Gasparilla's Treasure (Trip Mongomery Book 1) (8 page)

As Trip slept, he dreamed of the day’s events.  His dreams were different from reality.  Alone at night, he snuck into the Gonzalez-Alvarez house.  He looked around the shadowy room and spotted the pot on the shelf.  He took the pot down and gently placed it down on the ground, then pulled the shelf out of the wall and grabbed the piece of the map from the hole. 

The map was huge.  He unrolled it, and instead of the map, it was a hand drawn picture of Pappy.  He was young, just as he was in the photographs, but then suddenly he turned old and frail.  The paper crumbled to dust in Trip’s hands, and a breeze carried the dust away.

As Trip put the shelf back in place and picked up the pot, he was overly cautious.  Something in the darkness caught his eye.  A small red fox slinked through the shadows, eyes bright in the gloom.

Trip walked towards the dark corner where the fox had disappeared.  He found himself face to face with the old Native American man from the photos.  As they stared at each other intently, the old man’s eyes searched his soul.

Trip was not afraid, in fact, a feeling of complete serenity came over him.  Trip recognized wisdom in the man’s weathered face, as if the knowledge of the entire world lived inside his soul.  Not the knowledge of man, but the knowledge of the earth, the trees, the rivers, and the animals; the knowledge and wisdom of all things good and pure.  Trip felt it all in the old man’s searching eyes and he felt at peace; a quiet in his soul few people ever feel.

As his entire body relaxed, the pot slipped from his hands and crashed to the floor.  Trip jolted awake.

He sat in his bed looking around, not sure if he was awake or asleep.  He still felt a lingering peace from his dream, but it faded quickly.  Trip would not get any more sleep that night.

Trip, Josh, and Sarah walked through the entry gates of Flagler College.  The center of the college was originally The Hotel Ponce de Leon and was built in 1888.  Thomas Edison had a hand in making sure The Hotel Ponce de Leon became the first building in Florida to be wired with electricity.  Flagler College was built around the hotel, and all the buildings matched the beautiful architecture of the original building.

Sarah stopped to marvel at the beauty of the architecture. “This place is truly amazing,” she said. “The history here is… What’s the word I’m looking for?”

“Boring,” said Josh.  “I think you’re looking for the word boring.  Now about that clue… That number sounds like some sort of serial number to me... or maybe a reference to a computer file or something.”

“
Josh, that was rude!” pouted Sarah.  “Tell him, Trip.”

“I think maybe it’s a receipt number,” said Trip.  “Or maybe a book volume and page number.”

Sarah was still upset about the change of subject, but decided to move on.  “But the clue reads
high above NRHP112979
.  High above what?”

Someone suddenly smacked Trip in the back of the head.  Eli stepped in front of him clearly pleased with himself.  “Listen Twit.  You better tell me what you're up to, or you're just going to make things worse for yourself.”

“Trust me Eli,” said Trip.  “You don't want to go where we're going.  Your head just might explode right on the spot.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” asked Eli suspiciously.

“We're going to the library,” said Trip.  “Now stay clear... I don't want you to accidentally learn anything.”

Eli had to agree with this logic.  He had never set foot in a library, and was definitely not interested in learning anything.

“Yeah, you may be right about that,” said Eli.  “But just know this.  I still remember you making me look like a fool the other day.  And when I figure out what's going to hurt you most... I'm gonna hurt you.  A lot.”

Eli gave Trip an even harder smack on the head as he walked away.

“That guy has some serious problems,” said Josh.  “Now get together for a quick picture.”

Josh pointed his camera for a self-portrait of the three of them with Flagler College in the background.  He snapped the picture and checked it on the screen.  It was a great picture of him alone, while Trip and Sarah walked away in the background.  Josh chased after them.

Inside the library, Josh had a stack of books piled in front of him.  He flipped through one called
Developing Number Concepts
as Trip thumbed through the card catalogue.  Trip was not sure where Sarah had gone.  She had some bright idea and disappeared about twenty minutes ago.

Trip spoke in a hushed voice.  “OK, I've looked at authors, titles, and subjects with NR and HP.  I've looked for any book with a reference to 112979, and nothing.  I've got nothing.”

“At least I've managed to find the most useless book ever written,” said Josh.  “This stuff is ridiculous.  I don't know if I can recover from this number horror.”

