Chapter Two
McDONALDSintroduced the Big Mac in 1968.” Dana swiveled lazily in her chair at the librarys resource desk. “Yes, Mr. Hertz, Im positive. The Big Mac went system-wide in 68, not 69, so youve had a year more of the secret sauce than you thought. Looks like Mr. Foy got you on this one, huh?” She laughed, shook her head. “Better luck tomorrow.”
She hung up the phone and crossed the Hertz/Foy daily bet off her list, then meticulously noted todays winner on the tally sheet she kept.
Mr. Hertz had nipped Mr. Foy at the end of last months round, which netted him lunch at the Main Street Diner on Mr. Foys tab. Though for the year, she noted, Foy was two points up, so he had the edge on bagging dinner and drinks at the Mountain View Inn, the coveted annual prize.
This month, they were neck and neck, so it was still anybodys game. It was her task to officially announce the winner each month, and then, with a great deal more ceremony, the trivia champ at years end.
The two had kept their little contest going for nearly twenty years. Shed been part of it, or had felt like part of it, since shed started her job at the Pleasant Valley Library with her college degree still crisp in her hand.
The daily ritual was something she would miss when she turned in her resignation.
Then Sandi breezed by with her bouncy blond ponytail and permanent beauty-contestant smile, and Dana thought there were certain things she would definitely not miss.
The fact was, she should have given her two weeks notice already. Her hours at the library were down to a stingy twenty-five a week. But that time could be put to good use elsewhere.
Shed be opening her bookstore, her part of Indulgence, the communal business she was starting withZoe and Malory, in just a couple of months. Not only did she have to finish organizing and decorating her space in the building theyd bought, but she had to deal with ordering stock.
Shed applied for all the necessary licenses, had already combed through publishers catalogues, fantasized about her sidelines. She would serve tea in the afternoon, wine in the evening. Eventually she would hold elegant little events.Readings , signings, appearances.
It was something shed always wanted to do but had never really believed she could accomplish.
She supposed Rowena andPitte had made it possible. Not only because of the twenty-five thousand in cold, hard cash theyd given her and the others as an incentive to agree to the quest, but also by putting her together with Malory andZoe .
Each of them had been at a crossroads of sorts the first night theyd met at Warriors Peak. And theyd made the turn, chosen the path to follow together.
It wasnt nearly as scary thinking of starting her own business when she had two friends—two partners—doing the same thing.
Then there was the key. Of course, she couldnt forget the key. It had taken Malory nearly all of the four weeks allowed to find the first. And it hadnt been all fun and games. Far from it.
Still, they knew more now, more about what they were up against, more about what was at stake. That had to be an advantage for this round.
Unless you considered that knowing where the keys came from, what they did, and who didnt want them found had absolutely nothing to do with finding one.
She sat back, closed her eyes, and pondered the clue Rowena had given her. It had to do with the past, the present, and the future.
Big help.
Knowledge, naturally. Lies and truths. Heart and mind.
Where one goddess walks.
Thered been a goddess, a singing goddess, in Malorys clue. And Malory—the art lover whod dreamed of being an artist—had found her key in a painting.
If the other two followed the same theme, logic dictated that she, the book lover, might find hers in or around books.
“Catching up on your sleep, Dana?”
Danas eyes snapped open, stared directly into Joans disapproving ones. “No. Concentrating.”
“If youve nothing better to do, you can help Marilyn in the stacks.”
Dana pasted a sunny smile on her face. “Id be happy to. Should I ask Sandi to take over the resource desk?”
“You dont seem overrun with questions and requests.” And you dont seem overrun with paperwork and administrative duties, Dana thought, since youve got so much time to crawl up my butt. “Ive just completed one involving private enterprise and capitalism. But if youd rather I—”
“Excuse me.” A woman stopped at the desk, with her hand on the arm of a boy of about twelve. The grip made Dana think of the way Flynn held Moes leash. With the hope that she could keep him under control and the certain knowledge that he would bolt at the first opportunity.