up that you could get a dive crew together and they wouldn’t all think you were crazy I see Michelle said What she was actually seeing was a terrible vision of all the subjects of interest in her investigation disappearing on another treasure hunt only to get attacked by the still-at-large still-at-large Griffin somewhere with no witnesses That man had the most irritating habit of finding the Kingsolvers when nobody expected him to and an equally bad habit of disappearing before the police could get there It was well irritating If Griffin would just once try his shenanigans when the police or the FBI were in the area wait There was an old saying about how if the mountain mountain won’t come to Muhammad then he’d just have to go to the mountain Detective Hermann had been following up on some leads that had evaporated evaporated in light of the key Redd and McRae had found which meant he was free right now Catching his eye and hopefully conveying Forgive me for volunteering you but I think they’ll accept you faster 8
than me with her gaze Michelle turned to McRae and made a decision If you do decide to go off looking for that boat a second time I’m going to insist that you bring Detective Hermann along with you she said and McRae blinked once slowly then turned to Redd and shrugged It’s not going to bother me Dr McRae said but I don’t have a boat Oh I can get a boat Redd said cheerfully And a scuba diver since I have one in my address books Is this a reliable person or someone who bought a certificate off the internet McRae and Bradlaw asked in unison Then they turned startled gazes on each other while Redd folded his arms and declared that she may have been certified in Ohio but she had taken all the necessary tests and classes It might mean fewer people try to shoot me Chris Kingsolver suggested to his cousin Carrie and Maddison Dr McRae’s daughter Chris was sitting 9
in between the two girls they punched him in the shoulder in unison It was only after they had left with McRae assuring assuring Detective Hermann that they would call him before they did anything at all suspicious or even slightly dangerous that Detective Hermann turned to Michelle with a sigh Really he asked I can go if you don’t want to Michelle said Or we can send Forrest he has a romantic streak and he might enjoy looking for a lost treasure ship Hermann glanced pointedly at Forrest who was happily charming a description of a boat that might possibly match the key out of one of the same receptionists receptionists who had hung up on Michelle for wasting his time Though it looks like he’s doing good work here Michelle said then added in a disgruntled disgruntled undertone and mostly to herself I come across as a little harsh on the phone Later she would learn that at that point Detective Hermann was manfully restraining 10
himself from mentioning that Father Michaels had described her as a woman with a voice admirably suited to yelling through a bullhorn who incidentally incidentally has a missing eye that makes her steely glare all the more impressive before he’d even met her Instead the detective simply gave Michelle a slight smile and reassured her that he really had no objection objection to shadowing the treasure hunting and keeping an eye out for Willis Griffin They reconvened at Carrie’s house for the simple reasons that her living room was bigger than Chris’s and Maddison’s and both her parents were at work Although Carrie did call and tell them she was having some friends over and even put Dr McRae on the phone to reassure her mom And anyway it was nearly noon since they’d been stuck at the police station for some time while Agent Grey looked as though she was getting a 11
