“What else do you have? I can tell by your voice that there has to be more. You don’t get this excited over something small. We suspect that his offspring had something to do with the killings.”
“I tracked it. Louis Jameson had three daughters.”
Shit!
That didn't fit.
They were pretty sure that men had to be doing this. Moving, hiding, and burying these bodies would take strength. A woman couldn’t do it. Plus, Beckett swore he chased a man out of the house.
“Oh, I have so much more!”
The excitement was back.
“Okay, spill it.” Tori stared at the house, willing the woman to pick up the pace.
“Then, late in life, his sister and brother-in-law died, and he took in their only son.”
They looked to be back on track.
“And?”
“They didn't officially adopt Henry. That’s why I had a tough time linking the Jameson name. I was looking for a closer link. I didn't expect to find a different branch to the family tree.”
Tori waited patiently.
With Christina, you couldn’t rush genius.
“Anyway, Henry grows up and remains here in town. He worked here all his life.”
She tried to urge her along. “What else, Christina?”
“He had a son.”
Okay, they might be back on track.
“Right now, you have a man named Harvey wandering around town who may have something to do with this.”
Tori couldn’t place his name.
It sounded familiar… “I need more. I don’t recall a Harvey. What’s the last name?”
“Oh, when you hear it. You have the Jameson family morphing into the Webb family.”
“Wait, what?”
“The grandson of Louis Jameson is Harvey Webb.”
Tori’s heart skipped. “Are you sure?”
She giggled. “Yes! As sure as I am about my kane-ykins…”
Tori hung up.
She didn't have time for more of Christina’s celebration.
The man had been in the house. When they located the first body in the wine cellar, he’d stood there, checking it out. They’d found him following them in town. When they asked the sheriff to call off her tail, she was surprised.
Shit!
Shit!
Shit!
The man wasn’t following them because of the job. He was tailing them to keep tabs on them.
Tori knew that she needed to tell Julian.
Rushing toward the house, she quickly texted Claire and Beckett to meet her, and fast!
They needed to get this wrapped up.
While this made sense, Tori couldn’t help but feel like they were missing a piece of something.
She needed that one last piece to make it click…
They had to find it.
* * *
When she came to, her hands were bound behind her. Along with that, Claire couldn’t speak. The duct tape covered her mouth, and was securely wrapped around her ankles.
She was in trouble.
Looking around, she recognized the area.
They weren’t far from where they found Jeffery Lamont’s body. In the distance, she could see the fountain with the cherub on top. It cheerfully spouted water, and Claire wished her legs were free. Then, she’d make a break for it.
Claire struggled against her bonds.
Just as the tears filled her eyes, she felt herself being jerked to her feet. The rough hands startled her, pulling a gasp from her mouth.
“Hello,” he hissed into her ear.
She whimpered, trying to stay calm.
“You just couldn’t find the treasure. You had to be nosey and look for the bodies. They needed to stay buried.”
Claire tried to steady her breath. The man holding her arm sounded absolutely crazy.
Then again, that should come as no surprise.
He was.
“I want my gold, bitch!” he hissed, turning her around. Roughly, he yanked the duct tape from her mouth.
Claire wanted to cry from the sharp pain, but instead, she screamed for help.
The deputy lashed out, using the butt of his gun to cold cock her. She fell, again seeing stars.
Grabbing her by the hair, he dragged her toward the water. Oh, he was going to get his gold, one way or another.
It was time to see how good the Littlemoons really were.
Inside, they avoided the real estate guy.
It was no easy task.
As they convened in the living room, Tori couldn’t wait to tell them what she’d learned. Only, there seemed to be a problem. They couldn’t figure out where the hell Claire was.
Beckett pulled out his phone and began dialing hers over and over.
There was no response.
Julian started getting that sick feeling.
“We have to find her. Something isn't right,” Beckett said, glancing down at his watch. It had been thirty minutes since he’d seen her. She should be on the first floor.
That’s where he told her to stay.
Just as he was about to start calling her name, they heard it.
From outside, there was a blood curdling scream.
Beckett’s blood went ice cold. From the sound of it, it appeared that his woman was in trouble.
They raced from the house and through the rose garden. When they stormed into the swampy brush, they found her.
Claire was leaning limply against the deputy, a gun to her head.
Well, shit.
Julian didn't see this one coming.
Tori mumbled, “Christina just told me it was him. We were a few minutes late.”
Never in his life had Beckett Rand ever felt such a bowel chilling terror. Claire’s face was bruised, and she had obviously been abused.
He wanted the man’s blood.
“Where’s my gold? I know you found it! I saw that man arrive. He’s going to take it away!”
Tori whispered, “Stall.”
“We don’t have it,” Julian stated, hoping that they could save his sister. The last thing he wanted was to lose one of his siblings.
This would kill his mother and family.
“Liar!” He shook Claire, right before putting his finger on the trigger.
