Page 14 of A Jingle of Justice
“Take a gander.”
He unfastened the clasp, folded back the flap, and spread the mouth of the purse. Within was a black wallet, a cell phone in a flashy gold case, and a multicolored makeup bag. Tucked into a pocket was a folded piece of parchment paper with ragged edges.
“Interesting.” Reddick withdrew the paper and unfurled it. “It’s a map.”
“Of what?” I asked.
“Of this courtyard.” He displayed it to us. “X marks the spot.”
Indeed, there was a calligraphy-styleXwhere the rightmost baker’s rack had stood.
Brady whistled.
“Tianna said her great-grandmother spoke to her in her dreams,” I said. “Did she advise her from the world beyond to make this map? Or did Tianna find this map in family mementoes?”
Something niggled the edges of my brain. The hole. The mess. “Horace!” I blurted. “His fingertips were dirty.”
“Horace Elias?” Reddick asked.
“Yes,” I said. “He was in the courtyard as Brady and I were passing through after dinner. He acted edgy, like we’d caughthim breaking into his own place. What if he was worried we’d figure out he’d sneaked into Open Your Imagination?”
“To search for the treasure,” Brady said.
“How would he know about it?” Reddick asked.
I explained how Horace overheard us talking at the restaurant, following which he gave us some fanciful story about the bird of a cuckoo clock informing him. “He believes if he doesn’t see the treasure, time could stop ticking.”
Reddick rolled his eyes.
I said, “He might’ve been smart enough to leave Tianna’s purse behind, knowing he could run into someone when he fled.”
“And the treasure?” Reddick asked.
“Hmm.Maybe he hid it. Possibly in one of the courtyard’s planters.”
“What about the cookie?” Brady asked. “Why would he have brought one along?”
“He’s a Boy Scout,” Reddick quipped. “Be prepared.”
I gawked at him.
“Sorry,” he murmured. “Detective Summers always tells me humor is unappreciated at a crime scene, but sometimes I can’t help myself.”
CHAPTER FIVE
The little shoes of fairies are
So light and soft and small
That though a million pass you by
You would not hear at all.
~ Annette Wynne, “Fairy Shoes”
THURSDAY MORNINGI AWOKE with a headache. Not being a medicine person, I drank a stiff cup of Earl Grey tea with honey, a full glass of ice water, and downed a protein shake. In need of a bit of fresh air, I dressed warmly and ran on the beach. A few people were out walking. One man, fitted with a duffel, was strolling back and forth, waving a metal detector above the sand. A woman stopped him and asked a question. He pulled a watch with a thin gold band from his shirt pocket and handed it to her. She clutched it to her chest, thankful. He’d found her treasure.
When I returned home, I spent a few minutes in the garden dead-heading flowers.A gardener’s work was never done, my father would say. Then I headed to Open Your Imagination withmy darling Ragdoll cat Pixie. By the time we arrived at the shop, I felt refreshed.
