IT’S A GOOD THING THAT forest fire is on the other side of the river, north of Black Bear Mountain,” Cherry said, wrinkling her forehead at the smoke rising over the next mountain range. “The air quality’s been none too good, but the rangers say so long as the weather holds like it’s supposed to, it isn’t a threat to Black Bear or the valleys this side of the mountain.”
The river ran down Black Bear Mountain through a large valley a few miles below where the lodge is. I’d flown it in a helicopter with Aleksei, so I knew it well.
“I wonder what Dr. K thinks about the wildfires as a scientist—assuming he’s okay.” Frank paused and bit his lip before continuing. “Fires like the ones out west can be devastating, but in some circumstances, periodic or controlled burns can be a natural, and even healthy, event in an ecosystem’s life cycle—”
“Yeah, when they’re controlled or natural,” I said, interrupting Frank. “According to the news, the rangers think this one could have been set by a person.”
“Why would anyone start a forest fire?” Jones asked incredulously.
“Probably just some careless campers,” Cherry speculated. “Lots of the city folks who come up here don’t know a lick about campfire safety or how to take care of a campsite. They start their weenie roasts willy-nilly without worrying about what’s around them, leave the embers burning when they’re done without dousing them, and don’t think twice about tossing cigarette butts in a pile of dry leaves.”
Cherry grew angrier as she spoke, and I didn’t blame her. I love nature and take my responsibility to help care for it seriously. Our first trip to Black Bear Mountain to see Dr. K had even been with the Bayport High environmental conservation club. But even if you’re just visiting the outdoors to have fun, responsible hikers and campers live by the motto “Leave it better than you found it.” Because if we don’t take care of the natural world around us now, it won’t be around for us to enjoy later.
Even with the smoke and the eerie light it caused, the place was mind-blowingly beautiful. There were farmhouses along the way, but most of the trip was all woods and wildlife. The rest of our shuttle ride passed in a blur of gorgeous mountain scenery—and Ricky’s raccoon snores. Yes, raccoons snore! And it’s loud!
“Good luck, kids. I’ll be back with the van in three days for the return trip home,” Cherry chirped as we unloaded our gear from the van a little while later. “I’d normally stick around for a glass of the lodge’s homegrown herbal sun tea, but Ricky and I have to get back to the shop to help out Ken. Stay safe, ya hear?!”
“Rick-rick-rick-rick,” added Ricky.
The three of us took in the rustic log cabin wilderness lodge, surrounded by beautiful mountains and a ton of awesome outdoor activities, from zip lines to white-water rafting to horseback riding. Bear Foot Lodge looked like it had gotten a bunch of expensive new upgrades since we’d been there last too.
“Whoa, this place is amazing!” Jones said as the van pulled away.
“We like to think so,” chimed the pretty young woman with short blond hair and rosy cheeks now standing the lodge’s doorway. She was carrying a tray with three tall, frosty glasses of iced tea and, from the delicious smell of them, fresh-baked oatmeal raisin cookies. “Welcome to the woods. I’m Casey’s cousin, Amina, the new assistant innkeeper. You can leave your bags on the porch for now and grab some refreshments. Dan will bring them in.”
“Don’t mind if I do, thanks,” I said, dropping my bag and grabbing a glass of tea in one hand and a warm cookie in the other. “This cookie is delicious!”
Amina smiled. “Fresh out of the oven just for y’all. Casey was super bummed she couldn’t be here to greet you herself.”
“This tea is amazing. What is that, hibiscus and mint?” Jones asked.
“Two kinds of wild mint, actually, along with passionflower, borage, and a bunch of other edible flowers and herbs from the garden. All picked fresh and sun-brewed right here at the lodge,” Amina replied proudly. “It’s sweetened with honey from our own beehives.”
“There’s a whole lot of beekeeping going on up here, huh?” I asked. “Cherry told us that Dr. K kept his own hives to make honey too.”
Amina nodded. “It’s definitely a popular pastime out here in the woods.”
“An important one too,” Frank said. “Bee populations are declining drastically, and they’re one of the most important pollinators that we rely on for global food crops. It’s weird to think about, but without bees, a lot of the world could go hungry!”
“Spoken like a true beekeeper,” Amina said. “Come on in and I’ll show you to your rooms. You’ve got the best views in the whole lodge. Oh, and Casey said not to even think about trying to pay for anything while you’re here. You boys are Bear Foot Lodge VIPs for life.”
I guess almost getting killed solving a mystery while staying at the lodge had its perks.
“That’s really nice of her, but I don’t think we’re going to need the rooms right now,” Frank said apologetically. “We’re actually kind of in a hurry to get up to Black Bear Mountain and set up camp while it’s still light out.”
Amina frowned. “We’ve all heard so much about the Hardy boys, the new staff was really looking forward to getting to know you. I guess you’re eager to go looking for the treasure, though, huh?”
Frank and I both did a double take.
“Treasure?” we asked at the same time.
“Well, yeah. Casey and Steven don’t talk much about that part of it, because of, well, you know…” Amina cut herself off.
We did. I could imagine Casey’s sister going to prison for crimes she committed with Steven’s help wasn’t a popular topic of conversation around the lodge.
“But everyone knows about what happened from all the news reports and everything,” Amina continued. “The headlines got a ton of publicity for the lodge. It totally turned things around. There aren’t many guests here now ’cause of the fire, but we’re usually booked solid. I even heard Casey say your heroics put Bear Foot Lodge on the map and practically saved us from going under.”
“Um, you were saying something about a treasure?” Frank muttered, trying to change the topic back to something more relevant.
“Oh, yeah, well, the news reported all about the Wild Man having a fortune in rare green garnets.”
“But Aleksei’s garnets were lost in the river,” I interjected. Casey’s sister had lost the demantoids after falling in while trying to escape. I didn’t mention what Aleksei had secretly hinted to Frank, Dr. K, and me afterward, though.
Amina looked around and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Sure, that’s what the news said he claimed, but there were all kinds of rumors online that he secretly hid a whole other stash of them somewhere on Black Bear Mountain.”
I winced and Frank did the same—because that’s exactly what Aleksei had privately hinted to us. There wasn’t any public evidence of it, but I wasn’t surprised there were rumors. The mere mention of the word “treasure” makes people’s imaginations run wild, and the only proof anyone had that the demantoid garnets were all lost was Aleksei’s word for it—and Aleksei’s mobster rep didn’t make him seem like the most reliable source.
“No one’s found them yet,” continued Amina excitedly. “But we’ve had treasure hunters booking trips to go searching for them ever since. One of them checked out a few days ago, right after you called to book your rooms.”
I saw Frank’s face fall and knew exactly why. The news stories had identified Dr. Kroopnik as both a kidnapping victim and Aleksei’s friend. That meant that any treasure hunter who went searching for the garnets on Black Bear Mountain might think Dr. K knew where they were too. And that made him a target.
“Amina, can you tell us—” My question was cut off by a pained moan from Jones.
“Frank,” she croaked in a hoarse voice. “I don’t feel right.”
I heard Amina gasp as I turned to look at Jones. I’d thought treasure hunters were going to be the most alarming surprise of our arrival at Bear Foot Lodge. I was wrong. It was the angry red hives rapidly spreading across Jones’s grotesquely swollen face.