This caused a ripple of interest, particularly among the local business owners.
“How do you feel about that?” asked Bud Jefferson. “More treasure hunters means more competition, right?”
Dr. Appleton shrugged. “My motto has always been, ‘May the best man—or woman, as the case may be—win.’ ”
Was it my imagination, or was she looking directly at me when she said that?
CHAPTER 32
The thing about Lovejoys? We were competitive.
Really competitive.
And unlike Four on the Fourth, this was one race I was determined not just to finish, but to win. Especially now that we’d had a taste of victory with the discovery of what was very likely Dandy Dan’s cave. I didn’t want Amanda Appleton unraveling my family secret before I did. This was my mystery to solve, not hers.
I said as much to my friends as we all crowded into the big booth at the back of Lou’s Diner with my aunt after the book signing. My father didn’t like my being there one bit, but he could hardly argue with the fact that I’d just worked another two-hour shift—for free—and that I needed to eat before rehearsal.
“I’ll buy her dinner and then drop her off at the Grange,” my aunt had told him. “No detours, I promise.”
After we placed our order, we finally had a chance to show my aunt what we’d discovered on Cherry Island.
“This is astonishing!” she said, running a finger along the length of rope. “I mean, it’s got to be, what, nearly three hundred years old?” She shook her head in amazement. “The tar must have helped preserve it from rotting. Rusty will be beside himself.” Seeing the looks on our faces she added hastily, “But don’t worry—I won’t breathe a word to him until you give me the okay.”
She made us promise we wouldn’t go back to Cherry Island alone, though. “Caves are notoriously dangerous,” she warned. “I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
As for Dr. Appleton, Aunt True had come up with a brilliant plan for finding out what she was up to. She’d sicced Ella Bellow on her.
“It hit me the minute Ella walked in the bookshop,” she told us. “If you have a secret weapon, you might as well use it, right?”
As everyone had lined up to get their books signed, Aunt True had pulled Ella aside and hinted that she thought something about the author was a little fishy. That instantly caught Ella’s attention, and she’d spent the rest of the evening plying Dr. Appleton with questions. She’d managed to extract a fair amount of information, too.
Aunt True ticked the details off on her fingers. “She’s staying at the Pumpkin Falls Bed and Breakfast; her plans are ‘indefinite’—which means she probably won’t be leaving anytime soon—and she’s been fishing in the college archives.”
My friends and I looked at each other in dismay. Once again, Dr. Appleton was one step ahead of us!
“Has she made the connection between Dandy Dan and Nathaniel Daniel?” I asked.
My aunt shrugged. “Maybe? She mentioned to Ella that she was looking into all the early settlers who arrived here in Pumpkin Falls soon after the wreck of the Windborne.”
It wouldn’t be long before she zeroed in on Nathaniel Daniel Lovejoy in that case, I thought glumly, if she hadn’t already.
After dinner, Mrs. Abramowitz was waiting outside to drive us to the Grange. She’d volunteered to help with the choreography for the show.
“The Pirates of Penzance is one of my favorites!” she said as we piled into Cha Cha’s SUV. “And the fifties setting is so fabulous—I’ll have you all doing the bunny hop and the jitterbug in no time. You kids are going to have a blast!”
This did not sound like a blast to me. I stared down at my feet, which didn’t always cooperate in the dancing department, grateful for once that they’d be safely encased in the shimmertail.
So far, stage crew had been less boring than I’d expected. Lucas was good company, despite his standoffishness with Bud Jefferson, who was clearly determined to make this the bonding experience that Mrs. Winthrop was hoping for. Plus, my knack for the window displays at the bookshop seemed to have carried over to stage design, as I’d come up with several good ideas that nobody had thought of, including the addition of an ice cream–themed mural on the back wall of the Rockin’ Mermaid Malt Shop.
Tonight, while my brother and friends rotated between costume fittings, their first few scene run-throughs, and vocal and dance practice, the members of the stage crew were brainstorming details for props and set decorations. We figured that the second act, which would take place in a high school gymnasium during prom, was a no brainer.
“All we need is a disco ball, a bunch of streamers and banners, and boom we’re done,” Belinda said, and we all agreed.
The set for the first act, though, was more challenging. Recreating a 1950s malt shop was going to take a lot of work.
“I’m hanging up my hat after this production, and I want to go out on a high note,” Belinda told us, hoisting her kitten-du-jour, a little orange tiger, into the air for emphasis. “This has to be a real showstopper.”
“CORN POPPER?” said Elmer Farnsworth.
“SHOWSTOPPER!” Belinda repeated.
“I HAVE A CORN POPPER IN MY TRUCK!” he assured her, springing to his feet. “OTHER STUFF TOO.”
Belinda heaved a sigh as Elmer darted off. “Come on, team. We might as well go take a look.”
She passed her kitten to Augustus, who reached for it automatically and put it in his backpack. We all followed them out back to where Elmer’s truck was parked. It looked to be nearly as old as he was, and it was loaded to the gills. The junk pile in Elmer’s barn was legendary around Pumpkin Falls, and he appeared to have brought half of it with him.
“All right, folks, dig in!” said Belinda. “We’re looking for anything that might remotely work as a prop for a 1950s malt shop.”
Before
