Pepper rubbed Rhett’s suddenly tense shoulders. How did he feel about all this? If they won the prize money, his reward would be losing her.
Her thoughts drifted back to the teacup and Delfi’s gentle question.What does your heart tell you?She gave an internal shrug. Tea leaves—logical decision-making method there, Pepper. Jesus. She was the one losing something—her damn mind.
“Hey, I forgot to ask. Has anyone found that missing dog statue?” Tuesday popped her face between the two seats.
Pepper twisted in her seat, grateful for a distraction. “How’d you hear about that?”
She shrugged. “The mayor’s column.”
Beau’s conversation from the dog park came flooding back.
“I need to actually have a word with you later about that,” Pepper said. “I hear you’ve been quite the trolling commenter.”
Tuesday blanched.
“What’s this now?” Rhett asked.
“Nothing,” Tuesday said, right as Pepper replied, “Secret sister business.”
“Sounds like a whole lot of I don’t want to get involved,” he replied. They hit the edge of town, and Rhett turned onto a bumpy road. He rolled the windows down, and the cicada song increased in volume. The dogs jockeyed for the best place to hang their tongues out.
“Why aren’t we going to the river?” Pepper said, studying the fields.
“We are in a roundabout way. Mars Rock is above the wildlife refuge. There’s a historical monument here, too, honoring one of the region’s early settlers. Joseph Elleselle was a British soldier, marooned by Redbeard on the nearby coast after his ship was plundered and set alight. He led a group of survivors upriver to this spot. They lived here for another year before the English navy finally rediscovered them, and in that time they only lost two of their party. Elleselle founded Everland, and a few of the other men returned with their families.
“My mama could trace her roots back to that period. It’s the whole reason why I know about the memorial. She used to take me and my sister out here and make sure we’d never forget our history.”
“Only one other car’s here,” Pepper said, examining the lone Subaru with a trailer in the parking lot.
“That’s a good sign, right?” Hope infused Tuesday’s words.
“Those guys are probably mountain bikers here for the river single track. Lots of riders come here. But if it’s otherwise empty, I’d say that is a very good sign,” Rhett responded. “The ‘out of this world’ comment threw some people. Most folks are honing in to the crater crash.”
“Crater?” Tuesday asked, jumping out the back door with J.K. Growling’s leash.
“A myth that’s been debunked. A few scientists from Ithaca came out couple years ago. I don’t know how they tell one sink hole in the ground from another, but guess they took one look and knew it wasn’t from anything from outer space. Still, locals are stubborn, and plenty are combing that area.”
Tuesday hugged herself. “But if locals are stubborn, wouldn’t the Pillage organizers have hidden it there, believing the story was legitimate?”
“Trust me, I’m right.”
“I trust you.” Pepper swallowed back a flicker of self-doubt.
Tuesday said nothing.
It has hard to tell if Rhett noticed as he was busy letting out the dogs.
Once everyone had their boots laced and a leash (or three) in their hands, they set out. At one end of the parking lot was a hand-painted wooden sign. The wordsELLESELLE MONUMENTwere faded but legible, as was the arrow. A half mile out, the trail dipped downhill, narrowing from a flat, easy boardwalk into a steep single-file gravel path cutting through waist-high grass. Furtive rustling sounded as small creatures fled at their approach. Butterflies abounded. In the copse ahead rose a stone tower. “There,” Rhett pointed.
Tuesday broke into a run, but Pepper hung back, taking Rhett’s hand. The medallion hunt had been distracting fun, but what would happen after her sister found it? Ten thousand dollars could be enough to restart life somewhere new.
Was Tuesday serious about her Chicago plan? Would she go with her? Did she even want to?
Don’t count a medallion before it’s found.
Screams filled the air. Not Tuesday. Lots of happy screams. Of course, the amusement park, Happily Ever After Land, was through the forest.
Just like the riddle had described.
