The Treasure Hunt Club

by Michael Scott Clifton

  The coin dealer that had authenticated and then done the appraisal for them on the Saint-Gaudens was bonded.

  Therefore, unbeknownst to Nick and Mark, he was obligated to report the recovery of the rare coins to the proper authorities, and this information had eventually traveled up the ranks to the highest bureaucracy in the Department of Treasury. There, it had kicked up a mini storm of controversy, and an immediate investigation had ensued. The first people questioned were Claire Branson and her nephew, Curtis Branson. From the information provided by Claire and Curtis, it was a simple matter to concentrate the focus of the investigation on the house that the Treasure Hunt Club had bought from Claire.

  Sophisticated, state-of-the-art equipment had been brought in, and the false wall in the basement had been quickly located, which, in turn, led the investigators to the buried bomb shelter, where Claire’s father had secreted his coin collection. All that was left at that point was to put the pieces together, which had led the Treasury agents to Pleasant Mountain and the Treasure Hunt Club. The rest was history.

  After the secret service agents had finally left, Nick and Mark had consulted with the club’s lawyer. He was optimistic about getting a favorable judgment on the lien placed on the club’s accounts by the real estate firm based in Albuquerque. The ten percent contract that the real estate firm’s representative had signed should hold up in court, he assured them. As far as the federal government’s claim that they were in possession of stolen government property, he was less sure.

  This was not an area of law he was familiar with, but he thought the federal government’s case was tenuous at best, based as it was on completely circumstantial evidence. There were no witnesses still left alive from the era that the coins were struck, and if the case ever went before a jury, he doubted the jury would find for the government, since it was claiming property that even the government didn’t know had existed!

  This had raised Nick’s flagging spirits until the other shoe had dropped. Even under the most optimistic of scenarios, the lawyer said, it would take years and a mountain of legal fees to settle these cases against the club. In the meantime, their accounts would remain frozen.

  He had then urged them to consider settling with Chavez Realty and the Treasury Department. Nick and Mark had told the lawyer they would talk it over with the other club members and get back with him.

  Too tired and discouraged to talk, Nick and Mark had simply said good-bye to each other and went their separate ways. As Nick drove through the downtown area of Pleasant Mountain, he glanced at the Christmas decorations that adorned the light poles lining the roadside. The city always went to a great deal of trouble, he knew, to decorate the entire downtown business district at Christmas, but even the gaily-colored Christmas lights and ornaments failed to lift his spirits.

  Almost without knowing it, he found himself parked in the driveway of his condo, the engine of his car still running. Staring sightlessly at the closed garage door lit up by his headlights, Nick tried to dredge up a spark of will to get out of the car and enter the condo. Finally, he leaned forward, his head resting on the car’s steering wheel. Dry sobs began to shake his body as he thought of Steve barely hanging on to life, of Mark and Patti’s separation, and all the other awful events of the past twenty-four hours.

  After a few moments, Nick managed to compose himself, but rather than turn off his car and exit it, he backed slowly out of the driveway and put the Jeep in gear. With a determined look on his face, he drove away.

  He knew where he had to go.

  Chapter 33

  Carter looked at the thin gray book in his hands and grinned in satisfaction. He was sitting in a comfortable recliner within the screened porch of his cabin on Lake Cypress Springs. The lake, located about fifteen miles west of Pleasant Mountain, was home to some of the most exclusive real estate this side of Dallas. The lake property was ruinously expensive, but that hadn’t stopped Carter from buying up the lots on either side of his cabin. Thickly covered with trees, these additional lots ensured he would have more privacy. Now, as he sat studying the mysterious book, he was taken by the notion that if the book had half the capability Tellie said it did, he would be able to buy the whole damn lake! In fact, with Christmas just a few weeks away, he vowed that one day, that would be his Christmas present to himself!

  Chortling, Carter lit a cigar and inhaled deeply. Exhaling, he let out a pungent stream of smoke into the cold air and thought of the events that had brought the book into his possession. He had begun the quest to find the book by having his men first search Hollister’s trailer to see if it were there. They had hit the jackpot when, less than an hour later, they had found the book. Rather than store it in a secure place, like a safe deposit box in a bank, the weak-minded fool had hidden the book within a loose section of flooring underneath the cheap carpet of his trailer.

  At first, Carter had been in disbelief that even someone like Hollister could be that dumb, but upon reflection, he figured that was par for the course. Common sense apparently didn’t run in Hollister’s family.

  An evil grin split Carter’s face. His initial instructions to his men searching Hollister’s trailer had been to make sure they left things as undisturbed as possible so that if they didn’t find the book there, Hollister would be none the wiser.

  That had all changed when they had discovered the book. Then he had ordered his men to toss the place. He wanted Hollister to know someone had searched the trailer and taken his precious book! Laughing out loud, Carter could just imagine the look on Hollister’s face when he discovered the book was missing. Wouldn’t he love to be a fly on the wall when that happened!

  “You seem to be in much better spirits today!” Tellie said as she slid into Carter’s lap. She had come from inside the cabin, where she had fixed them both a drink.

