"Roger Redbeard was hanging around outside your house?" Henry asked William. "Why?"
"I don't know. I only saw him for a second." William looked around.
"Hey, where's everybody else?"
"I think they're over there." Cole pointed.
William took a few steps and then paused. "Aren't you guys coming?"
"We'll be there in a minute," Henry said.
After William left, Cole shrugged. "That's weird," he said.
"Why is Roger hanging around William's house? Is he looking for more booty?"
"Maybe." Henry glanced at the general store.
"Come on, let's go inside and ask if Roger was really here earlier.
Maybe he found that cup on the beach and used it for his alibi."
Henry and Cole hurried into the general store.
A woman was behind the cash register.
She had a friendly smile and hair the same color as Anna's.
"Hello, boys," she greeted them. "I haven't seen you around here before.
Are you William's new friends from Belltown?"
Henry guessed that the woman was Anna's mother.
He also guessed that Anna had told her about their visit.
"Yes, we are," he told her.
"Welcome to Sea Cove," Anna's mother said.
"I hope you're enjoying the treasure hunt."
"It's great," Cole said.
"We were wondering something," Henry added.
"Did a man named Roger Redbeard come in here a little while ago?"
"Roger?" Anna's mom smiled. "Why yes. He did come in earlier today."
Just then another customer came toward the register.
Henry and Cole stepped away to talk.
"I guess Roger does have a good alibi after all," Cole said.
"If he was here earlier, he couldn't have taken those tickets."
"Yeah." Henry bit his lip.
If Roger hadn't done it, that meant one of their friends was the thief. "Let's go."
"Hold on." Cole stepped toward a shelf.
"Seeing that gum earlier made me want some. I think I'll buy some now."
He grabbed a pack of cherry gum from the shelf.
Henry and Cole waited for the other customer to finish.
Then they stepped up to the counter again.
Cole set down his pack of cherry gum.
"Do you need anything else, boys?" Anna's mom asked as she rang up the sale.
Cole handed over a dollar. "No, thanks."
Henry was staring at the gum, still thinking about what William had just told them about seeing Roger again.
Something didn't seem quite right about Roger's story.
Why did they keep seeing him everywhere?
"Excuse me," Henry said to Anna's mom. "Is Anna's sister around?"
If Roger had really seen Anna's sister on the beach, maybe she'd seen him too.
Or maybe she'd seen something else suspicious while she was out jogging.
Anna's mom looked surprised. "Do you mean Josie?" she said.
"She's not here right now.
She's spending the whole weekend with friends out of town."
"Really?" Henry said. "Is that Anna's only sister?"
Anna's mom laughed.
"Yes. And trust me, two kids in one family is plenty!" she said with a wink.
"Okay, thanks." Henry wandered toward the door along with Cole, still thinking hard.
Had Roger lied about seeing "the Jones girl" on the beach?
Or was something else going on?
He kept thinking as he and Cole left the general store.
"We'd better find the others," Cole said.
"Uh-huh." Henry didn't say anything else.
He just kept thinking as he followed Cole across the street.
He thought about everything that had happened so far, and everything everyone had said all day.
Someone was lying. And Henry was starting to figure out who it might be . . .
Cole and Henry found the others standing at the edge of a small but pretty park.
"We've been looking all over for you!" Maggie cried when she spotted them.
"Yeah," Luke added. "We think we know where the next booty is hidden."
Maggie nodded and pointed.
"We're pretty sure it's in the old bandstand over there."
"What are we waiting for?" Cole exclaimed. "Let's go!"
"Wait," Henry spoke up before they could rush off.
"First I need to ask Luke something.
Remember when you and Nathan found the treasure in the tide pool and were waiting for the rest of us?"
"Yeah," Luke said. "So?"
"So exactly when did William get there?" Henry asked.
William frowned. "I just told you guys I didn't take those tickets!" he cried.
"I thought you believed me!"
"Don't worry, I do believe you," Henry assured him.
He continued to look at Luke. "Well?"
Luke shrugged. "Actually, William was already there when Nathan and I found the tide pool."
Nathan nodded. "Yeah."
"Do you have a theory, Henry?" Maggie demanded.
"Did William steal those tickets? Or was it Nathan and Luke?"
"No, it wasn't any of them," Henry replied. "It was Anna."