“That’s where the necklace is,” Shawn said. “You left it there, and a little piece of your soul with it. That’s what was communicating with me.”

For a moment a pleased expression almost appeared on Ellen’s face, but she managed to banish it before it resolved into a smile. “You must think you’re pretty clever,” she said. “Now I’m supposed to write you a check and go off happy?”

“I’ll make you a deal,” Shawn said. “You pay us in cash, and we won’t care what your mood is.”

“Meanwhile, all you’ve said is that my necklace is somewhere within a hundred and fifty acres of public gardens, not including the parking lot. So when I can’t find it, you can still say you solved the big mystery.”

“We’ll recover your necklace,” Shawn said.

“We will?” Gus said.

“And we will bring it to your doorstep. I might even bring it across your doorstep if you promised to open the door when I got there.”

Ellen made a show of thinking it over then scrawled an address across the top of Shawn’s newspaper. “Just put it in the mail along with your bill. But don’t even think about sending the bill without the necklace. I’ve got every state licensing agency on my speed dial.”

Gus waited until she’d left the bungalow, and made sure the door was closed, before he said anything. By the time he was certain they were alone, Shawn was rooting around on Gus’ desk.

“I don’t know what that little piece of her soul is telling you, but the necklace isn’t on my desk,” Gus said.

“No, but these are.” Shawn held up Gus’ keys, then tossed them to him. “If we hurry, we can get to La Canada before lunch-time. There’s a new burger stand I’ve been dying to try.”

“It’s going to take us at least two hours to get to La Canada from here,” Gus said. “And besides, we had lunch an hour ago.”

“Which means we’ll be ready for another one as soon as we grab that necklace,” Shawn said as he headed towards the door.