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“Interesting,” Khizar murmured

Jacqui looked over his shoulder at the GPS unit “We’re here?”

“Looks like it Actually, I think the bench is sitting right on it”

They walked over to take a closer look at the bench On one of the wooden slats backing the bench, Jacqui could see written words She sat down on the bench and traced the letters, reading the words out loud:

“What matters most is always under the surface”

“I wonder what it htfully

Khizar tapped her on the shoulder and motioned for her to join hiasped as she read the metal plaque fixed on the back of the bench Donated by William Bauer

“Your great-uncle donated this bench,” Khizar said “Hethis quote here”

Jacqui sloalked around the bench again, thinking She looked for other clues

“Under the surface…maybe under the bench?” she mused

Khizar knelt and ran his hand under the wooden seat, and then over the bench legs for good measure He shook his head

“I don’t feel anything unusual,” he said, standing again

Jacqui crossed her ar in the whole little area They’d passed a few other spots on the trail where the path widened, or even made place for people to stop and rest At each of the out and then narrowing back into the trail

But here, the trail stayed narrow The bench was set on top of forest dirt, not paved path

“What if it’s buried under the bench?”

Khizar looked at her, and then at the area around the bench Jacqui raised her eyebrows at hied

“We’re going to need a shovel,” she said

They made their way back to the car and drove into the nearest town Jacqui spotted a hardware store, so Khizar ran in to buy a shovel He tossed it in the back of the SUV

When he climbed back into the vehicle, Jacqui looked at her phone

“Hey, let’s grab lunch while we’re in town We don’t kno long it will take us to dig up whatever’s hidden back on the trail”