“This is impossible!” said Trip.  “We're never
gonna figure this thing out.”

Sarah approached wearing a triumphant look on her face.  She carried a large book titled
National Register of Historic Places
.  She plopped the book down on the table and looked from Trip to Josh as her smile seemed to be getting bigger.

“She really does like the library,” Josh said.  “I am so not going to read that book!”

“What is this?”  Trip asked. 

“It’s the National Register of Historic Places,” said Sarah victoriously.  She looked from Trip to Josh.  Both of their faces were blank.  They had no idea why she was so excited.  She said it again, leaving plenty of time between each word.  “National… Register… of Historic… Places.”  Trip looked at Josh.  He looked completely clueless too.  Josh gave Trip a shrug and then twirled his finger around his ear and mouthed “Cuckoo.  Cuckoo.”

“Seriously guys?”  Sarah said.  “National Register of Historic Places?”  She paused for a moment.  Still nothing.  “N.R.H.P.  You know, the letters in the clue.”

Trip’s face lit up like a Christmas tree.  It was like she told him school was canceled for the rest of the year.  He was again amazed by how smart Sarah was. 

“How in the world did you find this?” asked Trip.

“Yeah,” said Josh.  “Did you tackle that one day for some light summer reading?”

“No, smarty pants,” scoffed Sarah.  “I just asked my friend that works in the reference section if NRHP meant anything to her... and she gave me this.”

“You have a friend that works in the reference section?” asked Josh.

“I like the library, OK?” said Sarah, annoyed.  “And it might do you some good to put that portable game thing away every now and then and open a few books.  We’ve got work to do.”

She opened the book to the table of contents as Trip and Josh gathered around.  Trip could feel his heart beating faster.  He knew they were about to figure out the second clue.

“There are not 112,979 pages in any book I've ever seen,” said Josh.  “So it can’t be that.”

“Maybe there’s a document number or something,” said Sarah.

Trip scanned the table of contents and noticed something. “These places are all in order by the date they were recognized as historic places.  Eleven, twenty-nine, seventy-nine.  See if anything falls under November 29, 1979.”

Sarah turned the pages frantically searching,
and  found what she was looking for.  Trip almost forgot to breathe as he watched her turn the pages.  There were a few entries in the book for November 29, 1979.

“Look guys,” said Sarah in a voice so quiet they could barely hear her.  “There’s only one entry from that date that is located in St. Augustine.”

“The Grace United Methodist Church,” said Trip.  Trip and Sarah started for the door.

Josh watched in disappointment as they left.  “Aw, man!  We have to go to church now?  What kind of adventure is this?  Old houses, libraries, and now church.”  Josh hurried after them.

The Grace United Methodist Church was another piece of beautiful Spanish Renaissance architecture, a small church with three amazing archways leading into the main entrance.  While standing in front, it was impossible for Trip not to notice the bell tower that rose into the sky.  It was the most prominent feature of the church.

“Well, if this church is the
NRHP 112979
of the clue,” said Trip, “then it’s not hard to guess what the
high above
part means.”

“Yep,” said Josh.  “Even I can figure that one out.  Now get together, I’m
gonna get a picture.”

The three of them huddled together and Josh took another self-portrait.  He checked the picture and it looked great.

“Take a look,” said Josh.  “See how nice it comes out when you guys aren’t hurrying away?”  He looked up and noticed Trip and Sarah were already on their way to the front doors of the church.

“Seriously guys,” Josh hollered, as he ran after them.  “This picture is some serious art.”

The inside of the church was even more charming than the outside.  They looked around for someone who worked there, and found the preacher.  Sarah approached him nervously.

“Sir,” said Sarah.  “I mean, uh, Reverend?”

The preacher answered in a calm, soothing voice.  “Yes young lady.  How may I help you?”

Sarah searched for words.  “Yes Reverend, we're doing a report at school, and I noticed your beautiful bell tower.  Is there any way we could go up to see the bell?”

“I'm sorry,” said the preacher apologetically.  “But only the church clergy are allowed in the bell tower.  I'm afraid the old tower is just a bit too fragile and dangerous.”

