“Jake,” Kate said, “is that a sun disk?”
“It is,” Jake’s voice crackled through the speaker, “and it’s gold.”
75
By mutual agreement the trapdoor in the cave was re-secured and the group returned to the Institute to discuss their next steps. They were now all seated on the back porch off Jake’s living quarters, and Josh, Mandy, and Joe had joined them.
When Kate finished describing the events of the day, Mandy exclaimed, “Oh my God! More treasure? How much more?”
“A lot more,” Jake said. “I’m not going to be surprised if the cave spaces farther back in the mountain are full of artifacts as well.”
Josh was sitting on the top step leading down into the yard with his back against one of the posts. “Is this Montezuma’s treasure you’ve been talking about all this time?” he asked Jake.
“I can’t say for certain,” Jake answered, “but it’s really the only reasonable explanation.”
“Okay, I know you’ve told us before,” Josh said, “but do you mind running through the whole story again? I think we all need to understand what we’re talking about here.”
“Sure,” Jake said. “Now, understand, that most scholars think there’s not a shred of truth to some aspects of this story, and you will hear multiple versions of the treasure legend. These are the details as I’ve been able to interweave them with historical fact.”
In March 1519 the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés landed in Mexico at the site of what is now Veracruz. There, he was greeted by a party from the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, which was built on an island in Lake Texcoco more than a hundred miles inland.
Even though the native peoples presented the Spaniards with welcoming gifts, Cortés chose to make a show of strength by firing his cannons, terrifying the messengers from the capital. The action was a portent of what lay ahead for the native inhabitants.
In November, when the Spanish made it to the outskirts of Tenochtitlán, the Aztec emperor, Montezuma II, believing Cortés to be the god, Quetzalcoatl, offered him gold hoping to get him to just go away.
All the gesture succeeded in doing, however, was to ignite the conquerors’ greed. Cortés put Montezuma under house arrest and began to ransack the city, torturing and killing many of its citizens. In May 1520, the Spanish massacred the majority of the Aztec nobility during the middle of a religious celebration. In response, the general populace staged a revolt.
Now under siege, the Spanish tried to use the captive emperor for leverage. The ploy didn’t work, and Montezuma was killed. No one knows for certain if the Spanish killed him, or if the emperor was struck by a rock thrown by his own people. It is certain, however, that on the night of July 1, 1520, the Spanish were forced to flee Tenochtitlán, literally running for their lives.
From that point, some versions of the story say that as they left the city, the Spanish cast huge amounts of treasure into Lake Texcoco where the gold and jewels remain today. Divers have never found any evidence of such riches on the bottom of the lake, however, and dredging has not yielded up any treasure either.
A second theory suggests that the Spaniards put all the loot on a vessel that, like many other treasure ships, went to the bottom in a storm. Certainly a great deal of wealth has been discovered in such shipwrecks, with much more still unclaimed in the ocean depths.
The more intriguing suggestion, however, is that the Aztecs themselves stripped their city of its gold and riches and sent the treasure north to keep it out of the hands of the Spanish. This suggestion hinges on a brief period of time in 1519 when Cortes was forced to leave Tenochtitlán and return to the coast to confront a rival Spanish army.
This version of the legend posits that during his absence, the Aztecs, understanding the Spanish hunger for gold and jewels, sent seven treasure caravans north each made up of 100 porters. Approximately 21 tons of gold and jewels is supposedly hidden in one or more spots in the American Southwest. It’s even been suggested that the caravans traveled as far north as Utah before stashing the treasure.
Back in Mexico, the broader story didn’t end well for the Aztecs. The Spanish returned to Tenochtitlán in May 1521, looting the city and killing 240,000 of its citizens over an 80-day period. Those events are considered to be the definitive fall of the Aztec Empire.
“That’s just so awful!” Mandy said, when Jake finished. “The Spanish didn’t have any right to do that just because Columbus happened to discover America.”
