tj jensen 01 - barkleys treasure (3 page)

“I guess we should have stopped at the grocery store on our way out here,” Kyle commented after he’d returned Blackbeard to his cage and joined me.

“I didn’t want the animals to have to wait in the car. Once we get them settled we can head into town for a bite to eat. I noticed a diner at the end of the pier, next to the harbor.”

“If you want to make me a grocery list, we can take two cars into town and I’ll stop to pick up some essentials after we eat while you finish getting everyone settled.”

“What about the van rental? We’ll need to return it to the dealer in Savannah. I guess I can follow you over with the car.”

“We’ll take care of that tomorrow. Maybe even the day after that. Let’s get everyone settled in first. I have a feeling that both the sisters and the animals will be able to begin to relax once we establish some sort of a regular routine.”

“Speaking of a routine, Garrett mentioned a woman named Willow who runs a kids’ summer camp out of the recreation complex. I thought I’d take the girls over there to check it out. It might be a way for them to make some friends.”

“Let’s both go tomorrow morning. If it’s a recreation complex they might have a gym. I hoped there would be one nearby.”

Kyle was already fit and defined, which, combined with his sunny smile, bright blue eyes, and deep tan, made him look like an underwear model, so I wasn’t sure how important the gym actually would be, but then again, I supposed the reason he looked the way he did in the first place was due to regular workouts.

“Thanks; that would help. Ashley will be less apt to give me a hard time if you come with us. I know the trip has been hard on her, but she seems to have made an art form out of coming up with new ways to punish me for destroying her life.”

“She’s at a hard age. I know she misses her friends. She’ll adjust.”

“I hope so. Have you seen Cuervo?”

Cuervo was my grouchy orange cat, who hadn’t been thrilled in the least by the five-day car ride he’d been forced to endure inside his travel crate.

“He’s under the bed in Ben’s room with Midnight. I figured that was as good a spot as any for him until we got everything unpacked.”

“I think this trip has been the hardest on the cats.”

“Both Crissy and Snowy seemed to be taking things in stride, but they’re used to the girls carrying them around and dressing them up, which makes them more able to adapt to chaos.”

Kyle had a point. Gracie definitely treated Crissy like a favorite toy and Ashley at times played fashion designer with Snowy. Midnight was Ben’s cat and Cuervo mine, so they usually were able to avoid the kid theatrics.

“We’ll need to be sure the girls understand that we need to keep the door to Blackbeard’s cage closed to protect him from the resident felines.”

“I already had a talk with them about that very thing,” Kyle assured me. “So, other than telling you about the kids’ camp, what did Garrett have to say?”

“He thinks Buck was in the attic looking for a map Garrett claims his mother destroyed years ago after his father died looking for some treasure. According to Garrett, that treasure seems to have invited any number of dreamers to the island, all of them certain they have what it takes to find long-lost gold. It’s Garrett’s opinion that Buck told someone about the map, and that
someone
followed him to the house and killed him.”

“If the map was destroyed we know the person who killed Barnes didn’t find it. Do you think they’ll come back around looking for it?”

“I suppose it’s possible, but they’d have to get past three dogs and four cats. Echo is large enough to seem pretty intimidating and Cuervo is downright scary if his nap is disturbed. I think we’re safe.”

“Probably, but I think I’ll have an alarm installed all the same. As far as I’m concerned, the real treasure is the people living in the house and I want to be certain everyone is safe.”

Chapter 2

I fell in love with Gertie Newsome, owner of Gertie’s on the Wharf, the moment I met her. She was a large woman with an equally large personality. She was loud and opinionated and actually reminded me a lot of Doc who, until this point, had been the most gregarious person I had ever met. I don’t necessarily believe in love at first sight. At least I know I’ve never experienced it myself. But if I were a betting woman, I’d bet the bank on the fact that Doc had found his soul mate in the free spirit with a long gray braid that hung down the back of her bright pink peasant top.

“Well, aren’t you just the sweetest thing?” Gertie wrapped me in a bear hug that, due to her ample bosom and my petite stature, threatened to suffocate me. “Garrett told me the daughter of a dear friend was coming to help him for the summer, but I didn’t expect a whole family to dote on.”

