|
|
|
“I don’t know who is doing this to us but he is definitely insane”– Lee said shaking his head.
“Should I be worried that I know the answer straight away?” Ryan asked.
“It might be a slight cause for concern. But it seems that we need the answer to stay alive. Then I would suggest that’s a concern we can put on the back burner for now”– Shannon replied.
Ryan allowed himself a little chuckle at Shannon’s comment and her tone. “Well the answer is Napoleon. The quarter past six is a reference to the twenty four hour clock. That would be 1815, the year Napoleon lost his final battle, at Waterloo. And I think he actually was first given command of the French army in Italy.”
“That’s true, he did start in Italy.” Lori hadn’t wasted all those hours in a library.
None of them could find a book about Napoleon. Ryan had asked at the counter and the lady said they had none.
“It’s got to be Napoleon though. It all makes too much sense”– Ryan said to the other three as they all gathered outside the library once again.
“Yeah we must be missing something”– Shannon agreed.
“He never said all the clues would be in the library”– Lee pointed out.
“Any chance this town has a Museum?” Lori wondered.
“I’m just starting to think that it might well have”– Ryan got his enthusiasm back. And he went back inside the library to ask whether the town had a Museum. Indeed it had. And it was just a short walk from the library.
Heading straight for the military room of the Museum the four of them quickly found a section on Napoleon, with pictures and a gun used in that period. On the floor directly below a picture there was a folded up piece of paper and that turned out to be the next clue.
“This place could so easily be associated with Bunbury. And if the song about it is true, then it might explain why we can’t see the moon during the day.” Lori took a turn in reading out a clue. And they all headed back out of the Museum.
“Oh wow, that Bunbury thing is really annoying me”– Ryan said as the all got outside. “It’s nagging away at me, I know I know that reference.”
“Well its not striking a chord with me at all”– Lori conceded and Shannon and Lee looked blankly and shook their heads to show they too had no inkling about the word Bunbury.
“How about we leave Ryan to his nagging Bunbury. And us three, work on the song”– Shannon suggested. Then Lori and Lee joined her on one bench whilst Ryan paced around.
“So why can’t we see the moon during the day?” Lee thought out loud.
“Well not wishing to state the obvious, but because it’s on the other side of the planet”– Lori said.
“Doesn’t sound like much of a song title to me”– Lee replied.
“Me neither”– Lori agreed.
“We’re thinking about this too logically, remember this clues have been set by a crazy person. So perhaps we have to think of some mad reasons why we can’t see the moon during the day”– Shannon said.
“That’s interesting, because years ago they always maintained that the moon had a lot to do with insanity”– Lori said.
“Interesting point honey but that’s not really where I was going with the crazy idea.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I do tend to ramble on about interesting facts. You have my permission to tell me to shut up anytime. By the way, I do realize I can be quite liberal with the term interesting.”
“Horse race!” Ryan shouted out as he ran over to the other three.
“Derby, Epsom, or probably Kentucky in this case”– his excitement continued.
“Explanation anytime soon?” Shannon wondered.
“Sorry. The thing is the Derby started when two rich land owner types back in England challenged each other to race their horses to see who had the fastest horse. One of them was Lord Derby, the other Lord Bunbury. To decide what to call the race they tossed a coin. Derby won the toss. Bunbury won the race. I knew being a sports geek, it would be useful one day.”
“Is it me or was that story bordering on interesting, anyway?” Lori wondered with a smile.
“Well, I was certainly happy to hear it”– Lee replied.
“Now all we need is a song about Kentucky”– Shannon added. “Oh wait a minute, Blue Moon of Kentucky.”
“Which would blend into the daytime sky”– Lee said.
“All right team good job”– Lori enthused then all of a sudden her shoulders slumped. And a confused and despondent look went upon her face. Soon enough this look was on everyone’s face.
“We don’t have to drive to Kentucky do we”– Ryan verbalized the thoughts of the group.
“I know this guy has stretched the meaning of the word odd. But sending us to Kentucky does seem very odd”– Shannon agreed.
The four of them slumped down on a bench and started to think.
“Is anybody else hungry?” Lee asked with a hint of a mischievous smile.
“I could eat something, but really don’t think this is the time to be thinking about burgers and fries or whatever you had planned”– Shannon replied.
“Actually I was thinking more of a KFC”– the smile on Lee’s face grew as he gestured across the street.
Virtually simultaneously the other three got on Lee’s wavelength.
“Kentucky Fried Chicken! That’s got to be our Kentucky. Oh, wow! If this guy wasn’t so murderous I’d almost be starting to like him”– Ryan remarked.
“I’m not going to pass judgment on that comment right now”– Shannon gave Ryan a slightly puzzled but still friendly look.
“I do have a tendency to come out with some controversial comments”– Ryan conceded.
In the KFC restaurant they asked a lady behind the counter whether somebody had left a treasure hunt clue. A clue had been left there and the lady was most excited about it, asking them what the treasure was and all sorts of other questions. Sticking to the rules of the game they just told her they weren’t allowed to tell anybody anything about the treasure hunt or they’d be disqualified. This time the piece of paper was in an envelope. And it wasn’t another riddle. It was a map and some directions to where they would find Mick and Rachel.
 |  |  |
|
|
|