Killer Mission Read online

  “Welcome, Frank Hardy,” Ellery singsonged, shooting me a smirk.

  Several students laughed, while others called out hellos.

  “Okay, let’s get to work.” Westerley shuffled through some papers on his desk. “I know I promised you a lesson on American transcendentalism today, but I’m afraid I forgot my notes. So let’s do some silent reading, all right? Pull out your copies of Walden. I’ll be back shortly.”

  He hurried out of the room. “Westerley’s getting flakier than ever lately,” Ellery commented.

  Patton had just slid into a seat across the aisle. “Yeah,” he said, flipping open his copy of Walden. “That’s the second time this week he forgot his notes.”

  I wasn’t too surprised. Westerley definitely seemed like the absentminded professor type.

  Suddenly I recalled where I’d heard his name before. He was the teacher whose quiz Destiny had flunked.

  “So Destiny Darity’s not in this class, huh?” I commented to Ellery.

  He shot me a look. “Why? You got the hots for the headmaster’s darling daughter? If so, better cool your jets. That girl’s trouble.”

  “Trouble?” Once again, Patton leaned over from across the way. “You talking about the stuff going on on campus lately?”

  “As a matter of fact, Peachy, we weren’t.” Ellery’s voice dripped with scorn. “Guess those big ears of yours only look like satellite dishes, huh?”

  Patton scowled at him. “I heard him mention Darity, and then you said something about trouble. . . .” He shrugged, looking sulky. “Any-way, I just think you should be a little more worried about what’s been happening, that’s all. What if Darity really does shut down the frats?”

  “What if he does?” Ellery sounded less than devastated. “More than likely, the world will keep turning.”

  “It figures,” Patton muttered. “Just when I was finally about to get into GTT, all this happens.”

  “Don’t be so sure you’re a shoo-in for GTT, Peachy,” Ellery taunted. “Especially now that Lee Jenkins is turning into Mr. School Soccer Hero.”

  Patton’s expression went dark. “I can’t believe they’d let someone like him into GTT,” he said.

  I had the impression he was talking more to himself than to me or Ellery. But before I could ask him to explain, a guy I didn’t know hurried over.

  “Hey,” he said, shooting a cautious look at the classroom door. “While Westerley’s out, I just wanted to remind you guys. There’s another event tomorrow night.” He glanced at me uncertainly, then returned his attention to the other two. “You know the one I mean.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Ellery sounded as impressed and interested as usual. In other words, not very.

  Patton still looked kind of unhappy. “I’ll be there,” he told the dude. “I just hope the seniors keep an eye on Lewis. This could be the night he finally goes too far.” He blinked, suddenly looking marginally more cheerful. “Then again, maybe that’ll convince them he’s not a risk worth taking. Not with GTT’s reputation at stake.”

  Ellery let out a snort. “Dream on, Peachy. Lewis would get an invite even if he started showing up to class naked.”

  The other guy chortled, then hurried back to his seat. I looked at Ellery.

  “So Lewis’s family is really that big a deal, huh?” I asked.

  “Major.” Ellery shrugged. “GTT always goes for the big-money guys, even if they don’t care about being members.”

  Patton shot him a look. “Like you, you mean?” he said sharply. “You don’t seem to care if you get in either.”

  Ellery shrugged again. “Hey, it’s always better not to look like you want it too much. Otherwise you come off desperate.” He slid his eyes toward Patton. “You know all about desperation, huh, Peachy?”

  Before Patton could answer, Mr. Westerley hurried back in, clutching some papers. After that, I was too busy taking notes to think about the mission anymore.

  For the rest of the day, I stayed just as busy. Classes at Firth were tough. I was a pretty good student back home—Joe loves to call me “brainiac.” But even so, I was relieved that I’d only have to keep up here for a limited time.

  But maybe not as limited as I’d expected. This case was turning out to be more complicated than it had seemed at first. So I figured I’d better do my best to fit in, academically as well as socially.

  When classes finally ended, I headed over to Joe’s cottage. I arrived to find him outside with Killer. The dog greeted me enthusiastically as always, though I couldn’t help noticing that Joe kept a death grip on his end of the leash.

