Cold Hard Cache

by Amy Isaman

  Despite the taxidermy displays and the stuffed trophy mounts staring down at me from every wall, the place felt surprisingly cozy.

  “Can I help you?” An elderly woman in jeans and a t-shirt smiled.

  “I need a room. And, uh, any chance you have any without any mounts?”

  “Hmmm. Let me think. Well, I can give you the bluebird room. I think that might work for you.”

  I stared at her in horror. “Stuffed bluebirds? Can you even do that? Is that legal?”

  “No, there are no bluebirds in there. All the rooms here are named after birds and that one is a more feminine room. It’s got a big tub. And no mounts that I can think of off the top of my head. I think you might like it.”

  I nodded, grateful. A tub sounded lovely.

  She slid the keys across the counter and smiled. “Breakfast is between seven and nine. Enjoy your stay.”

  I grabbed the key which was an actual key and not a plastic keycard. I hadn’t held a real hotel key in years. Thankfully, my room was on the first floor because exhaustion suddenly dragged at me, the emotion of the day finally hitting.

  I kicked my shoes off, lay down on the bed, which was covered with a fluffy blue flowered bedspread and stared at the ceiling. I’d forgotten to request a non-smoking room and though the room was clean with ‘local character,’ the air held a tinge of musty old cigarettes.

  Since my banishment, my mood swung from rage to guilt and back.

  I’d failed to help Carly. I hadn’t helped my sister to gain enough confidence to leave her abusive marriage.

  Instead, I’d estranged and enraged my entire family.

  Thinking that my nephew was a thief made me nauseous. I couldn’t even bring myself to think the word murderer, but it lurked in my brain.

  If Anne ever came to my home, to my city, and accused one of my children of murder and theft, I probably would react in the same way and do whatever I could to get her back home and the hell away from me and my family. Just like she did with me today.

  How had it come to this? I was so stunned the gold was gone again. And they thought I was nuts for saying I found it. My mind circled with all of the same questions that I’d been asking since I found the gold.

  I didn’t even want it, though I did think Carly deserved some. For sure.

  Here was the big question, did my mom and Anne already know about the gold in the shed? If so, they must think I’m a total idiot for re-hiding it in my room. Or was it my nephew and brother-in-law?

  How deep did the secrets and lies go in this family?

  I’d never felt so isolated. When Bret died, I still had my mom and my sister. Now, I didn’t even have them anymore. Tears finally came, and I sobbed into my pillow.

  Exhaustion and tears pulled me into a restless sleep. Until an incessant buzzing noise dragged me from a dream. I’d been walking down a hill that kept getting steeper and steeper until it was almost a cliff that I started sliding down. I clutched at a plant to hold myself back, but my bare feet kept slipping and I started to fall into a deep ravine. The buzzing came again, and I realized it was my phone.

  I grabbed it and saw a banner from the damn dating app. I thought that was off. Apparently not.

  I opened it up to change the settings only to be greeted by an alert that a potential suitor had sent a message. I jabbed at several icons on the screen, hoping to find the one for settings or notification, but I only managed to open the message which was a photo. Of a dick.

  A dick pic.

  No. Just no.

  Is this what my world had come to? Banished from my family because they thought I was crazy, stuck in the Bluebird room in a random B&B in Boise, Idaho, staring at dick pics on my phone.

  Despite the shit-show of my life, I had to laugh as I texted Laurel and requested that she please delete my account with the online dating service. We’d set it up together, so she could take it down.

  My phone rang within thirty seconds of sending the text.

  “Some nasty old dude seriously sent a dick pic?” She snorted into the phone as soon as I picked up.

  “Yes. Delete my account. Now.”

  “But Mom, they’re not all like that. Just block that guy.”

  “No. This is not for me. Can you please just delete my account?” I thought back to my conversation with Darius. I had a man, even though he lived half a world away. I really wasn’t interested in finding another one.