  “And I owe it all to you!” Carter said, beaming, as he took the proffered glass of bourbon from Tellie. Holding the glass out in front of him, he added, “Cheers!” and as Tellie’s glass clinked with his, they both shared a final laugh.

  Downing her bourbon with one gulp, Tellie delicately wiped her lips and looked down at Carter.

  “You do owe me, Carter, and I know exactly how you can repay me.”

  “Anything!” Carter said, grinning, as he sipped at his bourbon.

  Pushing herself off of Carter’s lap, Tellie stood before Carter and, with hands on hips, said, “I want to be the next Mrs. Carter Cannon!”

  The grin immediately left Carter’s face. “But … but that would mean—”

  “That you would have to divorce your wife,” Tellie finished for him.

  Carter’s initial shock over what Tellie said quickly left him, and his lips curled into an ugly snarl.

  “Are you crazy? I don’t have a prenup with her! Her father is a full partner in a high-powered law firm in Dallas, and you can bet he would make damn sure she took me to the cleaners!”

  “So what?” Tellie tossed back angrily at Carter. “With the book I got for you, you’ll be so rich that you won’t be able to spend all your money!”

  Carter put his drink down with a loud clunk and stood up to face Tellie.

  “You’re not listening!” he shouted angrily. “I said I didn’t have a prenuptial agreement! My wife would get half of everything I own! Half, damn you!”

  “I don’t care!” Tellie shot back, her chin thrust forward. “I’m not going to skulk about anymore. If you don’t tell your wife about us, I will!”

  Carter’s reaction was instantaneous. He backhanded Tellie, sending her reeling to the floor.

  “You … bastard!” Tellie hissed as she tasted the blood that dribbled from her mouth. “Once I’m finished talking to your wife, my next stop will be the sheriff ‘s department. I’m sure they will be very interested in the little breaking and entering job you ordered.”

  Two large men had silently entered the room upon hearing the commotion. Carter gestured to them, and they each grabbed Tellie’s arms an
d dragged her upright. Before Tellie could say anything else, Carter drove a fist deep into her abdomen.

  Gagging, Tellie would have collapsed if Carter’s men hadn’t held her up. Carter waited patiently as Tellie fought to breathe. When she was finally able to take short sips of air, he held her lolling head up in one hand so she could see him.

  “You’re not going to say a thing,” he said pleasantly. “In fact, you’re going to leave this town and never come back.”

  Bending forward so that his face was just inches from Tellie’s, Carter’s expression turned hard, and he whispered, “I can make you disappear anytime I want to, and you, of all people, should know that. But,” he added, straightening, “just in case I haven’t made myself clear or you have any doubt I won’t follow through on what I said...”

  Jerking his thumb toward the cabin’s door, Carter said, “Take her in the back, boys, and work her over. Make sure she gets the message!”

  Tellie’s screams fell on merciless ears as she was dragged to the back of the cabin. Carter turned away, Tellie already out of his mind.

  His attention was back on the mysterious book he held in his hands.

  Nick slowly negotiated the Jeep around the ruts and potholes with practiced ease. When he cleared the last of the trees on his overgrown property and pulled up to his trailer, he was surprised to see another car already there. Blinking in surprise, he realized the car belonged to Abby. Getting out, he saw her sitting huddled in her coat on the broken cinder block step beside the trailer’s door. The security light behind the trailer cast just enough light that he could see Abby smile wanly at him.

  “I knew you would come here,” she said, standing.

  Nick began walking toward Abby, which quickly turned into a run. Reaching her, he pulled her to him, his breath coming out in ragged gasps.

  Holding her tightly, Nick buried his head in Abby’s fragrant hair. Gently, Abby stroked his neck. They stayed embraced for long moments before Nick finally straightened up, his face a mask of anguish.

  “How can everything go … so wrong?” he whispered to her.

  Abby just shook her head and said, “I don’t know, Nick. But that book seems to be the one piece that connects all of the bad things that have happened.”

  At that moment, Nick happened to look up, and he noticed the door to his trailer was slightly ajar.

  “Did you go into my trailer?” he asked Abby.

  “No, why?”

  “Because the door’s open,” Nick said, alarmed, taking the few steps it took to reach the door. In the dim illumination provided by the security light, Nick saw the door had been forced open, and the metal around the lock was bent outward. Quickly, he entered the trailer and turned on the light.

  It was a scene of utter chaos, with drawers pulled out and their contents emptied. All of the cabinets had been opened, and everything within them was thrown onto the floor. The feather pillows on Nick’s small bed loft had been cut open. The feathers were dumped out to join the pile of flotsam on the trailer floor. “What … what happened?” Abby asked over Nick’s shoulder.

  A sudden awful thought struck Nick, and ignoring Abby, he quickly got down on his hands and knees. Frantically, he pushed aside the debris on the floor and pulled up a section of the carpet, exposing a loose section of the floor. Levering up the piece of flooring, he immediately saw the space was empty.

  “No!” he howled.

  “Nick! What is it?” Abby cried.

  “The Book of Lost Treasures is gone! It’s been stolen!” Nick yelped.

  “Are … are you sure?” Abby asked.

