can’t wait to see the surprise you said you have for us.”
Lyssa had explained the team’s theory about Daniel Flowers several days before. The family thanked them, and Lyssa mailed back the pennies in their jam jar. Then, just yesterday, Janet Briscoe had called. Scott and Jerry had something they wanted to show the team.
“Come see what we did!” Scott said as soon as he saw Jason and Grant.
“Yeah,” Jerry said. “Come on. It’s really cool. You’re going to like it.”
“Okay,” Jason said. “Lead the way.”
The two boys dashed up the stairs, heading for their bedroom. The grown-ups trailed along behind.
“It’s over by the window,” Scott said as the group entered the boys’ bedroom. “Hurry up. Come on.”
Lyssa noticed that the crystals were gone and the jam jar stood on the windowsill. On one side of the jar stood Jerry’s Anakin Skywalker action figure. A Spock action figure stood on the other side.
“We made a spot for Daniel’s pennies,” Jerry said. “Then we added some of our favorite stuff. Because, you know.”
“We thought maybe Daniel might like them,” Scott explained. “It’s sort of his room too, right? And, I mean, he never even got to see
any
of this.”
Lyssa smiled. Trying to imagine a world without
Star Trek
or
Star Wars
was hard!
“Have there been any more pennies?” Grant asked.
Scott shook his head. “No. But that’s okay too, because…” He paused, as if he wasn’t quite sure what to say next. “Because it is, that’s why.”
“I think so too,” Grant said. “What about you, Jay?”
“Me too.” Jason nodded.
“Mom made chocolate chip cookies,” Jerry said. “You guys want some?”
“Absolutely,” Jason said.
“Race you!” Scott cried.
He darted around Grant and Jason and out the bedroom door.
“No fair!” Jerry shouted. “You didn’t say ready, set, go!”
“I’ve been thinking about the Briscoe case,” Lyssa said a couple of days later. Lyssa, Jason, and Grant were the only ones in the office. Everyone else had gone home for the day.
“Good work writing up the case notes,” Jason said. “How does it feel? Your first case?”
“It feels good,” Lyssa said. “And working with the team is awesome. I know I still have a lot to learn, though.”
“Jay and I feel that way all the time,” Grant said with a smile.
“I’ve been thinking about Daniel Flowers,” Lyssa said. “If it
was
Daniel leaving those pennies, I think I understand why he stopped. I think he got what he wanted.”
“What was that?” Jason asked.
“Friends,” Lyssa said.
Grant and Jason smiled.
GHOST ON THE WATER
W hat was that?
Diana Martin sat straight up in her bunk on her family’s houseboat.
Ba BOOM. Ba BOOM. Ba BOOM.
Her heart pounded. Usually, Diana was a sound sleeper. Her mom always said Diana slept like a rock.
Not tonight.
Tonight, something jolted Diana so wide awake that she knew she couldn’t go back to sleep.
Diana tossed back her covers and got out of bed. She stood for a moment, letting her legs adjust to the motion of the boat. The boat rocked gently from side to side.
The water was calm. Diana liked the calm nights. When a storm came in, things could really rock and roll.
She crossed to the door of her cabin. The cabin was so small that it took only two strides. She carefully stepped over the high threshold and out into the narrow hall.
Diana was twelve. She looked forward to vacation on her family’s houseboat every summer. Her dad piloted the boat wherever they wanted to go. They would put all the places they liked into a hat and then draw them out one by one.
At least, that’s what they used to do, but that changed when Mr. Martin discovered Heron’s Point Dock, on a small island off the coast of Rhode Island. Heron’s Point was her dad’s favorite kind of place; it had one old wooden dock and nothing else. No tourist attractions. No crowds.
From their very first visit, Diana didn’t like