tj jensen 01 - barkleys treasure (12 page)

I felt a rush of adrenaline as I took in the fresh-cut grass, stands full of spectators, and bags of sunflower seeds that were being passed around among team members. It had been a long time since I’d played for fun. Sure, I occasionally joined in with the girls I coached during practice, but actually being a member of a team made up of my peers hadn’t occurred since before my sisters came to live with me and my life changed from carefree to complicated.

After Jack introduced me to everyone on both the team I would play for and our opponents, Rick asked me to throw a few pitches to the catcher so he could observe my form. At first I was admittedly rusty, but after the first few pitches I had half the team standing around cheering me on. I pitched a three-inning shutout before everyone changed positions to give those on the bench a chance to play. I went to third base for the second half of the game, and by the time it ended after two hours of play, I found myself asking why I hadn’t made more of a point to take time for myself once the girls and I had gotten settled following our mother’s death.

“We’re going for beer and pizza,” Jack informed me.

“Sounds good, but I told my sisters I wouldn’t be late. They’re still trying to get settled in. Maybe next week?”

“Sure. You did great tonight. In fact, you might singlehandedly be responsible for the first win we’ve had all season.”

“This is your first win?”

“First of many.” Jack kissed me on the cheek. It was a casual, good-job type of kiss, but I still felt the kind of tingling I hadn’t experienced in quite some time.

“Is there a place I can clean up a bit? That last slide into home covered me in dirt from head to toe.”

“Locker rooms are over there.” Jack pointed to a building not far away. “By the way, I spoke to Garrett. He seemed interested in my idea of subdividing the property.”

I hated to ruin Jack’s good mood by telling him that I’d had a similar conversation with him but my understanding concerning his desires was quite different, so I simply told him that I couldn’t wait to see his plans. He promised to come by on Monday, as planned.

I gathered my things and headed to the locker room. Rick Savage was coming out of the men’s side as I neared the door for the women’s.

“Great game,” he congratulated me. “And welcome to the team. We can always use a go-getter like you.”

“Thanks.”

I’m not sure what possessed me to have this particular conversation at this particular moment, but I turned back toward the man’s retreating back just as I reached the doorway. “I know you’re covering up for Buck’s murderer.”

Savage stopped walking and turned around. “Do you, now? And what exactly is it you think you know?”

I looked over Savage’s shoulder. The others had gone and I didn’t see anyone around other than the two of us. I realized maybe this wasn’t the best idea, but did I shut up and make my escape? Of course not.

“Doc has been a coroner for a lot of years. He knows a head trauma when he sees one, and in spite of the state of decay of Mr. Barnes’s remains he’s convinced he died of a head wound. I’m inclined to believe him, but what I couldn’t figure out was why a nice guy who was involved in his community and seemed to care about the people he shared his life with would cover up a murder. Then I found out about your father, and suddenly I realized the
only
reason you would cover up a murder was to protect someone you loved.”

“You think my father killed Buck?”

I nodded.

“Interesting theory. What makes you think my father was anywhere near Garrett’s attic?”

I took a deep breath as I asked myself once again if I really wanted to get into this at this particular time. Of course, it was probably way too late to back out now. Based on the way Savage was looking at me, I was pretty sure the time to simply walk away and leave my suspicions for another day had come and gone. “I went out to the senior home this morning and a very nice woman named Edith showed me around. I asked a lot of questions, including a very pointed one about the high-security unit. She reluctantly admitted that there had been instances when one of the patients had managed to leave the property without being properly checked out. I know your father has dementia, and it occurred to me that if Buck liberated him for a treasure hunt and something went wrong, your father could have killed him, most likely not even remembering having done so. Am I close?”

