Page 19

Fifteen

Benny

Present Day

The three of them stared at the dollhouse. Was this the answer to the riddle they were looking for?

Something told Benny yes.

The dollhouse was exactly like Evelyn’s house, down to the balcony Benny had stood on numerous times, staring out at the water. The piece was well constructed and in good condition. It didn’t look like a child’s toy. It was more like a showpiece. Inside the windows, Benny could see tiny pieces of furniture.

“I found something good, right?” Ryan asked, standing up and marveling at the toy while he brushed off some of the thick dust, sneezing in the process.

“Maybe.” Zara searched the sides of the dollhouse. “We need to find a place to insert the key.”

Benny ran her fingers over the small shingles and shutters, her fingers looking for a seam to open the dollhouse and see what was inside. “There are several doors on this but no locks, and yet…” She shined a light on the decorative wreath on the dollhouse’s chimney. There was a slim letter-sized opening in the middle of it. “This feels like somewhere you’d place a key.” She pulled Evelyn’s key out of her pocket and then held her breath as she stuck the end in the wreath.

The wreath turned counterclockwise, and Benny heard a click. The front of the house swung open, revealing the rooms inside. She gave a loud whoop.

“I don’t believe it,” Zara whispered, eyes wide. “We found it. We actually found the answer to the riddle…and it’s a dollhouse.”

“No. Way,” Ryan whispered.

This was Evelyn’s house down to the smallest detail. The furniture was different, but the structure was the same, and the tiny framed paintings, pillows covered in dust on each bed, miniature toys—were incredible. It was the nicest dollhouse Benny had ever seen. “But where is the next riddle? Or a letter from Evelyn?” she wondered. “I sort of thought when we opened the dollhouse, it would be sitting in here.”

Zara scratched her head. “So did I. Maybe she was worried a kid would break into the house and find the letter, so she hid it in one of the little rooms?”

“But where?” Benny wondered, running her fingers along the walls.

“This is pretty nice for a toy,” Ryan observed. “Did Evelyn or her kids even play with this thing?”

“Probably not. Listen to this,” Zara said, her face illuminated by her phone screen. “Dollhouses before the nineteenth century were not toys. They were called ‘cabinet houses,’ and they were showpieces that were meant to flaunt someone’s wealth.” She clutched her phone to her chest. “God, my grandmother would be so impressed with me right now.”

Benny’s heart started to beat faster. “There has to be another letter in this dollhouse that I was meant to find.” She shined a light on each little room, looking for something that could hold a letter or journal entries. She searched each little painting and looked at the small books on the tables, wondering if there was anything written in them. Evelyn, what do you want me to see? she asked herself, moving from the kitchen to the dining room to the sitting room to the library. She ran her finger along the tiny books on the shelves, feeling for anything that could resemble an opening, pressing on each bookshelf. Suddenly one sprung open like a door to reveal a narrow opening behind it, just wide enough to hold an envelope and a cloth pouch. Carefully, she used her fingers to pry out a small bag.

“That looks just like the satchels in those paintings we just found,” Ryan said.

“It does!” Benny agreed. “There was a pouch like this in Evelyn’s self-portrait in the library too.”

“What is that stamped on the front of the pouch?” Zara asked peering at it. “Is that a bird?”

“It’s a sparrow,” Benny said, her skin tingling. She looked at Zara. “That is Evelyn’s nickname. Her friends called her that because she was quick as a bird.”

Zara held up her arm, and lightning flashed in the window behind her. “Goose bumps. Hang on. I’m going to go check those paintings again.”

“Bring them over here,” Benny told her as she opened the pouch. She pulled out a folded envelope, her heart pumping hard as she read the familiar handwriting on the front:

For Everly Benedict. Clue 3.

If one clue was exciting, the second was even more so, and this envelope would lead her to the third piece of the puzzle.

But how many pieces were there? Would she have enough time to find them all? Benny tried hard not to think too far ahead, but with this game, it was hard not to. So much was at stake. And there was so little time.

You can do it, Guppy. She heard Grams in her head, and she steadied her breath. She was doing it. She was playing to win. This was big. She was one step closer to making Evelyn’s and her dreams both come true. Her hands started to shake as she fumbled with the pouch to see what was inside.

Out came a heart-shaped charm on a thin silver chain. The chain and pendant were tarnished beyond recognition from years of storage, but Benny could make out a large A written in cursive on one side. She spun it around to see if it had a hidden compartment. “It looks solid. I don’t think it is a locket.”

Zara hurried over with the paintings. “Look! A girl is wearing a necklace just like that in this painting, which was also painted by Evelyn. It was with the other ones.”

Benny shined a light on the canvas. It was dated 1850 as well. The girl had long curly brown hair and gray eyes that stared directly at Benny from the painting. She was standing on a sandy beach under clear skies, her white dress billowing in the breeze, and her expression was playful. In her hand was a familiar satchel. Benny flipped the painting over. This one had a name written on the back. Agatha Bishop .

“I wonder if this is the Aggy Evelyn writes about. Aggy is her best friend.”

Zara stared at it a moment, seemingly lost for words. “Bishop. I know that name. I’ve heard Grams mention it before. I think we’re related to the Bishops!”

The three of them were silent for a moment, taking in the strangeness of that revelation.

“Okay. I just got chills. If I’m related to the girl in this painting, that would mean…” Zara started to say.

“That you’re part of this story too,” Benny realized.

“What does the letter say?” Ryan prodded. “Is there another riddle?”

Benny had almost forgotten. She carefully opened the envelope. Inside were several additional pages from Evelyn’s journal. There was no letter, but there was a new riddle.

If there’s a light you cannot sea

When wild storms come along,

Trust your compass and promise me

You’ll seek the siren’s song.

If you do not hear the sea maiden

You must listen even harder—

Her burden was so heavy-laden

For he loved her with such ardor.

Where she lives now is lonely and bright.

I watch it from my window at night.

Benny looked at the others. They seemed to be trying to decipher the poem like she was. Siren …was she talking about a mermaid? A female pirate?

“Can I see the handwriting?” Zara asked, and Benny handed her the riddle. “Okay, this is interesting—she spells sea S-E-A for the ocean. That has to be on purpose. She also mentions a sea maiden and a siren.”

“Mermaid?” Benny guessed. “Are there any famous mermaid statues in town?”

Ryan and Zara shook their heads.

“It was worth a shot.”

“What does she mean by Where she lives now is lonely and bright. I watch it from my window at night ?’” Ryan wondered.

Benny read the line again and, something inside her clicked: “If Evelyn wrote this, then she must mean her balcony! Come on!” she said, hurrying downstairs and nearly running into Wally, who was carrying laundry. The others quickly followed.

“Are we in a rush?” Wally chuckled as Benny ran by him.

“We need to get to Evelyn’s room,” she yelled, excited.

“Don’t you mean your room?” Wally teased.

Benny ran for the double doors to the small balcony, her heart thumping as she ran into the pouring rain and her eyes found what she knew for certain Evelyn wanted her to find. She pointed it out to the others. “ I watch it from my window each night ,” she repeated from the clue as the others reached her. “Evelyn wants us to go to the lighthouse!”