Page 63 of Where I Found You


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“Then Google it.” Elisa flapped her hand toward him. “Quick.”

Noah’s fingers flew over his phone keys. “Um…Joseph Warren?”

“Warren…” She snapped her fingers. “Why does that sound familiar?”

“He wasn’t in Hamilton, I know that much.” Noah shrugged.

“Not like that.” Elisa fought to keep from laughing. “I mean familiar around town. Isn’t there a famous Warren in Magnolia Bay?”

Noah stared at the playground again, eyes narrowed in concentration. “It does sound familiar, like maybe I’ve seen it on a plaque somewhere. But I’ve been gone so long, there’s no telling.”

“A plaque…” Her mind raced. Plaques were on park benches. Memorials. Gravestones. Office doors.

And statues.

Elisa clapped her hands together again. “The statue!”

Noah jerked again. “You’ve got to start warning me before you do that.”

“There’s a statue of Thomas Warren at the library.” Elisa could barely get the words out fast enough now. “He was the man who donated money and a bunch of first edition novels decades ago, when the library was in danger of closing.”

“You mean that life-size statue of a man smoking a pipe and holding a stack of books in the courtyard?” Noah asked.

“Yes! And the next line of the clue. Look.” She jabbed at the card.

“Search the books.” Noah met her gaze. “That fits with the library.”

“And your grandfather was a big reader, too, right?”

“The biggest.” A grin started across Noah’s face, and he jumped to his feet. “Nice work, Sherlock.” He extended his hand toward her. “To the library?”

She eyed his hand. His instincts cautionedno. But some things were inevitable, right?

“To the library, Watson.” And she slid her hand into his.

fifteen

“Idon’t get it.” Frustration marred Elisa’s face as she stared up at the bronze statue. The setting sun sent streaks of crimson and coral across the sky behind her. “We were so sure.”

Noah planted his hands on his hips as he followed her gaze to the statue’s carved expression, which stared blankly across the quiet library lawn. More likeElisahad been sure. He hadn’t been sure of much of anything from day one of this hunt, but he trusted her instincts. The way she put stuff together was brilliant.

He’d be intimidated if it didn’t bring him so much joy to watch her light up that way.

Right now, though, Elisa’s scowl was dark as she circled the statue for the tenth time, her hands running so thoroughly over the concrete Mr. Warren that she’d probably have blushed if she’d thought about it long enough. “Are we missing something?”

“Like what, a trap door?” Noah knocked against the stack of books Mr. Warren clutched to his side. “There’s nothing here.”

“What if itwashere, but isn’t anymore?” Elisa’s eyes widened with horror. “What if the clue was found by someone else first? These cards had to be stashed months and months ago, right?”

“That, or maybe Grandpa arranged for August to plant them after he...you know. After.” Noah busied himself with a crack in one of the concrete book spines until the pressure in his throat eased. Man, that needed to stop happening.

Elisa stepped back, hooking her fingertips into her back pockets as she surveyed the library grounds, free of people now as closing time drew near. But the massive oak spreading shade across the yard, the bubbling fountain filled with wishing pennies, and the newly striped parking lot didn’t seem to offer any hints as to their next move.

She began ambling toward the fountain. “Maybe we got the wrong Warren. Maybe it’s specific to Joseph, after all—the guy who actually gave Paul Revere the command to ride.”

Noah followed, mimicking her movement and shoving his own hands in his pockets. “If there’s anything local around here about that particular Warren, you would know before I would.” A handful of change jingled under his fingertips, and he pulled free a penny. He smirked as he handed it to Elisa. “How desperate are you?”

“I don’t really believe in wishes.” She held the penny up, squinting at it in the setting sun. “But it’s fun, I guess.”