Beckett almost wanted to charge the man, only he knew Claire would die in the cross fire.
As if knowing what he was thinking, she looked over at him. There was terror in her eyes.
For a change, she needed him to save her.
Beckett was her anchor to life.
“Okay! We know where it is,” Julian said, stalling. He hoped his wife knew what she was doing. They had a lot riding on this one.
“Where is it? Get it!” Deputy Harvey Webb demanded.
He may be young, but he was playing the role of homicidal nut job like a pro.
Obviously, crazy ran in the family.
“It’s in the water,” Tori stated.
She needed something that would distract him, plus move them closer to Claire. “It’s at the bottom.”
Beckett began praying.
If she survived this, he was marrying her sooner, rather than later.
“You!” He pointed at Tori. “You go in.”
Julian looked worried. If she moved toward the water, she would be even closer to the lunatic with the gun.
Yeah, this sucked all the way around. Now he had two problems to worry about.
“Okay,” she stated, slipping back into her FBI training. Hopefully, it would save her.
Little did he know, she wasn’t getting into the water.
The buzzing began in her ears.
“Why did you do it?” Tori asked, as the distance between them began closing. If she could, she was going to try and get to Claire.
Try was the operative word.
She noticed that with the buzzing, the wind started picking up. She prayed that Bethany wouldn’t pull her under quite yet. Tori needed to be aware to pul
l this off.
“It’s ours!” he raged. “My family was promised that gold. I have a letter that was passed down from generation to generation, and finally to my grandfather.”
Tori tried to keep him calm. “It’s okay, Harvey. Just let her go, and we can talk about this.”
He yanked Claire’s hair aside brutally, right before shoving the barrel of his service revolver under her chin.
Beckett went to move.
Julian stopped him. “He’ll kill her,” he whispered. “Give Tori time. This is what she used to do. You have to trust her.”
He hated putting Claire’s and his fate in someone else’s hands. If Julian was hanging back, and had just as much to lose, he could do the same.
“Talk to me, Harvey. Who was your family? Ralph Clarence?”
He started laughing. “No! My ancestry goes back to Fuente Delmarco. He was Christabel’s lover. She promised us the gold. She left it to him. I have his letter!”
Harvey ripped something out of his pocket as he struggled to brace Claire against him. When he pulled it out, he threw it at Tori.
“READ IT! You’ll see this gold is mine!”
She bent down, her eyes never leaving the gun in his hand. When her fingers closed over the ancient paper, she stood.
With gentle fingers, she opened it.
“READ IT or she dies!”
Tori held it up. “Okay, give me a second. It’s in Spanish,” she stated. Scanning it, she realized why the man really believed it was his.
‘To my family,
I’m in love with Christabel Carlsbad. She’s the love of my life. We’ve secretly wed, and her dowry was given to me. She offered gold and riches beyond my wildest dreams for saving her. My family will never suffer again. If someone tries to steal our claim, fight it! Battle against them as I will go to war to save my Christabel.
Fuente Delmarco
“See! They were married. That gold is mine!”
Yeah, he was crazy.
Tori wasn’t going to tell the man that Christabel was married to the sea captain, and that his claim was void. If she did, surely he’d lose it. This man was five days past insane.
“So, your family decided to kill people?”
“We were protecting what was ours. My grandfather and father were just doing their job. Now, I’m finishing it. I killed Jeffery Lamont, but he deserved to die. He was trying to steal my gold.”
Suddenly, it occurred to Tori. “Andy Dawkins didn't leave town, did he?”
Harvey Webb started laughing. “Oh, he’s gone all right. He’s not coming back and a BOLO isn't going to find him. Let’s just say he’s swimming with the leeches.”
Tori glanced over at the murky water.
Julian watched his wife work. Already, she was three feet closer, and the man wasn’t even aware.
“You killed him too?”
“Yes, after you damn idiots got nosey, he started digging. He found out about the gold from the information Jeffery had shared with Elianna. They didn't tell you everything.”
Julian hated fake psychics. He wanted to strangle the surviving woman.
“I found him researching my family roots at the historian’s office. He found out the truth and had the balls to come right out and asked me to team up with him. He tried to blackmail me. Well, that didn't work well for him.”
Oh boy, they had been off on that one.
“He wanted my gold.”
“So you killed him.”
“I did. He’s in there with Jeffery.” He pointed at the water with his gun.
It was obvious that the man didn't know they found all the bodies.
“I've been watching you. All I wanted was for you to find the gold. You’re supposed to be good at your job. Instead, you had to get nosey. Why couldn’t you just do your damn job?”
Tori noticed he was on the edge.
When his finger moved on the trigger, she knew it was time to move.
Suddenly, a voice grabbed their attention.
“What the hell is going on here?” asked the real estate agent.
