"Ooohhoohoo! A confession letter." Dewey unfolded the piece of paper and cleared his throat."I'm sorry, Dad, I went with Louie-"He stopped reading and focused on the latters. "Wait a second. This isn't your fancy handwriting!" He turned Huey, his eyes widening. "If it's not mine and not yours… do I have a son?"

Huey rolled his eyes and snagged the paper from him. "Don't be ridiculous."

Smiling, Dewey climbed on the seat. "I can see it now… my daredevil son who traveled back from the future to save Louie from Gus and his evil schemes!" He clasped his hands to his chest. "What a stud. I'm so proud."

Huey leaned his elbow on the table, staring at him. "Are you finished?"

Dewey shrugged with a big ol' smile. "Hey, it could happen."

After shaking the wrinkles out of the page, Huey continued where he left off."I went with Louie. I know you're trying to find me but you don't have to worry. I found a way for us to have everything we've ever wanted. I'll be back before you know it. Your space cadet, Philbert."

"Ohhhhhh. Phooey. No yeah, that makes a lot more sense." Dewey bobbed his head.

"What? Can I see that?"

Huey handed Cosmo the note. "He must have written it before Gus grabbed him and Louie."

"Soooooo he willingly got kidnapped?" Dewey clambered over the table like he was eight years old and slid into the seat next to Dad to read the note over his shoulder.

Across the table Huey folded his arms and watched Dad flip the paper front to back.

Dad's whole face changed. Instead of being stomach-sick, he looked downright worried sick. "It doesn't make sense. He knows better."

Dewey read a sentence of the note out loud again. "I know you're trying to find me but you don't have to worry…"He rubbed his chin. "That sounds more like he wrote it recently. Like he saw we were on their trail and wrote this to try and stop us." He met eyes with Huey, half expecting him to get out a magnifying glass and solve the mystery right there like he always did.

Huey glared back at him before laying down across the seat. "What do you expect? Perfect grammar? He's a kid. Besides, for all we know Gus wrote the letter when he kidnapped them."

"Now that's just ridiculous. You wrote college-level essays when you were his age. Granted, you did that forfunand that's not normal… whatever, all I'm saying is that we can't know it wasn't him."

"It does look like his handwriting and he's normally pretty articulate. Give me a minute, I need to check something." Taking the paper, Dad slid out of his seat and headed towards the back bedroom.

When he was out of sight, Dewey ducked under the table. "What is up with you, huh? Where's in the middle of arealadventure with arealmystery and all you can do is mope. Where's the Huey that would stop at nothing to find out the truth?"

Huey stared up at the silly string stain on the ceiling. "That Huey was knocked out for the count by a gas station hot dog."

Dewey huffed.And he calls me the drama queen."Oh can it! You've been a sourpuss ever since Dad came into the picture."

Huey folded his hands behind his head and yawned. "I'm entitled to have my own feelings, aren't I?"

He heaved a sigh and leaned his forehead against the base of the table. "Look, I get why you're mad, but you have to remember that this is for Louie. Figuring out where this letter came from or how Philbert left it for us… it could be part of getting Louie back. You're the best at solving mysteries and I want your help. Can you stop moping for a few minutes to use that brain of yours?"

Huey closed his eyes and breathed through his nostrils. After a minute, his muscles loosened and he sat back up in the seat.

Score! Man, I am on a roll with the brotherly pep talks this week.Dewey climbed back into his seat just as Dad came back.

"His hat is gone. The only thing I can think of is that he's been in this RV since we started the trip. That's the only explanation for the missing hat."

"And the note." Huey spoke up, his voice actually sounding normal again without the cheeky sarcasm or antagonist tone. "That would explain how he knows we're trying to find him." He nodded to the ceiling. "Dewey latched the hatch shut after his yoyo trick, right? Well, now the hatch isn't latched shut. Someone closed it from the outside."

Dewey peered up at the roof. Huey was right, the latch was loose and he had made sure it was shut after Huey complained a dozen times.I never would have noticed that.

"That is his favorite way to slip in and out of our RV."

Huey propped his arm on the back of the seat and gestured to the note. "So, we all agree that Philbert was in this RV after he and Louie were kidnapped. That means Webby's tracker isn't broken, but that Louie and Philbert were at the 8-Twelve gas station at the same time we were. He must have snuck in here while you two were inside buying those demon-possessed chili dogs."

Demon-possessed? Really?"That seems kinda harsh."

Huey lifted his hand. "After you spend an hour of torture in and out of that tiny bathroom, you can't say otherwise. But that's besides the point. By all accounts, according to that note, it sounds like Louie pulled a Louie and convinced Philbert to stick with him."

