The Treasure Hunt Club

by Michael Scott Clifton

  It occurred then to Nick that his life had a bitter consistency to it. He had managed to bungle things up once again—this time with Abby, the one and only person that had ever loved him unconditionally, and the only person that he now knew he had ever really loved. By using The Book of Lost Treasures, he had found the wealth and security he so desperately wanted, but in so doing, he had lost something of far, far greater value. There was a twisted irony to it that caused him to laugh out loud, a sound that appeared to his ears as a dry, cackling chortle that echoed throughout the silent workshop. He began to laugh louder and louder until his laughter acquired a hysterical edge to it and tears streamed down his face. Still engaged in this mirthless laughter, he did not hear the car pull up to the workshop or the door open and close as someone exited the car.

  A shadow fell across Nick as he gasped for breath. Dully, he looked up, finally realizing someone was standing there. Rubbing his gritty eyes with knuckled fists, he squinted upward, his eyes narrowing in recognition.

  “You!”

  Standing before him was Tellie Brewster. Struggling to his feet, Nick speared Tellie with an angry gaze.

  “What are you here for? To gloat?” he snarled.

  Nick had never hit a woman before in his life, but such was his rage that he took a step toward Tellie before he could stop himself. Fearfully, she edged away from him.

  “Nick, please!” Tellie blurted in a trembling voice.

  The pleading tone of her voice caused Nick to pause. With arms held stiffly at his side, his fists clenching and unclenching, he noticed Tellie’s appearance for the first time.

  She was wearing a short, tight pink skirt that displayed her long shapely legs. Black high-heeled shoes covered her feet, while a buttoned black blouse was tucked into the skirt, and she wore an abbreviated pink blazer over the blouse. But it was her face that drew Nick’s attention. The dark sunglasses she wore could not conceal the black bruises beneath both her eyes and on one cheek. Normally full and sensuous, Tellie’s upper lip was split, while her lower lip was puffed outward to twice its normal size.

  “What the hell happened to you?” Nick demanded.

  “It seems I had a disagreement with Carter and some of his goons,” she stated simply. Under the circumstances, Nick found it hard to generate much sympathy for her.

  “What do you want?” he barked.

  “I … I wanted to give you this.” Digging into her purse, Tellie took out a small oblong object and handed it to Nick.

  Hesitantly, Nick took the proffered object from Tellie. He saw, to his surprise, that it was a jump drive.

  “What’s this for?” he asked suspiciously.

  “It contains the code to open the safe in Carter’s office. That’s where he is keeping your book. There is also a schematic of the security system and the codes to disarm it. Finally, it contains the password to his personal computer. Carter has certain financial information he keeps on it, and … well, let’s just say that I think you will find it interesting. It’s encrypted, and I couldn’t get that information, but if Kenneth is as good as everybody says he is, he should be able to decipher it.”

  “I see,” Nick stated as he studied the jump drive. Abruptly, he looked up and held Tellie in a steely gaze.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  For the first time, Tellie smiled, a painful act considering the damaged condition of her lips.

  “Oh, for the usual reasons, I suppose. Wrath from a woman scorned and all that. But … but there actually is another more important reason why.”

  Raising an eyebrow, Nick looked questioningly at her.

  “You … you and all the other club members are good … and decent people, Nick. And that’s saying something in a world filled with S.O.B.’s like Carter Cannon. You didn’t deserve the treachery that I brought upon you. It’s just that … that I loved Carter, and I thought … I thought he loved me too.”

  Tears had sprung to Tellie’s eyes as she rummaged around in her purse until she produced a Kleenex. As she lifted the sunglasses up to dab her eyes, Nick got a brief look at them before she lowered her sunglasses again. One eye was swollen almost shut, while the flesh around the other eye was bruised to an ugly purple so dark that it almost appeared black. His anger toward Tellie drained from him as he realized what a savage beating she had taken from Carter.

