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  “Two kinds of wild mint, actually, along with passionflower, borage, and a bunch of other edible flowers and herbs from the garden. All picked fresh and sun-brewed right here at the lodge,” Amina replied proudly. “It’s sweetened with honey from our own beehives.”

  “There’s a whole lot of beekeeping going on up here, huh?” I asked. “Cherry told us that Dr. K kept his own hives to make honey too.”

  Amina nodded. “It’s definitely a popular pastime out here in the woods.”

  “An important one too,” Frank said. “Bee populations are declining drastically, and they’re one of the most important pollinators that we rely on for global food crops. It’s weird to think about, but without bees, a lot of the world could go hungry!”

  “Spoken like a true beekeeper,” Amina said. “Come on in and I’ll show you to your rooms. You’ve got the best views in the whole lodge. Oh, and Casey said not to even think about trying to pay for anything while you’re here. You boys are Bear Foot Lodge VIPs for life.”

  I guess almost getting killed solving a mystery while staying at the lodge had its perks.

  “That’s really nice of her, but I don’t think we’re going to need the rooms right now,” Frank said apologetically. “We’re actually kind of in a hurry to get up to Black Bear Mountain and set up camp while it’s still light out.”

  Amina frowned. “We’ve all heard so much about the Hardy boys, the new staff was really looking forward to getting to know you. I guess you’re eager to go looking for the treasure, though, huh?”

  Frank and I both did a double take.

  “Treasure?” we asked at the same time.

  “Well, yeah. Casey and Steven don’t talk much about that part of it, because of, well, you know…” Amina cut herself off.

  We did. I could imagine Casey’s sister going to prison for crimes she committed with Steven’s help wasn’t a popular topic of conversation around the lodge.

  “But everyone knows about what happened from all the news reports and everything,” Amina continued. “The headlines got a ton of publicity for the lodge. It totally turned things around. There aren’t many guests here now ’cause of the fire, but we’re usually booked solid. I even heard Casey say your heroics put Bear Foot Lodge on the map and practically saved us from going under.”

  “Um, you were saying something about a treasure?” Frank muttered, trying to change the topic back to something more relevant.

  “Oh, yeah, well, the news reported all about the Wild Man having a fortune in rare green garnets.”

  “But Aleksei’s garnets were lost in the river,” I interjected. Casey’s sister had lost the demantoids after falling in while trying to escape. I didn’t mention what Aleksei had secretly hinted to Frank, Dr. K, and me afterward, though.

  Amina looked around and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Sure, that’s what the news said he claimed, but there were all kinds of rumors online that he secretly hid a whole other stash of them somewhere on Black Bear Mountain.”

  I winced and Frank did the same—because that’s exactly what Aleksei had privately hinted to us. There wasn’t any public evidence of it, but I wasn’t surprised there were rumors. The mere mention of the word “treasure” makes people’s imaginations run wild, and the only proof anyone had that the demantoid garnets were all lost was Aleksei’s word for it—and Aleksei’s mobster rep didn’t make him seem like the most reliable source.

  “No one’s found them yet,” continued Amina excitedly. “But we’ve had treasure hunters booking trips to go searching for them ever since. One of them checked out a few days ago, right after you called to book your rooms.”

  I saw Frank’s face fall and knew exactly why. The news stories had identified Dr. Kroopnik as both a kidnapping victim and Aleksei’s friend. That meant that any treasure hunter who went searching for the garnets on Black Bear Mountain might think Dr. K knew where they were too. And that made him a target.

  “Amina, can you tell us—” My question was cut off by a pained moan from Jones.

  “Frank,” she croaked in a hoarse voice. “I don’t feel right.”

  I heard Amina gasp as I turned to look at Jones. I’d thought treasure hunters were going to be the most alarming surprise of our arrival at Bear Foot Lodge. I was wrong. It was the angry red hives rapidly spreading across Jones’s grotesquely swollen face.

  4 ALL FALL DOWN

  FRANK

  ALL IT TOOK WAS THE sound of Jones’s voice for me to know something was wrong. Seriously wrong.

