Part Three It was 2:30 in the morning; Valentine's Day, and Ivy lay awake in her bed. After losing Carmen again, Zack, Josha, Chief and her had gone back to Acme to discuss the day's events. At 11:30 p.m., they had decided to call it quits, having gotten no closer to figuring out what Carmen was up to. She and Zack had gone home and had played Scrabble for a while before going to bed. Their parents weren't home as usual, so they had the house to themselves. Now Ivy was thinking about the latest clue she had given Carmen, wondering if she knew who had sent it. 'Probably, knowing Carmen,' she thought with a grudging smile. Ivy had selected Acme headquarters because she knew it would be empty. Acme was closing for two days, on account of Valentines and Presidents day. Zack was going to the movies with some of his friends from the agency, and since the Chief got the time off, he decided to go with them. 'What if Carmen doesn't show? Then you won't be able to resolve your feelings about her. Yeah, so what? Who says I'm going to tell her anyway? If you're not, then why are you doing this? I don't know, everything is so confusing. I can't tell her, or anyone, they wouldn't understand. I don't even really understand myself. How do you know? Maybe they would. Yeah, well maybe they wouldn't and I'm not going to take that chance.' Ivy didn't know which was worse; that she was arguing with herself, or that she was losing. 'Well, whatever is going to happen will happen in a few hours. I should get some sleep, who knows how long it will take.' With that Ivy fell into a restless sleep, waking up at 7:30, nervous about the day's coming event, but partially looking forward to it. * * * Zack was sleeping in late - as usual. Ivy showered and dressed mechanically, hardly aware of what she was doing. She was pouring milk over a bowl of corn flakes when she lost any and every bit of nerve she had. 'Am I crazy?' she questioned herself, truly awake for the first time that morning. 'I'm playing a *thief's* - not just a thief, the world's greatest thief's - game. Now I'm the one leaving cryptic messages in museums. What am I doing? Why am I doing this? Oh, admit it Ivy, you wanted to prove to Carmen that you're as good as her; that you can play both sides of her game. You just have to be the best, don't you?' Ivy huffed sardonically as she realized that some would call her competitiveness her greatest virtue, while others would claim it was her worst fault. She glanced askance at her mother's coffee mug on the other side of the table. If she closed her eyes, she could almost see her mom, a blur of business suit and bleached hair, hurriedly sipping from it as she gathered her purse and computer bag, stepping out into the pre-dawn. Her father would be right behind her. Ivy chuckled bitterly, thinking that the half-empty coffee mug could be a monument, a tribute to Zack's and her own relationship to their parents. There were signs that two adults lived in the tall and narrow Victorian - small bottles of perfume, shaving cream, business attire - but they never seemed to actually be there. Ivy felt wetness on her wrists, and found she had shed tears. She heard a quiet sound on the stairs and looked up, to see Zack, his face mirroring her own feelings. He slowly walked to the table, and pulled up a chair next to her. "Hey, sis," he said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. It was really all he could say. "Oh, Zack," Ivy whispered, hastily wiping away her tears. "I really miss mom and dad sometimes." "Is that what's been bugging you lately?" "Kind of," she began. It was time to tell someone of her feelings; she only hoped Zack would understand. "It's just that...well, Zack..." "What?" he demanded, starting to worry. "Well...do you ever think that Carmen is more like a parent to us than our parents themselves?" * * * Ivy smiled brightly to herself as she walked down the driveway to get the mail. After a long talk with her brother, the world seemed a saner, safer place. She hadn't told him everything; not about the scrapbook or about the meeting later this day, but somehow, knowing someone else felt the same as she did made her feel at peace. As she opened the mailbox, a small pink envelope caught her eye. It was addressed to her. Inside was a Valentine. It read: Dear, Ivy I wish I was a poet now, I wish I could express my feelings for you in such a way that would surprise or impress you, but I know I can not. So I will say plainly and bluntly what I feel. I like you a lot, and working with you on this last case has been great. Will you be my Valentine? Yours Forever, Josha Ivy's jaw nearly dropped to the ground and she blushed crimson. 