The Bloodwater Mysteries: Skullduggery (2 page)

Some people said there was a Bloodwater Curse. Curse or no, the Bloodwaters were ancient history. Brian had always assumed that the whole clan had died out years ago.

But this kid did not look dead. Or cursed.

“Mr. Bain, would you mind directing your attention to the front of the room?” asked Professor Bloom.

“Sorry,” Brian said, looking back at the professor.

“As I was explaining for Mr. Bloodwater's benefit, today we are studying the plant life endemic to Bloodwater Bottoms and the surrounding area. Later this week, Dr. Andrew Wyndham Dart will visit us to talk about Native American archaeology in the region. We will also learn about Bloodwater politics and government, which will include a visit to the county courthouse and jail.

“Now, as I was saying, a number of rare plant species can be found in the hardwood forests along the lower Bloodwater . . .”

Brian sneaked a look at Roni Delicata, a few rows over. He hadn't seen much of her lately. Actually, not since they'd gotten themselves in a world of trouble by investigating—and solving—the Alicia Camden kidnapping. That had been fun. Dangerous, but fun.

Brian wouldn't have minded hanging out with Roni more, but they didn't really have much in common. He was three years younger than her. He was smart about science stuff; she didn't care if the earth was round, flat or triangular. She was a reporter for the school paper; he belonged to the Robot Club and the Chess Club. She was good at talking to people; he always stuck his foot in his mouth. About the only thing they had in common was that they both liked solving crimes. Without a crime, they just didn't have much to talk about.

Roni kept sneaking looks toward the back of the room. What was she looking at? Brian followed her glance and decided she was looking at Eric Bloodwater.

Uh-oh, he thought. That could mean two things.

Either she'd developed an instant crush, or she'd found herself another mystery.

Or both.

Professor Bloom said they'd head out for their first field trip after lunch to search for lady's slipper orchids, trout lilies and skunk cabbage.

Skunk cabbage? Roni couldn't imagine why anyone would want to find such a horridly named specimen. She found a place to sit on the low brick wall outside the school and opened her container of peach yogurt. The yogurt was disgusting and the wall was uncomfortable, but she had a perfect view of Eric Bloodwater, who was sitting by himself with his back against the trunk of a small tree.

Maybe she should go over and sit down next to him. Ask him a really interesting question to show him how smart and fascinating she was. Either that or just smile and simper and gaze at him adoringly, which was what most guys seemed to want.

Roni forced down another spoonful of the sickeningly sweet peach yogurt. She had an olive loaf sandwich in her bag, but she didn't want Eric to see her shoving a huge sandwich down her throat. The yogurt seemed more elegant.

She stole another look at Eric Bloodwater and sighed. He was just
too
good-looking. She didn't have a chance. Not unless she instantly dropped fifteen pounds. And her legs grew a couple of inches. And . . . what was she thinking? She was who she was. Roni Delicata, teenage shlump.

On the other hand, she had nothing to lose. If he told her to get lost, at least she could stop thinking about him. Maybe.

“Whatcha staring at, Sherlock?”

Roni jumped.

“Don't
do
that!” she snapped at Brian, who had sneaked up behind her. She gave him her best glare, but Brian, in his eternal Brianly way, didn't seem to notice. He sat down on the wall beside her, his broad, open, Korean face smiling.

“Isn't this class great?” he said.

“Sure, if you like being bored out of your skull. I'm not here by choice.”

“You flunk a class?”

Roni looked around, making sure that no one else could hear her. “No, I didn't flunk anything, but my mom thought my grades could be improved.”

“Cool.”

“No, Brian, it isn't cool. It's pathetic. I have much more important things I could be doing with my summer.”

“Name one.”

“How about sleeping till noon? Instead of tramping around in the woods looking for skunk cabbage. You don't think he's gonna make us eat it, do you?”

Brian laughed. “You kidding?
Symplocarpus foetidus
is poisonous!”

“You spout one more Latin name I'm going to pour this yogurt over your head.”

Professor Bloom appeared at the door of the school. He hung his cane over his forearm and clapped his hands.

“People! People! Gather 'round, please!”

Brian and Roni walked up to him together. He pointed at them. “You two are a pair.” Then he proceeded to pair off the rest of the class. To Roni's horror, he put Gennifer with Eric.

“We will be using the buddy system when we're in the bottoms this afternoon. Stick with your partner and try to avoid sinkholes, bogs, stinging nettles, poison ivy, rattle-snakes and other potential sources of discomfort. You will each be assigned a particular species, choosing from the list of plants I handed out at the beginning of class. Think of it as a sort of scavenger hunt.”

Brian's hand shot up. “Can Roni and I have skunk cabbage?”

Roni felt her face turning pink. Why had she let the little twit even walk next to her? Now she was stuck with him—and skunk cabbage—for the rest of the day.

“I thought you were interested in skunk cabbage,” Brian said. “It being poisonous and all . . .”

Roni made a growling noise in her throat. Brian could tell her heart wasn't in their assignment. When she was interested in finding something, she could put a bloodhound to shame. But she wasn't even really looking. She was just walking through the woods with a scowl on her face, complaining about the nettles and jumping every time she saw a stick that looked like a snake. She could have tripped over a skunk cabbage and never noticed it.

He decided not to pay much attention to her. Let her get over it by herself. Brian loved wandering in the woods. He wanted to know the names of everything—animal, vegetable or mineral.

“What's
that
abominable blob?” she asked, pointing at a gelatinous, orange globule perched on top of a fallen log.

“Slime mold, I think,” said Brian.

“Yuck. Is it on our list?”

“I don't think so.”

“Good.”

Brian stopped and took in their surroundings. “This might not be a good place to find skunk cabbage,” he said. “According to Professor Bloom, they like really wet soil.”

