Spy Camp

Ben, Erica, and Alexander visit Apple Valley Reformation Camp for Delinquent Teens, where Murray is being held. Ben is surprised to discover that the facility looks far nicer than spy school. The inmates can freely roam, and the young woman working the guardhouse says that Murray is “a sweetie” who made her a paperweight in pottery class (192). Inside, they meet a woman named Brandi, who oversees the facility. She tells them that Apple Valley believes in “reformation through contemplation,” but that Murray is under stricter watch than the other inmates: “Murray lives in our high-security wing, he is under constant video surveillance, and he only has permission to use the pool on weekends” (195). Brandi says that Murray has never gone missing during his time at Apple Valley and hasn’t left the premises other than the facility’s annual field trip to Six Flags. She says Murray “has practically been a saint” (196).

Brandi leads them to the visitation center, where they discover that the person in custody is not Murray Hill but another boy who looks vaguely like him. Brandi is flustered and says she was told this was Murray by the CIA agents who dropped him off. They question the boy and discover that he is being paid $100,000 to take Murray’s place and serve his five-year sentence; the boy says Apple Valley is better than the juvenile detention hall where he’d been originally.