Really Truly, page 20
“I know, but—”
Aunt True held up her hand. “There are no buts,” she told me firmly. “This is one time in your life when you have to be completely unselfish. Your parents had the rare opportunity to spend a few short days together this summer all by themselves, and they took it. Can you really blame them?”
I stared at the floor. Memphis was sitting on the carpet, swishing his tail back and forth. Without warning, he coughed up a hairball, then glared at me like it was my fault. Great, I thought. Even the cat was judging me.
“It’s not like your parents abandoned you by the side of the road!” my aunt continued, grabbing a paper towel and calmly cleaning up the mess. “You got to go to—”
“Mermaid camp?” I gave a short laugh.
“Come on, you know you had fun. I have the pictures to prove it! You were having a blast out there in the pool in that tail thing—at least before the wardrobe malfunction.” She started to chuckle. I glared at her, but pretty soon we both were laughing.
“The look on that girl’s face when your tail hit the water!” Aunt True gasped, struggling to catch her breath.
That set us off again. When we were finally able to compose ourselves, my aunt gave me another hug. “Better?”
I nodded.
“Good.” She chucked me under the chin. “Now get back out there and be the tall timber that you and I both know you are. And as for the fake kiss, that’s all it is—fake. Trust me, as a former member of the West Hartfield High School Thespian Club, I know! I’ve had my fair share of stage kisses, and they’re nothing like the real thing.”
Easy for her to say, I thought as I started for home. I hadn’t had the real thing yet. And at this rate, it was entirely possible that I never would.
CHAPTER 29
Back home, I had just passed the portrait of my namesake on the stairs when my cell phone buzzed. It was Mackenzie.
GOT TIME TO VIDEO CHAT?
I texted back a thumbs-up and sprinted the rest of the way to my bedroom, shutting the door behind me. A moment later, her face appeared on my cell phone screen.
“Hey!” she said.
“Hey yourself! I thought you were on the way to Yellowstone with your parents?”
My cousin shook her head. “We don’t leave until tomorrow morning. How’s it going?”
I filled her in on everything that had happened since she left. Like me, she let out a screech when she heard about Amanda Appleton’s upcoming appearance at Lovejoy Books, and another when I told her about our encounters at the General Store and the library. She also wanted to know if we’d found the silver pumpkin trophy yet.
“No, but we have five suspects. I still think it’s the Grateful Dead guy, but the guys think maybe it was the teenagers.” I explained about how our friends had been taking the crowdsourced photos around town. “They were at Lou’s this morning during Romeo hour, and one of the men was almost certain he’d seen the two teenagers before.”
In Pumpkin Falls, “Romeo hour” had nothing to do with Calhoun and everything to do with what Reverend Quinn had dubbed the “Retired Old Men Eating Out” club. A couple of times a week, the Romeos arrived early at Lou’s and lingered over coffee and breakfast.
When I told Mackenzie about the kiss at the end of The Pirates of Penzance, I had a hard time not bursting into tears again.
She was quiet for a moment. “Ouch,” she said. “I get how tough that is. But you know, Truly, there’s a simple solution to your problem.”
I looked at her in surprise. “There is?”
“Sure. You kiss Calhoun first!”
My mouth dropped open. “But—”
“But what? Why not?” She gave me a sly smile. “That’s what I did with Cameron, you know.”
“Mr. Perfect?”
“Don’t call him that.”
“You never told me that’s what happened!”
“You never asked! I could tell he was working up the courage, and I beat him to the punch, that’s all. Maybe it’s the same with Calhoun.”
Was it possible she was right?
We chatted for a while longer, then I told her I hoped she’d have fun at Yellowstone and we said good night. As I was getting ready for bed, my cell phone buzzed again. This time it was Jasmine.
YOU GUYS WANT TO EXPLORE CHERRY ISLAND TOMORROW?
My cell phone buzzed like crazy as her question brought a series of enthusiastic texts from the other Pumpkin Falls Private Eyes.
