Page 5 of Holidate Fail
“Can you read it?” Kelly asked, passing it to Dahlia. “You were always good at puzzles.”
Bold and brave could only extend so far. Reading in front of others, with everyone staring and judging and thinking how they would have emphasized it differently? Not her favorite pastime. She ignored the slithery feeling crawling up her spine and cleared her throat.
“Oh, wow. I didn’t realize you guys already knew each other.” Heath gave a little frown.
Which was weird. “Yeah, but it’s been a while,” Dahlia said.
“Her dad makes the best shrimp and grits this side of the Mississippi,” Kelly said.
He wasn’t wrong. “We lived about forty miles from here when we were in high school.” Dahlia slid her thumb under the envelop seal. At least this one was a riddle and not something ridiculous, like loudly singing a song and tap dancing in the middle of a busy sidewalk. “‘This establishment takes reservations, and you'll find gatherings of millers and potters and butlers and kings on different stories. And while you silently walk up the stone steps and find where tomorrow comes before yesterday, gargoyles lurk from above.’”
“Well, that’s stupid,” Health said. “It doesn’t rhyme.”
“Not all puzzles have to rhyme.” Lacole nodded to Dahlia. “Read it again.”
Dahlia read the clue again, noting that other teams were already racing to their cars. “Let’s ponder it while we get to my car.”
“Your car?” Heath asked. “Why your car?”
Having her car meant control. Meant she couldn’t be left stranded. Meant she could drive the speed limit and be aware of her surroundings. She forced a smile and told herself to relax. New Dahlia was okay with giving up a little control. “Okay, your car.”
“And waste all that gas driving us around?”
“I drove a two-seater,” Lacole said.
“My car,” Kelly interjected. He walked off, as if daring the rest of them to follow. Which Dahlia did, admiring his firm backside as they went.
“Restaurants take reservations.” Lacole followed Kelly as well, her confident stride making Dahlia feel like a bumbling klutz as she practically ran to keep up with Lacole’s longer legs.
The old Dahlia. New Dahlia wasn’t intimidated by anything. “They probably make use of a miller, too. Sort of. And maybe a butler if you count the host.”
“So we need a restaurant with stone steps?” Heath asked.
“And gargoyles,” Dahlia said.
It didn’t surprise her that Kelly drove a forest green SUV, complete with a bumper sticker about how he’d rather be kayaking and another for his business. He and Wayne had spent many weekends doing activities like that, and she had spent many weekends wanting to be invited. Dahlia slid into the backseat. Sitting in the back was better when she wasn’t driving. That way she couldn’t tell Kelly the light was about to turn red or to not run over a perfectly innocent couple on the sidewalk who happened to glance at the road.
“Let’s see what restaurants are nearby.” Heath pulled out his cell phone.
“It doesn’t have to be nearby, not really,” Lacole said. “Remember, this covers three counties. They can’t make it too easy for us.”
“I hope it’s a good restaurant.” Heath rubbed his belly. “I’m getting hungry.”
“Okay.” Kelly turned on the ignition. “Where do we go?”
Silence reigned in the car, broken only by the air conditioner’s constant fan. “Maybe we should focus on the other parts of the riddle. It might not be a restaurant,” Dahlia ventured. When no one rolled their eyes, she released some of her tension. “Hotels take reservations. Movie theaters, too.”
“I’ll start driving around.” Kelly navigated Fountenoy Hall’s long drive. “Maybe something will click.”
Gargoyles lurk from above, the puzzle said. Thoughts on gargoyles and statues swirled through Dahlia’s head, one nugget of random info leaping to another in the way her mind so often worked, until she found something useful in her brain. “Wiccans used gargoyles for protection.”
“Yeah? Did they scare away trespassers?” Heath asked.
“They might look scary, but they’re an architectural delight,” Dahlia said.
“Most gargoyle décor now function as drainage spouts,” Lacole said. “So instead of warding off evil spirits, they protect the building. At least, according to my mom, who’s a jobsite manager.”
Now that the stress of meeting Heath and starting the scavenger hunt was over, Dahlia let her mind process that information and whatever thoughts came with it. Drainage spouts had water. Water would have melted the Wicked Witch. Kelly liked the water, if his job was any indication. She liked water, too. Waters needed protection from illegal dumping, which was why she was taking samples for the water management district. Witches didn’t like water. They could make their own protection. Unless they were really just your average person and unfairly accused.
