Chapter Seven

We hadn’t been walking long when Connor pulled me aside. “Lark, how are we actually going to find this key? The park is gigantic. Plus, Mrs. Robinson said she walked for fifteen minutes. That key could be anywhere!”

“Not anywhere,” I said. “Somewhere. Mrs. Robinson didn’t walk all over the place. We just have to follow the path she took.”

As we walked, I kept my head down, looking for clues. I was glad the sun was out. Maybe its light would reflect off the key. I concentrated hard. Really hard. I looked and looked and kept my head down.

And I walked right into a tree.

Connor laughed.

“Crickets!” I rubbed the spot on my head. “That hurt!”

Mrs. Robinson checked the bump. “Didn’t you hear me yelling to stop?”

“No,” I said. “I was concentrating on finding the key.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this,” she said.

Double crickets! I couldn’t lose the case! “No, it’s fine.” I glared at Connor. “My brother will keep an eye on me.”

He snorted. “With you, I better keep two!”

I decided I needed to ignore him because we were on a case. And because Mrs. Robinson was there. I pulled Connor close. “Didn’t you pay attention when the principal was reading the story? She’s a client, and we have to be…” I couldn’t think of the word. It was a good one though. It meant to be on your best behavior. “We have to do a good job,” I said. “Maybe she’ll tell other people, and we can get more cases.”

“More cases?” His eyebrows went to his forehead. “We can’t even handle this one!”

I heaved a sigh. Little brothers. “Just look for the key.”

We followed Mrs. Robinson back to her house. She showed us where she had stopped and admired the birds. She pointed out where she had waved at the lady gardening. Connor and I retraced Mrs. Robinson’s every move.

But no key.

The library was still closed. There was no word yet from Pete. Connor looked really unhappy with me. And I was kind of wishing I’d left the aunty alone.