“If you really think about,” Jake said, “he didn’t discover a New World at all. He engineered the collision of two Old Worlds, with truly tragic consequences for the great Mesoamerican cultures.”
Josh stretched his legs out along the top step and asked, “So you think the third theory is the right one?”
Jake shrugged. “I do now that I’ve seen what’s in the lower part of the cave,” he said. “This part of Texas was never really considered to be one of the likely sites for the treasure to be hidden, but I can’t deny what I’ve seen with my own eyes. The question is: What are we going to do about it?”
Joe cleared his throat and they all turned to look at him. “I hate to be the Nervous Nellie in the group,” he said, “and I know you all have wanted to keep Rocking L business on the ranch, but this changes everything.”
“What do you mean?” Jenny asked.
“Things could get really dangerous now,” Joe said seriously. “Kate’s been hurt already by someone who wanted the gold up in Baxter’s Draw. Now we’re talking about maybe 50 times as much treasure. You’re going to have to bring equipment in to light the cave and get that stuff out of there. There’s not going to be any keeping this quiet.”
“He’s right,” Jake said. “We have to get proper lighting in there, potentially an air filtration system. If the back portions of the cave aren’t safe, we’ll have to put in bracing. What we found today isn’t just a few gold artifacts in a corner cabinet.”
“So what are you suggesting?” Kate asked.
“I think we need to hire security first,” Joe said. He turned toward Jake. “Surely there are companies that specialize in this kind of thing.”
“There are,” Jake said. “I can put out some feelers and find some groups we can interview. They’ll have to establish a base camp of sorts up there in the draw, and they’ll want to rotate teams out, which means housing some of the men down here. I imagine they’ll bring their own trailers. It’s going to mean a lot of activity. Are you prepared for that?”
Kate looked at her sisters. “What do you all say?”
“I’d rather we be the ones in charge of whatever happens up in the draw,” Jenny said. “I don’t think we can just leave everything up there. What do you think, Mandy?”
“I just want everyone to be safe,” Mandy said. “I don’t really care about the gold. We have enough money and everything. But this is kind of re-writing history, isn’t it? I mean, the things that are hidden up there could be really important, right?”
Jake nodded. “Yes,” he said, “they could. This is the find of a lifetime, and I have to admit, I’m dying to properly excavate that cave and study the treasure. But only if the three of you are in complete agreement.”
Kate looked out over the quiet pasture where the shadows were lengthening from the rays of the setting sun. “I won’t say I like the idea of people all over the place,” she said, “but if there’s one thing the last year and a half has taught us, it’s that secrets never turn out well in this family. No sense closing the barn door now that the cow’s already out. I say Jake should go ahead and hire security and move forward with the excavation.”
“Agreed,” Jenny said.
“Yes,” Mandy added. “That sounds right to me, too.”
A wide grin split Jake’s face and it was clear his mind was working a mile a minute. “Okay,” he said, “I’ll get the names of potential security companies and in the meantime, we say nothing. Amy, Chris, I want the two of you to start drawin
g up a list of all the equipment we’re going to need for the cave.” He turned to Josh, “How would you feel about being the official photographer for this endeavor?”
For just a second a look of elation crossed Josh’s features, and then he caught himself. “Reckon I’ve got myself a job already, Jake,” he said. “Lots to do around here every day.”
“No,” Kate said, “there won’t be.”
Josh twisted around to look at her, “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean,” Kate said, “it’s time to sell off the stock and admit we’re not running this place as a working ranch any more. You’re never happier than when you have a camera in your hand, Josh, and that’s what you need to be doing. I’m still trying to figure out if this vineyard thing is a viable idea. The notion interests me, but I’m a long way off from putting in grapes. When I do, if you want to work with me, great. But for right now, I think you should take Jake up on his offer.”
Jenny leaned forward and caught her sister’s good hand in her own. “Look at me,” she ordered. “Are you sure about this? You’ve been a rancher your whole life. It’s all you’ve ever wanted.”
