The Secret Cipher

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cart from another room.
    â€œHi, Louis. Did you just come from Jane Doe’s room?”
    â€œYeah,” Louis told her.
    I’d 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.
    â€œShe’s agitated,” he said. “Her window was wide open. She said the gods had found her.”
    â€œPoor thing,” Sister Agnes said.
    The gods had found her? Wow, Juniper was really good at pretending to be confused.
    â€œI gave her the sedative,” Louis said. “She should be going to sleep soon.”
    Uh-oh. We needed to talk to her quick, before she fell asleep.
    While they talked, I pretended to be adjusting Herman’s blanket, making him more comfortable. “Leave me alone,” he snapped.
    â€œShhh,” I told him, trying my best to hear the conversation.
    â€œWhy were the police in her room?” Sister Agnes asked.
    â€œDidn’t you hear? She had her stroke at the Museum of Fine Arts. The police said she broke into the security office. But they haven’t been able to figure out her motive.” He took the cart and began to push it farther down the hall. Sister Agnes followed alongside. “I’m going to lunch in twenty. You want to get a fozen yogurt?”
    â€œOh, that sounds good,” Sister Agnes said. They disappeared around the corner.
    A small paper sign was taped outside room 19: Hospital Staff Admittance Only . “Hey,” I called to Ethan and Tyler, waving them over. “This is it.”
    â€œThat ain’t my room,” Herman Hofstedder said.
    Ethan stared at the sign. “We can’t go in there.” I knew exactly what he’d say next—that we’d 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 she’d be asleep soon. We needed to get some answers now. I looked around. The hallway was empty. So I opened the door.
    â€œI have a bad feeling about this,” Ethan complained.
    Mr. Hofstedder grunted. “That makes two of us.”
    Tyler narrowed his eyes. “What if the urn’s in there?”
    I’d been thinking the same thing, but how could that be possible? “The bank robber has it, remember?”
    â€œYeah, but what if . . . ?” Tyler’s face went pale. I felt as scared as he looked, but we couldn’t back down now.
    â€œDon’t worry, I don’t think it’s in there,” I told him. “I’m not sensing anything.” During our adventure in Washington, DC, I’d felt the urn’s presence. Even though it had been hidden in the Camels’ motel room, I’d been able to feel it calling to me. But that did not happen as I stood outside room 19. “Let’s go in and talk to her.”
    Tyler straightened his back, as if pushing away the fear. Then he waved his arm. “After you, dweeboids.”
    â€œWatch your language, young man,” 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, he’s talking about replacement cloning. It’s 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 couldn’t have a brain transplant. So we could only hope that the damage she’d 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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