Outside the Longhouse, I leaned over a trash can for a minute, hoping I wasn’t going to throw up.
“He stole it,” I whispered to Zander, once he had joined me. “He stole our proposal.”
“How could he?” Zander looked stunned, his eyes wide, his forehead wrinkling as he tried to figure it out.
“Someone showed it to him. Maggie or someone else. It’s the only possibility.” I remembered Lazlo and Jack hanging around our table in the Longhouse. “Or he eavesdropped on us.”
“I’ll kill him,” M.K. said as she joined us. I watched Raleigh and Delilah hugging old friends, everyone celebrating as though the world hadn’t just ended. Ava Eisenhofer walked by with her parents and a group of friends, and we all congratulated her.
“Thanks,” she said, grinning and adjusting a tool on her geologist’s belt. “From the looks on your faces, I have the feeling that congratulations aren’t what you all want to hear. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I told her. “We’re happy for you.”
Lazlo was accepting congratulations too, his father clapping him on the back and grinning broadly, the dark-haired woman watching him with pride.
“I’ll kill him, the no-good thief.” M.K. gripped the wrench on her toolbelt.
Then I saw Sukey coming out of the Longhouse, an unreadable expression on her face.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she said, when she reached us. “Don’t say anything. I love Iceland. I’m going to have a great time studying Snow Deer in Iceland.”
But I couldn’t help myself. “Maybe we could talk to Maggie. Maybe we can tell her that you have to be on the expedition, that we need your flying skills and . . .”
“Stop it, Kit,” she said, then whispered. “At least you’re going.”
“Yeah, but it’s not our expedition. Lazlo will be watching us every second. How can we find . . .”
“You’ll just have to do what you can. Maybe you can go off on your own and look for King Triton’s—”
“Shhh.” Zander hushed us, and we saw Lazlo and his parents approaching.
“Congratulations, Lazlo,” I said in a voice that I knew was dripping with sarcasm. “You must be really happy.”
He gave me a funny look. “Well, it’s no secret that you weren’t my first choice for crew,” he said, looking us over. “But I hope we can all work together and make this expedition a success.” He looked nervous, his eyes darting from us to his father, who looked down at us triumphantly.
“You’re a thief, Lazlo Nackley,” M.K. said, still gripping her wrench. “You stole our proposal.”
Lazlo frowned. “That’s ridiculous. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do,” I said. “We turned in a proposal to go to the same place. It can’t be a coincidence. Therefore, you stole it!”
The panicked look on his face told me I was right.
“But—” he started, as Mr. Mountmorris came up behind us.
He gave us all one of his broad, delighted grins, his froglike eyes sparkling with humor, then turned to Lazlo. “Congratulations, Mr. Nackley,” he said. His red suit matched the flashing red border around his glasses. “What an exciting night. The Caribbean! Well, this is all very intriguing. And Mr. West, Mr. West, Miss West. What do you think about your assignment?”
“It will certainly be an interesting trip,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Yes, I think you can say that.” He caught my gaze for a moment, and as our eyes met, I knew. He and Maggie were sending us on Lazlo’s expedition because he knew we had a map from Dad. Even if he hadn’t been able to find it, he knew in his bones that it was there, and he thought that by sending us to the Caribbean, Lazlo would be able to follow us and steal it.
I felt a surge of anger. We couldn’t let them get away with it. We had to figure out a way to get there on our own.
Once Mr. Foley and Mr. Mountmorris had left us, Leo Nackley leaned toward me and looked me right in the eyes.
“You’d better be careful, Mr. West, about accusing my son,” he said. “You, of all people, should know what happens to liars.”
And the two of them walked away, leaving us standing there in the cold.