Free The Lost Treasure of Tuckernuck by Emily Fairlie

say hi. I’ve got a thing. At the library. You know.”
    â€œOh, sure, okay,” Kimmy said. “Well, come back soon, okay?”
    â€œYeah, oka—”
    â€œBye! Call me!” Kimmy was racing back up the stairs with Steffi and Kendra before Laurie had even finished her sentence.
    Mrs. Baranski patted her awkwardly on the shoulder and held the door open for her. “Come back soon, hon, okay? She’s just making new friends.”
    â€œYeah.” Laurie headed out onto the stoop. “Sure I will.”
    â€œSo basically, we both found out the exact same things about Homer,” Laurie said on Monday. She’d headed to the library after the fiasco at Kimmy’s house, because the last thing she wanted to do was have to explain why she was back so soon. Sure, it would’ve been tangible proof how Tuckernuck was ruining her life, but she just wasn’t ready to look like that much of a loser yet, even to her mom.
    At least Bud seemed happy to see her. They’d waited until the coast was clear in the English hall and then hurried over to the bust of Homer. “Ancient Greek poet, Odyssey , Iliad , blah blah blah. Big bunch of nothing.”
    She glared at the creepy eyes of the bust. “We’re missing something big here.”
    Bud looked at his notes. “I don’t know what it could be. Maybe you’re right and we’re wrong about this whole thing? Maybe there’s something else called Homer. Maybe the cat’s grave or something?”
    Laurie shook her head. “That can’t be it. Miss Lucille said they acted all weird about the bust, remember? This has to be right.”
    â€œYeah, but I thought there’d be another note and letter. You know, like last time.” Bud kicked at some kid’s lost multiple-choice test on the floor.
    â€œYeah, me too.” Laurie ran a finger along the edge of Homer’s head. “But I guess she couldn’t do that every time. It’s too obvious.”
    â€œI guess.” Bud stared at the bust of Homer again and the elaborate decorated base. He frowned. “Weird. That doesn’t make sense. Hey, Laurie …”
    He glanced over at her, but Laurie didn’t seem to be paying attention to him. She was squinching up her face and doing the thousand-mile stare at Homer. Bud decided he’d work it out in his head before he called her back from dreamland or wherever she was.
    â€œHey, Bud, does that look like a big A to you?” she said finally.
    â€œWhat? Where?” Bud said distractedly. He’d really felt like he was on to something, and Laurie was messing up his train of thought.
    â€œRight there.” Laurie pointed at the diagonal lines behind the bust. “It looks like a big A, right behind him. Don’t you think?”
    Bud looked at the lines behind the bust of Homer and felt like smacking himself on the head. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it right away. It was definitely a huge A carved into the nook behind Homer.
    â€œBut that doesn’t make any sense. Why would you put a big A behind him? Because he’s Greek? And he’s the alpha or something?” That didn’t really sound right to Bud, though. “It must be there for a reason.”
    â€œWait, do you think …” Laurie dug around in her pocket and pulled out the wooden D from the Hilda frame. She held it up in front of Homer and smirked. “See—it’s the same type of letter.” Laurie turned to Bud happily. “It matches! It’s part of the clue!”
    Bud nodded. The D and the A were both the same stylized kind of letter. It was all coming together. “I think you’re right. Why else would there be a big A there?” Bud took a step back to take in the whole scene: the bust, the nook, the base, everything. And then it all clicked.
    He tried to fight the excitement rising in his chest. He didn’t want to come off like a