Josh and Sarah exchanged a worried look.  How were they going to get in the bell tower?  A slight movement caught Josh’s eye, and he was startled to see Trip sneaking through a small wooden door into a back room.  The preacher noticed Josh’s gaze, and turned to see where he was looking.

“Uh, Reverend,” Josh blurted out, a bit too loudly. 

The preacher turned back and looked at Josh expectantly.  Josh was not sure what to say.  “Yeah, uh, I think I need to go to confessional.”

“I’m sorry, son,” said the preacher in his soothing voice.  “We are a Methodist church.  We don’t have confessional.”

This distracted the preacher long enough for the door to close softly behind Trip.

Trip dug around in the back room.  He wasn’t sure what he was searching for until he found it.  In a closet, he found a dark red robe with a hood.  He put the robe on and pulled the hood up over his head, covering his face.  And just in time too.  Another member of the clergy walked in. Trip ducked his head and walked away, slipping through another door.

Trip was in luck.  He found himself at the bottom of a rickety spiral stairway that led up to the bell tower.  He hurried up the stairs.

Trip cautiously entered the bell tower and looked around.  The heavy iron bell hung from the ceiling, and the windows opened to let the bell sing to the city.  There wasn’t much to check here.  He peered up inside the old bell but did not see anything.  He examined all four walls, and didn’t see anything.  Looking up, he checked the gabled ceiling and the wooden beams that supported the bell, but still nothing.

Then Trip heard voices.  He could not tell where they were coming from, so he listened more intently.  He gingerly worked his way around the tower until he found the spot where he could hear the voices most clearly.  They were echoing up through the walls of the bell tower.  Trip smiled when he realized what he was hearing.  It was Josh’s voice, and he was having an animated conversation with the preacher.

“And you'll never believe what I did the other day,” echoed Josh’s voice.  “I put a rubber band around the little spray handle on the kitchen sink.  And when my mom turned on the water, it squirted her right in the face.  She thinks my big brother did it, and I didn't say any different.  Is that lying?  Because that would be two bad things in one.  I mean it wasn’t technically lying, because Mom just assumed it was my brother and I just didn’t say anything.  It’s not like she asked me or anything.”

Trip almost laughed out loud as he listened to Josh’s story.  He stared intently at the wall from which Josh’s voice emanated.  Eventually he noticed a very small crack in the wall near the floor. He reached out. It was barely big enough to stick his finger in.  He worked his finger into the crack and wiggled it around.  Inside, he felt a small piece of rolled up paper.  Carefully he worked it out of the crack.

“Got ya!” whispered Trip.  He could hardly believe it! He held the second piece of the map in his hands.

Trip hurried down the stairs and returned the robe.  He checked to make sure no one was looking, and snuck back into the congregation hall.  He hurried over to Sarah, who was impatiently tapping the back of a pew.

“Well,” Sarah whispered excitedly.  “What happened?  Did you make it to the bell tower?”

Trip answered by holding up the map piece.  Sarah squealed in delight, which earned them a few
unapproving glances from others in the church.

“Where’s Josh?” asked Trip.  “I was in the bell tower, and I could hear him.”

Josh walked up with the preacher, wearing a big smile on his face.

“Thank you, Reverend,” said Josh.  “That was wonderful.  I feel like a new man.  You guys should think about starting a confessional here.  It really is cleansing.”

The preacher was amused.  “Any time, son.  Now I have some other things to attend to, if you’ll excuse me.”

The preacher walked away, leaving Trip, Josh and Sarah alone.  Looking at the smile on Josh’s face, Trip could not help but laugh.

“What you laughing at, buddy?” said Josh.  “I feel like a new man.  Now let’s go find us some treasure!”  Josh walked out of the church with a new found spring in his step.

Outside, Trip and Sarah caught up with Josh and told him about the map piece.

“Well, what does it say?  What do we do next?” asked Josh.  “Is it another clue?”

“No way,” said Trip.  “I’m keeping that map piece hidden away till we get back in the attic.  I’m willing to wait until we are far away from Eli.”

“Well what are you waiting for?” asked Josh.  “Let’s get back to the attic!”  Josh bounced down the street, refreshed from his confession.

Trip and Sarah looked at each other and started to laugh.  Trip noticed how infectious her smile truly was, and how her hair bounced as she laughed.  Embarrassed, he started to blush.

