Chapter eight
Clues and cues
The scream belonged to Constance. But the screaming end of her wasn't visible. Her legs, however, were squirming madly out of the highest window of the loft, lodged there by the half open window.
Sticky stood with his hands on his hips, one hand strangling his polishing cloth. Kate was inside yelling things at Constance over her screams. Milligan had disappeared (surely to reappear in a super-hero-like way, as was natural for Milligan) and the other adults weren't in sight.
"What happened?" Asked Reynie as Mark ran below Constance's enraged tennis shoes, prepared to catch her if she slipped.
Sticky only shook his head, beads of sweat glistening on shiny patches of his shaved scalp.
Constance slid further out. Reynie sighed, exasperated, "Why doesn't she let Kate pull her in?"
Again Sticky shook his head. Then a light of clarity passed over his eyes, "She's scared- Constance is- and she won't let go of the sill. I know the feeling- you just loose sight of sense."
"Sticky," Reynie said carefully, "Open your mind to her. She'll calm down."
"What?" Asked Sticky, shocked.
"Just do it," Reynie commanded. "She'll…" He thought quickly, "Be surprised to here from you and listen. Believe me. Do it."
Sticky went quiet and closed his eyes, sitting down slowly on the grass. As he had done with the Whisperer, he spoke his thoughts out loud, this time in a murmur. "George Washington to Constance," He said. Constance's screaming ceased for a moment, but when Kate made a grab for her, she slipped further and blared even louder. Sticky's brow furrowed. "Calm down… Let Kate help you inside," he said, using hand motions she couldn't see. Sticky pursed his lips, "I'm not telling you what to do." The screaming turned to moans. "Just this once, Constance, listen…" He paused, as if waiting for her response. "Good. Now, let Kate take you under the arms. Good." Constance's voice faded into sharp sighs. "Now… relax…" Constance slid in through the window frame into Kate's arms. Sticky kept his eyes closed and repeated, "You're safe, you're safe, you're safe," in a comforting whisper until Constance appeared in the barn door. They met eyes for a moment, but that was all the mention either made of the situation.
Constance continued to hiccup, showing her hands, splintered from the frame. Mark suggested ice and tweezers, which Constance winced at. Sticky stepped forward and took her by the wrist, pulling her in his wake. For once, Constance looked like the four-year-old she was, eyes big and apprehensive, but also trusting.
Reynie wanted to go in and referee the two, so prone to bickering, but Kate pulled him back. Mark gave them a suspicious look and ducked into the house.
"Where are the grownups, Kate?" Asked Reynie with an odd sinking feeling. "Where's Milligan?"
"After… something," she said cryptically.
"After what?"
"I don't know," she said, eyes darting back and forth in concentration. "Something important enough to leave Constance in my hands, if he heard her. He would've been back by now."
"And the others?" Asked Reynie.
"With him, I guess, I don't know," she said. "They all left and Constance was tormenting Sticky when Milligan called me and told me he had to go. I was headed back into the house when… she slipped, I guess. Maybe Sticky knows more," she offered.
"We need to have a Society meeting," Reynie said, sighing. A puzzle was prickling somewhere inside him. He desperately needed to pace.
"What about..." Kate said, nodding her head toward the house. "Him?"
Mark was an obstacle, but not for long. He rushed out of the house a moment later in boots and a jack, a lantern in hand to pierce the growing dark. "I'll be right back. You four stay in the house if you would."
Kate bobbed on her feet, eager to chase after him, Reynie knew. He made his mouth lift into an encouraging smile, "Go ahead."
To her credit, Kate hesitated for less than a moment. "What? And miss a real Society meeting? No way," she said, grabbing Reynie by his sleeve and dragging him into the house behind her.
"Sticky, Constance, we're meeting in the loft," Kate said sharply when she entered the house. Constance was planted on the counter, Sticky carefully removing a splinter from her hand while she sniffled. She held a bag of ice in the other hand. "Never mind. Let's just… here's fine," she said.
Releasing Reynie's shirt, she leapt up onto a chair and announced, "The grownups are gone. Looking for something."
"Looking for what?" Sticky asked, pausing in mid-pull.
Constance yanked down her hand, tugging the splinter free. She winced, but said clearly, "She doesn't know. But… but I might. Hold on." She closed her eyes, her hands resting, palms up, on her knees. "You don't have glasses anymore, Sticky," she murmured after a moment.
Reynie looked at Sticky, who was in the process of removing his polishing cloth. He looked with surprise at his hand and then determinedly stuffed the cloth back into his pocket, brow furrowed.
"Don't worry- it's not Curtain," she said, a smile pressing into her cheeks, the other three followed suit. "It's- oh." Lines appeared in her forehead.
"What?" asked Sticky nervously.
Constance sadly opened her eyes, "A surprise. For us."
"Don't you dare tell, Constance," Kate warned.
