Well, of course when I shared all of this with my friends, Shilo said, popping the lid on a can of cola, “Val Kilmer? Why would old Mel write down Val Kilmer’s name on his cat’s tag?
Pish frowned over at her. “Are popular references the only ones you know? Perhaps it refers to Joyce Kilmer . . . you know, ‘I think that I shall never see a poem so lovely as a tree?’”
“So she liked trees and poetry, huh?”
“It’s not a ‘she,’” I said absently. “It’s a he . . . I mean, Joyce Kilmer is a ‘he.’ They’re actually distant cousins, I’ve heard, Joyce and Val. Pish, do these Latin words mean anything to you?”
He leaned over the chair arm. “Hmm. Well, animals and plants are often called by their Latin names. Does that help?”
My eyes widened. I had actually seen some of these same words, on plaques in the arboretum! I shared my discovery with my friends, and said, “I wonder . . . okay, is this crazy? My mind is making connections. Could this be associated with the woods, and, perhaps a treasure hunt, or something? There are rumors that my uncle left a stash of money somewhere. Maybe that’s why Tom was digging holes on the property. Maybe Dinah thought it was true, that there was money here somewhere, and set Tom onto the task?”
“Could be,” Pish said.
Shilo hopped up and down. “A treasure, a treasure! Let’s go look for it.”
“How?” I said. Wait . . . tree names. Slowly, I came to a conclusion and spoke up. “I think that there is something to this, and I think it has to do with the arboretum. If these are tree names, then the woods is the place to look.”
Pish plunked down on the chair next to me as Shilo danced around the kitchen. “You know what, my dear, I think you just may have something. And I want to be in on the fun. I have a proposal to make. I would like to rent a room from you for the foreseeable future, and move some of my things here. This fraud investigation has got my juices going, and I’d like to make it the central story of my book-to-be.”
“Is it going to be that big a story?” I asked, startled.
“Sadly, my dear, I think so. I’m pretty sure it’s going to go national, if the financial papers get ahold of it. I am trying to do all I can to help the Autumn Vale Community Bank stay alive, because it is in grave danger of folding. That is the more important story here. Those federal investigators don’t really care, but I do. I hate to see small, local banks fail. Diversity in the banking industry is unfortunately becoming quite rare.”
“Yikes. I care, too. These folks have been through enough tough times.”
His tone honeyed and persuasive, he said, “If I stay and rent a room, Merry, it would help you with the utility bills, which are not going to be pretty this winter. And I can help, then, with the treasure hunt!”
“Deal,” I said, not adding that he had not needed to sweeten the pot, so to speak. Having him around was a treat.
“Deal, deal, deal,” Shilo sang, spinning around.
I took a deep breath. An adventure had begun. In fact, I was in the middle of an adventure, but hadn’t stopped to realize it. I grinned over at Pish, who smiled back, then we both turned to watch Shilo spinning around the kitchen, out of control with love and joy and happiness, followed by Becket, who lunged and batted at her fluttering scarf.
I couldn’t wait to get started.