Time to go.
She stood up, took a deep breath, and hefted her bag over her shoulder. Outside, Theresa was waiting for her. She’d volunteered to drive her to the airport. Lucy laughed when she came out of the house and saw Theresa’s old beige Camry decorated with a sign that read, Clock Island or bust!
“You’re nuts,” Lucy said as Theresa took her suitcase and put it in the trunk. She had to move some blue and gold streamers out of the way to get it in.
“My kids wanted to do it for you. Don’t blame me,” Theresa said.
Lucy got in the passenger side.
“Did you get any sleep last night?” Theresa said, pulling away from the curb.
“Two hours maybe.”
“Excited or scared?”
“Excited for me. Scared for Christopher.”
“He’ll be fine,” Theresa said. “I’ll keep an eye on him. He’ll miss you like crazy, but he’s out of his mind with excitement. He knows you’ll win the book.”
Lucy shook her head. “I don’t even know what we’ll be doing on the island. They didn’t tell me anything about the game. All I know is that a car will pick me up at the Portland Jetport, and a boat will take me to the island. They said to pack for five days, and that’s it.”
“Very mysterious. You sure this isn’t a cult thing?” Theresa winked at her.
“I promise I won’t join any cults or buy any time-shares.”
“Will you have time to see friends in town?”
“Not really. I think I’ll just be on Clock Island until the game’s over. Then straight back here.”
“Good.”
Lucy gave Theresa a look. “I wasn’t going to see Sean anyway. You couldn’t pay me enough to see him.”
“Just checking. I know you left all your stuff at his place when you moved out. If you were thinking it might be worth it—”
“It’s not worth it, I know.” More than once, Lucy had contemplated calling Sean, asking him to ship her stuff to her. She could have used the Jimmy Choo heels he’d bought her. She would have pawned them.
“Good girl. Nobody needs money that bad. And if you do, ask Jack Masterson for it. This crazy contest sent his books back onto the bestseller lists. That was probably the plan.”
“Maybe,” Lucy said, although the Jack Masterson she’d met didn’t seem all that interested in money or bestseller lists. If he was, why hadn’t he published a single book for the past six years?
Lucy looked around. They should have been on the highway to the airport already.
“Are you sure this is the way to the airport?”
“One quick stop first.”
They had time, so Lucy wasn’t worried. She stared out the window, trying to calm her nerves. Eyes on the prize. She needed to focus. Winning wouldn’t be easy. Three days ago she’d been a guest—via satellite—on the Today show. They’d interviewed all the contestants, asking them to tell the story of how they’d run away to the island and why.
Andre Watkins had told the story of being the target of racist bullying at his New England prep school. He ran away during a school field trip. Jack called Andre’s parents, he said, and told them there was no point sending him to a fancy school if it destroyed his love of learning. He got to go home to a school where he felt safe, and Jack wrote the letter of recommendation that helped Andre get into Harvard. Now he was a successful lawyer.
Melanie Evans, the other woman playing the game, talked about moving to a new town, new school, not having any friends. Jack had sent copies of his books to all her classmates with a note in them that they were gifts from him and his dear friend Melanie. She’d been the most popular girl in the school after that, and now she owned her own children’s bookstore.
Dr. Dustin Gardner had revealed he’d been scared to come out to his parents. Jack had encouraged him to be honest with them but promised that if they didn’t take it well, they’d be answering to him. Having his favorite writer in the world on his side had given him the courage to be his real self. And Jack had been right. His parents had struggled at first but eventually they’d come around and were his biggest supporters. When the talk show hosts asked him what he’d do if he won the book, he said he’d sell it to pay off his student loans. Then he asked if there were any bidders. That got a big laugh.
When it was her turn, Lucy fudged the truth a little. She said she’d only wanted to be Jack Masterson’s sidekick. He’d joked in a letter about how he’d needed one, and she planned to apply for the job. The part about her parents neglecting her and her sister’s medical issues seemed too depressing to talk about on morning television.
“You’re too quiet, baby girl. You okay?” Theresa asked, interrupting her daydreaming.
“Fine, fine. Just nervous. Thanks, by the way.”
Theresa waved her hand dismissively. “It’s just a ride to the airport.”
“No, I mean, thank you for talking me out of telling Christopher.”
Theresa reached out and squeezed Lucy’s hand. “You’re going to win, and you’re going to be his mother. I refuse to believe anything else.”
“It’s way more likely I’ll lose.”
“Fine, then steal some of Masterson’s silverware while you’re there. We’ll sell it on eBay when you get back. Call it plan B.”
“Great idea.”
“Seriously, though, while you’re back in Maine,” Theresa said, wagging her finger at Lucy, “I want you to think about a real plan B, okay? I don’t care if it’s a new job or guilt-tripping your sister into writing you a check, but it’s time to make it happen. All right? For Christopher?”
A new job meant she wouldn’t be able to tutor Christopher after school. And she couldn’t even text her sister without wanting to vomit, much less ask her for money. Not a chance.
“Okay. I’ll think of something.”
“I know you will.” Theresa pulled into the driveway of a small bungalow with overgrown shrubs in the front yard. Where on earth were they?
The house’s front door opened, and Christopher burst out in a run toward the car.
Lucy looked at Theresa.
“You’re welcome,” she said.
Lucy got out and grabbed him in a hug, spinning him.
“Lucy, I get to go with you to the airport. Mrs. Bailey said so. I even get to be late to school!”
“That’s amazing. Let’s go!” She got into the back seat of the car with Christopher and made sure he was buckled in correctly as Theresa pulled out of the driveway.
“Great surprise.” Lucy squeezed Theresa’s shoulder.
“Thought you needed the moral support.”
“I’m your morals support, Lucy,” Christopher said.
“My morals need a lot of supporting.”
The entire way to the airport, Christopher and Theresa talked about all his favorite Clock Island books—The Ghost Machine, Skulls & Skullduggery, and especially The Secret of Clock Island.
“Why is that one so good?” Theresa asked.
“That’s the one where the Mastermind adopted a girl who came to the island. She gets to live there with him forever.”