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Anne Marie’s eyes widened. “How could the watches lead to the money?”

“We don’t know. Maybe the inscriptions are clues,”

Kayla replied. “Do you know what happened to Nate’s watch when he went to prison?”

Anne Marie tapped her fingers on the arms of her chair. “Nate loved that watch. He said it was a symbol of their brotherhood. They were so close — all of them.

They grew up together, you know. I met Nate in church.

He went every Sunday. We sang in the choir together. He had a gorgeous baritone.”

Kayla wanted to interrupt and ask her to answer the question. Then again, the more Anne Marie talked, the more they could learn. She glanced over at Nick. He gave a slight shrug, as if to say it was her call. She decided to try a different tack. “Did Dominic Ricci make the watches for Nate, Johnny, and Frankie?” she asked.

“Oh, yes. Dominic was a very skilled watchmaker. It was his family business, you know. Nate took me there a couple of times. He always asked me what ring I’d like to wear for my wedding. It was silly. We were never going to get married.”

“Dominic went to school with Nate, right?” Nick guessed, bringing her focus back to the conversation at hand.

“Yes, Dominic was a good friend, but Nate wasn’t as close to him as the other men. Dominic had a wife and children. He’d married young, right out of high school.

He was more stable and settled down than the other boys.

It was very sad when he died. He was on a fishing trip and a wave came up and knocked him off the boat. No one could find him. His family was devastated. Lorenzo, Dominic’s son, cried like his heart was broken. And I can
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still see Dominic’s sweet little girl, Delores, throwing rose petals onto his coffin. No child should ever have to bury such a young father.”

“What about Nate? He must have been pretty upset,”

Kayla said.

Anne Marie looked away. “Nate wasn’t there. None of the men were. They were in hiding at the time. It was just after the robbery.”

“So Dominic didn’t take part in any of their criminal activities?” Nick asked. “Specifically, that robbery at the mint?”

“No.” Anne Marie shook her head. “Dominic didn’t participate in any of it. It was just the three of them. I knew something big was in the works. Nate was very secretive, and he kept talking about a big windfall. He said we could run away and we wouldn’t need anyone, because he would have enough money to support me the way I was accustomed to. I should have tried to stop him.

I sensed he was getting in too deep. I knew he had a good heart. And I knew he loved Johnny and Frankie, but they were greedier than he was. The more bad things they did, the easier it seemed to do something else. I begged Nate to try to break away. He said they were his brothers. He would die for them, and in the end I think that’s exactly what he did.”

“You don’t think there’s any chance he escaped?”

Kayla asked. “Was it possible he made it back to shore?”

“Oh, no. If he had . . . well, I think I would have known. I did foolishly hope for that miracle for a while, but time passed.” She gave a fatalistic shrug. “Eventually hope dies.”

“Maybe he couldn’t tell anyone,” Nick suggested. “He couldn’t afford to get caught.”

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“I feel sure I would have known,” Anne Marie said, more firmly this time.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Kayla said.

“Do you know what happened to Nate’s watch?”

Anne Marie hesitated again. “Is it really important?”

“Yes,” Kayla said. “If you have it, whoever is looking for it will probably find you. And he’s not a good person either. I don’t know to what lengths he’d go to get it or whom he could hurt. He’s a con man, a thief, with a very long record. We feel sure he believes that the watches lead to the treasure. And as you said, greed makes men do terrible things.”

Anne Marie gave her a long, assessing look. “All right.

I will answer your question. Nate gave me the watch before the police caught him. He said he wanted me to have a piece of him that I would carry with me always, that even though we wouldn’t be together, we’d be connected.”

Kayla felt a rush of excitement. Anne Marie’s story sounded similar to the one her grandmother had told her.

“Nate said that one day he’d come back and get it. Of course, that didn’t happen. Years later, I gave the watch to my son on his twenty-first birthday. He died last year. He was only forty-eight. It was a tragic car accident. My granddaughters went through all his things. They might have the watch. Or they might have given it away. I don’t know. I haven’t thought about that watch in years.”

“Can we speak to your granddaughters?” Nick asked.

