Contents
Chapter Thirty-Six
Overview
Holland and Adam open the Watch Man’s envelope and decode a Scrabble-based clue: EMJ reversed to JME, pointing to Jericho Monroe Entertainment. Believing her father hid the next clue there, Holland plans studio access through her friend Cat. Their plan is interrupted when the hotel room door opens.
Summary
In a possibly occupied hotel room, Holland lets Adam open the envelope the Watch Man gave her. Inside are screenplay pages featuring Red Westcott and the Watch Man playing Scrabble, culminating in the admonition to be sure of direction before digging. Adam, thrilled, recognizes their significance, while Holland reveals she already has prior pages.
Holland explains her father’s history of treasure hunts and how earlier script details had led her to the Watch Man at this hotel. Together, Holland and Adam analyze the new scene’s puzzle: Red’s tiles become EMJ, and after the Watch Man plays “REVERSE,” reversing EMJ yields JME.
Holland interprets JME as Jericho Monroe Entertainment, the studio her father worked with and a likely hiding place for the next clue or the Alchemical Heart. She proposes leveraging her friend Cat, an assistant at the studio, to get them onto the lot via a request for Halloween costumes tied to the Hollywood Roosevelt’s annual ball.
As Holland outlines the plan, the hotel room door begins to open, cutting their strategy short and introducing immediate danger.
Who Appears
- HollandProtagonist; shares and deciphers screenplay clues, deducing JME as the next location; plans access via Cat.
- AdamFormer ‘devil’; urges opening the envelope, excitedly analyzes clues, supports heading to Jericho Monroe Entertainment.
- The Watch ManMysterious figure; provided the envelope and, in the script, guides via the ‘REVERSE’ Scrabble clue.
- Red WestcottFigure in the screenplay; his Scrabble tiles (OEMJ → EMJ) set up the reversed JME clue.
- CatHolland’s friend at Jericho Monroe Entertainment; potential to get them onto the studio lot.