Ethan Murphy and the Race for the Incan Crown: The Ethan Murphy Series, #2

By Anita Mishra

★★ BOOK TWO of the Ethan Murphy series ★★

What happens when a lost relic means more than just an archeological find?

Thirteen-year-old Ethan, a genius at riddles and puzzles, is still settling into his new life at ROM Agency when a mysterious break-in turns his whole world upside down. A strange letter, a stolen assignment book, and the release of a dreaded criminal make matters worse!

The assignment book holds the details of his dad's lifelong dream—to unearth the Incan crown. When Ethan learns that his missing dad's dream is at stake, he sets out to fulfill it.

Can Ethan find the hidden crown before the criminal's gang?

Join Ethan and his friends in the race for the Incan crown.

Welcome to the world of mysteries and the Riddles of Macrocosm Agency.

• Language: English
• Publisher: OmIsha Publishing
• Release date: Apr 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781954330030

Book preview

The Story So Far…

Thirteen-year-old Ethan Murphy possessed unique puzzle-solving abilities. He enjoyed playing solitary mind games and reading mystery books. Until his recent birthday, he was unaware of his dad’s work with ROM—Riddles of Macrocosm—Agency.

Ethan’s great-great-grandpa had founded it, and currently, it was managed by Ethan’s grandpa, Charles Murphy. It was located on an islet in a renovated and modernized stone castle—the Grandfort Castle.  The agents who worked there did archeological research and unearthed lost relics from ancient times.

ROM recruited only gifted and talented teens after testing their abilities. Once selected, they worked with more experienced agents to learn the tricks of the trade. After successfully completing their first assignment, the new employees were awarded their agent title, badge, suit, and office.

Ethan’s dad, Logan Murphy, had been both an agent and the lead researcher at ROM. Four years ago, he was abducted under mysterious circumstances during one of his projects. For this reason, Ethan’s mom never wanted Ethan to join the agency, so she kept it a secret from him.

But when a dangerous gang abducted his aunt, he learned about ROM for the first time in his life. As the talented Logan Murphy’s son, Ethan was the agency’s last resort to rescue her.  Before leaving for ROM, he had promised his mom he would return home as soon as the rescue mission was over.

Ethan made two friends at ROM with whom he had completed his first assignment. Fifteen-year-old Agent Grace had spent most of her childhood at ROM among adults and spoke like one herself. She was gifted with words and solving riddles and codes. Sometimes she made poems and annoyed Ethan with them. Seventeen-year-old Agent Steve had joined the agency almost a year ago. His dad had worked for ROM in the past but currently owned a detective agency. Like his dad, Agent Steve had the keen eye of a detective and the unique ability to solve mysteries.

During his first assignment, Ethan learned that his dad had loved him dearly and had dreamed of working with him when Ethan grew up. He also realized that his grandpa needed help running the agency, so it became difficult for Ethan to leave ROM and return to his previous life.

Therefore, after completing the assignment, Ethan decided to join the agency. He was awarded his agent title and badge.

Since Logan Murphy’s abduction, his office had remained unoccupied, so the agency gave it to Ethan.

Because Ethan had joined ROM without consulting his mom, he had not paid a visit to her, fearing she might disapprove of his decision. Instead, he had written her a letter explaining that he had joined the agency to help his grandpa.

His mom had sent a reply stating that she knew he would follow in his dad’s footsteps. Ethan didn’t know what to think of that. Was she happy he had joined his dad’s agency or bitter about it?

Either way, he didn’t dare visit her. With each passing day, it became increasingly difficult for him to break his silence and reach out to her. At times like this, he was glad they didn’t have a phone at ROM.

CHAPTER I

The Good Cop and the Bad Cop

IT WAS YET another day in Ethan’s life at Riddles of Macrocosm Agency. He had been there for a month now and had settled into his new routine. Little did he know that someone’s plan was about to turn his whole world upside down.

In his office on the third floor of ROM Agency, Ethan perched on his chair and worked relentlessly on one of his dad’s unfinished assignments, which he felt was his responsibility in his dad’s absence. Since Ethan had completed his first assignment successfully and fetched the Minal, he felt confident he could solve riddles all by himself.

He barely registered a knock on his door, and his friend Grace poked her head inside the room. What are you doing? And how long do you plan on staying glued to your chair?

