Chapter 10

The Code Busters arrived at school fifteen minutes early, just as they’d planned, eager to enter the MPR and check on their projects before the judges arrived. Although Cody was discouraged by Bernie’s awesome drone, she still hoped one of the Code Busters would win second or third prize.

“I’m so nervous,” M.E. said, holding out her shaking hands for the others to see.

“Me too,” Mika added. “I couldn’t sleep last night!”

“Dude, I dreamed nobody won,” Luke said, “because one of the experiments caught on fire and the school burned down.”

Quinn said, “I dreamed everyone won but us.”

“That’s weird,” Cody said. “I had a nightmare that I got a message from someone at the school saying something bad happened to our projects.”

“Wait a minute!” Quinn said. “You didn’t dream that. I got the same message!”

Quinn and Cody looked at M.E., Mika, and Luke.

“I didn’t get one,” Luke said.

“Me neither,” M.E. and Mika added.

Cody’s eyes went wide. “But you did, Quinn, so I didn’t dream it! What do you think it meant?”

Quinn shrugged. “No clue. I guess we’ll find out as soon as they open the doors to the MPR.”

Cody noticed several other students had also come early, no doubt as anxious as the Code Busters to check their projects and wait for the results. She saw Dr. Bunsen hurrying toward them, his look-alike son Bernie trailing behind him.

“Stand back, everyone,” Dr. Bunsen announced as the kids started crowding forward. “You have another five minutes before I officially open the doors.” He began checking his pockets, then frowned and checked them again. “My keys . . .”

“You accidentally locked them inside the MPR, Dad, remember?” Bernie said.

Dr. Bunsen slapped his forehead. “Of course. I’ll go get the custodian to open the doors.” The science teacher headed off in search of Mr. Foxglove. Several students groaned. Luke shook his head. Quinn tapped his foot impatiently. Mika crossed her arms, and M.E. stood on her tippy-toes, trying to peek inside the door window. Cody bit her fingernails, a bad habit she was trying to break. She didn’t need to be an expert at reading body language to tell that everyone was nervous.

After what seemed like an eternity, Dr. Bunsen returned with Mr. Foxglove. He fumbled with the keys for a few moments, then found the right one and inserted it into the lock. He gave the knob a twist and pulled open the door. Dr. Bunsen stepped inside.

Cody heard him gasp.

“What the heck?!” Dr. Bunsen sputtered.

The kids pushed forward to see what had caused Dr. Bunsen to freak out. Squeezing around him, they crowded around inside—and froze.

“Oh no!” M.E. whispered. Mika covered her open mouth.

Cody spotted the cluster of science projects the Code Busters had set up the night before.

All five projects were in shambles. The charts, the props, the displays—everything, knocked over, broken, or lying on the floor in a big hot mess!

The Code Busters moved slowly into the room. Cody was in shock. How could this have happened? Wasn’t the room supposed to be locked up safe all night?

Quinn picked up his Eye-Spy Glasses. They were in pieces. Luke found his remote robot device under the table, upside down and broken. Mika gasped again when she saw her picture of the dollar bill scratched and torn, as if someone had clawed it. M.E. nearly cried when she spotted her fingerprint chart knocked over and her forensic items scattered on the floor.

Cody quickly checked her project. The chart lay flat on the table, the pictures of the subjects in her experiment strewn around it. Someone had drawn a mustache on each face.

Cody turned to Dr. Bunsen. “Our projects are all ruined!”

The kids began bombarding him with questions.

“What happened?” Quinn asked.

“Dude, who could have done this?” Luke said.

“How did they get in if the room was locked?” M.E. cried.

“And why did they ruin just the Code Busters projects?” Cody said, devastated at the destruction of all their hard work.

“I—I have no idea,” Dr. Bunsen stammered. “I—I know I locked the doors last night. I pushed the button on the lock and checked it before I realized I’d locked my keys inside.” He glanced around and spotted the keys on a nearby table.

Bernie stepped up to examine Cody’s project. “Maybe you can fix it?” he offered. “I’d be happy to help you.”

