Oak and Dagger Read Online Free Page B

about. She’s always going on and on about finding so-called priceless artifacts here and there. She rarely makes any sense.”
    â€œI agree,” Lorenzo said. “She’s nuts.”
    â€œExactly.” Gordon draped the towel over his shoulder. “Now back to the matter at hand. Casey, what happened? How did you manage to locate the planting site over an irrigation line?”
    â€œI don’t know! I had selected the site because, according to my research, it was where Thomas Jefferson had originally planted an allée of little-leaf lindens along a carriage path.” Gordon already knew this. He liked the idea of re-creating the historic planting one commemorative tree at a time. “I swear there wasn’t anything on the schematic to indicate an irrigation line would be there.” Even though I was wet and cold, I went straight to the large flat metal filing cabinet where the schematics and plans for the utilities in the gardens were kept and yanked open the drawer. The plans were right where I’d filed them.
    Gordon took the schematic for the South Lawn and laid it out on Lorenzo’s large wooden drafting table.
    I pointed to the tiny pencil X-marks on the schematic I’d drawn to denote where, according to my research, Jefferson had planted the carriage path’s allée of little-leaf lindens. “See. There are no irrigation lines indicated anywhere within the planting area.”
    â€œThis schematic has to be thirty years old,” Gordon said, studying the paper. “See here? And here? All of this predates the most recent upgrades to the irrigation system.”
    â€œIt’s the only schematic in the drawer,” Lorenzo said after digging through the rest of the plans filed there.
    â€œAre you sure you didn’t misplace the current utility schematic?” Gordon asked. He glanced in the direction of my desk piled high with paperwork.
    â€œYes, I’m sure. I didn’t lose anything.” The large-scale and woefully out-of-date schematic seemed to be laughing at me from the drafting table. “That was the only one available.”
    â€œAre you sure?” Gordon asked again.
    My heart quailed to see him frowning at me like that. My lovable supervisor had supported me time and again. Even when all the facts seemed to indicate I was wrong, he had stood up for me. I considered him more than a friend. He was fast becoming as dear to me as family. I loved him as a daughter should love her father. I didn’t want to let him down.
But what could I say?
    I was disappointed in myself.
    Not because I’d misfiled the schematic for the South Lawn, because I hadn’t. It hadn’t been there for my use. Perhaps Frida’s rants weren’t as crazy as we’d all thought.
    What if there was a thief—or saboteur—in the White House?
    Whoever had sent me that ominous “die” text message might have also taken the schematic in an effort to disrupt the President’s commemorative tree planting.
    â€œYes, Gordon,” I said, “you’re looking at the only schematic I could find in that drawer.”
    â€œAh, it’s a mystery for you to solve.” Gordon rubbed his hands together while an excited gleam brightened his blue eyes. “Perhaps I can join you on this caper.”
    I’d been a bad influence on him. He was starting to enjoy the trouble that seemed to find me. “I like my mysteries in fiction. Not in real life. I’ve turned over a new leaf, remember?”
    â€œBut we can call it the case of the missing paperwork,” he said with a toothy grin. The grin faded as he observed my messy desk again.
    I crossed the room and scooped up a pile of paperwork from my desk; not that it made a dent in the disorganization. It just made the papers in my arms as soggy as I was.
    â€œWith a little diligent work, I’m sure you’ll figure out what happened.” Gordon patted my arm.