A date was set, and we got permission from V.P. Nero to meet Waldo, the lawyer we hired, at a restaurant during lunch period.
"I still don't get it," Nero said. "Where could you kids get the money to hire a lawyer?"
Isadora nudged me the same time Violet nudged Klaus, and we held out our wallets.
Nero found a rather pleasant time looking through mine. "A driver's license, an I.D., three hundred dollars, game cards from Disney World, cell phone number, brother's cell phone number, sister's cell phone number, older Baudelaire girl's cell phone number, ooh! A phone number book! There's one for some girl named Brielle, Ashley, Gwen, Elaine…And pictures, too!"
"Gimme that!" I snapped. I grabbed it away and put it back in my rear pocket. Klaus did the same, and we went outside.
Then Quigley's cell phone started ringing. He answered. "Oh, hello, Waldo! You already made the reservations? Okay. Under the name Waldo, right? Okay. We'll meet you there in about twenty minutes."
He hung up and put it back in his pocket. Then when we were outside the courtyard of the school, Violet flagged a taxi. Actually, she whistled.
A yellow one with black checkers came screeching up to the curb. We got in, and the driver said, "Where to?"
Quigley gave him the address of the fancy restaurant we were off to, and after twenty minutes of driving, we arrived.
We found Waldo sitting at a large booth, sipping a glass of lemonade. "Hello, children," he said. "After we order, there're some very important things you need to know."
The waitress came by. I ordered spaghetti with meatballs and so did Klaus and Isadora. Sunny ordered a rib-eye steak, Violet and Quigley ordered God-knows-what, and Waldo had a parmesan chicken with spaghetti and marinara sauce.
"So talk," Quigley said, after the waitress left. Waldo coughed into a handkerchief, and for some reason, Violet, Klaus and Sunny smiled at each other.
"Now," Waldo said, "first thing you need to know is, Carmelita's parents are offering a reward if you kids get her out."
"How big?" I asked. Waldo frowned. "You kids never thought she was poor or anything did you?" "No, no," I said. "But she was always bragging that she had everything in the world. But we always thought she was just a brat who liked to make fun of people, and she was just bluffing."
Waldo coughed again, and said, "I don't know about everything in the world, but pretty heck close. Do you know how rich her family is?"
We all shrugged. I guess I was never really interested in the financial welfare of Carmelita Spats, and I could probably say the same for Isadora and the Baudelaires. But Quigley-I just didn't know.
Waldo leaned in. "Her family owns Prufrock Preparatory School," he said, as serious as I thought he could get.
Klaus started choking on an ice cube. Isadora launched a choke a mile-wide, and Violet's eyes froze. Sunny stopped chewing her ice, and I thought I would pass out.
"So it's all true," I whispered. "All those times she said she could do whatever she wanted because her family owned the school-it's true."
"And a lot more," Waldo said. "Her parents own the golf course downtown, an entire hotel branch, a Fortune 500 company, a hospital, a dental hygiene center, and did I mention Mulctuary Money Management?"
"No," Violet said. "No way." "Way," Waldo said. "Way more than that as well, but I can't say them all. They want their child and successor to have a very good education so they can pass down the line of business to her. Do you really want to know how big the reward is?"
"Tell us," Quigley said. "Sixty billion dollars," Waldo said.
Klaus's face crumbled, as did Isadora's and mine. Violet's face drained of color, Sunny's mouth fell open and plenty of ice fell out, and Quigley jumped a foot off his seat.
Then he started laughing. Like a maniac.
"You are so funny!" he cried. "Sixty billion dollars as reward! No way!"
"Way," Waldo said. Then Quigley stopped laughing. "You're serious?"
"It's what I live for, son," Waldo said, as our food came.
After we ate and made our dessert orders, Waldo said, "I'm dead serious, kids. Don't believe me?"
"We believe you," I said. "We're just surprised at the amount."
"Carmelita was not kidding about all the things she said," Waldo said. "Sure, she may be spoiled, but she doesn't lie." After dessert, Waldo said, "There's another trial next week, and hopefully, it'll be the last. But that's up to you kids."
He paid the bill, stood and put on his jacket. "Remember, kids," he said. "It's sixty billion dollars. You can end the case and get the money, or just let your childhood enemy suffer the horror of prison. Goodbye."
He left, and we took a taxi back to school.