Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15 Dr. Gomez sped toward the airport. "What do we do if the rental place won't tell us the man's name?" Sadie asked. "They probably won't," Dr. Gomez said. "But we might be able to gather some clues there to help us find out who he is." As Dr. Gomez exited the interstate, Merle suddenly shouted, "Hold on!" He pointed. Along a frontage road sat a hotel with a few cars parked in the parking lot. One of them was a white Toyota. "Isn't that the car?"

"That's a very popular car and a very popular color, but it can't hurt to take a closer look," Dr. Gomez said. He pulled around into the hotel parking lot and slowly rolled up to the back of the white car. "CPG 872!" Sadie yelled. "Well, what do you know?" Dr. Gomez said. "You just made our search a whole lot easier, Merle." "It's the least I could do, considering Pearl's my wife," Merle answered. Dr. Gomez parked, and the five of them crept toward the entrance of the hotel. Before they even reached the reception desk, Michael spotted the man in the suit and sunglasses talking on his phone in the lobby. "That's him!" Michael whispered a

little bit too loudly. Sunglasses Man started to turn around, and they all scrambled to take cover behind various chairs and potted plants. The man scanned the room and then turned back around, still talking on his phone. Dr. Gomez shushed Michael as they poked their heads out from behind potted ferns on either side of the lobby entrance. "Let me hear what he's saying." The man was speaking in a language he probably thought no one in a hotel lobby in Tennessee would understand. He was mostly right— except Dr. Gomez understood Hebrew perfectly. After a few moments, Dr. Gomez motioned for the kids and Merle to join him. They all slunk or scampered over to his giant fern.

"Okay, guys, listen," Dr. Gomez said seriously. "It sounds to me like this guy is a hired gun. He's working for an artifact collector. Black market tomb raider kind of stuff." "Tomb raider?!" Michael whispered, alarmed. "Yes, a tomb raider is someone who steals ancient artifacts," Dr. Gomez explained. "Kind of like you did, Michael," Sadie joked. "Hey, I'm no artifact!" Merle protested. "Plus, they usually sell their stolen goods to collectors. That's what our squirrelnapper here is trying to do," Dr. Gomez continued. "Merle, you and Pearl would be extremely valuable to such a collector."

"I suppose two-thousand-year-old talking squirrels are fairly rare?" Merle said. Dr. Gomez nodded. "That they are." "Pearl must be in his hotel room, don't you think?" Sadie asked. "I'm sure she is." "How can we find out which one?" Justin asked. Merle motioned toward the front desk. "Maybe we ask that guy?" "No, he won't tell us," Dr. Gomez replied. "Let's split up and look for her," Michael said. "We can each take a floor." "I don't think so, Michael. This guy is dangerous." "Which means Pearl is in danger!" Michael insisted. "We have to save her!" Dr. Gomez sighed. "All right. I'll stay here in the lobby and keep an eye on him while you all spread out and look for Pearl. I'll come find you if he heads upstairs. Be careful!"