The peaceful sound of the rolling waves met Professor's ears as he awoke the next morning. He sighed contentedly. He was used to dozing off on his sofa or at his desk each night, and had forgotten how wonderful it felt to sleep in a bed, especially one as comfortable as the Tritons had given him. He opened his eyes slowly, smiling at the white light that bathed the room as it streamed through the shutters. The worries of the night were now in the back of his mind as it rose from its deep venture into the world of his subconscious, taking with it no trace of its long journey. For a moment, he lay there, gazing serenely into space.
Suddenly, something moved at his back. His eyes opened wide as his heart leaped from its place. Turning his head slowly, he looked to see what was behind him, then chuckled in relief as he found a small head peeking out from the soft, cream-colored cover, a mess of hair falling gently across the young face. The events of the previous evening had apparently frightened Luke more than the Professor had realized. Something else moved at his feet, and, sure enough, there lay Flora, curled into a ball at the foot of the bed, her pink robe wrapped tightly around her shoulders.
Luke stirred beneath the covers, awaken by Professor's movements. He moaned, then stretched as he opened his eyes. "Mmm. Good morning, Professor," he yawned tiredly.
Flora groaned as she unfurled, and then rolled over, hitting her head on the wooden bedframe with a "clunk." She inhaled sharply as she lifted her head. "Um, ow," she said, her voice clouded by the confusion of morning as she rubbed her forehead in pain.
Professor sat up and leaned over to comfort her, but was interrupted midway by a knock on the bedroom door. "Come in," Flora said instinctively, still befuddled and tired.
The door opened, revealing a bewildered Mr. Triton. "Well," he laughed, "I suppose I've found you two. Mrs. Triton was quite concerned when she found your rooms empty this morning." Professor removed the covers as he stepped onto the soft carpet, quickly putting on his bathrobe. He was always embarrassed to have anyone see him in his pajamas.
Luke pulled the covers back over himself and nestled into the bedding like a baby bird in its mother's feathers. Suddenly, the blanket was thrown back, and two hands grabbed his stomach and began tickling. He squirmed uncontrollably, his pleas for his father to stop choked down by his uncontainable laughter. Flora crawled to her knees to watch the fascinating scene, giggling with pleasure as Luke kicked and clawed.
At last the war was over, and Clark left his son heaving on the clean, white sheets. "Well," he announced gaily, "Brenda has breakfast on the table, if you're ready."
Luke was up and out behind his father in a second, while Flora and Professor each went about brushing their teeth, dressing, and making themselves presentable before their meal.
They were mostly quiet as they ate, until Luke, as he finished his third helping of eggs, spoke up tentatively. "So," he inquired, "what are we doing today, Professor?" Flora bit her lip as she waited curiously for his reply.
Setting down his teacup, he answered quietly, "I thought we'd begin by asking the townspeople a few questions." The children sighed in relief.
"Oh, good," Luke smiled, reaching for another slice of toast. "I thought you were going to try going into the cave."
Flora took a sip of tea, her eyes shining with excitement. She had found the scenery of the town to be lovely, and hoped she would be able to see more of it as they went about.
"I believe it would be wise to avoid the cave until we've learned more about its story," Professor assured them. "Do you have an idea of where we should begin?"
Luke plated a few more strips of bacon as he thought. "Um," he chewed, "I'm not sure… Oh! I know! We could go to the ice cream parlor!" Mr. Triton couldn't help but chuckle at the suggestion, causing his son to give him a mock-irritated glare. "You know what I mean, Dad," he sighed. "We could get lots of good information there. Besides, I want them to meet my friends!"
Now more excited than before, Flora gasped in delight. All eyes turned on her, and she blushed as she put her hand to her mouth. "Well, then," Professor said, smiling at her reassuringly, "I suppose we shall begin today's investigation there."
