I Dare You Read online

  “But she still won’t wake up,” I said, shaking Kayla’s shoulder some more. “Come on, Kayla!” I whispered.

  May was already pulling her mobile phone from her bag.

  In a few minutes, an ambulance pulled up in front of the mansion.

  With the ambulance’s sirens wailing and its lights flashing, the paramedics carefully put Kayla into the back of the ambulance.

  “I hope this poor girl wakes up,” one of the paramedics said.

  The other nodded. “Me too,” she said. “This type of poisoning is tough to beat, though. Must have been an accident. From the way she looks, I’m pretty sure it’s gyromitrin poisoning – it isn’t the first time we’ve seen it around here, and it’s usually an accident.”

  Poisoning? I thought.

  May and Tad and I looked at each other.

  Soon the ambulance was zooming off to the hospital.

  May called Kayla’s mum to let her know what had happened. Then May, Tad, and I sat on the kerb in front of the Pike Street mansion.

  “I can’t believe this!” Tad said. “How could this have been an accident?”

  May shrugged. “I don’t know. But you heard what the paramedic said.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t believe it,” I said. “Kayla’s no dummy. She wouldn’t accidentally poison herself!”

  “But who would want to hurt Kayla?” Tad pointed out. He was right. We couldn’t think of anyone.

  “Besides,” May said, “the door to the room was locked when we left last night, and it was locked when we got there this morning.”

  “Yeah, that’s true. And I had the key in my pocket the whole time!” I said.

  Just then, a bike skidded to a stop in front of us. It was Curt. “Hey, Braves,” he said.

  “Hi, Curt,” May said. She glared at him. If looks could kill! May really didn’t like Curt.

  “What happened?” he asked. “I saw the ambulance pull away.”

  “Kayla’s ill,” Tad answered quickly.

  “What do you mean she’s ill?” Curt asked.

  I picked up a pebble from the street and fiddled with it. “She was ill when we got here this morning. She stayed here on a dare … from me,” I explained.

  Curt whistled. “I guess that’s it, then?” he said.

  May, Tad, and I looked at each other. “What do you mean?” I asked.

  Curt rolled his eyes. “Kayla’s ill? And it’s because of a dumb Braves dare?” he said. “That’s the end of the Braves, then!”

  With that, he kicked off and rode away.

  We didn’t like Curt very much, but we had to admit, he had a point. Once our parents heard about Kayla being ill, this might mean the end of the Braves. We had to find out who did this to Kayla, and fast!

  CHAPTER 5

  The First Clue

  “Well, this is the scene of the crime,”

  Tad said when we opened the front door of the Pike Street mansion. We had decided to cover every inch of the giant old house until we found some clues.

  “Creepy, isn’t it?” May said.

  It really was. I was really creeped out. It was even creepier than normal.

  We’d been inside the Pike Street mansion more times than I could count.

  But now, knowing someone had been there who wasn’t one of the Braves, the house was extra creepy. Especially since whoever had been there had hurt Kayla.

  “Guys, over here!” Tad called out. He was standing by the back door. It led out to an old veranda. We never went in or out that way. The veranda looked like it might fall apart any second.

  May and I went over to where Tad was standing. “Take a look at the veranda,” he said.

  May and I looked through the door to the veranda. “What about it?” May said. “It’s gross?”

  I laughed. “Sure is,” I said.

  Tad shook his head. “I mean, yes, it’s gross, but look at the rubbish out here,” he said.

  “Apple cores and fish bones,” I said. “So?”

  “So they’re not covered in insects or rotten or anything,” Tad pointed out. “This is fresh rubbish.”

  May shrugged. “So Kayla must have had dinner on the porch last night,” she said.

  “Maybe the fish made her ill,” I added.

  Tad shook his head again. “This wasn’t Kayla’s dinner, guys,” he said. “She doesn’t eat fish. Plus, she was locked in the room upstairs.”

  May’s eyes opened wide. “Someone else ate dinner here!” she whispered.

