The Secret of the Skeleton Key (10 page)

H
alf an hour later Cody and the Code Busters gang headed for the clubhouse, backed up by two Berkeley police officers: Sergeant Carl Price and Lieutenant Susan Jones—Cody's mom. Tana had wanted to come along, but Cody's mom had said it was too dangerous with a couple of ruthless thieves, not to mention a possible mountain lion, on the loose. She had asked their father, who'd gotten out of court early, to watch Cody's sister.

So far there had been no sign of Jasper and Jezebel. But as the group neared the clubhouse, Cody's worst fear was realized. Someone—Jezebel and Jasper?—had smashed down the remaining walls, destroying the clubhouse.

“Oh, no!” Cody said, shocked to see their secret place turned into a pile of trash.

Quinn shook his head, while Luke just stared at the remains. M.E. looked near tears.

“Do you know who did this?” Sergeant Price asked, surveying the damage.

“Probably Jasper and Jezebel, or maybe Matt,” Cody said, blinking back her own tears.

“Who are Jasper and Jezebel?” Cody's mom asked.

“I told you,” Cody said. “They're supposedly Skeleton Man's—I mean, Mr. Skelton's—relatives. They've been trying to find his will. They plan to replace it with a fake one so they can inherit Mr. Skelton's fortune—” Cody stopped and blinked several times before continuing to explain all that had happened.

Cody's mom put an arm around her daughter. “You guys were smart to run away. We'll send some officers to look for the two of them.” She turned to Quinn. “What's this about a will, Quinn?”

Quinn glanced at Cody, as if to make sure it was all right to tell Lieutenant Jones. Cody nodded. “Well, we found Skeleton Man's will—I mean, Mr. Skelton's will—hidden in his yard.”

“What were you doing in his yard?” Cody's mom asked, turning her attention to her daughter.

“He sent us a message,” Cody said. “From his bedroom window. It said ‘help' in semaphore code, only we didn't figure it out until later. We decoded another one of his messages, and that's what led us to the will.”

“Yeah. He left clues. It was like he knew about our Code Busters Club,” M.E. added, wiping her eyes.

Sergeant Price glanced at the pile of rubble, then turned to the kids. “You guys could have been killed, you know. You're lucky you got away when you did. Now…where's this so-called will?”

Quinn glanced at the others. He was about to give away a top secret—the clubhouse hiding place. But Cody knew he had no choice. Together the kids pushed away the broken walls of the clubhouse until the metal floor was visible. Quinn and Luke knelt down and together lifted up part of the floor.

Quinn reached inside the hole in the dirt and pulled out the envelope. He removed the papers he'd hidden inside just before Jezebel and Jasper had arrived.

“Here,” he said, handing the contents to Sergeant Price. “Mr. Skelton is planning to leave all his money to the SPCA—to take care of his cats. I guess his relatives don't like animals that much. They wanted the money for themselves.”

“What money?” Cody's mom asked. “I thought the man was practically destitute.”

“Not really.” Cody smiled at her mom. “The will says he has more than a hundred thousand dollars.”

The cops looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

“Dudes…I mean, officers,” Luke said. “Those relatives of his were the ones who burned down Skeleton Man's house. They tried to kill him.”

Cody's breath caught in her throat. She suddenly remembered something Jezebel had said on the way to the cave:

“
It's time for him to go. We're just trying to help him get there a little faster
.”

Maybe they aren't finished yet,
Cody thought. “Come on!”

“What is it, Cody?” her mom asked.

“We've got to get to the hospital,” Cody insisted. “Mr. Skelton may be in trouble!”

“What kind of trouble?” Cody's mom asked.

“Jezebel and Jasper said they were going to help Mr. Skelton…die.”

With lights and sirens blaring, the squad car containing two officers and four kids sped to Berkeley General Hospital, where Jake Skelton had been taken. When they arrived, ten minutes later, they rushed from the car and through the automatic front doors, to the front desk. Sergeant Price asked a volunteer for Skelton's room and was given a number. As he headed down the hall, the Code Busters started after him.