  When I’d glanced at her a minute ago, she’d been fine. But now her lips had puffed up like someone had injected them full of air and her eyes had nearly swollen shut. You could practically see the hives spreading across her cheeks.

  She must have seen the shocked looks on our faces because her hands reached for her own face. That’s when she screamed.

  “It’s okay, Jones, just keep breathing,” I said, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. “I think she’s having an allergic reaction to something. Is there anything in the lodge’s first aid kit we might be able to give her?”

  Amina stood there frozen.

  “Amina, I think we need to give her something or get her to a hospital now,” Joe insisted, snapping the assistant innkeeper out of her trance.

  “Yes. Sorry. We keep a first aid kit behind the desk.” Amina sprinted for the desk as I helped Jones into one of the lodge’s wooden rocking chairs.

  “Just try to stay calm. We’re here to help,” I reassured her.

  “Little good you’re doing,” a nasally voice said as I felt someone elbow me out of the way. “The young woman is clearly having an anaphylactic reaction.”

  A dour-looking man in a fishing vest and waders pushed past me and leaned over Jones. “Are you having any trouble breathing?”

  “N-no, I don’t think so,” she croaked. “My throat’s a little swollen and I feel all tingly, but I can breathe okay.”

  “He nodded. “She doesn’t seem to be going into shock, at least. Regardless, we’re going to want to give her a shot of epinephrine. This could be a relatively minor episode or it could turn into something more severe. You don’t want to take a chance with anaphylaxis. Thankfully, it’s easily treatable as long as you know what you’re doing. Not that anyone else at this establishment seems to know much of anything.”

  He looked around in annoyance for Amina. I could see Joe biting the inside of his cheek to keep from saying anything about the guy’s attitude, and I was right there with him. But as much as I instantly disliked the guy, I was also grateful he’d shown up when he did. I’d had enough first aid training to know that anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that requires urgent medical attention, and that epinephrine—which was another word for adrenaline—could reverse it. I’d never seen it happen to anyone before, though.

  “Are you allergic to anything you know of?” I asked Jones.

  Jones shook her head. “Maybe I’m just dehydrated?”

  She raised the glass of iced tea to her mouth with a shaky hand.

  “No!” Joe and I said at the same time. I grabbed the glass from her hand before it could reach her lips.

  “Just in case something in the tea caused it,” I said, setting the glass down beside me.

  Amina stopped in the doorway with a large red first aid kit in her hands. “Our tea?!”

  “Maybe not, but she could be allergic to one of the ingredients you used. Best to be safe until we know what caused the reaction,” I told her.

  “Give me that,” the man snapped, grabbing the first aid kit from Amina. He rifled through the contents and pulled out a yellow plastic cylinder with the words EPINEPHRINE AUTO-INJECTOR on it. “Thank heavens this place managed to get something right.”

  “What is that?” Jones asked nervously.

  “An EpiPen. It will deliver a shot of adrenaline that should treat the symptoms right away. Now hold out your leg.”

  Jones did. She only winced a little as th
e man pressed the tube to her thigh muscle over her jeans and pushed down until it made a small click. He held it there for about ten seconds, then tossed it aside.

  “They make these devices simple enough for a small child to use. You’d be advised to carry one around with you from now on in case this happens again.”

  The adrenaline went to work almost instantly.

  “I—I think I’m okay,” Jones said after a minute. She looked a little shell-shocked, and she still had hives and swelling, but that was a thousand times better than she’d looked before the shot. “Thank you for your help, Mr.—?”

  “Doctor,” he corrected snootily.

  “Wow, it’s a lucky break we had a physician nearby—” Jones began.

  “Humph, not that kind of doctor,” he said in a way that sounded like being a medical doctor was beneath him. “I have PhDs in multiple fields of biological research. You’re just lucky my ex had a severe peanut allergy and had to carry an EpiPen with her everywhere we went.”

  “You’re a scientist?” I asked. From his combination of profession and attitude, I had a good hunch who we were dealing with. “Do you know Max Kroopnik?”

  The man’s eyes narrowed. “Unfortunately. They’ll let pretty much anybody pretend to be an expert on behavioral ecology these days.” He dusted himself off like just being near us had made him dirty. “I’ve wasted enough time here. I have fishing to do.”