“We better catch up with Josh,” mumbled Trip, and he hurried down the street after Josh.

They clambered up the attic stairs and Trip instantly pulled out the map piece and unrolled it.  He did not even bother looking at the map, but instead, he turned it over and checked the back.  Sure enough, there was a hand written clue on the back.

Trip read the clue aloud.  “
Look to the South and don't let them in the back door.  Fifteen nickels rest below the flag.”

Sarah grabbed the map piece from Trip.  “
Look to the South and don’t let them in the back door
.  Something with a back door that faces south, like a building or house or something.”

“That’s way too many buildings,” said Trip.  “It would take forever to narrow them down.”

“What’s this part?” asked Sarah.  “The part about the fifteen nickels.”

“I think I've got that part figured out,” said Trip, surprised with himself.  “Fifteen nickels is seventy-five cents, or three quarters.  It's the third quarter of the map.
Fifteen nickels rest below the flag.”

“So the third piece of the map is below a flag in a building with a back door that faces south,” said Sarah.

Josh grabbed his backpack.  “Well, it looks like you guys have this under control.  I have an algebra test to study for.”

“Whoa, hang on a second, Josh,” said Trip.  “
You
are going to study?”

“Mom won't let me enter the National Gaming Regionals if my grades slip any lower,” said Josh.  “It's tough enough since I missed the state comp... I can't miss this regional.”

“They have competitions for that stuff?” asked Sarah.

Trip answered for Josh.  “They have huge competitions, and Josh is probably one of the best there is.”

“Probably?” retorted Josh.  “Probably the best?  I'm not taking this kind of abuse.  Good luck with that whole south back door clue thing.  I am out of here.”  Josh cleared out, leaving Trip and Sarah alone.  Trip was painfully aware this was the first time he and Sarah had been completely alone.

They stood there and looked at each other in awkward silence for what seemed like forever.  Thankfully, Sarah broke the silence.

“Trip… I’m really glad your Pappy left you this trunk,” she said.

Trip swallowed hard.  “Well, yeah… It is pretty cool isn’t it?”

“Well, sure.  But that’s not what I’m talking about.”  Trip looked at Sarah.  He had no idea what to say. 

“I'm glad he left you this stuff,” Sarah continued pointedly, “because I really like hanging out with you.”

Trip found it difficult to look her in the eyes.  “Well, sure.  I guess it’s been pretty cool.”  Trip realized his palms were sweating.  Why were his palms sweating?

“Being the new girl at school isn’t easy, you know,” Sarah said.  She was talking softly now, almost in a whisper.

“Are you kidding me?” said Trip.  “You've only been at the school a few days, and you're practically the most popular girl there.”

“That's great and all,” said Sarah, “but most of my friends so far have no idea who I am.  They just see me for who they want me to be.  You know?”

Trip had no idea what she meant.  “Look, Sarah.  All I know is that you're probably the coolest girl I've ever met.  You're smart, you're fun... You're like one of the guys.  Except you're...” Trip struggled to get the words out.  He couldn’t believe he was about to say this.  This could possibly ruin everything, but he felt like he had to say it.

“You’re like one of the guys.  Except you’re…pretty.  You’re very pretty.”  There, he said it.  The words hung in the air, and Trip wished he could somehow suck them back in.  What was he thinking?

Sarah moved closer to Trip.  “Oh, I’m like one of the guys, am I?”

Trip was uneasy.  He looked around the room nervously.  But when he made eye contact with Sarah again, he saw the genuine kindness in her eyes, and he felt suddenly calm.

“I didn’t really mean you were like one of the guys, I was just trying… I just meant…” Sarah was close now.  Trip’s heart was about to pound out of his chest.  He had never even thought of kissing a girl before, and Sarah was just inches away from him.  He could feel the warmth of her face.  He leaned a bit closer to her.

Josh scurried up the ladder into the attic, a ball of energy.

“Can you believe it?” said Josh.  “I forgot my notebook.  I don't have time for this.  I mean really…” Josh stopped mid sentence as he noticed Trip and Sarah awkwardly stepping away from one another.  Trip’s foot caught a box and he spilled over, falling to the floor.

“What's going on in here?” asked Josh.  “Does this have something to do with that clue?”

They all looked at each other, and no one said a word.