“Wait! You kids can't go in there,” said a nearby nurse, waving a clipboard at them. “No kids allowed until visiting hours.”

Cody's mom turned to the woman, her hand pointing to her badge. Cody thought her mom looked cool and was proud of her.

“They're with us,” she said, speaking with authority. The nurse glanced at Lieutenant Jones's badge and nodded reluctantly. The kids stifled grins as they caught up with Sergeant Price.

The sergeant opened the door to Jake Skelton's room and stuck his head inside. Cody couldn't see with Sergeant Price blocking the door.

Then she heard, “Hold it right there!”

Sergeant Price pushed the door wide open and marched in.

Cody and her friends rushed inside, but Cody froze as she took in the situation. Hovering over a frail old man were Jasper and Jezebel. Jezebel's arms and legs were covered with scratches.

“What the heck is going on?” Jasper asked, standing up straight and pulling his hands away from Jake Skelton. He held a sheet of paper in one hand and a pen in the other. “This is a private room. You have no business—”

Cody's mom flashed her badge at them. Jasper shut his mouth.

Cody took the paper from Jasper's hand and read it aloud: “‘Last Will and Testament of Jake Skelton.' This is it! The fake will. I think they are trying to force him to sign it!”

She looked at the old man lying in the bed. His eyes were closed. He wasn't moving. Cody's mom rang the emergency buzzer.

“Did they kill him?” M.E. squealed, then covered her mouth with her hands.

“You two, you're under arrest,” Sergeant Price said to the couple.

“On what grounds?” Jezebel bellowed.

“We'll start with suspicion of attempted murder,” Sergeant Price answered.

Jasper and Jezebel slowly raised their arms. Cody's mom seized the bottle of pills Jezebel had been hiding in her tight fist.

“You have the right to remain silent,” Sergeant Price began, as he pulled out his handcuffs and cuffed Jezebel to Jasper. Jezebel winced in pain.

“You have the right—”

“We ain't done nothing!” Jezebel screeched. “We were just visiting our dear sick cousin.”

Lieutenant Jones read the label on the medicine bottle. “These don't look like vitamins,” she said. “Like the sergeant said, it looks more like attempted murder, not to mention arson, fraud, extortion, forgery …” She continued the list as Sergeant Price shoved the handcuffed pair through the door and into the hall. Cody heard Jezebel moan with each step down the corridor.

The kids turned their attention to Cody's mom, who was holding Skeleton Man's frail, mottled wrist. She appeared to be feeling for a pulse.

Where is that nurse?
Cody thought, her heart racing.

Then, to her amazement, she saw one of Skeleton Man's eyes flutter open.

Bloodshot, the eye glanced around the room.

Cody's mom held his hand. “Your so-called cousins are gone, Mr. Skelton. In fact, they've been arrested. The fire department found evidence of arson at your home. They'll probably be charged with setting fire to your house. And it looks like we caught them trying to forge your name to a fraudulent will.” She didn't mention the bottle of pills Jezebel had had hidden in her hand.

Jake Skelton's eye narrowed. Cody wondered if he understood what her mother had said.

Then one side of his mouth opened. It looked to Cody like he was trying to say something.

“Is he all right?” Cody whispered to her mother. “Can't he talk?”

“No, dear,” Cody's mom said softly. “He had a stroke several months ago.”

“What's a stroke?” M.E. asked.

Cody's mom took a deep breath. “A stroke is like a brain attack. It happens when an artery is blocked, usually by a blood clot or a broken blood vessel. Sometimes, when this happens, it affects brain cells. It can impair motor skills, usually on one side of the body. Mr. Skelton's left arm and leg aren't working properly, and his speech is affected.”

“Is he going to …?” M.E. whispered. She seemed unable to say the word
die
.

“Not necessarily, dear. But he's been doing physical therapy to help improve his movement. The fire didn't help any.”

“Will he be able to talk again?” Cody asked.

“Hopefully, with speech therapy.”

