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When Blake and Megan returned home, they were energized. The trip to Selma had been both fun and informative.

“That was so helpful, I think we may need to take a few more trips,” Megan said with a big smile.

“I agree,” Blake said. “But where should we go?”

“Are you ready for our next clue, Inspector?” she said.

“Can hardly wait, but can we eat first? The food on the plane was . . . well, you know.”

“I’ll set a card table in the basement. We can have a working dinner.” Megan smiled.

“Where are the kids?” Blake asked.

“Kristen is studying with Becky, and Clint was going to a movie after his team finishes practice.”

When the two entered the basement, Blake was once again struck by the enormity of their project. The wall looked like something you would see on the big screen. It was ten feet wide and almost six feet high. He and Megan had reviewed every scrap of paper. Some were nothing more than fragments—receipts from shops and restaurants, random names and numbers. Thankfully, the color coding helped some. And the red circles might turn out to be important clues. The first circle had tipped the scales toward Selma—based on how informative that trip had been, they would pay special attention to the others.

All the articles, photos, maps, and notes had been organized into groups—five in all. Actually, four plus a very small fifth category with just one small note. Then, there was the bonus pool—not really a category at all, but it contained the items about which Blake and Megan had no idea.

The four main categories were separated by colored yarn—a technique Megan copied from a detective novel. The colors added a nice sense of whimsy to the board.

Above one column, Megan wrote the word Connection, based on their insights from Selma. This new clarity also allowed her to move several items into this column. Hopefully, additional trips would help them sort more of the material.

“Incredible!” Blake said. “This represents years of my dad’s life and leadership. In some ways, I feel like I have the opportunity to spend time with him again.”

“I know.” Megan took Blake’s hand while they stood there staring at the board.

“Let’s eat,” Blake said.

Megan turned and made a grand gesture toward the card table with its checkered cloth and a box of pizza unceremoniously placed in the center. “I had pizza delivered!”

As they sat on folding chairs eating their pizza, Blake looked at the big board and asked, “What’s next?”

“We have some choices . . . Where do you want to go first: Wisconsin, Italy, or Greece?”

“Slow down . . . seriously?” Blake said with a chuckle. “Is this a thinly veiled attempt to take a vacation?”

“No! But that appears to be what your dad did with you guys. Was it so bad?”

This represents years of my dad’s life and leadership. In some ways, I feel like I have the opportunity to spend time with him again.

“It wasn’t bad—it was a little weird. Other kids went to the beach . . . a trip to Selma needed more explanation than I could offer my friends as a child,” Blake laughed.

“Well, we don’t have to take the kids, but we are probably going to need to travel,” Megan suggested.

“What led you to this conclusion?”

“Interestingly enough, your dad did not include any category labels or titles. But the combination of the color coding and the red circles does suggest several destinations. Here’s the bottom line: There is only one place circled in each group. And in the case of Pella, it’s actually circled on a map.”

“Where’s Pella?” Blake asked.

“Greece,” Megan said.

“Only four circles in all this stuff?”

“Well, not exactly. There is a fifth circle, and it’s a true mystery.”

“Like the rest of this is not . . .”

“I hear you, but do you see the sparsely populated fifth column on the board?”

“Yeah, I was going to ask you about that. It only contains a small scrap of paper—no color to help place it, just a red circle . . . with an exclamation mark. Remind me, what’s on the paper?”

“I’m not sure exactly. The letters B O B and some numbers—maybe a phone number, maybe a partial address, I don’t know,” Megan said.

“That’s really cryptic; I like putting it in its own category. We can label that column ‘Strange.’”

“Call it whatever you like for now; where do you want to go next? Do you agree we should travel?” The truth was, Megan loved to travel, but between their schedules and the kids, opportunities had been limited for the last few years.

“Where do we go?” Blake asked.

“I told you already—you’ve got to keep up.” This jab came with a big grin. “We have three choices: Wisconsin, Italy, or Greece.”

“I thought you were kidding.”

“Nope—dead serious.”

“What are we looking for—exactly?” Blake asked politely.

“The same thing we were looking for in Selma—clues, insights, ideas, anything to point to our bigger question: How do we help people care more? How do we raise their level of engagement?

“Now, back to the plan,” Megan continued. “I suggest we go to Europe first. After we return, we can do a short trip to Wisconsin.”

“Green Bay, I hope,” Blake said. “I’ve always wanted to go to a game there.”

“I’ll tell you more later,” Megan teased.

The next part of the conversation centered on exactly where they would go and whom they would try to meet on their European tour. Admittedly, the clues were thin for both of these trips, but at least they could have some time away. They decided this would be an adults-only trip. Blake would call his mom about helping with the kids.

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