by Alexie Aaron
“Three very important things were successfully kept from the authorities. One: Rachel and George had a child, a daughter named Rebecca, Becky for short. She was living with Rachel’s sister at the time. Becky was spirited out of Pennsylvania for fear that the child would be hung along with her mother. Two: George didn’t drown. He was picked up by a slaver returning to Africa. He worked until he could pay for his passage back. By this time, Rachel was dead and Becky had disappeared. And finally, Becky Wall married Edwin Gifford Senior and lived a quiet life in Illinois. Her children loved her so much that her sons built her the house that, Bea, you’re living in right now. We don’t know why she never used any of the treasure that was sent with her. It’s possible she didn’t want the stain of piracy visited upon her children.”
Mia waited until this story sunk in.
“There were always rumors about a stash of gold and jewels. The Walls, after all, were reported to have stolen more than $6,000 dollars. That’s a lot of money in those days. But after examining the contents of the box, I believe that was but a mere percentage of the haul that the Walls had hidden away.”
“This is where research is so very important. Burt, you sent Mark and me home with the books. We enlisted Dieter’s help, and this is what we found.”
With the large monitor television, Jake displayed photos of the five books, first in the wax paper and then opened.
“Mark, Dieter, and I examined the books, and we think that they are just part of a puzzle, that once solved, will lead us to the missing pirate hoard of George and Rachel Wall. After speaking with Patrick, I believe everything in, and including, the box is needed to decode a message sent to George from Olympe de Gouges. For those unfamiliar with her, she was a writer who wrote essays and articles, trying to sway the French towards freedom and support for orphans, unwed mothers, divorcees, hospitals, and roads. She supported her friend King Louis XVI and lost her head for it. We think she had the hoard hidden on her property, but she saw the change in tide of the French rule and had it sent to a safer place.”
“So this is the hoard?” Mike asked in reference to the items on the middle of the table.
“Oh no, these, believe it or not, are just pieces of the puzzle,” Mia said. “Mark, could you explain this for me?”
Mark stood up. “Please follow along by watching the screen. We, Mia, Dieter, and I concentrated on the books that were hidden with the box. There were two journals and a scrapbook full of flower pressings, which I understand is quite normal for the time period. Also, there was a book called Candide by Voltaire.”
Cid nodded. He was familiar with the book.
“And this,” he said, holding up the grubby little book. “It’s an exercise book by an apprentice navigator named Peter Wall. We think he’s a cousin of George’s or possibly an uncle. He had some crude little drawings, which we know are his, and some very detailed maps, we suspect were added later. Also some interesting adventures he chronicled with his limited knowledge of the written word. So why were these two books concealed in the wall with the box of jewels? The answer actually fell out of one of the books.”
Jake showed a picture of the letter side by side with the translation.
“This is Olympe’s letter to George Hall,” Mike said. “It alone would be worth a fortune, as would the first edition English language translation of Voltaire’s Candide, and people do collect navigation books. This is the treasure, folks.”
“But would Becky Wall know this in her day?” Mia argued.
“No, probably not.”
Mia nodded to Mark to continue.
“We did our homework, read the journals looking for clues. I read Voltaire. Don’t tell my mother. We got together and compiled our notes, and this is what we found out. Jake, next slide.”
Jake put up a flat map of the world.
“Please map out Candide’s travels.”
He did so.
“Please overlay the travels of young Peter Wall.”
Jake first put in the ports of call and then estimated the route taken by a ship of the size the young navigator sailed.
“And finally, overlay all four of the navigation charts we found in the book.”
A very large X formed.
“We’re aware that this takes up a lot of the Caribbean Sea and the north Atlantic,” Mia admitted. “But we have a theory that couldn’t be tested until we had the box.”
Mia opened the box, took a picture of the monogram that was burned into the inside of the lid, and sent it to Jake. Next, she flipped over the jewelry and took close-ups of the silver and goldsmith’s marks. “The last clue I almost destroyed when I unloaded the bullet,” Mia admitted. She had Ted hold the derringer after she returned the bullet to the chamber. She photographed the bullet casing and the odd little scratches around the chamber.