All around them, the rough greys, blues, and creams of seaside buildings, decorated with driftwood, shells, and the like, lined the Skyborough plaza, the shop windows crowded with unique art, hand-crafted jewelry, adorable beach attire, and nearly anything and everything a tourist could want. Everything seemed to catch Flora's admiring eye at once, and she could hardly keep up with the undistracted Professor. At last, they reached White's Ice Cream Parlor, a little, white building with a red-striped awning stretched above the windowed front. It was, by far, the most charming and welcoming building in the plaza, and, as they opened the white-trimmed, glass door, Flora's fingers tingled with the ringing of the bell.
The inside of the parlor was even better than the outside, with black and white checkered floors, red chairs surrounding small, square tables, records of all kinds hung on every wall, and a jukebox against the far-left wall, with nothing but a big, empty space in front of it. Flora would have described it as "cute," but that just didn't seem to fully describe how grand the place was to her wondering eyes. Still, it was the only word that seemed to suit the jovial atmosphere, and that was the word that stayed in her mind. When she looked back and thought of America, she decided, she would think of this place.
"Hello!" The cheerful exclamation came from behind the counter, where it was matched with an equally cheerful face. A girl, probably about Flora's age, with caramel-colored hair, a red apron, and a bright smile, leaned on her elbows, gazing at them with an expression of genuine happiness. "Welcome to White's Ice Cream Parlor. What can I get for you? Oh, hey! Haha. Didn't see you there, Luke. How are you? Who are your friends? Oh, are these your friends? I mean, of course they're your friends, but they're the ones you were talking about, aren't they? Hey, is that the Professor? You're right. He does have a cool hat. It makes him look so tall! Oh, hi, Florence!"
The girl's voice moved up and down in energetic waves, her face and posture moving along with it, leaving the two guests entirely speechless. Still, she showed not a sign of being at all out of breath, and didn't look exactly as if she expected a reply.
"Hello, Lilly," Luke smiled back. "Have you been drinking coffee again?" Her pink lips curled sheepishly.
"Maybe…" she confessed, "but only a little bit. I was craving it, and it was right there, and I was longing, and-"
Luke stopped her, laughing, "Alright, alright. Lilly, this is Professor and Flora."
She gasped as if she hadn't noticed them before, and released her breath in single flow of words. "Oh, hi! I can't believe I'm actually meeting you! Luke told me all about you two, but I never really knew what you would look like. I mean, I saw a picture, but a picture is worth a thousand words, you know? I don't think that makes sense. I guess it means that a picture is never really enough to explain anything, you know? 'Cause a thousand words isn't very long. Oh, wait… I guess it is. Huh. Anyway, I'm Lilly."
There was an awkward moment of silence before Flora finally answered, "Hello." The words seemed to make Lilly even happier, but before she could begin talking again, Luke stepped in.
"So, Lilly," he began, clearing his throat, "we came to ask you some questions, if you don't mind." She nodded, and he continued. "Well… Um… Go ahead, Professor." The Professor stepped up to the counter, but, before he could begin, a door shut in the background.
Lilly turned to an open door behind her, which apparently led into a kitchen of sorts, and yelled, "Owen? Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me," answered a voice from inside the other room. "Sorry I took so long. Anybody come in?"
The girl looked at the group before her, smirked evilly, and shouted, "Nope!"
The sounds of footsteps and moving dishes were the only response for a moment, followed by a simple, "Okay." Suddenly, the boy began to sing. His voice was young, clear, and beautiful as it spun the words of some unknown song. The trio before the counter watched the scene in silence, Professor expressionless, Luke smothering his laughter, and Flora awestruck.
The voice came nearer and nearer to the doorway, until a young boy, a little older than Luke, though notably taller, with deep eyes and dark brunette hair that lopped gently across his forehead, stepped out, tying an apron around his waist. He stopped, his mouth suspended in mid-song. His eyes grew wide and his cheeks flushed bright pink as he realized what had just happened. He pursed his lips tightly, staring at the two strangers. Flora stared right back at him, her eyes sparkling. She blinked twice as her heart skipped, then blushed and turned away shyly.
