The History Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page A

wanting to find out more, can you? And now that we have a few different messages to go on, I think we’re starting to piece a few things together about this Brainy Joker of yours.’
    Sonia was just about to say something when Pedrogave a start. ‘Oh! I’ve just remembered something else. In that message Robbie and I got, the guy said he was from Venice.’
    â€˜Do you think it’s an Italian, then? Could that be why his use of language is strange? He could be lying about that, though, to cover up …’
    There were so many ideas tumbling around in Sonia’s head all at once, she could hardly get them all out.
    â€˜Hey, listen, Sonia. I’ve just worked something out! Think about it. We know who this fellow from Venice is, because we happen to have learned about him and his voyages.’
    â€˜Do we? Did we? Who?’
    â€˜Remember?’ said Pedro. ‘In one of the books that we read in history last year …’
    Sonia thought about it but nothing came to mind, though it did ring a vague bell. Pedro kept trying to ring that bell a little louder.
    â€˜Come on, Sonia. Who was the great traveller who left Venice as a kid, journeyed all through the East, was an ambassador for the emperor Kublai Khan and on his way home was arrested and, in prison, wrote the Book of the Marvels of the World ?’
    â€˜Marco Polo!’ she cried. ‘How come I didn’t think of that before?’
    â€˜But listen, we know that, right, because we did it at school. But a lot of people wouldn’t know it.’
    â€˜So that makes us smart, is that it?’
    â€˜No, that’s not the point. The thing is, it wouldn’t make any sense to use this story to play a joke on people who don’t know anything about Marco Polo or who haven’t been thinking about him quite recently. It only works on people in our actual class – people who have the right information to understand what the message is about.’
    â€˜OK, but I still don’t understand how this might be a clue.’
    Pedro hesitated before continuing.
    â€˜Well … it’s a only a little clue. It may be nothing, really. But this joker or hacker or whatever already mentioned Egypt and Nefertiti just as we were working on ancient Egypt. Then he went for the Hammurabi code with your sister, who’s training to be a lawyer and knows all about laws and things, and then he starts talking about Marco Polo to me and Robbie. Do you remember how Marco Polo tells this story about an old man in the mountains who has all these killers at his service?’
    Sonia nodded. It was coming back to her.
    â€˜Right, so when Robbie was writing his rap song that mentions assassins and merchandise, this person starts going on about assassins and merchandise too.’
    â€˜So?’
    â€˜Well, whenever he strikes, this joker, he’s talkingabout something that is related to us , somehow.’ Pedro paused, took a breath and went on. ‘That’s why I’m thinking this must be someone who knows us, Sonia. But also someone who has read quite a few books and knows their history.’
    â€˜Hmm. A historian?’
    â€˜I’m starting to suspect Mr Costa, actually.’
    â€˜ Pedro! Anyway, he doesn’t know my sister. How could he send her a message?’
    â€˜But if she was using your computer? He could have hacked into it and he could have read the document she was writing. And he could have seen that your sister was doing research about Hammurabi, so then he writes about that.’
    â€˜But then it could be anyone who can hack into a computer,’ Sonia argued. ‘It doesn’t have to be someone who knows us, as long as they can pick up on what we are working on.’
    â€˜No,’ said Pedro. ‘It’s not that simple. Nobody mentioned Marco Polo, but the Brainy Joker – Brainy Hacker, whatever you want to call him or her – used that story, knowing