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“Depends on the drone. Sanchez was on a rooftop next to the coffee shop and was able to get a photo. The kidnapper’sdrone was equipped with a decent camera, so the answer to your question is ‘probably yes.’?”
“Then where’s the coin with the notch?” I asked.
“Three people handled the coin. It could be with any of them,” Ranger said. “It would make life good if the coin is still with Sparks. We could have missed it in the search, or he could be carrying it on him.”
“I agree. It makes no sense that Carpenter Beedle or Comic Book Benji would have it. They passed it on. They obviously didn’t want to keep it.”
Ranger stood at his desk. “Let’s talk to Sparks.”
Twenty minutes later we were in the lobby of the Ivy. We took the elevator to the fifth floor and Ranger rang the bell of 5B. No answer. Ranger knocked on the door. No answer. Ranger did his magical door-opening thing and we walked into Sparks’s apartment.
Melvin Sparks was in his kitchen making a ham and cheese sandwich, and he was all dressed up like Sir Lancelot.
“What the—?” he said when he saw us.
“Hi,” I said. “Remember me?” I pointed to his costume. “Nice. Very authentic looking. Sir Lancelot, right?”
“Yeah. How do you know that?”
“Monty Python and the Holy Grail.It’s one of my boyfriend’s favorite movies.”
Sparks looked at Ranger. “Is this your boyfriend?”
“No,” I said. “Not my boyfriend.”
Boyfriendwas not a description anyone would ever assign to Ranger. Maybe when he was twelve.
“We’re looking for the coin you purchased from Benji at the comic book store,” I said to Sparks.
“I don’t have it,” he said. “I went to get it today to carry with Sir Lancelot and it’s missing. My whole collection ofGowaKnights Templar is missing.”
I placed the plastic bag with the six coins on his kitchen counter. “Don’t ask how we got these,” I said.
Sparks looked at Ranger. “Okay.”
“The coin isn’t in this collection,” I told him.
“Sure it is,” he said. “I had five and now there are six.” He opened the plastic bag and spread the coins out on his counter. “Six,” he said.
“Which one did you get from Benji?” I asked him.
“I don’t know, exactly,” he said. “They all sort of look the same.”
I looked at Ranger.
“Do you have any other Knights Templar coins?” Ranger asked Sparks.
“Yes, but these are the only ones from the game. This is my whole collection.”
“Thanks for clearing this up for us,” I said. “Sorry to disturb your lunch, Sir Lancelot.”
Sparks grinned. “I’m not really Sir Lancelot.”
We left the Ivy. Ranger put the Porsche in gear and pulled away from the curb. “Do you believe him?”
“I don’t know. He sounded like he was telling the truth but he’s the logical person to have the coin.”
“Let’s talk to Benji.”