  “I realize now that Carter used me, that he never really loved me, and that he never intended to love me. So … so foolish and stupid of me, and I should have known better. But … I was blind.” Tellie’s voice cracked bitterly as she said this.

  Composing herself, Tellie held herself up straight and forced the smile back on her face as she peered at Nick.

  “I discovered last night, when I was hurting and crying and feeling sorry for myself, that there was only one thing left I could do.”

  Tellie moved closer to Nick and, grasping his hand, gently closed it over the jump drive.

  “All that’s left is to do the right thing … and this is definitely the right thing to do,” she whispered in his ear. “Take this, and get your book back, Nick. Show Carter that he can’t just run over anyone he pleases. And believe me when I say how sorry I am for my part in this.”

  Kissing Nick softly on his cheek, Tellie turned, smoothed her skirt, and walked purposefully out of the workshop. Moments later, he heard her car starting and the fading sounds as it was driven away.

  Stunned at the rapid turn of events, Nick opened the palm of his hand and stared at the memory stick. Tellie’s last words flashed through his mind: “All that’s left to do is the right thing.” His head jerked upright at the simple realization of what she had said.

  The right thing!

  Suddenly, it was all clear to him!

  Running out of the workshop and to his trailer, he threw open the door and retrieved his old Walmart cell phone from off of the small kitchen table. Flipping it open, he began to make calls.

  He knew what he had to do!

  Chapter 35

  “I call this meeting to order!” Nick said as he rapped his knuckles on top of the table he had pushed to the middle of his workshop.

  It had taken some doing, and he had had to beg, cajole, and threaten to get the club members to agree to attend a meeting.

  Now, two days later, he looked around and saw that all the Treasure Hunt Club members were present—all except one.

  Conspicuous by her absence was Abby, an empty chair mute evidence of her truancy. Swallowing to rid himself of the hard lump that had risen in his throat, he studied his friends.

  Steve, to everyone’s relief, had regained consciousness in the hospital and, after another twenty-four hours of observation, had been released to go home. He had insisted on attending the meeting and, unable or unwilling to drive himself, had been forced to ride with Kenneth. His face was abnormally pale and covered in a thin film of sweat. Normally dressed in his signature sleeveless T-shirt and jeans, Steve was bundled in a thick sweater and jacket as if he were chilled. His hands, finally free of a beer bottle or can, shook with tremors as they rested atop the table. All were classic symptoms of an alcoholic going through withdrawal, and sadly, Nick knew Steve had a rough road of recovery ahead.

  Turning his attention to Kenneth, Nick saw his friend’s hands twisting nervously in his lap, a worried expression on his face. Eyes darting like a trapped animal, Kenneth’s stress over the management of his store and his personal financial troubles was clearly evident on his face.

  His pen guard, minus its usual compliment of mechanical pencils, lay askew in his shirt pocket, and the checkered shirt itself had places where Kenneth, in either haste or distraction, had missed a button or two. However, the most obvious sign that everything was not right with Kenneth was that he was missing his utility belt, which carried his iPhone and computer tools. For Kenneth to be without his beloved electronic gadgets was, Nick knew, the equivalent of being naked.

  Finally, Nick turned his scrutiny to Mark and Patti. Both
had arrived in separate cars, and both sat with Kenneth and Steve between them. From their stiff postures and the deliberate way in which they ignored each other, he could tell that nothing had been settled between them. It was a heartbreaking sight, and Nick quickly turned away before he became undone by it.

  Taking a deep breath, Nick began. Placing the jump drive before him on the table, he said, “You all know that Carter stole The Book of Lost Treasures. Well, Tellie paid me a visit shortly after Carter took the book and gave me this.”

  This caused an immediate stir among the club members, who looked curiously from the jump drive back to Nick.

  Explaining what was on the jump drive and why Tellie had given it to him, Nick said, “I propose we use this information and get The Book of Lost Treasures back. And then,” Nick said, steeling himself as he purposely leaned over and placed his hands flat on the table, “I further propose that we settle the lawsuits against the club, divide all the remaining shares evenly, dissolve the Treasure Hunt Club, and give The Book of Lost Treasures back to Hank Harper!”

