cart from another room.
âHi, Louis. Did you just come from Jane Doeâs room?â
âYeah,â Louis told her.
Iâd found her! Great-Aunt Juniper was behind door number 19. It was like a game show, where you hope that the door you choose has the biggest prize.
âSheâs agitated,â he said. âHer window was wide open. She said the gods had found her.â
âPoor thing,â Sister Agnes said.
The gods had found her? Wow, Juniper was really good at pretending to be confused.
âI gave her the sedative,â Louis said. âShe should be going to sleep soon.â
Uh-oh. We needed to talk to her quick, before she fell asleep.
While they talked, I pretended to be adjusting Hermanâs blanket, making him more comfortable. âLeave me alone,â he snapped.
âShhh,â I told him, trying my best to hear the conversation.
âWhy were the police in her room?â Sister Agnes asked.
âDidnât you hear? She had her stroke at the Museum of Fine Arts. The police said she broke into the security office. But they havenât been able to figure out her motive.â He took the cart and began to push it farther down the hall. Sister Agnes followed alongside. âIâm going to lunch in twenty. You want to get a fozen yogurt?â
âOh, that sounds good,â Sister Agnes said. They disappeared around the corner.
A small paper sign was taped outside room 19: Hospital Staff Admittance Only . âHey,â I called to Ethan and Tyler, waving them over. âThis is it.â
âThat ainât my room,â Herman Hofstedder said.
Ethan stared at the sign. âWe canât go in there.â I knew exactly what heâd say nextâthat weâd be breaking rules and that trespassing was illegal. He was right. But this was not the time to worry about rules. Louis had given a sedative to Juniper, and that meant sheâd be asleep soon. We needed to get some answers now. I looked around. The hallway was empty. So I opened the door.
âI have a bad feeling about this,â Ethan complained.
Mr. Hofstedder grunted. âThat makes two of us.â
Tyler narrowed his eyes. âWhat if the urnâs in there?â
Iâd been thinking the same thing, but how could that be possible? âThe bank robber has it, remember?â
âYeah, but what if . . . ?â Tylerâs face went pale. I felt as scared as he looked, but we couldnât back down now.
âDonât worry, I donât think itâs in there,â I told him. âIâm not sensing anything.â During our adventure in Washington, DC, Iâd felt the urnâs presence. Even though it had been hidden in the Camelsâ motel room, Iâd been able to feel it calling to me. But that did not happen as I stood outside room 19. âLetâs go in and talk to her.â
Tyler straightened his back, as if pushing away the fear. Then he waved his arm. âAfter you, dweeboids.â
âWatch your language, young man,â Mr. Hoffsteder grumbled.
Tyler was the last inside and he closed the door behind us.
11
Ethan
FACT: Human cloning already exists in the form of identical twins. But that process takes place naturally.
W hen Tyler says he wants to clone himself and replant his brain whenever his body wears out, heâs talking about replacement cloning. Itâs theoretically possible that my generation could see this in our lifetime. Tyler could extend his life by generations. So could Jax and I. Which means Tyler would be calling us dweeboids for a very long time.
But Juniper couldnât have a brain transplant. So we could only hope that the damage sheâd sufferedfrom her stroke was reversible. That her brain would repair itself. Jax was wrong about her not having a stroke.
The room was sparse, with one bed, one dresser, and a television set. There were no personal items like in the other rooms.
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