The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers Book 2: A King's Ransom Read Free Page B

slapped it in frustration. Then footsteps heading away rapidly.
    “We’d better get out of here!” Amy whispered.
    “Sure, but they can do the heavy lifting.” Dan pointed to the large leather trunk of the fashionable Italian lady they’d seen at the station. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
    “I hope not,” Amy said. “Because that would be a huge problem for me.”
    Dan was already using his metal device on the lock. It sprang open, and he lifted the lid. He began to toss out piles of ski clothes, shoes, dresses, and sweaters.
    “What are you doing?” Amy asked. “This place looks like the mall during prom week.”
    Dan dug into his pack and came up with a multi-tool gadget. It had a hammer/pliers device on the top and a variety of knives and cutters concealed in the handle. “I bought this baby while you were looking for a charger for the DeOssie phone,” he said. He began to use a tool to drill discreet holes in the trunk. “Nice trunk, but it’ll be better with breathing holes.”
    “Both of us are going to fit in there?” Amy asked. “I don’t think so.”
    “No, you’re going in that,” Dan said. He indicated a long nylon bag. Amy unzipped it and saw a snowboard.
    “In here?”
    “It’s just until we get on a luggage cart. Then we’ll get out. It’s the only way. Look.” He shook the luggage tag with the printed destination at her. “‘Engelberg.’ These are both getting unloaded at the next stop.” Amy swallowed. Suddenly, the long black bag looked like a coffin.
    Just then they felt it: the smooth deceleration of the train. There was no time to think of something else. Quickly, they stuffed the clothes behind a pile of suitcases. Dan climbed into the trunk.
    Amy stuffed her pack and Dan’s in the bottom of the bag, then quickly slipped into it.
    She felt the snowboard digging into her back.
    “But what if — ”
    He shook his head. “We don’t have time for
what if
s
.
We haven’t for a long time.”
    She looked into his intent green eyes. He was right. They had burst through all their
what if
s long ago, starting with the worst one of all.
    What if Grace dies?
    What if we can’t find the clues?
    What if we get caught?
    What if we get killed?
    Either things happened or they didn’t. All you could do was deal with it.
    Dan closed the trunk lid and Amy wiggled one hand out and latched it, then zipped herself into the bag. She closed her eyes and breathed. The air felt stuffy and she placed her mouth as close to the hole as she could. She felt the train come to a smooth stop. Footsteps approached in the corridor outside. She heard the door open.
    She heard someone enter the car and circle it. Even the footsteps sounded careful … like the person would miss nothing… .
    “
Niente
,” someone else said impatiently.
    Niente
… nothing. She was relieved to hear the train conductor argue something about the schedule. She could pick out random words in Italian, that was all.
    She felt herself being lifted and tossed onto the luggage cart. The impact shuddered through every bone. Suddenly, she realized that other suitcases might be tossed on top of her. Maybe even the trunk! She panicked and reached for the zipper just as the cart began to move.
    Her heartbeat tripped double-time. She was rolling now, and a bump told her she was off the train. She felt the rumble of the wheels. Then the cart stopped.
    She eased down the zipper and tried to peer out. All she saw was hard blue sky. She felt the chill of mountain air. She eased the zipper down a bit more.
    The train attendant was stepping back onto the train. A porter exited the Engelberg station, hurrying to meet the fashionable older woman surrounded by her suitcases. A young guy in a bright nylon jacket jumped off the train behind her — the snowboarder, Amy guessed.
    The inspector stood on the step of the train, coolly surveying the station. Waiting to see if they’d dis-embark, she guessed. Any moment the porter would