17. Chapter 17
Ruby watched as Mabel retreated to the kitchen. Then she stared aimlessly around the café for a moment before glancing down at the folded note in her hand.
‘Coffee first,’ she sighed, tucking the note into her jeans pocket along with her disappointment. She was desperate to see what it said, but she wanted to find a discreet corner to hide in before she opened it.
She felt… crushed. That was the only word for it. As much as she’d been nervous about spending the day with Oli, she now realised how much she’d been looking forward to it too.
Loading up her puck with enough coffee grounds to keep an entire town buzzing for hours, Ruby set about making herself an elaborate, triple-shot latte complete with hazelnut syrup. Her heart hurt… and only an extra-ginormous dose of caffeine and sugar could have a hope of covering it up.
As soon as she was done giving the coffee machine a careful clean, Ruby carried her drink towards the back of the café. She chose a table right in the corner and tucked herself into a chair with her back to the rest of the room. No matter what the note said, at least she’d be able to react to it without everyone else reading every word of it reflected on her face!
After savouring several slow, sweet sips of her coffee, Ruby put the cup down and yanked the note back out of her pocket.
Ruby,
Everything looks better with coffee inside you! Ask Mabel for one of those ones full of syrup that you love. Do you remember those? The ones that always threatened to blow your head off with every sip and kept you talking at nineteen to the dozen. Oh, those study sessions were fun! Me - ready to drop off to sleep, and you - quizzing me until gone midnight. Eat a pastry too - gotta keep your strength up!
For the record, I’m really sorry I’m not there to meet you - promise this’ll be way more fun though!
I’d love to play a game if you’re up for it?
Ruby paused and glanced over her shoulder just to double-check check she was still on her own and that Mabel hadn’t decided to sneak up to take a peek over her shoulder. The only person anywhere nearby was Stuart, and he was busy tapping away at his phone. She quickly turned her attention back to the paper in her hand.
Remember you once told me that you used to like doing treasure hunts around the town?
‘What?’ she laughed in surprise. How on earth had he remembered? She’d once told him how her mum had been too busy to take her out on her birthday. Instead, she’d sent Ruby on a treasure hunt around all the different shops in town. Every clue she solved had told her what she should buy, and where she should go next.
It should have been the loneliest birthday ever - but Ruby had loved every second of it. She’d slowly filled her “birthday adventure basket” with all manner of goodies, and the whole thing had ended in a glorious birthday tea party with her parents when she got home.
Ruby swallowed. Oli might have remembered… but she’d almost forgotten the precious memory. She felt a sudden rush of love for her mum and dad. They might be different… but maybe they’d always known her better than she’d ever really given them credit for.
Taking a deep breath, followed by a fortifying sip of super-coffee, Ruby carried on reading.
Since you’re only back for a few days - it’s time for a treasure hunt! To start with… you need your adventure basket. Maybe if you turn around right now, you’ll find it waiting for you. Yes?
Solve the clues. Have fun, whatever you do!
Oli
Ps remember what our English teacher always told us - beginnings are important.
Ruby frowned, re-read the bewildering PS a few more times and then - feeling like a bit of an idiot - turned around.
‘Hey Ruby!’
Stuart was looking right back at her, holding up a beautiful wicker basket - the type they sold down at Bendall’s.
‘Hi!’ she said. ‘Is… erm… is that for me?’
‘Yep!’ he said cheerfully. ‘Special delivery.’
‘Oh wow,’ she laughed. ‘Thank you!’
Stuart shrugged good-naturedly. He’d always been a man of very few words, but from what Ruby could remember of him, he had the kindest heart and treated his members of staff like family.
‘You have a wonderful day now, Ruby,’ he said, giving her a fond smile. ‘And I’m very much looking forward to tomorrow.’
‘You are?’ said Ruby.
‘We’re closing the shop especially,’ said Stuart, his face serious. ‘It’s a special occasion, that’s for sure.’
Ruby smiled at him as a strange warmth bloomed somewhere in her chest. ‘Thank you, I’m looking forward to it too,’ she said, surprised to notice that she actually meant it. ‘I’ll see you there!’
Stuart gave her a little nod and then his face broke into a broad smile as he glanced over her shoulder. Ruby turned, only to find Mabel making her way towards them with Stuart’s breakfast.