Kate met her eyes with calm certainty. “I’ll be a rancher until the day I die,” she said. “The way we live out here is as much a mindset as an actual business. I can’t change who I am, but let’s be real honest about things, honey. This arm of mine isn’t going to get any better than it is right now. I need to find something I can do that isn’t a compromise. I’m still figuring out what that’s going to be, but I’m not going to hold anybody back while I’m doing it. The important thing is that we’re all together. The Rocking L is about what’s good for the family now.”
Tears came to Jenny’s eyes. She squeezed Kate’s fingers and smiled as Mandy’s hand joined theirs. “You’ve got Langston rolling over in his grave talking like that,” Jenny said, her voice thick with emotion.
“I don’t completely understand why Daddy treated us the way he did,” Kate said, “but I do know that doing things the Lockwood way didn’t accomplish anything but scattering the three of us. Well, we’re together now.”
She looked around the porch and smiled, her eyes lingering on Jake before returning to her sister’s face. “We have new people in our lives, good people. We’re making a future for ourselves. I don’t have any need to hang onto the past anymore.”
“Fair enough,” Jenny said.
“Now,” Kate said, turning back to the group, “Jenny and I need to have a conversation about some family business with Mandy. So, how about the three of us go up to the main house for a little bit and then we throw some hamburgers on the grill and build a fire in the pit. Sound good?”
“Sounds great!” Josh said, climbing to his feet. “Come on Joe Bob, give me a hand with the wood.”
76
As Kate and Jenny predicted, Mandy was wildly enthusiastic about the idea of meeting their cousin Jessica and horrified that Jenny had not immediately invited her to the ranch.
“Oh my God, Jenny!” she exclaimed. “Where are your manners? Were you raised in a barn? You’re letting our kinfolks stay in a motel? What would Mama say?”
“It is not a motel,” Kate said. “It’s the Y.O. Hotel. It used to be a Hilton. You make it sound like the woman is living on Brand X cheese puffs out of the vending machine. And since none of these people were actually speaking to Mama, I imagine she’d tell us to be careful.”
Mandy put her hands on her hips. “Having our cousin stay in a hotel is still just plain rude,” she insisted, “especially after she came all the way down here from Boston. She’s trying to reunite the family and I think that’s just the sweetest, most genuine thing I’ve ever heard. You have to call her up and ask her to stay with us this minute.” Swiveling toward Jenny she demanded, “What was she wearing? What does she look like? Tell me everything!”
Jenny frowned and searched her memory. “Something linen, I think,” she said vaguely. “Her hair is long. Kinda reddish. She looks a little bit like Mama. She’s my age.”
“That’s it?” Mandy asked incredulously. “What about her jewelry? Make-up? Oh, her handbag?! What kind of handbag does she carry?”
Jenny looked mildly panicked and then said, “Oh, uh, triangle! It had a gold triangle thingy on the front.”
“Prada?” Mandy said. “Oh my God. I may swoon. She carries Prada? I swear if I see one more JCPenney knock-off in this town, I may expire from handbag deprivation syndrome.”
Kate looked confused. “Is Prada expensive?” she asked.
“Not really,” Mandy said complacently. “You can get one for $1500, but the really nice ones are just $2,000 or so.”
“Two thousand dollars?” Kate said with raised eyebrows. “For a purse?”
Jenny shook her head. “Don’t even try to reason with her, Katie,” she advised. “The handbag thing is an illness. Incurable.”
Mandy made a dismissive sound in the back of her throat. “Oh for heaven’s sake,” she said. “I have good taste, and clearly it runs in the family. You have to invite her to come stay with us. You have to.”
“How about we drive over to Kerrville and have lunch with her first?” Kate asked. “You have to admit it’s kind of odd that she’s showing up now. Let’s get to know her a little bit before we have her as a house guest.”
Mandy made a disapproving face. “Katie,” she said decisively, “you’re too young to be so cynical. She’s our people.”
“She’s our Yankee people,” Kate corrected. “You know folks from the North aren’t like us.”