Dieter cleared his voice and spoke, “We’re hoping that once Jake runs his program using these distinct markings that we will either have the name or the shape of the island where George and Rachel’s loot has been hidden. It’s somewhere in this area,” he said, pointing to the X.
“While Jake works on this, I have a few questions,” Mike said. “We know that Edward Jones or whatever he is calling himself these days is also looking for the hoard. If he has never seen these items, how does he know that they exist, Mia?”
“I really don’t know. Maybe he’s got the ghost of George Wall under his control, or found letters in Rebecca’s aunt’s possession, or perhaps, cargo lists from ships leaving France at the time. We really would have to ask him. I know what you’re all thinking: that this could be a wild goose chase. And I am very aware that the timeline doesn’t fit because wax paper wasn’t invented until 1851, and it was used at that time for photographic negatives. Becky died in 1861. Wax paper wasn’t commonly used in households until 1950. Our theories could be wrong, but then again, why is Jones so hot to get ahold of all of this?”
“I’m not so sure your theories are wrong,” Bea said. “Edwin Gifford inherited the house when he was thirty years of age. He may have rewrapped these books when he was an old man, or perhaps a dead man. As you are familiar with Stephen Murphy’s abilities, Edwin too can move objects. Or maybe one of his heirs rewrapped the books. I assume they were originally in some kind of oilcloth or something else that may have rotted. However this was accomplished, the Gifford family kept them all together. Why?”
“Did George ever talk about a treasure?” Cid asked.
“He only said that his mother Becky was a treasure,” Bea said. “He said that the family didn’t really ever want for anything. There was always something to sell that would set them on their feet again. The house was built of brick when most people could only afford wood. Mia, I believe your childhood house was built at the same time.”
Mia, once again, felt guilty for burning the place down.
Jake extracted the imprints from the digital photos and started moving them around on the screen. He also had a few hundred islands to compare each result to.
“Since this looks like it’s going to take some time. I yield the floor to Burt,” Mia said.
“Thanks, Mia. Bravo on the research. You’ve done Audrey proud. Whether there is a pirate hoard out there or not, isn’t our focus at this time. But it confirms who we think has Edwin and, quite possibly, a young woman named Shelia Matveev. She is the beloved daughter of the Russian fence, who conveniently has a client who wants the whole caboodle. According to the fence, all of this has to be intact for the deal to go through. After his meeting with Mr. Matveev, Patrick was followed from the office by two ghosts. Skinny was one of the two ghosts that were tailing Patrick from Matveev’s. For you that weren’t with us on the Seeley sister investigation, Skinny is the dead brother of Edward Jones, aka Norman Grant. We were unable to locate him after his brother was arrested, but we anticipated that there would be people or ghosts following Patrick. We had a trap set up and successfully caught the ghosts.”
“So you can ask Skinny
where his brother is hiding Edwin?” Bea said enthusiastically.
“Mia has taken Skinny out of the picture,” Burt informed her.
“Why?” Bea asked.
“He’s very dangerous,” Mia answered. “He has killed before. I felt he would be too dangerous to have around. I suggested he change his ways and repent. When he declined, I gave him back his knife and introduced him to the reapers of the Dark World.”
Cid turned to Bea and explained, “They collect ghosts that have harmed the living and exile them to a prison that cannot be escaped from.”
“On the positive side, we were able to convince his partner Damian to work with us on the condition we retrieve his skull from the ghost slaver,” Burt said.
“We’ve worked out a plan to draw out the goon-ghosts he has under his control. He is also working with someone named Gloria who Damian claims can see him too.”
“Another sensitive. Maybe she is listed in the birdman vault?” Burt suggested.