‘My favourite part of the day!’ he said, rubbing his hands together.
Ruby grinned and left him to devour what was basically an entire English Breakfast crammed between the two halves of a soft, white bun.
‘Right, young lady,’ said Mabel, joining her back at her corner table two seconds later and slipping into the chair opposite. ‘What’s up?’
It was a question Mabel had asked Ruby dozens of times over the years. The café had been Ruby’s safe space, and Mabel had seen her through many teenage ups and downs.
Smiling at her old friend, Ruby reached across the table and took her hand. ‘Absolutely nothing,’ she said, giving it a squeeze.
‘That’s not what your face was telling me ten minutes ago!’ said Mabel, peering at her suspiciously. ‘If that boy’s managed to upset you, I’ll be having words! You’ve been back all of two minutes and-’
‘It’s fine,’ laughed Ruby. ‘I promise!’ she added when she saw that Mabel was still in full-on protective mode. ‘Look - here’s the note he left for me.’
Mabel took it and flipped the paper open curiously. ‘Goodness!’ she chuckled as her eyes skimmed the note. ‘This is all rather romantic, don’t you think?’
Ruby shook her head automatically, causing Mabel to raise an eyebrow.
‘Okay… maybe… you think?’ said Ruby, wincing slightly at the note of hope that just snuck into her voice.
‘Well… there’s only really one way to find out,’ said Mabel.
‘What’s that?’ said Ruby.
‘You’re going to have to follow the clues and see where they take you, aren’t you?’ said Mabel, her eyes shining.
‘There’s just one problem with that,’ said Ruby. ‘I seem to be missing the next clue!’
‘Maybe it’s in the basket?’ said Mabel, tipping it towards her for a good look inside.
‘Anything?’ said Ruby, who was already pretty sure there wasn’t.
Mabel shook her head.
‘Maybe he forgot,’ said Ruby.
‘No chance,’ laughed Mabel. ‘Anyone that goes to all this trouble isn’t going to fall at the first hurdle. It must be in the note.’
‘You think?’ said Ruby, glancing at the words again.
‘What did that PS mean?’ said Mabel. ‘The bit about your old teacher.’
“Ps remember what our English teacher always told us - beginnings are important,” said Ruby, reading it again. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair.
‘Why do you suddenly look like you’re sitting on a hedgehog?’ said Mabel in surprise.
‘Well… me and Oli…’ she paused. ‘I just figured it was his roundabout way of reminding me that we had a bit of a thing when we were younger.’
Not that she needed reminding!
‘Huh,’ said Mabel, looking entirely unsurprised by the revelation of Ruby’s biggest secret. ‘Well… that explains a lot.’
‘It does?’ said Ruby.
‘Well yes - he did suddenly start turning up in here towards closing time whenever you were around… and he always looked a bit like a love-sick moose!’ laughed Mabel.
Ruby snorted, storing up the term “love-sick-moose” in case she ever got the chance to share it with Oli.
‘Okay,’ said Ruby, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, ‘but I’m not sure that gets us any further with the clue.’
‘What exactly was your old teacher talking about?’ said Mabel. ‘Beginnings are important. Beginnings of what - stories?’
‘No - she was a total grammar freak,’ said Ruby. ‘She was always going on about sentence structure and… ohhhh’
She quickly scanned the note again.
‘Ohhhh what?!’ said Mabel.
‘Can I borrow your pen?’ said Ruby, excitement wriggling in her stomach.
Mabel handed her the order pen she kept tucked behind her ear, and Ruby started to circle the first letter of each sentence.
READ TO ME
FIRST MY SHOP
‘Wow - that note took some writing!’ said Mabel, her eyes wide with amazement. ‘What does he mean - “read to me”?’
‘When I helped him to study for his exams, we used to read the set text to each other,’ said Ruby.
‘What was the text?’ said Mabel.
‘Persuasion,’ said Ruby.
‘Well then,’ said Mabel, ‘looks like you’d better go find him at the bookshop!’
‘If he’s there, it’ll be the shortest treasure hunt known to mankin,’ laughed Ruby, downing her coffee before getting to her feet and grabbing the basket.
‘If he’s not there, my advice would be to check inside all the copies of Persuasion he’s got in stock!’ said Mabel.
