by K E O'Connor
“I can’t believe you spent all the money on buying these old bits of tin.”
Lonnie shook his head and tapped his knuckles against the tank.
I copied his movement and banged the side of the tank. It didn’t make the metallic sound I expected. In fact, it sounded much denser, as if the tank was full of something.
“Don’t tell me you’ve hidden the gold inside the tank?” I asked, half-joking.
Lonnie nodded.
“Why didn’t anyone look inside and see the gold bars?”
Lonnie’s grin only widened.
I scrambled on top of the tank and twisted the hatch open. Inside, there was nothing but blackness; there was no gold.
“You’re messing with me,” I said, as I slid off the tank and back to the ground.
Lonnie shook his head again and knocked the side of the tank.
I took a few steps back, an idea forming. Elita had mentioned overhearing Lonnie was getting molds made to use for the melted gold. Could he have hidden it in plain sight and changed the shape of it, so it looked nothing like gold bars?
“Lorna, what are you doing?” Zach asked as he approached with Gunner, Helen, and the dogs.
“Your friend Lonnie was quite a collector.” Gunner’s gaze ran over the military vehicles. “He’s got Scimitar tanks and Jackals here, three Coyote tactical vehicles, and a Lynx helicopter. How did he get one of those?”
“Stop showing off,” said Helen.
“I have a hunch the missing gold is inside these vehicles,” I said.
“Not possible,” said Gunner. “I checked the records, and everywhere was searched.”
“Well, it’s not so much as inside them as on them.”
“Where does your hunch come from?” asked Gunner, his gaze still roving over the vehicles.
“Call it an insider tip,” I said to him. “Can you find a hammer to bash the side of this tank? I think we’re going to find something interesting when we do.”
Lonnie drifted backwards and forwards, the other ghosts watching with interest, as Gunner went to the Land Rover and returned with a hammer. I could see Lonnie was anxious about us finding the gold. He must have mixed feelings about giving up its location, but the police wouldn’t stop hounding his family until they got what they wanted, especially now some of the gold bars had been discovered.
I took the hammer from Gunner.
“You won’t do much damage with that,” said Gunner. “These things are made to survive direct missile strikes.”
“I don’t want to blow it up. But it will be easier to damage than you think. Let’s see what we discover.” I took a deep breath and smashed the hammer into the side of the tank. Nothing happened, other than my muscles protesting at their unexpected use. I did it several more times, and suddenly, a piece of the tank chipped off and flew over our heads. Underneath shone the yellow gleam of gold.
Helen laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Lonnie melted the gold and covered these vehicles with it?”
“He must have,” I said. “Ignatius said he never liked anyone to touch them. Now, we know why. He hid the gold right under people’s noses.” I looked around at the thirty or so tanks, armored personnel carriers, and helicopters. I bet all of them gleamed like gold when you chipped their surfaces off.
Gunner let out a low whistle. “The guy was clever. Melt down the gold, reshape it into something else, give it an acrylic cover, and paint it. Lorna, you’re a genius.”
“It was Lonnie, not me.”
“Right.” Gunner ran a hand through his dark hair. “I’d better call this in. The team isn’t going to believe it. And to be honest, neither can I. I knew the two of you were good at solving mysteries, but this is something else.”
“That doesn’t mean they’re going to do it again,” said Zach. “Not ever. No more working for criminal families and no more going undercover for Gunner.”
“We will if we want to.” Helen folded her arms over her chest. “I’ll work where I like.”
“You’ll always want to help me, beautiful,” said Gunner to Helen. “That’s what friends are for.”
Helen blinked at Gunner and her cheeks grew pink. “Yes. I guess we are friends.”
The look on her face was priceless, and I hoped the two of them would get it together soon. Otherwise, I’d have to install a cold shower in Helen’s room.
Zach wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me towards him. “So, your ghost is happy?”
I looked over to see Lonnie and his ghost friends fading away, a sad smile on his face. “I think he’s content now he knows who killed him. Carson will be going to prison for a long time. Lonnie might not be happy his gold is going back to its rightful owners, but showing us its location was the right thing to do.”
We both turned and looked as the sound of splintering acrylic filled the air. Gunner was smashing the side of a helicopter, and Helen was standing next to him, directing him as to which bit to hit next.
I shook my head as they began to bicker over the best way to break through to the gold and snuggled into Zach’s arms. Lonnie’s murder had been solved, the gold had been found, and a ghost could be at rest.
This was the strangest job I’d ever had. But even with the regular threats to my life over the last week, I wouldn’t change a single thing we’d just achieved.
“After this, you deserve a holiday,” said Zach.
“Don’t we have a house to finish building?” I smiled at the thought of living with Zach.
“The house can wait.”
I looked up at him. “I don’t want it to. No more living apart. Let’s get on and finish the house, and then we can think about a holiday.”
“Just the two of us?” asked Zach.
“You want to leave Jessie and Flipper behind?” I saw the dogs running past an armored personnel carrier.
“They always come with us,” growled Zach. “But it might be time to let Gunner and Helen sort themselves out while we’re not around.”
“Sounds perfect.” I watched as Gunner discovered more hidden gold and let out a sigh. Our next job was going to be a quiet one. No mystery to solve, no ghosts, and definitely no guns.
I shook my head. Who was I kidding? But I wouldn’t have it any other way.