"While that all adds up, Phil isn't the type to trust easily. It's hard to believe he'd get involved in all this, especially when he could have just come home." Dad unfolded the letter again.

"And why would Louie do that? What's in it for him? Because, as we know, Louie's only one to take risks if it means there's a literal payoff" Dewey crossed his arms.

"Do you think it's about money?" Dad sounded more concerned. "Phil's been stressing about that lately. I didn't get the promotion I was hoping for last month so I know it's been on his mind. If he thinks this will give us everything we've ever wanted, I can only assume it has to do with money."

"That tracks." Dewey smirked and shook his head. "He is with Louie, after all." He watched Huey from across the table. His brother was starting to sink his teeth into the mystery of it, it was clear from the pensive look on his face. "Careful, Hue, your junior woodchuck is showing. What are you thinking?"

"I think you're both right. It all comes down to Louie. The only thing I can think of is that stupid growth formula. After all, we saw that massive dandelion outside the RV. But I don't get it. I watched him give it to Gosalyn and she was going to test it. If he has the formula and she has the fake, she would have told us by now."

Dewey rubbed his head. "Woah, woah, woah. Okay, I was tracking but now you lost me. Start over–baseline, assume I know nothing."

Huey stared out the window. "We need to keep following that tracking signature. And I need to talk to…"His eyes suddenly widened, and he pressed his face against the glass. "Gosalyn!"

Dewey rolled his eyes.Aaaaaand we lost him."Ugh! Bless me bagpipes, we get it! You're in love! Can you just tell us what in the world is going on?"

Huey tumbled out of the seat like a clumsy ox and rushed to the door.

"Where are you going?" He turned to their dad. "I swear, it's like I'm the only sane one between the three of us anymore." Dewey cupped his hands around his mouth. "Earth to HU-EY, we are DRIV-ING. You can't open the-door."

Too late. Huey shoved the RV door open and teetered at the threshold, gripping the doorframe to keep from falling out onto the road as the RV jostled along the highway.

Both Dewey and Cosmo grabbed him by his jacket and yanked him back inside. The three of them toppled onto the floor. Dewey grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "That was some stunt you pulled! I mean, I've walked out onto the wing of a plane, and evenIthink that was a bit much! You're supposed to be the safe one. What are you doing?"

Huey threw his arms out, knocking Dewey's hands off. "What am I doing? What are you doing? We have to flag her down!"

"Flag who down?!"I couldn't have fallen that much behind, right? This is insane!

"Gosalyn!" Huey clambered to the front of the RV with Dewey on his heels.

"Gosalyn?"

"She's on a bike out there. If anyone can shed light on this little mystery it's her. Help me wave to her." He rolled the passenger window down and hung his whole front half out the window.

Dude. What love does to a man. I think he's gonna get himself killed… and I'm Dewey!He grabbed him by the collar and stuck his head out the window. "No motorcycle. No Gosalyn. Are you sure you're not just imagining things?"

Huey's brows knit together. He wiped a glaze of sweat from his face and continued to stare in the rearview mirror. "I swear I saw her. Maybe she passed us. Speed up, Webby. Maybe we can catch up to her again."

Webby tilted her head and pressed her lips together, glancing back at Dewey before answering. "Maybe you should lay down. You lost a lot of fluids in the last hour. We can get you some electrolytes at the next turn off."

Huey's eyes were glazed over as he looked between the three of them. He let out a sharp exhale and shook his head. "You all think I'm crazy."

"You're tired at the very least. I'll let you know if I see her but I really think you should go lay down." Webby shot Dewey a pointed look.

He got the message and immediately grabbed Huey by the arm. "Come on, Hueson, maybe I shouldn't have gotten you riled up with the theorizing." Huey's body hummed with tension and irritation but Dewey was able to get him to the bed at the back of the RV.

"I know I saw her. We have to-"

Dewey grabbed him by the legs and flipped his brother into bed. "I'll tell Webby your theory… or the parts of it that I remember anyway." When he tried to get up, Dewey smashed a pillow into his face. "Go to sleep. You can have mushy dreams of Gosalyn there instead of having manic flashes of her out there. Got it? Great. Byyyyye!" He closed the door and skidded his feet across the floor to the front. "Now that that's taken care of. Let's find Louie and Phooey!"

"Are you really calling him Phooey now?" Webby laughed. "There's no way that will catch on."

"Why not? He's one of us! Our nicknames all rhyme, so he should have one too!"

"But Phooey?"

It's iconic and perfect, Webby. Trust me. When it comes to picking trendy names, I know what I'm Dewing!"