The Old Cape Teapot

by Barbara Eppich Struna

  ***

  Present Day

  THE CALDWELL HOUSE

  “So you had another bad dream?” Paul asked as he dressed.

  I was still in bed, looking out the skylight at the tops of the trees. They edged their skinny barren limbs across the window opening.

  “Yes, but it wasn’t terrible or anything too scary; it was more frustrating. But it also made me think about a new connection that might help me find Julian’s treasure.” I threw off the covers. “I’m going back to that old mill site,” I said with determination.

  “Nancy! What did I ask you before?”

  “What do you mean, ‘what did I ask you’?” I sarcastically repeated his words. I was a little upset. I’m not a kid.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t be going up there by yourself?”

  “Oh? For heaven’s sake, I’ll be fine!” I ran into the bathroom to shower.

  “You want me to go with you?”

  He didn’t sound very enthusiastic. “No, you’ve got that client coming over today. Maybe I’ll ask Nick.”

  ***

  During breakfast, Nick said he wouldn’t mind exploring the mill site with me. We were expecting rain in the afternoon but planned to be home before then. On our way into Orleans, I told Nick about my nighttime revelation and he seemed very interested in my theory about the location of the mill site. I felt encouraged that I might be right.

  I parked the car at the convenience store across the street from the opening in the woods and looked for the twisted tree. Before we ventured too deep into the scrub’s edge, I took a reading from the compass app on my phone to guide us out if we got lost.

  The morning air was cold but, with the sun shining through the trees, we warmed up quickly as we climbed a short hill to get to the path. The brown forest smelled musty with a slight hint of burning wood from a nearby fireplace.

  “If I didn’t know it was late November, I would’ve thought it was almost spring,” said Nick as he took off his knitted hat.

  “New England weather is fickle. They say if you want a change in weather just wait a few minutes.”

  We both laughed as we waded through the damp oak leaves.

  “What’s that?” Nick asked as he pointed to a deep, hollowed-out opening with stonewalls on three sides.

  I recognized it as the old foundation from the last time I was up here, with Peter’s group. It was nestled into a high embankment to our right. “Looks like a partial foundation to a house or maybe the entrance to a walk-in basement.”

  Nick stopped at the top to get a better look down into it. “It’s pretty deep on this end.”

  I continued ahead along the trail until I saw the yellow CAUTION tape. “Here’s where we veer off.” Nick scrambled to catch up. I was disappointed that nothing else looked familiar to me since the last time I was in the woods. I thought I was better at remembering details.

  Another yellow marker waved at us as a burst of wind kicked up. The sun had disappeared behind some fast moving dark clouds, bringing a sudden chill to the air. I quickly pulled a hat from my pocket and found gloves in the other, then zeroed in on finding the old mill’s stone foundation. “Try kicking around in the leaves and sticks. I know the stones are here somewhere.”

  Nick started to move his feet a little harder in half arcs.

  A few flakes of snow began to drift through the woods so I buttoned my coat tighter. I kicked my feet a little higher into the air, but my disappointment of not finding anything was beginning to grow stronger.

  Finally Nick called out, “I found something.”

  I turned to see him standing about ten feet from the yellow tape. “What did you find?” I forged through the brown oak leaves to get near him, not caring about the wild rose brambles that wrapped themselves around my ankles. I knew I wasn’t crazy; those stones were here somewhere.

  We both stooped down and began to brush away the forest litter. My gloved hands moved back and forth, trying to uncover the tops of the first three stones. Nick moved to the side of me to look for any other hard, grey surfaces. He discovered another three. I stood up and surveyed the shape that was forming. It certainly resembled part of a circular foundation, just like before.

  “Check your phone,” Nick said. “See if we’re standing on or near the Magnetic North.”

  I stored my wet gloves in a pocket then activated my phone with a swipe of a fingertip. The app for the compass was a little slow to find itself. It felt like a long time, but after only about thirty seconds, there it was. I turned a little and the arrow pointed east. My body pivoted to the left and, according to the compass, I was now heading north.

  Nick came closer to see the readings. “Press the Magnetic North button.”

  I was off by about thirty degrees, but I was definitely standing close to it. I clicked back to the compass screen, turned and stepped nearer to the stones. My foot landed in front of a particularly large one. I bent over to clean it. “Did you bring the water bottle?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “Can I have it a second?”

  “Sure.”

  I unscrewed its cap and gently poured it over the gray surface. Some lines began to appear “Look! There’s a W.”

  Nick bent over next to me to see for himself.

  The lines were crude but resembled the directional symbol for West. I pulled out the old map from my inside pocket and unfolded it. We both stared at the tiny drawing of the windmill and the two symbols beneath it: a W and the number 3.

  Nick whipped out his cell and began taking pictures of the map and stones. I traced the lines of the W with my finger. It gave me a good feeling; touching the past. My heart raced with excitement. Suddenly the snow turned to hail and began pounding our heads and backs. Disappointed, I yelled, “We’d better get going.” I found my extra set of gloves, pulled them on, and quickly scrambled back through the woods and to the car with Nick close behind. I felt frustrated that we had to leave, but I knew for certain that I’d be back.