“Or Gerald knows her. Either way, if she’s working for Jones, we have to be careful researching her. If they get wind of what we’ve found out so far, they are going to run, and we’ll never recover Edwin in time,” Mia stressed. “This is what we’ve been hired to do. This is our first priority.”
The monitor flashed.
“I have a possible match,” Jake said in his Poindexter guise.
The group crowded around the screen as a Google Earth picture of Guadeloupe filled the screen.
Chapter Thirty-eight
“That’s a big island,” Ted said.
Bea fingered the jewels. “I noticed something…” she started to say, but her confidence failed, and her voice fell off.
“Please go on,” Mia encouraged.
“There are a lot of roses in these pieces. Red rubies, rose settings, and this cross with one large pale ruby in the center. I was thinking… If this island is the place, then maybe Santa Rosa is what the gems are trying to tell us?” Bea asked.
“If they are, it narrows it down, but unfortunately,” Ted said, as he flipped through pages on his iPad, “the area, that is now designated as the Department of Santa Rosa, was hit with a massive earthquake in 1913. If something was hidden in, let’s say, the cathedral or a neighboring estate, it would have been found during the cleanup or buried in the wreckage.”
“Or it’s a false lead,” Patrick said. “Either way, as you have said, Mia, it isn’t our focus right now. It does however support that the prize is so valuable that this Jones fellow would go to the trouble of taking Edwin. Let’s entertain this idea after we rescue Edwin and Shelia,” he suggested.
Dieter raised his hand.
Burt smiled and said, “Yes, Dieter?”
“I suggest we exchange all of this for Edwin and Shelia and whatever cash Jones is prepared to give us. But let’s change a few of the details… Maybe putting the X in the Mediterranean. This way, if Edward Jones or Gloria slips away with the goods, they will be headed in the wrong direction.”
Burt asked, “Jake, can this be done with a minimal amount of changes to the navigator’s book?”
“Affirmative. A skilled hand changing two entries. I suggest a spectral hand, so the sensitives won’t be able to tell a human was involved.”
Burt looked over at Murphy, his father, and Fergus and asked, “Who has got the best penmanship?”
Murphy hunched his shoulders, and Kevin pointed at Fergus.
“You’ll need a writing implement from this time,” Patrick said. He pulled out a slender case and chose what appeared to be a pencil. It wasn’t what Mia was used to seeing. It was a piece of lead bound on either side by a thin square piece of wood. “I you need to sharpen it; you’ll have to use a knife.”
Fergus pulled his knife out of his boot. “I just so happen to have one handy,” he boasted.
“Okay, then. Bea, do you still want to trade all of this for Edwin?” Burt asked.
“Yes.”
“What if he’s expired?” Mike asked.
“Then all these jewels would just bring about an unpleasant memory for me,” Bea said. “Besides, it may be fun to fund an expedition to look for the rest of the loot,” she said with a sly smile.
Mason whistled. “Then what are we all sitting around for? Let’s get going.”
Mia took this as an opportunity to grab a plate and load up on Cid’s baked beans.
“Mighty Mouse,” Ted said, walking over. “Aren’t you interested in pirate booty?”
“Not on an empty stomach,” she said. “A girl’s got to keep up her strength.”
Ted picked up a plate and started serving himself from the buffet. The two of them took their plates to the steps where they could witness the others working while they ate.
Ed, who had been quiet the whole time, walked over with his loaded plate and sat down. “I noticed, you didn’t volunteer me to go back and follow the treasure,” he said.
“That would take all the fun out of it,” Mia said. “It’s like knowing the end of a book before you start reading it.”
“When is Judy coming back?” Ted asked.
“As soon as Audrey and little Luke are well enough to make the trip. Until then, she is learning about goat herding and fish net mending. Is it alright if I stick around here?”
“Yes, of course. Remember, Cid owes you driving lessons.”
“I’m a good driver,” Ed said. “I just get a little distracted by the rudeness of other drivers.”
“Don’t we all,” Ted said.