“I suppose I could call them and ask.”

“It’s important that you do,” he said. “As soon as possible.”

“I’ll call right now. Will you excuse me?” At their nods, she got up and left the living room.

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“We found the second watch,” Kayla exclaimed. “I can hardly believe it.”

“We haven’t found it yet.”

“But I think we’re close, and closer than Evan, because he’s probably looking at Nate’s family. He might not even know about Anne Marie.”

Nick suddenly frowned. He got up and walked over to the window, gazing at the street below. Kayla felt her stomach turn over. “Don’t tell me he’s out there.”

“I don’t see anyone. I kept an eye out as we were driving over here. I feel fairly confident that no one was behind us.”

“Fairly confident doesn’t sound like totally confident,” she said.

He shot her an irritated look. “You could have been watching, too.”

“I didn’t mean to imply I could have done it better. I’m just worried. Evan always seems to know where we’re going, almost before we do.”

Nick let the curtain flutter back into place. “Yeah, he’s a regular Houdini.”

“A real bad boy,” Kayla said. “He fits right in with the rest of these guys, Johnny, Nate, Frankie. I was just like my grandmother and even Anne Marie, falling for a bastard. I saw what I wanted to see. I was really stupid.”

“You’re all just too nice, I think,” Nick said. “You trust too easily.”

“Maybe.”

“But in the end your grandmother wound up with a great guy. Looks like Anne Marie did all right for herself, too. The men went to prison and died trying to escape.

The women lived good lives.”

“Everything worked out,” Kayla agreed. “Good tri-TA K E N

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umphed over evil . . . until Evan got in the middle of it. I wonder if it was Will who brought him in, who told him about the coins and the watches.”

“It makes sense. Will talked to the boys in jail. He probably knew as much as anyone who is still alive.”

Kayla looked up as Anne Marie reentered the room. “I was able to speak to my granddaughter, Lisa,” she said.

“She told me that she remembers seeing a pocket watch in her father’s things, but she’s on her way to work right now, so she can’t check until later tonight.”

“Can we go and talk to her?” Nick asked.

“I gave her your name, and she said I could give you her phone number. If you call her after ten o’clock tonight, she should be home.”

“Where is home?” Kayla asked.

“Oh, I’m sorry. She lives in Reno. She works in one of the big hotels, the Peppermill. She’s a blackjack dealer.

Her name is Lisa Palmer. My son moved his family there years ago. He always liked the desert.” Anne Marie handed Kayla a piece of paper with the phone number. “I told her that I’d appreciate it if she showed you the watch.

However, if she wants to keep it, then she should put it in a safe-deposit box at the bank. She’s still grieving over her father, and she doesn’t want to give away his things.

I couldn’t tell her the whole history of the watch. I’d rather not get into it with anyone in the family. They don’t know about my relationship with Nate. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything. I only agreed to help you because I don’t want any trouble to come to my girls.”

“We understand,” Kayla said. She hesitated and then figured she might as well ask. “Did you ever look inside the watch?”

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Anne Marie appeared confused by the question. “Of course I opened it to check the time.”

“No, I mean there was a compartment within the case.

It held a small key.”

“I didn’t know that.”

Kayla gave her a long look, convinced she was telling the truth. “Well, thanks for your time.”

“You know, I keep hearing Nate’s voice in my head.

‘Don’t ever tell anyone you have my watch.’ I hope I’m doing the right thing.”

“You are,” Nick said firmly.

Anne Marie didn’t look convinced. “I hope so. Nate trusted me, and now I’ve broken my promise.”

“You made me a promise,” Dana said. “You broke it.”

Charlotte stared at her old friend, more than a little surprised to find Dana on her doorstep.

“We need to talk,” Dana added, walking into the condo without waiting for an invitation.

“I thought you said we had nothing to talk about,” she replied, confused and wary that Dana now wanted a conversation.

“Shut the door.”

Charlotte did as she was told. It had always been that way between them: Dana led and she followed. That was their pattern from decades ago. She was too old to be anyone’s follower. Still, she was curious.

“You went to see Elizabeth,” Dana said.

