Chapter 21 Benny
Twenty-one
Benny
Present Day
As they pulled through two large iron gates, the Long Island Sound visible in the distance, Benny saw a stone mansion with several smaller mansions nestled around it.
Kids in red, white, and black plaid uniforms walked two by two behind their teachers as if they were in the Madeline storybook Grams read to her when she was a child.
You don’t belong here, was her first thought.
Her second: Quitters never win; winners never quit.
She thumbed the beaded silver bracelet on her left wrist. It was Grams’s.
The one thing she’d been gifted from her grandmother.
Feeling anxious, Benny pulled her camera out of her bag and rolled down (yes, rolled down) the window in Kimble’s Jeep to take pictures of the grounds.
“What are you doing?” Kimble asked.
“Trying to capture images in case we need to look back at them later for clues.” She snuck a photo of Kimble as well and then put the camera back in the bag. “That’s what I did with Zara and Ryan for the first game.”
Kimble parked the car. “Whatever floats your boat. Let’s get this over with.” He pulled at his collar in annoyance.
“Fine,” Benny said under her breath. Life would be easier when Kimble was cut loose and didn’t have to deal with her, Evelyn’s friends, or the treasure anymore.
She led the way to the mansion, and he followed dutifully.
Inside was a large foyer acting as an admissions area, where parents and children as dressed up as she was sat in velvet wingback chairs.
“May I help you?” asked a woman, not looking up from her desk.
“I’m here for a tour with my dad,” Benny said. “My name is Everly Benedict.”
“Everly!” An older woman in a pantsuit came strolling out of one of the rooms behind the desk and offered Benny her hand.
“Mr. Kellman said you’d be joining us today.
” She had short white hair, red polka-dot glasses, and smelled like freesia.
“My name is Astrid Pembrook, and I am the head of student affairs here at Harrison.” She held her hand out to Kimble. “Hello.”
Benny gave him a look. Kimble finally shook Astrid’s hand fiercely. “Afternoon.”
“Good afternoon,” she said, her smile warm, her tone clipped. “We’re starting the tour in five minutes. It will last an hour, after which you’re welcome to join us for refreshments in the dining hall and ask current students any questions you might still have.”
“This is going to take all afternoon?” Kimble complained.
“Sorry,” Benny apologized for him. “My dad has to work later.”
Astrid walked away to introduce herself to another family. Benny leaned in and whispered in Kimble’s ear. “Can you at least try to act like a doting dad?”
“That’s asking a lot. Never been one,” he said. “And this tie is too tight.”
“I’ll loosen it,” she whispered, aggravated. “Just behave, and when we see the chapel, we’ll break away from the tour.” She eyed the crowd. “Looks like there’s about twenty people on it so we won’t be missed if we aren’t gone long.”
“Fine.” He folded his arms across his chest.
“Fine.” Benny echoed, doing the same thing.
“Ladies and gentlemen, if you’d join me on the circle, we will begin our tour,” Astrid said.
Benny and Kimble joined her along with all the other prospective families.
“This rug is one of the first things James Harrison purchased for his home, which he later decided would be served better as a school, opening the doors to the first graduating class in 1831,” she began, leading them first to the lower school, as she called it.
Where is the chapel? Benny wanted to ask as they toured the mansion, the sports complex, then the pool.
She could hear her internal clock ticking.
They had to stay ahead of Grace and the Rudds.
What if they figured out the invisible ink?
Benny knew they had to move faster. They were an hour into the tour when Benny couldn’t take it any longer and interrupted Astrid’s conversation with a mom wanting to know about Ivy League acceptance rates.
“Astrid?” Benny placed one hand on her arm to make eye contact. “I was wondering when we were visiting the chapel.”
Astrid paused. “The chapel? Oh, we don’t stop there on the tour. But it’s nondenominational and open for prayer and reflection twenty-four hours a day.”
Benny had to think fast. “I was hoping my father and I could see it because…” She looked at Kimble, trying to think of a reason. Thankfully, he was quick with a response.
“My great-great-great-grandfather built it,” he said easily, flashing her a charming smile. “Actually might be my sixth great-grandfather. I can never keep that straight, can you?”
“No,” Astrid said, intrigued, “but you should still see his woodwork. It’s stunning.”
“Oh, I’ve heard it took months to build,” Kimble said, his voice dropping off. He placed an awkward hand on Benny’s shoulder. “I’d love for my child to see it.”
Child. Benny could sense his awkwardness at this whole situation.
Astrid leaned in like a coconspirator. “If you’re alright missing the greenhouse, you can meet us afterward at the dining hall. Would that work?”
Kimble grinned and reached out his hand to shake hers. “Why, Astrid, that would be splendid.”