"Uh," he muttered, placing a nervous hand on the back of his neck, "hello. I was just… Oh. Hey, Luke." He turned to his friend, seeking an escape of some sort.
Understanding, Luke compressed his laughter, and breathed deeply. "Owen," he introduced, "this is Professor and Flora. Professor and Flora, this is my friend, Owen White."
Owen gave a sort of half-smile, lifting his hand in an awkward wave. "Hey."
Flora looked up at him and waved back. "Hello," she said quietly.
After looking at her for a moment, his mouth spread into a wider, more comfortable grin, and he nodded politely. Turning his glance to Professor, he moved forward and extended a hand to him. "Pleased to meet you, sir," he said cordially as they shook hands. "Luke has told me all about you." Professor smiled back half-heartedly, returned the greeting formally, and stepped back.
"Actually," Owen continued diffidently, "I kinda have a puzzle I wanted to show you. That is, if you're not too busy or anything."
Layton waited a moment, and then replied, "Perhaps later." Luke and Flora turned to him in shock, both utterly bewildered, and then Luke opened his mouth slightly, closed it in a grin, and glanced from Flora to Owen, and then back again. He had a sneaking suspicion that their time together was going to be very interesting, to say the least.
"Alright," Owen shrugged. "So, what's up?"
"Actually," Luke answered, still grinning broadly, "we're investigating. We're wondering if you know anything about the Golden Warrior's Cave."
Raising his eyebrows, Owen began to think. "Um, that's hard to say. Most of what is known is common knowledge. Did you already explain to them about the missing people?"
"Oh! I almost forgot!" Luke reached into his satchel, removing his trusty Gressenheller notebook. "I have a list of all the people who have gone missing—at least, all that I know of." After flipping through worn pages, he at last stopped, exclaiming, "Here it is!" He lifted the book to Professor, who scanned the page intently, and then handed it back to the boy.
"Very well kept, Luke," he commended. "I suppose we should begin our investigation with a study of these individuals." He tipped his hat to Lilly, then Owen, and began to leave.
"We could probably help you with that," Lilly beamed. "I mean, we know practically everyone in this town! Maybe we could even help you with your investigation, like detectives!" She gasped as the idea sprung into her head, clapped her hands once, and then struck an investigative pose.
Professor, however, was not so thrilled at the idea. Owen, seeing this, calmed his sister. "Why don't we just give them the information they need? After all, this is really their thing."
"Oh," she consented, "alright. What's the first name on the list?" She plopped her elbows on the counter, dropping her chin into her right palm.
Luke pointed his finger at the name, then read aloud, "Howard Locks."
"Oh," Lilly exclaimed excitedly, "I remember that one! He was the one who started all the fuss about the cave in the first place. He did a lot of work at the Skyborough Museum, and I guess he decided that the Golden Warrior exhibit needed a little more flair."
"Before that," Owen added sadly, "everyone was pretty much satisfied to leave the cave alone, but the fact that Locks went missing just made the mystery even more irresistible. Now people flock in there like it's an amusement park."
Flora looked up at Professor, even more terrified at the thought of her guardian entering the horrifying death trap. The room filled with solemn silence for a minute, each mind within spinning with a thousand thoughts.
At last Professor broke the silence. "I suppose we should visit the museum, then. Thank you." After tipping his hat to the White siblings, he left the shop, Luke and Flora following behind him.
"Bye! Come back soon!" Lilly was quickly back to her cheery self as she called out after the visitors.
Owen managed a weak smile. "Bye."
Luke turned, tipped his hat to each, and continued his leave as Flora cast a gentle smile over her shoulder. Owen couldn't help but echo the gesture, and added to it a friendly wave.
"You know," he grinned as the door closed, "Luke's friends are pretty nice."