Chapter Thirty-Two
Forty-five minutes later, Pepper met Rhett at the front door of her house. They tumbled inside, a tangle of tongues and limbs, and were met with a loud throat clearing. Tuesday draped over the back of the couch. “I’d ask you to get a room, but Kitty and J.K. Growling are napping on your bed, and I’ve commandeered the spare one.”
Pepper adjusted her top, her throat tightening at the expression on Tuesday’s face. “What’s wrong? Is it Dad? You heard from him?”
“No. It’s hopeless.” Tuesday raised the paper. “The next clue doesn’t even make sense.‘Go deliver a dare, vile dog! Murder for a jar of red rum. Do geese see God? God saw I was dog.’”
Rhett and Pepper exchanged glances as she read the clue in a dramatic voice. “Does it sound like a reference to any place name you can think of?” she asked at the end.
“Doesn’t sound like much of anything,” Rhett answered, turning to furtively tug up his zipper.
“I hate riddles, my precioussssss,” Tuesday hissed in her best Gollum voice, rolling up theExaminerto shake it like a stick.
“Hang on a second. Red rum?” Rhett frowned. “Isn’t that from a Stephen King book?”
“No idea.” Pepper shook her head. “The only genre I can’t read is horror. I get that man is talented, but he sets his stories in Maine. Too close to home. I’d never sleep at night.”
“That’s so true. You’re a wimp when it comes to horror,” Tuesday said with a laugh. “Remember when you watched ten minutes ofThe Shiningduring that high school Halloween party and—”
“Red rum. Red rum.” Pepper snapped her fingers. “Murder. Wait. Read the clue back for me.”
Tuesday repeated it. Twice.
“Murder? Red rum. Dog? God. Dog. Of course!” Pepper clapped her hands. Excitement built through her, the way it always did when she untangled a thorny mental knot. “These sentences are palindromes.”
Rhett grabbed the paper and his eyes locked on hers. “You’re right.”
“Pali—what’s that?” Tuesday tipped her head to the side, confused.
“Words or phrases that are spelled the same in either direction. Do geese see God? It’s spelled the same if you read from left to right or right to left.”
“Hot damn!” Tuesday threw her arms up into the air in a victoryVshape. “You’re a genius.”
“It’s only part of the puzzle.” Pepper shook her head with a frown. “They are palindromes, but I don’t understand the significance.”
Rhett cracked a knuckle. “Clue one. It’s by the river. Clue two indicated it was near Mars Rock. Wait. Give me a pencil, quick!”
“Pen?” Pepper reached into the basket on the kitchen counter.
“That works. And some scratch paper.”
She passed him a notepad and he jotted down a few words. “I got it. Elleselle Memorial, that’s where you’ll find the medallion. It’s near the river, in Mars Rock Park next to the National Wildlife Refuge. Elleselle is a palindrome, too.”
“Can we go?” Tuesday executed a flamboyant pirouette. “Right now?”
“Let’s load the dogs into my Bronco.” Rhett tossed the pen on the pad. “I’ll drive.”
Fifteen minutes later, Pepper had organized six dogs, a vet, and one hyperventilating sister into the Bronco.
She paused outside the passenger door. “Do you think anyone else is there?” She spoke low, out of Tuesday’s hearing range. Her sister was so excited, she didn’t want to raise her hopes only to watch them dash.
“Not sure,” he whispered back. “There is still one more day before the final clue releases. We’re ahead of the game.”
“But you’re smart. Both of you,” Tuesday piped in, rolling down the window.
So much for protecting the innocent.
As Rhett drove off, Tuesday crowed, “Ten thousand dollars! For some people in the city that’s a couple pairs of shoes and a Friday night out. For us? It’s a fresh start.”
