“Yes, sir. Told her I’d never met anybody named Master George, and I hid the letters under the counter before she could see them. Flat out lied to her, and she told me bad things would happen if she ever found I’d a-done it. And done it, I did.”

“So . . .” Tick started, “you quit your job because you were scared of her?”

Norbert looked down at his feet as if ashamed of himself. “You got me all figured out, boy. Poor Norbert Johnson hasn’t been the same since the day I met that golden devil. Quit my job, went on welfare, borrowed money. I been hiding in this house ever since. Only reason I met the tall lady who gave me the letters is because I heard a noise out in the backyard.”

“I thought you said she came out of a graveyard,” Dad said.

“She did. Like I said, back behind my house is an old, old cemetery. Got too old, I reckon, so they built another one closer to downtown.”

“Mothball,” Tick said quietly.

“Huh?” Norbert replied.

“Her name is Mothball. The lady who gave you this letter.” Tick slipped it from his journal and held it in his hand.

Norbert looked perplexed. “Well what in the Sears-and-Roebuck kind of name is that?”

“She said her dad was in a hurry when he named her, something about soldiers trying to kidnap them.”

Norbert did nothing but blink.

“Never mind.” Tick turned to his dad. “Why in the world would she have given him the sixth clue?”

His dad furrowed his brow for a moment, deep in thought. “Well, maybe it’s like I said—I think they wanted us to be proactive and seek out information, not just wait around to find it. Maybe they went back to all the towns they mailed the letters from and gave copies of the clues to the postal workers who would cooperate. They knew if we did some investigating, going to the source would be the most logical step.”

Tick thought for a second. “Dad, I think you nailed it.”

“I’m brilliant, my son. Brilliant.” He winked.

Norbert cleared his throat. “Excuse me for interrupting, folks, but what in the name of Kermit the Frog are you guys a-talking about? You came here asking me questions, but it sounds like you know a lot more than I do.”

Dad leaned over and patted Tick on the shoulder. “My boy here, the one who’s receiving these letters, is trying to figure out the big mystery behind them. We think it was a test of sorts to see if we’d seek you out, which is why you were given the sixth clue to give to us.”

Norbert nodded. “Ah. I see.” He rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders.

“Look,” Tick said. “Do you know anything else about Master George, Mistress Jane, Mothball, anything?”

Norbert shook his head in response.