Savage frowned. I suspected I’d come a lot closer to the truth than he ever imagined I would. I expected a look of rage or perhaps fear in his eyes, but instead I swear the look he shot me suggested admiration. “Close, but not close enough. Your theory is actually a very good one, but it’s only partially correct. It’s true Buck managed to check someone out of the senior home to take on his treasure hunt. And it is true that I strongly suspect that individual had an episode during the expedition and killed him. It’s also true the person in question doesn’t remember anything about that day. The individual was found wandering down the middle of the road not far from the senior center, and we all assumed the extent of his unauthorized field trip was limited to the area between the home and the place where he was picked up. I had no idea the individual actually ended up all the way across town in Garrett’s attic until I responded to your call on Monday. The part you have wrong is that it wasn’t my father I suspected killed Buck; it was Garrett’s.”

Color me stunned. In a million years I’d never expected that. “Garrett’s? I thought Garrett’s father died when he was a baby.”

“That’s what everyone thought until I arrested him a while back for petty theft. At the time I arrested him he seemed confused and told me he couldn’t remember his last name. I suspected he was lying until I ran his fingerprints and the name Maxwell Hanford came up. I now believe Max suffers from the same disease as my father.”

“Are you sure this Max is Garrett’s father?”

“I’m sure. Garrett’s father had been arrested for breaking and entering a couple of times during his treasure hunting days, so his prints were on file.”

Wow. Talk about a complicated twist to an already complicated murder. “If Garrett’s father is alive, why did his mom lie and tell Garrett and everyone else he was dead?”

“I’m not sure. I suspect Garrett’s mom was afraid he’d get caught up in the treasure hunting fever and didn’t want that for her only child, so she simply told Garrett he was dead.”

Poor Garrett. I let the idea sink in before I commented. “So how did Garrett’s father end up back here after all these years?”

“I don’t know what brought him back to Gull Island. Like I said, the man seemed confused. At the time of his arrest he knew his first name but not his last and didn’t remember why he was in the area. I spent some time talking to him, trying to explain to him where he was and, more importantly, who he was. After a bit he remembered the agreement he’d made with his ex to leave the island. He seemed to be scared that he’d violated his agreement and wanted to leave. I didn’t feel right about just sending him out into the world, so I talked him into allowing me to check him into the senior home for observation.”

I looked off into the distance at the darkening sky. The entire conversation seemed surreal. “Does Garrett know?”

“No. At first Max made me promise not to tell him that he was alive. He’s pretty far gone now, and I honestly doubt he’d care one way or the other. I was on the verge of sharing what I knew with Garrett when he had his stroke. I figured he had a lot to deal with already, so I decided to wait until he recovered. I’m really not sure how he’s going to take this, especially now.”

Talk about an understatement. I suspected Garrett was going to totally freak out. Not only was the dad he believed dead alive but he’d killed a good friend and, probably worst of all, his mother had lied to him.

“The thing I don’t get is, why was Max even with Buck Barnes?”

“I suspect somehow Buck knew who he was. Maybe he recognized him. Buck was old enough to have lived here when Max did. From what I’ve been told, Buck was convinced Max knew the whereabouts of the map he was after. I suspect he recognized him and decided to break him out of the home and take him to retrieve it.”

“So you think either Max remembered the map was in the attic and took Buck to the location where he’d left it, or Buck believed the map was in the attic and took Max there in an attempt to get him to reveal the location?”

“Both good theories. At this point we don’t have much to go on. We know Buck was at the home on the day Max was found wandering in the street because one of the interns saw him. We know Buck was killed in the attic and I suspect, based on the evidence I uncovered at the crime scene, Max is the one who killed him.”

“What evidence?”

“Keep in mind I’ve really only had a few days to put this all together, but when I arrived at Garrett’s home on Monday in response to your call, I realized immediately that the body must be Buck. Initially, I didn’t realize the trauma to the head was most likely caused by Garrett’s father until I saw the cane I gave him on the floor behind one of the cabinets.”

The cane.
Charlie bad
. It all made sense. Blackbeard must have been in the attic when the incident occurred. The window had been left open and Kyle and I had both felt Blackbeard had been living in the attic ever since Garrett was taken away. Blackbeard had seen a man with a cane—a man like Charlie Chaplin—hit Buck Barnes, causing him to fall to the floor and stop moving. If Blackbeard was referring to the incident it really was amazing. The cane must have been what Deputy Savage came back for.

