Page 88 of A Tempting Seduction

Then Little Grandma, who had gone back to cooking, paused in her stirring. She snapped her fingers with the sharp crack of inspiration.

“Wait a minute,” she said, setting down the spoon. “What about the recipes themselves? I swear to heaven, some of these recipes just flat out don’t make any sense.”

“Show us,” Simon looked at the old woman with an expression of awe.

Little Grandma reached in and pulled out three specific cards. “These three. The measurements are all wrong. Look at this one. Normal recipe for brownies, but then it says to bake at 594 degrees for 37 minutes.”

Miss Gladiola picked up another card. “This one's even stranger. 'Apple pie: 6 apples, 1/2 cup sugar, but bake at 223 degrees for 11 minutes.' That would never work.”

Little Grandma studied the third card. “Chocolate cake. Normal ingredients, but the temperature is 156 degrees, and the time is 29 minutes.”

Simon and Roan exchanged a look that spoke volumes.

“Ruby,” Simon said carefully, “what's the handwriting like on these cards?”

Ruby examined them closely. “These are all written in my dad's handwriting. He never cooked. And he sure never baked anything. This has to have been what he was talking about.” Her eyes were bright and she was bouncing on her toes. “Oh my goodness,” Ruby breathed. “All this time, the answers were right here.”

Simon immediately understood what the numbers meant. “The wrong ingredient amounts and temperatures and times on those three recipe cards. They're not random numbers. They're the combination to the safety deposit box.”

“594-37, 223-11, 156-29,” Roan read from the cards. “That's an eighteen-digit number.”

“Ruby, this is exactly what we needed. Your father left you a roadmap to evidence that could protect you and potentially bring down the entire corruption network.” Simon grinned.

Ruby looked around the kitchen at all the faces watching her with love and support. Tears were in her eyes, but she was smiling.

“I can't believe it,” she said. “I've been carrying the key to everything with me for two years, and I never knew it.”

Little Grandma reached over and patted Ruby's hand. “Sometimes the most important things hide in plain sight until we're ready to see them.”

“What happens now?” Ruby asked, looking between Simon and Roan.

“Now we plan a trip to Beverly Hills,” Simon said. “Very carefully and very quietly. If what's in that safety deposit box is as significant as I think it is, we need to be prepared for anything.”

“But I don't have a key,” Ruby said. “How do I get into the box?”

“This code is your key. As long as you have your Ruby Banks ID.”

“I do,” she answered. “I just couldn’t seem to throw it away. That was probably stupid.”

“No, it is perfect.” Roan assured her.

“I’m going with you,” I said, surprising myself with the firmness in my voice. “Whatever's in that box, whatever comes next, we're in this together.”

Ruby turned to me, her eyes bright with tears and something that looked like hope. “Are you sure? This could get dangerous.”

“I'm sure,” I said, taking her hand. “We're a team, remember?”

She smiled, the first real smile I'd seen from her all day. “Yeah. We're a team.”

Simon and Roan exchanged another look, this one filled with what I could only describe as professional satisfaction.

“Well then,” Simon said. “Looks like we've got some travel planning to do. Meet us at Onyx Security.”

The kitchen erupted in conversation again as everyone began talking about what this discovery might mean. But I only had eyes for Ruby, whose face had transformed from worry to determination.

Whatever was waiting for us in that safety deposit box, whatever dangers lay ahead, we'd face them together. And for the first time since Lance Leeds had shown up in Jasper Creek, I felt like we were finally getting ahead of the threat instead of just reacting to it.

Ruby Miller had been running for two years. But Ruby Banks was ready to fight back.