While tracking clues from a secret code penciled in the margins of mystery novels at a public library, Derek Knowles-Collier discovers a time capsule that may finally put his haunting past to rest. At Queensview Elementary, sixth-grade students are required to complete a community service unit as part of their school curriculum. Derek was sick when groups were assigned, so he is stuck with what’s left: landscape and repair duty at the local cemetery. Derek is not happy about his assignment. When he was very young, his friend Dennis was killed by a car after running into the road to catch a ball. Ever since, Derek has had recurring nightmares. It’s a relief when his group’s lessons on all aspects of cemetery care are so interesting that Derek doesn’t have time to dwell on his experience with death.
