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He loved her stubborn streak. “We did,” he agreed.
“What is it you told me—buckle up, Nancy Drew? Are you ready to pack it in after a few hurdles?”
“Absolutely not. I’m in it for the long haul. You might not have noticed this about me, but I’m a little competitive. I like to win.”
“So do I. But isn’t it nicer to win together?”
She held out her hand toward him, and Dawson hesitated for only a second as he took it. She lifted his arm up around her shoulder and assumed the position that they had for the last few days. “So, let’s start planning for what we do with the next clue. I vote we plan with cake.”
Chapter Twelve
“It’s time,” saidMcNally.
Travers and Sully looked at him. “Do you think her plan has actually worked?”
He rested his hands on the desk. “I’d like to think that even though she started this years ago, Margaret might have been wiser than all of us.”
Sully looked worried. “I’m not sure. They certainly didn’t look friendly the first time they arrived in the office.”
Travers was thoughtful. “And when they came back, I’m not sure. Was it just a friendly rivalry, or could it ever be something more?”
McNally took a deep breath. “At the end of the day, Margaret had a theory and the best of intentions. It’s our job to make sure her estate is distributed the way she wanted. The rest? It was never guaranteed. She always knew that.”
Sully locked her fingers together and smiled, with a shake of her head. “Mischief making right up until the end. Where did she find the energy?”
Travers nodded. “I have to hand it to them. I didn’t think they’d solve the first two clues. I’m surprised they got them.”
“Two bright young things,” said McNally. “Isn’t that what she originally said about them.” He lifted up two files from his desk. “They have no idea that she followed their careers.”
“I think we keep that part to ourselves,” said Sully. “I still find it amazing that Piper ended up following a career that was inspired by her visit to Margaret’s gardens.”
“And they couldn’t end up in better hands.”
Travers nodded at McNally. “And if Margaret doesn’t get her last, final, mischievous wish?”
McNally gave a wistful smile. “I guess we let the hand of fate decide that one—with maybe a little Christmas magic.”
They all looked at each other as McNally pulled out two envelopes from one of the files. “So, we’re all agreed.”
“Yes.” Sully nodded.
“Yes,” agreed Travers.
He held up the envelopes. “Then these are our final clues.”
*
Three days. Ittook three days before they heard anything. Piper had phoned the attorneys’ office twice, then hung up when the phone was answered.
Dawson had been working but kept checking his phone to see if it had a signal. Finally, they both got a text.Monday night six thirty pm. Dress warm.
“What do you think it means?” Piper asked Dawson, thirty seconds later.
“It means dress warm,” he said. “There must be a reason.”
“But how warm?” she pressed.
He laughed. “How am I supposed to know? I imagine it might mean we’ll be outside.”
