The Maze of Bones (The 39 Clues #1)(24)

"Look, guys," Nellie said. "The deal's off. Whatever you've gotten yourselves into -- this is way too dangerous for a couple of kids. I'm going to take you back to your aunt."

"No!" Dan said. "Nellie, you can't. She'll-"

He stopped himself, but Nellie's blue-glitter-shaded eyes narrowed. "She'll what?"

Dan glanced at Amy, hoping for help, but she was still in shock, just staring out the window.

"Nothing," Dan said. "Nellie, this is important. Please. Just wait for us."

Nellie fumed. "I've got, like, six more songs on my playlist, okay? If you're not back in the car when the last song is over, and ready to explain things to me honestly, I am so calling Beatrice."

"You got it!" Dan promised. He tried to push Amy out of the car, but she must've still been in shock, because she held on to Saladin's cat carrier.

"What are you doing?" Dan asked. "Leave him here."

"No." Amy fumbled to cover the carrier with a blanket. "We need to take him."

Dan didn't know why, but he decided not to argue. They hurried along the sidewalk.

They were halfway up the steps of Independence Hall when Dan realized the place was closed for the night. "How do we get in?"

"Children!" a voice called. "Over here!"

William McIntyre was leaning against the building, half hidden behind a rosebush. Amy ran over and gave the old lawyer a hug, which seemed to embarrass him. He had a bandage on his left hand and a cut below his right eye, but other than that he looked pretty good for a guy who'd just gotten out of the hospital.

"I'm glad you're safe," he said. "I heard about the Franklin Institute on the news. I assume you were there?"

"It was horrible," Amy said. She told him everything -- from the secret library in Grace's mansion right up to the man in black in the museum and the Starling triplets going ka-boom.

Mr. McIntyre frowned. "I called Jefferson University Hospital. The Starlings will survive, but they're in bad shape. They'll be recovering for months, which puts them out of the race permanently, I fear."

"It was the man in black," Dan said. "He set that trap for us."

Mr. McIntyre's eye twitched. He took off his spectacles and polished them with his tie, his nose casting a shadow across the side of his face. "This explosion... from your description, I'd say it was a sonic detonator. Very sophisticated, designed to stun and cause only localized damage. Someone knew what they were doing."

"How do you know so much about explosives?" Dan asked.

The old man focused on him, and Dan got the sudden feeling he hadn't always been a lawyer. He'd seen things in his life -- dangerous things. "Dan, you must be careful.

This explosion was almost the end of the race for you. I had hoped to stay out of the competition. I must not be seen as partial to any one team. But when your grandmother's mansion burned down ... well, I realized just how much of a predicament I'd put you in."

"That's why you sent us the black light reader?"

Mr. McIntyre nodded. "I'm concerned by how much the other teams are targeting you. They seem determined to put you out of commission."

"But they failed!" Dan said. "We got the second clue. Nobody else has it, right?"

"Dan, what you found is merely a lead to the second clue. Make no mistake, it is a good lead, and I'm glad the black light reader was useful. But it is by no means the only lead. Other teams may find different paths toward the next clue. Or, if they believe you have useful information, they can simply follow you, as the Starlings tried to do, and take the information from you."

Dan felt like kicking the wall. Every time they got a break, something bad happened, or it turned out they weren't nearly as close to the next clue as he'd thought. "So how do we know when we find the actual second clue? Is it going to have a big sign on it -- CLUE TWO?"

"You will know," Mr. McIntyre said. "It will be more ... substantial. An essential piece of the puzzle."

"Great," Dan grumbled. "That clears it up."

"What if Nellie's right?" Amy's voice quavered. "What if this is too dangerous for a couple of kids?"

"Don't say that!" Dan cried.

Amy turned to him. Her eyes reminded him of broken glass. They had that shimmering, kind of fragile look. "Dan, we almost died. The Starlings are in the hospital, and it's only the second day of the contest. How can we keep up like this?"

His throat felt dry. Amy had a point. But could they just walk away? He imagined going to Beatrice and apologizing. He could reclaim his collection, go back to school, have a normal life where people weren't trying to trap him in fires or blow him up every few hours.

Mr. McIntyre must've seen what he was thinking because the old man's face paled.

"Children, no. You mustn't consider it."

"We -- we're just kids," Amy stammered. "You can't expect us -- "

"My dear, it's too late!" For a moment, Mr. McIntyre sounded really panicked ... terrified that they'd back out. Dan didn't understand why. Then the old man took a deep breath. He seemed to collect his nerves. "Children, you can't go back. Your Aunt Beatrice was furious when you disappeared. She's talking of hiring a detective to find you."