Hey, Grace, Ethan replied, still gazing at the book open on his desk. The pages were filled with seemingly random letters that he knew contained a coded message. For the past two days, he had been trying to come up with the cipher to solve the code. None of the letters followed the patterns he had already tried—from the Caesar Shift to Alberti’s disk.

"I’m over here, not in that book, she teased, prancing into the room with her cheerful smile. And why are you becoming an assiduous researcher?" She leaned on Ethan’s desk and brushed away the wisp of dark brown curl hanging by her cheek.

"Hey, you used the word assiduous. Great."

Yeah, I’m challenging myself to use obscure words these days. Helps me make my poems unique. And I’ve got a new one. Want to hear it?

No, not really.

Grace’s beaming smile suddenly disappeared, and her brown eyes hinted at a frown.

He grinned sheepishly. Just kidding. Please recite your poem. I’m dying to hear it.

That’s better. With an approving nod, she began, her voice sing-songy.

"Whenever I see Ethan sitting at his desk,

puzzling away his life,

I want to tell him, ‘get out of your room

else you’ll never get a wife.’"

She grinned. That’s when you grow up.

Oh, great, he groaned. Thanks for your lovely poem. Now you know why I didn’t want to hear it.

Grace smiled. What were you doing?

Ethan leaned back in his chair. Working on one of Dad’s projects. What’s the time? He looked at the clock hanging on the wall in front of him. Oh, it’s already one. Is Steve back yet?

Nope. But let’s go for lunch. He can join us there, Grace suggested.

Okay, just a sec. He closed the book hesitantly and got to his feet.

Rushing to the bedroom door where a life-sized portrait of his seven-year-old self sported a cheesy grin and two thumbs-ups, Ethan paused as he turned the knob. The picture used to creep him out, but the longer he worked there, the more he realized that Dad had put it up because he cared about Ethan.

He chuckled, imagining Dad looking at the portrait and smiling at the cheesy grin.

I hope it made you smile a lot, Dad. Sure wish you were here.

He changed into a blue suit, then quickly brushed his hair and hurried out of the room.

You look great in a suit. And you’ve earned it. Why do you wear jeans all the time? asked Grace.

Because jeans are comfortable. Ethan smiled. I don’t complain that other agents wear suits all the time.

They laughed.

The duo closed the door behind them and left for lunch. They strolled through the passage and arrived at a vast dining room occupied by many agents whose laughter and chitter-chatter echoed throughout the hall. The soft glow from the chandelier brightened the dining room. Two long tables held platters of sandwiches, fruits, and pies. The agents sat around them, enjoying their meals.

Ethan and Grace took their usual seats at the table by the window and served their plates from the trays.

Agent Grace, a woman called out, could you please join me for lunch? We can discuss the R-16 research now as I’ll be busy with meetings later.

Grace hesitated and looked at Ethan.

Go ahead; I don’t mind. I’m not a baby who can’t find his way back, he mocked. And Steve should be here any minute.

See you later, then. Grace hurried away with her plate.

Ethan ate his lunch while his mind ran over his current research. When he’d newly joined the agency, he’d found it awkward to eat among these strangers, especially when some of them stared at him just for being Logan Murphy’s son. Ethan learned that the other agents had loved working with his dad, and now they missed him dearly. His dad’s abduction was as big a shock to them as it had been to his family.

Steve entered the dining room and took a seat next to Ethan. Where’s Grace?

She’s over there. Ethan pointed at the end of the other long table. She came with me, but someone snatched her away. He laughed with his mouth full.

Oh, okay.

Hey, I didn’t see you this morning; where were you? Ethan asked, concerned.

Yeah, my dad sent a message, and I had to rush home. My mom is…well…

Ethan put his sandwich down and stared at Steve. Ethan had never met Steve’s mom before, but he really hoped she was doing fine. Fearing bad news, he hesitantly asked, Is she okay?

She’s in the hospital.

Ethan gasped, What happened? Is it serious?

Steve sighed. Mom suffered a mild heart attack this morning. As we don’t have a phone at ROM, Dad sent a neighbor with the message in which he asked me to come home immediately. I drove straight home, but my parents had already left for the hospital. If I had known, I could have gone directly to the hospital instead of going home first.

Ethan hesitantly placed his hand on Steve’s.

Steve added, She’s better now, but she’s being kept under observation.