"I won't!" Constance snapped, hopped down off the counter, and marched into the next room.
"What's eating her?" Kate asked, mystified.
"Not so happy now that Mark's out," Sticky grumbled.
"Well… put yourself in her shoes," Reynie said carefully. "How would you like being in on every surprise?"
"I'd love it," Kate said, astounded that Reynie would even ask.
He shrugged, conceding, "Maybe. For a little while. But… well, don't you like being surprised?"
Kate nodded slowly, understanding, "Yeah, I see what you mean I guess. But she doesn't have to know. She could just-"
"You know she can't always help it," Reynie said, almost disapprovingly. "And other times, like now, we need her to do it."
"Yeah, but, it turned out to be nothing," Kate said.
"But we didn't know that," Sticky said, understanding what Reynie meant. "Don't you feel better now that you know we're not going to be attacked by Ten Men any time soon?"
"I guess," Kate shrugged. Reynie wondered if she did feel better knowing that. All the excitement drained from her face and Reynie realized something he hadn't about Kate. Danger was Oxygen for her.
"I, for one, feel much better," Sticky announced and Kate frowned.
"Don't worry, Kate. You know trouble doesn't leave us be for long. You'll be collecting suitcases in the next month, if my hunch is right," Reynie said, half-smiling, half-anxious.
"Oh, Reynie, why would you say that?" Sticky gasped miserably. Reynie gave him an apologetic look.
"What's your hunch, Reynie?" Kate asked, eyes bright.
"Well…" Reynie said slowly, beginning to pace. "Have you two noticed all these surprises lately?"
"Sure," said Sticky, nodding his head. "The grownups have provided quite a few…" His eyes got big. "Distractions," he whispered.
"Exactly," said Reynie, unconsciously tapping his nose and pointing to Sticky. "But I also know that they know we know. "
Kate made a face, then her eyes cleared, "Got it. Gosh, why do you have to talk in tongue twisters Reynie?"
Reynie smiled, "Sorry. They see that we've noticed the distractions," he turned to Kate, brows raised. "Better?"
"Better," she said. "But… well, to put it frankly, don't we kind of… deserve this? I mean, look at all we've accomplished- I'm not even sixteen and I've helped save the world. Three times."
Reynie nodded, conceding, "Maybe you're right, Kate… I guess I could be grasping at a chance for another puzzle."
"But… there is something that's been bothering me," Sticky put in. "My parents have been away, you know, on a cruise for their anniversary. Of course, at first I was really glad to have a break from them," Sticky explained. Kate and Reynie exchanged looks. Sometimes, when Sticky spoke of his parents in annoyance, it hurt them, as prior orphans, because they would have traded anything in the world to find parents that truly loved them. Kate got her whish, at least half way, but Reynie… Sticky noticed the tension and put in hastily, "I do love my parents, you know I do. But that's not the point. You know how they fuss over me," Sticky pleaded.
"Well, yeah," Kate said. "Milligan gets like that sometimes. It drives me nuts. Continue."
"Okay, well, I've come to wonder… would they really leave me so soon? They- my mother in particular- fretted so much about leaving me behind. It's been a month. And… in my relief that they were leaving- and that I could have some freedom for a while- I just… ignored the odd feeling that I got."
"What feeling?" Reynie asked.
"That they were lying," Constance whispered in the door, making them all jump. The moment had become deeply intense in the silver moonlight of the dim kitchen. They had all started whispering, the dark mood luring them into secrecy. Sticky looked at Constance, who eyes fell to the floor, "Sorry. I should've let you say."
"No, it's not that," he said, his head cocked. "It's… I hadn't quite put my finger on the feeling… but that's it. They were lying." Constance lifted her eyes and they shared a long, knowing look. Reynie got the feeling he was witnessing an unspoken conversation between two great minds: a conversation, which Kate interrupted.
"Will you please," she asked, flipping down from the chair and breaking their deep stares, "speak out loud? I'm going to fly out of the windows if someone doesn't explain this right now."
"I think I can explain, but first, let's go into the living room where it's light. All this darkness is creeping me out," Reynie said, ushering them into the small circle room where they all took a seat on the floor, as was their custom.
Constance, though looking much relieved from the darkness, lay her head against the couch, a pucker between her eyes. Sticky went to sit with her, his hand lightly brushing away her hair from her forehead, "You alright Constance? Your hands still hurt?"
She smiled weakly, "No it's… sometimes I still get sick if I try reading minds long distance." Reynie noticed that Sticky didn't move his hand away, but continued making a circuit back and forth, back and forth over her wispy bangs. Despite the kind gesture, Constance's face fell rapidly and her eyes shown, her little throat bobbing in tight swallows. As if she were about to cry…
Reynie focused on the problem at hand, promising himself he'd ask Constance privately if she was all right later.
