The ranger might not have ... but ... Scout’s eyes darted to Frankie, who had suddenly gone very still, his hands jammed into his jacket pockets, his eyes nervously avoiding hers. She could almost hear the gears turning in his head. “Frankie...” Her voice held a note of warning.
Frankie cleared his throat. “I, uh, might have said something about it to Maisie.” He spoke in a mumble, his voice a mix of guilt and resignation. “I—I might’ve mentioned it when you went to pay the bill.”
The chief’s jaw dropped. “Maisie? You toldMaisie?!”
“Well, you know Maisie. She gets yakking.” Frankie made asquawking-bird gesture with his hand. “And I wanted to shut her up, you know? And it worked.”
“What exactly,” Scout said, “did you tell her?”
“I might have said I found a shipwreck. And maybe ... gold.”
Scout stared at him, nonplussed. “We haven’t found a shipwreck and we haven’t found gold. All we found was a newspaper clippin’ and some papers in an envelope.”
Frankie’s Adam’s apple bobbed twice. “Well, we’re on to something. For sure.”
“Did anyone else hear you?” Scout said, her voice sharp, her mind racing.
“No! Just Maisie. I made sure to keep my voice down.”
The chief couldn’t hide his exasperation for Frankie. “Someone must have overheard you. And now this nearly two-hundred-year-old incredibly fragile, incredibly valuable envelope has disappeared.”
Frankie’s bravado evaporated like mist in the morning sun.
Naki rose and leaned both hands on the desktop. “We need to find that envelope,” he said, his voice low and urgent, “before whoever took it starts to put the pieces together.”
Text message conversation between Scout and her mother:
Mother
What’s the square footage of yourhouse?
Magnolia Pearl,I know you’re there.
This isbooing,isn’t it?
Wait,no,Donna says it’sghosting. My own daughter is ghosting me.
I could bedying and you’d never know.
Scout
Are you dying?
Ah! You are there! No,I’m not dying. ButI do need to know the square footage of yourhouse.
It’s a cabin. Tiny. And Mother,please refrainfrom nonemergency texts during the workday. We’ve talked aboutthis,many times.
We’ll call it a “cottage.” So...800square feet?1,000?
More like400.
That’s thesize of a storage unit!
Yes,but with windows.
I’m sending you a surprise.
No thank you,ma’am. The cabin is fine the way it is. Simple. Rustic.
