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Maggie didn’t answer Jake’s worrying questions because Sam returned at that moment. He was dressed in pale blue jeans and a black T-shirt. He looked ready for anything.
Sam said to Maggie, “Are you ready to go? Have you cancelled your hair appointment?”
Maggie stood up. “I haven’t. I’ll do it on the way. Are we getting the bus? I can check the timetables. I’ve got an app for that.” She gave Jake a look to show him she was up to date with modern technology.
Sam said, “We’ll take my van. Jake, we shouldn’t be too long.” He pulled a face. “Actually, I don’t know how long we’ll be. I’ve never been on a treasure hunt before.”
“Not even when you were a child?” Maggie asked him.
He shook his head.
Jake tutted. “And he never took me on one either. I’ve had a deprived childhood. It’s a miracle I’ve turned into such a great person.” He grinned. “Good luck. Keep in touch. Don’t get lost. Or worse.”
“Worse?” Maggie asked.
Sam said, “Don’t listen to him. Let’s go.” He led her through the kitchen, out of the back door and over to his van. He unlocked the van, and then held the passenger door open for Maggie.
She had told him before she could open the door herself, but for once, she let her independent guard down, and said, “Thank you.”
As soon as they were driving away, Maggie phoned the hairdresser and cancelled her appointment. Then she went online and looked at some of the video guides Jake had suggested.
She gave Sam a running commentary of what was going on in the videos, which he seemed to appreciate.
Maggie said, “You should see where some of the clues are hidden! There are all sorts of treasure boxes disguised as something else. Some logbooks and clues are inside birdhouses, others are stuck underneath cast-iron frogs, some are inside pipes. Eww! Some clues are hidden inside fake chewed-up gum. That’s disgusting. I’m not picking up discarded chewing gum.”
Sam laughed. “I’ll do that. I’ve got plastic gloves in the back of the van. What else do they use?”
“Oh, I quite like this one. It’s an apple treasure box. It’s hollow inside, and clues can be put in there.” She looked at Sam. “There are even fake security CCTV cameras with flashing LED lights. I wouldn’t know a fake CCTV camera even if it were chasing me down the street. Would you?”
His tone was serious as he replied, “Only last week a security camera chased me down the street. But I was running too fast to see if it was a fake one or not.”
Maggie smiled. “You are silly. You know what I meant.” She looked at a few more images. “I think we might struggle when we get to the park. If we’re looking for discarded apples or chewing gum, we could be there for hours.”
Sam cast a hopeful look her way. “When we get to Soldiers Field, the app might update to give us a new location.”
“Maybe.” Maggie put her phone in her bag as they arrived on the road at the side of Soldiers Field. Her heart sank. “I’d forgotten how big this field is. What shall we do? Stand in the middle of it?”
Sam pulled up to the kerb and switched the engine off. “Yes, that sounds like a plan. I’ll get the gloves out of the back in case I need them. Would you like a pair too?”
“Not really, but I’ll take a pair. I can’t leave all the dirty work to you.”
Maggie got out of the vehicle and waited for Sam as he went into the back of the van. She looked around. It was a beautiful day. Even though it was early July, it wasn’t that hot. Just pleasantly warm. The sky was clear with no threat of rain. A warm breeze tickled her cheek. The park looked quiet enough. It wouldn’t be that way in a few weeks when the schools broke up for the summer holidays. She smiled as she remembered the times she’d brought Oscar here during the school holidays. There had always been something exciting for them to do.
She was rudely brought out of her fond memories as she suddenly remembered the purpose of her present visit.
Sam locked the van, and came over to her. He said, “This would be a pleasant day out if we weren’t trying to find a murder suspect. I haven’t been here in years. I used to bring Jake here when he was little, before he got old enough to be embarrassed by me. Did your son go through that phase too? About being embarrassed to be seen with you?”
Maggie smiled. “He did, but not for long. Thankfully. What did you do here with Jake?”
They talked about their sons as they headed into the huge expanse of Soldiers Field. Maggie liked how easy it was to talk to Sam. He didn’t just talk about himself, he kept asking questions too. And he listened to her. He wasn’t one of those people who pretended to listen while they were actually waiting for you to stop talking so they could talk about themselves again.
They stopped walking when they got to the middle of the field.
“Now what?” Maggie asked.
