“I don’t think so. More likely it’s a clue to something, but I can’t figure out what. This came with it too.” I open the book and pull out the Christmas stocking bookmark, holding it up for Lacee to see.
“Do you think the bookmark is a clue or just some kind of Christmas coincidence?”
“Knowing Sienna, nothing about this package is accidental. So I’m sure the bookmark means something.”
“Stocking.Hmm.” Lacee taps on her chin as she thinks. She’s really taking this detective role seriously. “Like a woman’s stocking?” Her expression turns to disgust. “Eww. Is this some kind of kinky thing between you and your coworker? Like you collect her stockings and smell them when you two aren’t together?”
“Seriously?” I give her a pointed stare. “That’s what you came up with?”
“Hey,” Lacee raises her palms in innocence, “I don’t know what kind of weird partnership this is.”
“I can assure you it’s not the kind where I collect her stockings and smell them.”
She shrugs. “Glad we ruled that out.”
“Now, if we can get back to the package, the only thing that is off about it is the address on the front. She wrote seventy-four when my house number is really seventy-eight.”
“Well, did you go to page seventy-four in the book?”
“Yes.” I flip the pages, turning them to that exact one. “But there’s nothing there.” I hold the book open for Lacee to see.
“Wait a second.” She shuffles to the front of the car and opens the passenger door. She leans in, grabbing something. A second later, she pops up with the lighter from the glove compartment box. “Maybe there’s a secret message on the paper written in invisible ink.”
I shake my head. “Sienna isn’t into invisible ink.”
“How do you know?”
“I just know.”
“It’s worth trying, isn’t it? You said so yourself that there might be a clue that you missed.”
“Fine.” I shove the book toward her.
“Thank you.” She flicks the lighter on and holds it above page seventy-four, slowly moving it up and down the words.
“You’re heating the paper.” I lean over her, watching.
“Yeah, some natural solutions can act as invisible ink, like lemon juice, for example. The carbon-based compounds get absorbed into the paper’s fibers. But heat causes the chemical bonds to break down, freeing the carbon. When the carbon comes in contact with the air, it goes through a process called oxidation, and one of the effects of oxidation is for the solution to turn a darker color.”
I smile as I watch her, completely turned on by her chemistry talk. Lacee can talk nerdy to me anytime she wants.
“What?” She glances at me with a sly smile.
“That’s probably the sexiest thing a woman has ever said to me.”
Lacee rolls her eyes. “It’s high school science, Park. I can’t believe you didn’t think of it yourself.”
I can’t believe I didn’t either.
“Okay, here we go!” Her voice gets excited, and she leans down over the book. “See right here.” She points to three circled words that are spread across the page.
“Where pigs swim?”I look at her to confirm we’re seeing the same thing.
“That’s your clue.” She smiles. “Where pigs swim.”
“Do you still have my phone?”
She pulls it out of her back pocket and hands it to me. I immediately Google the phrase,where pigs swim,and watch as the answer pops up on my screen. “Big Major Cay, Exuma Bahamas.” I turn to Lacee. “That’s where pigs swim. You’re a genius, Lacee Warren.”
