jouncing up and down. “But I want to help. What can I do? And don’t say I can stay here and keep Mrs. Genevieve company.”

  “You can stay here and keep Mrs. Genevieve company,” Jack said.

  “But that’s not helping you! It’s nice, but it isn’t helping.”

  “I know something you could do,” Reuben said, and then to Jack: “It’s too risky to sneak into the mansion while The Smoke is there. We need to lure him away, then sneak in and get ready while he’s gone. It would really help to have a lookout, someone who could warn us when he’s coming back.”

  “Yes!” Penny said triumphantly. “A lookout! I’m perfect for that. He’s never seen me before. To him I’m just some random girl. I can be skipping rope down the sidewalk or looking for my lost puppy or something. He won’t even notice me.”

  Jack was scowling. “He won’t notice a girl skipping rope on the sidewalk after dark?”

  “Actually,” Reuben interjected, “we should sneak in during the day. I have to show you some things, and I don’t think we should use flashlights or lamps—someone might notice the lights through the windows.”

  “Okay, but still. How exactly would she warn us?”

  “We can figure something out!” Penny insisted.

  “It really would help,” Reuben said, “if we can find a good way to do it.”

  Jack looked away. He was silent for some time. Then he grunted and said gruffly, “Fine, we’ll think about it. Maybe. But only if we can come up with something that’s completely safe. In the meantime,” he said, turning to Reuben, “what are these things that you have to show me?”

  “Oh yeah,” Reuben said, nodding. “The traps.”

  Penny started. “Did you just say the traps?”

  “Yes, the mansion’s full of them.”

  “This just gets weirder and weirder,” said Jack, scratching his head again. He laughed. “I guess that makes me weird, too, because you know what? I kind of like it.”

  “I will, Mom. Yeah, of course, I promise.” Reuben was sitting on the floor behind the counter in Mrs. Genevieve’s shop, the phone receiver in one hand, his head in the other. If he could have crawled under the floor, he probably would have. “Okay, sure, I will. And thanks again for letting me do this. No, I’m totally excited, just tired. Yeah, I’m sure we’ll all sleep well tonight. Okay, Mom. You, too. Bye.”

  He hung up and let out a gush of breath. He’d done it. He’d asked for another night. The sleepover had been extended, he’d said—the other boys were staying another night, too, and couldn’t he please stay as well? And his mom’s response had been predictable. Of course she was glad Reuben wanted to spend more time with his friends. That’s what summers were for, right? Just as long as he was sure that’s what he wanted to do. Oh yes, he’d assured her, he definitely did.

  From her tone Reuben knew that she missed him, that she was disappointed she would not see him tomorrow—but she hadn’t said so. She thought he was having fun and didn’t want to spoil it. He groaned. It was amazing how guilty he felt. Guilty and unexpectedly sad. At the first sound of her voice he’d realized how much he missed her.

  “Good talk?”

  Penny had quietly opened the door from Mrs. Genevieve’s quarters and was peering around it.

  Penny had quietly opened the door from Mrs. Genevieve’s quarters and was peering around it.

  “She made me promise to eat some vegetables,” Reuben mumbled. “That’s what she’s worried about. Vegetables.”

  Penny settled down next to him. “Sorry,” she said. “I know you must feel terrible. I don’t think I’ve lied to my parents since I was really little. Or anyone, for that matter. That’s why it was so hard with Mrs. Genevieve. It’s the Meyer way, you know.”

  “Not counting Jack,” Reuben said.

  “Not counting Jack,” Penny agreed. She shook her head wonderingly. “I had no idea what he was capable of! Stealing a car? How does he even know how to do that?”

  “Borrowing a car,” Reuben corrected.

  “Whatever.”

  At that very moment Jack was out in search of a getaway car. He didn’t like the idea of trying to make their escape on foot. Reuben might manage it with his watch, but with anyone else along it would be too awkward, so Jack had said he would find a car to borrow.

  Penny had gasped, guessing his meaning. “You mean steal?”

  “It isn’t exactly stealing if you give it back, right?” Jack had said with a wink.

  “It isn’t exactly borrowing, either!”

  Jack had frowned then. “Listen to yourself. I suppose it was all well and good for old Aunt Penelope to borrow people’s horses and boats without permission, but if I do the same thing with someone’s car, I’m a criminal?”

