“But the next beneficiary might not be wealthy,” Gracie says. “I know Manal thinks this is a rich-people-going-after-regular-folks thing, but we have no reason to know that’s what’s happening. People have certainly killed for $100,000.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” A thought comes to me. “Idothink the trust is the motive. Birdwatcher proves that.”
Gracie lifts one brow. “What? How?”
“Think about it,” I say. “Jay can only claim the trust if he’s enrolled in postsecondary education. The smear campaign against him in the Birdwatcher Tumblr and on Instagram—the bullying, the academiccheating accusations—that could all be to get him to either drop out or get kicked out of school. And then he wouldn’t be able to claim the trust.”
Gracie smiles, nodding. “Yeah, that totally makes sense. So someone from the trust-fund group, right?”
“Yeah, maybe one of them isn’t as rich as we thought they were.”
With no leads at all as to who opened the trust, or who the next beneficiary is, we have no idea how to proceed. We decide to go back to the Birdwatcher and hopefully figure out who that is. But we’re hitting a dead end there too.
“I need to ask Jay,” I say. “He has a late water polo match tonight, so I’ll have to talk to him tomorrow. He must know something that can help us get through all these dead ends.”
On Friday after my classes, I bring my dinner up to the room so Jay and I can talk while I eat.
Aleeza:We should have set up voice-to-text on ResConnect so we could feel like we’re having a real conversation.
Jay:Then you’d sound like a robot. I don’t mind texting. Hey, did you end up finding my mother’s yearbooks?
Aleeza:I looked online but couldn’t find any. Did your mother ever mention going to school with your father?
Jay:No.
Aleeza:I think you’re going to have to ask her about him.
There’s no answer for a while. This is the biggest loose end. We need to know more about Jay’s birth father. Finally, he responds.
Jay:Yeah, I think you’re right. But I’m not going to do this on the phone. I’ll ask her when I see her this weekend.
Tomorrow is Saturday, and he’s supposed to disappear on Sunday.
Aleeza:Maybe you should just go there now and stay until Monday after you’re supposed to disappear. In fact, you could justgo into hiding for a few months until your birthday so no one hurts you before you can claim the money.
Jay:I can’t. I wouldn’t be able to talk to you.
Aleeza:But it could keep you out of danger!
Jay:We don’t know that. We still don’t even know if this trust is the reason I’m missing. I’m not going to hide for five months without even knowing if I’m actually in danger.
He’s right. The only way to prevent this is to find out if someone did something to him. And stop them. I look over at Tentacle Ted, willing him to help me find the right angle to solve this puzzle. I remember Manal’s comments about the kind of people who get away with everything.
Someone knocks on my door then. It’s Gracie, her eyes twinkling with excitement. “Aleeza! I figured out how Jay got downstairs that night!”
“What? How?”
“Come, lemme show you.” She motions me to come with her.
I quickly text Jay that I’ll be right back and leave the room with Gracie. She explains while we’re walking down the stairs. “I had a meeting with my psych professor today. Her office is on the second floor. While in there, I heard a noise next door, like someone running downstairs.”
“So?” I ask. She gets off the stairs on the second floor. I follow her as she walks down the hallway of professor offices.
“Her office isn’t anywhere near the stairs. The main stairs, that is. So, once all the profs had left for the day, I came here and snooped around. Look,” she says, pointing at a door that looks different from the others. There’s no name or window on it. And no lock. Gracie opens the door.
I’m not sure what I’m expecting, but inside is just a janitor’s closet. I see a mop and bucket, a broom, and some shelves full of cleaning supplies. But one thing that’s strange is that the room has wood paneling on the walls.
“The rooms on this level have more details from the original mansion. Look.” She goes to the left wall of the small room and slides open a wood panel.
