On our way back to Casper's boarding house, Lea and I stop at Lee's Hamburgers to grab lunch. Liz Phair sings "Supernova" in the background, encouraging Lea to hum along to the lyrics.

The cheeseburgers, fries, and strawberry milkshakes make up for the harsh stares and bullshit from Lilith, but I can't stop thinking about the precious items Prometheus gathered in his dusty, old chest.

Maybe it's the way his lawyer talked about me on the will - like he knew what kind of secrets his client had buried in the past. Truthfully, I don't know what Prometheus was thinking, but if it will help me find out what happened to Benji, I'm more than willing to try anything.

"Reese," Lea hisses, shaking my arm. "Yo, Reese!"

I stop eating my cheeseburger and place it on my plate.

"What?" I muffle, swallowing my food. "Did you say something or-"

"I was asking what happened at the funeral home today?" Lea inquires. "I saw Lilith giving Rosie a fucking ear sore when they were heading to the car."

"My old high school principal gave me his stuff and grimoires he collected from all around the world," I answer, wiping my hands on a brown napkin. "Lilith wasn't happy with it, so she grabbed Rosie and left the place."

"Shit," Lea remarks. "That's insane."

"I know," I snicker. "If Benji were here, he'd probably make an educated guess on how much booze Lilith had last night."

Lea joins in on the laughter, sighing, "Yeah, that's probably true. God, Benji was hilarious. I just wish I know what happened to him."

"Me too," I agree. "The other night Casper mentioned that Ben gave you a second journal by any chance. Do you still have it?"

"Yep," Lea answers, bobbing her head.

Finishing her fries, Lea reaches inside her bag and pulls out a dog-eared black notebook scrawled in Benji's handwriting.

"I read every journal entry he wrote," Lea continues as I open the book. "Some were about the cases we took in St. Hawthorne, but there was one on this amusement park called Salty Joe's Emporium."

Ugh, God.

Salty Joe's Emporium is the ultimate destination if you're eager to explore the ocean's wonders or capture the perfect photo next to a Leviathan. In the spring of '89, founder Joe Piedmont was so moved by the attractions at SeaWorld and Disney that he set out to create his park right near Carousel Gardens.

Sadly, Piedmont had to shut down this park because there were allegations of employees harassing the mermaids, ignoring safety protocols, and not feeding the monsters. The rumors became too much for Joe Piedmont to bear, so he closed the park and vanished into obscurity.

"Fuck me," I groan, slowly turning the pages. "Out of all the visions he saw, Benji picked this shithole?"

Lea bobs her head. "It's a mystery to me, too. That's kind of why I need your help."

My smile stretch from ear to ear. "Sure, I guess I can lend you and Casper a hand."

"Awesome."

We finish our lunch and talk about Benji and the park, until I start asking Lea how she's feeling.

"I'm doing good," said Lea. "I'm just glad to be out of the boarding house."

I raise my eyebrow. "Do you sometimes talk to your parents?"

"Not since my uncle died," she answers.

"Your uncle died?" I murmur. "Holy shit, I am so sorry."

"Sorry? He was a selfish deadbeat with gambling issues." Lea snorts. "You should've seen his ex-wife at the funeral. She spent the entire day trying to get the priest's number."

"Okay," I say slowly. "So, you're living at the boarding house because.  . . ."

"I'm trying to find a place and think of a way to get full custody of my twelve-year-old half-brother, Bear." Lea admits with a sigh. "My dad's being a total bitch to the kid, so I tried convincing my dad to let me look after Bear, but he was afraid that I'll give the kid AIDS or something."

"Fuck," I comment.

"Yep." Lea sighs. "If I want custody, I need a decent house, a job, and good recommendations — all of which I don't...