  He looked down at Jones before strutting off. “You’re still going to want to visit the hospital. Sometimes a second reaction can occur, and I might not be around to save you.”

  There was a symphony of tooth grinding as Jones, Joe, and I all clenched our jaws and stared daggers at his back.

  “Wow, Drawes is every bit as unpleasant as I thought he would be,” Joe commented as the man we presumed to be Dr. Kroopnik’s rival disappeared from sight.

  Amina looked at Joe in surprise. “You already knew Dr. Drawes?”

  “We knew of him,” I said. I didn’t want to say too much about our investigation in front of Amina, but Drawes hadn’t done anything to help remove himself from our suspect list. “His cheery reputation precedes him.”

  Amina snorted. “He pays for a pass to go fishing on the grounds and likes to hang out in the lodge and treat everyone like his personal servants.”

  “Has he said anything about Dr. Kroopnik or his mountain lion research?” Joe asked.

  “Not to me. Mostly he just orders me around and tells me how bad of a job I’m doing. We all do our best to steer clear of him.”

  Amina didn’t seem to have much to add about Drawes besides another poor character reference. Further investigation was going to have to wait anyway. Suspect or not, Drawes’s advice about Jones’s allergy attack had been sound. “We’d better get Jones to the hospital just to be safe.”

  “Blerg,” Jones groaned.

  “The closest hospital is over an hour away,” Amina said. “Dr. Feigelson in town is on call in case we ever have an emergency. She can be here in half the time. I think Jones will be more comfortable waiting for the doc here in one of our cozy beds than an emergency room.”

  Jones smiled. “That would be great, Amina, thanks.”

  “In the meantime,” the assistant innkeeper added, addressing me and Joe, “you two can stow your gear at the back entrance of the lodge. Dan, our wilderness guide, is getting ready to take you to Black Bear, and he’ll meet you in the back field with our all-terrain vehicles.”

  * * *

  “You all did the right thing injecting her with epinephrine,” Dr. Feigelson said a half hour later. I liked her right away. She was short with dark hair and a calm, laid-back vibe that put everyone in Jones’s room at ease as soon as she entered. “That anaphylaxis could have been a lot worse if you hadn’t acted so quickly. This kind of reaction isn’t unheard-of in someone your age without any prior history of allergies, but it is less common. It would be helpful to know what caused it so you can take precautions to prevent it from happening again.”

  Jones shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. I’ve eaten all kinds of food and been bitten by all kinds of bugs, and nothing like this has ever happened.”

  “Well, you’ll want to avoid the sun tea while you’re here just in case one of the ingredients triggered it, and I’d recommend scheduling an appointment with an allergist to run some tests when you get home. In the meantime, your body seems to be recovering well and you should be okay.”

  Jones sighed with relief and smiled in my direction. “That’s great news. Black Bear Mountain isn’t going to hike itself, and I’ve already put us behind schedule.”

  “Not so fast, young lady,” Dr. Feigelson cautioned. “I said you’re recovering well; I didn’t say you’re recovered. When you have an allergic reaction like that, there’s still the chance of a second, biphasic reaction. It’s not likely, but it does happen. It’s also possible it was a plant or something else in the environment outside that caused your reaction. I need you in bed resting, where we can keep an eye on you, not trekking up the region’s tallest, most remote mountain.”

  “But—” Jones started to protest.

  “Doctor’s orders. I’m sorry.” Dr. Feigelson put a sympathetic hand on Jones’s arm as she stood up. “I’ll be back to check on you this evening.”

  Jones looked crestfallen.

  “I’m going to stay here with you,” I said.

  Now Joe was the one who looked upset. “Dude! We still have a mission to go on! You know I’d never leave Jones behind if she was in real danger, but Dr. Feigelson said she should be okay. Max may not.”

  Jones placed her hand on the back of mine. “Joe is right, Frank. I’d feel a whole lot worse if you couldn’t go because of me. I’m going to be fine. Dr. Kroopnik’s your friend too, and right now he may need you a lot more than I do. Plus, I’ll see what else I can find out about this treasure.”