  Penny hadn’t known what to say to that. She was obviously still troubled, though, and in the end Jack had said something halfhearted about trying to find someone who would actually give him permission. Then he’d gone out.

  “You shouldn’t ask him, you know,” Reuben said to Penny. “If he does turn up with a car, don’t ask him where he got it. You’ll only feel bad.”

  Penny made a face. “Not talking about something doesn’t somehow make it honest, you know.”

  Reuben made no reply to this.

  After a short silence Penny said quietly, “You do realize I know how you feel about destroying the watches, right? I mean, that you don’t want to do it. At least not yours.”

  Reuben felt heat spread across his cheeks and all the way into his ears. He stared straight ahead. There was no point in denying anything to this friend who could see right through him. He drew up his knees and wrapped his arms around them. “I don’t know,” he mumbled. “I don’t know that we have to do it exactly the way Penelope said.”

  “Yeah, I figured that’s what you were thinking,” Penny said gently. “Or actually I figured you were trying not to think about it at all. Look, I get it, Reuben. Your watch—it’s amazing. You think it could change your life somehow. You think it could help you and your mom. And if you don’t have to worry about The Smoke anymore, you’ll be safe to use it however you want.”

  Reuben looked at her sidelong. “That about sums it up, yeah. But now you’re going to try to talk me out of it.”

  Penny shook her head. “Not now. Maybe later, if you still need me to do that. Right now we can just focus on getting the other watch away from The Smoke. Anyway, you already know what I think. I just want to be sure you aren’t kidding yourself about what you think.” With that, Penny got to her feet, kissed Reuben on the top of his head, and went back into Mrs. Genevieve’s rooms.

  Reuben sat there for some time, his cheeks still hot. Penny was right; he was good at avoiding the most worrisome questions. But didn’t he have good reason to? He had so much to worry about, so much weighing on him, and it was too hard to think of everything at once—or even, sometimes, just one or two of the most important things. Sometimes what you needed most was to save those things for later.

  Yet perhaps he’d always been this way, Reuben thought, even before things got so difficult. He’d never really felt bad wandering around the Lower Downs without permission, for instance. It was only when he had to lie to his mom about it that he felt guilty. He wondered now if that made him wicked at heart. He worried it might; he hoped it didn’t. This entire business with the watch had left him so strangely unsure about himself. Maybe it was the pressure. Maybe it was the exhaustion.

  But maybe it was him.

  It was well after dark when Jac
k returned, and Mrs. Genevieve had yet to stir from bed. Penny and Reuben had checked on her twice. Each time the watchmaker had seemed to be sleeping. They were both concerned about her.

  The only one who seemed not to worry about anything was Jack. Not only had he found several fine prospects for a car they could use tomorrow, but he’d also returned with bread, cheese, and fruit; a jump rope; and the surprising news that he’d gone ahead and “borrowed” a car—just for an hour—to make a nighttime drive around The Smoke’s mansion.

  “There were a couple of lights on,” Jack said, tearing off a hunk of French bread. They were gathered around the coffee table in the sitting room. “Looked to me like he was home. But no guards anywhere I could see. That was one thing I wanted to check.”

  “Did you see the rope?” Reuben asked.

  “That was the other thing. But in the dark I couldn’t tell. Obviously, if it’s gone when we get there tomorrow, we’ll have to ditch the plan and figure something else out.”

  “Okay, what’s the jump rope for?” Penny asked hopefully.

  “You know what the jump rope is for,” Jack said.

  “Yes!” Penny snatched the rope from the table. “I’ve already been thinking about our warning system. It’s pretty complicated, but if I tell you slowly, I think you boys can keep up: I’ll ring the doorbell.”

  Reuben and Jack looked at each other.

  “Right?” Penny asked, tossing her hair matter-of-factly. “If I see The Smoke coming back, I’ll ring the doorbell a bunch of times. I can get in through that hole in the wall Reuben used.”

  “But if he sees you—” Jack began.

  “If he sees me, I’ll walk right up to the limousine and ask if he’s seen my puppy. I’m just a little girl with a jump rope looking for her dog. He isn’t going to be suspicious.”

  Reuben cleared his throat. “Can I just point out that you aren’t the greatest liar?”