  I heard Laurel typing as she giggled. “Done. No more pics coming your way. I also have some good news. I called that designer who’s doing the house up in Sonoma for that football player. I sold that huge armoire. It’s perfect for the French country look they’re going for, and that means we’re also good for the month. And Sandy texted that they’ve got a great estate sale this weekend. She wants me to take some photos for the promo stuff for it, so I’ll send those to you, and you can let me know if you think we should grab any of it.”

  “Oh, wow. That’s great.” I could hear the pride in Laurel’s voice. She was sharing nothing but good news, and I felt lost. She was managing my dream business, the one I envisioned launching for years. It was running more smoothly than ever despite the scaffolding on the front of the building and no foot traffic. I’d only been gone for a few weeks, but it felt like months.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty excited. I feel like things are coming together.”

  “Super. I’ll be home tomorrow. We’ll talk then. I’ve gotta go. Grandma needs me,” I lied. I needed to get off the phone as I was going to start sobbing again, and I couldn’t tell her my own mother had kicked me out of her house. “I think I land around noon. I’ll ride BART home. I’ll let you know when I’m close.”

  “Sounds good,” Laurel said. “But if you need to stay longer, feel free. I’ve got things under control here.”

  “I know. I’m proud of you,” I said before hanging up in tears. She did have it under control. And I was proud. She was doing what I wanted her to do.

  And she didn’t need me at all.

  After another hour of tears and self-pity, I decided I needed to talk to Darius, the one person on the planet who I knew wouldn’t think I was crazy. He was the one who convinced me of that last summer when I was sure that I’d lost it. Even though it was the middle of the night in London, I pulled up his contact information and hit call.

  “You are aware of the time here,” Darius said when he answered. His voice sounded gruff with sleep. And sexy. But just hearing it immediately calmed me down, and I started to feel slightly better.

  “I am. I’m sorry, but I have somehow managed to stumble into another lost treasure and need reassurance that I haven’t completely lost my mind.”

  “Huh. You found where that key goes to? The one the old man gave you? What treasure did you uncover this time? Or was it a map?”

  “Nope. No map. But gold. Lots of gold.”

  “Bloody hell,” he laughed. “I was kidding when I listed those things, Tricia. How do you do it?”

  “I wish I were kidding about the whole thing. My family hates me now because of it. They’re sending me home. I’ve been banished.”

  “And I assume they’re keeping the gold.”

  “Your powers of deduction are incredible. And they’re gas-lighting me, saying I’m the crazy one and there was never any gold in the first place. I honestly almost believe them. When I hear everything from their perspective, I do sound a little nuts.”

  “How much gold are we talking about?” he asked.

  “Probably between one and two million dollars. But that’s a super rough estimate. It needs an official appraisal. Some of the coins are in mint condition. They’re worth a lot. And some of its gold bullion and small nuggets, but there are also some solid gold bars, so that’s worth whatever gold is going for, but the spot price right now is well over a thousand an ounce. I think even close to two thousand.”

  Darius whistled. “You’re a fucking wizard, you know that?”

  I laughed. “I wish. If
I were a wizard, I could wave my wand and fix this mess. But I can’t.”

  “Are you safe?” he asked.

  I smiled. This was the first time someone asked me how I was doing, and I just now realized it. Laurel hadn’t even asked, but if I only focused on taking care of everyone else, why would anyone ever want to take care of me?

  “Yes, I’m safe. I’m in a hotel in Boise. I’m flying back to San Francisco tomorrow.

  “Huh. Does this have anything to do with that dead man you found?”

  “It has everything to do with him. Or at least, I think it does. My family doesn’t, though. Which is the problem. Well, they think I’m the problem, but the dead man and his dead son are the bigger problem. Digging into that seems to be bringing to light secrets that they’d rather keep hidden.”

  “So, you’re just leaving. Again, I might add.” His charming accent did little to blunt his point or his pain since I’d fled once before.

