“Help?Help?” Pops set the papers down and locked eyeswith both of them. “You’ve both created all kinds of problems that could have easily been avoided. I have no reason to think you won’t continue to do the same. Time is of the essence, and I need you to get busy doing something useful. You’re both on carriage road maintenance.”
Frankie raised both hands in the air. “Hold it. Wait a second. I know what that means. It means shoveling horse manure.”
“Exactly,” Pops said, pointing toward the door. “Head over to the Jordon Pond Gatehouse area. The ranger is expecting you. Both of you.”
Frankie groaned. “Soooo unfair.”
“So unfair,” Maisie echoed. But not a complete loss. The silver lining was she was spending the day with Frankie.
Scout sat in the driver’s seat of the parked NPS jeep. She had hardly looked at Chase during the chief’s meeting, had yet to say a single word to him. She was disgusted with him.
Chase sat in the middle of the back seat, leaning forward with his notepad, ready to pounce on any possible lead. “Naki, what did you find out about the lighthouse keeper?”
Naki, in the passenger seat, his gaze steady on the dashboard, his hands resting loosely on his knees, didn’t respond.
Chase caught his silent message. “Like it or not, we’re all in this together now.”
Scout turned toward him, her tone clipped. “Only because you’ve made this so much more difficult.”
Chase didn’t flinch. “And I’ve apologized. Sincerely apologized.”
“An apology doesn’t guarantee forgiveness.” Scout didn’t try to hide the annoyance in her voice.
“But it should,” Chase said, “if you take the Lord’s Prayer to heart. ‘Forgive us as we forgive others.’”
Oh didn’t that just beat all?Chase ... pulling the Bible card.
Naki spoke quietly but with weight. “Forgiveness and trust shouldn’t be confused.”
Yes! Yes! Exactly that.Scout could sense Naki’s dark eyes flicking over her before he shifted in his seat toward Chase. “The lighthouse keeper’s name was Arthur Lipp. He died about a month after the shipwreck.”
Chase pulled his pen out. “How do you spell his surname?”
“L-i-p-p,” Naki said, his voice clipped but deliberate.
Scout turned to Naki. “Any idea why he didn’t light his lighthouse that night? Could it have been accidental? Maybe his confession was out of guilt.”
She shot a dark look at Chase in the rearview mirror.
He missed it. “But if it were an accident, why did he hide the gold? Did he have enemies?” Chase was leaning practically halfway over the front seat. “Could it have had something to do with his untimely death?”
“I didn’t say untimely,” Naki said. “Nothing else presented itself.”
Scout had a hunch Naki knew more but wasn’t about to share it with Chase. She didn’t blame him. Chase Fletcher was not to be trusted. “I’ve been piecin’ together every fragment from the clues that I can remember. All I can think of are some words. Hive, sand, sharp claws, dawn. And I don’t think they’re in any order.” She glanced in the rearview mirror at Chase. “I sure hope your one photograph’s clear enough to read them.” As far as she was concerned, that photo was the only reason he was useful. And yet—he wouldn’t share it. Wouldn’t even let her take a look. Just one more item on the growing list of reasons not to trust him.
“It is. Pretty clear.” Chase peered at his phone. “The one you might be remembering, Scout, is this one—‘The hive upon the hill hides a secret within its stones, but only for those boldenough to climb to its peak.’” He leaned back. “I have to admit that I don’t understand any of these clues.”
Scout glanced at Naki. “That’s why we need you.”
Naki turned around again in the seat to face Chase. “Let me see the clues.”
“Oh no,” Chase said, holding his phone against his chest. “Not happening.”
“Chase!” Scout was shocked. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious. I know how easily I could get shoved aside in this. Clues will be revealed one by one.”
Naki glanced out the windshield, his voice quiet but firm. “Then let’s go.”