It was all Tori needed. She rushed the man, seeing Beckett do the same from her peripheral. Grabbing Claire, she took them both into the water. She heard the gunshot, and then the audible gasp of breath before they hit the murky water.
She only hoped no one was hurt.
Julian saw his wife make her move. His instinct was to shout, but he let it play out. His sister and wife were both on the line. Tumbling into the water was likely the safest place for them. At least there, they could hide. Julian saw Beckett’s intent, and when he began moving, he was right behind him. The gunshot rang out, but that didn't stop them.
Unfortunately for the killer, Julian wasn’t the first one to reach him.
God help Harvey Webb because Beckett Rand now had him. From the look on his face, the killer was a dead man.
Beckett had never been so angry in all his life. As he grappled on the ground for the weapon, he wanted to kill the man beneath him.
He could only pray that Tori was as good a swimmer as she claimed. With all that murk and lily pads, a person could get tangled up.
As his fist met the man’s face, he heard the delicious satisfaction of bone crunching.
Then there was the scent of blood, and despite some of it being his own, he continued wailing on the man, as Julian went for the gun.
“You have to stop.”
Beckett heard the words through the bloody rage. As if a switch was flipped, sanity sunk in.
He was about to kill a man.
Again.
“You have to let him go!” Julian ordered, trying to get through to the man.
Beckett stared down at his bloody fist before getting off Harvey Webb.
“I hear you, Julian,” he said, staring over at the water. Now, he needed to get to Claire.
Tori was close enough to Claire under the water that in the brown murk, she could see the look of panic on her face. With her arms and legs bound, she was at Tori’s mercy.
Immediately, she wrapped her arms around her sister-in-law and pushed up, swimming them to the surface. When the women broke water, Julian and Beckett were right there.
“Claire!” he shouted, wading in to grab her.
Julian helped his wife out, offering her his hand. As soon as their fingers touched, he was able to breathe again.
This was one hell of a close call.
Horace Willimaker rushed over, cell in hand. “I called the sheriff,” he stated, looking at the deputy on the ground. “I didn't know who the bad guy was.”
They all pointed at Harvey Webb.
Then, they laughed. It was the crash of adrenaline that made it amusing.
Beckett pulled the duct tape from his woman’s limbs before scooping her up in his arms. “Jesus, Claire. You’re going to kill me yet.”
She held on, very close to hysteria herself.
Julian hugged his wife. “You’re done. I’m going to find a way to make you retire.”
She kissed him. “Hey, this time, I’m not hurt. I’m only wet.” She paused. “Uh, you better call the FBI tech. In fact, tell them to bring agents. Andy Dawkins is down there, and I don’t think the sheriff should be running this.”
“You saw him through all that water?” Julian asked.
Tori shook her head. “Uh no. I probably should say that I heard him”
Julian didn't want to ask.
He was just grateful they were all alive.
* * *
Three Hours Later
Thursday Afternoon
This one was in the record books.
They’d found the six--no make that seven bodies. The FBI was in charge of the case, screwing over the sheriff, which just seemed right.
They’d given their statements, Claire had been checked out, and they were ready to head out.
Only, there was one thing yet to be done.
They still didn't know where to find gold.
As the Lamonts stoo
d before them, still mourning the loss of their brother, everyone was left with a bad taste in their mouth.
Technically, it wasn’t solved.
Never before had they walked away without getting resolution for their client.
“Maybe the gold never existed,” Beckett offered. “It could be some bullshit story passed down from generation to generation.”
Chester Lamont agreed. “Or, it could be buried with one of them.”
At his words, Tori got that wave of awareness, along with what felt like a cool kiss on her cheek. Bethany was there and had something to say.
In her head, she let the deceased woman take control. Everything got wavy and a little gray before she found herself staring at the fountain.
It was right there before her. Now, Tori knew why she had that feeling earlier.
The angel.
The crypt.
They matched.
She began laughing over how simple this mystery really had been. The Carlsbad family had hid their treasure in plain sight for anyone to see--if they looked.
Julian glanced over, seriously wondering if she needed to be looked at too.
She explained without him having to ask. “While we were on the tour, Elianna told me that Maurizio was so distraught over what he’d done, that he had an angel made to represent his daughter. There was one commissioned by his wife for the crypt, and there was this one.”
They watched her head toward the fountain. When she climbed into the water, approaching the spitting cherub, they thought she had definitely lost it.
“Pocket knife,” she said, holding out her hand.
Beckett tossed it to her.
She began scraping at the white concrete. It chipped away easily. Beneath it, the treasure was coming into sight.
Julian couldn’t believe it. He was about to ask how when his wife turned around. Her hair was blowing in a breeze, only there wasn’t one.
It was answer enough.
This was a gift from the great beyond. Why the hell didn't they just think to ask Bethany before?
“Jesus!” stated Chester. “That’s a fortune.”
Unthinkable Games (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 3) Page 41