Ex, Why, and Me by Susanna Carr Read Free Book Online Page B

Aschenbrenners are into puzzles, games, and trivia,” Michelle said, still tapping away at her phone. “Not to mention that all three are also members of the Historical Society.”
    Ryan did a double take. “Carbon Hill has a Historical Society?”
    Michelle looked up. “See? You didn’t even know that.” She went back to her phone. “We are going to be left in the dust,” she muttered her prediction.
    “No, we’re not,” he said with a hint of steel in his voice. “Once you get off that phone, we can go hit this Historical Society and ask—”
    “Benjamin Franklin.”
    Okay. The stress from competition had already affected her brain. “What about him?”
    “He made that quote.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “I looked it up.” She waved the phone under his nose.
    He stared at the slim electronic unit with suspicion. “Just like that?”
    “I’m addicted to my cell phone,” Michelle admitted as she pocketed the device, “and can navigate around it faster than Brandy can come up with a devious plan.”
    “Can that phone tell us what Benjamin Franklin has to do with Homer and Ida?”
    “Technology isn’t that advanced. Okay, let’s look at what we have.” She held her hands up as if she could make the world stop while she studied the puzzle. “Benjamin Franklin, Homer, and Ida.”
    Ryan thought about it. What could one of the leaders of the American Revolution and horseradish farmers have in common? “I got nothing.”
    “Me, either.” She looked out onto the square, watching the last of the curiosity seekers walk away from the stage.
    “Benjamin Franklin and horseradish,” Ryan said.
    Michelle gave him a strange look.
    He shrugged. “Benjamin Franklin and trains? Train robbers? Train tracks?”
    Michelle suddenly perked up. He hoped she wasn’t going to pursue the train track idea. He was going to have to keep his mouth shut on the brainstorming sessions.
    “Franklin is on the one-hundred-dollar bill,” Michelle said. “Train robbers steal one-hundred-dollar bills.”
    “Yeah…” Ryan drew out the word. “But that doesn’t tell us where to go.”
    “A bank? Probably Cedar Hill’s First National.” She jumped up and walked down the steps. “Let’s go.”
    “No, the clue would have said something about bills or national or something along those lines. Give me the paper again.”
    Michelle handed him the clue and Ryan reread the quote. “Hey, wait a minute.” He looked around the square, trying to get his bearings. “Isn’t there a Benjamin Franklin Public School around here? I think it’s an elementary school.”
    “Sounds vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t say for sure. I went to Alexander Hamilton myself.”
    Ryan tapped the paper against his chin. “Do you think the Benjamin Franklin School has any connection to Homer and Ida?”
    She made a face. “The school can’t be that old.”
    Ryan wasn’t so sure. “How would we find out?”
    Michelle grabbed her phone again and punched a few buttons. She pressed it on her ear and held her finger up, indicating for him to wait.
    “Hi, Dad,” Michelle said. “Quick question. How old is the Benjamin Franklin Public School? Uh-huh…uh-huh…” She shifted from one foot to the other. “Uh-huh…Really?” Her face brightened.
    Heat seeped inside Ryan as he watched Michelle’s face. She didn’t usually show her emotions, but when the hope flickered across her face, it was a breathtaking sight.
    “So that means it would have been around in the early nineteen-hundreds?” She gave Ryan a thumbs-up.
    Ryan felt a sense of relief flooding his chest. He had been right. They did have a chance. Maybe this scavenger hunt wouldn’t be so bad after all.
     
    Michelle had no idea this scavenger hunt was going to be so hard! She ignored the navy blue leather rubbing against her big toe and shuffled down the sidewalk. She knew the difficulty wasn’t going to be from solving the clues, or the walking trek from one edge of the city