Pickups and Pirates (Southern Relics Cozy Mysteries Book 3) Read online

  Agent Alwin nodded her head at the hole in the floor. “I received more intelligence on him. His last name is officially Berkeley, but he comes from the Moreton family line, once part of the British peerage. Over the generations, they lost their position and their family money. Detective Clairmont filled me in on what he told you at the museum. Most of what he told you was true, except that it was his grandmother’s possessions he found the box and other materials in.”

  “So, he became obsessed with his family history and how it affected him now.” A part of me understood how much the past could muddy the future depending on what choices we made because of it.

  It didn’t take long for Deputy Agent Alwin and her team to drag Rupert out of the bolt-hole. He’d have a few more bumps and bruises on his body, but nothing would compare to how much damage he had done to others and the lives he took.

  His mental state had deteriorated by the time they dragged him out of the cabin in handcuffs. “But you have to let me look inside,” he demanded, straining against his handlers. “I found Ann Bonnet’s treasure! Me! My family name will be recorded in history not as a failure but as a triumph! Let me see it!”

  An agent followed behind them, carrying the chest we’d planted. When Rupert cranked his head around and caught sight of it, he doubled his manic efforts to yank out of the agents’ hold. The warden set the chest on the ground, handed me the key, and hustled to assist his fellow officers.

  I glanced down at the box at my feet filled with my boyfriend’s property. We hadn’t needed real bounty in the long run, and maybe my long-lost ancestor had been right all along. If someone chose to pursue that which was hidden or never meant to be theirs, then maybe it would corrupt a person and their ultimate purpose in life.

  Still, it galled me that he would continue to live after he’d ended Nigel Lansing’s, as well as the real Dr. Wilfred Simons’, existence. A slightly demented idea formed in my head of a true way to pay him back for his actions.

  In order not to make things harder, I ran it by Deputy Agent Alwin first. “Before you drag him out of here, would you be able to assist me in bursting his bubble?”

  After I whispered the plan to her, she nodded her approval with a slight grin. “You have my permission to pop away.” She instructed the agents to turn the captured criminal around.

  Holding up the key for him to see, I watched Rupert’s reaction change from madness to satisfied greed. “I’ve asked permission to show you what’s inside before they take you away.”

  “Finally,” he exhaled, his expectations having an immediate calming effect on him.

  With a twist of the key and a click of the lock, I pulled open the lid of the chest. Tingles of power flowed down my arms, and the jewels that lay in front of my eyes became invisible to his as I spellcast a strong glamour over the priceless contents.

  Agent Alwin nodded, and the agents allowed Rupert to walk forward to take a closer look. “No,” he uttered in horror. “It can’t be.”

  “Here is the end point for everything you did. The people you hurt. The lives you stole.” I glared at the man still consumed by his obsession. “There never was a treasure. We have documents that prove it was all a ruse. A complete fake meant to lead anyone who went looking for it astray, much like the clue you found when you opened your own box. And you would know all about fakes, wouldn’t you?”

  His body contorted as he doubled his efforts to escape the price of his fate illustrated by the emptiness he perceived. “No!” he cried, his whole world crumbling. “I found it! I sacrificed everything for it, and you can’t take it away from me!”

  As the wardens dragged him away to their vehicle, I aimed one last parting shot. “You’ll have plenty of time to come to terms with the fact that, much like your ancestor Roger Moreton, the game is over. And you lose, Rupert.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Olivia Alwin drove Rissa, Mason, and I back to my family’s house. The adrenaline from the night still buzzed a bit inside me, but at the sight of the lights of the house illuminating the night sky, a kind of calm settled over me.

  When the new WOW agent parked, she thanked Rissa for her bravery and Mason for his participation but asked me to stay back. The front door swung open, and my father let out Slobby Bobby to greet them. I chuckled at the hound dog’s excitement as he rubbed up against their legs, no doubt drooling all over them.

  “You took a big risk in there, going off plan,” Agent Alwin said, tapping her finger on the steering wheel. “And yet, I can’t help but think it all worked out the way it was supposed to. You’re very good when under pressure.”

  Her praise warmed my insides. “Thank you. I’m glad Ebonee called you in to help. Although I wish you were staying, I’m actually glad WOW has you on their side to help others like tonight.”

  She nodded in silent gratitude for the sentiment. “Your friends and family will be all right whether I’m here or not. Especially since they’ve got you fighting for them. That’s more powerful than you think.” With a tip of her head, she dismissed me, and I opened the door to her car and slid out.

  Deputy Agent Alwin rolled down her window and waved something at me. I walked around to retrieve it from her and found myself in possession of her business card.

  “In case you find you need a little more backup,” she said with a smile. “Or if you ever figure out that you’d make a great warden. Now you have a direct line to me.” Without waiting for my response, she backed away and drove off down our driveway.

  Dad sat in a rocking chair on the porch, petting Bobby’s head and waiting for me. “Rissa told me you’re the bravest woman she’s ever known. And Mason seems to approve the outcome. Did everything turn out the way you wanted?”

  I collapsed into the chair next to him and stared out into the darkness surrounding our house. Allowing a quiet moment to let myself think, I rocked a little and absorbed the still of the night interrupted only by the chirp of cicadas.