“So you saw the cane and confronted Garrett’s father?”

“I did, but he doesn’t remember anything. He doesn’t even remember leaving the home. I have no way of knowing what occurred in the attic that day, but as far as I know, Buck and Max were the only two on the premises.”

“So you decided to protect him?”

“Bringing Max to justice for Buck’s death won’t serve any purpose. Buck is dead and nothing we do will change that. Max doesn’t remember what he did; he probably didn’t even realize what he was doing at the time. If I report this there are those above my head who may see things differently. When I realized what happened I talked it over with Colin and we decided to keep the truth to ourselves. No one ever would have questioned it if you hadn’t decided to snoop around.”

“So what now?”

“I guess that’s up to you. You can keep our secret or you can have Max arrested. He doesn’t have long. Chances are he’ll die in jail before his case even goes to trial.”

“Is he a danger to others?”

“Honestly I don’t think so, but just to be safe Colin has been keeping a close eye on him, and he’s only allowed to interact with others when there’s supervision.

I’m not normally one to let killers go free, but Savage had a point. No good would come from bringing the truth to light. “What are you going to tell Garrett?”

“The truth. Or at least the part of the truth that’s necessary for him to know. If you decide to keep Colin and my secret, I’ll simply tell him that his father has been found and leave out the rest.”

I thought about Garrett and the man he would only have a limited chance to get to know. I knew in my heart that sometimes seeking justice wasn’t justified at all.

The house was empty when I arrived. Even the dogs were out. There was a note from Kyle letting me know the family had taken the dogs to the park and would be back by dark. It was already almost completely dark, so I decided to head upstairs to take a shower before the girls returned and used up all the hot water.

I poked my head into the sunroom to check on Blackbeard. He was in his cage, but he hadn’t been tucked in for the night. I handed Blackbeard a treat. “It looks like you were spot-on as to who killed Buck.”

“Charlie bad, Charlie bad.”

“Yes, I know. It’s amazing that you understand the concept of bad.” I filled Blackbeard’s food and water. “You aren’t a prince locked in a parrot’s body due to some sort of magic spell, are you?”

“Pillage the village.”

“Yes, I guess that’s what happened to the attic. But you don’t have to worry about that now. Nothing bad is going to happen. I believe Deputy Savage and I have come to an understanding.”

“Grog and wenches, grog and wenches.”

I laughed. “Where did you learn sassy talk like that? I need to head up for a shower, so I’m going to cover you now. Would you like another treat?”

“Who’s a good boy?”

“You are. Sweet dreams.”

I covered the cage and then went upstairs. I was just gathering clean sweats to change into after my shower when I heard a noise that sounded like it was coming from the attic.

“Kyle?” I called. My inquiry was met with silence. “Grandpa? Anyone?”

I shrugged and was about to continue to the bathroom when I heard the noise again. All the people as well as all the dogs living in the house were gone and I knew Blackbeard was safely in his cage, so I had to assume one of the cats had gotten locked in the attic when we were upstairs cleaning up the mess earlier in the day. I tossed the clothes onto my bed and headed down the hall to the stairway. I flicked on the light and had begun my ascent when the door to the attic swung open and a figure dressed in black came out of the room. I didn’t catch more than a glimpse of the figure before he, or possibly she, barreled into me and sent me falling backward down the stairs.

“Tj, are you okay?” I opened my eyes to see Kyle staring into my face.

“Kyle? What happened?”

“I was hoping you could tell me. We just got home and found you lying at the foot of the stairs. I swear, my heart stopped for the amount of time it took me to determine you were still alive.”

I tried to sit up.

“Just lie back. The ambulance is on its way.”

“I don’t need an ambulance.” I touched my hand to my head. I definitely had a bump.

Doc knelt down next to my head and began shining a light into my eyes while Kyle continued to hold my head. “You were unconscious,” Doc informed me. “I want to check for a concussion.”