DON’T KNOW IF I CAN SNEAK AWAY, I replied cautiously. I’LL TRY.
* * *
I gave it my best shot the following morning at the bookstore.
“Um, the books that Mom ordered for Lauren and Pippa just came in,” I told my father a few minutes after I showed up for my shift. “Is it okay if I ride my bike out to camp and deliver them?” I quickly added, “Sir?”
“Nice try,” he said calmly, not even looking up from his computer. “You’re grounded, remember?”
Aunt True came to my rescue. “And you’re being unreasonable, J. T.! It saves us time and money if she’s willing to be our delivery girl—plus, Artie Olsen liked your Terminator hot sauce, and he put in an order for half a dozen bottles for the Parents’ Weekend barbecue. Truly can take those with her.”
Silence. Then: “Fine, but no dawdling. I expect you to come right back here.”
Coming right back to the bookstore wouldn’t leave me enough time to check out Cherry Island. I wondered what white lie I might be able to produce that would help with that. A flat tire on my bike, maybe?
But I didn’t need to resort to a lie, white or otherwise.
“Nonsense! For Pete’s sake, J. T., it’s July!” said Aunt True sternly. My father looked up, opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. Resistance was pointless when my aunt was in full big-sister mode. “The girl has been working her socks off for us this year—without pay, may I remind you—and it’s a long ride out to the lake. She’s earned a little R and R. You can ground her again afterward.”
My father crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “I’m clearly outflanked,” he said, dismissing me with a flap of his hand.
Aunt True shooed me toward the door. “Take your towel and bathing suit with you and go for a swim if you get the opportunity,” she whispered. “Just make sure you’re back in time to help me set up for the book signing.”
I wasn’t looking forward to that.
* * *
“How are we going to get out to the island?” asked Jasmine when we all met up a little while later on the road to the lake.
“We’ll figure it out when we get there,” I said. “Swim if we have to. The island isn’t that far from the public beach. Lauren says that kids from Camp Lovejoy swim to it all the time.”
Luck was with us, though, in the form of Artie Olsen.
“You kids are going to do what?” he said, when he overheard us talking as I delivered his order of hot sauce. “Absolutely no way. Not a good idea to swim that far without supervision. We always send a canoe out with the campers when they do the Cherry Island swim. Why do you want to go, anyway?”
I thought quickly. “There’s a bald eagle’s nest out there,” I replied, which was true. “My grandfather has taken me to see it a few times. I’m a birder.” Which was also true.
Mr. Olsen smiled. “A birder! As am I.” He eyed us thoughtfully. “How about if I lend you our war canoe?”
“War canoe?” Lucas’s eyes widened in alarm. I could tell he was thinking that his mother wouldn’t like the sound of that.
“Just another name for a big canoe, son. It can seat up to fifteen, but six can man it nicely.”
“Wow—thanks, Mr. Olsen!” I said.
“No problem. It’s the least I can do for a fellow birder—and the daughter of the man who makes my new favorite hot sauce.” He put a finger to his lips. “Don’t tell a soul, though, or I’ll have the whole town down here wanting to use our equipment.” He made us promise to wear life preservers and, after glancing at the clock, said he’d go ask the kitchen staff to pack us a lunch. “Can’t have you starving to death on camp property.”
I asked at the front office about Lauren, who I learned was away on an overnight hike, so I left her new book in her cabin.
“Ooo, a mermaid book,” said Cha Cha as I set it on my sister’s bunk. “The Tail of Emily Windsnap—she’ll love it.”
My mother definitely had mermaids on the brain. She’d bought a copy of a picture book called The Mermaid for Pippa, who we found doing something with glitter in the arts and crafts studio.
“Truly!” she squealed, running over to give me a big hug. She turned to her cabin-mates and announced proudly, “She’s my SISTER!”
“Is she a giant?” whispered one of them, and Scooter started to laugh.
