“I told you. He’s playing games.”

“What kind of game requires I collect a glove, a fan, and a housemaid dress, and then visit a replica of Wonderland?”

“It doesn't make sense to me,” the Pillar says. “But I wouldn’t worry about that now, as I’m sure it will all be explained in the end.”

“Then what should I worry about?” Again, I am not sure if I can trust the Pillar with everything he tells me.

“There is something else you don’t know about the garden.”

“Which is?”

“The Garden of Cosmic Speculation isn’t open to the public. It’s a private garden.”

“Really? This beauty isn’t available for all people to visit?”

“See?” The Pillar breathes out spiral smoke. “Like I told you, Professor Jittery built it to find his way back. There was no point in keeping it open to the public. It’s more of a doorway to Wonderland.”

“So how are we getting inside?” I ask, but then I realize why Inspector Dormouse is meeting with Scotland Yard right now—probably to get permission to enter it.

“Whatever you’re thinking right now, you’re right.” The Pillar smiles, as if reading my thoughts. “However, the garden opens only one day each year for the public, but it’s not anytime soon.”

“So why haven’t we just asked Professor Jittery for permission to enter?” I say. “Why hasn’t he told me about this?”

“Now you’re asking the right questions,” the Pillar says. “The garden has been confiscated and sold to an elite organization. Why do you think Professor Jittery went mad? And why do you think he is locked in the Hole, which no one knows about?”

“So that’s it?” I am starting to understand why Professor Jittery thinks someone is spying in his head. This garden is somehow important in this Wonderland War. Although I don’t know how.

“Aren’t you going to ask me about the name of this organization?”

“I don’t need to,” I reply. “It’s Black Chess. The organization Professor Jittery warned me about. The same organization the Muffin Man tried to oppose last week.” I stare directly at the Pillar. “Except no one knows who they really are.”

The car stops, and we arrive at the magnificent Garden of Cosmic Speculation.

Chapter 36

Outside the Garden of Cosmic Speculation, Dumfries, Scotland

Time remaining: 13 hours, 44 minutes

Two men in red cloaks, part of the Reds clan who had once chased the Pillar and Alice in the Vatican, stood atop a green hill overlooking the Garden of Cosmic Speculation. They wore red robes but stood far enough away that no one saw them at the moment. Underneath the robes, their faces weren’t visible.

But their voices were audible enough.

One of them, the taller one with a golden number nine sewn to the fabric of the robe, held binoculars. He was watching Alice leave the limousine and meet with Inspector Dormouse.

“Can you see them?” the shorter one, Number 7, asked.

Number 9 nodded. “Inspector Dormouse must have got permission to enter the garden.”

“And the girl?”

“She is with the police force,” Number 9 said. “It’s not the Scottish police, though.”

“Must be Inspector Dormouse’s team,” Number 7 said. “The Department of Insanity.”

“Poor Inspector Sherlock. He thinks he is doing a real job. Should we make the phone call now?”

“Nah,” Number 7 said. “I’m sure everything will be recorded with the garden’s surveillance cameras. Besides, the big moment hasn’t arrived yet.”

“You keep talking about the big moment,” Number 9 said. “When is that exactly?”

“The moment when she is closer to circus.”

“The circus?” Number 9 chortled. “That would be a slithy borgrove and totally mishmash moment.” He laughed from under his cloak.

Number 7 laughed too. “Oh, man. This girl is in for the surprise of her life.”

“I wonder why she is so eager to enter.” Number 9 still watched Alice through his binoculars. “Why does she care so much? I mean, it’s only a rabbit that will explode, along with a few people. It’s not like it doesn’t happen every day.”

“She is insane,” Number 7 said. “Insane people think they can save the day. If she only knew what’s in store for her.”

Number 9 and Number 7 watched Inspector Dormouse open the main gate to the vacant Garden of Cosmic Speculation. Everyone seemed to hesitate to enter, but not the girl. Alice stepped forward, standing by the threshold.

Chapter 37

The Garden of Cosmic Speculation, Dumfries, Scotland

Time remaining: 13 hours, 30 minutes

I stand before the gate to the garden.

I stiffen. The haze in my head returns. I am a little dizzy again. It’s as if I am about to remember something but can’t quite cross the threshold of blocked memories.

The garden looks endless from here, with all its bumps and turns. Its grounds, mostly green, seem bright against the cloudy sky above. There is a vast land that looks like a chessboard in the distance, the one I saw in the pictures. A little farther is what looks like a huge DNA helix, made of silver. Farther beyond, I see the sparkling waters of a river.

A sudden feeling of being seven years old again overwhelms me. I want to run the distance. Aimlessly. Irresponsibly. So happy without a specific reason to be. I want to sing all the songs, jump up and down, and declare my existence. I want to be whoever I want to be without even considering the consequences.

I want to own the world again, to be a child all over again.

But the place is the weirdest piece of art I have ever seen, too. It’s like an awesome roller coaster where you can’t help but wonder if it’s going to kill you. Its vastness, as beautiful as it is, scares me, though.

I swallow hard, holding to the gate, as I remember the March Hare’s warning. He told me something was really wrong with this garden, and so has the Pillar. But the March Hare was specific about it: I have to stay away from the circus.

“Do you know what the Snail Mound looks like?” The Pillar stands behind me, sharing my view into the garden.

“It’s a spiral green hill, overlooking one of these rivers,” I say. “I should not waste time and start looking for it.” I turn and face him. “I want my bag with the housemaid dress, the gloves, and the fan.”

The pillar hands my backpack over. “Want your umbrella, too?”

“Nah, I’ll stick with what that so-called Hatter led me to collect. Let’s see what this is all about.”

“Great,” Inspector Dormouse says. “Let’s look for the rabbit with the bomb. My men will spread all over the place.”

“I’ll be with you as well,” the Pillar says.

“I don’t mind, but we’ll have to spread to find it faster. And I’d prefer to take my route alone.”

Why I don’t trust the Pillar now, I have no idea. But all the warnings must have some truth to them. I try not to think too much about it.

I remember the so-called Hatter said only Mary Ann can find the rabbit. And I am supposedly Mary Ann.

But why am I Mary Ann? I guess I will find out.

I take a deep breath, as if I am about to take a dip in the ocean of the unknown, and step inside.

Chapter 38

The Garden of Cosmic Speculation, Dumfries, Scotland

Time remaining: 13 hours, 06 minutes

While Inspector Dormouse’s men spread through the garden, I take my own route, curious about a few tiger lilies over a hedge. I follow them up and down the hills, as they flare their orange hue onto the place.

But they don’t lead me anywhere specific.

Then there are a few other flowers with petals that look like mouths. They remind me of the roses in Lewis Carroll’s book, talking to Alice and making fun of her.