They found Rae standing at the door of Albert McNab’s room. “What were you doing in my room?” he thundered.
“Cleaning it,” Rae s aid calmly, looking him in the eye.
“Cleaning it?” McNab sputtered.
“Well, someone has to,” she said.
“I didn’t think anyone would be in the room since the maid left,” he said, calming down. “I was just surprised, that’s all.” He smiled slightly.
Eric Barber and Helen Wallace appeared. McNab scowled when he saw them.
“What is it, Mr. McNab? Bad news about your grocery business?”
“You two,” he muttered. “No, it isn’t about my grocery business. But why don’t you mind your own business? And quit shadowing me.”
Cody and Otis exchanged glances. “How did you know Inez was gone?”
McNab glared at them. “She told me herself. Yesterday. She said she got a new job that paid better. So I didn’t expect anyone in my room. Rae startled me.” His voice softened. “I’m sorry I yelled.”
“I guess you really were surprised,” said Rae, who was shocked that McNab had acted the way he had. He was usually so charming.
“What’s all the commotion?” asked Steve Cordell, who had Sam Keller at his elbow. He peered into McNab’s room.
“Confound it,” said McNab. “Why is everybody so interested in my room?”
“Can I just finish cleaning it?” asked Rae.
“Uh—no, dear, that won’t be necessary.” McNab gently guided Rae from the room and stepped inside. “I’ll take care of it until a new maid arrives.”
“If one arrives,” snorted Cordell. “I think this place is getting a reputation.”
Suddenly he shot a threatening look at Rae. “You haven’t been into my room have you?”
“Or mine?” snapped Keller. “I don’t want you in there.”
“Me neither,” snarled Cordell. “I’d better not catch you in there.”
“Calm down, Mr. Cordell, Mr. Keller,” Rae said firmly.
“That’s right,” said Cody. “Both of you, take it easy. We all agreed to help out Aunt Edith by cleaning rooms. The less we have to clean, the better. Especially if you don’t appreciate it.”
“Oh yeah? Well, I don’t,” Cordell replied. “Stay outta my room.”
“Mine, too,” said Keller. They stalked away.
“Well, my heavens, what a couple of rude fellows,” said Ms. Wallace.
“I’ll say,” said Barber.
“Ought to teach them a lesson in manners, along with that young movie star,” said McNab. He stepped out of his room and locked the door. “I think I’ll go down to the garden and smell the flowers for a while.” He walked toward the stairs.
“Whew! What a bunch,” said Rae. “I guess that means I’m finished for the day—I’ve done my rooms.”
“Why don’t we show you that secret passage we told you about last night?”
“Fine, but I want to show you something first.” Rae pulled a newspaper clipping from her pocket. “It’s an article about a criminal. Check out the face in the photo.”
The twins examined the clipping. It was Albert McNab!
“It says that he’s a former doctor who became a con man.”
Cody thought for a moment. “Looks like Ms. Wallace and Mr. Barber suspected it. But if that’s Mr. McNab, why hasn’t anyone done anything about it?”
“I wonder,” said Otis.
Just then the door to Keller’s room opened. “Gonna make this a double whammy,” he muttered to himself. He locked his door and went downstairs.
“I think he’s up to something right now,” said Otis. “Let’s follow him and see if we can find out what it is.”
They followed Keller to the garden, where he approached McNab. They watched as the two got into a heated argument, shouting and waving their arms around. The twins and Rae couldn’t hear what the men were saying, though.
After a while, things began to change. The voices got quieter—and then the angry faces began to smile. The scene ended with both of the men laughing. Keller ended up by slapping McNab on the back before he left the garden. When he was gone, McNab sat on a bench sunning himself, his eyes closed and his face turned to the sky. His mouth was curved in a quiet smile.
That was when Rae and the twins saw the wiry Winston Cato step out from behind a shrub and walk up the garden path. They were sure he had heard what had gone on.
“Mr. Cato, wait,” Cody cried as he drew near them. “We want to ask you something.”
“Still trying to figure things out?” Cato grinned.
“I guess you’ve got us figured out,” Otis said. “Did you hear what Mr. Keller and Mr. McNab were talking about?”
“Yes, and it wasn’t good—but it ended up all right. That Sam Keller is a sleazy guy. He tried to blackmail Mr. McNab. Claimed he found out he was really Horace Perkins, some criminal the law is looking for.”
“But it seemed like they ended up as friends.”
Cato chuckled. “That’s right. Mr. McNab kept talking about his grocery business, and how he started thinking about going into it when he was a student at Kenmore High School in Arlington, Virginia. Turns out that’s where Mr. Keller went to school—and they were in the same English class. Well, the two of them found out they had more in common—like they are both religious and belong to the same political party.”
“Sam Keller is a religious man?” Cody asked in disbelief.
“I didn’t think he was smart enough to pick a political party,” said Otis.
Cato laughed. “I know, but there’s more. It seems that both like to go to Las Vegas casinos. Well, pretty soon Mr. McNab has Mr. Keller convinced that he’s a dead ringer for Mr. Perkins, but he’s not Perkins.”
Cato paused a moment and smiled broadly. “I believe him, too. That Mr. McNab is a nice guy. He’s always pleasant. He didn’t even hold it against Mr. Keller that he tried to blackmail him. Isn’t that unbelievable?”
“Unbelievable, all right,” said Rae.
“See you all later,” said Cato, hurrying away.
“Well, we have more proof that Keller is a sleaze, but I don’t know where we go with it,” said Cody.
“So why don’t we go down to the secret passage,” said Otis.
Rae grinned. “Let’s go.”
*
The boys nodded to each other. Then Otis pushed the button on the panel, the wall slid back, and they walked into the secret passage. Both carried their penlights, the narrow beams shining in the darkness. Rae switched on her own flashlight and followed.
The three of them felt their way down the steps and then headed into the winding tunnel. “It looks absolutely ancient,” Rae breathed.
“Wait until you see what’s up ahead,” said Otis. “It’s outrageous.”
Before long, they were able to shut off the penlights. They could see that the rooms ahead were all lit up. They listened for voices as they walked.
Soon they were walking through the modern, freshly painted hallway, past the electronic equipment and the stacks and stacks of pirated DVDs. Just outside the lounge, they stopped to listen for voices.
Hearts pounding, they stood as still as statues. There was no sound coming from the lounge. They moved on, past more rooms stockpiled with equipment and DVDs, until they came to a smaller one near the end of the hall that was almost empty, except for a figure in a chair.
The three of them gasped when they recognized who it was. It was Steve Cordell!