Cody's mom turned to the man lying in bed. “How are you feeling, Mr. Skelton?”

To Cody's surprise, he lifted his right hand and gave a thumbs-up. The right side of his face lifted into a half grin.

“Mr. Skelton, these kids here found your will,” Cody's mom said. “Your life—and your money— are safe, thanks to them.”

Jake Skelton raised his thumb again.

“And so is your cat—Punkin. I mean, Francis Scott,” Cody added. “I'm going to take care of him until you get well.” She looked at her mom. Lieutenant Jones nodded. “The rest are at the SPCA, safe and sound.”

Jake Skelton eyed Cody, then crooked his right index finger at her, signaling her to come closer.

Cody stepped forward nervously. She hadn't been around old people much. And never around a person who was half paralyzed.

Jake Skelton reached out his right hand, and she took it. His hand felt dry, cool, and bony, but there was warmth in his gentle squeeze. Cody smiled at him.

“I'm Cody. I live across the street from you.” She turned to the other Code Busters and introduced them one by one. “This is Quinn—he's your next-door neighbor.”

Quinn took off his sunglasses and gave a wave. Jake eyed him.

“This is Luke, and that's MariaElena. We call her

M.E. We formed the Code Busters Club because we like to solve puzzles and decipher codes. That's how we finally figured out that you were in trouble, and where your will was hidden.”

Jake Skelton gave another half smile. The rest of his face didn't move.

“I have a question.” Quinn stepped closer and rubbed his hair nervously. “Did you used to work for the CIA? 'Cause that's what I want to do when I grow up.”

The old man shook his head and frowned with one eyebrow. Then he lifted his good hand and began to gesture.

“He's trying to tell us something,” Quinn said to the others.

They watched intently as Jake Skelton bent his hand into a claw shape and pretended to scratch the air. Cody paid close attention. Having used sign language with her deaf sister, she was getting good at reading facial expressions and body language.

“Do you have an itch?” M.E. asked, moving closer. Jake Skelton shook his head. Then he put his right hand up to his temple and flapped it.

“Ear?” Luke asked.

He shook his head again. Finally, he moved his hand next to his mouth, and opened and closed his hand.

“Talk?” Quinn guessed.

Jake Skelton closed his eyes. Cody knew they weren't getting it. She thought for a moment, then said, “Obviously, he's trying to tell us something. All we have to do is decode his gestures. First he made a scratching gesture. Like a cat. The second was like an ear, but instead of pointing to his ear, he held his hand up, like the ear was standing up. Kind of like a horse's ear. And the third thing sort of looked like a duck's bill, opening and closing.”

One of Jake Skelton's eyes widened. A tear glistened.

“A cat. A horse. A duck. So what do they all have in common? They're all animals.” Cody looked at Jake Skelton.

Skelton nodded and half smiled. “Did you work with animals?” Quinn asked. “Like in the zoo or circus or something?”

Skelton shook his head. Then he raised his right arm, pointed his finger, and brought it over to his motionless left arm.

“It looks like he's giving himself a shot,” Quinn

said, looking at the others. “Do you need some medicine?” Luke asked. Jake Skelton shook his head. “Do you need a doctor?” M.E. asked. Jake Skelton shook his head again. Then he

pointed to himself. Cody lit up. “Were you a doctor?” He nodded. “An animal doctor? A vet?” she asked. Jake Skelton raised a thumbs-up.

“Cool! No wonder you had so many cats,” M.E. said.

At that moment, the nurse entered the room and gave them all a “time's up” look.

“We'd better be going, kids,” Cody's mom said. “Dr. Skelton needs his rest.”

The Code Busters nodded. Each one patted the old man on his right arm. Cody thought how much their view of Skeleton Man—Dr. Skelton— had changed in such a short time. Instead of being the scary hermit with too many cats and weird sculptures who kept to himself, he was actually a retired veterinarian who loved animals and did metal art. They just hadn't taken the time to get to know him. And after his stroke, he became more reclusive.