Chapter 16

The Thief Revealed

Jack sat back, completely stunned. He tried to make sense of the situation.

“Surprise.” She sneered.

“I—I—I don’t understand,” said Jack, stuttering. “Where’s the thief?”

“You’re looking at her,” she said with a growl.

Jack couldn’t compute what she was saying. Miss Murphy couldn’t be the person who took the Book of Kells. She was his art teacher after all. But then Jack remembered something. She wasn’t in the lobby the morning of the theft. In fact, Ms. Humphries was annoyed because she’d received a text from Miss Murphy telling her that she’d been delayed. Had Miss Murphy sent that text to Ms. Humphries from the boat after she’d taken the Book of Kells?

“Are you even a teacher?” asked Jack. “Is your name Catriona Murphy?”

The woman didn’t say a thing. She just smirked. Jack knew one thing. The “Miss Murphy” sitting in front of him was nothing like the one he knew. Maybe, thought Jack, she only pretended to be nice so that no one suspected her. Unfortunately, for Jack, she had another trick up her sleeve.

“Sorry, kid,” she said, standing up. She pulled a GPF’s Tornado from her vest. This was one of the gadgets she’d taken from Jack and Max on the boat.

As soon as Jack saw it, he panicked. He got up and started to run away.

The thief pointed it at him and pulled the trigger. Instantly, a rope shot out, zeroing in on Jack. It targeted his head and shoulders first, then swirled around his ankles. Unable to move his feet, Jack tripped and fell to the ground with a THUD. The only things that weren’t covered by rope were Jack’s eyes and mouth.

“You won’t get away with this!” he shouted.

The woman looked at him and laughed.

“I already have.” She sneered.

She scrambled up the rope ladder, pulled it inside the chopper, and disappeared.

Jack watched helplessly as the door to the helicopter closed. Then the woman and the Book of Kells vanished into the dark and stormy clouds above.