Free Dead Man's Switch by Sigmund Brouwer Page B

have it if I gave it to you for a while if you asked for it.”
    â€œWe won’t keep it long,” King said, reaching for it. He thought the urgency inside him should have eased, now that they had figured out the next step along the path that Blake had prepared for them before drowning. But it was the opposite. Each step might be one step closer to King learning something he didn’t want to learn about his dad. Besides, holding the stuffed dog didn’t exactly give him any ideaof what the remote control was for. Maybe something hidden inside the stuffing?
    King turned it over, looking for a seam or stitching that might show that Blake had hidden something inside the stuffed dog. He shouldn’t have done it in front of Samantha, but the urgency seemed to be at a boil.
    Maybe the remote control would make the dog move. Or make something inside the dog beep to let him know it was there.
    King pulled the remote control from his pocket, pointed, and clicked.
    â€œWhere’s the nearest fire hydrant?” It was Blake’s voice coming from the tiny speaker that hung from the dog’s collar.
    â€œCool,” Samantha said. “How’d you do that?”

CHAPTER 18
    â€œI’ve never been in an airplane,” King told Johnson. “And I’ve never admitted that to anyone. Except you. Now.”
    â€œNo biggie,” Johnson said. “I won’t tell anyone.”
    They were on the front porch at King’s house. Steady rain dripping on the overhang above. But feeling no chill. The evening was warm.
    â€œThat’s not my point,” King said. “It’s not a big deal that I haven’t been on an airplane. Lots of kids haven’t been on airplanes. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
    â€œYet you’ve kept this a dark secret.”
    â€œNot dark. Just a secret. Because of how bad I want to be in an airplane. I’ve been on this island my entire life. Trips sometimes to Seattle, but that’s it. Like my parents cocooned me here. I’m busting to break out.”
    â€œGoing to get all sentimental here, like you want wings?” Johnson asked. “Become a beautiful butterfly?”
    â€œI think this is a good example of why guys rarely share feelings,” King said.
    â€œMy point too. See how I managed to end the conversation? Now we don’t have to share feelings.”
    â€œSo let me tell you why I was thinking about airplanes,” King told him. He was talking a lot and knew why. They were waiting for the iPhone to ping. The one on the table between them. Blake’s iPhone. King didn’t like the silence.
    â€œNot because you feel like singing a ballad about finding your true self someday?”
    â€œ Sky Mall magazine. You heard of it? It’s on airplanes. People can shop while they’re flying.”
    â€œWhen I was little,” Johnson said in a dreamy voice, “I wanted to be a ballerina...”
    â€œYou made your point already with the butterfly thing.”
    â€œâ€¦until I found out you had to be a girl to be a ballerina.”
    King snorted. “Go ahead and tell people I haven’t been on an airplane. It will be worth the trade. Because I’m going to love telling them about ballerinas.”
    â€œDreams are fragile,” Johnson answered.
    King was impressed that he couldn’t tell if Johnson was serious or not.
    â€œSo I’m thinking,” King said. “Blake got his ideas from a Sky Mall magazine.”
    This snapped Johnson into full attention. He glanced at the iPhone and then back to King.
    â€œSo when I was googling invisible ink and a special flashlight, it took me to the Sky Mall website. Guess what. That’s where I had seen Measles before. Sky Mall sells stuffed dogs with a voice recorder and remote. You can record anything you want.”
    â€œLike ‘Where’s the nearest fire hydrant?’ and ‘Don’t eat yellow