  “My sister packed up my stuff. They arranged a ride, and I got dropped off at the airport. I was so stunned. I tried to argue, but it was like I never found the gold. It was gone. I’d re-hidden it, except for a few coins, and somebody in my family found it and moved it. I have no idea where it is now.”

  “You sure about that?” Darius asked softly.

  “About what? That I don’t have a choice or that I don’t know where the gold is? You’re not helping, Darius.” I could feel the tears welling again.

  “About both. I think you have a choice. You’ve got some of the treasure. Cash it in. Give it to the widow. And, I think you probably have an idea of where the gold is now. You’re a transatlantic treasure hunter, remember?”

  I laughed. “I am not a treasure hunter. I’m more like an accidental treasure finder. It’s not quite so glamorous. And this time, I don’t have a clue where they might have stashed it.”

  Darius laughed. “Ah, it’s somewhere close. You’ll find it again. Why don’t you go cash in what you’ve got and change your flight to London? Sounds like you could use a vacation.”

  “Don’t tempt me.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m doing. We still have the last tarot card to find, you know.”

  “Oh, I think I know where that is,” I smiled.

  “As you’ve said. Yet you still deny that you’re a damn good treasure hunter. Come back to London, my love.”

  “I just might,” I said, smiling.

  Darius hung up, and I dragged my purse toward me across the bed and pulled out the baggie that held the three coins I kept. I no longer had the whole stash to help my sister leave, but if Logan did, I hoped she’d be fine. Maybe Logan would do the right thing and help his mother out.

  In any case, it was no longer my problem. They’d made sure of that.

  My phone buzzed again. Maybe Darius was calling back, but it was the other man in my life.

  My son’s photo smiled at me from the screen. I answered.

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Hi. I need you to call Mrs. Garcia.”

  “The principal? Why? I talked to her last week. Did something else happen?”

  “Well, I didn’t do anything else, but she called me into her office today and said that I can’t go to the next competition. And I need to be there. You need to call her.”

  “Did the whole debate team get suspended from the competition?”

  “Yeah. And Mr. Yeager is pissed. He wants the parents to call. If we don’t have any debaters, we won’t earn enough points to go to send more teams to districts to qualify for nationals, and that’s punishing the entire team, not just the kids who were stupid. It’s not fair.”

  I stared up at the ceiling that was curved, shaped like a giant wing.

  “Mom, are you there? This whole thing is so stupid. I mean, I know I was an idiot. But it’s not right to punish everyone for what I did.”

  “Did any of the kids on the bus tell you guys to stop?”

  “No, why would they?” He asked.

  I ignored his question. “Were there any chaperones or parents sitting in the back of the bus with you? Or were they all up front like they usually are?”

  “They were all at the front. But what does that have to do with anything?”

  “Sounds like this is Mr. Yeager’s problem. And your problem. Not mine.”

  “Wait. What? You’re not going to call? All the parents are calling. That’s so lame. I told Mr. Yeager that you’d call.”

  I sighed. Of course, he expected me to call because rescuing people was my own personal specialty. How many times had I said that I just wanted to help over the past few weeks? Too many to count. And I hadn’t helped anyone. In fact, they didn’t want my help.

  “You know what Trent? You made a stupid decision. None of the other kids on the bus pointed out your stupidity and stopped you from acting like a moron and breaking the law. None of the chaperones or your teacher were seated near you to be aware of your stupidity. Here’s a life lesson for you. There are consequences to stupid decisions. If you want to compete, I suppose you need to contact Mrs. Garcia and plead your case with her yourself. I love you, but I’m not going to call her.”

  I could hear my son breathing, but he didn’t speak. I stared at the watercolor painting across the room, a landscape with the Rocky Mountains and a pristine blue lake nestled below the peaks.

  “Wait, for real?” His voice was high with disbelief when he finally spoke. “You’re not going to call? Seriously? I can’t believe you’re not going to do anything.”

