“Hey!” I called out as I walked into the living room. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“Yes,” Shelby said. Her demeanor changed from concerned to bored. “Just wanted to make sure you were all right.”
“Yeah, thanks, Shelby, for what you did.” It was my first time seeing her up close. Both arms were completely bandaged, as was one ankle, and her right arm was in a sling. She must’ve really hurt herself trying to save me. “Are you okay?”
She waved me away with her good arm. “I’m fine.”
She didn’t look fine. She looked way worse than I did. My skin was still a little ashen, but besides that, I was the same old John Watson.
“I can’t believe—”
“You seem to forget that I was also trapped, Watson. Let’s not make this all about you.”
The hard-edged Shelby exterior had returned. I was glad I overheard her talking to Mom, to know that she truly did appreciate me. And despite what she said, I knew she went through all that pain because of me.
“Well, I figure I at least owe you some chocolate,” I offered. She wasn’t going to accept my gratitude, but she was never one to turn down sugar. “Maybe we could hit up Levain after school tomorrow?”
The corner of her lips twitched. “Yes, well, I did put myself in a rather precarious position, so that would be a suitable form of appreciation.”
Mom walked away shaking her head. She could prevent me from working on Shelby’s cases, but she couldn’t stop me from being her friend. And I knew there had to be a way to get Mom to let me partner with Shelby again … even though I never had her permission in the first place.
“Are you going to school tomorrow?” Shelby asked. “I suppose you could probably milk another day or two if you wanted.”
“Naw, I figure it’s time to get back to school. Although I’m sure there are plenty of stories going around about what happened.” I smiled at Shelby.
She could play tough and nonplussed all she wanted, but I knew the truth: Shelby Holmes really cared about me.
CHAPTER
27
Sitting on the front steps outside our brownstone had become a familiar routine for me. When I first moved to 221 Baker Street, I sat there out of boredom, but I also did it because I was hoping to hang out with Shelby.
So there I was the next morning, sitting on the steps waiting to walk to school with her. I was also itching to get her alone so I could finally get the answers to all my questions.
Shelby didn’t even pause when she exited the building. “Feeling better?”
“Yeah, thanks.” I couldn’t believe Shelby was acting like it was any other day. Then I notice something: Shelby’s worn purple backpack had been replaced with a newer one. “You got a new backpack?”
“Yes!” Shelby exclaimed, a little more enthusiastically than I was expecting. “I see that you’re finally observing. Well done, Watson!”
I think a huge, bright, new purple backpack would be hard for anyone to miss. “What happened to your old one?” She had carried that thing with her everywhere. It held her entire life and all her detective tools.
“It broke on Monday.”
It broke when we were out? I didn’t remember—
Oh.
“How did it break?” I wanted to hear what happened directly from Shelby.
“Well, I wrongly assumed that if I wrapped the backpack straps around the pipe I could use them to hold on to the pipe, while I used my feet to shimmy up. It worked for a while. I was almost to the top when the straps broke.” She looked down at her right arm in the sling.
“That’s when you dislocated your shoulder?”
“Correct. I wasn’t prepared to fall, which was entirely my fault, and I landed wrong.”
“That must’ve hurt.”
Shelby shrugged it off. “It wasn’t pleasant. It was worse when I popped it back into place. But time was of the essence, so there was no time for a pity party. I wrapped my arms up using my Basia costume and climbed the pipe the old-fashioned way.”
I stopped walking.
“Shelby …” I couldn’t find the right words. How do you thank somebody for putting herself through so much to save you?
“We’re going to be late, Watson,” Shelby called over her shoulder as she kept walking.
I jogged to catch up to her. There was still so much I needed to know. “So what are we going to do? Did Moira return the watch to Mr. Crosby like she said she would? And why were you talking to Lestrade?” I began firing questions.
“We aren’t going to do anything. You never told me that your mom didn’t know you were working with me,” Shelby snapped. Honestly, I think the fact she hadn’t deduced that I was lying to my mom upset her more than anything.
I didn’t have a response. I should’ve told Mom. Maybe I should’ve let Shelby know that I hadn’t told Mom. I should’ve done a bunch of things differently, but none of that changed the situation we were in now. “But I want to help you. I’ll talk to—”
“Listen, Watson,” Shelby cut me off. “I would love your help, and while I’m no stranger to being creative when it comes to informing my parents of my activities, I can’t put you in danger like that again. Your mom has already lost—” Shelby stopped herself.
“My mom has lost what?” I asked, worry in my voice. Shelby could always tell things about people by merely looking at them. She saw something in my mom, and I wanted to know what it was. “You have to tell me, Shelby!”
She hesitated for a minute. “It’s been difficult on your mom to raise you by herself these last few months. I know you miss your father, but you need to realize that she misses him as well. And if anything happened to you, she’d truly be alone.”
For the second time that week, I felt out of breath. But this was different. It was like the wind had been knocked out of me. Shelby knew more about my mom than I did.
“I’ll handle Mr. Crosby. Don’t worry about it,” Shelby assured me.
“But, but I …,” I stuttered. As much as I wanted to help her, I couldn’t without Mom’s permission. It wasn’t fair to keep lying to Mom when she’d done so much for me. And I knew I was never getting Mom’s permission.