  Tad nodded slowly.

  “The attacker,” I added softly.

  “I bet it was Curt,” May said. She looked angry.

  Tad wrinkled his forehead at her. “Curt?” he asked.

  “Sure!” May said. “He was even here before, just like in the classic mysteries. You know, the crook always returns to the scene of the crime.”

  I shook my head. “No way,” I told them. “Curt wouldn’t do this. Why would he?”

  “He hates the Braves, Gutter!” May pointed out. “He even seemed happy that Kayla was ill, because it might mean the Braves will be done for.”

  Tad scratched his head. “That’s true,” he said. “But why would he eat dinner on the back porch?”

  May thought for a second. “Who knows,” she said. “Maybe he was waiting for Kayla to fall asleep and he got hungry.”

  “But he’s scared to death of this house,” I pointed out. “Remember? He ran away instead of finishing his dare.”

  “And don’t forget,” Tad said, “the bedroom door was locked.”

  May put her hands on her hips. “Well, I think it was Curt,” she said. “And I’ll find proof.”

  Tad looked at me. “Maybe it was Curt,” he said. “But I think we should keep looking for clues.”

  May nodded. “I agree,” she said. “Let’s split up. We can cover the whole house faster that way.”

  Tad ran up to the second floor, May checked the first floor, and I looked around the ground floor.

  Pretty quickly, I decided someone other than Kayla – and other than Curt – had been in the house. In the back room, where all the cloth-covered furniture was stored, one big sofa had been uncovered.

  There were newspapers here and there, and some of them were from less than a week before.

  I found May as she came down the stairs. “I think someone might be sort of living here,” I said.

  “Like … a homeless person?” May asked.

  I nodded. “Maybe, yeah,” I said slowly.

  Just then, Tad came thundering down the stairs. “Guys!” he shouted.

  “What is it?” I called back. “Are you okay?”

  Tad took the last three stairs in a jump. He stood in front of us and held out a piece of paper.

  It was very small, and only had the letter “K” written on it.

  “What is this?” I asked, grabbing it.

  “K, for Kayla!” Tad said.

  “Where did you find it?” I asked.

  “Right next to Kayla’s sleeping bag, up in the creepy room on the second floor,” Tad explained.

  May looked deep in thought.

  “What do you think it means?” I asked, turning to May.

  “I think it means that someone left Kayla a note,” she said.

  “But there’s nothing on it but a K!” I said. “That’s not much of a note.”

  May nodded. “Agreed. So there must have been something else with this slip of paper,” she said.

  May and I looked at Tad.

  “There was nothing else there. I’m sure of it,” Tad said.

  “Well, then, whatever was there, Kayla must have taken it,” I suggested.

  “Or eaten it!” May said suddenly.

  “Eaten it?” Tad and I said at the same time.

  May nodded. “Yup. Don’t you see?” she asked, looking back and forth between me and Tad. “This proves it. Someone left her the poison to eat! It was no accident!”

  CHAPTER 6

  An Heir br />
  We were all pretty shaken up by finding that note.

  “This keeps getting creepier,” I said, once we got back to the shack at my house. “I can’t believe someone left poison for Kayla.”

  Tad shook his head. “It’s pretty scary,” he said. “And really creepy.”

  May frowned. She was tapping on the old barrel we use as a table. “I still think it was Curt,” she said.

  “He does know that we go there sometimes, and he knows Kayla’s name,” Tad pointed out. “He could have left that note.”

  I nodded and added, “True. And a random homeless guy wouldn’t have known her name.”

  May smiled. “There you go!” she said, getting to her feet. “It must have been someone who knows Kayla!”

  “I guess so,” I said.

  “That means us,” May went on, “or Curt.”

  “Or Kayla’s parents,” Tad added.

  May just glared at him.

  “What?” Tad said, throwing his arms up. “I’m just saying they know Kayla too.”

  “Well,” I said, standing up, “I’d feel better if we did some research on this mystery person who lives at the mansion.”