“Don’t,” I warned him, but it was too late. He couldn’t resist.
“Truly gigantic,” he teased.
“Shut up, Scooter,” said Calhoun, but he was smiling too.
Actually, to my surprise, so was I. Maybe Aunt True was right, I thought. Maybe people did grow and change—even me.
It was an easy paddle out to the island, thanks to Jasmine and Scooter, who knew their way around a canoe and told us exactly what to do. When we reached the shore, which was mostly rocky, Jasmine hopped out and guided the boat to a small sandy stretch that sloped up toward a tangle of bushes lining the shore. The canoe was heavy, and it took all six of us to pull it high enough out of the water that it wouldn’t float away.
Calhoun shucked off his backpack and took a seat on a fallen log. “Eat first, then explore.”
No one protested that idea. I sat down beside him. For one wild moment I wondered what he’d do if I grabbed him and kissed him. Not that I was actually planning to, of course.
He glanced over at me. “What are you laughing about?”
“Nothing.”
I’d only had a couple of mini blueberry muffins since breakfast, and I was starving. Thelma Farnsworth and her sister Ethel, who worked in the camp kitchen during the summer, had packed substantial lunches for us, I was happy to see. Turkey sandwiches, potato chips, apples, peanut butter cookies, and bottles of water to wash it all down. I ate happily, enjoying the slight breeze that rustled the leaves in the trees above. I tipped my head back and closed my eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. A shadow fell over me, and I looked up.
“Check it out! It’s an eagle!” I’d been hoping we’d see one.
My friends all shaded their eyes and looked up too.
“Wow, it’s huge!” said Scooter.
“Right? They’re amazing.”
We watched as the large bird circled overhead, then landed in a dark mass of branches high up in one of the trees.
“That’s its nest,” I explained. “Did you know that a bald eagle’s nest can weigh up to a ton and measure up to eight feet across?”
“Ooo, ‘Fun Facts with Truly’!” Cha Cha sounded like Mackenzie, who loved to tease me about what she called my obsession with birds. She quickly added, “But that’s a really cool fun fact.”
After lunch, it was time to explore. Scooter pulled out his cell phone and scrolled to the picture of the topographical map we’d found at the library.
“How about we start with the trail that circles the island,” suggested Calhoun, squinting at it.
“What are we looking for?” asked Jasmine.
I shrugged. “I have a feeling we’ll know it when we see it.”
Our loop around the small island revealed exactly nothing, though.
“Guess we’re going to have to bushwhack in toward the center,” said Calhoun.
The island’s tangled interior was not an inviting prospect. But Calhoun was right—there really wasn’t an alternative.
“Let’s head for that big tree with the eagle’s nest in it,” I suggested. “We want to look for something that might have been around when Nathaniel Daniel was here. A tree like that one, a big rock—some landmark that would have been easy for him to find again.”
“Good thinking,” said Cha Cha, but after another half hour we still had nothing, unless you counted the scratches on our arms and legs from pushing through the undergrowth.
“Too bad we don’t have a treasure map.” Jasmine leaned back against a tree trunk and pulled out her water bottle. The rest of us pulled ours out too. It was hot, even in the shade.
We were quiet for a while, listening to the lapping of the water on the shore nearby. It was disappointing to have come so far and not find anything that looked remotely like a pirate’s hideout.
“If you were going to stash a treasure someplace,” I mused aloud, “where would you put it?”
“Inside a hollow tree?” Cha Cha suggested.
I shook my head. “Lightning could strike, the tree could fall down in a storm—not safe enough.”
“It’s not like there’s a bank vault out here,” said Scooter.
“Not a vault, but someplace secure,” I told him. “Dandy Dan had a lot of pirate gold to stash away, and he’d have wanted to keep it safe.”
Calhoun dumped the rest of the contents of his water bottle over his head. “Let’s take one more look, then call it a day. I want to go for a swim.”
