“Oh no. Is it your office again?” There’s a note of despondency in her voice as she looks to the side and I stroke the side of her arm as I look down at the screen.
“No, it’s my grandma. I’m going to get it.”
I answer the call and put it on speakerphone. “Hey, Grandma. What’s going on?”
“Hi, darling. I’ve got you on three-way. I have Mia’s grandma on the line.” I look over at Mia and she shrugs. She has no idea why I’m receiving this three-way call, either.
“Hi Luke, it’s me, Lucille. Mia’s grandma.”
“Hi, Lucille. How’s it going?” I laugh at her greeting. Like I had no idea who she was.What on earth is going on here?
“We wanted to tell you two kids that there was just notification that a storm might be coming, okay? And we just wanted to tell you that you’re not to go to Hidden Cove today, okay. The drive might not be safe.”
“Okay … did we say we were going to Hidden Cove?” I frown as I glance at Mia. Had Mia texted her grandma and told her?
“I think I heard you talking about going to get the treasure,” my grandma says, clearing her throat. “From the clues, Mia’s been getting.”
“Oh, yeah. I guess we’ll wait to go tomorrow then.” I look over at Mia and mouth. “Did you tell them about the clues?” She makes a face and shakes her head.
“You don’t have to go at all,” Lucille says quickly. “There’s no treasure.”
“Wait, what are you talking about?” I demand to know to Mia takes a step closer and stares down at the screen.
“What on earth?” Mia whispers. “Grandma, what are you saying? How do you even know about the clues?”
There’s silence on the other line. Which tells me that something is abrewing because Lucille and Bitsy are not known for their appreciation of quiet time.
“I suppose we should tell them now,” my grandma says and from her tone, I can tell she doesn’t really want to say anything.
“Tell us what?” I ask suspiciously.
“If you think so, Bitsy,” Lucille must be in her kitchen because I hear the rattling of glasses in the background.
Mia frowns at me. “What are you talking about, Grandma? You’re confusing Luke and I.”
“Oh, just a little thing that Bitsy and I did.” The voice is far too innocent. Far far too innocent.
“What did you guys do?” I ask, prodding her to actually reveal what is going on.
“Well … we might or might not have sent the treasure hunt notes to Mia so that you two could solve them together.”
“What? Did you bury a treasure or something?” I am so confused. “I hope neither one of you buried any real gold or anything. That would be so irresponsible.”
“No, not quite,” my grandma says and giggles. “There is gold at the end of the journey, but not bullion.”
“What?” I am starting to grow annoyed.
“Grandma, explain in better detail please.” Mia demands.
Lucille starts giggling nervously. “Mia, darling, it was my idea.”
“What, Grandma? What’s going on? What was your idea? Luke and I have no clue what you’re talking about right now and it’s driving us both crazy.”
“We wrote the notes,” she admits like it’s no my big deal. “Rex has no clue that you even got those notes. We wrote the notes on the back of your and Luke’s invitations.” She explains again. “Pity you don’t have a date.”
“What?” Mia looks shocked. “What are you saying?” She grabs the phone from me. “Let me get this straight,” she continues without letting them speak again. “You sent that rude note to me and the one to Luke? They weren’t from Rex?”
“Technically, we never said they were from Rex.” Lucille sounds guilty. “We never signed any name to the notes.”
