Part 15 (2/2)

Karl Tate. The petnapper.

From the back, Woodie Keenan looked just like a young Karl Tate.

I slammed the door and turned around. ”Hey, guys!” I shouted.

”Open the door!” screamed Kristy.

”No! Keep it dosed!” shouted Sam. ”It'll only make the fire worse!”

That's when I realized the cabin was filled with smoke.

Chapter 20.

Logan.

We were locked in the old office of Karl Tate's house, which would make anybody nervous. But Mary Anne was acting worse than nervous. She was, for her, acting almost mean. No matter what I said, or what I did, she took a shot at me.

I admit, I took some shots at her, too.

Meanwhile, Shannon had tactfully moved away from us - at least, as far away as she could without leaving the room. She squatted to examine the pictures propped against the wall.

”Hey,” she said. ”Look. The Tate family.” She held up a framed photograph of a man, a woman, and a little boy, all dressed up and smiling. ”Look at her hair. It must be an old photograph.”

We barely glanced at it. We were busy glaring at each other.

Shannon put the photograph down and stood up. ”That's it,” she said. ”I've had it. Either have your fight and clear the air, or at least say what's on your mind.”

”Nothing's on my mind,” I said loftily.

”You can say that again,” snapped Mary Anne.

”Stop it!” said Shannon.

I looked at Mary Anne. Her voice was angry, but her eyes were filling with tears. Hurt tears.

What was going on? I couldn't take it any longer.

I broke down and told Shannon about the notes.

Mary Anne laughed!

That made me see red. I glared at her and she took a quick step back. ”Oh, Logan,” she said. ”I'm not laughing about the notes. I didn't send them to you. I'm laughing because someone's been sending me notes, too. And they looked like they were in your handwriting!”

Well, it didn't take long after that to sort things out, and realize that she and I had both been the victims of some kind of nasty prank. Mary Anne thought it was c.o.kie's doing. I wasn't so sure.

But it didn't matter anyway. What mattered was that we weren't having a stupid fight over a stupid misunderstanding. Completely forgetting about Shannon, I leaned over and kissed Mary Anne.

Shannon said, ”This is great and all, but in case you two have forgotten, we are still locked in the Tates' house.”

I straightened up quickly and Mary Anne blushed a deep crimson.

''Well, since we're here,” I said, ”we might as well keep investigating.”

We went over the room (after checking the door one more time), looking in drawers and on shelves. But nothing very interesting turned up until I started going through the wastepaper basket. I grabbed a handful of papers out of it and spread them on the desk. Mary Anne s.n.a.t.c.hed one up. ”Shadow Lake,” she said. ”This is the area code and phone number for Kristy's cabin at Shadow Lake. The one I just called!”

”That's not all,” I said. I held up another piece of paper, a photocopy of an article from the Stoneybrook News.

It was the picture of the BSC after they'd helped to capture Karl Tate. A big, black X had been drawn viciously across it, so hard that the paper had torn.

”It is him,” said Mary Anne in a shaky voice. ”Oh, Logan.”

”Shhh,” said Shannon. ”Do you hear that?” ' We heard.

A car was pulling into the driveway.

Chapter 21.

Abby.

It wasn't a fire drill. It was real. At least, the smoke was. The fire, fortunately, stayed in the fireplace. The smoke didn't. It poured out of the chimney in big, black, oily clouds. I had to dash out onto the porch to breathe, and take a hit on my inhaler. Fortunately, it didn't trigger a full scale asthma attack, just my standard allergic reaction to Life. Woodie had heard the commotion and come running back up the trail to help.

I was sneezing and wheezing (a little) when Stacey and Claudia and Kristy came reeling outside, throwing the door open. Smoke billowed out behind them and was immediately blown away by the gale.

Kristy had to raise her voice (which tells you just how loudly the wind was blowing) to be heard.

”Someone blocked the chimney,” she said. ”We've put out the fire, but we're not going to be able to start a new one. With no electricity, that means no heat.”

”The lodge?” I suggested.

”The lodge,” Kristy agreed. ”We'll pack up just what we need for the night and go as soon as there's a break in the storm.”

Claudia said, in an urgent undertone, ”Re- member what Mary Anne said to you, Stacey? Karl Tate?”

Stacey nodded.

”Well, right before the smoke started, I thought I saw him.”

Stacey and Kristy looked startled. Then Kristy said, ”He's in jail, Claudia. Whoever's after us, it's not him.”

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