  “Everything okay?” I asked as I ruffled the thick fur around Killer’s neck. “You’re hanging on to that leash like it’s the rip cord on your parachute.”

  “Yeah,” he said sheepishly. “About that . . .”

  He filled me in on Killer’s escape that morning. When he got to the part about Killer jumping at the woman skier in the woods, my eyes widened.

  “Whoa!” I said, visions of ruined cover stories dancing through my head. “Please tell me he didn’t bite her.”

  “Not hardly.” Joe shook his head. “It turns out he wasn’t being aggressive at all. He was just jumping up on her to say hello, like he does with you.” He gave Killer a sour look. “Let me rephrase that. Like he does with everyone but me.”

  I hid a smile. “Don’t take it personally, bro. But who was the woman? Does she work here or something?”

  “I don’t think so. She’s some kind of local who has permission to ski the school’s trails.”

  “That explains those tracks we saw yesterday. Did you get her name?”

  “Nope. She wasn’t the chatty type.” Joe shrugged. “Why? I didn’t think it mattered.”

  “I guess it doesn’t. I just thought maybe we could find her and ask if she’s seen anything suspicious out there.”

  Joe looked dubious. “I can keep an eye out for her,” he said. “She did seem to know Killer, so I guess she must ski around here a lot.”

  “Okay.” I stroked Killer’s ears. “Just be a little more careful, okay? If Killer gets loose again . . .”

  “I know, I know.” He frowned. “I learned my lesson, okay, big bro?”

  “Shh.” I looked around to make sure we were alone. “Cousins, remember?”

  “Whatever.” Joe turned and headed into the house. “So did you find out anything today?”

  I followed him and Killer inside. “Not much,” I said. “Although it sounds like there might be another hazing thing tomorrow night.”

  “Where?”

  “Not sure. I was hoping to find out at lunch, but one of my new teachers wanted me to stay behind for some extra review work.”

  Joe smirked. “Bummer.”

  I chose to ignore that. “Anyway, I did get to talk with Ellery and Patton a little.” I told him what they’d said.

  He nodded with interest. “Sounds like Patton is really worried about getting edged out of a spot in GTT.”

  “Sounds like he might have reason to be,” I countered. “And not just by Lewis. I wonder why he’s so down on Lee? Seems like a nice guy to me.”

  Joe flopped onto the sofa. “Just what I said. He thinks he’s getting edged out by him.”

  I thought back to the conversation. “I’m not sure that’s the whole story,” I mused. “It seemed like there was something else, something he wasn’t saying. . . .”

  “Well, either way it sounds like maybe ol’ Peachy Patton should go on the suspect list after all,” Joe pointed out.

  “I think you’re right,” I agreed. “He could be acting out in anger, or to make the other pledges look bad or something, and not even realize he’s hurting the frat itself in the process.”

  “Or maybe he’s mad at the frat,” Joe suggested, “because they might pick Lee or Lewis over him.”

  He had a point. “Let’s shoot an e-mail to HQ and see what they can find out about this guy.”

  After we took care of that, we deba
ted what to do next. “Should we try to talk to the coaches again about that greased floor incident?” I asked. “I heard the soccer team is practicing this afternoon, so we should be able to track down the soccer coach at least.”

  “Sounds good. Let me put Killer in his kennel and we can go.”

  I put out a hand to stop him. “Wait. Shouldn’t you take Killer with you?” I said. “People won’t think twice if they see you walking him around. But if you’re snooping around on your own, it might attract attention.”

  Joe nodded reluctantly. “I guess you’re right. Come on, Killer, let’s go. But you’d better behave yourself, okay?”

  Soon we were at the sports complex. We found the soccer coach’s office, but the door was shut. “He’s in a meeting with a student,” a passing team member informed us. “Should be out soon.”

  But the coach didn’t emerge until it was time for practice to start. “Excuse me, boys,” he said, bustling past us.

  I glanced at the office door, wondering if we could sneak in and take a look around. I was just in time to see Lee Jenkins emerge. He looked shaken.

