The Secret of the Skeleton Key (11 page)
Read The Secret of the Skeleton Key Online
Authors: Penny Warner
“I've got an idea,” Cody said, then turned to Skeleton Man. “You're really good at making gestures, Dr. Skelton. I'm teaching my friends sign language. How about we come and show you some signs so you can communicate until your speech comes back?”
Jake Skelton gave a half grin. He started to say something, then tears filled his eyes again.
Cody moved closer. “Here. I'll teach you your first sign.” She thought about teaching him the sign for “friend,” but that would take two hands. “I knowâ¦do this.” She pulled some imaginary whiskers from the side of her face. “That's âcat,' in American Sign Language. After all, a cat was the key to this whole puzzle.”
Jake Skelton repeated the sign with his bony fingers.
“Tomorrow we'll teach you the alphabet. Then you'll be able to say anything you want. And then maybe you can tell us how you knew we could help you when you wrote those semaphores on your window.”
T
hat was really nice of you kids, offering to teach Dr. Skelton sign language,” Cody's mom said later that night over spaghetti dinner. She'd invited the rest of the Code Busters to join them.
“Uttle bah fuffle,” Quinn said. Cody figured that was mouth-full-of-garlic-bread code for “It'll be fun.”
“Yeah,” she said, “and I get to take care of Punkin until Dr. Skelton gets out of the hospital. I just wish I could keep him.”
“Well, guys,” Cody's mom said. “I got a call from Dr. Skelton's caregiver while you guys were hauling your stuff down from the old clubhouse.”
The four looked at one another. Cody's fork hung in midair. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.
“Is he okay?” Cody asked.
“Oh yes, he's doing well. But he had a message for you all. He typed it on a laptop the caregiver brought him. She read his message to me over the phone.”
“What did it say?” Luke asked.
“He said he's going to use some of his money to help you build a new clubhouse. Once he learned about everything you guys did to help him, he wanted to do something to thank you.”
“Whoa!” Quinn said. “That's
awesome
. A brand-new clubhouse.”
M.E. clapped. “That's totally cool!” Cody looked at Luke. To her surprise, Luke frowned. “What's wrong, Luke?” Cody asked. “You want a new clubhouse, don't you?”
“Sure, of course. But there's something I still don't get. We thought he worked for the CIA, but he turned out to be a vet. So what about all those puzzles? And that certificate on the wall? 'Sup with that?”
“Oh, I finally figured that out,” Quinn said. “The letters on that certificate were supposed to say
SPCA,
not
CIA.
He got them for rescuing cats. The one we found was burned, except for a couple of lettersâ
CA
. We just read it wrong.”
“But what about the
I
? I know I saw C
I
A,” Luke insisted.
“It was a smudgeâsoot from the fire. I thought the
I
was a little odd at the time because it didn't look exactly like the other letters.”
“Dude, nothing in this case was what it seemed,” Luke said, shaking his head.
“So why did he create all those puzzles?” M.E. asked.
“I know the answer to that,” Cody's mom spoke up. “He explained it to the caregiver who read his note to me. He knew his distant cousins, Jasper and Jezebel, would come after his money someday. They were always asking him about it. So he hid the will and left coded messages leading to its location. He figured Jasper and Jezebel were not smart enough to figure out the puzzles. And he knew you guys were into puzzles and codes. He heard you talking in Quinn's yard and found out about your club. Remember you said he was often watching you?”
“He's pretty amazing.” Cody took her plate to the kitchen. The other three did the same.
“Did you hear anything about Matt the Brat?” Quinn asked Cody's mom.
“The sergeant and I went over there and talked to him and his parents. He said he had nothing to do with destroying the clubhouse, except that he threw a rock at it.”
“Why would he do that?” Cody asked.
“Maybe he was jealous of you guys. Maybe he really wants to belong to your club and just doesn't know how to ask.”
Cody thought about her mom's words. She was probably right, but Cody still didn't want him in the club. Maybe they could include him in another way. She'd have to think about it. He could be so annoying!
“Listen, you guys, go do your homework,” Cody's mom said. “I'll do these dishes. How about some brownies later?”
