Page 146 of Cruel Devotion

A half a minute went by. Then, there was a fumbling of the phone being passed. Soon, her sweet little voice came on the line. “Moni!”

“Hey, baby sis.”

“Where are you?”

“I'm on a mountain.”

“What? How did that happen?”

“I made some new friends.”

“Banks thinks they are dangerous.”

I shook my head. “Yes, but I have it under control and stay out of grown folks business.”

“When are you coming back?”

“Soon. Give me four days.”

She let out an exasperated breath. “That's forever.”

“It really isn't.”

“But. . .there's been new developments.”

“What new developments?”

“I've been looking up more on Crownsville's treasure!”

Oh my God. To be young again and one-track minded.

I couldn't help but chuckle. “What's new?”

“Banks took me to the museum in the West, and I got two new books. One of them talks about the Bandit's map.”

The image of a weathered parchment crisscrossed with lines and X marks floated into my mind.

My interest piqued. “Cool. Tell me about it.”

“It's not like a regular map.” T.T.'s voice dropped to an excited hush. “It’s broken down into puzzle pieces, so not just anybody could find the treasures. Only the smartest would get them. The most-worthy.”

I checked my watch. “Puzzle pieces, huh? That sounds. . .intricate.”

“It is! The book says that the pieces are scattered, hidden where onlytruehearts can find them.” I could hear the rustle of pages, presumably T.T. flipping through one of her notebooks. “And I'm going to find every single piece, Moni. I'm going to solve the puzzle.”

“I bet you will.”

“But Banks won't take me to Dream Lake.”

“I will take you. I swear.”

“And I will need to go a few times. First, to get a lay of the land and then several other times to search.” T.T. let out a delirious giggle. “I'm so close. When I find it, we'll be rich, and you won't have to work so hard anymore!”

“Hold on, T.T.” I smiled. “Things will be different when I come to you. We have a new house and I have a new job.”

“Yeah?”

“We'll be living right in Paradise—”

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