“How would you know that?”

“She called me. She wanted to know if I had Nate’s watch or if he’d given it to that girl he thought was better than me.” Dana flung her head back, arrogance etching every line in her face. “Why are you stirring this up?”

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“Because someone stole Johnny’s watch. I told you that.”

“If Nate gave his watch to that stupid girl, I’ll kill him.”

“He’s already dead,” Charlotte reminded her. “Isn’t he?” There was something in Dana’s eyes that she didn’t like.

“Yes, of course. It was a turn of phrase. I just hated that girl, that Anne Marie. Nate talked about her like she was some saint, some damn virgin who was better than the rest of us. She wasn’t better. She was just luckier. She had parents who had money.”

“She was better than us,” Charlotte said. “We did some bad things, Dana. I’ve tried to forget about them, but the past few days have brought back all the memories. I’m afraid my granddaughter is going to find out all of my secrets and hate me for the rest of her life. I couldn’t stand that. She’s already upset because I had to tell her . . .”

“About Johnny?” Dana asked.

Charlotte nodded, meeting her knowing gaze. Dana had always known that Johnny was the father of her child.

“You shouldn’t have told her.”

“I had to. I thought someone else might.”

“You mean me.” Dana gave her a hard look. “I would have told her if I had to. If it meant protecting my children, my family — from you.”

“I didn’t break my promise to you,” Charlotte said. “I didn’t tell Elizabeth anything. I just asked her if she had Nate’s watch. That’s it. And she mentioned Anne Marie.

Nothing else happened.”

“You shouldn’t have spoken to Elizabeth at all. Now she’s curious about the watches. She’s asking questions.”

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“I didn’t have another choice. My granddaughter is being harassed, followed. Her house was broken into.”

“Don’t say anything more,” Dana warned.

“I won’t. However, I did find out some interesting news when I spoke to Elizabeth. She said you own three clubs. How on earth did you get so rich, Dana?”

Dana gave her a cynical smile. “Is that your way of asking if I found the coins?”

“It crossed my mind that you had to get your money from somewhere.”

“Maybe I’m just a smart investor, or an extremely motivated one. I didn’t have the luxury of a rich husband all these years, Charlie. I was a single mother who had to raise three boys alone. Their fathers never stuck around long enough to make a rent payment or make a difference. But I didn’t need them. I did it all myself. My sons, Jacob, Albert, and Donald, each run one of my clubs.

They’re very good at what they do, and each year we make more money.”

“I’m happy for you.” She still wasn’t sure how Dana had gotten the start-up money, but she knew her old friend wouldn’t say any more than she already had.

“I don’t intend to let anyone mess up my life at this late date,” Dana warned. “So stop talking, Charlie. Stop looking up our old pals and stirring up trouble. We had a good fifty-year run of silence. Let’s go for a few more.”

13

Kayla couldn’t believe she was on her way to Reno.

They’d called the number for Anne Marie’s granddaughter a few times, only to get the answering machine, which made sense, since she was supposed to be at work. Nick, impatient as usual, suggested they drive to Reno. That way they’d be close by if Lisa Palmer really did have the watch, and they wouldn’t have to wait until tomorrow to see her.

The four-hour trip through the Sierra Mountains had reminded Kayla of her impulsive wedding trip to Tahoe, located just thirty minutes away from Reno. So far, Nevada had not been a particularly good state for her. She hoped this trip would be more successful than the last one.

As they exited the highway at Virginia Street, they drove down the main strip in town, passing the various casinos: Circus Circus, the El Dorado, and the Silver Legacy. Reno had originally sprung to life in the days of the gold rush with the discovery of gold in nearby Virginia City and silver in the Comstock Lode. Visitors to Reno no longer gambled on finding gold in the mountains
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or the streams; they looked for luck at the casino tables and slot machines. Kayla hoped she’d find her luck with Lisa Palmer.

Walking into the Peppermill Hotel Casino was like stepping into another world, one of pink, blue, and green neon lights, low ceilings, tons of mirrors, thick cigarette smoke, and the nonstop clatter of bells and whistles.