“We’re all very happy to meet you.” I took a step back, which only created an opening for Gertie to turn her attention to Ashley and Gracie. Gracie seemed to be thrilled with the attention of the unreserved woman, but Ashley looked like she wanted to kick her. I quickly ushered the girls into a booth while Gertie greeted Kyle.

“You certainly have a great location out here on the wharf,” Kyle politely commented as he quickly slid into the booth, I imagined, to avoid his own bear hug.

“Best spot on the island. Best food too. I bet you’re a fish-and-chips kind of guy. I made them fresh with fish caught this morning.”

“Sounds good,” Kyle replied.

“And you.” Gertie smiled at Doc as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “What a fine specimen of a man. Strong and ample. I bet you’re a beef eater. I have a prime rib sandwich with coleslaw that will stick to your ribs.”

I was pretty sure Doc actually blushed as he agreed that he would indeed be interested in the dinner option Gertie had suggested.

Gertie correctly guessed that Grandpa would like the meatloaf, the girls would like grilled cheese with fries, and I’d like a seafood salad. When she’d nailed the drink order as well I was convinced she was some sort of food psychic.

I looked around the room while Gertie assembled our drinks and sent our order to the kitchen. Unlike the proprietor, who was dressed in a colorful, shin-length skirt with a clashing top and worn sandals, the interior of the café was tastefully decorated with bleached fishing nets hung on walls adorned with items from the sea. The walls were painted a light blue that accentuated the white of the nets and brought a feeling of lightness to the open and airy room.

There were windows along three of the walls that looked out over the harbor, which was dotted with colorful boats bobbing to and fro on the gentle waves. The exterior of the building had been set up to accommodate outdoor dining that was currently closed due to routine maintenance before the busy summer season kicked off.

“Can I go watch the boats come in?” Gracie asked.

I looked out the window. It didn’t appear that going out onto the deck would be a problem in spite of the fact that it wasn’t set up to serve food.

“I’ll go with her,” Kyle offered.

“I want to come,” Ashley joined in.

“Okay, but only for a few minutes. I’m sure it won’t take too long for us to get our food.”

Doc decided to go with Kyle and the girls and Grandpa announced his intention to go wash up. Which left me sitting alone at the table.

“Heard about Buck,” Gertie said after delivering our drinks.

“That was fast,” I commented.

“Island gossip hotline. It’s faster and more dependable than the nightly news.”

“I see. I guess that’s a reliable perk of small-town life. We have a similar network back home in Serenity, but I must say I’m impressed. We only just discovered the body a couple of hours ago.”

“Doreen Nelson answers the phone at the sheriff’s office. She’s best friends with Wilma over at the market, who makes a point of keeping everyone who comes in to buy groceries up to date with the local news. Once a few folks get a hold of a juicy piece of gossip it spreads like wildfire.”

“I see,” I repeated. Actually, I was surprised the sheriff would have a receptionist everyone knew was a gossip, but I didn’t say as much. “I guess the news must have come as quite a shock.”

“Not really. Everyone knew that treasure was going to get Buck killed. He was a nice guy. It really is a damn shame everyone was right.”

“Did you know him well?”

“Buck was one of those sweet old guys who was born and raised on the island but never did really amount to anything. He was as nice as nice can be, but he wasn’t carrying a full deck, if you know what I mean. The proprietors in the area sort of adopted him. He never could hold down a job, but we all looked out for him, paying him to sweep up and do other odd jobs.”

“That’s really nice.”

“Those of us who make the island our home are like a family of sorts.”

“You mentioned that the treasure was most likely responsible for Barnes’s death, but it appeared to my untrained eye that he was killed by another person. I don’t suppose you have any idea who would have wanted him dead?” Normally I wouldn’t ask this particular question in a dining establishment, but it was an off time of day—late for lunch and early for dinner—so, other than whoever was in the kitchen, Gertie, and me, we were the only ones there.

