The Rydell Revelations

Suzu Rydell has just pulled Emily Jones out of a bedroom window and is rushing her through the woods, refusing to slow down until they are safe. When they reach an old shack on Forest Mountain, Suzu finally explains: Mrs. Meido, the nanny who has cared for her and Morrie for as long as she can remember, is secretly a spy working for some very bad people. Beneath a trapdoor she built herself, Suzu reveals a hidden collection of figurines. Back when the Rydells lived at the U.S. Embassy in Japan, where their father is a diplomat, she and Morrie played a game: Morrie would sneak onto the computer of a friendly secretary named Natalie to learn when foreign delegations were visiting, then cause a distraction so Suzu could slip in and take one of their small gifts. Suzu insists she only liked the challenge, but Emily is blunt: "Taking things without permission is stealing." The prize of the collection is a Canadian maple leaf figurine taken during a summit between Canada and China. That very day, Natalie phoned Suzu to warn her that Mrs. Meido's employers had figured out who took it and were coming for it. Suzu doubted the warning until she got home and found Mrs. Meido tearing her room apart. Now Suzu realizes her notebook, which describes how to find the shack, has fallen out of her backpack, and Mrs. Meido appears in the doorway. The nanny insists her care for the children was real and claims she can be a good ooba and a good spy at the same time, but Suzu shouts, "You are a bad ooba!" and refuses to hand over the figurine. In the scuffle that follows, Mrs. Meido seizes Emily, who yells for Suzu to run and find Mr. Whittaker.

Meanwhile, at Whit's End, Morrie learns the same stunning news from Natalie, who is really an American agent named Tasha Forbes, an old friend of Whit's. Tasha was stationed at the embassy to watch Mrs. Meido, and the maple leaf figurine was bait in a sting operation: hidden inside is a microfiche encoded with valuable biotechnology secrets. The sting collapsed because of the Rydells' prank. Morrie had hacked the Canadian Embassy's computers to tell the Canadians it was fine to wear red Remembrance Day poppies at the summit, knowing the Chinese delegation would be offended, and in the uproar Suzu picked a lock and stole the figurine without anyone suspecting. Suzu soon bursts in and hands Tasha the maple leaf, microfiche still intact. Then Emily's phone rings. It is Mrs. Meido, offering a trade: Emily for the figurine, at the old waterworks at five o'clock, with Suzu coming alone. On the call, Emily pointedly mentions the escape room and the fake kidnapping Morrie once staged, and both Morrie and Whit catch her hidden hint. There may be a way to rescue Emily without surrendering the microfiche, but everyone will have to work together and trust each other.

At the waterworks, Suzu arrives alone and finds Emily handcuffed to a chair. Mrs. Meido remarks that Suzu somehow looks different, then scans the surrendered microfiche and pronounces it authentic. But as she tries to leave, the doors jam shut and Morrie's voice booms through the building, warning that the chamber will flood with water unless she returns the microfiche. Mrs. Meido grabs Suzu as a shield and threatens her way out, only to be stopped by Mr. Whittaker, who ushers in the real Suzu. The girl beside Mrs. Meido morphs into a familiar face: "Tasha, actually," she says, taking back the microfiche. The whole trap, from the flooding room to Suzu's double, was an illusion Morrie and Whit built using Imagination Station technology, sparked by Emily's clue over the phone.

Back at Whit's End, Tasha departs with the microfiche, telling Whit, "Don't tell Jason I was here." Emily closes the case of the Rydell revelations, but she is troubled to learn Whit knew about the schemes all along, even the escape room. Whit explains that she wanted to solve the mystery herself, and she did. Pointing to Jesus' parable of the talents, he says the three of them are unusually gifted, and just as he was given freedom to grow at their age, he must let them use their abilities for good, "each according to their ability," even if their adventures are not always tame. Emily isn't sure yet whether she and the Rydells can be friends, though Suzu hopes they can. With Mrs. Meido headed for prison, the Rydells need a guardian, and neither wants to return to Japan. Whit offers to serve as their temporary guardian until their father can make new arrangements, and both gladly accept. Then Whit adds, "Now, about those consequences."