Betty seemed surprised her bestie would ask. "Because important things are historical."
Ava, who was very ambitious and wanted to be CEO of a major insurance company someday, asked, "Why would your spleen be historical or important?"
Betty leaned in. "Because of what I'll do with my spleen." She leaned back. "You'll see."
Inez, one of the smartest girls in the troop, ignored all of them and asked Nancy, "Why did he leave the town his giant tooth?"
Nancy responded, "It was never specified. Some think he did it for revenge…you know, from being teased about it and all." She looked around the empty dining room and then leaned closer. "Some think it has to do with the aliens." Nancy leaned back. "But most of us think he just wanted to give us something to put us on the map."
Before Betty could ask about the aliens, I asked, "Why would a giant tooth put you on the map?"
Nancy waved me off. "It wouldn't. We'd already had our brush with fame. You see, Behold was the first place in Iowa visited by Europeans."
Ava frowned. "We learned in class that it was Dubuque."
Nancy narrowed her eyes at the girl. Her sunny disposition went to stormy in a moment. "No. It was us. That's why the town was named Behold. To tell the world to Behold Iowa. But those bastards in Dubuque jumped in and claimed it. They got the bridge and all the glory."
She did that thing again, scrunching up her nose when she mentioned the other town.
Suddenly, her mood lifted, and she was back in high spirits. "Anyhoo, that's the story!"
"You didn't tell us where the tooth is," Kaitlyn said.
I was caught off guard. Sure, I'd heard each of the Kaitlyns talk before, but they seemed to like blending into this homogenous mass, and they all sounded the same in addition to looking like quadruplets. Having just one of them on this trip would be interesting.
Nancy patted the girl on the head. "I forgot you asked! It's in the post office."
A man's voice grumbled something unintelligible from the back.
"Right! Coming!" Nancy hollered. "I'll be right back. And with that, she left us.
"Aliens?" Lauren asked. "Can we see them after the tooth?"
I looked at Kelly. I kind of wanted to know the answer to that myself.
"We can see the tooth," she sighed. "We can do it while Mrs. Ferguson is in her meeting with the lawyer."
"Hey!" I protested. "I want to see the tooth too!"
Kelly shook her head. "Maybe later. You have to find out about the spider house you inherited and about the possible murder of its owner. Then we need to head to the Scout camp and check in."
Five little faces turned to me, mouths open. To be fair, there was a lot to process with Kelly's statement. It would probably be better to wait to mention the ghost camp with its Indian burial mounds.
"Murder!" Betty smacked her fist into her palm. "I knew it! That's why we're here! Where do we start?"
"Maybe at the spider house?" Lauren asked.
Ava folded her arms over her chest. "Someone else died around you?"
"Of course not!" Kaitlyn leaped to my defense. "They died here."
"Thank you," I said.
Kaitlyn continued, "Of course, Mrs. Wrath had something to do with it."
I choked on my water. "Um, no. Actually, I didn't."
Inez asked, "Who died?"
"Aunt June," I replied. "But she's not an aunt. That's her first name…"
Betty cut me off. "Because her last name is June, right?"
"How did you know that?" I asked.
She shrugged. "It totally makes sense."
The other four girls agreed.
"And she left Mrs. Wrath a note." Betty pulled the note from her pocket. "I just haven't read it yet."
"How did you get that?" I snatched it away. Sure enough, it was the letter Aunt June had written.
The little girl looked at me as if I was an idiot. "I have my ways."
"You broke into my house, didn't you?" I pocketed the letter.
Kelly interrupted as the food arrived. "Let's eat, and then Mrs. Wrath can go meet the lawyer and we can see the giant tooth."
"You're calling me Mrs. Wrath now?" I asked, my mouth watering over the chicken breast with mashed potatoes and gravy that was set before me.
"It just seems easier that way." Kelly dismissed my question and dug in.
It really was the best fried chicken in the state—tender and juicy with a light, seasoned breading. The seven of us oohed and moaned while we ate. I toyed with ordering seconds, but the clock on the wall told me I'd run out of time.
"Pay the bill," I told Kelly. "I'll text when I'm done with Nigel Hickenlooper."
"Nigel?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Hickenlooper?" Inez added.
The five girls exploded into a fit of giggles. I was out the door before I had to explain that too.
The very next building, on the same side of the street, was slightly less disheveled and had a huge sign that read Hickenlooper, Hickenlooper & Hickenlooper. This was the place. I opened the door and walked inside.
It was like walking through a portal into another dimension. Real wood-paneled walls framed the plush white carpet that felt more like walking on a cloud. A set of white leather chairs with stainless steel frames surrounded a table laden with Town &Country magazines. At the far end of the wall was a huge mahogany desk, and behind that desk was a very pretty young woman wearing a very expensive tailored dress.
"Mrs. Ferguson?" she purred in honeyed tones.
"Yes." My eyes wandered to the original art on the walls. Good Lord! Was that a Picasso?
"My name is Emmy. Please have a seat." The woman stood and indicated a leather-bound chair. "Can I get you any tea, coffee, or artesian water?"
"No thanks." I settled in one of the white chairs. It was deceptively comfortable. "Is that classical music?" I pointed toward the ceiling even though I had no idea where the music was coming from.
"Yes, of course," the receptionist said. "If you will excuse me, I'll
