Chapter 17

The Lessons Learned

“Arrrgh!” yelled Jack in frustration.

He couldn’t believe it. He and Max had been tricked. They’d also broken every rule the GPF told them to follow.

Don’t trust anyone.

Follow the facts.

Never assume.

Always be on guard.

At every step of the way, the woman had outplayed them.

Max’s face appeared over the edge of the hill. He made his way over to Jack. Max pulled out a pocketknife from the left heel of his boot and cut Jack free.

“You okay?” asked Max.

“Yeah,” said Jack. He was lying, of course. His stomach was killing him.

Jack told his brother everything that had happened. Max was shocked.

“I can’t believe it,” said Max. “I never would have suspected Miss Murphy.”

“She was counting on that,” said Jack. “Everyone assumed the crook was a guy.”

Max shook his head. “We should have known better,” he said.

The boys sat there for a moment, thinking about what to do next. They had no way of getting home or contacting the GPF. For all they knew, their Book Bags and Watch Phones were at the bottom of the River Liffey.

“Let’s start walking,” said Max. “Maybe we’ll find someone along the way.”