Page 88 of Once a Hero

That said everything.

Chapter Thirty-Five

On their third day in Charleston, there were good news and bad news.

The golden key search yielded no known matching door anywhere in Europe and the United Kingdom. Beatrice ran more searches on old doors in North America, but the probability of a specific medieval door showing up in the USA was nil—not the one guarding the particular treasures they sought.

All attention turned to the postcard, not in its original form. The circuit board was supposed to be Kenichi’s department, so all eyes were on him.

Not all eyes.

Beatrice kept glancing back at the door to the lab. Where on earth was Jake? Did he want to be in on this or not?

She started to lose track of what Kenichi said. He was in a conversation with Benjamin, who had joined their meeting on audio only.

Raynelle had opted to sit out of this meeting when she discovered that Benjamin was attending. While Beatrice wished that those two would get along, she also knew that she couldn’t make them like each other. They were adults.

They were all a team, though. If not for Beatrice, Raynelle would have quit on account of Benjamin.

The door finally opened.

“Sorry I’m late.” Jake held three small paper sacks in his hands. He handed one to Beatrice. “Something for you.”

“What is it?” Beatrice unrolled the top and peeked inside. “Pralines?”

“Pecan brittles. My Uber driver told me about this shop filled with local goodies. I thought I’d get you some and hope you’re not allergic to pecans.” He walked slowly to Kenichi and gave him one of the other sacks. “For you.”

“Thank you.” Kenichi put it next to his laptop by the circuit board. “Actually we’re not supposed to eat in here.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I already had a whole bag on the way here.” Jake chuckled. “It was so delicious that I had the Uber driver take me back there so I could get you all your own brittles.”

“And thus end up being late to an all-important meeting,” Kenichi said.

“Which looks like it’s happening a mile a minute,” Jake shot back. “Where’s Raynelle? I got her some brittles too.”

“She’s out jogging.” No, Beatrice was not jealous at Jake’s generosity. If Raynelle didn’t want all that sugar, Beatrice would be happy to eat them for her.

“Okay.” Jake put the bag on the table next to Beatrice. “What did I miss?”

“The old key is probably a red herring,” Beatrice said. “Ken’s still figuring out the circuit board—and obviously frustrated. My brother’s searching for the two-amber brooch.”

“Your brother? Will he attend this meeting?” Jake asked.

“He’s here,” Beatrice said. “Ben?”

“Yes?” Benjamin’s voice came through the speakerphone.

Beatrice knew that Benjamin could see them because of well-placed cameras in the meeting room, but they could not see him.

“Ben, meet Jake. Jake, the best brother in the world, my Ben.”

“Hi, Ben.” Jake even waved his hand. “Sorry I didn’t get you some brittles too.”

On audio, Benjamin grunted half a greeting of some sort.

Sometimes Beatrice wondered why it pained Benjamin to say full words. There were times when he’d grunt out a ‘y’ vowel sound instead of saying a full “yes.” How hard would it be to say a one-syllable word?

“Ben, how much longer would it take to extrapolate the location of the of the amber panels with just two brooches?” Beatrice asked.

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