“Are you saying—”
“Show me the remote thing,” she said again.
He let the binoculars dangle from their strap and used both hands to unbutton his vest pocket. Then he reached inside, took out the remote—
And felt his mouth go dry. A folded sheet of paper was wrapped tight around the cylinder, and secured with a rubber band. Heart hammering, he stripped off the paper.
The cylindrical object wasn’t the remote. It was a tiny, cheap, triple-A-battery flashlight. Frantically Victor searched every pocket in his vest. The remote was gone.
Paulina was watching him with wide eyes. When their gazes met she pointed and said, “What is that?”
He looked down at the paper in his other hand, and unfolded it. “A note,” he mumbled.
“What does it say?”
On the page was a typewritten message:
SURPRISE,
