Jake sat stunned in the driver's seat after automatically giving the waitress his order. After dropping his bombshell, Phinn begrudgingly suggested they grab a bite to eat at Big Spot, the drive-in diner that first opened in the 1950s. He figured his partner needed time to digest the startling revelation he dropped at the oceanfront. Stopping at one of his favorite places might help.
A former classmate of theirs, the attractive waitress, picked up on Jake's odd mood almost immediately. For once, it fell to Phinn to offer an apology for his friend's social awkwardness, a reverse of their usual protocol. Having known the teens for years, the coed almost flinched in shock at the
Freaky Friday
moment.
"I don't...how can the treasure...why?!" Jake sputtered through his thought process. "You...You have to be wrong!"
"Doubtful. The new theory I came up with late last night is the only possible solution. And I've run nearly every conceivable variation in my head. It's basically Occam's razor. When faced with multiple possibilities that seem increasingly complicated, the simplest solution is likely the answer," Phinn began.
"Lay off the Sherlock talk and give it to me straight. How is this whole treasure hunt fake?" Jake ordered, demanding this all to make sense.
"Look, we've yet to meet anyone who has ever heard of Thornbeard. Stan Gladden isn't our favorite person, but the man knows what's in the historical society. He'd never miss or forget about a treasure map. The same goes for the library staff. Even taking into account that Zelda's been here only six years, Gertrude Sanger has worked at or run the Dillingday for decades. She doesn't forget anything, which we know from past run-ins with her," Phineas listed. "That's not to mention Katie or Amy Maynard at Bentworth. The only person who's claimed to have heard of Thornbeard is Oswald Cozart."
"But he's an author. He has a book about Thornbeard!" Jake pointed out.
"Which I speculate will turn out to be self-published if we start looking into it," the bespectacled sleuth stated confidently.
"Why? Why make up all this?" Jake questioned again. "Did Cozart make up the treasure map?"
"That's a good question. I have a few possibilities for the motive, so we'll need to work on parsing those down to a single one. As for the map? Yes, I believe he did fabricate it. Again, to what end, I'm not precisely sure yet. However, isn't it convenient that the woman we know as Mindy Moon just happened to discover it, while in disguise, the morning after I searched the archives? The same goes for the
Fleetwing
manifest, which was suddenly found in the library in the wrong location," Phinn listed.
"Wait, so Mindy Moon is working with Cozart?" Jake queried. "I mean, she's kinda quirky but also hot. Maybe he's using her. Or one of them is working with Sandy-Brown-Hair-With-Glasses?"
"I suspect her authentic appearance was at the book signing. While Mindy or Cozart may be working separately with Sandy-Brown-Hair-With-Glasses, it makes more sense for all of them to be in on this together. They were likely planted at the beach that morning to ensure somebody noticed the diver. Notice how he loudly drew attention by asking questions, or how her pink hair attracted young men. Damn, we really need to learn his name soon. I'm sick of calling him that," Phinn complained. "However, I believe that the older man with him at the docks, who conveniently dropped a couple of gold doubloons, was Cozart."
"Cozart dropped those doubloons on purpose?"
"Of course. Think of it as seeding a played-out mine with gold to hint at a never-discovered vein. You want to give a little to pull people into the bigger grift," Phinn replied. "Spanish doubloons aren't that hard to come by. He likely purchased a few at a show or convention. I'd doubt a store or auction, as they'd be more likely to keep records. However, he came across them, their appearance worked by sparking more interest. It also helps lend an air of legitimacy to the idea of lost pirate loot."
"But Cozart's not trying to sell investors on a fake mine. What's he going to do? Sell Edgewater? None of this makes any sense!" Jake exclaimed, causing the family in the car next to them to look over.
"That's why our case has moved on from investigating the skeleton diver to Cozart."
"So what the hell was the point of dumping that skeleton on the beach?" Jake challenged.
"To generate interest for whatever con he's running. Consider it the opening act, intended to grab people's attention," Phinn declared. "Still, you were right about one thing. Our diver was truly a phantom."
"What? Don't start claiming it's a ghost, Phinn. I'm confused enough," Jake admitted.
"No, I don't mean phantom in the supernatural sense, but in the manner of an illusion or fraud. Uh, think of it like Star Wars.
The Phantom Menace
was about Palpatine creating a fake conflict to get himself elected chancellor," Phinn explained in terminology that his partner might understand.
"So Cozart wants Mayor Broome's job?"
"No! Cozart wants something big, but not that," Phinn responded. He stopped as the waitress rolled back over with their food.
In between bites of food, Jake peppered Phinn with additional questions. The brainy half of the detective duo could only speculate, but his answers seemed possible. He admitted that their involvement and reputation must have complicated Cozart's plans.
"Yeah, people never see us coming until it's too late," Jake boasted proudly.
"No, Cozart did see us coming eventually. I assume the media mentions of us alerted him to a possible snag in his plans. That's why Mindy was dispatched to bump into you and the guys at Smashburgers. She was likely sent to feel out what we know. However, Kevin's attack threw off her line of questioning. I also think she saw me at the city council meeting and hoped to learn what she failed to get from you," Phinn hypothesized. "Or she sought to keep me away from Cozart. It's obvious that he didn't want to talk to me. Erin caught his fear or need to avoid me."
"I bet the Rattigans wreaking havoc also pissed him off," Jake guessed.
"I don't know. Cozart must have known that this kind of treasure hunt would spark desperation or violence. Gold fever would've been what he wanted. Yet, a pair of teen detectives who are good at butting their way in isn't all that common," Phinn stated with a slight smirk.
While finishing their dinner, Jake's phone buzzed.
"It's Regina!" the stocky athlete exclaimed, suddenly recalling he hadn't asked how she figured into the new theory.
"Don't give away anything. Act like you did yesterday with her," Phinn directed as Jake answered the call. He listened as the terrible actress screamed into her end of the phone.
"What? Somebody broke in again? Did they--They took the diary!"
Phinn rolled his eyes at the predictable event. Of course, Clara Livingston's diary would just happen to get stolen after it was recently discovered. It certainly fit with the poor script vibe in Phinn's mind. When Jake shot his gaze over at his partner, the brainy half gestured to carry on.
"Yeah, he's here with me now. We just finished dinner. Of course, we'll be right over!" Jake hung up and turned toward Phinn. "Regina just came home to find the back door broken again. The upstairs family archive, along with several bedrooms, had been searched. The diary is gone."