“Let’s check our apps and see if we get any further instructions.”
They checked their phones.
Maggie looked at Sam. “I’ve got nothing. Just the same co-ordinates. You?”
“Nothing.” He lowered his phone, and looked around. “There’s a clue somewhere around here. Disguised as an everyday object.”
Maggie sighed as she looked at the many trees which surrounded the field. “Do we just head over to the first tree and start there? Look for a fake apple or frog? Should we split up?”
“No, we’ll stay together.” His eyes narrowed. “Maggie, turn slowly around and look at that tree over there. Near to where we parked.”
Maggie did so. “What am I looking at?”
“Can you see that young girl wearing a grey backpack? Does she look as if she’s acting suspiciously?”
“I don’t know. It looks like she’s resting her hand on that tree. Is that suspicious?”
“She’s not resting her hand; she’s moving her hand up and down the bark. As if she’s looking for something.”
Maggie gave him an admiring glance. “You’ve got good eyesight. Shall we move a bit closer?”
“Yes, but act casually. As if we’re out for a stroll.”
Maggie immediately stiffened. She whispered, “I’ve suddenly forgotten how to act casually.”
“Follow my lead.” Sam swiftly took her hand in hers, and they began to walk.
The warmth of his hands caused immediate feelings of comfort to flow through Maggie. Sam had the warmest hands she’d ever known. Not that she went around holding hands with lots of people. Why were his hands so warm? Was he hot-blooded? If so, did that mean he was a passionate man? She felt her cheeks warm up at that thought. She shouldn’t be thinking about Sam like that. Should she?
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear Sam talking to her until he whispered in her ear, “I think we should have a look at that rock. Don’t you?”
Maggie blinked. “Pardon? Did you say something? I was too busy concentrating on looking all casual.” She was such a liar.
Sam continued whispering, “That young girl’s moved away from the tree, but she was looking at a rock at the base of it. We should have a look at it, don’t you think?”
Maggie nodded, and reluctantly took her hand from Sam’s. She moved closer to the tree, and said, “It could take us a while to find the right rock. There are loads here. Why are there so many?”
“We don’t have to look at them all. We could just look at the one that girl examined.”
Maggie stared at him and could see he was trying not to smile. “Right. Yes. We’ll do that.” She paused for a moment. “Which one was it again?”
Sam knelt next to the tree, picked a pale grey rock up, and then straightened up. He turned the rock over and fiddled with something in the middle of it. Part of the rock opened. He said, “The girl pulled a small bit of paper out. There are quite a few pieces in here.” He pulled out a tiny scroll of paper and handed it to Maggie.
Maggie unrolled it. She just managed to make out the words without using her reading glasses. “Likely Diva? What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. This one says ‘Hiker Devil.’ It must be a secret code.”
“What do we do with this now?” She turned the paper over as if hoping there would be an explanation waiting for her. But the back of the paper was blank.
Sam was on his phone. “Perhaps we type the code into the app? Oh, hang on. The app has updated. It’s given us new co-ordinates.”
“Has it? It must have known we’ve found this rock.” She gave the paper in her hand a suspicious look. “How does it know that?”
Sam shrugged. “Who knows how this treasure-hunting thing works? Maybe the app is tracking our movements. Let me check the new co-ordinates. They’re very similar to the first ones, so our next destination can’t be far away.”
Maggie looked left and right, and then over her shoulder. “Do you think someone is watching us?”
“Probably. Someone always is.” Sam was still looking at his phone. He smiled, and looked at Maggie. “Do you fancy a cup of tea and a slice of cake?”
“Always. But we don’t have time for that. Have you found out where we should be going next?”
“I have. It’s the Lakeside Café.”
“The one here in the park?”
“Yes.”
Maggie gave him a puzzled look. “Is that the treasure? Cake and tea? Or the next clue?”
“I don’t know, but my app says I’m invited to the café for tea and cake. Check yours.”
Maggie did. “I’m invited too. I have to give my code words to the person on the door. I’m assuming the code words are the ones we’ve just found on these bits of paper.”
“I hope so,” Sam replied. “Tea and cake then?”
Maggie nodded. “Tea and cake.”
As they headed towards the café, Maggie added, “The person who murdered Harvey Chester could be having tea and cake at the café too.”
“That’s a cheerful thought,” Sam said with a wry smile.