He rolled his eyes and stood abruptly, "I'm sorry, I just have to pace." Kate laughed, the effect Reynie had hoped for- Kate's laugh was a light and, right now, it seemed awfully dark. His eyes followed the pattern of the carpet, stepping on the same embroidered rose every time he turned back to walk toward the window. "We're here for more than a vacation, agreed?" He asked.
"Sure feels that way," Kate said, impossibly sitting with her leg behind her head. Sticky looked sick watching her, but nodded, his eyes glued to her toes wriggling beyond her shoulder. She untwisted her leg and winked at Sticky, "Sorry pal, I forgot how that bugs you." Sticky coughed, bald head perspiring. "So, we know there's something else going on. The question is: what?"
Reynie looked hopefully at Constance, who shook her head, "Mr. Benedict has been keeping something from me, I can tell. But if he really doesn't want me to figure something out…"
"You don't want to invade his privacy, I get it," Kate finished for her.
"No, I literally can't figure it. He's too strong for me. And Uncle Ladroptha," she explained. Reynie smiled slightly at her attempt to make their nemesis's name light, but they all still shivered, Sticky most of all.
"Well," Reynie said slowly, "I might have an idea. I think it's to protect us."
"From who?" asked Sticky, his fingers sliding into his pocket and then quickly pulling back out when they remembered that they were excluded from that place.
"S.Q., I guess," Reynie said, shrugging. "But…"
"Wait, Reynie, you don't think…" Kate began, her eyes getting big. "You don't think they planning of freeing Mr. Curtain, do you?"
"He's under too much security, Kate," Reynie said assuredly.
She shrugged, having just about enough of the sitting still business, and sprang to her feet, tipping back to balance on one hand. "You never know. We got out of the prison last year and Milligan got out of the waiting room. Couldn't be so hard, especially with all his Ten Men, you know."
"That's true but…" Reynie was hesitant to give the piece of information he knew. He looked at Constance, who shrugged.
"I don't see any problem with them knowing, Reynie," she said.
"What is it?" Kate asked, excitedly coming down from her one-hand-stand. "Come on, Reynie, you gotta tell me now!"
Putting his hands deep in his pockets, Reynie said, "Well… it's just… I don't know that Mr. Benedict wanted me to know in the first place."
Kate fell playfully on her knees in front of him, puckering her bottom lip and making her deep blue eyes huge and pleading, "Please?" she said, dragging out the middle of the word. Sticky blinked hopefully and Constance smiled encouragingly.
Reynie found himself looking down into Kate's eyes for a moment too long. He closed his own to clear his head. "You guys can't gang up on me like this, seriously," Reynie said, shaking his head. He opened his eyes again to see that Sticky had joined Kate.
"My knees are getting sore here, Reynie," Sticky said and Kate nodded agreeing, trying to make her eyes bigger.
Reynie laughed, sitting down on the sofa, "Well, how am I suppose to resist that? Now I know how Milligan feels, Kate."
"Nah, he would have held out way longer," Kate said, standing up and stretching. "I've gotten quite good at begging."
"Apparently," Reynie said.
Kate came to sit beside him, slinging an arm over his shoulder. She batted her eyelashes and Reynie chuckled softly, trying to avoid her deep gaze, "So, oh wise one, we'd love to have this precious info. Just take your time."
Giving in, Reynie looked at Kate and smiled softly, "Well," he said. Kate hugged his side, knowing he was going to spill. "I happen to know that Mr. Benedict and Milligan put the security measures in place. Mr. Curtain no longer had residence in that jail, but in an obscure, heavily guarded prison in the country." He paused for a moment, letting the news sink in.
"They're… moving Mr. Curtain?" Sticky said, his eyes wide. "Isn't that…?"
"Crazy?" Kate finished. "Reynie I don't believe that Milligan- or Mr. Benedict for that matter- would be stupid enough to put Mr. Curtain in such a… risky position! What if they lost him?"
"That's just it… it doesn't quite make sense. There must be a reason for moving him. And I think it's connected to Kate's kidnapping," Reynie said slowly.
"That's aberrant," Sticky said, scratching his head.
"How am I supposed to know what you guys are talking about?" Constance asked desperately. Sticky gave her a look and she shook her head tiredly, "definition please?"
"Oh," he said and blushed. "It means odd."
"Why wouldn't you just say…?" Kate began, but shook her head. "Never mind. So, am I right in thinking that this is the obscure country area you fellows think he's being moved to?"
Reynie shrugged, "That, or we're in exactly the opposite direction."
"But what about my parents? Why would they lie to me?" Sticky asked.
"That's the catch," Reynie said. "Milligan looks sad- almost like before when he's off his guard. Mr. Benedict is nervous. Your parents went away, Sticky, when they can hardly stand to be away from you for more than a moment… I think they went away to stay out of the way."
"Of… what?" Sticky asked, reaching for his nonexistent glasses.
"The thing to come," Reynie said, the puzzle coming together in his mind.
