by Lyndsey Cole
Cal slid the back window open and extended his hand. “Ladies first.”
Hannah looked at Cal, then the rectangle of open window. “Are you serious?”
He grinned. “Yup. You’ll have an easier time fitting through than I will. I locked myself out once and had to force the window open to get in. It was a tight fit.”
“Head first or feet first?”
“Never mind. I’ll go first so I can catch you when you push yourself through.”
Hannah liked the sound of that. She didn’t mind one bit falling into Cal’s arms, even if it was in such an unromantic situation.
“What are you smiling about?” Cal grinned at Hannah.
“I can’t wait to see how you do this. The window doesn’t look big enough. I might have to give you a shove.”
Cal put his arms and head through the window and wiggled his chest through. With a kick off the seat, the rest of his body slid through like a seal in the water. He turned toward the window and smiled at Hannah. “Your turn.”
Hannah tucked her envelope with the map and key into the waistband of her jeans and under her shirt. She copied Cal’s technique, and as her body started to fall toward the bed of the truck, his strong arms caught her and pulled her the rest of the way through. He slid the window shut and jumped off the bed of his truck. “That wasn’t too bad. Maybe by the time we come back, one of these other cars will be gone and we won’t have to go through the window again.”
Hannah looked at the two cars on either side of Cal’s truck. Fortunately, only one side of each car was blocked in by his truck so the door on the far side could still be opened and they wouldn’t have to climb in through their trunk.
Country music blared from speakers on the roof. “Michael went all out for this event,” Cal noted. “He even fixed the lights in his sign.”
With his hand on the small of Hannah’s back, Cal guided her to the door of the pub. The closer they got, the louder the mix of music, talking, and the crack of pool balls sounded. The scent of clam chowder drifted out the door making Hannah’s mouth water.
Moving from the bright sunshine to the dim lighting inside the pub took her eyes several seconds to adjust. The crowd inside made her pause with anxiety but she pushed through and took another step forward. Someone walked by and bumped into her, knocking her against Cal. “Hey Doll Face, I gave up on you showing up for your own party. Grub’s decent.”
“Rocky. Where’s your Nana? Is she coming too?” Hannah decided a bit of civility toward Rocky might get her the information she needed to find Ruby.
“Naw. She said she had something to do and I’m supposed to buy the raffle tickets for the map.” He winked at Hannah. “All of them.”
Hannah’s right eyebrow shot up. “How are you going to manage that?”
Rocky pulled out a wad of bills. “Money talks, right Doll Face? I’m planning to offer to buy any raffle ticket for twenty bucks. Smart, huh?”
“Do you have any idea what the buried treasure is?” Hannah was intrigued with Rocky’s strategy and extremely curious why he was willing to shell out so much money for something that might or might not even exist.
“Ha, nice try Doll Face. Lenny said you’d be asking a lot of questions. He was convinced that old lady Caroline buried something valuable. Maybe leaving a nice surprise for you or your sister.”
Hannah pulled away from Cal, nodding for him to help Meg with the food. She inched closer to Rocky, knowing flattery was his drug in a conversation. “You certainly are a sharp planner, Rocky. Your nana must be pleased with your plan.”
He waved that comment off with a quick flick of his wrist. “Nana doesn’t have a clue. She’s off chasing your sister, but that’s not where the dough is.” He tapped the side of his head with his finger. “I’ve got it all figgered out. She doesn’t know I was pumping poor Lenny for information.”
“Clever,” Hannah gushed. “When did you last see Lenny? Alive?”
Rocky’s eyes darkened. “What are you thinking, Doll Face. I didn’t kill that creep.”
Hannah gently placed her hand on his arm, cringing inside but keeping her face soft and friendly. “Of course not. I’m only trying to get the timeline straight.”
“Oh, yeah, the timeline. Well, let me think. I followed your sister to a house and went in after she left. Lenny and that real slime ball, Marco, were having an argument when I walked in. No knocking, I just barged in and surprised them. Smart, huh? Caught ‘em off guard.”