  As we pulled into the driveway, the hail stopped and the sun came out. “What did I tell you, Nick? Our weather is so strange.”

  He laughed as we got out of the van.

  A jazz melody quietly drifted in the air. “Do you hear that?” I asked.

  Nick stopped and cocked his head to the side to listen. “It sounds like some jazz from the 40s.”

  I glanced at the house across the street, more curious than ever about its tenants.

  34

  Present Day

  CAPE COD

  MARTHA WAS READY to leave as soon as Nick and I entered the house. “Thanks for coming over today,” I said as I took off my hat and coat. “Have a nice weekend.”

  Nick went to his room in the front of the house. As I washed my hands in the kitchen, I could see Molly in the living room decorating her new giant coloring book. “Where’s Danny?”

  “I don’t know,” Molly answered without even looking up.

  I walked nearer to her. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

  I put my hands on my hips in a stern, motherly stance. “Where’s your father?”

  “I don’t know,” she said again.

  Now she sounded snotty to me and I was irritated. I took off towards the gallery to find Paul.

  ***

  As Nick rounded the corner to the guest bedroom, he noticed his door was half open. He grabbed the door handle, gave it a yank and saw the small figure hovering over his opened suitcase on the bed.

  “What are you doing, kid?”

  Danny jumped and turned around. If he weren’t leaning against the edge of the bed, he would have fallen over.

  “Get out of here!” Nick yelled as he grabbed Danny’s arm then pushed him out into the front parlor.

  Danny started to cry. Nick let go.

  The little boy ran towards the living room. “Mommy!”

  Nick quickly rewrapped the dark grey semi-automatic back into the thick sweatshirt. “Shit,” he muttered and then checked to s
ee if anything else was disturbed.

  ***

  I opened the door to the gallery and called out, “Is Danny out here?” then closed the door behind me to keep the cold from entering the house. As I reached for the door to Paul’s studio, I shouted again, “Is Danny out here?”

  “No, I thought he was with Martha,” Paul said, rinsing off his paintbrush in a stainless steel container. “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t find him.” I turned and exited the same way I came without waiting for another word from Paul.

  Molly was still on the floor coloring. I found Danny pouting on the big Lazy Boy chair on the other side of the room. His eyes were red and he was sniffling. “Where were you?” I asked as I squeezed in next to him on the chair. “What’s the matter? Why are you crying?”

  “Nick scared me.”

  “What?”

  “He yelled at me.”

  “Why?” I pushed his hair back and kissed him on his head.

  He whispered to me. “He has a gun.”

  “What’d you say?”

  Danny repeated closer to my ear, “I saw a real gun.”

  “Honey, you stay right here. I’ll go talk to Nick.” I got up and started for the front parlor, then called out, “Nick? What’s going on?” I kept walking toward Nick’s room.

  He intercepted me halfway through the dining room. “Hey, Mrs. C, everything all right?’

  “Danny seems upset. He said you had a gun?”

  “A gun? No way.” He started to laugh. “I wouldn’t know what to do with one if you gave it to me.”

  “He’s crying. Did you yell at him?”

  “Well, he was in my room going through my suitcase. I really didn’t mean to yell at him. I think I may have scared him because I came from behind and called his name really loud.”

  “But he said he saw a gun in your suitcase.”

  “Maybe he saw my electric shaver. It’s got a black handle.” Nick’s phone rang. “Hold on a minute, Mrs. C.” He turned around and walked back into the parlor.

  I was confused and upset. I went to get a snack for the kids and waited for Nick to give me a better explanation.

  He came into the kitchen. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to leave this afternoon. I guess my Corps assignment’s starting date has been pushed up to this coming Tuesday. My flight leaves tonight for Antigua.” He stood quietly in front of me for a second.

  I wondered if he was lying to me. He’d seemed like such a nice kid. I didn’t want a confrontation with him, so I kept my eyes down toward the sink as I rinsed the dishes.

  “Okay, I guess I better get packing.”

  I tried to make small talk as he left the kitchen but it felt awkward. All I could come up with was, “That’s too bad.”

  I knew Danny must have seen something, but I just couldn’t bring myself to believe Nick would have a gun. Little boys have such wild imaginations, especially Danny.

  Within minutes, Paul walked into the kitchen to find out where Danny was. As he reached for another cup of coffee, I told him about what Danny saw in Nick’s room.

  “A gun?” Paul swallowed hard.

  I dried my hands on the towel. “That’s right, but I’m not sure what Danny really saw.”

  He put his cup down and turned to me. “You said Nick’s leaving this afternoon?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, don’t say any more about it. Let him go. We’ll probably never see him again.”

  ***

  When Nick was packed and ready, we all stood in the foyer to say goodbye, except for Danny, who cowered behind the chair by the closet and waited. I gave Nick a half-hearted hug. “Have a safe trip.”

  Paul shook his hand and managed a stern goodbye. Molly smiled and waved at him.

  As Nick walked through the doorway, he added, “Say goodbye to Casey for me.”

  We watched him put his suitcase in the trunk of the rental car and drive left out of the driveway.

