Sunday night I emailed Bart on our brand-new fixed computer.

............

Dear Bart,

I don’t know if you are in the FBI.

But if it helps, I saw Grant outside again today.

It’s out of his normal routine because he was wearing jogging shorts and no shirt and looked like he was going to try to exercise or something, which he’s never done in his whole entire life. He went on the jogging trail but was back in ten minutes.

Please instruct.

From, Olivia

P.S. Are you really running in a hundred-mile race? Which race?

............

Two minutes later he emailed back.

............

Olivia:

Please focus on his emotional state. Particularly after coming home from events. We are concerned he is unbalanced and a danger to society.

Please don’t use his real name.

From now on, he will go by Gandalf. I am deleting your previous email to erase evidence even though anything you do on your computer is never gone so really you have com-promised this investigation but I will discuss this with my superiors and see if they will let it slide.

Also, my entire room smells like dead fish.

Sincerely,
B.

P.S. I am running in the Wasatch Back. It is on August 20. If you would like to bring me water, I would very much appreciate it.

............

I wrote back.

............

Bart.

I will watch Gandalf very carefully but I would like some spy gear to help.

Also, will there ever be a time I will get more details about this mission?

My whole house also smells like fish. And I’m grounded.

Cordially,
Olivia

P.S. I would like to run in the race. Not give you water.

............

Dear Olivia,

I’ll tell you more when you have proven yourself.

I can’t use email during weekdays sometimes because of FBI policy so we’ll have to just communicate face-to-face at school. Let’s meet at the drinking fountain by the lunchroom.

Also, I just found out that on PBS they are doing shows on the most famous circuses in the world beginning Monday night starting with the New Shanghai Circus, which is clearly the best circus of all of them.

You and Berk should watch to get ideas. I can do any of the acts probably.

Masterfully,
B

............

Dear Bart,

I thought you don’t watch TV.

Regrettably,
Olivia

............

Dear Olivia,

I don’t and you shouldn’t either.

Professionally,
B

............

I laughed.

I looked up Wasatch Back on the computer.

August 20.

I put it on the calendar.

~

Then I emailed Dad.

............

Dear Dad,

It turns out Bart is not a liar. I spent the whole afternoon with him and he can pop wheelies and we went swimming and he told me some top-secret things.

I can’t talk about a lot of it because he’s on some kind of secret military spy mission that is being overseen by the FBI. He said Grant is under surveillance. I told him you might be doing some of that too because you work for the National Park Service and he said that the National Park Service has nothing to do with national security and we got in an argument about that. Do you have anything to do with the FBI?

He said he’d want to meet you. I said he should come to Las Vegas to the Monster Truck show. He said he’d ask his mom.

~

I stopped writing. I thought about saying this: Are you and Mom divorced?

I also thought about writing this: Do you love her anymore?

I also also thought about writing this: Do you love someone else? How does love work?

And then I thought about writing this: I may be in love with someone.

~

Instead I wrote,

That’s all.

Love, Liv

............