We spread out this time, and for a while there was nothing but the sound of branches snapping underfoot and people slapping at mosquitoes. Then Scooter gave a yelp that brought the rest of us thrashing toward him through the underbrush.
“It’s probably nothing,” he said, pointing to what looked like a dark crevice beside a boulder. “It’s so overgrown I almost missed it.”
The six of us tugged on the vines and branches that covered the crevice, and a few minutes later were rewarded with what was clearly a genuine opening. My skin prickled in excitement. “This could be it, guys!”
“What if it’s a bear’s den?” asked Lucas.
My excitement fizzled. Jasmine took a step back in alarm. It did kind of look like it could be a bear’s den.
Calhoun shook his head. “No scat.”
“No what?” Scooter’s forehead puckered.
“Scat,” I told him. “Animal droppings—poop. Calhoun is right. I don’t think anything or anyone lives here.”
We turned on the flashlight apps on our cell phones and shined them inside. The opening led to a narrow passageway—too narrow for most of us—and blackness beyond.
I looked over at my friends. “Lucas, you and Cha Cha are the only ones small enough to fit.”
Cha Cha scowled. “No way am I going in there!”
Lucas turned even paler than his usual shade of pale. “My mother would kill me.”
“So don’t tell her, duh!” scoffed Scooter.
“Shut up, Scooter,” said his sister.
“Maybe we should come back tomorrow with better flashlights,” said Cha Cha,
As we turned to go, Calhoun shrugged off his backpack again. “No time like the present,” he said, and we paused to watch as he pulled out a length of rope, a bike helmet, a headlamp, and some duct tape. Noticing us staring at him, he straightened. “What? You can’t go spelunking without the proper equipment.”
Scooter’s forehead pleated again. “Spe-what?”
“Spelunking—you know, cave exploring. I figured a cave might be one possibility that Dandy Dan would consider, and I thought I might as well come prepared in case we found one.”
I stared at him, wondering if he would ever cease to amaze me.
“You can do this,” Calhoun said, turning to Lucas and cinching the rope around his waist.
Swim team had been good for Lucas. He was still skinny, but he’d added muscle over the past months. He still looked anxious, though.
“You can’t breathe a word about this to your mother!” I told him.
“Are you crazy?” He shook his head vigorously. “Not a chance.”
Calhoun settled the bike helmet on Lucas’s head and strapped it firmly in place. Then he reached over and flipped on the headlamp he’d attached with duct tape. “Okay, buddy, in you go. Just take it slow and steady, inch by inch. There’s no rush.”
Squaring his narrow shoulders, Lucas nodded, then crouched down and squeezed into the opening. “Yuck,” he said. “It’s kind of damp in here.” There was silence for a bit. We could hear him scrabbling around. “The tunnel gets bigger!” His voice echoed. He sounded nervous, but a little excited, too. And then there was silence again.
“Lucas?” Calhoun called.
There was no response.
“Lucas!” This time, Calhoun’s question was answered by a squeak and more scrabbling as Lucas came backing swiftly out of the opening. He was covered with dirt and leaves and pine needles.
“Is it a bear?” asked Jasmine, her eyes wide.
Lucas shook his head. “Worse. There’s a big hole in the ground, and I almost fell in!”
CHAPTER 30
It took some convincing, but we finally got Lucas to go back into the cave again.
“Take your cell phone this time,” I told him. “See if you can get some pictures.”
He reappeared a few minutes later, and we all gathered around. There wasn’t much to see in his photos, mostly just the dim outline of rocks on the ground and roots sticking out overhead.
“There,” said Lucas, pointing. “There’s the hole.”
It was difficult to make it out, but he was right. There was a hole in the ground.
I peered at a faint glimmer of light in the corner. “What’s that?”
Lucas shrugged. “I’m not sure. I held my cell phone out over the edge, but I was afraid I might drop it, and I didn’t want to lean over very far myself in case I fell in. I think maybe there’s water down at the bottom, though. I could hear sloshing.”
