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She narrowed her gaze as she fastened her seat belt. “You’re distracting me. You still don’t have a clue about the clue, do you?” She wasn’t joking about the distraction. She could smell his aftershave again, and it was strangely hypnotic. She shook off her teen self and tried to focus.
“A clue about the clue? Sounds like a line from a movie.”
“And you sound like the hero, trying to pretend he’s smarter than he actually is,” she said cheekily as she took a sip of her coffee.
“Harsh.” As he started the engine and cleared the windshield, he waved out his arm. “Where to then, Nancy Drew?”
“I don’t know. Did you decide what Hardy boy you wanted to be?”
He pulled onto the road and gave her a sideways glance. “What?”
“Yeah, Frank or Joe. Which one are you?”
His nose wrinkled. “I never read the Hardy Boys.”
“Okay then, you’re Joe,” she said, taking another sip of her coffee and smiling to herself.
Dawson couldn’t help but smile. “Why do I feel as if I have just been slighted, but don’t have a single clue why?”
“Just read the books.” Piper gave him a knowing grin that she already knew would drive him crazy. She pulled out her clue and lay it on her lap again, staring at the words.
Welcome to our journey, it started long ago,
When two children came to visit,
One was early, one was late, the questions then complete.
A little spark started then, to ensure they would again meet.
Tarzan and Eve were an unlikely couple.
But the saying goes that opposites attract,
So find the place where this stands true,
Representing an act that can change another’s life
“This whole thing drove me crazy last night,” she said.
“Me, too,” he admitted. “I googled just about everything I could. I was almost tempted to post it online. But, somehow, even though they didn’t actually say it, I guess that might be against the rules.”
“You’ll be right.” Piper sighed.
“Am I just going to drive around in circles?” Dawson asked.
Piper stared out the window. “Best we can do for now. The clues are supposed to be around the city and neighborhood. I’m hoping inspiration might strike while we drive.”
“At this rate, inspiration needs to come down like an avalanche.” He lifted one hand from the steering wheel. “Why on earth did she pick Tarzan and Eve?”
Piper shook her head. “I’ve had a million thoughts. Tarzan, king of the jungle. But there’s no jungles in the neighborhood. Then I thought about apes and maybe the zoo. But that doesn’t really make sense for Eve.”
“Did she mean Eve as a name, or Eve as in Christmas Eve, or New Year’s Eve?”
Piper wrinkled her nose. “Do you really think the clues could be so specific to a time of year?”
Dawson shook his head. “Your guess is as good as mine. When McNally said she updated the clues, I just thought he meant every other year, just in case things changed around the city or neighborhoods. I didn’t even consider a time of year.”
As they pulled up at a set of traffic lights, Piper shot him a conciliatory glance. “Maybe this won’t be as easy as the clues inThe Mistletoe Crown. Maybe we need to think out of the box.”