I’m—so sorry. Ethan wished he could help his friend, but his understanding of social situations always betrayed him when he needed them most. I’m sure she’ll be fine soon.

Ethan didn’t feel like eating lunch anymore. He simply sat, staring at the half-eaten sandwich and the half-eaten apple, which was turning brown and ugly.

Steve stared at the wall opposite him and remained quiet. Both sat that way for a few long minutes. Ethan tried his best to gather a few comforting words, but he couldn’t come up with any. He knew very well that words wouldn’t help his friend’s current situation.

Steve interrupted Ethan’s thoughts. As I said, I wish we had a phone at ROM. Dad could have called me instantly; I could have learned of his plan and drove to the hospital directly.

Ethan nodded. "I understand. I don’t have a problem with it. But Grandpa—I’m not sure. He might disagree. He follows Dad’s rules religiously."

Hmmm. Let’s talk to Agent Charlie. We should try to convince him.

I’ve asked him at least a hundred times to get a phone, but he won’t listen. He says, Ethan imitated Grandpa’s accent, phones can be misused to leak sensitive data out of ROM.

Steve said, We need a plan.

What plan?

An argument—in favor of getting a phone. An argument we can’t lose. But both of us shouldn’t gang up on him at once—Got it! The good cop and the bad cop!

What’s that? Ethan asked.

It’s a negotiation technique used by the police—one cop acts as a bad cop, and the other as a good cop.  But both work for the same cause. I learned it on TV. You should consider getting a life outside your books.

Steve explained the technique to Ethan. They decided that one of them would argue for the phone connection, and the other would speak against it. Ethan liked the plan and couldn’t wait to try it out on Grandpa. They left the dining room and rushed to Grandpa’s office right away.

When they reached there, they found it locked, so they decided to wait for him in Ethan’s office, which was opposite Grandpa’s. Ethan spun around and pulled out his electronic card, but the door was ajar. When he touched it, it swung open.

Glancing at his office, Ethan gasped.

Steve, he said, flabbergasted.

What happened here?

I don’t know. It was all good when I left for lunch.

Taking note of wires dangling crookedly from his electronic lock, Ethan sucked in a quick breath.

Someone had vandalized the entire place. Papers were scattered all over the table and ground. Open boxes lay knocked over on the floor, divulging their contents. Assignment books and journals lay scattered all over the room.

Only Grandpa and I have the key to this office, Ethan said. No one else does. And why would someone break in?

Someone was searching for something.

But who?

They were still trying to figure that out when Ethan’s grandpa, Agent Charlie, entered the room. Grace followed soon after.

What happened? Grandpa’s jaw dropped.

I don’t know, Grandpa. Ethan shook his head in disbelief. I left for lunch with Grace, and now I came back to find the office in this condition. I remember closing the door after me, and it must’ve locked automatically. Someone broke in.

A thousand and one wrinkles crinkled Grandpa’s forehead. He squinted at the mess. Have they taken anything?

No idea, Grandpa. I’m not sure what was in every box and file. Ethan scanned his table and said, The book I was working on is still on the table. Whoever broke in wanted something in particular.

Logan maintained an inventory of the books and articles he stored in this room. Locate that file and find out what is missing. We need to know what they took.

Okay, Grandpa, we’ll do that.

I’ll send someone to help you clean up this room.

No, I can handle it myself.

All right, then, Agent Charlie said. Grace, help him. Steve, get someone to fix the lock immediately. I’ll be in my office if you need anything. Is that okay?

The three nodded, and Grandpa left the room.

Ethan was still in shock and had completely forgotten about the phone. But when he looked at Steve’s distressed face, he remembered their plan, so he ran after Grandpa.

Follow me, Steve, Ethan called out.

Grandpa was about to enter his room when Ethan asked, I wanted to ask you something. Can we get a phone for ROM?

Grandpa turned around with a frown. Why?

Steve’s parents needed him today, but they couldn’t contact him immediately. They had to send a letter that took forever to reach ROM, but a phone call would have been faster.

Is that so? Agent Charlie asked Steve, who was now out of Ethan’s office.

Yes, Agent Charlie. They needed me today. But it’s against the rules to have a phone at ROM, so it’s alright.

Ethan shot back, What if your parents need you again?

We’ll have to manage, I guess. We can’t break the rules, Steve said. If they need me and can’t reach me, well...

"Grandpa, what if Mom needs me tomorrow? She lives alone in Newbury.