"I appreciate that.”
"Did drug dealers really kidnap your daughter?" she asked Mickey.
He nodded.
Kylie made a sympathetic frown. "I wish there was something I could do.”
"You can go inside, get that book, and let us take a few pictures of the pages," Flynn said, trying to charm her.
Kylie thought about it and squirmed for a moment. "I know Katie. She’s probably hiding that book right now.”
"My daughter's life is at stake," Mickey said.
Kylie's face wrinkled with sadness and torment. "I’ll see what I can do. How can I get in touch with you?”
I dug into my pocket and handed her a card.
"We would so appreciate it if you’d come through for us," Flynn said.
Kylie nodded. "I’ll try. I promise.” She looked back at the house, then said, “You guys should leave now, so she doesn't get suspicious.”
We thanked her and ambled back down the driveway. The rain had lightened up.
Flynn called for a rideshare.
We hung out with the psychonauts until the car arrived, then we followed them back to theAvventura.
At Diver Down, Jack parked the car, and we hopped out and strolled the dock back to the boat.
"Kylie was sweet," Flynn said. “But her sister’s got a bad aura. Did you see all that shit swirling around her?" he asked Mickey.
Malibu nodded.
We crossed the passerelle and stepped to the aft deck. Buddy waited eagerly at the salon door. I slid it open, knelt down, and petted the little guy. He greeted me with a wagging tail and a slobbering tongue, then took particular interest in Augustus.
He didn't bark, he just surveyed the Lizard King with curiosity.
"You guys really need to let that lizard go," I said.
"He's free to leave at any time," Flynn said. "He'll let us know when he wants to go.”
"I suppose he told you that?”
“Ask him yourself," Flynn said.
I just shook my head.
Shafts of sunlight broke through the clouds as the storm moved out.
We gathered in the salon, trying to come up with a game plan in case we were unable to get the money. At this point, it wasn't looking good.
I said to Mickey, "You were able to see a glimpse of your map, weren't you?"
"The cipher. That’s in ink. But I need to decode it.”
"What type of cipher did you use?"
“Just a simple shifted numeric one. I drew the map in invisible ink.”
