The Amanda Project: Book 4: Unraveled by Amanda Valentino & Cathleen Davitt Bell

Author:Amanda Valentino & Cathleen Davitt Bell [Valentino, Amanda & Bell, Cathleen Davitt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, Social Issues, Adolescence, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Friendship
ISBN: 9780061742194
Google: JFUccm2Pc2AC
Amazon: B00C0210PU
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: 2012-06-26T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Callie and her mom stood crying and hugging each other for a very long time. Eventually, Mrs. Leary started asking questions about how Callie had found her, and what she was doing here. We didn’t have even a fraction of the time they needed to catch up on everything that had happened to Callie, so Callie told her the quick version, about Amanda, about her disappearance, and about what we’d learned about the C33s when we broke into OCP.

“You grew up there, didn’t you?” Callie said. “I saw that puzzle—the Water Lilies one you said you loved when you were a kid.”

Mrs. Leary was nodding. She squeezed Callie’s hand then looked at all of us. “And so you’re all Amanda’s guides?” she asked. “Hello, Nia,” she said. “Hal.”

Never one to hold back, Nia jumped in, “When you were growing up, did you know my mom?”

“Of course.” Mrs. Leary chuckled, wiping her damp face. “From our early years. She was the first baby I ever got to hold. As she grew, we older girls used to fight over who got to pretend to be her mom and brush her hair and all that. Your mom was also class parent when you and Callie were second graders, and Callie would bring home cellophane packages with hand-calligraphed recipe cards.”

“That sounds like her,” Nia smiled.

“Since I left, your mom has been wonderful, looking after Callie and keeping her safe.”

“I know,” Callie said. “Mr. Bennett explained.”

“Good,” said Mrs. Leary. She turned to me. “And you’re Zoe?” she said. “You’re George Costas’s oldest?”

“Yeah,” I said. “But my dad—”

“I know, sweetheart,” Mrs. Leary said. “I heard about what happened to him and I’m just so, so sorry. You know, I used to look up to your dad. When we were growing up, he and Max, there was just nothing they couldn’t do.”

“Mrs. Leary,” I said, “we believe we’re here because Amanda wanted us to find you. Do you know why that would be?” I thought about Rosie and the mysterious red and blue plastic cards. “Did she give you something to give us?”

Mrs. Leary shook her head. “I’ve never even seen Amanda,” she said. “Only heard about her from other C33s. But I do have something for you to give her.”

“What is it?” Callie asked.

Mrs. Leary ran a hand through her hair, further disturbing her bun. “This is going to take some explaining,” she said. “It’s hard to imagine, but there was a point in my life when I wasn’t afraid of Dr. Joy. After the C33 program was disbanded, after I began publishing and receiving grant funding for my own work, and he was so down and out, I began to feel like he was benign. Pathetic even.

“He was still coming around a lot. Every time I published a paper or won a prize, he’d be there, either sending a little note of congratulation or, worse, showing up on our doorstep ‘just for a chat.’ We had him in for dinner sometimes. This was all before you were born.

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