Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 "Ish ish AY!" It was not easy to speak clearly through a gargantuan mouthful of cheeseburger. Dan was trying to say "This is GREAT!" but the words came out filtered through ground sirloin and two slices of cheese. Nellie had organized everything. The resort's doctor was waiting for them at the hotel. She examined Amy and diagnosed a laceration, a contusion, and a possible slight concussion. After redressing the wound, the doctor told Amy to take it easy for the rest of the day. Nellie had called room service, too; there were burgers and shakes ready for them when they got back to the room. Once again, Dan didn't know what to think. If Nellie was trying to help their enemies, she was certainly going about it backwards.

Now a taxi was out front to take them to the airport. The Cahills had decided that it was time to visit Jamaica. After they ate, Dan dragged the luggage and Saladin's carrier to the taxi while Nellie checked out. As the driver opened the trunk, Dan got an eerie feeling in the back of his neck as if someone were watching him. He turned slowly and looked around. At the side of the hotel's big sweeping forecourt, there were bougainvillea bushes in full bloom. Crazy colors— pink and red and sort of orangey. Pretty, if you liked that sort of thing. Dan stared at the bushes. Nobody there. He was just about to turn back when he saw it: a pair of eyes peering at him through the branches at the base of one of the bushes. Green eyes. Green cat eyes. He dropped his backpack and took off running. "Hey!" Amy said. "What are you doing?"

"Cat," he yelled back over his shoulder. "Dan, wait!" No use. Dan was chasing the cat, which had bolted as soon as he made a move toward it. The cat led Dan away from the hotel, down the long driveway to a parade of small shops. He lost sight of it when it darted around to the back. Panting, Dan trotted after it. The buildings were all nice wooden houses, painted in bright tropical colors, with front porches, chairs, windchimes…. Everything at the front was very tourist–tidy. But around the back, there were dumpsters and garbage cans. Cat territory. By the time Dan got back to the hotel twenty minutes later, Amy was frantic and Nellie was furious. In fact, he heard them before he saw them. "You can't go running off like that!" "Where have you been?" "I tried to—"

"What were you doing?" "I was just—" "What were you thinking?" "I thought maybe—" Nellie put two fingers in her mouth and gave a shrill whistle. "Time out!" she yelled. "You can tell us all about it in the car." She hustled them into the backseat and tossed Dan's backpack onto his lap. "OW!" he yelped. He was wearing shorts, and the pack had landed partly on his bare legs. "I now know the true meaning of pain," he said sadly. "Cat scratches on top of sunburn." "But it wasn't just any cat," Dan said. He was trying to explain the reason for his sudden disappearance. "It was a calico cat. I tried to catch it, but it scratched the heck out of me and got away." He rubbed at one of the scratches. "I don't think we should leave here yet," he said. "We still haven't figured out this cat thing, and Hamilton

said—" "Why in the world would— oh." Amy was quiet for a moment. Then she started to laugh. "What's so funny?" Dan demanded. She didn't answer, or rather, she couldn't answer. She was laughing too hard. Dan looked at her for a few moments, first puzzled, then annoyed. "Amy!" he said impatiently. It was no fun watching someone laugh at you. Finally, Amy gasped for breath and wiped her eyes. "Jack Rackham," she said. "The pirate. He did some pirating here, and later Anne Bonny joined up with him, right?" "So what?" "He— his name—" Amy started laughing again, but Dan glared at her so fiercely that she got herself under control more quickly this time. "His nickname"— snort, chortle —"was Calico Jack." "Calico Jack?" Amy's laughing jag released a few final giggles.

"Hamilton must have been saying 'Calico Jack,' but you thought he said 'calico cat.'" "I get it, you don't have to spell it out for me." Dan's face was already pink from sunburn and running in the heat, but he felt it getting even pinker. Time to change the subject. "Nellie, do you have any first–aid cream handy?" As they drove away, none of them noticed the black SUV pulling into traffic behind them. Or, for that matter, the discreet gray sedan following them both. At the Montego Bay airport in Jamaica, Nellie rented a car, then found a hotel. It was only about eight o'clock in the evening, local time, but they were all exhausted. Dan fell asleep in his clothes. After breakfast the next morning, they headed for the car on Amy's instructions. "Kingston," she said. "Huh," Nellie snorted. Her hand was on the key in the ignition slot, but she wasn't starting the engine. "How about something like, 'Nellie, dear,