“Buck was an outgoing sort who would more likely than not strike up a conversation with anyone he happened across in the course of his day. While that’s something those of us who knew him well loved about him, he did have a tendency to attract attention from certain individuals he was better off not fraternizing with.”

“Like who?”

“Like tourists who came to the island chasing after the same legend Buck devoted his life to. He had an arsenal of stories at his disposal, some true but most made up. He’d get to sharing his experiences with total strangers who caught the fever based on nothing more than Buck’s stories.”

“And no one tried to stop him from talking?”

“We did. But Buck was a stubborn one, and to be honest, the treasure hunters who visit this area make up a significant percentage of our annual tourism. I guess none of us wanted to squelch Buck’s enthusiasm completely.”

Our conversation paused as a young couple with two small children came into the diner. Gertie excused herself to take their order at just about the same time Grandpa returned from the bathroom and the group on the deck returned from looking at the boats. I only half-listened to the enthusiastic retelling by the girls of all the awesome crafts they’d seen. There was a part of my mind that refused to let go of the idea that because I’d found the body it was somehow my responsibility to figure out who’d killed the man.

Gertie had pretty much said the same thing Garrett had: that it had been the treasure—or, more accurately, Buck’s search for the treasure—that had gotten him killed. I supposed it made sense that Buck had broken into the house to look for the map and someone either followed him or even accompanied him. If the map had been destroyed why would the other treasure hunter kill Buck? It seemed at the very least he’d keep him alive long enough to find what they both were looking for.

When Gertie returned with our food the conversation naturally segued from a recapping of the boats in the harbor to general chitchat, including a very entertaining description of the social activities available on the island.

“One of the most popular activities during the warmer months is our outdoor theater,” Gertie informed us. “Folks gather on the beach and watch a movie that’s projected on a large white sail. We don’t really have access to new movies, but an old one watched under the stars is an unmatched experience. Folks come from all around to share in the event.”

“I wanna go,” Gracie chimed in.

“Movies are shown every first and third Wednesday during the summer.”

It did my heart good to see Gracie’s face light up at the prospect of an outdoor movie. When I was a child the town just at the foot of the mountain where I’d lived had had a drive-in movie theater. It had since been torn down, but I still remember the magic of putting on a pair of pj’s, making a paper bag full of home-made popcorn, and heading down the mountain for a double feature. There really was something magical about sitting out under the stars as a story unfolded on the big screen in front of you. A movie on the beach sounded like heaven on earth and I for one couldn’t wait for Wednesday.

“So I assume this Podunk island doesn’t possess an actual movie theater?” Ashley asked rather rudely.

“You would be correct in your assumption,” Gertie answered. “However, we do have an awesome community center that holds activities every Friday night for the young folks on the island.”

“What kind of activities?” Ashley asked suspiciously.

“This Friday we’re having a BBQ for teens and preteens in the sixth to tenth grade.”

“I’ll be in the sixth grade this year.” I noticed a small smile beginning to form in the corners of Ashley’s mouth.

“Then you should definitely sign up.”

Ashley frowned and forced her face back into a scowl. “Sounds dumb, just like every other dumb thing on this dumb island.”

“Ashley,” I scolded. “Gertie was just trying to help. I want you to apologize.”

Ashley got up from the table, her food untouched. “I hate you and I hate this island.” With that, she stormed out the front door.

“I’m so sorry,” I said to Gertie as I began to get up.

Kyle placed his hand on my arm. “I’ll get her.”

I nodded and turned my attention back to Gertie. “I really do apologize. I know she isn’t happy about having her life uprooted, but I don’t understand why she’s
so
determined to be miserable. I’ve tried to talk to her about her attitude toward our summer adventure, but she’s made it clear she isn’t buying anything I’m selling. I’m sure she would have a lot of fun at the BBQ, and I do appreciate you mentioning it.”

Gertie shrugged. “Teens are angsty by nature even when they aren’t angry about something specific. Give her time; she’ll come around.”

“I hope so, for everyone’s sake.”

After we returned from dinner I got the girls settled with their animals in the rooms they had picked out. I was trying to decide if I should begin the unpacking or just relax when I heard a loud, high-pitched squawking.