“In time for the judging?” Cody said in disbelief at his offer. “No way! The judges will be here in a few minutes!”

“Okay, okay. I was just trying to help,” Bernie said with a shrug.

Cody softened her tone. “Thanks, Bernie, but it’s fine. You were going to win anyway.”

He nodded. “Do you think Matt Jeffreys did this?”

“I did NOT!” came a booming voice from the doorway. Matt the Brat’s face was twisted in anger. “I never TOUCHED any of your stupid projects. Besides, there’s no way I could get in if the room was locked. So there!”

“Well,” Bernie said, “obviously someone got in somehow. Or maybe you never left last night and stowed away until everyone was gone and then wrecked everything!”

“You’re a liar!” Matt shouted, his face bright red. He pushed up against Bernie, who cowered back behind his father.

“Matthew!” Dr. Bunsen said. “Stop it!”

“Calm down, Matt,” Cody said. “No one’s accusing you.”

Matt pointed his finger at Bernie. “He is! Didn’t you just hear him?”

“Everyone, listen!” Dr. Bunsen said. “Settle down! This isn’t getting us anywhere, and the judges will be here any minute. Right now, I need to figure out how someone got in when everything was locked up tight.”

“Where’s Sherlock Holmes when you need him?” Bernie said, laughing. He stopped abruptly when no one else laughed.

“What’s going on here?” came a woman’s voice from the doorway. The kids turned to see three adults, two women and a man, dressed in suits and holding clipboards.

The judges!

Cody watched as Dr. Bunsen hustled over to greet them and explain what he had found only moments ago. The judges did not look happy.

“I left the keys inside, but I know I locked the doors,” Dr. Bunsen said. “All you have to do is push a button and it locks without the key.”

Bernie nodded. “My dad’s right. I saw him lock it.”

“Well,” said one of the judges. Her name tag read Judge Casey. “We’re here to choose the winner of the Science Fair, and that’s what we’re going to do. It’s unfortunate that some of the projects were mishandled.”

“Mishandled?!” Luke said loudly. “Dude, they were sabotaged! Deliberately wrecked.”

“It’s not fair!” M.E. added.

Judge Casey nodded. “I understand. We’ll try to imagine what the project was supposed to be. Please give us the room, and we’ll get to work.”

Dr. Bunsen hung his head. “All right, everybody out,” he said listlessly. “Give the judges a chance to do their job.”

Slowly, the students shuffled out of the MPR, leaving the three judges to look over the entries in private. All but Matt. Cody noticed he was kneeling by her project table. She watched as he picked up something, examined it, and frowned.

What was that about?

Once everyone was outside, the Code Busters sat down on a nearby bench, looking glum.

Cody noticed Matt off by himself, his right hand in a fist. She watched as he opened his hand and frowned again at the object he was holding.

Curious, Cody got up and went over to him.

“What’s up, Matt? Did you find something?”

Matt showed her the object in his palm—a tiny piece of red plastic.

“What is it?” Cody asked.

“Evidence,” he said mysteriously. “Come on. I have an idea.”

Matt took Cody by the hand and yanked her toward the MPR doors.

Dr. Bunsen stood nearby. “You can’t go in there—” he started to say.

Matt ignored him, opened the door, and pulled Cody inside.

“Matt!” Cody cried. “Stop!” She tried to yank her hand away, but Matt held tight. “Let go!” she begged. “We’re going to get in trouble!”

Matt made a beeline across the room, headed straight for Bernie’s Science Fair project, Cody in tow, and Dr. Bunsen following. The judges were busy examining a project across the room and didn’t seem to notice the intrusion. As soon as Matt reached the table, he let go of Cody’s hand.

“What are you doing?!” she whispered angrily, staring at him in disbelief.

He pointed to Bernie’s project—the drone made of LEGO blocks.

“Yeah?” Cody said. “So?”

Matt opened his closed fist again, revealing the small piece of red plastic.

A LEGO block.

Cody looked up at Matt, then down at the drone, perfect in its symmetrical design—except for one corner.

A piece was missing.

A red piece.

The piece that was in Matt’s hand.