We stayed silent until we turned the corner of the school. A few of our fellow students stopped what they were doing when they saw us and started whispering. Some even pointed.
“Why did you tell people that I saved you?” I asked Shelby.
She had to have known I’d hear the rumors.
“I figured it would be a blow to your delicate male ego to have been saved by a girl.”
That didn’t make sense. I didn’t care about something like that. And Shelby wasn’t one to shrug off credit, or not show how smart she was. “Shelby, come on. Why would you do that? You know I’m going to write about all of this eventually.”
“You care about the opinions of your peers more than I do.”
“But I’m going to tell everybody the truth.”
Yeah, I was going to make things right with the truth. First I’d let people know it was Shelby who saved me. Second, I’d find a way to make everything up to my mom.
“Shelby, what’s the real reason?”
Shelby turned to me before we entered the front doors of the school. People were definitely looking at us.
“It’s not a big deal,” Shelby said, even though it was a big deal. Then in a quiet voice she added, “Plus, you have saved me. In your own way.”
CHAPTER
28
Everybody was looking at me. People stared as I walked to my locker. I should’ve walked with my head held high, since everybody assumed that I was some big hero. What a joke that was.
“Watson!” Tamra Lacy called out to me as I grabbed my books. “How are you? Oh my goodness, I can’t get over what you did.” She gave me a wide smile as her friends stood behind her giggling.
“Er, thanks, but it was Shelby,” I replied. “She was the hero, not me.”
“Oh, that make
s sense.”
Yep, because Tamra had seen Shelby in action. She knew better.
I hadn’t really talked to Tamra since she basically ignored me on the first day of school. I was about to ask how Zane was, if he was still grounded for dognapping Daisy, but there was something else I wanted to know. “Hey, you know Moira Hardy, right?”
“Yeah, our dads are friends. How do you know Moira?”
“I ran into Moira the other day.” I decided to remain fuzzy on the details. Shelby was always coy about her cases until they were solved, and I didn’t know how much to share.
Tamra laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m sure you had a great time,” she said sarcastically. “She makes Zareen look like an angel.” Zareen was Tamra’s older sister, and to say that they fought was like saying Shelby knew a few things.
“How so?” I asked.
“Anytime her parents give even the smallest compliment to somebody else she goes off. My mom says it’s because she’s an only child.”
Um, I was an only child and would never behave that way. In fact, I didn’t know one sane person who would act like that, siblings or not.
“Oh!” Tamra flipped her hair. “Speaking of which. Her dad was superimpressed by the way you and Shelby got to the bottom of figuring out who took Daisy. So maybe you should watch your back, Watson!”
She laughed lightly, then continued down the hall to her first class. If only Shelby and I had that information two days ago. So much would be different.
Too little, much too late.
All morning at school I got high fives and nods of respect. A few girls even told me how brave I was. Normally I’d love the attention … if it weren’t all a lie. I kept replying, “Thanks, but it was all Shelby.” Most people would respond with a laugh and go on their way. We really needed to get to the bottom of this case so I could report on the entire truth of what happened.
When the bell rang at the end of science class, Shelby sprinted out of the room while Mr. Crosby asked me to stay for a second.
“How are you feeling?” Mr. Crosby asked for the third time so far today. (He was waiting for me at my locker before school, then when I walked into class, and now.) “You look better!”
He hardly glanced at me during class. When he did, he looked guilty.
“I’m doing better, thanks.” I noticed his bare wrist. “So … have you heard from Moira yet about your watch?”
“No,” Mr. Crosby replied. “But it’s nothing you need to worry about. It’s only a watch. It wasn’t worth what you went through. Again, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Even though it wasn’t.
We failed Mr. Crosby. What was worse was that Moira got away with everything with zero consequences.
“I should get to my next class,” I said.
“Of course, of course.” Mr. Crosby stood up and walked me to the hallway. “Again, please let me know if there’s anything I can do. And I’m so sorry. For everything.”
I gave him a smile as I turned to walk down the hallway. But Mr. Crosby called after me, “You’re very brave, John.”
That wasn’t true. Mr. Crosby knew the real story about what happened on Monday.
I wasn’t brave. I was a fraud.
But that was going to change. I had to finally do the right thing. The scary thing.
I had to tell Mom everything.
CHAPTER
29
“Do you have a second?” I asked Mom after dinner while we were cleaning up. We had our routine. Mom washed while I dried and put the dishes away.
“I always have time for you. Are you feeling all right?” Mom asked, her forehead creasing.
“Yes, it’s just … I need you to know a few things. I want you to know the truth about working with Shelby. All of it.”
Mom took the frying pan from me and set it on the counter. She put her arm around my shoulder as I sat down at the table.
“When I first came here, I was really lost,” I admitted. “I was overwhelmed. I know I pretended to be okay with everything, but I didn’t know what to think. Everything had changed so quickly.” Mom nodded in agreement. “Shelby took care of me. Helping with her cases has been amazing. I’m learning a lot and doing something different. I’m doing something that matters.”