With her new basket dangling from the crook of her arm, Ruby pushed her way into the bookshop. The familiar tinkle of the bell above the door seemed to echo somewhere in her chest. She was giddily happy… all because of Oli and his ridiculous game.
‘Ruby!’
The excited squeak from behind the desk definitely didn’t come from Oli.
‘Oh, hi… Kendra, right?’ said Ruby.
‘You remembered!’ said Kendra, nodding gleefully.
‘Is… is Oli here?’ she said.
Kendra shook her head. ‘Nope - but I’m not going to tell you where he is, so don’t even ask!’
‘Okay!’ said Ruby. A tiny bit of disappointment that he wasn’t there was battling with a huge dose of excitement that the game wasn’t over yet.
This treasure hunt had only just started!
‘He did mention you’d be coming in, though,’ said Kendra, ‘and he asked me to give you this. He said you’d know which book to look at.’
Ruby reached out and took the small, ornate key from Kendra. It was the same one she’d tossed on the desk before running out of the shop the previous day. Now, it had a brown luggage label attached to it with a piece of string.
‘Thanks,’ she said.
Right there, in Oli’s loopy scrawl were the words check out chapter 6!
‘The key’s for-’ Kendra started.
‘The collectable books cabinet!’ said Ruby, hurrying through the shelves towards the back. She’d bet anything Oli was talking about that beautiful, early copy of Persuasion she’d been ogling the previous day.
‘Oh!’ she said, unable to mask her disappointment when she peered through the glass. It wasn’t there.
‘You okay?’ said Kendra, coming to stand next to her.
‘Yeah,’ said Ruby, feeling daft. ‘I just thought… erm, there was a book I spotted in here yesterday. I had my eye on it - I was going to buy it before I head home… but… I guess it’s sold?’
‘Which one was it?’ she said
‘Persuasion,’ said Ruby. ‘A gorgeous old copy - green and gold bindings?’
‘Oh,’ said Kendra, looking shifty. ‘I’m really sorry… that one was reserved.’
‘Gutted,’ sighed Ruby. ‘But if that’s the case, I’m not sure what I’m looking for.’
Kendra frowned and scanned the little cabinet. ‘I’m going to bet it’s the one that stands out like a sore thumb!’ she said after a couple of seconds, pointing at a scruffy little book that looked like it was falling apart at the seams. The spine was so cracked, it was impossible to read the title… but that didn’t matter. Ruby knew exactly what it was.
Slotting the key into the lock, she opened the door and gently took hold of it.
‘It’s another copy of Persuasion!’ said Kendra in surprise. ‘I’m no expert - but it doesn’t look like a first edition or anything!’
‘That’s because it’s not,’ said Ruby. She flipped open the cover and pointed at a name scrawled inside in biro.
Oliver Evans. Class 12A.
‘Oli’s old school copy?’ said Kendra.
‘Yep!’ said Ruby, flicking through the familiar pages.
‘Wow – look at the state of it,’ said Kendra, staring at the pages as they fluttered past, littered with pencil lines and copious biro notes crammed into the margins. ‘I thought annotating was a new thing!’
‘Nah… and it was the best way to get things to sink into his skull,’ said Ruby, running a finger over the heavy lettering. This poor book hadn’t stood a chance with Oli around! ‘He had to pay to replace it once he was done, though - the school didn’t want it back.’
‘Erm… I can see why!’ said Kendra. ‘Still don’t get why it’s in here, though.’
‘Chapter 6,’ said Ruby. ‘Let’s see…’ She turned the pages more slowly, searching for a clue. ‘Okay - that’s not subtle!’ she laughed as a stark stripe of bright pink highlighter glowed at her.
‘What’s he highlighted?’ said Kendra.
Ruby glanced at her. The young girl’s eyes were wide, and she was clearly as invested in this little mystery as she was.
‘Erm…’ said Ruby, her eyes scanning the familiar words. ‘It’s a passage about having to look after naughty kids. “But you know it is very bad to have children with one that one is obligated to be checking every moment; “don’t do this,” and “don’t do that,” or that one can only keep in tolerable order by more cake than is good for them.”’
The words “more cake than is good for them” had been underlined three times. Ruby grinned.
‘I don’t get it?’ said Kendra, cocking her head.
‘I think it’s your boss’s less-than-subtle hint that the next clue is in the bakery.’
‘Where you can buy more cake than is good for you,’ said Kendra.
