Davie looked uncomfortable, but nodded.

Jesse removed a section of the roof. “This is your room. Your daddy told me about your room. Like he kept a secret in the model of his SUV, he gave you a secret to keep with you. Something he made for you and you made your own slip of paper like it to put in your LEGO room.” Jesse lifted the loop of paper and handed it to Davie.

“A Möbius strip,” the boy said. “Only one side. Daddy said it goes round and round forever.”

“But it’s something else, isn’t it? You wrote Davie’s secret.”

Davie nodded. “That’s what Daddy called it.” He slipped it over his hand so that it shared his wrist with the Medic Alert bracelet.

“Can I see the real one?”

Davie hesitated, then slid the narrow part of his small wrist through the gap in the silver bracelet. He handed it to Jesse. “OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA—FRAGILE BONES” had been engraved in block letters across the faceplate. Simple, clean, and legible.

Jesse turned the bracelet over and examined the inside surface. Jonathan Finch’s steady hand had etched the string of letters, characters, and numbers onto the interior length. Ethel had been right. She’d seen more than a Möbius strip, she’d seen a twenty-million-dollar bracelet.

Jesse pulled out a pen and paper from his pants pocket and started writing.

***

Jesse and Ethel returned from Richmond around four. They were the only ones in the house since Douglas was traveling with the vice president, and Ethel hadn’t yet taken in new roomers to replace Jonathan and Lisa. Still, they decided to wait until after dark to proceed. Detective Mancini had been occasionally dropping by in the late afternoons, claiming he was checking on Ethel’s recovery. Jesse thought he was suspicious. Ethel said he was looking for a home-cooked meal, and she had invited him for dinner a few times.

At eight, Ethel pulled Jonathan Finch’s laptop from the back of her closet and took it down to her RBG workout room. Jesse was already sitting on the weight bench with his computer.

“Have you set up your accounts?” she asked.

“Yes. Two new wallet addresses and two private keys.” He set his laptop to one side and took Jonathan’s from her. He patted the bench beside him. “Sit. This will take a few minutes.”

“Wait. I want to get something. But go ahead and set things up.”

She hurried up the stairs.

A few minutes later, she returned carrying her scrapbook.

“What’s that for?” Jessie asked.

“We need a place to hide those keys. I mean we’ll also keep them in a safe deposit box, or even two, but this will be handier.”

“If it works.” He took the strip of paper from his pocket. “You think that’s what he was trying to say, ‘Tell Ethel the secret is with Davie?’”