I opened up Mom’s laptop and pulled up my online journal. “I want you to know about the cases we’ve done together. It’s all here. I’ve been writing about them for class. I know I should’ve told you about my journal, but I was worried if you knew about the cases that you wouldn’t let me keep working with Shelby. And Mom, I just … needed to. But now you can read this and see everything that she can do, and how I’m helping her. Mom, I’m a part of something really special.”
Mom started scrolling down my posts. “John, I know Shelby is really smart, but you got very sick because you were working with her. You’ve lied to me about where you’ve been, what you were doing, who you’re—” Mom stopped, then looked at me. “I just realized something: Basia wasn’t Mrs. Hudson’s niece.”
“No. It was Shelby.”
Mom looked impressed for a second before shaking it off.
“I know you’re worried,” I said. “Believe me, I was worried in the boiler room, too, but it wasn’t Shelby’s fault. I was the one who knew my blood sugar was low. I was the one who followed Shelby when she told me to leave. If I was with anybody else when I was locked in that boiler room, well, I think we both know what would’ve happened.”
Tears started welling in Mom’s eyes.
“I trust Shelby,” I said. “In fact, I trust her more than ever now.” And come to think of it, maybe more than I trust anybody outside of Mom. Shelby had never lied to me (she’d lied for me). She had my back, and put herself in danger to help me. “But I need you to trust me,” I finished.
Mom was wringing her hands. I knew she just didn’t want anything to happen to me. After all, she was my mom.
My mom who had lost a big part of her life already. I kept thinking about what Shelby said. That I was all Mom had, and I had put myself in harm’s way.
So I decided to take the biggest risk, and talk about the thing we’d both been avoiding. The thing we both lost.
“I’m sad about Dad,” I said, and Mom snapped her head up to look at me. “I miss him. And I know it’s been hard on you, too. I’m sorry. But I want you to know that I’m not going anywhere.”
Mom began to rub my back, and I did my best to shake off the tears that were stinging behind my eyes. I had to be strong for her. “But I know that now it’s just you and me. And that means I need to step up. No more lies, okay?”
Tears were flowing down Mom’s cheeks. “I’m so proud of the man you’re turning into,” she said.
Maybe it was spending so much time with Shelby, but I was feeling pretty proud of myself, too.
“Do you trust me?” I pressed Mom.
She wiped away her tears and stood up to face me. Vulnerable Mom was gone, and Tough Mom had returned. “I do trust you, John. And you’re not the only one who is going to make some changes. First, while I still think you’re too young, I know we’re in a different time from when I was a kid, so you’ll be getting your own cell phone.”
Whoa. I didn’t see that coming.
“So we can be in constant contact. I need to know where you are at all times. No more lies,” she repeated my promise.
I couldn’t believe I was finally getting a phone. It made me feel super grown-up (and yeah, a little cool to finally have one).
“So …” Mom closed her eyes. “You can still work with Shelby, BUT!” She held out her finger as I was about to jump up from the chair. “From here on out, you are to tell me about your cases, who you’re working for, and what you’re doing to solve the case. Deal?”
“Of course!”
I couldn’t believe it. I got to continue working with Shelby and get a cell phone. Wow, things were really looking up for John Watson.
CHAPTER
30
/> I practically skipped up the flight of stairs to Shelby’s after talking with Mom. I couldn’t wait to tell Shelby that I could still work with her. Maybe she already had a new case for us.
I knocked on the door and my mood diminished when Michael opened it. “Yes,” he answered with his usual bored tone.
“Hi, Michael. Is Shelby here?” I asked.
“Is Earth 365 million miles away from Jupiter?” he asked.
I replied with a blank stare until he finally held open the door for me. (So I take it that was a yes?)
Classic music filled the apartment as Michael returned to an armchair to continue reading some ginormous book on philosophy. Had anybody in this house ever cracked opened a Harry Potter book?
I went upstairs, where the sound of the violin got louder as I climbed. I’d never heard Shelby play. Classical music wasn’t my thing, but I was pretty impressed by what I heard. She really was good.
I hadn’t been on the second floor of the Holmeses’ apartment yet. I was sort of curious to see Shelby’s bedroom. There was no way it was going to be a normal room. There was a master bedroom off to the right, and two doors to the left that were closed. One door had a Do Not Enter by Credence of Shelby Holmes sign taped to it.
I reached out my fist to knock, but before I could do it, Shelby’s voice came from behind the door. “Come on in, Watson.”
How did—
You know what? Never mind. Why did I keep asking questions like that? Of course she somehow knew I was outside her bedroom. I think I should just refer to her abilities like a verb. There she goes again, pulling a Shelby.
I opened the door and took a sweep of her room. It was exactly how I hoped it would be: organized chaos. Along one wall were two bookshelves that were crammed with so many books, the shelves were drooping. On the other side of the room was a desk that was covered with stacks of paper, a few glass beakers, and what appeared to be a toolbox. Sir Arthur was asleep on top of her unmade bed, which was pushed next to the only window in the room. The room was sparsely decorated: there was a poster of the periodic table, a quote that read, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth,” and random pieces of paper tacked to the wall. Shelby was seated with her violin near the door.