When Luke met Robbie, he’d been able to see that Robbie had the capacity to conceal. He didn’t see that here. Rosco seemed like someone’s trustworthy grandfather, which was disturbing, seeing as how the disciplinary actions against Rosco called his trustworthiness into question.

Luke put more pressure on Rosco, asking him questions about the mission of his one-man firm and the level of confidentiality Luke could expect.

Rosco showed no sign of agitation as he patiently fielded Luke’s questions.

Rosco might be a good man who’d made a few mistakes over the course of his career. Or he might be an excellent actor . . . Santa Claus on the outside, a snake on the inside.

Either way, this meeting had not brought Luke the clarity he’d wanted.

When Finley arrived home from work the following evening, she discovered a package stuffed into her mailbox. She retrieved scissors from her desk and cut the top of the envelope off. Brothers: Twenty-Five Stories About the Ties That Bind slid into her hand.

For the next two hours, she interrupted her power reading only to heat leftovers for dinner and to give Sally and Dudley the hedgehog their evening play session. Every time she encountered a reference or word or detail that reminded her of her father, she noted it with a highlighter and placed a strip of paper between the pages to mark it.

The beautiful stories examined many different facets of brotherhood, confirming her initial impression that this was a book her father would have enjoyed.

However, reading it had not illuminated her next step. At no point had she experienced a spark of rightness like when she’d seen the song lyrics at the train depot museum.

It could be that any old copy of Brothers would not do. Perhaps only the copy that had once belonged to the Misty River Library would provide the next clue.

In which case, her father’s final treasure hunt would inevitably end here.

I read the entire book, and none of the potential clues I found stood out with any significance,” Finley said to Luke the next day over lunch.

The two of them occupied a table in the corner of Sugar Maple Kitchen. He’d agreed to share lunch with her here because this setting, away from Furry Tails, gave them a degree of privacy.

She savored the taste of her salad—spinach, currants, green apple, and walnuts. “I’ve been pondering the places in the book I marked, but honestly, it feels like a reach to call any of them clues.”

Her feelings toward Luke were thorny, thanks to his rejection of her. Since the Valentine’s party, she’d been having a hard time falling asleep at night. And then every morning when she woke up and remembered the state of things between herself and Luke, disappointment washed over her.