  “The homeless person?” Tad asked. I nodded.

  May sat back down and slumped. “Fine. How?” she asked.

  “We can check with the shelter on Hollister Place,” I suggested.

  Tide Cliff is very small, so I thought the director at the homeless shelter might know if someone was sleeping at the Pike Street mansion.

  “Good plan,” Tad said.

  May groaned. “Fine,” she agreed. “But after that, I want to go and ask Curt some questions.”

  “After we finish at the shelter, you can ask him whatever you want,” Tad replied.

  *

  I’d been to the Tide Cliff homeless shelter on Hollister Place once before.

  In Year Five, my class went there to serve roast turkey and potatoes and stuff like that before Christmas. The shelter isn’t a very happy place, but it felt good to make some of the people smile.

  I remember thinking that I wouldn’t like to think of that place as my home.

  When we got there that afternoon, the director was standing outside, counting people as they came in for an early dinner. I remembered her from my class visit. Her name was Ms Kelley. She was a tall woman with grey hair that she wore in a ponytail.

  “Ms Kelley?” I said as we all walked up to her.

  “Yes?” she replied. She looked closely at us. “Are you kids hungry?” she asked.

  I suppose she must have thought we were homeless kids.

  “No, thank you,” Tad said. “We just wanted to ask you about someone.”

  May added, “That’s right. Um, do you know if any of the people who stay here …”

  “Or eat here,” I added.

  “Right,” May went on. “Do you know if any of them sometimes stay at the mansion on Pike Street?”

  “Do you mean the old Hume place?” the director asked.

  I had never heard it called that before. We had always called it the Pike Street mansion. So did everyone else in town, as far as I knew.

  “That’s the last name of the family that lived in that house for many years,” Ms Kelley explained. “However, it’s been empty for years. Why do you think someone is staying at the Hume place?”

  “Well,” I started, “we found some newspapers.”

  “And old food!” Tad added.

  “Right,” I went on. “In the house.”

  “Wait a second. Inside the house?” Ms Kelley said, frowning. “What were you kids doing in the house?”

  May, Tad, and I jumped back.

  “Nothing!” Tad said.

  “That is, nothing bad!” May added.

  Ms Kelley squinted at us. “Hmm. You know, I think I heard something about a girl getting poisoned in one of the old mansions on the hill. You kids wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” she asked.

  Did she think we had poisoned Kayla?

  “That was our friend Kayla,” Tad replied.

  “We didn’t hurt her,” I added. “We only want to find out who did.”

  “Well,” Ms Kelley said sternly, “you’d better stay out of the Hume place from now on. You’re only going to find trouble there.”

  “Yes, Ms Kelley,” we all replied.

  Ms Kelley nodded. “That house does have owners, you know,” she added. “A family from the city is in town right now, actually. The Pickerings, I think they’re called. And they are planning to sell it.”

  Someone owned the Pike Street mansion? I couldn’t believe it. Why would someone own a big old house like that and not take care of it?

  “Thank you, Ms Kelley,” I said, grabbing May and Tad by the arm. “We won’t bother you anymore. And we’ll stay out of the Pike Street – I mean, the Hume place.”

  With that, I pulled my friends away.

  “Did you hear that?” I whispered when we were far enough away. “Someone is in town to sell the Pike Street mansion right now!”

  Tad nodded. “I know. Weird.”

  “Really weird,” May added. “Why would it have to be this week, when Kayla did that stupid dare?”

  I shrugged. To be honest, I was feeling pretty guilty already about Kayla’s dare. But May saying that made me feel even worse. I needed to come up with a plan quickly.

  “Well,” I said, “if the Pickerings are only in town for a little while, they’re probably at the Ocean Side Resort.”

  The Ocean Side is a resort hotel right on the border of Tide Cliff. People just passing through usually stay at the motel. People with lots of money stay at the Ocean Side.

  “Any family who owns a mansion like the one on Pike Street can probably afford to stay wherever they want to,” I said. “Let’s go over there and ask them some questions.”

