“Who is it?” Rosie asked in a hushed voice.
“I don’t know,” Henry said. “I told you to bring the camcorder because I thought we might want to get whatever happens next on record.”
“Good thinking,” Rosie said.
“No one in town is missing,” Cam said.
“It could be a really old skeleton. The human body decomposes at different rates, but it takes at least eight years to become a skeleton,” Henry said. “Sometimes scientists use bugs to determine the decomposition rate.”
“Gross,” Cam said, shuddering.
Rosie leaned in close, nodding her head at one of the nearby workers. “We should try to pick someone off to question. That one in the blue hat looks like he might crack under pressure.” Instantly, Rosie pictured a long trench coat wrapped around her while she peppered the man with questions. The camera focused on her face in a classic over-the-shoulder shot.
“They aren’t going to tell us anything,” Cam said.
Rosie held up her camcorder. “We could say we’re from a news station like that time we told the school crossing guard we were doing an interview for the Gazette to find out why the carpool lane closed.”
Cam raised her eyebrows. “That got us nowhere, remember? The crossing guard threatened to report us to Principal Bradley. You know I’m usually up for your plans—”
“And you always make them better,” Rosie added.
“Not this time, though. I don’t think we should mess around with a skeleton. We’re not in a mystery movie,” Cam said.
“Obviously,” Rosie said, fumbling with the strap of her camcorder bag. “I guess I should save my battery life anyway.”
“I’m sure Mayor Grant will tell us what’s going on any minute. You know he can’t go long without making announcements,” Henry said.
The Grants did abide by declarations. When Mayor Grant’s son, Billy, proposed, he spray-painted MARRY ME, LINDA right across the middle of the grass in River Bend Park. He called it a romantic gesture. Sheriff Parker called it vandalism. It took three weeks to grow out.
All at once the voices in the crowd dimmed. Sheriff Parker stepped into the clearing and headed straight for Mayor Grant. Rosie glared at him, remembering how he’d yelled at her last week.
Sheriff Parker and Mayor Grant huddled together. Piles of gray brick and white buckets of mortar were strewn around the grass. The tarp-covered object seemed to have a huge bull’s-eye target on it, and the eyes of everyone in the park were the arrows.
Rosie got out her camcorder and held it up, focusing on the activity around the well. She didn’t care what Cam said. The mysterious tarp and possible skeleton felt like the beginning of a suspense film like Rear Window.
“Rosie Flynn!” Sheriff Parker barked from the front of the crowd.
Rosie lowered her camera, her cheeks warming as everyone’s eyes swiveled in her direction. “Y-yes, sir.”
“Put that camcorder down. This is not the time for that,” Sheriff Parker yelled, running a hand over his head and glancing down at the tarp.
“Last I checked it was a free country,” Rosie whispered to Henry and Cam, but she shut the camcorder off anyway.
“He sure is touchy today,” Henry said, giving Rosie a sympathetic look.
“Don’t worry about him. He’s a jerk,” Cam hissed, and glared at anyone still looking at Rosie. “He should be flattered that someone talented wants to film him anyway.”
Rosie thrust the camcorder into her bag, wishing she could hide under the tarp herself. Sheriff Parker had managed to embarrass her in front of half the town. She wasn’t even doing anything wrong!
Mayor Grant stepped forward. “Folks, I’m sorry, but Sheriff Parker wants y’all to clear out of here. The boys from the police department need some space.”
“Why do we gotta leave?” Shane Rodgers called out. “This park is public property.”
“This park is a crime scene,” Sheriff Parker snapped.
“Now, I wouldn’t call it a crime scene. We found one dead body,” Mayor Grant said.
The crowd gasped.
“But it’s a very old body,” Mayor Grant said hastily.
“We deserve to know about a dead body in our town,” Frank Rodgers said.
“We can’t discuss any details right now,” Sheriff Parker said, frowning at Mayor Grant.
Donna Davis pulled her two daughters close. “Was there an actual murder in Glimmer Creek or not? I don’t want my girls out in public when there’s a killer on the loose.”
Mayor Grant gave Sheriff Parker an apologetic look. “Donna, there is nothing to worry about. It just so happens we found a journal on the body. It sustained some water damage, but it had the name of the deceased engraved inside so we can identify the body, and I can say for certain that any murderer—not that I’m saying this was a murder, mind you—but any alleged murderer is long dead.”
Sheriff Parker leaned over and began whispering furiously in Mayor Grant’s ear. Mayor Grant waved him off and continued. “Best if everyone hears it from me first. The body belongs to Lonnie Garrett. And before you ask, there was no gold in the well. Trust me, we looked.”
The crowd erupted. People shouted out questions. Sheriff Parker tilted his head up to the sky, looking as if he wanted to throw Mayor Grant down the well. Rosie, Henry, and Cam all stared at each other, their eyes locked and sparking.
“I cannot believe this,” Rosie said, pulling them away from the crowd. “Mama and I were talking about Lonnie Garrett last week. He’s the man who stole the train treasure a hundred years ago.”
“I bet everyone with a metal detector starts searching the woods first thing tomorrow,” Cam said.
Henry paced beside them, his face set and pale. He did this whenever he was thinking about a mission for the Lego robotics club or studying for a big test in his advanced classes.
“Henry?” Cam asked. “What’s going on?”
“I’m just—just thinking,” Henry said, not ceasing the walking back and forth.
“About?” Rosie asked.
“Treasure.” Henry stilled, and his face lit up in a wide smile. “If Lonnie Garrett’s body is here, the legend is true. The train treasure really is in Glimmer Creek. We should be the ones to find it.”
“You want us to find it,” Rosie said slowly.
“Why not? We have as much of a chance as anyone,” Henry said.
“Except we’re twelve, and we have no clues,” Cam said.
“And we’re in school all day. This isn’t an Indiana Jones movie.” Rosie eyed Henry. “It’s not like you to go on a treasure hunt. What’s going on?”
Henry hesitated. “Well, I—I bet I can get a ton of extra credit for American History if I find the treasure. It’s a historically significant artifact, and um, if I present it to the class, Mrs. Collier will probably give me an A-plus for the whole quarter.”
Cam narrowed her eyes. “You already have straight As.”
Henry blinked rapidly. “Yes, but I bet it would also get me into college. Colleges are really competitive these days, and a treasure hunter qualification would help me stand out from the pack. Besides, think about what we could do with all that money. I’m dying for a new … telescope.” He looked from Cam to Rosie, his expression open and hopeful. “Come on, this could be our greatest adventure, even better than when we climbed Devil’s Leap last summer.”