Tears of a Dragon Read Online Free PDF Page A

scurrying legs and feet, Bonnie wove her way in and out of the bustling crowd to the place where she’d left Professor Hamilton and Barlow. Finding both still waiting at the security checkpoint, she squeezed in between them. With her gaze riveted on the floor, she flattened her voice into a mock monotone. “Secret Agent B. Silver reporting. I have located super genius, Ashley Stalworth. What is my next assignment?”
    Her head pressed against Professor Hamilton’s shoulder, allowing her to feel the tiny tremors of his silent laughter. He patted her head lovingly. “I think Walter’s humor is rubbing off on you.”
    The professor’s cell phone chimed the opening notes of Beethoven’s fifth symphony. “Want me to get it?” Bonnie asked.
    The professor glanced down at his hip. “Very well.”
    Bonnie unhooked the phone and flipped it open. The caller ID said, “Carl Foley,” so she decided to have a little fun with Walter’s dad. “Hello. Professor Hamilton’s new personal assistant speaking.”
    “Bonnie? Is that you?”
    He sounded a bit agitated, so she dropped her game. “Hi, Mr. Foley. Yes, it’s me.”
    “I assume you’re with Prof. Are you at BWI yet?”
    “Uh huh. Just got here a little while ago.”
    “Good. You know Walter’s sister Shelly, right?”
    Bonnie noticed a man staring at her. She turned and lowered her head. “I’ve never met her. I wore her coat once, though.”
    “She was supposed to fly home from Boston tomorrow, but she got worried about the weather. If this rain keeps up, they might cancel everything, so she’s flying to BWI right now. Think you guys can give her a lift to the campsite?”
    Bonnie glanced up. A middle-aged woman nudged the man next to her and gestured toward Bonnie with her head, whispering.
    Bonnie turned again. It seemed no angle was safe.
    “Bonnie, did you hear me?”
    “Oh, sorry, Mr. Foley.” She cleared her throat. “I’m sure there’ll be room on the plane.”
    “Great. She’s coming in on AirTran. I think it will be the only flight from Boston.”
    “We’ll just check the monitors,” Bonnie said. “No problem.”
    “Thanks a million. I’ll meet you at the campsite.”
    Bonnie reclipped the phone and relayed the message to the professor. He just nodded his approval and kept his eyes fixed on the passageway to the concourse gates. With flight information monitors flashing all around, he wouldn’t have any trouble finding Shelly’s gate, so Bonnie kept her head low.
    As they waited, Bonnie felt hundreds of eyes gawking at her, though she couldn’t see any of them. The sound of a woman clearing her throat prompted Bonnie to tip her head back up. A lady had stopped in front of the professor. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” Her British accent was thicker than Prof’s.
    “I don’t know, Madam,” he replied. “I don’t recognize you.”
    “Well, then, some relation who looks like you, I suppose.”
    “Yes, Madam. That must be it.”
    A British accent. Maybe the British Airways flight had arrived. The professor had also been on television in England when the whole world saw him with the dragon girl, so it’s no wonder he looked familiar.
    Bonnie peeked up. Dozens of passengers were making their way into the terminal, but it wouldn’t be hard to spot Sir Patrick and his crew.
    “I see them,” Barlow whispered. “Act natural.”
    Bonnie dared to peek again. Yep. There they were. Sirs Edmund and Newman in the front, looking like two buddies on holiday; Woodrow, Fiske, and Standish behind them, examining a brochure of some kind; and Sir Patrick bringing up the rear, tapping a long white cane on the floor.
    “Hmmm,” Professor Hamilton murmured. “Obviously, Patrick has already instructed his company to act circumspectly, and his cane is part of the ruse.”
    Sir Patrick walked directly up to the professor, pressed something into his hand while whispering in his ear, then walked away without his cane. Leaning close to