Hannah nodded. “Very smart. You knew Marco?” Hannah had managed to slowly maneuver Rocky to a corner away from the crowd. She loved pumping him for information and figured no one gave him the attention he craved. In her mind, Hannah likened him to a needy puppy; eager to please in exchange for a coveted pat on his shaggy head.
“Sure. Nana used him for all sorts of stuff. Not anything I can share with you, though.”
“What about Lenny? How well did you know him?”
Rocky’s eyes brightened. “That’s the funniest part. That old lady friend of Nana’s, Caroline? She needed help finding someone. Some relative or something like that. Anyway, the guy she was looking for? Lenny? Turns out he was Marco’s cousin or second cousin or at least somehow related. Caroline paid a bundle to Nana for what turned out to be a five minute job.”
Lights were flashing in Hannah’s head. All the connections were beginning to make sense. Lenny followed Ruby right to the buried treasure location. That must have been a plus for him and his sleaze-ball cousin. The rest of the mob followed Marco and Lenny.
“How about I buy you a beer, Rocky?” She already had her hand up to get Michael’s attention and she pulled a couple of chairs to a small round table for herself and Rocky. “Make yourself comfy. I’ll be right back.”
Rocky had a wide, self-satisfied smile on his face. “I knew you’d come around, Doll Face. No one can resist Rocky’s charm.”
Hannah patted his shoulder as she moved to the bar to get the beer. Cal whispered, “What’s going on? Are you ditching me for that mobster?”
“Seriously, Cal? I’m playing to his ego to loosen his tongue. And boy oh boy, does he love to talk.”
Hannah set a beer in front of Rocky. “So, where were we?” She leaned across the small table and whispered close to Rocky’s ear, “Do you think Lenny killed Marco? Weren’t they out on that boat together?”
“I don’t know about that. I always suspected Lenny was working with someone else and he just threw the body overboard.”
“Who would that be?”
“Your sister? Ya know, find the treasure and split it two ways? She did meet him to cook up something. Cut you right out.” He winked at Hannah. “You and me? We could beat her to it if we team up. Whaddya think? You still got the map?”
Hannah sat back so fast the front legs of her chair lifted off the floor. Was he playing her for a fool instead of her finding out useful information? Was he smarter than she gave him credit for?
Hannah felt an arm around her shoulder. She looked up to see Cal staring at Rocky, sending a signal not to mess with her. Cal squeezed her shoulder. “Everything all right here?”
“Sure thing, dude.” Rocky stood up. “Think about it, Doll Face. I’m not going anywhere. At least not till I’ve got that map.” He patted his pocket full of money and winked at Hannah.
Chapter 19
“What was that all about?” Cal asked as he slid onto the seat vacated by Rocky. “You can close your mouth now,” he teased as he gently pinched Hannah’s lips together.
“I wish I knew the answer to your question. Just when I think I have the upper hand, they manage to twist the conversation around to make me feel like a complete and total incompetent fool.”
“They?” Cal twisted his head around in the direction where Rocky disappeared. “I thought you were talking to only one person. Or,” he smirked, “maybe just half a person.”
“They meaning Pearl, and now Rocky. He acts like such a doofus, but he led me right down the path to whe
re he wanted me.”
Cal’s brow furrowed. “I’m not liking the sound of where that path is taking you.”
“The path of doubting my own sister and trying to manipulate me to help him find the buried treasure.”
“Oh, that’s all.” Cal wiped his brow of pretend sweat. “I thought it was some romantic path, Doll Face.”
Hannah slapped Cal’s arm. “Not funny, Mister.” She leaned closer to Cal. “And listen to this, he’s planning to buy the raffle tickets from everyone so he has all of them. I want that money to go to the library.”
“How about instead of a raffle, you sell the map to the highest bidder? Auction it off. I’ll get a bunch of guys to bid the price up so Rocky has to spend all his money and the library gets it. I’ll even get a spicy rumor started about what the treasure might be. Maybe … gold coins or jewelry or an antique silver tea set.”
“No, we can’t change the rules at this point. According to Michael, raffle tickets are selling like hot cakes. We might still be able to beat him at his own game, though. Get the rumor mill working about the treasure and that should make it harder for Rocky to buy up the tickets. Maybe there really is a valuable buried treasure out there.”
