Read Online The History Mystery by Ana María Machado - Free Book Online

obviously putting all the pieces together in his head as he read the messages and listened to what Sonia and Pedro were telling him, and at last he said, ‘I think we can add something to that list of yours.’
    â€˜What?’ asked the other two together.
    â€˜I’m not exactly sure – I can’t explain it properly. But I get the impression this guy’s asking for help. And I feel like helping him.’
    â€˜Help?’ asked Sonia, puzzled. ‘Who? The hacker? You mean this person wants to turn us into accomplices or something?’
    â€˜Hey, listen,’ said Pedro, ‘hacking into other people’s computers is a crime: we could go to jail for that. You can count me out.’
    Matt didn’t know what they were talking about.
    â€˜I’ll tell you what I’m thinking,’ said Pedro. ‘This is clearly not a virus, but a hacker, right?’
    Matt agreed that it did look like that.
    â€˜We’re dealing with someone smart and competent,’ said Pedro, ‘someone who’s really good with computers, someone who knows his history and uses that as a kind of disguise. He changes what he says depending on who he’s talking to. He moves from ancient Egypt to Babylon to Medieval times to thetime of the explorers, and so on. And he or she takes on the character of a queen, an alchemist, a scribe, a priest, a merchant …’
    â€˜We think this person knows us pretty well,’ Sonia added, ‘because he is able to pick up on what we are thinking or working on.’
    â€˜This last message to you, Matt,’ said Pedro, ‘mentions your name being the same as one of the Evangelists. Those were the people who wrote the gospels, and one of them was Matthew. That’s pretty personal, right? This guy really does know us.’
    â€˜Or he can read thoughts,’ suggested Carol, but nobody took any notice of her.
    Pedro continued. ‘These weird messages look like some kind of joke or game. But it may not be a game at all. The way I see it, this is a way of marking territory, of showing that someone has been there and has left a trail. That’s what hackers do. We still don’t know who it is, or why they’re doing it, or why we were chosen – or if perhaps this is happening also to other people out there, but we haven’t heard about it.
    â€˜The thing is, this might be serious. And I hate to keep saying this, but hacking is a crime, and I really don’t like the idea of getting mixed up with a hacker.’
    The others stayed silent, thinking.
    â€˜I mean,’ Pedro went on after a while, ‘what if the guy breaks into a bank system and steals a loadof money? Or hacks into some government stuff, destroys a security system? He could do anything. Stuff we can’t even imagine. People could get hurt, you know?’
    Sonia got goosebumps all over again. Feeling a bit awkward, she made a suggestion. ‘Should we maybe tell the police? Instead of trying to figure this out ourselves.’
    â€˜I’m not sure about that,’ Pedro said hesitantly. ‘They might not take us seriously. I mean, it does sound very weird. They might just laugh at us.’
    Sonia nodded. Very likely.
    â€˜But, listen, I have another idea,’ Pedro said. ‘I thought of maybe talking to Colin and showing him everything. He’s experienced – he’s a lawyer – so maybe he could help us out, give us a few tips.’
    â€˜Who is this Colin?’ asked Matt.
    â€˜That lawyer who’s dating Sonia’s sister. He’s the one who sent us a copy of the message that a clerk in their office found, all mixed up with a legal document. Actually, he left a message for us, saying he wanted to have a chat about it. I’d forgotten that.’
    Matt thought it over. ‘Yes …’ he said hesitantly. ‘I suppose.’ But he did not seem convinced.
    He thought a bit more and then he said,