  “I don’t know if it makes me a bad person, but I can’t help but be glad and feel satisfied that Rupert got what he deserved in the long run,” I admitted. “Maybe that makes me a monster.”

  My father reached out his hand to take mine. “No, someone who takes other people’s lives for their own gain is the monster. Not a person who does everything she can to save those she loves as well as those she doesn’t know.”

  The little girl in me craved my father’s approval, and I wanted to get up and sit in his lap like I used to, allowing him to rock my concerns away. Instead, I held onto him, soaking in his words and trying to accept them.

  “It’s too bad Rissa and Auggie will have nothing to show for their research,” I said. “A big part of me is really disappointed that there wasn’t any real treasure after all.”

  Dad let go of my hand and stood up. “Well, that’s not totally true. Follow me.” He whistled for the dog to hustle inside and held the door open.

  I found all of my friends and family still awake and gathered in Campy’s study, waiting for me. “Finally,” Odie exclaimed. “I was about two seconds away from opening it myself.”

  Someone had cleared off all the books and papers from the earlier presentation and set a large wooden box on the table. “What’s this?” I asked, admiring the intricate sea motif skillfully carved on the exterior.

  Dad spoke from behind me. “While you were gone, we went over some of what Daniel wrote down. There was one line that we’d read that kept bothering a few of us, about the whole reason why he created the treasure hunt in the first place.”

  I tried to remember what Luke had read out loud. “Wasn’t it to prove that the most important thing in life wasn’t the promise of riches?”

  “That’s a very sweet and sentimental lesson you can glean,” Auggie stated, with a hint of sarcasm. “But you’re not remembering his exact words. He said he did it to protect the real treasure.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Right. A metaphorically real treasure.”

  Our profess
or tapped the top of the box. “Does this look like a metaphor to you?”

  A sudden realization overcame me. “You mean, there really was something to find?”

  Uncle Jo sipped on a glass of sweet tea. “Well, after consulting the rest of the Jewell’s in the house, both alive and dead, we realized we weren’t looking in the most likely place our forefather might have hidden something very valuable.”

  “Our family vault,” I exhaled.

  Dad added, “To expedite the search, I took Charli here out in the boat with me. Her talents came in mighty handy.”

  Pleased as punch, I turned to face my friend. “Thanks for your help.”

  “Are you kidding?” She chuckled. “Seeing the results of what your family has been doing for generations was an absolute privilege. And I might have harangued your father about the shop idea in Honeysuckle.”

  “So, why haven’t you opened it yet?” I asked, pointing at the wooden container.

  Auggie held out her hand and revealed the aquamarine stone resting in her palm. “Because we thought you should have the honors.”

  Confused, I took the amulet and held it up. Searching for the lock, I found the same mechanism we’d seen with Rupert’s. Slipping the stone into place, I pushed on it and waited for the telltale click of it fitting. When nothing happened, I tried again. Disappointment spread throughout the room, and several of them rushed to help, pushing me out of the way.

  I stood back, watching them fumble and discuss other solutions. Recalling how it had worked before, I went through every step in my head until I realized the one element that we’d missed. “Hold on. I think we’re using the wrong tool.”

  Moving everyone away, I called Rissa to stand beside me. “You were the one that opened the box. And you were the one who made the stone reveal the clues on the map.”

  My friend pointed at herself. “Me?”

  I grasped her shoulders and moved her to stand in front of the box, giving her the aquamarine gem. “You. Take a chance and see what happens.”

  She placed the stone in the hole and pressed on it. A light click resounded through the room silent with our anticipation, and a bright greenish blue flashed. Rissa giggled. “Now what?”

  “Do you remember how you said the directions the fake professor brought with him were different than the ones you found on the map? Try those,” I suggested.

  “Right.” Concentrating, Rissa turned the stone with careful fingers. “First it was South, then East. North. And finally, West.”

  Metal clanked from the inside while the mechanism locking the box released. The wood popped open a slight fraction, and with trembling hands, she opened the lid. For the next fifteen minutes, she pulled out the contents, handing them off to us to let us spread them across the table.

  “I think that’s it. Oh, nope. There’s one more piece down there.” Leaning on her tiptoes, she retrieved the last item from the bottom. “Looks like it’s a letter. And its wax seal is still intact.”

  “Do you mind if either Luke or I take a look at it?” Auggie asked, her fingers rubbing together in excitement.

  My boyfriend gave the professor a slight bow. “You may have the honors.”

  Rissa busied herself with the rest of us opening the bound journals and unrolling parchment. “Oh my goodness. I think I know what all of this is.”

  My finger drifted down what looked like organized columns of information. “Good, because this is all foreign to me.”

  Crystal waved a book in her hand. “I’ve got what looks like a journal.”

  Rissa rushed over to her and folded it open with care, flipping through pages. “I don’t believe it.” She practically vibrated from her excitement, shouting, “This is incredible!”

  “Don’t keep us in suspense,” Cate demanded, looking up from the paper she and Dani were trying to read. “What is all this?”

