When Carter and Theo looked up, they found Leila wrapped in chains and padlocks and hanging upside down from the nearly twenty-foot ceiling. “Someone start the stopwatch,” she said.
Mr. Vernon held up his pocket watch. With a click, he said, “You may start.”
Leila began shaking and shivering and moving.
“Is that safe?” Carter asked.
“An excellent question,” Mr. Vernon said. “Usually I would say no, but Leila is quite skilled. Though I suppose as her father, I should make her wear a helmet.” He pulled a small notebook from his jacket and jotted down the word helmet before tucking it away.
The tiny bell on the door jingled as Ridley wheeled in.
“Hello, hello. How are you today?” Presto the Parrot asked.
“Hey, Presto.” Ridley reached up and scratched the parrot’s yellow neck. “Morning, Mr. V.”
“Good morning to you as well, Ms. Larsen. Thirty seconds, Leila.”
“I’m trying to get my time under a minute,” Leila said, struggling. One chain and the lock fell free. “But it’s hard without my lucky lockpicks.”
“You lost your lucky lockpicks?” Vernon asked.
“She didn’t lose them,” Theo answered. “They were stolen.”
“By Bosso’s goons, last night at the carnival,” Ridley added.
“I didn’t want to worry you, Dad,” Leila went on.
“Are you sure it was them?” Vernon asked.
“Positive,” Theo said. He put the Pock-Pickets’ note on the counter for Vernon to read. “They robbed each of us of a prized item and left us a note.”
“They called you misfits? Well, that’s rude,” Mr. Vernon said. “And stealing is a filthy habit—like chewing gum.”
“I think stealing is worse than chewing gum, Dad,” Leila said. Another chain and padlock slunk off and hit the floor. She still had one more chain and padlock.
“Sixty seconds, sweetie,” Vernon said to Leila.
“Aww, pickles,” she moaned.
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that the carnival workers stole your things. But things can be replaced.”
“They weren’t carnies,” said Ridley. “They were a barbershop quartet.”
“Even worse,” Mr. Vernon cried out.
“Actually, they took something from me that can’t be replaced,” Carter said. “It’s one of a kind, really. And it means a lot to me.”
“My bow didn’t hold true sentimental value, but I would like it back,” Theo said. “It’s hard to make things levitate without it.”
“And my journal has months of great ideas in it.” Ridley flexed her fists. “I’d rather bust some skulls than start over.”
“Well, I don’t think it should come to fisticuffs,” Mr. Vernon said. “Perhaps there’s a more subtle solution?”
“We know they’re staying at the Grand Oak Resort,” Leila said, swinging around like a fish caught on a line. “If we find what room they’re in, perhaps we could sneak in and get our stuff back, and no one would be any wiser?”
“That’s not a half-bad idea,” Mr. Vernon said. “If a small group were to sneak in, it might be better to have two teams. One keeping an eye on the villains, and another to make the grab. Hypothetically speaking, of course. I don’t condone such behavior at all.” Vernon gave Carter a wink.
The last padlock unlocked and the final chain fell to the floor. Leila reached up, uncuffed her ankles, and then flipped to the floor like a graceful acrobat. “What was my final time?”
“One minute, forty-two seconds,” Mr. Vernon said. “Quite good for losing your lucky lockpicks.”
“But not great,” Leila said. “I need them back.”
“You know, I recall the Other Mr. Vernon mentioning that he had to feed those ‘insufferable clowns’ again at lunchtime. That might be an opportune moment to search their rooms,” Mr. Vernon said. “I suppose, if you accidentally wandered into the wrong room, it would be an accident and not illegal. Something to keep in mind, in case…”
“Mr. Vernon, are you suggesting that we—” Theo started.
Mr. Vernon quickly cut him off. “Absolutely not! I would never! Only a group of absolute misfits would think up such an outrageous scheme.” He crossed the room and knocked a box off the shelf. Several wigs, hats, and glasses fell out. “Oops. I’m such a klutz. Leila, would you and your friends mind picking these up? Feel free to borrow any of them if you like. I often find changing one’s look to be an advantage in awkward situations.”
Carter, Leila, Theo, and Ridley—the misfits that they were—looked at one another with mischievous smiles.
You’ll notice this book has no thirteenth chapter. As you probably already know, thirteen is a very unlucky number. While I don’t believe in luck, I do believe in magic. And (as I have mentioned before) magic comes in all shapes and sizes. And occasionally, it comes in the form of bad magic, such as tripping over your feet, falling down stairs, or making a poor grade on an important test because you genuinely forgot to study. Okay… I suppose I do believe in bad luck.
But that’s beside the point. As most buildings do not have a thirteenth floor, I am choosing not to have a thirteenth chapter. Instead, I’m going to allow you to use this time to take a much-needed bathroom break. Go on, then. I’ll wait.
…
Done already? That was quick.
I hope you washed your hands because you’re about to use them to turn pages faster than ever!
FOURTEEN
Nearly an hour later, the four misfits made their way up Grand Oak Drive, and Carter found himself nearly stumbling in awe. The sides of the cobblestone road were adorned with sculptures, fountains, and shrubs shaped like zoo animals. It was another warm and sunny day. As he stepped beneath a leafy green giraffe, he said, “I’ve never been anywhere like this.”
In the daylight, the cluster of buildings at the top of the hill gleamed white. At the center of all of them stood an ample three-story lodge. Each floor was marked by thirteen expansive windows. Leila mentioned that this was the building where most of the guests stayed. It was all gables and turrets and green-and-white-striped awnings. Half a dozen chimneys rose from the jagged roof, and in the middle of them all sat a small cupola, a simple weather vane perched on top, swaying in the soft breeze. The road led up the slope to a covered turnaround with a grand entryway directly in its middle. Beyond the wide front doors were hidden a massive restaurant and an even larger theater.
The other buildings were smaller. Wide white signs with black lettering were posted on the walls just outside their front doors. ATHLETICS ROOM. DANCE STUDIO. CLIMBING COURSE. READING ROOM. ROPE COURSE. TEA ROOM. MINERAL SPA. JUICE BAR. And many more. All were connected by labyrinthine stone paths, stretches of which were covered by wisteria canopies. Dark slate overlaid the peaks and gables of the dramatic rooflines, and green shutters accented every window.