Dash ordered everyone off the oriental rug and rolled it up from the corner closest to the boards that rattled.
When he revealed the floor underneath, however, there was no sign of a trap door. Just plain old floorboards. He got down on his hands and knees and felt around. "That's weird. It felt like a door or something," he said.
He tried prying up one of the boards, but nothing gave way.
"Huh. Probably just some rotting wood," Levi said. "These old places are full of termites, I'll bet."
Dash unfurled the carpet again and thought.
All of a sudden, Harper was jumping up and down. "I got it!"
Her translation of Morse code had led them to the ship's wheel mounted in the middle of the room.
Fiona joined her in helping her figure out what to do next.
"Oh, wait!" Harper shouted. "We turn the wheel to line up the direction and depth gauges over here, and that will lead to the next clue!"
On and on she went, with little help from anyone else.
Eventually, after about ten minutes of finding clue after clue, she announced. "OK, class. Do you want your first mate to get you out of here, or do you want to keep trying to break out with the help of property damage?"
Dash snorted. "First mate."
"Well, I think that's a good word for it," Harper said. "I've been helpful, haven't I?"
Billy cut in and handed Levi his switchblade back. "Yes, please, just get me out of here. These dudes are starting to smell."
"That's you, Billy," said Dash.
Harper then worked her way through the last clue, which led to a key, which allowed her to unlock the door. She handed the key to Fiona.
"Will you do the honors, midshipman?"
Fiona laughed. "I'd be honored to, O Captain, My Captain."
"Now she's the captain," Dash muttered.
Holden turned to Dash, "Well, she did sorta take charge and get us out of here a lot faster than any of us would have. So…"
Harper jumped up and down when the key worked, and Fiona held the door open, showing everyone the way out with a flourish and a bow.
Dash stalked out without even looking at Harper, though he could feel her eyes on him as he passed. He scanned the scene; the wise guys were gone. All the other teams seemed to have solved their puzzle rooms long before they had, and the place was then mostly deserted except for that woman named Opal, who was tidying the place up, alone.
Outside on the sidewalk, the rest of the squad convened, agreeing to head one direction up Old Harbor Drive for fast food. Dash said his goodbyes and went the other way to grab a sandwich at the bodega on the corner. As he headed that way, he could not help but spot the mop of curly red hair standing in an alleyway, talking on the phone.
"Hi Greg, just checking in."
Dash's feet stopped as he heard her say that name. Who was Greg? A coworker?
He willed his legs to keep moving. His stomach growled to remind him he had no business eavesdropping. Especially not when he was supremely annoyed at her for showing off her escape room skills. Seriously, what a niche kind of skill to get excited about.
Harper had more to offer the world than that. Why did she get so excited and worked up about everything? Her enthusiasm was exhausting. Just being around her made his pulse soar so severely he needed a nap.
He probably had too much caffeine already today, he told himself.
"Yep," she was saying in answer to a question from whoever Greg was. "Easy peasy. I even got to solve a puzzle, and I crushed it. Right. Well, the group I was with wasn't exactly made of brains…I know. I'll have it emailed to you in an hour…and thanks again for being so nice this morning. That made my first meeting go a lot easier."
When she hung up, all he could say was one word.
"Wow."
Harper whirled around to come face to chest with Dash. "What?"
"You think you're pretty smart now that you're a reporter and shit."
"I've always thought I was smart, but thanks for the reminder."
"Why do you gotta ruin everything?"
Harper reared back. "You're the one who insisted I be a part of your team, Einstein."
Dash had her backed into a recessed doorway in the alley.
"I heard the way you were talking on the phone to your boyfriend at the paper. You can collect all the signatures for whatever cause you want, but you don't actually give a shit about this neighborhood. And now you have a cushy job writing garbage news stories so you can sit back and collect a paycheck."
She blinked up at him and pulled her bulky scarf down. "That's quite a leap. First of all, you have no idea how difficult or easy it is to write this garbage. Second of all, you can't tell me the Crow Bar Brain Trust was going to get us out of that Sea Shanty room anytime this millennium."
He rolled his eyes and made a scoffing noise.
"If you guys would stop arguing for five minutes and work together, you might have done it. Individually you're all pretty smart guys. Together, you're a nightmare."
Dash glowered. "You're the nightmare."
"Fine, then let me pass." Harper lifted her chin.
"Fine," he spat.
Dash stepped aside and gestured toward the street. "Go on, then."
It was the hesitation that doomed him. She didn't go. Instead, she looked up at him with those flashing blue eyes. Her freckles stood out even more against her pink cheeks that were probably frozen in the winter air.
He caught a whiff of her scent, cinnamon and ginger.
"Fine," she said, but that time, her voice softened.
He seethed through his clenched teeth, "God, you're a pain in my ass."
When she didn't offer a smart retort, Dash latched a fleeting thought that maybe he'd hurt her feelings. He would regret it if he had. He watched her bite the inside of her