  “Of course, I’m sure!” Nick said, throwing the piece of flooring down angrily. “This is where I hid it!”

  As Abby was opening her mouth to ask another question, Nick’s cell trilled.

  Ripping the cell angrily from his belt clip, Nick clicked it on.

  “Yes!” he bellowed.

  “Well, I take it from your tone of voice you’ve discovered that your trailer has had some visitors. You wouldn’t have anything missing, now would you?” a smug voice asked.

  It took Nick a moment or two to recognize the voice. When he finally did, it took all his self-control not to throw his cell phone to the floor and grind it under his heel.

  “Carter!” he spat. “What have you done with my book?”

  “You know, you really should do a more thorough background check on your employees, JV. You might have discovered that the secretary you hired actually works for me … oh, and I think what you mean is my book!” Carter added, laughing. “I’m sure you’ve heard that possession is nine-tenths of the law and all that.”

  Tellie worked for Carter? All of a sudden, Tellie’s eagerness to please, her hard work, the seemingly innocent questions she was always asking—it all fell into place with a deafening crash, and Nick knew with an awful certainty they had been had.

  Gripping his cell so hard his knuckles turned white, Nick snarled, “It’s my book, and you know it! You can’t just steal it and say it’s yours!”

  Enjoying himself immensely, Carter replied, “I can assure you, JV, that I and my legion of lawyers can do just that! You’ve got no way to prove the book is yours. For every witness you produce that says the book is yours, I can produce four more!”

  “You … you can’t use the book!” Nick said desperately. “The rules say it can have only one owner!”

  “Ah, yes. The rules,” Carter said with the first subtle hint of annoyance in his voice. “Unfortunately, you may be right. Every time I erase your name in the book and replace it with my own, my name fades, and yours appears in its place.”

  “See! I told you!” Nick cried triumphantly.

  Unperturbed, Carter continued. “All that means, JV, is that we will have to come to a suitable business arrangement. I think that an eighty-twenty split would be fair, with me, of course, getting the eighty percent. Oh, and naturally, I will be the one deciding what lost treasure the book seeks next.”

  It was too much. Nick felt white-hot anger and frustration course through him and boil over.

  “Go to hell!” he screamed. Running to the trailer door, he pushed roughly past Abby and hurled the cell phone as far as he could throw it.

  Abby, who had been following the conversation closely, grabbed Nick by the arm and attempted to calm him.

  “Nick! Please! Get a hold of yourself!” she pleaded with him.

  “That bastard! That slimy bastard!” Nick snarled. “He’ll pay!

  I’ll make him pay!”

  “Nick!” Abby shouted one more time as she pulled Nick around to face her. “There are things more important than that book! Let Carter have it!”

  Nick looked at Abby in angry disbelief.

  “Let him have it? Just like that. Let him have it?”

  “Yes!” Abby said with her mouth set firmly. “Let him get whatever he deserves from that book.”

  Nick laughed harshly. Pulling away from Abby, he said, “That’s easy for you to say! You don’t know what it’s like to have nothing, to never have any money, to have to ask friends for loans just to keep the electricity from being turned off!”

  Turning on Abby, he snapped, “And you certainly don’t know what its like to be bullied and humiliated by a piece of trash like Carter! I’m done with that, Abby. I’m through! I’m tired of being laughed at and made fun of! That book you so flippantly want me to forget about was my ticket to a better life! And I don’t care what you say! If I have to move heaven and earth, I’m going to get it back!”

  Abby stood still as Nick’s angry words washed over her. Tears—slowly at first, then faster and faster—began to streak down her face. Finally, she quietly turned and slowly began walking toward her car. Opening the car door, she stopped and looked back at Nick’s glowering form.

  “You don’t get it, do you Nick?” she said, her voice trembling. “I never cared about the book or any of the money it could bring. All I ever cared about was you.” Starting the car, A
bby got in and drove off. Nick followed Abby’s headlights as they appeared and disappeared in between the trees and bushes.

  Eventually, her headlights winked out completely, leaving him alone in the darkness.

  Chapter 34

  Nick stared at the slanting light of the morning sun as it streamed through the open doors of his workshop. Eyes red and bloodshot from lack of sleep, he had sat on the hard, floor, zombie-like, through the night, staring into the dark and brooding on all that he had lost. Cold and stiff, his mouth was dry and gritty, but still, he couldn’t stir himself to move to even get something as simple as a drink of water.

  Replaying the events of the previous night over and over again in his mind, he had seen the finality in Abby’s eyes and knew he had hurt her irrevocably. When she had gotten into her car and left, he knew with a dreadful certainty she would not be coming back. The book had supplanted their relation- ship, and Abby had realized that it had become more important to Nick than her—something that Nick had steadfastly denied to himself, and something that he had allowed his anger and selfish desires to mask until he had seen the headlights of her car disappearing. He should have run to his own car then and there, chased her down, and begged her to forgive him. Instead, he had let her simply drive away.

  Now it was too late.

  Now she was gone.

  A single tear slid down Nick’s cheek. He had never felt so empty, so hollow. Abby’s absence left a hole in his heart so large that no amount of money and material possessions The Book of Lost Treasures could produce would ever be able to fill.