Jake received a hero’s welcome when he returned to Riverview on Friday morning.

Banners festooned the much cleaner hallways. Kids decorated their lockers with art and copies of the headlines in all the newspapers:

LOCAL GENIUS CRACKS CASE FOR FBI

EGGHEAD SCRAMBLES ROBBERS’ ALIBI

JAKE MCQUADE = BRAINIAC²

Kojo had a stack of T-shirts printed with Jake’s class picture and genius spelled out using letters from the periodic table of elements.

He was selling them at the school supplies shop in the main corridor and proclaimed that all proceeds would be going to the “maintenance and general betterment” of Riverview Middle School.

Jake was back to knocking knuckles with all his buds.

“You’re a real inspiration,” said Mr. Lyons, shaking Jake’s hand.

“No, sir,” Jake told him. “You are. Even though this building is a wreck, you never gave up on us. You wanted me to learn even when I didn’t. You pushed me to be better at b-ball. It’s like a quote I read on a coffee mug once.”

“What’d it say, Jake?”

“I forget. But I wish I had that mug so I could give it to you right now!”

All the kids hanging in the halls broke into a cheer.

Which was soon cut off by the crackling speakers in the ceiling.

“Students? This is your principal speaking.” Mrs. Malvolio’s voice echoed off the walls. “You are to report to your homerooms immediately. You will not congregate in the halls for an unauthorized pep rally. You will also remove any and all balloons, banners, and celebratory decorations. Might I remind you that this is a school, not Party City?”

Bummed out by their principal, everybody shuffled off to class. By lunchtime, all the decorations were in the dumpsters.

“Of course Mrs. Malvolio is upset by your achievements,” Grace told Jake when they grabbed a table with Kojo in the cafeteria. “She doesn’t want us to succeed. If we keep showing the world how smart kids are here, no way is the city shutting down Riverview.”

“You up for signing autographs, baby?” asked Kojo.

Jake shook his head. “Not today. We have work to do.”

“We sure do,” said Grace.

Kojo stood up. “No autographs today, people,” he announced. “My man needs a little space. His brain’s been working overtime this week.”

Everybody nodded. Several were wearing those GENIUS T-shirts.

“By the way, Jake,” said Kojo, “while you were down in DC helping the G-men—”

“I so wish you could’ve been there, Kojo.”

“Next time, baby. I was busy up here. Dug a little deeper. Picked up some fresh intel.”

“From whom?” said Jake, because that was grammatically correct.

“Mrs. Malvolio herself,” said Kojo, gesturing for Jake and Grace to lean in closer. “I was in the office, pretending to admire those pens they have with the plastic flower tops. Anyway, Mrs. Malvolio had her door wide open. She was on the phone with her uncle, Heath Huxley. She’s definitely working with him.”

“Are you sure?” asked Grace.

“Totally. She said”—Kojo put on a funny, high-pitched voice and started pretending to fidget with a chunky necklace—“ ‘Oh, Uncle Heath, I’d prefer the green carpet in my free penthouse apartment in the new building. Green will remind me of all the money we’re going to make!’ Then, I heard her say something else.” Kojo lowered his voice. “I think she knows about that pirate booty you told us about, Grace.”

Grace’s eyes went wide. “Why? What’d she say?”

“ ‘Once the bulldozers get here, Dog Breath will pay for everything!’ ”

“They know about the treasure!” said Grace. “We need to move fast. You guys? We need to go see Uncle Charley.”