'What am I going to say to Josha the next time I see him?' she wondered. She felt butterflies at the bottom of her stomach. She blushed again as she realized that she liked him, too, a lot. She felt a bubbling rising in her heart. Her old charismatic smile spread across her face as she burst into a fit of laughter. She wasn't crazy and she might be in love. The world could be such a beautiful place sometimes. * * * With Josha's letter in her backpack and her brother's words in her head, Ivy strode confidently into the closed Acme Headquarters. She realized that she didn't specify a time in her *clue* to Carmen. Perhaps she had missed her. She walked into the dark, empty control room. As she set foot in the room, motion detectors turned on a few dim lights. Ivy was the only one in the room. 'Where else might Carmen be?' she wondered. Her old office. She suddenly knew with grim certainty that she was in her office. Ivy felt her hands shake, and clasped them to stop the motion. 'Now what? I can just leave. Of course, that would be a wimpy, no-guts thing to do...' Inhaling deeply, she proceeded to Carmen's old office. She was there, just as Ivy knew she would be. Carmen was looking through an old photo album, her back turned to her, and she wasn't aware that Ivy was standing behind her. She wondered if Carmen missed working at Acme for exactly the ninety-second time. "Welcome back," Ivy said solemnly, breaking the thick silence. Carmen started. Ivy smiled despite herself; it was a ridiculously funny sight, a master thief spooked by an fifteen year old girl. "Why, hello, Ivy. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I already knew you were the one sending me those messages," Carmen replied warmly. "But why did you send them? You wouldn't be considering joining V.I.L.E. would you?" Ivy scoffed lightly. Raising an eyebrow, she said flatly, "Dream on." Carmen laughed. "Actually, um, there was something I wanted to talk to you about, Carmen." When Ivy said no more, a slight frown of concern touched Carmen's face. "Have a seat," she said, motioning to her chair. "Go on, Ivy. I'm listening." She bit her lip. How could she say this? 'A picture is worth a thousand words,' Ivy mused. She pulled a worn, old book from her backpack. "Here," she said quickly, handing it to the tall woman. Carmen slowly turned the pages, finding her ancient history on them. Newspaper articles about the cases Suhara and her had solved, pictures of her younger self and her wise partner, interviews she had long forgotten, front page stories of her *disappearence*. Then on the very last page of Ivy's scrapbook was an article with a headline that read: World's Greatest Detective Turned To A Life Of Crime! Carmen felt a lump form in the back of her throat. She could almost see an earnest young Ivy, somberly cutting out that final newspaper story. Now it was her turn to search for words. Carmen sat wearily down in a leather chair. Finally, she said softly, "I understand why you're angry with me, now." "But I'm not angry, I just wanted you to know about my book." Ivy shrugged and looked at her hands. "This is hard to say, Carmen; I see more of you than I see of my own mother. My parents have always been absorbed in their careers, and when Zack and I joined Acme it was the best thing that ever happened to us. You've been the best teacher I've ever had; you've certainly made me push my detective skills to their limits. You have saved my life more times than I can count. You were an inspiration to me; it is because of you that I am a detective now. And even though you could never understand how or why, you've been the closest thing to real parent, a real mother, I have ever had. I don't think it's enough, but I want to say thank you, thank you for everything, Carmen Sandiego." When Ivy finished speaking she saw tears in her adversary's eyes. Carmen gave her a trembling smile, and impulsively, she leaned forward and gave her an almost choking hug. "Ivy, I couldn't ask for a daughter better than you. I should be thanking you." * * * Ivy lay awake in bed for a long time that night. Her head was not full of conflicting thoughts, as it had often been in the past; her thoughts instead kept playing back the events of the day. On her dresser, she had placed Josha's letter. Every time she looked at it she was filled with dread and longing for tomorrow. What would he say? What would she say? She felt anxious and scared, and yet, the feelings were not all that unpleasant...And she thought, also, of the scrapbook back in the attic. Before Carmen had given it back she had written a message for her under the newspaper clipping on the last page: "Always take the path you know is the best in life, my child, even if it is the path less traveled.: What did she mean? Was she regretting turning to a life of crime? Ivy remembered how absorbed Carmen had been in the photo album. Only Carmen herself would ever know why she made the decision she did. If she ever regretted leaving the Acme Detective Agency though, it was when she thought of the fiery young detective who might have someday been her partner. The End