Emerald Fire (31 page)

He’d love nothing more than to kiss her until she forgot all about missing emeralds and cold, dark crypts. But reality said that had to wait. This wasn’t the place or the time. Reluctantly, he broke off the kiss, but did so slowly, relishing her taste, the way her lips fit his, and how easy it was to lose the world when she panted those tiny little breaths against his skin.

“Let’s go home,” he said quietly, almost hoping she didn’t hear. They had a long walk back with little to no cell service, and it was well past time for another check-in with those waiting at NorthStar.

But she heard. “Home,” she repeated, and her arms slid from around his neck. When she frowned and turned away from him, he wondered what he’d said wrong. Silently, she took one last long look around and headed for the ladder.

They climbed out into complete darkness. Finn set his spotlight on the ground, its light shining upward into the dome and reflecting down. Together they wrestled the slab back where it belonged. Desmond’s final resting place needed to remain secret for a while longer.

While Chloe scattered leaves around to try to hide the star from sight, Finn stashed the logs they’d used just inside the woods. They might need them again in the near future. Then he swept, brushed, and tossed away any evidence of their intrusion.

When he was done, he glanced back at the folly to see Chloe standing motionless on the steps, staring down at the floor. This failure was a blow for him, but it had to hit her even harder. She’d poured years of her life into this search, only to come up empty-handed at the end. That would be a tough pill to swallow for anyone. But Chloe had tenacity. She wouldn’t give up. He wouldn’t let her. Together they’d figure it out.

He joined her on the steps and took one last look around. They couldn’t erase every sign of their disturbance—only time would accomplish that—but they’d done a fairly decent job of remediation. Chloe still contemplated the floor, only now she chewed on a fingernail and frowned.

“You are thinking so hard I can hear the wheels turning,” he said. “What is it?”

She pointed to the maritime star. It was still visible, and he wondered if they should toss on more forest debris.

She tilted her head slightly as she stared at it. “You know,” she said softly, “there’s one other person who knew about the emeralds while Desmond was alive.”

Finn tried to follow her train of thought. Then the answer hit him. “Reginald Mathis.”

She turned to face him. “He is the founding father of NorthStar and lifelong friend of William Desmond. He was with him in Prussia. He sailed to America on the same ship. Mathis knew the secret. When his friend’s mental health began to decline, he would’ve helped him build this thing to protect that secret.” She waved her arm out to encompass the folly. “Desmond’s daughter had died. The only heirs to inherit his estate were Emily’s two children. They never knew Desmond, didn’t know the secret. They wouldn’t hesitate to sell the house, the land, every bit of it for the money.”

Finn began to understand the logic of what she was saying. “Mathis may have feared for the emeralds’ safety when the property sold. But why wouldn’t he tell the heirs? Why continue to keep silent?”

“I don’t know. Honor, maybe. What if he promised his dying friend to guard the legacy? If so, it makes sense he’d move them if the estate went up for sale.” She went silent and chewed on her bottom lip for a second. “This is a long shot, but could they be hidden somewhere at NorthStar?”

Finn rubbed at his chin as he thought. “It’s possible, I guess. There are plenty of places to hide a bundle that size.”

“There aren’t many structures left from that era. Right? Sort of narrows the field.”

“Not just buildings,” Finn added. “They could be buried on the grounds. The journal, the chalice…underground seemed to be a focus for both.”

“Let’s hope not. That would be a needle in a haystack.”

Finn lit the backlight on his watch. “It’s nine-forty, and we’ve done all we can here. How about we head back and see what we can find out?”

Chloe lifted her backpack in place and grabbed her spotlight. “Lead the way.”

While they followed the narrow animal trail back toward the wider cart path, Finn mentally went over possible locations. He’d already demolished several old buildings and found nothing, but they probably weren’t candidates anyhow.

“Are you thinking about where they could be hidden?” Chloe asked from behind him.

“NorthStar is old. Over the years, there’ve been a few buildings lost, but no record or family stories of finding a cache of jewels. Something like that would surely leave a mark. Dad and I have taken down a couple structures on the verge of collapse. Nothing found.”

“What about Ronan’s house?”

