“Yes, please,” Nate agreed.
“Now that you made your move, I’ll have to remove my bathroom mirror,” Mr. Stott said. “Can’t give Belinda a chance to retaliate that way.”
“Good idea,” Nate replied.
They drove in silence for a moment. Nate felt unsettled. He kept expecting a car to close in behind them. They rounded a corner onto Mayflower.
“Don’t worry about Trevor,” Mr. Stott said. “That teleidoscope was the real deal. I’ll start working on those clues, and we’ll figure out a way to get him back.”
“How?”
“The way I see it, we don’t want to give away the clues until we follow up on them, find the map and the key. Then we can exchange the teleidoscope and the base for Trevor without handing Belinda the treasure. For all of our sakes, we must prevent her from gaining the power she seeks. That woman has a long memory.”
“Think she might come after me?” Nate said.
“Belinda is not rash,” Mr. Stott said, turning into the Presidential Estates from Mayflower. “More likely she’ll spy on you, try to confirm the location of the teleidoscope before making a move. Since you no longer have the teleidoscope, that should work to our advantage. Try to relax. I’ll get in touch when I know more. I expect I’ll have a mission or two for you and your friends to perform before this is over.”
“Do you have magic candy too?” Nate asked.
Mr. Stott winked. “I may not hand out power as readily as some, but I’ve been crafting enchantments for at least as long as Belinda. I’ve got a trick or two up my sleeve, never you fear. For now, hang on to this cell phone. I programmed in my number. I’ll be in touch soon.”
Nate accepted the phone. “What’s your address?” Mr. Stott asked.
“3473,” Nate said. “Up here on the left.”
The ice cream truck pulled to a stop, brakes squeaking. “Get some sleep,” Mr. Stott said.
“Thanks for the ride,” Nate replied, hopping out of the truck and shutting the door.
Mr. Stott pulled away, and Nate went into his house. He had left the front door unlocked. He walked up the stairs to the bathroom, closed the door, sat on the edge of the bathtub, and cried. Once he got going, he found himself overwhelmed by violent sobs. It had all been so terrible, abandoning his friend to an unknown fate, almost getting captured himself. He wished he had never heard of Mrs. White or her magic candy.
He pulled himself together and used some toilet paper to blow his nose. This was far from over—he needed to keep his head. He used the toilet, and then washed his hands. After turning off the faucet, while shaking droplets from his fingers, he saw a face in the mirror.
A face besides his own.
The surprise made him gasp and jump back.
It was Trevor.
Nate spun, checking the room. Trevor was not in the bathroom with him. But he was in the mirror.
Nate turned to the mirror and waved. Trevor waved back, smiling wanly. He looked just as real as Nate’s reflection. Who knew how he had escaped? All that mattered was that he had! Nate motioned for Trevor to come through the mirror.
Trevor shook his head, holding up empty hands.
Nate frowned. He dug the two remaining Mirror Mints out of his pocket and pointed at one.
Trevor shook his head.
“No mint?” Nate whispered.
“No mint,” Trevor mouthed. If he had spoken the words out loud, Nate could not hear him.
Nate held up a finger and ran to his room. He opened his backpack and removed a notebook and a pen. Returning to the bathroom, he wrote:
She stranded you in there without a mint?
Trevor nodded.
I only have two. One gets me in, and the other only gets one of us out.
Trevor nodded, apparently having already worked that out.
You came straight to my bathroom once Mrs. White trapped you?
Trevor pointed to himself, then steepled his fingers to form a roof.
You went to your house first?
Trevor nodded, pumping his arms to convey that he had run there.
Did she hurt you?
He scrunched his face and turned one hand from side to side, indicating that she had hurt him somewhat.
Nate wrote quickly, his handwriting even less legible than usual.
The scope worked. We have clues. We’re going to bargain to get you out of there.
Trevor held up both hands, fingers crossed.
Are you okay?
Trevor shrugged and gave a slight nod.
Do these letters look backwards?
Trevor shook his head.
Nate had to think about that one. The reflected words looked backwards to him. But Trevor was not looking at a reflection, he was looking at the actual paper, as if through a window. That made sense.
I’m sorry I left you. I panicked. I thought I’d get captured too.
Trevor stuck his thumbs up. Then he pantomimed as if he were looking through a telescope and gave a thumbs-up again.
We’ll get you out. I promise.
Trevor nodded and winked. They stood there staring at each other awkwardly for a moment. How could Trevor be so close and so far away? Trevor leaned his head sideways, closed his eyes, and rested his hands against his cheek.
Sleepy?
He shook his head, pointed at Nate, and pantomimed like he was sleeping again.
Yeah, I’m tired. But I don’t want to leave you.
Trevor shook his head and gestured again for Nate to sleep. Then he mouthed something that Nate didn’t catch. Trevor pointed up at the light, and Nate understood.
I’ll leave the light on.
Trevor smiled.
Chapter Thirteen
Chasing a Ship
The cell phone did not ring until late Tuesday morning during class, beeping the melody of “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” Nate hastily pressed the green answer button. “Hi.”
“Can you talk?” asked Mr. Stott.
“I’m in class,” Nate said softly. “But my teacher is on the fudge.”
“Good. Still no definite leads on the Haags. At least twenty members of the family currently live in Colson. I’ve found names and addresses for most of them. Narrowing down the list of candidates might take some time. I do, however, have solid info on the ship.”
“Where is it?”
“Among his many hobbies, Hanaver liked to construct model vessels. His masterpiece was an elaborate clipper housed inside a bottle. Guess what the name was.”
“I don’t want to say it out loud,” Nate said.
“Right. The USS Stargazer. Not based on any actual ship I could find, although I came across a Star Trek vessel with that name. The model is currently owned by Victoria Colson, daughter of Ebner Mills, a grandson of Hanaver. Victoria is the wife of our current mayor, Todd Colson.”