‘I reckon!’ laughed Ruby. ‘And… going by his first clue, I’d better take the book with me… if that’s okay?’
‘Fine by me,’ said Kendra with a shrug.
‘Thanks for your help,’ said Ruby. ‘See you tomorrow - I’m looking forward to your questions.’
Kendra’s eyes went wide with excitement. ‘Be ready to fill me in on what happens next today!’
Over an hour later, Ruby found herself wandering into the bar of the Dolphin and Anchor. Her basket was full to the brim. A huge bag of goodies from the bakery had been joined by a bunch of flowers from the florist at the top of the hill, several bags of sweets from the sweet shop, and a set of colourful plastic cups and plates from Bendall’s.
The last clue had told her she should head to the spot where the “captain hits his bullseyes.”
‘Ah hah!’ she said, peering across the room at the dartboard in the corner. Sure enough, there was a dart lodged right at its centre with yet another luggage label dangling from it.
“Bring your own bottle,” she read. Well, that was simple enough, given that there was a little arrow pointing straight down at a bottle of prosecco and two bottles of ginger beer sitting on the table below the dartboard. She flipped the label over hoping for more. Sure enough…
“It’s time for a ride in the highest-ranking Captain’s ship!”
“Rank” was underlined several times, and Ruby giggled, rolling her eyes. The first clue back in the café might have been a tough nut to crack, but they’d become easier and easier as she’d missioned her way around town.
Popping the bottles into her basket, Ruby dashed back outside and headed straight for the Dolphin and Anchor’s little carpark at the back where Brian Singer - captain of the darts team - had his unofficial taxi rank. Sure enough, the gallant captain was sitting behind the wheel with a book propped open in front of him.
‘Ruby - you found me!’ he laughed as she tapped on the window to get his attention.
‘How long have you been waiting for me?’ she said, eyes wide - feeling like she should apologise for taking so long.
‘No clue,’ he said with an easy shrug. ‘You know what it’s like when you get lost in a good book!’
Ruby nodded and then froze. ‘Oh… it’s mine!’
‘Loving it so far,’ said Brian, grinning at her. ‘Amazing writing!’
‘Thank you,’ said Ruby with a shy smile. ‘I’m so glad you’re enjoying it.’
Then she paused, pulling herself up. Where was the usual discomfort? Where was the need to shudder and shiver and escape? It was gone, and in its place was a quiet kind of pleasure that someone she knew and liked was getting enjoyment from something she’d created.
‘Ruby?’ said Brian, watching her with interest from the window.
‘Oh - right, sorry!’ she laughed, shaking her head. ‘Do you have a clue for me - as the highest-ranking captain of Crumbleton?’
‘Nope, no clue,’ said Brian.
‘Oh,’ said Ruby, deflating. ‘You sure?’
‘Positive,’ said Brian, popping a bookmark carefully between the pages of the book and stashing it in the glove compartment. ‘But I am here to give you a lift!’
‘Where to?’ said Ruby, her excitement bubbling right back up.
‘That’s for me to know and you to find out,’ said Brian. ‘Hop in!’
Ruby let herself into the back seat and popped the heavy basket next to her. She was half expecting this to be a huge joke - for Brian to turn straight back up the steep high street and simply drop her off somewhere near the top. Instead, he turned out of Crumbleton, passing through the City Gates and joining the winding road that led across the salt marshes.
‘Let me guess… Crumbleton Sands?’ said Ruby, leaning forward to interrogate him.
‘Not very patient, are you?’ chuckled Brian.
‘Nope!’ said Ruby. ‘Okay, what about-’
‘I’m not telling you!’ said Brian in amusement.
‘Well… definitely not the beach,’ said Ruby, as Brian indicated and took a turn that led in the opposite direction. They rounded the base of Crumbleton hill and drove past the little wharf where the Marsh Ranger kept his boat. The road followed a winding path through the ever-changing landscape of the watery marshland, between the reedbeds, pools and rivers.
Ruby knew this route well. She’d taken it enough times as a kid on her bike. Ahead of them, as if in answer to her question, she spotted a little hill rising from the wetlands - a much smaller echo of Crumbleton. This one was covered in trees.
‘Crumbleton Clump!’ she said.
‘Maybe,’ hedged Brian, rather spoiling the mystery by coming to a halt at the tree line a few minutes later.