  May crossed her arms. “What about talking to Curt?” she asked.

  Tad chuckled. “We will, but we should follow this hot lead first.”

  “Right,” I added. “Before it cools down.”

  “Fine,” May said darkly. “But then I’m dealing with Curt.”

  May wrinkled her forehead and gritted her teeth. When I looked at her and saw how angry she was, I actually felt worried for Curt!

  *

  It’s a pretty long walk to the Ocean Side. The sun was starting to go down over the water when we reached the resort.

  A couple were still out on the tennis courts, though.

  “Great shot, darling,” the woman said. “I think that’s the end. You win.”

  The man smiled and they both went over to the bench for a drink. “Great game, honey,” the man said as they sat down. “Good thing that we’re happily married. That was a rough one!”

  They both laughed at his joke. I thought it was a pretty silly joke, but it was all we needed to hear.

  “That’s got to be the couple who own the Pike Street mansion,” I said.

  “Let’s go and talk to them!” May said, and she headed toward the courts. Tad rolled his eyes, and we followed her.

  “Excuse me?” May started. “Are you the Pickerings?”

  Mr Pickering put his arm around his wife. “Yes. Can we help you?” he asked.

  “Are you friends of Vern’s?” Mrs Pickering asked.

  Vern? Who was Vern?

  “Um, no Mrs Pickering,” Tad replied for all of us. “We wanted to ask you about the mansion on Pike Street.”

  Mr Pickering laughed. Then he asked, “Are you kids interested in buying it?”

  Hilarious. Well, we didn’t think that was such a funny joke, so Tad just went on. “Well, did you hear about the girl who was poisoned?” he asked.

  “Are you friends of hers?” Mrs Pickering asked. “It’s very sad.”

  “Yes, it is,” May replied. “We’re trying to find out what happened.”

  Mrs Pickering frowned and looked closely at May.

  “Wait a second,” Mrs Pickering said. “I thought i
t was some kind of accident. Didn’t she eat something she shouldn’t have?”

  “Probably,” Mr Pickering added. “Obviously she’s the kind of girl who likes to break the rules and do what she isn’t supposed to do. After all, she shouldn’t have been in our house. Isn’t that right, honey?” He looked at his wife, who nodded.

  Ouch. It hurt to hear this man hinting that it was Kayla’s fault that she’d been poisoned. But I knew that if we started arguing with them or getting upset, we’d never get any answers.

  I could tell May was upset by his comment too, so I just kept going before she could react.

  “Do you know if anyone is living in the house?” I asked.

  “Living there?” Mr Pickering said. “Of course not.”

  “It hasn’t been lived in for over twenty years, since Grandma Hume passed away,” Mrs Pickering explained.

  I thought she seemed nervous when she said it. She seemed to look at the ground.

  When I thought about it more, though, I realized that they wouldn’t have known anything about someone using their mansion for shelter.

  “Thank you very much,” May said, backing away. “I hope we didn’t bother you.”

  The three of us started to walk off.

  But just when we reached the corner, someone jumped out at us and shouted, “What do you think you’re doing?”

  CHAPTER 7

  Shadowing

  “Who are you?” May snapped. “What do you want?”

  The boy was short – shorter than May, even – and sort of plump. He had a blonde crew cut, and he was wearing Bermuda shorts and a shirt. “I’ll ask the questions!” he said. “Who are you?”

  I rolled my eyes and replied, “I’m Gutter.” Then I pointed at my friends and added, “And that’s May and Tad. Do you have any more questions?”

  “Yeah, I do,” the kid said. “Why are you guys bothering my parents?”

  “Your parents?” I asked.

  “That’s right,” he said. “I’m Vern Pickering.”

  “The son of the couple who owns the mansion on Pike Street?” Tad asked.

  Vern nodded. “You just stay away from that house and my parents!” he said.

  The three of us mumbled that we’d stay away. Then we quickly walked off. I turned around and saw that Vern was still standing there, glaring at us.