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“Okay,” she said, noting the way the corner of his eyes crinkled when he concentrated.
“You’re to unravel this secret, whatever it may be, and she’s giving you clues. Right?” he asked.
“Right.”
“And this safety deposit box key was supposed to be the next clue. But it’s missing.”
“Exactly,” she said, leaning her weight back on her hands.
“Let’s set this key aside, because we have no idea what it’s for or if it even has anything to do with the secret. And let’s set the fact that your grandfather was out here digging aside, too, because short of confronting him about it, we have no idea if he swapped the keys out, took the key, or maybe was also looking for the same key, only to find it missing.”
“True.” Abigail bit her lip. Everything in her told her this key, the one she found, was important, but Kaden was right. Until she knew what it was for, she’d be wasting her time trying to figure it out. It could unlock anything, and something told her questioning her grandfather about it wasn’t the right move. After all, her GG told her to keep this all a secret, and Abby had no idea what her grandfather knew, if anything. She already spilled to one person, but Kaden was an outsider—unbiased. Her grandfather was not.
“So, setting the key aside, what we do know is that there’s a secret.” Kaden held up a finger. “We know it likely has something to do with your family’s past, history, or family tree. Those aren’t facts but what we can piece together so far from the letters. We know she hired a private investigator to research your family tree and find long-lost relatives from your grandfather’s side,” he said, counting on his fingers as he spoke. “We believe the investigator to be Lawson but have no official confirmation. But Lawson was murdered so we can’t go straight to him and ask. We know she found someone she thought was a relative. We only know the meeting didn’t go well. We know she has ties to the Holocaust Museum, and we have the journal. That’s it. That’s a lot of unknowns,” Kaden said, still holding up his fingers.
“That’s also a lot of ‘we’s,’” Abigail said, finding it difficult to feel discouraged because the relief of having someone to figure this puzzle out with was far greater than her disappointment at the lack of facts. The idea of being a team sparked some dormant need inside of her she couldn’t understand.
Kaden shrugged. “Hey, you decided to confide in me, and I take secrets seriously.”
Abby narrowed her eyes. “I thought you said you’ve never had to keep a real secret before?”
“Exactly. So, this is like the Muhammad Ali of all secrets. Besides, I like puzzles.”
“Dork.” Abigail nudged his arm.
“Maybe I’m a dork,” Kaden said, his eyes teasing. “But I’m a dork who happens to have a connection to the Fairfax police department, which might just help us get some answers about Lawson and his death. Maybe your suspicions are right, and there’s something there.”
“Oh my gosh!” She hadn’t even thought about his dad being a police officer and being able to help. “Yes, yes!” Adrenaline shot through her veins. Reaching out, she squeezed his arm. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that when you mentioned it earlier. I’m so excited I could kiss you!”
The words flew from her mouth before she could suck them back in. Her face turned crimson, wishing she could melt like hot wax into the dirt around her. “You know, metaphorically speaking, of course.” She jerked her hand away like he caught fire and avoided his gaze.
Of course, he wasn’t going to let her off that easy.
“Well, if I had known helping you would earn me kisses, I would’ve forced you to tell me what was going on the other day at your house. Or the night at the park, for that matter.” His grin fell, and his expression turned serious as he added, “Actually, if you’re paying your debts to me in kisses, I think you owe me one for helping you with your calc homework.”
Abby scoffed. “I drove you to
school, so maybe you’re the one that owes me a favor.”
“Just say the word, and I’ll give you as many kisses as you want.”
Abby crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him, trying her best to ignore the ball of heat igniting in her chest and hating how red she was certain her cheeks were.
“Not today, then?” he asked. When Abby narrowed her eyes further, Kaden laughed. “Fine. No kisses. At least not now. But I’m telling you, Abby Bridges.” He leaned closer, his voice dropping an octave, his warm breath caressing her ear as he whispered. “We may both be socially awkward, but you are going to kiss me. Soon enough, you won’t be able to help yourself.”
Abby’s breath caught in her throat, but her better senses prevailed, and she whacked him in the arm. “Speak for yourself. Would you please focus?”
For someone who didn’t have a social life, Kaden had no problem putting it out there.
He raised his hands in defense. “Sorry. You bring it out in me. Back to the problem at hand...”
“Thank you.”
“We’ll just need to talk to my dad. See what we can find out.”
He fidgeted, scratching the back of his neck, and Abigail remembered the conversation she walked up on this morning—the one where his father didn’t want him distracted and hanging out with some girl in his free time.
“Wait. How’s he going to react to you trying to help me?” Abby asked.
