The Missing Mortals, page 36
“Did she keep her vow?” Sebastian asked totally engrossed in the story.
“Yep, as soon as he was weaned, she took Samuel and left him with the priests,” Emma answered. “Every year she would make him a little robe and take it to him when the family went up for their annual sacrifice.”
“Did she ever have more children?” Doug couldn’t help asking. Then he looked a little embarrassed. “I mean I kind of forgot the story too.”
“Well, the answer to your question is yes. She had three more sons and two daughters,” Emma replied, trying to hide her smile. “It’s one of my favorite stories, so that’s why I know it so well.”
“You can see how that story would relate to Rebecca,” Martha pointed out. “Rebecca waited nine years for a child. Then finally the miracle happened. Darius probably commissioned the sculpture of Hannah shortly after they found out she was pregnant.”
“It was the last sculpture she ever received,” Doug said quietly. “Remember, Lord Dinswood told us Rebecca died before he could give her the last one.”
Doug shook his head, as if to clear it, and then stood up and began wrapping the sculpture in his towel. When he was finished, he put it in his backpack. “We’d better get back to the castle. I’ve got to give Mr. Munsen a call and set up a time to deliver the next sculpture to the Reaper.”
“So Mr. Munsen thinks he knows how the Reaper is getting the sculptures out of the castle?” Martha’s question was more of a statement. Doug had already told them that much. She was probing to see if Doug knew more than he had previously shared with them.
“Not only that, but he thinks he knows where the Reaper is hiding them all until he can sell them.” Doug stopped talking then and looked at each of them in turn before continuing. “And before any of you ask, he hasn’t told me anything other than that. He thinks it’s best if I don’t know all of the details.”
“He’s probably afraid you’ll try to go after the guy yourself,” Sebastian hypothesized.
“Maybe,” Doug replied with a shrug.
It didn’t escape Emma’s notice that Doug hadn’t denied Sebastian’s allegation. Sebastian was right. It was obvious from Doug’s expression that he wanted to be more involved in the plan to capture the Reaper. Mr. Munsen had been wise not to give Doug too much information.
When they got back to the castle, Doug went to his room to hide the sculpture, and then he went up to his dad’s suite to return the items he’d borrowed. He planned to call Mr. Munsen on his dad’s private line. He knew his dad had gone to Benton on school business, so he wouldn’t have to worry about being overheard.
After a short conversation with Mr. Munsen, everything was set. Doug would hang the school banner in his dorm window next Friday morning and deliver one of the sculptures that evening. Mr. Munsen promised he would be ready and waiting.
Doug spent the next week in an almost constant state of anxiety. Concentrating on his schoolwork was nearly impossible. All he could think about was the possibility that Mr. Munsen’s theories were wrong. Then they’d be back to square one. If they didn’t catch the Reaper before the deadline, they would be forced to steal the sculpture of Ruth from Lord Dinswood, and they would have to find Marnatti’s last Mortal. Doug’s stomach knotted painfully every time he thought about either eventuality. The other sculptures had been discovered mostly by accident. In Doug’s view, it had been a string of miracles. He didn’t know if it was possible or even proper to expect another one.
Friday evening finally arrived. Doug snuck the sculpture of Mary into the storage room beneath the kitchen and put it in the barrel. Then he returned to the lounge where Emma, Martha, and Sebastian waited.
“Well, my part’s done,” Doug reported as soon as he saw his friend’s anxious faces. “Now it’s up to Mr. Munsen.”
“When will you know something?” Martha asked.
“I’ll call him in the morning, but we don’t really have any way of knowing when the Reaper will try to move the sculpture. Mr. Munsen is assuming he’ll try to get it out of the castle tonight.”
“That makes sense,” Sebastian said. “The Reaper would want to move it at night under cover of darkness, and he wouldn’t want to leave it in the barrel too long and risk it being discovered by someone else.”
“That’s not likely considering we’re probably the only other people in the whole castle that know about the little room behind the refrigerator,” Doug replied.