“Maybe, but we replaced the electrical wiring three years ago and pretty much had to tear down the interior walls. We didn’t find anything.”

Finn also disqualified the old cordage shop. Definitely the right time frame, and he supposed it could be possible, but he doubted it. Making heavy sailing rope had been a dirty job. The scent of tar permeated the long and narrow building. Hard-packed dirt floor, twin metal tracks used to stretch the hemp, and a flame-heated boiler for the tar, it wouldn’t have been a safe place to store any kind of valuables.

“That leaves the old dry dock and the lumber corral,” Chloe said. “Anything else?”

“There’s the Lobster Shack and old Harbor Master’s Cabin.”

When they left the animal trail and moved onto the wider cart path, Chloe stepped up beside him. “I still think your dad’s house has the most potential.”

She was right. It would be logical for Mathis to hide the jewels in his home. But they’d done extensive remodeling to modernize. Nothing unusual was found. “Something would have shaken out with all the tearing down we did.”

“But Mathis built that house,” she said, keeping at it. “Surely he included a cubby hole or a secret room.”

“You really do like spy novels, don’t you?”

She shrugged. “I like mysteries. And puzzles. Mathis is both. The inscription on the chalice says he was a true and faithful friend. Probably Desmond’s only one based on his reclusive lifestyle. That kind of loyalty isn’t easily broken. He would take special care in seeing his friend’s prized possession well hidden. The house must hold a secret something.”

“Not if he built it before he went back for the emeralds,” he reasoned.

They were making good time on the walk back, but they still had a ways to go before finding cell phone service. As late as they were, his dad had probably paced a hole in the floor waiting on them to call and check in.

“Mathis could’ve added it later. And if not the house, that dry dock is huge. Probably a hundred places in there alone.”

“It’ll take weeks to thoroughly rip apart NorthStar. How much time off do you have? Don’t you need to go back to work at the museum or library or whatever it is?”

“Elliston Curator Foundation,” she said pointedly. “And I’m commission based. Freelance. Occasionally I go in to help work on a collection, but time off isn’t an issue. I probably should check in with them, though.”

“So this means you plan on sticking around and bothering me for a while, doesn’t it?” He said it more as a way to distract her from tonight’s lack of success, but suddenly he wanted to hear her say yes.

“I’m staying as long as it takes,” she replied. “That’s what team members do. You’ve got that spare room. You just need to get some furniture.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do. There isn’t any, remember?”

“I’m on a strict budget these days,” he declared truthfully. “Afraid you’ll have to bunk with me.” He’d have to remember to pick up some more coffee.

“Tell me you are not saying that I’ll have to sleep with you in order to stay at NorthStar?”

“What? The price of room and board too high?”

She gasped. “You are being outrageous!”

He laughed because he couldn’t help it. He loved getting her riled up. He liked it even more when the mild historian turned sea siren and seared his skin with a lust that was anything but proper.

“Outrageous is one of my better qualities,” he said with a smile. “Besides, I guarantee you won’t regret it.”

“Wow. You’ve got a serious ego problem.”

He laughed again. “Says the lass who melts every time I kiss her.”

“I do not!”

This night may have been a bust, but he’d end it on a high note. He planned on proving to Chloe just how wrong she was and enjoying every minute of the process.

He stopped on the trail. “Want me to prove it to you?”

“No.”

“Liar.”

Even in the dark, he could see her scowl. “You are unbelievably arrogant.”

He shrugged, giving in on that one and started walking.

“Ronan has a spare room,” she declared. “I can stay there and search for the emeralds in the house.”

She had him there. No real argument for that fact. “I’ve got Simonelli. You can’t have him if you don’t stay at my place.”

“Seriously? That’s called blackmail, you know.”

“It’s called incentive.”

“Hmmm. Simon does make the world’s best coffee. It might make putting up with you worth it.”

He wanted to grin, but didn’t dare, and found himself looking forward to the next few days. Maybe weeks. The realization that he’d grown used to having her around caught him by surprise. He didn’t want to see her head back home to Boston. Not yet.

By the time they made it back to the SUV, it was after eleven. He slung off the backpack and tossed it on the hood, then dug in his pocket for the keys.