“Ha, didn’t you see the same thing I saw?” Cal checked around him to the left and right. “Worthless baubles.”
“Pearl wants the property. Maybe she knows something we haven’t figured out yet.”
Cal stood up. “Possible, but I’m leaning more toward what Meg and Jack said about it being a hoax. They were both close to Caroline. If they suspected something, don’t you think this whole search fiasco would have happened years ago? Why now?”
“Good point. With Great Aunt Caroline out of the way, Pearl figures she can manipulate me or scare me to death by kidnapping Ruby. It’s working, too.”
Cal held Hannah’s shoulders. “Listen. Ruby is worth nothing to Pearl if she hurts her. She wants a trade and she’s counting on you blinking first. I’ll get the buzz started about the map and see what kind of scum we flush out of the woodwork.” He gazed into Hannah’s eyes. “Okay?”
She nodded.
Hannah finally pushed her way through the crowd to check with Meg and find out how the lobster rolls and clam chowder were selling.
“Fantastic,” Meg said as she filled three more bowls. “I hope we don’t run out. This is whetting everyone’s appetite for when the snack bar is finally open for business.”
Hannah was relieved with that good news. “Cal got the last beam in place, so as soon as the inspector comes back we’ll be able to open.”
Meg pushed a bowl of chowder into Hannah’s hand. “You need to eat something. Circulate, say hello to everyone. And, Hannah? Wipe that worried look off your face. Channel Caroline. Be friendly, tough, and pushy.”
Hannah turned around and almost dumped her bowl of chowder down the front of Sherry’s neatly ironed, button down shirt. “So sorry.”
Sherry stepped to one side. “You’re just the person I’ve been looking for. I’m curious about the buried treasure map that Jack told me about. It does make for an interesting story for this little town.”
Hannah tried to sip her chowder without spilling any down the front of her own shirt, never mind on someone else. It didn’t go well. “It’s something I found when I was sorting through my great aunt’s belongings. You know, after I inherited the property.”
Sherry touched Hannah’s arm, jostling the full spoon. “Isn’t that how it always goes? You find the most unexpected item in the least likely spot. Was it hidden under a floor board or behind a fake wall?” Sherry’s eyes were wide with anticipation.
Hannah laughed. “You have a healthy imagination, Sherry. No, nothing as glamorous as all that. It was in a box filled with old letters.” Hannah moved away from the chowder table. “And I’ve learned there are other copies floating around but they are all a bit different. I’ll be selling the original map.”
Sherry clapped her hands together. “How exciting. I didn’t expect to fall into the middle of a real live exciting mystery.”
“Well, you could call it that, especially with the two murders.”
Her eyes widened. “So they are connected.”
Hannah shrugged. “That’s my guess. Excuse me, I have to say hello to more people.” She finished the rest of her chowder and set the bowl down. It was too much of a risk to try to circulate and eat at the same time, she realized.
“Of course,” Sherry said as she got in line for a lobster roll.
Before Hannah could make the rounds, Laura Masterson pulled on Hannah’s arm. “I wasn’t sure I was in the right place.” She looked around the inside of the pub and wrinkled her nose. “It’s a tad rundown compared to the rest of Hooks Harbor. When is the map event? I have a bit of money left from my father and I thought I’d invest it in the map. You know, in his memory. I feel like he’s right here with me,” she gushed.
Great, thought Hannah, almost laughing, a ghost to hang out with Great Aunt Caroline. Hannah had no feeling that her Great Aunt Caroline was sitting on her shoulder or whispering in her ear or in any way looking out for her. On the contrary, Great Aunt Caroline dumped this mess in Hannah’s lap when she died and left it for her to figure out.
Maybe that was the point. Great Aunt Caroline had always been an independent person, taking the less traveled path, and loving it.
With the buried treasure map she forced Hannah to go out on a limb—be creative, brave, take control of her life, get out of her comfort zone. Was that the whole point? Hannah smiled to herself. Yeah, surprise, surprise, just when she least expected it, Great Aunt Caroline was with her after all, pushing her to show everyone she could solve even the stickiest problem.