Cody’s eyes went wide. “You took that off Bernie’s drone! You’re the one who sabotaged our projects—and Bernie’s too!”

“No—no!” Matt sputtered.

Dr. Bunsen rushed up to them, with Bernie right behind him.

“What are you doing to my project?!” Bernie shouted, coming out from behind his dad. He lunged toward Matt, who held up his tightly fisted hands in defense. Cody had never seen Bernie angry, and it was a little terrifying to witness this sudden rage.

Dr. Bunsen grabbed Bernie by the back of the shirt. Matt lowered his hands.

The judges turned their attention to the commotion.

“What’s going on here?” Dr. Bunsen asked Matt. “Matt, did you sabotage the projects?”

“No!” Matt shouted.

“What do you have in your hand?” Dr. Bunsen asked.

Matt opened his hand and showed them the piece of LEGO. “I found this over there.” He pointed to Cody’s table. “It was lying on the floor. I didn’t know what it was so I picked it up thinking it might be a clue and it is. It came from Bernie’s drone.”

Dr. Bunsen turned to his son. “I don’t understand. What’s he saying?”

“Nothing!” Bernie shouted. “He broke my drone, and now he’s trying to lie his way out of it.”

“Wait a minute,” Cody said. “Matt may exaggerate—a lot—but I’ve never heard him actually lie. If he found this LEGO block by my ruined project, he’s telling the truth. Why don’t you give him a chance to explain?”

Matt half smiled at Cody before beginning his explanation. “So, I found this LEGO piece on the floor by Cody’s stuff, and it made me think, how did it get there? Only the Code Busters’ projects were wrecked and nobody else’s. So I went back inside and checked Bernie’s project and figured out that this piece”—he held up the red piece—“is missing from his drone.” He took a deep breath after such a long speech.

Dr. Bunsen shook his head. “That doesn’t prove anything, Matthew. You still could have sabotaged the projects.”

“But how?” Matt sputtered. “The MPR was locked—you said so yourself because you locked it, even though you left the keys on the stage. So if no one got inside, then how did all that stuff get broken?”

Everyone was silent for a moment.

Matt looked at Bernie. “The drone.”

Dr. Bunsen’s face lost its color as he turned to his son. “Bernie?”

“He’s wrong, Dad!” Bernie cried. “He’s a liar! He’s making stuff up! Don’t listen to him.”

The science teacher turned back to Matt. “Go on, young man. What about the drone?”

“Bernie knew you left the keys in the MPR, so I think he came back later with his controller and used the drone to hook the keys.”

“But the drone couldn’t have unlocked the door,” Dr. Bunsen said.

“No, but remember that window up by the ceiling was open?” Matt said. “I think Bernie flew the drone out with the keys, used them to get inside and mess up the projects, then he put the keys back on the table and locked the door on his way out. Somehow, he crashed it into Cody’s table and lost that little piece.”

“You can’t prove any of this!” Bernie shouted at Matt.

“Actually, I can,” M.E. said. She was holding some face powder in one hand and a makeup brush in the other. She nodded toward Cody’s poster, now covered with powder. “I just dusted her chart for prints. If Matt’s right, Bernie’s prints will be there.”

Everyone turned to Bernie. He looked as white as the powder on Cody’s chart.

“Bernie, your body language,” Cody said, “Your wide eyes, your shaking hands, the way you’re standing as if you want to run away—your body language says you’re guilty. I think Matt’s right.”

Matt grinned again, as if he’d just solved the riddle of the Sphinx, Atlantis, and the Bermuda Triangle.

Dr. Bunsen turned to his son. “Bernie? Why?”

Bernie burst into tears. “I’m sorry, Dad. I just wanted to win for you again. I know how much it means to you. I found out the Code Busters came up with some good projects this year. I thought one of them might beat me.”

Dr. Bunsen shook his head, clearly disappointed in his son.

When Bernie saw the look on his father’s face, he picked up his drone, threw it onto the floor, and stomped on it, smashing it into a bunch of pieces. Then he ran from the room, leaving his father behind. Cody didn’t need to be an expert at reading body language to know the once proud father was confused, disappointed, and really sad.