  Joe noticed too. “You okay, man?” he asked.

  “Not really.” Lee shook his head. “I’m in trouble with Coach. He thinks my grades are dropping. And that’s the one thing he won’t tolerate.”

  I nodded, remembering Destiny’s problem. “That’s a shame,” I said. “Maybe if you really buckle down and study—”

  “No, you don’t get it!” Lee sounded frustrated. “There’s nothing wrong with my grades. Actually, I’m pretty much acing all my classes. But Coach says he checked the computer grade site, and I’m listed as flunking two subjects and pulling Cs and Ds in most of the others!”

  “Whoa,” Joe said. “That’s weird.”

  “I know.” Lee sighed and bent down to give Killer a pat. “I finally persuaded Coach to call a couple of my teachers, and that convinced him. But it’s pretty freaky.”

  I had to agree with him there. As he hurried off to join the practice starting outside, Joe, Killer, and I wandered after him.

  “Think this has something to do with our case?” I asked.

  Joe shrugged. “Maybe. This definitely makes it seem like somebody’s out to cause trouble for Lee, unless it’s some kind of computer mix-up. Think it could’ve been Patton?”

  I’d been wondering the same thing. Was Patton out to get Lee because he felt he was taking his spot in GTT? But if so, how did the other stuff tie in? The greased floor, the petty vandalism, Spencer’s death threat . . .

  “It doesn’t really make sense,” I mused.

  Joe wasn’t paying attention anymore. “Hey,” he said. “Sounds like something’s going on.”

  I looked up. We were almost to the soccer field, and we could hear the coach’s angry voice.

  “Well, where is she?” he shouted. “If she’s late for practice again . . .”

  “Sounds like Destiny’s in trouble,” I said.

  Joe perked up right away. “Oh, right. She’s on the soccer team.”

  As if on cue, Destiny herself wandered into view. “There she is!” one of the players cried.

  “You can get the party started, I’m here.” Destiny snapped her gum as she slouched onto the field.

  The coach glared at her. “No gum on campus, young lady,” he said sternly. “Spit it out and go put on your cleats. You’re holding us up.”

  “Aye, aye, captain.” Destiny blew a bubble as she slung her bag onto a bench near where we were standing. Her eyes lit up when she saw Killer. “Hi, boy,” she crooned, hurrying over to pet him.

  He stood patiently for her caresses, though he didn’t show much enthusiasm. Destiny didn’t notice. She was staring at Joe.

  “Hi, cutie,” she said. “Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”

  “Probably.” Joe gave her his smoothest smile. “I’m the new dog handler. Joe Fenton.”

  I sighed. I recognized that look he had on his face. It’s the one he always gets when there’s a pretty girl around.

  Sure enough, he and Destiny flirted shamelessly for the entire time it took her to change her shoes. It was only when the coach started yelling again that she finally jogged off to join the rest of the team.

  “How about that?” Joe had a huge grin pasted on his face. “Finally, a girl with some taste!”

  “What, you mean because she likes Killer?” I said, playing dumb.

  “Very funny. Don’t be jealous just ’cause a cute girl finally realized I’m the hotter, more happening Hardy.”

  “You’re not a Hardy, you’re a Fenton, remember? Now come on—let’s book.”

  Joe was staring out at the team. They were doing drills.

  “Are you sure?” he said. “Maybe we should stay and keep an eye on things here. Scene of the crime and all.”

  “We can try to catch the coach again later. Right now, let’s see if we can find Patton. I want to talk to him about Lee.”

  I practically had to drag Joe away from the field. He finally came when I told him we could drop Killer off at the cottage.

  But when we got there, we had an unpleasant surprise. The front door was standing wide open, giving us a good view of the interior. The place had been ransacked!

  Dirty Business

  Once Frank and I got inside, we realized my place wasn’t as trashed as it had seemed at first glance. Someone had dug around in my suitcase, which I hadn’t really unpacked yet. They’d tossed my clothes all over the place. There was some half-eaten food on the counter near the fridge and a few magazines and stuff scattered around. That was about it. My ATAC-issue laptop appeared untouched, and so were the printouts of the threats and other papers I’d left stuck under it. Whew!