“You don’t know that for sure though, do you?” Sebastian countered. “And neither does the Reaper.”
“Sebastian makes a good point,” Martha said, surprising Sebastian. It wasn’t often that she agreed with him. “I think the Reaper will try to move it tonight.”
“Well, we’ll know soon enough,” Doug said with a sigh.
Doug spent the night with his dad so he could call Mr. Munsen the moment his dad left for breakfast in the morning. As soon as the door closed behind Dean Harwood the next morning, Doug dashed to the phone and dialed Mr. Munsen’s number. While he waited impatiently for someone to answer on the other end, it occurred to him that it was only seven thirty. He didn’t know how late Mr. Munsen normally slept. He might very well be getting the man out of bed. Surely Mr. Munsen would forgive him under the circumstances.
“Hello,” a male voice answered on the third ring.
Doug was relieved to hear Mr. Munsen’s voice and not that of his wife or daughter. Taking a deep breath, he asked the million-dollar question. “What happened last night?”
“Doug, I figured it was you,” Mr. Munsen said in a voice much quieter than his usual booming tones. It was obvious he was trying to make sure he wouldn’t be overheard.
“I’m sorry if I woke you, sir,” Doug began.
Mr. Munsen interrupted before Doug could go on. “No need to apologize, son. I understand how anxious you are to hear how things went last night, and I won’t make you wait any longer. Everything was exactly as I’d figured. All we need to do now is set a time to spring the trap.”
Doug was so relieved that for a moment he couldn’t speak. His legs went weak, and he had to sit down. After a few deep breaths, he finally managed to pull himself together.
“Mr. Munsen, I can’t thank you enough!”
“Don’t thank me yet, boy. We’ve still gotta catch this bum. I was thinkin’ I could have everything in place next Saturday. That sound okay to you?”
“It sounds great,” Doug agreed quickly. He couldn’t believe that the nightmare he’d been living the last several months was almost over.
Mr. Munsen must have understood some of what Doug was feeling because he said, “It’s almost over, son. Hang in there.”
“I will,” Doug replied after a moment. Mr. Munsen was right; it wasn’t over yet. He needed to stay strong for just a little while longer.
They talked a minute or two more to finalize their plans for Saturday. It wasn’t until Doug hung up the phone that he realized that next Saturday was the night of the junior-senior ball. Things couldn’t have worked out better. While the entire school was focused on the dance, he would be focused on trying to catch a thief. The net would be cast, but what if the Reaper somehow managed to slip through the net? A plan began to form in Doug’s mind—a way he could make sure that the Reaper didn’t elude Mr. Munsen. He was sure neither Mr. Munsen nor his friends would approve of his idea, so he decided to keep it to himself. He knew what he was planning was risky, but if it would guarantee the capture of the Reaper, it was well worth the risk. With his decision made, Doug left his dad’s suite and headed downstairs to breakfast. He knew his friends would be in the dining hall waiting eagerly to hear the results of his conversation with Mr. Munsen.
“Mr. Munsen was right about everything,” Doug told them as soon as he had taken a seat across from the girls and next to Sebastian. “Now we can get this guy.”
Emma could only imagine how relieved Doug must be. He hadn’t been himself all last week. When they had met to study in the evenings, it had been obvious that his mind was somewhere else. Emma knew how worried he was. She had tried to reassure him on several occasions and so had Martha and Sebastian, but their words of encouragement had fallen on deaf ears. Emma really couldn’t blame him. She’d have been just as worried if she were in his shoes. All she could do was pray that Mr. Munsen would come through. Emma knew that Doug had been praying the same thing, and now it looked like their prayers would be answered.
“When are you going to set the trap?” Martha asked, breaking into Emma’s thoughts.
“This coming Saturday.”
“That’s the night of the junior-senior ball!” Martha exclaimed.
“I know,” Doug said with a nod.
Everyone was quiet for a moment as they remembered what they’d been doing the same night last year.
“Boy, it seems like everything happens on the night of the ball,” Sebastian said finally, putting voice to what the others had been thinking.
