"Let me finish,gràidh."
She gets the most adorably confused look on her face. "What is that thing you keep calling me?"
"Thing?"
"I can't pronounce it. But you said 'let me finish,' followed by a bizarre word you've said before."
"Ah, that." I scratch my cheek and focus on the computer screen. "It's not a bizarre word. It's Gaelic."
"What does it mean?"
I hadn't realized I keep calling her "darling" in Gaelic until she told me that a moment ago. But now that I think about it, aye, I have been saying that word lately. It means I like her, I suppose. And I do like Ashley, but not enough to call her "darling." Or maybe I do like her enough to say that. Donnae have time to think about that right now.
"Getting back to the legend," I say. "Those curved lines are much more likely to be a notation of caves. The section of the Grand Canyon where the treasure is supposed to be hidden doesn't have any arches that I know of. I could call my cousin Munro for confirmation once we get back to Loch Fairbairn."
"Let's put a pin in the curved-line issue for now." Ashley squints at the screen. "Did you find anything else?"
"Oh, not much. Only the actual map which, accompanied by the legend, will tell us where to find the treasure."
Her head pops up. "What? How did you do that? You said this document isn't really a map, just a legend."
"That's true. But the real map is on the opposite side." I use my finger to navigate the touch screen and bring up the backside of the sheet on which the legend was drawn. "This is it."
She squints even harder, then shakes her head and rubs her eyes. "It's a blank sheet on the backside. I'm getting a headache from staring at it, trying to see things that aren't there."
"Exactly. The map isn't there."
She throws her hands up and huffs. "You just told me it's on the back of the sheet."
"Aye, and it is. But it also isn't."
The lass narrows her gaze on me and flattens her lips. Then she growls. "You are driving me insane, Errol. It can't be there, but also not there."
"Of course it can. Have ye never heard of invisible ink?"
"Was that around more than a century ago?"
The lass might know about ancient history, but only in the context of her father's expeditions, I think. She clearly knows nothing about the very long history of invisible ink. The Greeks had it, the Romans had it, and many other cultures had it too. Why shouldn't the Havasupai tribe have discovered the same thing? Invisible ink is quite useful. We don't have time for me to explain how invisible ink works, though, since we'll need to land fairly soon. Instead, I'll show her what I mean.
"Watch this," I say. Then I fiddle with the settings in the photo app on my computer until I've revealed the hidden lines and shapes on the backside of the sheet. "See? All is revealed."
Ashley stares at the black-and-white map now visible on the screen. Her eyes have grown large, and her lips have fallen open, creating the most charming expression of surprise and delight. "Now that looks like a map."
"Because it is. The only problem is that I don't know where the map starts. What I mean is, I can't tell what section of the canyon this map represents, and so I have no idea where we should start our exploration."
"But you said you had solved the riddle."
"I have. But…" I sigh and sink back in my seat. "Solving the riddle of the map legend is only the beginning. The starting point for the journey is the missing link. And we still need to find that."
While I slump deeper into my seat, gazing out the window, Ashley picks up the computer and sets it on her lap so she can study the screen. She nibbles on one side of her bottom lip as if she's focusing all her mental energy on the image in front of her.
I love it when she concentrates on a task like that. It makes me want to pull her into my arms and kiss her senseless. She's adorable and sweet, and I liked her even when she was harassing me for months on end. I couldn't help admiring her determination even back then.
She hums softly, tunelessly, while her gaze remains fixed on the computer screen.
I shut my eyes and try to relax. Solving a riddle takes a lot out of a bloke. I have a little time before I need to start preparing for landing, so I can take a few moments to rest.
"Errol," Ashley snaps. "Wake up."