“I don’t think so. No one’s tried to do that since I set up the computers weeks ago. Now, right after we start finding clues, they try?”
“The timing could be a coincidence.”
“It’s not. On my desktop computer, I only store information about this non-profit that’s of no value to anyone except the employees here. A person would only go to the trouble of hacking into that computer if they thought I’d saved treasure hunt information there.”
She picked up a pen and tapped it thoughtfully against the head of her alabaster pug.
“Your dad brought me into this hunt,” he said, “because he suspected at least one other person might get involved. It’s now clear that at least one other personisinvolved.”
“That’s ... sobering.”
Having no adversary in this hunt would have been the best scenario. But since an adversarydidexist, this was the second-best scenario. At least now, he had proof. His concerns—Ed’s concerns—were justified. “Somebody else is on the hunt for the treasure.”
“Should we change anything we’re doing?”
“We haven’t been storing information about the hunt on our computers,” he said, “and this confirms that we definitely can’t do that going forward. Just to be safe, we both also need to clear our search history every time we look up anything on the Internet that’s connected to the hunt.”
She nodded.
“I’m going to beef up security around here,” he said. The Center’s security sucked. The doors leading from the foyer to the rest of the building and from the building to the play yard had key codes. However, the employees and volunteers were too lazy to use them so they’d been deactivated. He’d get them back online. “Make sure you turn your house alarm on. Stay on the lookout foranything unusual. Be aware of the people in your surroundings in case the same face keeps popping up. When you’re driving, make sure no one’s following.”
“Done.”
“Most of all, take Agatha off my hands because she makes it hard for me to concentrate.”
“I’ll be finalizing her adoption soon,” she said earnestly. “It’s just taking me a bit longer than expected to get the paperwork through.”
“Tomorrow I’ll have had her a week.”
“Agatha’s adoption is a high priority of mine, Luke.”
“Yeah? Then how come your puppy got adopted before mine?”
“Because Oscar’s family requested a male.”
“Finley, I’m about to take Agatha to the nearest freeway and throw a dog treat in front of an oncoming car.”
“If you’re using hyperbole, you really must be desperate.” She smiled. “She’ll be adopted shortly.”
He left her office and settled behind his computer console. After selecting and editing some of the photos that volunteers had taken over the weekend, he scheduled them to go up on the different social media sites. Writing captions was the worst.Ronald enjoying the sunny weather! Wanda is looking forward to seeing you the next time you visit Furry Tails. Beverly wishes you a very happy Monday.
The captions sounded maniacally happy to him, as if a clown with a painted-on smile and a white flower in his hat had written them. Even so, Finley kept encouraging him to make them evenmorecheery.
If she wanted them cheerier than this, she was going to have to hire the good witch fromThe Wizard of Ozto write them.
That afternoon, Luke came to a stop in the open doorway of the room housing the Center’s after-school program.
Ben stood in front of a whiteboard, talking with enthusiasm about how clouds store water. The kids watched with interest.Akira, the woman who ran the program, was so busy staring at Ben she hadn’t noticed Luke’s appearance.
In the middle of a sentence, Ben caught sight of him, paused to nod at Luke, then finished his thought. “Any questions?” he asked the kids.
He called on a pale-haired girl with a braid.
“Rain, snow, sleet, and hail are called precipitation,” she said. Not a question.
“That’s right,” Ben replied. “Good.”
“Oooh!” a redheaded boy said. “Isn’t hail a bad word?”