  Rissa tore her attention away from the journal she inspected. “If my initial assessment is correct, I think we’re looking at all of Ann Bonnet’s records. These are her words telling her story. And I’ll bet those are records that keep a tally of the goods collected from her time as a crew member on Jack Rackham’s ship to the names of those who came to them for help once they settled in Nassau. Auggie, this is Ann’s treasure.”

  Her former mentor drew the letter out of Luke’s hand. “No, my girl. I don’t think it is.” She walked over to Rissa and handed her the paper. “Read this.”

  Obeying Auggie’s request, my friend read the letter out loud.

  “To My Sweet Girl,

  I do not know if you will ever read a line of this, but I write to you regardless in the hopes that at least the universe will know how loved you were from the moment you rested inside me until the second I had to part with you to keep you safe from the consequences of my choices.

  You will never know me or your father, but you were conceived in absolute love. It was love that brought you into this world, love that causes me to give you away, and love of a man who will never possess my heart but helps me anyway.

  There is not much I can give to you, but I leave one thing your father and I created together. It was once used to help us find our way while at sea but has come to symbolize the direction our bond of love took us in life. May its magic help guide you in all you do if you ever come into possession of it.

  I can leave this world in peace, knowing that you, my true treasure, are safe. I go to join your father and pray that one day, you and I will reunite in Heaven.

  All my heart, my sweet Rose,

  Ann Bonnet”

  I closed the distance between Luke and me and nestled into his chest, shedding a tear onto his shirt. More than a few sniffles peppered the room.

  Auggie placed a gentle hand on her former student’s shoulder. “What’s your full name?”

  “Nerissa Rose Ward.”

  “And what did you tell me once about your middle name?” the professor pressed.

  Rissa sniffed. “That it was a family tradition that all daughters bore the name Rose in some fashion. I used to hate my middle name growing up.”

  Odie raised his hand and waited for Auggie to call on him. “Wasn’t Rackham and Ann’s ship called Neptune’s Rose?”

  Charli gasped. “That’s why my tracking talents weren’t working when we were trying to find the treasure. Because it was you all along.” She leaned into Mason. “I’m not broken after all.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “You never were.”

  The enormity of everything that had happened in such a short amount of time overwhelmed me. I covered my mouth, putting together all of the pieces and realizing what the entire search had been about. “It’s all for you, Rissa,” I exclaimed.

  Shaking her head, my friend glanced at the letter, at her mentor, and back at all of us. “It can’t be.”

  Auggie tugged on her former student to stand in front of the wooden box that had contained everything that would change history. She closed the lid. “Take out that stone and hold it.”

  Obeying, Rissa did as she was asked until she held the stone in her trembling fingers. It flashed once again, and a glow bloomed inside the jeweled sea. “There’s something forming in the middle. It looks like. It’s the cardinal directions. North, South, East, and West.”

  The professor folded Rissa’s fingers over the precious object. “I think this was always meant to be yours.”

  “A compass rose,” Dad volunteered. “I don’t think I’ll be able to look at that flower ever again without thinking of tonight.”

  “Me, neither,” I agreed, giving into the joy filling my heart and being shared amongst all of us at the end of our quest.

  Epilogue

  Luke held onto my hand, weaving us through the massive crowds attending the rescheduled Pirate Festival in Bellfort. Instead of teasing me for eating all the sugary and fried treats that accompanied events like this, he not only bought me whatever I wanted but allowed me to feed him bites without one complaint.


  “What’s wrong with you?” I asked, placing my hand against his cool forehead.

  He wiped his greasy fingers off with a napkin and tossed it into a nearby trash can. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, evading my gaze and pointing. “There’s our gang.”

  We joined my friends and stood in line with them for the baseball toss. A young woman dressed up in a pirate costume perched on a seat above a tank of water. Odie and Luke stood back while all of us girls took our shots first.

  “Hurry up so we men can show you how it’s done,” Odie teased, earning a ball tossed at his head.

  “Not exactly something I would say when the whole festival is anchored around the real history of ‘Bonny’ Ann Bonnet,” I scolded, accepting the three balls from the vendor. “I think after everyone visits the new exhibition at the museum and listens to her talk on the main stage that people will realize that we girls rule!”

  Aiming for the target, I threw the ball and hit it dead in the center. The young woman squealed as the seat gave way and she plunged into the cold water. I chose a small stuffed shark as my prize and terrorized Luke and my friends while we tried our hand at every carnival game.

  While we navigated our way through the crowds, I noticed a camera crew and a woman with a microphone holding it in front of Deputy Sheriff Caine’s face. The mustached man kept his son held tight against him while he answered whatever questions he was asked.

  “He’s become a bit of a celebrity,” I said, gesturing for the rest of my friends to see. “I guess he got all the attention with Nigel Lansing’s death.”

  Mikey squirmed in his dad’s clutches, unhappy with being stuck while his father finished the interview. When he spotted me, he waved and doubled his efforts to get away. The deputy shot me a disdainful glance as the reporter left, but he let go of his son. The little boy ran on his short legs to greet us, losing his pirate hat as he flew.

  “Hi, I remember you,” he said, a little breathless. “You’re my daddy’s friend.”