  An explosion of dissent erupted from Nick’s friends.

  “But why?” Kenneth protested, “Why dissolve the club and give the book back?” This sentiment was quickly echoed by the others, and Nick waited until the verbal tumult had calmed down before answering. Finally, taking a deep breath to fortify himself, he explained.

  “I want each of you to look at one another. Then consider what’s happened to you, to me, to us! Look at what we’ve become! The book has transformed us into something that we’re not, something we were never meant to be!”

  Pointing at Steve, Nick said, “As long as I’ve known you, you were the most carefree person I’ve ever known. You enjoyed working on cars, made a good living at it, jammed on weekends with your band, and liked to cruise in your GTO … oh, and you liked to drink beer! But now, it’s like you’re this big rock star and club owner with responsibilities and an image to keep up, and you traded your GTO for a Porsche and your garage band for a gig at the bar you own. What’s more, you went from sipping beer to guzzling whiskey, and look where that has gotten you!” Steve couldn’t meet Nick’s gaze and looked away.

  Next, Nick turned his attention to Kenneth. “And you, look what’s happened to you, Kenneth! Happy as can be working at Radio Shack and fixing computers, doing exactly what you wanted to do! Yet, you had to change your image, had to change the way you looked and dressed, and ended up looking like the small-town equivalent of a street corner pimp! You bought the Radio Shack store you worked at without a clue as to how to run it, and now you worry all the time about money!”

  Finally, Nick glanced at Mark and Patti. With eyes misting with tears and his throat tight with emotion, he whispered, “And my two best friends in the whole world, the happiest, most in love couple I’ve ever known, here you are now, sitting apart and living apart, not speaking to one another. I always envied you, always wanted someone to love me like you love each other. Now all you do is argue.”

  Patti and Mark looked guiltily at each other, their own eyes beginning to become moist with tears.

  Nick, the tears now leaking freely from his own eyes, spread his arms wide and said huskily, “To each and every one of you, I want to say I’m sorry. It’s my fault that things came to be like this. I was the one who found The Book of Lost Treasures, and I was the one who talked each of you into buying into it! If it hadn’t been for me, none of this would ever have happened.”

  Swiping angrily at his eyes with the back of his hand, Nick looked pointedly at the empty chair Abby should have been sitting in.

  “I found out the hard way that some things are priceless, that some things you can place no monetary value on. All of you, each of you, are my friends, and how many people can say they have four good friends? I cherish that more … more than anything, and more than any stupid book!”

  “So before any more lives are ruined, before any more damage is done, let’s get The Book of Lost Treasures back and take it out of circulation. Because … despite everything that’s gone down, that’s … that’s the right thing to do!”

  In the silence that followed, each of the club members began considering what Nick had said. The quiet was so complete that only the sounds of chairs creaking and shoes scuffling on the floor could be heard.

  Finally, Mark slowly turned and looked at Patti. Their eyes locked, and a smile slowly grew on Mark’s face.

  Without taking his eyes from Patti, Mark raised his hand.

  “The chair recognizes Mark!”

  “I move we get the book back, return it to Harper’s Antiques, and dissolve the Treasure Hunt Club!”

  There was a scraping sound as Patti pushed her chair back across the concrete floor, stood up, and walked over to Mark. Standing beside her husband, she put her arm across his broad shoulders and hugged him.

  “I second!” she said resolutely.

  The motion passed unanimously.

  Mark and Patti were the last to leave and stood arm in arm by the sliding doors of Nick’s workshop, chatting with him. Kenneth and Steve had left after the details of the plan to recover The Book of Lost Treasures had been hammered out. Nick had waited until then to ask Patti about Abby. She had sorrowfully told him that Abby had come home, packed her things, and left. She had cried the entire time, and she had refused to talk to Patti or tell her where she was going. Nick told Patti he had tried calling her a dozen times on her cell, leaving message after message begging her to call him. Although she had tried to be optimistic, Patti’s expression and body language revealed to Nick what she really believed.