Mandy pursed her lips. “Now you sound like Daddy,” she said. Then, turning to Jenny, she added, “Call Cousin Jessica right this minute and ask her if we can take her to lunch tomorrow. And do not look over at Katie asking for permission. We are taking our cousin to lunch and that’s final. Now I’m going to run down to my place and get some nice fresh tomatoes for the hamburgers. Joe’s tomato plants are just loaded.”
They watched her go tripping down the walk and jump in her Land Rover. “I guess she told us,” Jenny said grimly.
“I’m not sure I think this is such a great idea,” Kate said, her eyes following the bright yellow vehicle as it passed the house. “But neither one of us are good at saying no to our baby sister. We’re a couple of total softies where that child is concerned.”
Jenny sighed. “She’s not a child anymore,” she said. “Mandy’s a grown woman. A married grown woman at that.”
“Lord,” Kate said. “I think I need a drink.”
The next day they found themselves seated at a table in the dining room of the Branding Iron Restaurant at the Y.O. Ranch Hotel with Jessica Northrup. While she and Mandy chatted happily, with Jenny occasionally joining in, Kate silently studied their newfound relative, a fact not lost on Jessica herself.
At the first convenient juncture, Jessica turned toward her and said, “You don’t trust me, do you, Kate?”
Not one to stand down from an honest confrontation, Kate said, “Not particularly.”
“I don’t blame you,” Jessica said with equal candor. “Considering everything that the three of you have been through in the last year, I imagine my sudden appearance seems rather convenient.”
“As a matter of fact,” Kate said, “it does.”
“Katie!” Mandy said, obviously scandalized. “Stop it! You’re being just awful.”
“No, she’s not,” Jessica laughed. “She’s being smart. I’d be suspicious of me, too. I can assure you that I have no ulterior motive in mind in contacting you, but since I’m trying to make up for the truly awful behavior of the entire Northrup clan toward your mother, that’s not a particularly plausible statement. I know that.”
Kate leaned back in her chair and regarded her cousin. “You’re direct,” she said. “I’ll give you that.”
“You didn’t get all your strength from the Lockwoods,” Jessica said. “The Northrups are made of pretty stern stuff, too. Aunt Irene and Grandfather always
had a rocky relationship because she didn’t fit his idea of what a proper Boston lady should be.”
“Our mother was most certainly a lady,” Jenny said evenly.
“I have no doubt of that,” Jessica said. “But she wasn’t very good at obeying her father.”
“Or her husband,” Jenny said, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Jessica took a sip of her white wine as if she was considering her next words carefully. “I’m assuming that Aunt Irene and your father did not have a happy relationship,” she said diplomatically.
“That’s putting it mildly,” Kate answered.
“Look,” Jessica said, “I just want to get to know the three of you. I’m not here to pry and I don’t want anything else from you. This can be totally on your terms or not at all. I’ll respect your wishes either way.”
No one spoke for several seconds, and then Jenny asked, “How long are you planning on staying in Texas?”
Jessica smiled. “I’m very much a free agent,” she said. “I have no definite plans at the moment. If I stay, could we spend some time together, please?”
“Yes!” Mandy said. “We’d love that!”
“Actually,” Jessica said, “I was asking Kate.”
The two women studied each other silently. Finally Kate said, “Why don’t you come out and spend the day at the ranch tomorrow?”
Jessica smiled, “I’d like that very much.”
Once she was back in her room, Jessica kicked off her shoes, plopped down wearily on the bed, and placed a call. “I hope you’re happy,” she said caustically. “I just ate a meal with my country bumpkin cousins in a restaurant named after some kind of arcane ranch tool for marking animals. If the youngest sister had two brain cells, she’d take them out and play with them.”
“The youngest one put a bullet in my gut,” Robert Marino said. “Don’t underestimate her. Did you make any progress?”
Jessica sighed. “Of course I did, Robert,” she said. “I am not an amateur at charming people. The oldest one may be a problem, but I can handle her. Brittle old maids are fairly predictable.”
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