Cody remembered the brownies that went flying around the cafeteria earlier and grimaced. “Thanks, Mom, but could we have ice cream instead?”
Cody led her friends upstairs to her bedroom. She sat at her desk while Luke and Quinn flopped on the bed and M.E. wiggled into a beanbag chair. She turned on her computer to check her IMs, texts, and e-mail messages before starting her math homework. It had been hours since she'd last checked, and she was expecting a note from her dad about Jake Skelton's will.
She signed on, clicked “Mail,” and watched as a dozen messages loaded into her file. The first few were spam, which she quickly deleted. The next two were answers to some homework questions she'd requested from the “Homework Help” site. Three more came from newsgroups she belonged toâSignChat, PuzzlePlace, and MysteryMansion. The last message was from her dad.
From: [email protected]
Subj: Skelton's Will
Message: Hi Dakota. It's ur dad here. Y R U on the computer instead of doing ur homework??? JK!!;)
Cody smiled at her dad's attempt to use messaging code before she read on.
Skelton's will is authentic. I'll keep it here in a safe at my office until I see him tomorrow. Nice work, helping him out like that. You and the Code Busters, right?
TTUL8R. Love, Dad
Cody gave a sigh of relief at the news. Case closed. She pulled up the last message and caught her breath. The little hairs on the back of her neck prickled as she scanned the cryptic message.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Treasure Hunt
Message:
I
n
dar
kn
e
ss
y
on,
A shr
ou
ded nigh
t
c
ov
ers
is
land m
i
s
t
s.
th
os
e ha
llowed, s
un
ken,
t
ir
ed
souls,
Li
vely
gh
os
t
s
ho
pe yo
u
'll
se
eâ¦
Al
on
e
a l
o
ca
l
tr
e
a
sure.
â
Z
Cody stared at her computer screen. Was this supposed to be some kind of poem from someone who called himself TheShadow? If it was, it made no sense. “Hey, guys. Did one of you send this to me?” The others looked at the screen and shook their heads.
“It looks like an old-fashioned poem. What does it mean?” M.E. asked.
“I'm not sure. It's from someone called the Shadow.”
“Maybe it's a code,” Quinn said. “See? Some of the letters are in bold.”
Cody highlighted the message and copied it to a new document. Then she removed all the letters that weren't in bold, leaving:
I dare y ou t ov is it
The ha un ted
Li ght ho u se
on a lca tra
Z
“Try sounding it out,” Luke said, then began with “I dare⦠”
Moments later he had translated the coded poem.
Code Buster's Solution found on p. 207.
“Sounds cool,” Cody said. “When can we go?”
Finger Spelling:
Morse Code:
Caesar's Cipher:
Semaphores:
Braille Alphabet:
Alphanumeric code:
10-15-9-14 20-8-5 3-15-4-5 2-21-19-20-5-18-19 3-12-21-2
Join the Code Buster's Club.
Finger spelling:
Fire. Across the street.
Need to dress. Dad coming.
ABC code:
Meet me at the clubhouse after school. Lock and key.
Caesar's cipher:
3-2-12-8 21-2-9-22-4-8 8-2 15-4-4-8 15-4 16-8 8-19-4 21-13-16-22-23-2-13-4 16-21-8-4-9 7-1-19-2-2-13 15.4.
Don't forget to meet me at the flagpole after school. M.E.
Morse code:
D. J.
Text message translation:
What's up, Red? Good luck on your spelling test. You go, girl! Talk to you later. Pop. Hugs
Hi Pop. Thanks. See you later. Hugs, Red
Consonant code:
Meet at the library at 1900 hours.
25 + 36 = 61 + 81 = 142 + 400 = 542 â 37 =
505
Double Dutch:
Syllables are broken up, and “ag” is added in between. For example, “Not” would be “Nag-ot,” tonight would be “to-nag-ite.”
Not tonight. Tomorrow.
Finger spelling:
Thieves
Morse code:
SOS. Matt in caf. Need help. SOS.
Semaphores:
Under couch
Braille:
Floor space
“
G
o
O
ut.
t
urn uphill. go
a
round
P
it.
L
ook for
an
atural cave.”
Got a plan.
I dare you to visit the haunted lighthouse on Alcatrazâ¦