A week later, Ida Belle, Gertie, and I stood at Christina’s front door with a box of cookies from Ally’s bakery. Ida Belle and Gertie thought we were there to check on Marigold and see how she was doing with her new therapist, but I had a surprise for all of them.
Christina beamed when she saw us and waved us inside. “I’m so happy to see you all. I just finished up a fresh batch of lemonade. Does anyone want that or sweet tea?”
We all opted for lemonade and took a seat in the kitchen. I saw Marigold sitting at the end of the porch with her notebook.
“How’s Marigold doing?” I asked.
Christina put the glasses on the table and sat with us. “It’s been incredible. The therapist your friend recommended has taken her on for free, like you said they do sometimes, and is thinking she will be able to create a way of communicating that Marigold can learn.”
I couldn’t hold in my smile any longer. “What if I told you that Marigold has already created her own form of communication?”
“Sure,” Christina said. “The pictures are great but limited.”
I shook my head. “I had this thought about Marigold’s notebook and asked my friend to send some of the pages to a code-breaker I know at the CIA.”
Christina’s eyes widened. “A code-breaker?”
“Yes,” I said. “You know those stick figures that Marigold draws? If you translate them to letters, they spell complete sentences.”
Christina sucked in a breath and Ida Belle’s and Gertie’s jaws dropped.
“You’re kidding me!” Christina said.
“Not even a little,” I said. “I sent the findings to her new therapist yesterday and she was able to translate Marigold’s most recent notebook. With some training, you’ll be able to do the same.”
Christina started to cry, and Gertie put her arm around her and squeezed.
“That’s incredible,” Ida Belle said.
“That’s not all,” I said. “You remember the pages with emojis?”
“Is that words too?” Christina asked.
“Even better,” I said. “It’s music. And one of those pages of music was the song that RJ and Brock recorded when they first got to Nashville—you know, the one that TV producer was interested in licensing. I knew Brock had something on RJ and when the stick figures turned out to be words, I was sure the emojis had to be something as well.”
“So she didn’t give up music,” Christina said.
“When the song turned up in Marigold’s musical note code, I got in touch with the attorney who was having the original score ink dated and asked him to test it against handwriting as well.”
“That’s why you asked me for a handwriting sample?” Christina asked.
“Are you saying that Marigold wrote that song?” Ida Belle asked.
I nodded and Gertie jumped out of her chair, yelling like she’d won the lottery.
“I don’t understand,” Christina said.
“Unless Marigold’s memory is completely intact, we may never know all the details,” I said. “But what I know for sure is that Marigold wrote that original score. When I explained the situation, the attorney agreed to take Marigold on as a client and continue to broker the deal with the TV producer.”
“And he still wants the song?” Ida Belle asked. “Even after the bad publicity surrounding RJ and Brock?”
“Yes,” I said. “He was even more blown away over Marigold’s story and wants to be part of making her song famous.”
I gave Christina a big smile. “It’s going to mean a lot of money for you guys.”
Christina launched out of her chair and threw her arms around me. “I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you. You’ve saved my life and my daughter’s. Everything that was bad, you’ve made good. You’re an angel.”
I felt my chest tighten as I hugged her back.
“Maybe just today.”
More investigations with Swamp Team 3 coming later this year!
To check out other books by Jana DeLeon, visit her website janadeleon.com.