“Well, things turned out okay last year. Maybe they will this year too,” Doug replied. He didn’t tell them about the plan he’d come up with to make sure that things turned out okay. They would try to talk him out of it, or worse yet, they would insist on being a part of it. Doug knew that what he was planning was dangerous, and he didn’t want to put his friends’ lives at risk.
THE JUNIOR-SENIOR BALL was traditionally held on the evening of the first Saturday in May. This year was no different. As Doug, Sebastian, Emma, and Martha ate breakfast that Saturday morning, the noise level in the dining hall was almost unbearable as students chattered excitedly about the night ahead.
Even though she was too young to attend the dance, Emma was looking forward to it almost as much as the juniors and seniors. Those who attended the ball were required to dress in the clothes of the period, and Emma loved seeing the girls in their fancy gowns. Every year, a couple of hairstylists came from Benton to fix the girls’ hair in styles that were popular in eighteenth-century England. Sometimes the transformation from present-day to the eighteenth century was so complete that even the senior girls Emma knew were difficult to recognize. Emma had to admit the boys looked pretty impressive in their formal wear too.
The underclassmen were always allowed to watch the proceedings in the ballroom from the terrace. Then at nine o’clock, they were shooed to their dorm rooms by the chaperones. Both Emma and Martha planned to stay on the terrace as long as possible tonight. Doug and Sebastian weren’t all that keen on watching the dancers, but as there was nothing much else to do, they agreed to accompany the girls.
“When are you going to deliver the sculpture of Hannah?” Sebastian asked Doug as he raised a spoonful of cereal to his mouth.
“I thought I’d do it a few minutes after curfew. I’m gonna spend the night with Dad, so I figured I’d take care of it before going upstairs. The coast should be clear then, and if anyone stops me, I can say I’m headed up to Dad’s suite.”
Doug looked into his cereal bowl as he spoke. He was afraid that if Sebastian could see his eyes, he’d know he was lying. Only part of what he’d just told Sebastian was true. Doug planned to make his delivery after curfew, but he was not going to spend the night with his dad. Doug was going to put the sculpture in the barrel and then hide out in the room beneath the kitchen until the Reaper came to claim his prize. Then Doug would follow him.
If Sebastian thought he was spending the night with his dad, he wouldn’t know what Doug was really up to. Doug hated lying to his friend, but he didn’t feel like he had a choice. There was too much at stake.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Sebastian asked.
His offer of help made Doug feel even worse.
“No thanks. I’d better do it myself. If we got caught, you wouldn’t have a good reason for being out after curfew.”
“And you would,” Sebastian finished for him. “I guess you’re right. I just don’t like you going down to that creepy room alone.”
“It’s not so bad. I’m used to it by now,” Doug responded, trying to sound casual. Tonight of all nights, he didn’t want Sebastian tagging along, but he also didn’t want to hurt his friend’s feelings. Thankfully, Sebastian didn’t insist and let the matter drop.
As soon as breakfast was over, Doug hurried to his room. He wanted to get everything ready for the night ahead. After making sure that he was alone, Doug took the sculpture of Hannah from its hiding place in his closet and wrapped it in a towel. Then he put it in his backpack along with a flashlight. He patted his pocket to make sure he had the Swiss Army knife Emma had given him the Christmas before last. It had saved his life last year, and ever since then, it had been sort of a lucky charm for him. Once Doug was satisfied that he had packed everything he’d need, he returned the backpack to his closet and went to rejoin his friends.
While the older students spent the day preparing for the evening’s big event, most of the underclassmen spent the day outdoors enjoying the fine weather. It was a beautiful spring day—sunny and warm with only a slight breeze. Doug, Sebastian, Emma, and Martha spent the morning playing croquet, and in the afternoon some of the sophomores organized an impromptu badminton tournament. The day passed quickly, and by suppertime everyone was famished.
The dining hall was less crowded than usual as the juniors and seniors weren’t present. They would be treated to a separate, more elegant meal in the ballroom.