  “Trent, did I stick my bare ass to a bus window? No. I did not. As I already said, there are consequences to the choices you make. You’re almost an adult, and you either need to accept the consequences or fight them yourself. That’s what adults do.”

  “I’m not an adult,” he said. “And you’re my mom. You’re supposed to help.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m doing.” I stared out the window, thinking of Darius. “I love you, bud. I’ll be home soon.” And I hung up the phone.

  It was beyond time that I took my own advice. And let everyone else in my family take care of themselves.

  Chapter 24

  I SAT IN THE HOTEL for another ten minutes before I decided, the hell with it. My family had booted me. Laurel didn’t seem to need me. Trent just wanted me to rescue him from himself, and if there’s anything that this whole nightmare showed me, I wasn’t the best rescuer, despite my intentions.

  Maybe Carly would accept a little assistance. If nothing else, it could be a peace offering.

  And, if not, I might as well finance a little European vacation.

  I thought about going to see Roberto, but I wasn’t sure I trusted him. We’d spoken maybe five words on the seventy-five-minute drive to the airport earlier today. I certainly wasn’t going to bring up the gold, but I also found it interesting that he showed back up in my mom’s life after Frank died and the gold was clearly being sold by my mother’s grandson. I’d wondered the entire drive about that. What did he know?

  Was him coming to the funeral, running into my mom who happened to be an old high school flame, just a coincidence?

  I thought not.

  Roberto knew the value of the coins. And he knew there was a stream of them through his shop and who knows how many others shop for years. He seemed genuinely interested in my mom, but when he was at the house, he saw Logan’s framed senior picture my mom had hanging on the wall above the couch. Roberto knew exactly whose family had those coins.

  And at this point, I trusted him about as much as I trusted my sister, which was not at all.

  I’d saved the business card Bill Patterson gave me when I visited the coin shops what felt like an eternity ago but was only a week. My Uber driver pulled up to his shop just before closing time.

  The bells on the front door jangled when I entered. Thankfully, Bill himself, and not a random employee, looked up from a newspaper he was reading and smiled at me.

  “Well, hello there. What can I do for yo
u?”

  “Hi. I was in last week. I have some of those coins that I showed you. I’d like to get some numbers on them.”

  Bill took a moment neatly folding the paper back up and set it aside before leaning his elbows on the counter and studying me.

  “Whatcha got, exactly?” he asked.

  I pulled out the coin that I’d given the lowest valuation and set it on the counter. Based on my research, it should be worth at least a few thousand. I wondered how much Bill would haggle. As a woman who regularly participated in auctions and estate sales, sold antiques, and worked with designers, I could haggle with the best of them. It’d taken me a while to learn to keep my emotions off my face, and I wasn’t great at it yet, but I could do it.

  So, I stayed silent, watched him, and waited.

  Bill slid his reading glasses back onto his face and studied the coin. He flipped it over, looked at both sides before setting it back down on the counter. He looked up at me, his eyebrows raised, trying to get me to speak first. This was like a poker game.

  “What do you think?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “It’s an average looking 1881 Liberty Head Double Eagle. An uncirculated coin like this is worth a pretty penny. This one isn’t in the greatest shape. I’ll give you a grand for it.”

  I laughed. “It’s in better than decent shape. It’s worth more than that.”

  “Sure, but this one has been circulated. See that?” He pointed at the edge. “It’s worn here.”

  “But worth far more than a thousand.”

  “Maybe it’s worth more to a collector, but look around. This is a pawnshop. I’ve got a business to run here. If you want those prices, go find a collector and sell it yourself.”

  “You’ll give me a grand for it?”

  “Yeah. I’ll go grab the paperwork.” He stood and turned to a filing cabinet.

  “Hold up a sec. Can you show me the mint mark on this?” I asked.

  He settled back onto his chair with a sigh, and I wondered how much he’d taken Logan and Frank for. Probably a lot.