Chloe rounded to her side where she waited for him to pop the lock, but instead it was the sound of a gun cocking that echoed in the quiet night. Finn went completely still, assessing the direction of the threat.

“Chloe, dear,” came a feminine voice from behind him. “What a surprise to find you back in town.”

Finn shot a quick glance at Chloe, only to see tight-lipped anger and a rigid stance, which made it pretty easy to guess the identity of the voice. Turning around, he faced a tall blond woman dressed in solid black and waving a semiautomatic pistol. She was clearly pleased to have the upper hand.

“You, I don’t know,” the woman said. “But I regret to inform you that you haven’t chosen your friends wisely.”

“What the hell do you want, Lisa?” Chloe snapped.

“What I want, dear niece, are the emeralds.” Lisa stepped closer. “Why don’t you be a good little girl and hand them over.”

Finn could kick himself into next week. He should have been paying attention to their surroundings instead of visualizing what he planned to do to Chloe when he got her home. He’d relaxed his guard, feeling secure in the dark of night and middle of nowhere. Now the black widow wife had the drop on them.

“Sorry about your luck, Aunt Lisa.” Chloe stressed the relationship part, spitting it out like it tasted bad. “No emeralds, no life insurance money, and no yacht to steal. Your criminal plans are just flushing down the toilet, aren’t they?”

“You’ve got a nasty little vindictive streak, don’t you?” Cold malice flowed in Lisa’s voice. “Take her bag, Owen.”

A shadow exited the woods and aimed for Chloe. Her anger worried Finn. It clouded reason and pushed people to react dangerously. He could easily see her doing something he’d regret. So he alternated between keeping a wary eye on the gun, guesstimating how many bullets it held, and watching a rail-thin stick of a guy slither up to Chloe and yank the backpack off her shoulders.

“You’re an idiot, Owen.” Chloe let him have the bag without a fight, but she didn’t hold back her tongue. “Do you know you are in league with a murderer?”

“Shut up, cuz.” Owen stepped back and unzipped the backpack. “Who do you think came up with this whole idea? She’s just playing her part.” He stuck a small mag light between his teeth and scrounged around inside, carelessly tossing everything out including the journal, before throwing the empty bag on the ground. “Nothing,” he spat.

“Told you we didn’t have them,” Chloe mocked with satisfaction over his lack of success. Finn understood her reasons, even sympathized, but they stood on the wrong end of a gun. Goading him wasn’t the best idea.

“Check his bag,” Lisa demanded, pointing the gun at Finn.

Owen flashed his light straight in Finn’s face, momentarily blinding him before sidling up to the hood and snatching his bag. As Finn blinked to clear his vision, the fence post retreated far enough away to dig through the contents without feeling threatened.

“Mike and Brett are dead because of you.” Chloe was on a roll and not hiding the disgust she felt. “Two good men are gone, their families devastated, but that doesn’t faze you, does it? You still darken the world with greed.” She didn’t seem to care they were at gunpoint. Or that Lisa Banks was a woman with everything to lose.

“Too bad the same can’t said about Jonathan,” Lisa replied nastily. “Where is he hiding at, by the way? Some backwater hospital in the Caribbean?”

“He’s onto your game,” Chloe snapped. “And you are going to rot behind bars for murder, insurance fraud, and being a lousy wife.”

Lisa lifted her gun in a back and forth wave. “Perhaps you haven’t noticed that I’m armed? How about you shut that vile mouth of yours before I get tired of listening and just shoot you.”

“Not yet for Christ’s sake,” Owen said. “She’s our only link to the goddamn emeralds because his pack is empty, too.” He kicked the offending bag away and turned to Chloe. “You’ve been on the trail for years. You expect me to believe that you found nothing out there?” He pointed toward the pitch-black woods.

“I don’t care what you believe, jackass.”

Finn groaned inwardly, but when Owen took an angry step toward Chloe, there was no choice but to block his path.

Owen froze and stared at Finn as though trying to gauge if he could take him on. There wasn’t a chance in hell of the little runt coming out on top. Owen had only one advantage, and that was his cohort’s gun currently aimed their way.

“If you know what’s good for you”—Owen sneered with the bravado that came from knowing the odds were currently in his favor—“then you’ll stay the hell out of this family squabble. Got that?”