“It’s colder than Antarctica in the Adirondacks,” said Kat, carving their names in the snow as fog-like steam rose from the icy expanse of Mirror Lake.
“How can it be colder than Antarctica?”
“Thanks to global warming, with no difficulty at all. Didn’t you hear about it hitting twenty degrees Celsius on Seymour Island? The penguins were in bikinis. Also, it’s summer now in Antarctica; they have the opposite seasons of us. Hey, I’ve had an idea.”
“Ideas would be welcome at this point,” Harper said drily.
“First thing tomorrow morning, we put the huskies in the rig, load up our stuff, and take a shortcut across the lake to Nightingale Lodge. We’ll drop everything off, race the huskies home to their kennels, and—”
“Cross the lake? No, thanks,” Harper interrupted. “We’d go down quicker than the Titanic.”
“But it’s as solid as an ice rink.” Kat tossed a pebble and it bounced along the surface. “See?”
Harper picked up a rock and hurled it as far as she could. It hit the ice with a crack and sank without a trace. “Lakes take longer than you’d believe to freeze.”
Rebel wanted to chase the rock. He howled in frustration and rushed back and forth along the icy shore.
“The huskies know best,” declared Harper. “The ice isn’t safe.”
She watched the snowplow as it rumbled through the forest to hidden cabins. “Michael Lautner lives on one of the lakes in the Adirondacks,” she said thoughtfully. “That magazine story on Rob showed them sitting together on the steps of his cabin. I suppose it’s possible that the Lautner brothers and the rest of the gang are hiding out somewhere in the wilderness here.”
“You know who else lives on a lake in the Adirondacks,” said Kat. “Riley’s nan.”
“What about her?”
“She’s kind, she’s a fighter, and she adores Riley. If we could get to her house, we could tell her everything we’ve learned about the Wish List gang and the Clue Club.”
“Everything we’ve guessed about them, you mean.”
Kat ignored that part. “Some of what we’ve found out must be correct. If Riley’s nan believes us on the identity of two or three members of the Wish List gang, surely she’ll be able to persuade the cops to do the same.”
“You could be right,” said Harper. “Let’s go inside and see if we can find the name of the company that leaked toxic metal into the lake,” suggested Harper. “If there was a court case, it’ll have been covered by the local press. We might be able to find a phone number for her or an address.”
Back in the cabin, Harper did a search. Seconds later, they were looking at a picture of Riley’s grandmother, Cath Woodward.
It gave Kat a jolt, seeing her. She was standing in front of a sparkling blue lake on a sunny day. Her hair was purple. Her clothes were largely purple too, swamping her small frame. Her smile reached to the crinkled corners of her eyes.
Kat could imagine Riley’s father reading the headline and rolling his eyes. LOON-ATIC! CATH WINS FIGHT TO SAVE SILVER LAKE’S BIRDS.
The girls skimmed through the brief but praise-filled story about Cath’s battle to take the owners of a lucrative reptile lamp business to court over toxic dumping. They’d been found guilty. Helpfully, the reporter gave Riley’s nan’s street address.
Zooming in on Google Earth, Kat and Harper were able to see the yellow clapboard house in 3D. It was on Silver Lake in the northern Adirondacks, about forty kilometers away from their own cabin on Mirror Lake.
Harper tried for another twenty minutes to find some sort of contact number for Cath Woodward but had to admit defeat. “I’m going to Skype-call the cops. If there’s a one-in-a-million chance that we’re right about the identity of the gang members, we need to tip them off.”
“How are we going to convince them to believe us?” asked Kat. “As soon as they hear a kid on the line, they’ll dismiss you as another of those nuts they were complaining about.”
“That’s why I’m dialing the local county sheriff’s office, not nine-one-one. More chance of getting through to a real person— Oh, hi. My name’s Harper Lamb. I have some information on the Riley Matthews kidnapping.”
There was a loud click and the line buzzed.
Harper rang again. “Before you hang up, this is not a prank, crank, or any other kind of hoax call. We’re friends of Riley Matthews, and we believe we know some things that might help you.”
“If that’s true, you can start by puttin’ Mommy or Daddy on the line.”
Harper hesitated. “Sir, they’re not here right now.”
“Little girl, are you aware that wasting police time is a criminal offense?”
“Yes, sir, I am. I’d never do that. If you could hear me out, I’d be so grateful. You might save a girl’s life. By a long process of deduction—”
“What now?”
“To cut a long story short, we think we know the identity of some of the members of the Wish List gang. One of them is Michael Lautner, who lives right here in the Adirondacks.”
“Miss, you need to give me your name and address.”
“Don’t forget that there’s a million-dollar reward for information leading to Riley Matthews’s safe return,” Harper said brightly.
There was a long silence.
“Young miss, thanks for calling. I’ll be sure to check it out.”