  “Check it out.” Frank bent over the coffee table. “Someone stuck a piece of chewed gum on here.” He shot me a look. “You know who this reminds me of, right? Destiny’s always chomping away despite the school rules.”

  “She’s a rebel.” I rolled my eyes.

  “No, I’m serious,” he said. “What if this is why she was late to practice?” He waved a hand to indicate the mess. “I’m thinking we’d better put her on the suspect list, like I was saying before.”

  It figured. A girl finally preferred me to Frank, and he was ready to send her off to jail.

  “Are you sure?” I argued. “I mean, you’re talking about a piece of gum—hardly solid evidence.” But another look shut me up. I sighed. “Fine,” I muttered. “Let’s e-mail HQ.”

  We left Killer in his kennel and headed back out. It wasn’t hard to find Patton. He was at the first place we looked—the GTT frat house.

  Specifically, out in the yard doing push-ups. A guy I didn’t know was watching over him. Based on the way the guy was shouting orders, I guessed he was a senior.

  “Okay, ten more and then you’re done,” the senior said as we approached.

  He counted down the push-ups. Patton was sweating despite the cold and gasping for breath. When he finished, he collapsed on the ground.

  “No time to rest, Peachy.” The senior nudged him with his toe. “I want every leaf in this yard raked up. Now!”

  “Yes, sir.” Patton jumped to his feet. He grabbed a rake leaning against the porch and got to work. The senior watched for a moment, then headed inside.

  “I’ll be back to check on you,” he called over his shoulder.

  We stepped forward. “Hey, Patton,” said Frank. “What’s up?”

  Patton stopped raking for a moment. “What are you doing here?” he asked suspiciously. “You’re not really going to try to rush this year, are you?”

  “Maybe.” Frank shrugged. “I want to find out more about GTT first.”

  Patton started raking again, attacking the leaves as if they’d killed his family. “There’s not much point. It’s pretty much hopeless,” he said, sounding kind of angry. “There are way too many people in line ahead of you.” He paused and frowned. “Not that half of them deserve to pledge here . . .”r />
  “What do you mean?” I asked. “I thought GTT was, like, super exclusive. The best of the best.”

  “It’s supposed to be. But when you have people who don’t even seem to want it, like Ellery . . .” He blew out a sigh of frustration. “I wish Spencer would come to his senses and see that! He keeps saying Ellery will be such a huge asset, blah blah—but it’s not fair when there are other people who want it so much more!”

  Frank and I are trained in all sorts of methods to get people talking even when they don’t want to. But we didn’t need any of that to crack Patton. He seemed willing to complain to anyone who would listen.

  “And of course everyone wishes Lewis would just go away,” he grumbled, still raking. “Enough said there.”

  “What about Lee Jenkins?” Frank put in casually.

  “Lee?” said Patton. “Please! His family doesn’t even have any money! How’s he going to afford dues and stuff?” He scowled. “Or will Darity get him a work study job to cover that, too?”

  Interesting. It sounded like Lee was some kind of scholarship student. I hadn’t even known they had those here. But it explained his comments to me the first time we’d met.

  Patton still wasn’t finished. The mention of Dr. Darity’s name caused him to veer off into more complaints about how the headmaster supposedly wanted to do away with the fraternities at Firth. I had the feeling he could go on about that all day.

  Finally the senior reappeared. “Peachy!” he shouted. “You aren’t supposed to be chatting. We need this place to look good before tomorrow night’s event! Don’t you care about GTT looking good?”

  “Yes, sir.” Patton sounded nervous. “Of course, sir.”

  The senior ignored him. He was looking Frank up and down. “You’re the new guy, right?”

  “That’s right,” said Frank.

  The senior nodded. “Why don’t you come check out our pledge event tomorrow night?”

  “What?” Patton blurted out. “He’s not a pledge!”

  “Silence, worm,” the senior said. “I know he’s not officially a pledge. But Spencer says good things about him.” He smiled at Frank. “The party should get started around ten.”