“This is wet enough,” Roni said. She looked up the sloping hillside. “It looks like easier walking up there. Less itch-weed.”

“Less skunk cabbage, too.”

“How do you tell a skunk cabbage, anyway? All these plants look the same.”

“Well, for one thing, it smells sort of skunky.”

“Great. Let's make it a point to not find any.” Without waiting for him to reply, Roni headed uphill.

“We're supposed to stay together!” Brian said.

“Come on then,” she said over her shoulder.

Brian sighed. Hanging with Roni was like trying to walk a bull elephant. He scrambled to catch up with her, giving up on the notion of locating a stand of skunk cabbage. Maybe something else would turn up.

About twenty yards up the slope they came to a grassy area. Above them rose the limestone cliff known as Indian Bluff. He followed Roni along the base of the bluff.

Brian asked, “So what do you think about that Eric Bloodwater?”

Roni's head snapped around and her face went pink. “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing,” Brian said. “I just think it's pretty weird that he would have the same name as the town.”

“The city was
named
after the Bloodwater family, my dear Watson.”

“Yeah, but there hasn't been a Bloodwater in Bloodwater since forever. I thought the whole family had died out.”

“Probably just some distant relatives.”

“I guess. Hey, do you suppose they're the ones who are renting out Bloodwater House?”

“Somebody's living there again?”

“Yeah. My mom mentioned something about it. The bank is renting it to some family. I wonder if the Curse will get them.”

Roni shook her head and continued walking. “You and your stupid Curse.” She waded through a patch of green three-leafed plants. Brian stopped. It looked like poison ivy. He opened his mouth to tell Roni what she'd just done, but before he could say anything, she held up a hand and said, “Did you hear that?”

Brian listened, but heard only the breeze. “Hear what?”

Roni held up her hand. “Listen.”

They both listened. A bird calling . . . the muted drone of a distant airplane . . . and then a faint but unmistakable call for help.

“Where's it coming from?” Brian asked.

“Shh!” Roni cocked her head, listening fiercely. She had heard the voice call out twice, but she couldn't locate it.

Several seconds passed.

“There it is again!” Brian said. He looked up the rocky face of the cliff. “Up there!”

“Up where?” Roni looked up at the bluff, but saw nothing but a craggy wall of rock.

Brian was already climbing. Roni took a deep breath and followed.

It was easier than it looked. The rock provided plenty of handholds and crevices. As long as she didn't look down, it wasn't bad at all. About thirty feet up, she came to a shallow ledge. Brian was waiting for her.

“I heard it again,” he said. “It sounded like it was coming right out of the rock. Come on!” Brian edged along the narrow ledge. “Watch out for snakes,” he added.

“That is not funny.”

“Wasn't meant to be.”

The ledge narrowed, and Roni's toes were hanging out over the edge. She made the mistake of looking down. Her stomach did a flip-flop. It was only about thirty feet, but it looked like a mile.

Again, they heard the voice, still faint but louder than before.
“Hello? Can anybody hear me?”

“Up here,” Brian said, and he was climbing again. Roni followed him up to another ledge.

“Hey!” he said. And then he seemed to melt into the rock.

Roni did not like being halfway up a cliff, and especially not alone. She slowly inched along the ledge until she came to a hidden opening, a slash in the rock about five feet high and twelve inches wide. The air coming out of it was cool and sour smelling.

“Brian?” she called out.

There was no answer.

 

The cave widened a few yards past the entrance. Brian congratulated himself for having a flashlight with him. True, it was a tiny thing, its beam of light no more powerful than a candle, but it was better than no light at all.

The flashlight was one of several pieces of equipment Brian liked to have on his person. The other necessities in his numerous pockets included a small 10x magnifying glass, a Swiss Army knife, a short spool of copper wire, a six-foot tape measure and several pieces of hard candy. Because you never knew when you might get caught in the dark with nothing to eat.

As he moved deeper into the cave, he noticed that the sour smell was getting stronger. He also noticed several sets of footprints on the dusty floor. He stopped and called out.

“Anybody in here?” His voice echoed weirdly off the limestone walls. A few heartbeats later a querulous voice came from deeper within the cavern.

“Help! I can't find the light switch.”

Light switch?

“I'm coming!” Brian said.

The voice sounded fainter than before. Brian wondered how they had ever heard it from outside the cave. Some strange amplification effect, he supposed. Caverns did odd things to sounds. Following the twisting passageway, Brian noticed his flashlight beam getting weaker. How long had it been since he had replaced the battery? Too long.

The passageway opened into a large chamber. The smell was stronger, and he could see why. The floor was black with bat droppings.

Brian shined his light up and was rewarded with an outburst of angry chittering. Hundreds of bats hung from the ceiling twenty feet above his head.

He heard the disembodied voice again. “Where am I?” After a moment, the voice answered itself: “Why, I'm right here! Of course I'm here. Where else would I be?”

Brian shone his light in the direction of the voice and saw a low opening to his right. He ducked his head and crawled through into another chamber. Just as he entered the new chamber, his light gave out.

Brian stood up slowly, blinking his eyes in the utter blackness. There is no dark darker than the darkness inside a cave, he decided.

He could hear someone breathing, and then the voice again, very close.

“Is that you, Sweetie Pie?”

Roni peered into the cave entrance. She thought she could hear faint voices.

“Brian?” she called again.

“Back here!” His voice echoed through the passageway.

She took a few steps into the narrow opening.

Maybe whoever was in there was holding Brian captive, forcing him to lure her into a fiendish trap. An escaped convict. Or a cave troll. You never knew.

As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could make out the faint outlines of the cavern walls, but the deeper it went the less she could see. She took another step. The passage curved to the right and led into complete darkness.