17 The Perfect Place for Trouble

Chapter 17 THE PERFECT PLACE FOR TROUBLE Pep had been working so hard on EDIWEFER that she hadn't noticed the road led directly into Grand Canyon National Park. It is, of course, one of the most popular tourist destinations in America. "Did you know," Coke asked the family, "that if you took four skyscrapers that were a thousand feet high and stacked them on top of

one another inside the Grand Canyon, they still wouldn't reach the rim?" "Thank you, Mr. Who Cares," Pep said. "Don't be mean to your brother," said Dr. McDonald. I know what you're thinking, reader. You're guessing that a major scene in this book is going to take place at the Grand Canyon. It's been a few chapters since anyone tried to kill Coke and Pep, and the Grand Canyon would be the perfect location for another attempt on their lives. It's almost too perfect. Despite warning signs all over the place, more than five hundred people have died at the Grand Canyon. Let me count the ways. There have been lots of hikers who didn't bring enough water and died from dehydration. People have drowned in the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon after getting caught in a flash flood. People have been struck by lightning and falling boulders. There have been

numerous snakebite victims. Then, of course, there are all the people who have fallen from a ledge. Surprisingly, a number of tourists have died while posing for photos. The photographer told them to take a step back, and, well, you can imagine what happened after that. There have even been reports of men who slipped and fell to their deaths while they were merely trying to pee into the canyon. Look it up if you don't believe me. And I haven't even mentioned all the people who died in airplane crashes and freak accidents. It's a no-brainer, right? It would be so easy for the twins to become separated from their parents and get lost on a hike in the canyon. And then Dr. Warsaw, John Pain, the bowler dudes, or some other lunatic could conveniently be right there to give them a gentle shove over the edge. But of course Coke and Pep would miraculously survive the fall somehow, right? Coke's T-shirt would rip in the process, and the

chapter would end with their clueless mother complaining that he doesn't take better care of his clothes. That chapter would practically write itself! Well, forget about it. It didn't happen that way. Remember what I said about assuming things? That's right, nobody dies at the Grand Canyon in this book. No bad guys show up with evil intentions and unnecessarily complicated devices. There aren't any preposterous accidents or incidents. No, starting at Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim, the twins and their parents have a simply lovely time hiking and enjoying the spectacular scenery and multiple switchbacks on the Bright Angel Trail. Then they enjoy a sumptuous dinner at the El Tovar Lodge dining room and a leisurely, restful night's sleep. Sorry to disappoint you. By the way, isn't there enough mayhem in this story already? I mean, really, you should be

ashamed of yourself for hoping to read about somebody trying to kill the twins at the Grand Canyon! Is that all you care about it? What does it say that you get so much pleasure out of the misfortunes of others? You're probably the kind of person who goes to NASCAR races just to see the cars crash into each other. Even though there was no attempt on the lives of the twins, something significant did happen while Coke and Pep were at the Grand Canyon. The next morning, when they got in the car to leave, Pep opened her notepad and found this.... CIPHER #4: ATLEDOEMORAHPLAAMILMRO FINUOVARB And it was written in someone else's handwriting. "Did you write this?" Pep asked, showing the page to her brother. "No," Coke replied. "It's not Mom's or Dad's handwriting."

The twins looked at the page again, and then at each other. "Somebody was in our car," they both said. Go to Google Maps (http://maps.google.com). Click Get Directions. In the A box, type Grand Canyon National Park AZ. In the B box, type Hoover Dam. Click Get Directions.