The next step, if you choose: Power the satellite phone. I inserted a fully charged battery a few weeks ago. Find “Mom” in contacts and give me a call. I’ll reveal the location of the Bat Cave. I actually have one, if you consider a dingy apartment in a sketchy neighborhood a proper secret lair. There’s beer in the fridge and harder stuff if you need it . . . you might after you see what I’ve been working on. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.

Love you, Mom

“Love you, too,” he said, his eyes watering.

PS: Ask Frank about my car. I highly suggest you swap vehicles.

PPS: Don’t skip out on lunch at Cantler’s. A friend of mine may join you. You can trust him.

So . . . now what? Continue the quest? An untraceable car would definitely make things a little easier, but he wasn’t sure about meeting with anybody until he got a better handle on what his mother suspected she had uncovered. Then again, what did he have to lose? He could always walk away from whoever showed up.

“Why the hell not?” he muttered, stuffing the file and the pouch into his backpack.

On his way back to the Cantler’s parking lot, he spotted Frank near the marina’s boat ramp, where he’d just hauled what looked like a mini sailboat out of the water. Two middle school–age kids wearing orange life jackets helped him drag it onto a small trailer. Devin headed in their direction. When Frank saw him, he patted one of the kids on the shoulder and told them he’d finish securing the boat. They headed for the dock, where he assumed a much larger boat and eager-to-please parents awaited them.

“Now that looks more my speed,” said Devin.

Frank laughed. “We’ll have to start you with something a little bigger if you plan on fixing up your boat. How did it look?”

“You really think you could fix her up by the end of the summer?”

Frank’s smile widened. “Definitely before Labor Day weekend, which gives you a good month on the water and plenty of time to learn how to sail—or find a girlfriend that knows.”

“And those are easy to find?” said Devin. “The girlfriend. Not the sailing lessons.”

“A lot easier when you have a boat,” said Frank. “What do you say? Want me to fix her up?”

He wasn’t paying for it, so he responded with his new motto.

“Why the hell not?”

“You won’t regret it. She’s a thirty-foot Catalina. A reliable cruising boat,” said Frank. “Not that easy to find, either, so you could always sell her if it doesn’t work out for you.”

“Easy enough,” said Devin. “There’s one more thing. My mom said I should ask you about her car, but she didn’t leave any keys, and I forgot to look on the boat.”