  “We’ll take good care of her,” Amina said, turning to Jones. “The staff is going to pamper you like you’re royalty.”

  I forced a smile. “Okay, Your Majesty. We’ll see you in a couple days.”

  She gave me a playful shove. “Get out of here, you goofball, and go find your friend.”

  Leaving Jones behind to recover alone felt awful. So did my disappointment at not getting to spend more time with her. But she and Joe were right. Helping a friend who might be in danger had to come first.

  “I’m going to give the rest of the lodge’s crew instructions to make sure Jones gets anything she needs,” Amina told us as we left Jones’s room. “You guys can head out back. Your gear is already out there. Our wilderness guide, Dan, should have the ATVs ready to go for your ride out to Black Bear.”

  “Thanks for everything, Amina,” I said as she hurried away.

  “Have fun and stay safe,” she called back over her shoulder. “I hope your scientist friend is okay.”

  * * *

  Last time we’d been here, Commander Gonzo’s Cessna had been waiting for us in the field behind the lodge. This time there were three four-wheel all-terrain vehicles. A tall, fit guy in his early twenties with short dark hair stood beside them.

  “I wish Gonzo were around to fly us up there again,” Joe said as we exited the lodge and walked toward the ATVs. “I was hoping to talk to both him and Dr. K about the helicopter flight simulation game I’ve been playing. It’s not every day you get to talk flying with real pilots.”

  Thankfully, I’d had only one terrifying flight on our last trip. Joe had a second in the small chopper Dr. Kroopnik kept to fly in supplies to the mountaintop. My brother returned to Bayport obsessed with learning how to fly one himself. Our dad nixed the idea pretty quickly, so Joe spent hours on the computer practicing with a flight simulator instead.

  “No offense, but I’m perfectly happy staying on the ground this time,” I told him as we approached the guy with the ATVs.

  “You must be Frank and Joe,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m Dan. I’ll be leading
you out to Black Bear Mountain.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said, giving his hand a shake. “I’m Frank.”

  “I’ve got your packs strapped onto my ride, so you guys don’t have to worry about them,” Dan said, shaking Joe’s hand next. “The trails are going to get pretty bumpy and a lot muddy, so you may want to slide these on over your clothes so you don’t end up a sopping mess.”

  He handed us each a jumpsuit to match his.

  Joe inspected one of the ATVs and gave an impressed whistle. “Nice rides, dude. I’m still bummed we don’t get to fly with Commander Gonzo, but these four-wheelers are a sweet alternative.”

  “We sure like them,” Dan replied. “Brand-new, too.”

  “They’re gas-electric hybrids!” I said, eyeing the green HYBRID emblems. I was nearly as excited as Joe. It was great to see the Bear Foot Lodge doing their part to help protect such a pristine woodland.

  Dan grinned. “They sure are. ATVs are a great way to get around in the backcountry, but the air and noise pollution many of them cause can be a big problem in wilderness areas. Seems kinda backward, you know? Polluting the place you’re enjoying while you ride them. But the emissions on these are super low, and they’re way quieter.”

  “I heard these things were pretty pricey. Business must really be booming,” Joe observed as he pulled on his suit.

  “Oh, yeah, the last few seasons have been amazing. We’ve had all kinds of outdoors folks lining up to go on wilderness adventures. It’s given me a chance to take guests all over the mountain range.”

  “Do you lead a lot of trips up to Black Bear Mountain?” I asked, zipping up my suit.

  “Used to be not many people went up there. Now it’s at the top of a lot of hikers’ lists,” Dan said.

  “We heard it’s not just hikers, either,” Joe replied.

  Dan gave him a confused look.

  “What about hunters?” Joe prompted. “The kind who go looking for gems instead of animals?”

  “Oh, um, yeah, I guess. Most of them are just amateur weekend warriors looking for a little excitement. No one ever finds anything, though,” Dan shared. “I don’t like taking them because they’re usually less respectful of nature and try to go stomping all over the place. Half of them don’t know a tent peg from a topographical map, and it’s dangerous, too.”