“What’s the smile about, Ms. Holiday?” Hannah felt warm breath near her ear.
Hannah’s smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
“I wouldn’t suspect you would find anything to smile about with your sister and her daughter gone missing. But you could take me up on my offer to trade Caroline’s property for them. Good deal, don’t you think?”
Hannah slowly turned her head to look straight into Pearl’s eyes. “I’ll think about it.”
Pearl laughed. “Nice bluff, dear.” She checked her watch. “You have until Rocky gets back to win the treasure map.” She moved toward Meg with a big smile as she paid for a lobster roll and bowl of clam chowder.
Meg caught Hannah’s eye and silently mouthed, poison it? Hannah grinned and nodded before she turned away to mingle. She searched the crowd and spotted Cal’s shaggy blond hair above most of the other patrons. She wormed her way through the crowd. As she approached, she heard the words gold coins and jewelry. If this didn’t get the raffle tickets moving, nothing would, she thought.
Hannah tapped Cal’s arm. He bent close to her face and asked, “How are you doing?”
“Pearl is here. She’s acting very cocky, like she’s holding all aces and expects me to fold at any minute, or at least by the time Rocky wins the map.”
Cal’s hand on the small of her back felt reassuring. “Let her keep thinking that.” He pulled Hannah closer. “If Pearl is here, who’s watching Ruby and Olivia?”
Hannah quickly scanned the crowd for Rocky’s dark mop of hair. Nothing. Pearl and Rocky must have switched off to give Pearl a chance to push Hannah’s fear button a little harder.
“Call Ruby’s phone. Now. She can outsmart that nit wit if he’s the only one guarding her,” Cal said as he pushed Hannah away from the crowd.
Without thinking, her fingers hit Ruby’s number. The familiar loon call for Ruby’s ring tone sounded not far from where she stood. Pearl caught Hannah’s glance and answered. Hannah’s shoulders sagged.
“You called, dear? Ready to make that deal?” Pearl held Ruby’s phone to her ear. “It would have been an amateur mistake to leave Ruby’s phone with Rocky. Don’t worry, I know all the tricks.” She disconnected the call and winked.
Hannah’s phone rang.
Her heart raced with anticipation. “Jack?”
She nodded and smiled before hanging up.
“What?” Cal asked.
She slid her phone into her front jeans pocket. “Pam’s watching the house where Pearl took Ruby and Olivia. They appear to be safe for now. Pam’s waiting for the right chance to rush in. Jack said to keep Pearl here. She’s the devious one.”
Chapter 20
Hannah found Michael and asked him for help.
“Sure thing.” He snapped his fingers and two big, burly men appeared at Hannah’s side. “Tell them what you need,” Michael said before he moved away to help a customer.
Hannah felt dwarfed between Michael’s friends. She described Pearl to them. “The old lady with purple hair,” and explained their mission. “She can’t leave. Do whatever it takes.”
“You got an in with the cops? I don’t want any jail time,” the shorter guy with a nasty scar on his chin said.
“No worries. Just don’t kill her. That’s my reward,” Hannah whispered.
Both men raised their eyebrows in shock before breaking into big grins. Scarface softly punched her shoulder. “Just like Caroline. Happy to be of service.”
Hannah was impressed with how quickly they melted into the crowd and reappeared near Pearl. Scarface even chatted her up and must have told her a joke since she burst out laughing. Great.
Hannah called Jack. “Where are you? I want to see if I can help get Ruby and Olivia out.”
Jack told her he would call Cal and give him the address. They could come together since Cal would know exactly where the house was. Pam wouldn’t be happy, but Jack didn’t care about that at the moment. Hannah checked with Meg and Michael to be sure everything was under control before heading off to find Cal.
“Go,” Meg told Hannah. “Don’t worry about a thing here. Just be back in time for the raffle winner.”
Hannah had a brilliant idea. She got Scarface’s attention and asked him if they could get Ruby’s phone away from Pearl.
“Piece of cake. You wait by the door and I’ll pass it to you in a few minutes.”