Murphy drifted over. “Would you mind if my father and Fergus stayed here until we finish this investigation?” he asked Ted and Mia.
“It’s your farm,” Ted said. “Mia and I are just your caretakers.”
Murphy’s eyes twinkled. “I appreciate that, but it’s your farm.”
“As long as you want Kevin and Fergus here, and they want to stay, we don’t have any problem with them being here. But, Murph, they may not want to stay. Don’t get your heart set on it,” Mia warned.
“Actually, I don’t mind them visiting, but my da is a handful to have around all the time,” Murphy admitted.
“The gas company told Dash that they were going to be able to release the lot in a few weeks. Perhaps your da will decide he wants to move on with the others,” Mia said.
“Anything is possible,” Murphy said.
“That it is, Murph, that it is,” Mia said.
~
“Norman,” Gloria asked, “It’s been a long time since your brother or Damian have checked in.”
The small man, formerly known as Edward Jones, looked at his partner a moment before answering. He didn’t totally trust the dark-haired beauty from New Orleans. She normally ran quite a successful palm reading studio. The truth was, she didn’t read the palms of her customers at all, but kept tabs on their dead relatives. Gloria called them snitches. The snitches would read through the clients’ mail and look over their shoulders as they typed on the computer. Gloria put the information together and was able to advise her clients with a seventy-five percent accuracy rate. Edward recruited her because of her knowledge of the French language and because she had a crewman, who worked for the Walls during their pirating, as a snitch.
“I told Skinny not to come back until he located the box and books.”
“Aren’t you at all worried?” she prodded.
“No, ghosts work in their own time.”
“But the risk of having Matveev’s daughter…”
“It’s his own fault. He was demanding a very large cut of my profits. This way, he gets his daughter back if he comes through.”
“What if he doesn’t?” Gloria asked.
“We leave her and walk away from the project.”
“But she’ll die without us changing her oxygen.”
“That’s not our fault, is it?” Edward said.
Gloria did notice that Norman was nervous. “What’s wrong?”
“Of all the towns to find Becky Wall’s hei
r, it had to be Big Bear Lake.”
“It’s a small place. What’s the problem?”
“One: they have a sensitive for a deputy, a notorious ghost hunter for a sheriff, and two: it’s the home address for PEEPs.”
“So?”
“And you call yourself a sensitive. PEEPs are responsible for my last incarceration.”
“Oh yeah, how did you get out of prison anyway.”
“Skinny busted me out. He distracted the guard while I was being examined for a possible appendix rupture.”
“Clever,” Gloria said. “But not as clever as my ghost trap.”
“I have to say that impressed me.”
“I found out by accident. I was invited into a house of a young Hollywood couple who wanted me to check out why their house’s energy felt so different. I go to the house, and there is a line of ghosts that extends down the block. I walk in, and it’s wall to wall spirits. They were all clustered around this glowing piece of salt. I asked the homeowners what it was. They said it was a block of Himalayan salt made into a lamp. I told them it was the source of the energy problem. I took the lamp out, and the ghosts followed me out the door and down to the Mississippi where I tossed it in. The ghosts seem to snap out of their lethargy, and they took off. It’s like their catnip, or more like opium. It calms them down. It was you who figured out how to trap them in the box.”
“I can’t take credit for it. I read it somewhere. I just didn’t know that it had to be Himalayan salt,” Edward admitted.
“Live and learn, live and learn,” Gloria said. Her watch beeped. “Oops, time for Princess Matveev’s oxygen.” She picked up a bottle and bellowed, “Arthur Heinz, get your ass in here!”
The large ghost appeared. “Come on, time to lift the lid off the sarcophagus.”
Edward followed them into the crypt. The ghost moved the heavy piece of granite off Shelia’s prison with ease. She tried to rise, but Gloria kept a firm hand on her chest. The oxygen bottle was exchanged. He looked in the coffin and saw that Edwin’s box was still sealed. It wouldn’t be long before the ghost would be useless to Edward. Where was Skinny?