Even though the eleventh and twelfth graders were missing, the dining hall was just as noisy. A general feeling of excitement could be felt throughout the room.
“From the sound of it, you’d think we were all going to the ball,” Sebastian said loudly so he could be heard over the din.
“I know,” Martha shouted back.
Sebastian nodded to indicate he’d heard her.
They didn’t try to converse anymore after that but instead concentrated their efforts on finishing their meal. As soon as they were finished, they emptied their trays and left the dining hall.
“Whew, it’s good to be out of there. I thought my head was going to explode from all the noise,” Sebastian exclaimed.
“I think mine did,” Emma agreed with a laugh.
“What do you guys wanna do until the dance starts?” Sebastian asked the group.
“Why don’t we play cards in the lounge?” Martha suggested.
The others agreed, and the next couple of hours were spent companionably in the lounge. Finally, the strains of the little orchestra tuning up could be heard drifting down the hall from the ballroom.
“It’s getting ready to start!” Martha cried excitedly. “Let’s go outside.”
“Oh joy,” Sebastian said with a sour expression that didn’t match his words.
“We might as well go,” Doug said, laughing. “The girls won’t leave us alone until we do.”
“I’ll go, but I don’t have to like it.”
“Stop fussing, Sebastian, and come on,” Martha urged as she grabbed his arm and began pulling on it.
“Okay. Okay,” Sebastian said with an exaggerated sigh.
Dutifully, the boys followed the girls outside to the terrace. There was already quite a crowd gathered when they arrived. It was hard to see what was going on inside the ballroom with so many students milling about.
“This is crazy,” Sebastian complained. “We can’t even see.”
“Be patient,” Martha said as she stood on tiptoe in an effort to see over all the heads between her and the ballroom’s French doors.
Sebastian tried to be patient, but it wasn’t long until he’d had all the standing around he could take. He was just about to tell the girls that he was leaving when he was struck by a sudden idea.
“Hey, I just had a great idea,” Sebastian told the others.
“Uh-oh. Here we go,” Martha said, rolling her eyes.
“No really. I think you’ll like this idea.”
“Okay, let’s hear it,” Martha responded in a tone that indicated she was fully prepared to totally dislike Sebastian’s idea.
“We can hear the music from the ballroom, right?”
“Right,” Martha agreed. She had no clue what he was getting at, but at least he had succeeded in arousing her curiosity.
“Well, instead of standing around here gawking, why don’t we have a little dance of our own? We know these dances just as well as the seniors do, and we’ve got the whole lawn to dance on. What do you think, Martha? Are you game?”
“Sebastian, I think that’s a great idea, but there are only four of us.”
“I bet if we start, others will join in,” Doug said. He liked the idea of getting a chance to dance with Emma.
Emma felt a little thrill of excitement at Doug’s words. She had expected him to be against the idea, but it seemed just the opposite was true. Could it be that she was finally going to get an opportunity to dance with Doug?
“I see Phil and Kim and Tom and Cindy over there by the rail,” Sebastian said, really warming to his idea. “I bet they’ll dance with us. I’ll go over and ask them. Be right back.”
In a minute, Sebastian returned with a big grin on his face. “They’re in. Come on.”
Without another word, Sebastian led the way down the stairs, around the fountain, and onto the front lawn. The music was fainter here, but it was loud enough for their purposes. They took up the positions for the Barley Mow and began the dance just as they’d learned it in PE class. At first, those on the terrace just looked on in astonishment, but it wasn’t long until others began to drift down to the lawn and either join their group or start a group of their own. Susie and Daniel appeared a few minutes later, and Emma wondered briefly where Clarice and Reggie were. She didn’t have to wonder long because Clarice came down the steps just then with Reggie in tow.
“There’s nothing else to do,” Clarice explained as she and Reggie took places next to Susie and Daniel.
After she had recovered from her initial shock, Emma was glad that Clarice had decided to join in the fun. She was especially happy for Reggie who appeared to be enjoying himself immensely.
