“Research. I’ve got several books on Celtic mythology, gods and goddesses, lore and legend. I’m going with the Celts since Rowena’s from Wales and Pitte’s Irish.”
“How do you know he’s Irish?”
“I don’t. He sounded Irish. At this point I know little or nothing about Celtic myths, and I figure it’s the same for you and Zoe.”
“I don’t have a clue.”
Dana set the books down with a muffled thud. “So, we need to get one. I’m off in a few hours, then I can give you a hand. And I can call Zoe in if you like.”
Malory stared at the stack of books. “Maybe that’s a good idea. I don’t know where to start.”
“Pick one. I’ll get you a notebook.”
After a
n hour Malory needed an aspirin as well. When Zoe rushed up to sit at the table beside her, she took off her glasses and rubbed her tired eyes. “Good. Reinforcements.” She shoved a book across the table.
“I’m sorry it took me so long. I was running errands. I bought Simon this video game he’s been wanting. I know I probably shouldn’t have spent the money, but I wanted to get him something, just for fun. I’ve never had so much money in my life,” she whispered. “I know I have to be careful with it, but if you can’t do a little something fun, what’s the point?”
“You don’t have to sell me. And after you’ve been at this for a while, you’ll know you earned it. Welcome to the wacky world of the Celts. Dana’s probably got another notebook.”
“I brought my own.” Out of an enormous bag, Zoe pulled a fresh notebook, thick as a brick, and a pack of pencils already sharpened to saber points. “It’s sort of like going back to school.”
Zoe’s eager optimism cut through Malory’s foul mood. “Want to pass notes and talk about boys?”
Zoe just grinned and opened a book. “We’re going to find that key. I just know it.”
By the time Dana joined them, Malory had written reams of notes in the modified shorthand she’d developed in college, had drained her pen and borrowed two of Zoe’s pencils.
“Why don’t we move this to my brother’s place?” Dana suggested. “It’s right around the corner. He’s at work, so he won’t be in the way. We can spread out a little, and you can give me the highlights.”
“Fine with me.” Stiff from sitting, Malory got to her feet.
“I can only stay for about an hour. I like to be there when Simon gets home from school, when I can.”
“Then let’s get started. These books are on me,” Dana said as she began gathering some up. “Anybody takes one home for personal research, I need it back in a timely fashion and in the same condition it was in when you took it.”
“She really is a librarian.” Malory tucked books under her arm.
“Bet your ass.” Dana led the way out. “I’m going to see what I can get off the Net, and through interlibrary loan.”
“I don’t know how much we’re going to get out of books.”
Dana slipped on her sunglasses, then tipped them down and peered at Malory over the tops. “Anything worth anything can be found in books.”
“Okay, now you’re heading toward Scary Library Lady. What we need to do is figure out the clue.”
“Without information on the story, the characters in it, we’ve got no base.”
“We’ve got four whole weeks,” Zoe put in, and dragged sunglasses out of her shoulder bag. “That’s enough time to find out a lot of stuff, look in a lot of places. Pitte said the keys were around here. So it’s not like we have the whole world to worry about.”
“Around here could mean the Valley, or the highlands. It could mean the entire state of Pennsylvania.” Malory shook her head at the sheer scope and disorder. “Pitte and pal left it pretty wide open. Even if it’s close by, it could be in someone’s dusty drawer, on the bottom of the river, in a bank vault, or buried under a rock.”
“If it was easy, somebody else would have found it by now,” Zoe pointed out. “And the grand prize wouldn’t be three million dollars.”
“Don’t be sensible while I’m crabbing.”
“Sorry, but there’s one other thing I was wondering. I couldn’t sleep last night, going over and over the whole evening in my head. It’s all so unreal. But even if you set all that aside for a minute, even if we’re optimistic and say you find the key, how do we know it’s your key, and not one of the other two?”