  ***

  Nick’s car sped past the green highway sign pointing the way to Boston and continued up the road until he came to the first motel. He parked his car, checked himself in at the desk and settled inside the small room. After his shoes came off, he sent a short text: Still on Cape. Little snag in plans nothing I can’t handle. Then he ordered a pizza and took out a file from under the old sweatshirt at the bottom of his suitcase. Inside the folder were papers printed with the words 1715 Spanish Fleet sinks – led by the San Miguel, along with several pictures of jewelry. He sat down on the bed and stared at a newspaper clipping of Nancy Caldwell wearing a beautiful necklace around her neck.

  35

  Present Day

  CAPE COD

  THE GAME ROOM was already crowded by Friday afternoon, following Tommy’s visit to the Caldwell home. Irritated with Silas’s lateness, Tommy D yelled, “It’s about time you got here.”

  “Sorry. I had some business to take care of.” Silas sat down with a thump behind the register and waited for his boss to tell him what to do.

  “See if you can get the Black Knight going. That old pinball has been jamming lately.” Tommy D checked his pocket watch that was dangled from a long chain attached to his belt.

  “Yeah. Okay.” Silas sauntered across the room and plugged in the game. “Hey, I’m gonna be a little late on Monday. I gotta do a favor for my old man.”

  “Your dad? Isn’t he doing time at Concord?”

  “Yeah. But I owe him one. He made me pick up this creepy guy at the bus station in Hyannis a few days ago. I’m supposed to let him stay with me for a while at my dad’s place in Brewster.” The Black Knight started to clang and bing. “Now I gotta take him someplace else; he won’t say where. I guess the dude has some unfinished business or something.”

  “You still sleeping over there?” Tommy D asked without looking up from his email.

  “Just for a while, until I can convince my girl to let me move back in with her.”

  “Well, watch your step with that old guy. You don’t want to end up in jail again.” The young proprietor started to type.

  “Hey…I may be short, but I’m a fighter. I’m not stupid.” Silas bounded over to the counter and jumped up to sit on top of it. “I’m like a Berserker. You know? A Norse warrior who fights like he’s in a trance. You can’t stop them.” Silas held his fists up in the air, as if he were a champion. His curly hair glowed fiery red against his wide blue eyes.

  “Okay, okay, get off the counter. I’ll be in the office if you need me.” Tommy D sighed as he left Silas out front.

  Opening the old ledger, Tommy D flattened the vellum with the written directions across his desk. He tied up his long black hair back and Googled, Cove Inlet, Orleans MA, Magnetic North, Baker property Orleans 1722.

  Nothing appeared that seemed relevant to him. He held his forehead with both hands over the keyboard then leaned back in his chair and whispered “Crap. I don’t know what I’m looking for.” The noise of the games and loud voices of kids began to grate on his nerves; he couldn’t think straight. Tommy D wondered why they’d never bothered him before, but then he realized that this was possibly the first time he’d ever tried to figure something out that was really important. He went out the back door into the alley and took a few deep breaths to clear his head.

  Silas noticed his boss leave. He quietly slipped into the office and behind the desk. He refreshed the computer screen for anything important. Noticing the open paper about the Baker Davis Mill Site, he took a photo of what was written with his phone.

  Tommy D re-appeared in the doorway. “What’re you doing, man?”

  Startled, Silas jumped. “Looking for a pen.”

  “I don’t want you back here. Stay out front.”

  “Hey, take it easy. I’m not doing anything wrong.”

  “Just leave me alone.” Tommy D moved quickly to close the tabs on the computer screen.

  Silas started to leave but hesitated. “Hey, I was wondering. What’s with that Caldwel
l lady?”

  Tommy D gave him a strange look as he shuffled the papers on his desk. “What do you mean?”

  “You know, she lives right across the street from my old man’s apartment, in Brewster. I saw her name on your computer and looked up her address.” Silas pointed to the old books. “And where’d you get those?”

  “None of your business.”

  Silas came closer to the desk. “I read that she found treasure. She got anything to do with what you’re searching for?”

  “Listen, you leave her alone.” He closed the books with a bang. “She’s a real nice lady and has a family.” Tommy D slid the old paper back into the ledger. “I’m only trying to find out who my ancestors are.”

  “So you’re not looking for pirate treasure?” A sly smile grew across Silas’s face.

  “What? Are you crazy?”

  The phone rang.

  “Get out front and answer the phone. Make sure no one steals anything.”

  Silas left in a huff, slamming the door behind him. By the time he reached the counter, the phone had stopped. He mumbled under his breath, “The hell with it. I don’t need him anymore.”

  ***

  Tommy D stayed in his office long after Silas closed up. He had nowhere else to go. The game room should pull in some good money through the coming holidays. He could use the extra income. He dreaded the long and quiet winter ahead of him.

  ***

  Silas headed back to his Dad’s place, hating the thought of spending any time with the old man. Hopefully the guy’s not a talker. He couldn’t believe that he had to get up an hour earlier next week just to take the cripple to some mysterious place. Silas liked his sleep.

  36

  Present Day - Saturday