  That it was over between Nick and Abby.

  Therefore, it was with a mixture of happiness and sadness that Nick stood in the cold night air and waved good-bye to Mark and Patti. He was happy that his dear friends were well on their way to repairing their relationship, but this was tempered with the awful realization that Abby was no longer part of his life.

  Once their headlights had disappeared from sight, he trudged slowly back to the open doors of the workshop. With his breath billowing outward in white clouds in the cold night air, he stood for a moment before the doors and looked at the quiet interior of the woodworking shop, carefully pondering everything that had happened. He prayed that they could successfully pull off the daunting task of recovering the book from Carter Cannon, get it back to Hank Harper, and then go about the business of getting on with the rest of their lives.

  Shaking his head, he switched the lights off, pushed the doors together, and locked them. Turning, Nick headed not toward his comfortable condo in town but to his Airstream trailer.

  The final meeting of the Treasure Hunt Club had come to an end.

  Chapter 36

  Nick, Mark, Patti, and Kenneth squatted in the darkness behind a tall hedge of holly. The holly was planted beside the Cannon car dealership and ran along the property line for some one hundred feet or so. Planted by the unfortunate owner of the house next to the dealership some years earlier to provide some semblance of privacy from the bustle and light of the car dealership, the owner must have finally given up, as the house now lay vacant, a “For Sale” sign leaning at an angle from where it had been hammered into the front yard.

  Taking a small penlight from his pocket, Nick shielded its beam with his hand as he checked his wristwatch. It was straight up at two o’clock in the morning—time to set their plan into motion.

  Looking around at the huddled forms of his friends, they, like him, were dressed all in black. Black toboggans covered their heads, and black camo paint was smeared on their faces. Despite the gravity of the situation and the illegal nature of what they were about to engage in, Nick had to stifle the impulse to laugh at their SWAT team-like appearance. Kenneth, in particular, looked like some giant, black carapace beetle. However, there was no mistaking the determination in Kenneth’s eyes as he looked expectantly at Nick.

  A portable, lightweight mic and receiver was secured snugly to Nick’s head, and
he whispered softly into the mic arranged by his mouth.

  “Zeppelin, the eagle is ready to fly! Do you copy?” Zeppelin, as in Led Zeppelin, was the code name Steve had chosen. Steve’s responsibility was to provide surveillance for the front of the car dealership and keep them apprised of the movements of the security officer that patrolled the grounds.

  “Eagle, roger that! Spread your wings and fly!” came Steve’s muffled response.

  Ending the transmission, Nick eased upward and took one more look over the hedge. It was a cold and frosty night, and the heaviness of the air presaged rain as Nick peered intently at the brightly lit dealership. Spotting his target, he spied the back door leading into the service area and garage bays. From there, they planned to enter the dealership’s adjacent suite of offices and, ultimately, Carter’s private office.

  Having utilized the schematic of the security system on the jump drive provided by Tellie, Nick knew the exterior security cameras panned the area directly in front of the door they had chosen once every fifteen seconds. That should give them more than enough time to get to the door, open it, and hurry inside before the camera panned back across it. All exterior doors at the Cannon car dealership were equipped with slotted electric eyes that took scan cards to unlock, much like most modern motel rooms. By having the correct code to imprint on a card—the information provided, once again, by Tellie—it was child’s play for Kenneth to prepare a scan card to unlock the door.

  Squatting down beside the club members, Nick whispered, “Is everybody ready?” Seeing affirmative nods all around, Nick stood and led them to a narrow gap in the hedge. Taking a pair of portable binoculars clipped to a utility belt around his waist, Nick studied a security camera mounted on one of the tall light poles that illuminated the dealership lot. He knew this was the camera that panned the area and door they were headed to. Carefully counting in his head, he waited until the camera began to pan away.