by Reiss Susan
"Shut up! You think I want to spend my life buried with dusty shelves and moldy books?" She flicked her hand at me. "I'm pretty, too pretty for the reference room. I need to go where my passion takes me."
That wasn’t exactly what I said, but now was not the time to quibble.
"I was working in that horrid place to find clues. It took its toll, I'll tell you. They keep the dehumidifier turned on all the time. I have had to use a ton of moisturizers to save my skin. My nails dried out so much I couldn't keep a decent manicure. It was horrible."
“Did you find what you were looking for?” I had to keep her talking while I figured out what to do.
"No. Then, like a gift from heaven, you walked in. You took a different approach and I'm gonna follow it to get what belongs to me—to make my dream come true."
“And what dream is that?”
“I’m going for the glitz and glamor. I’m going to be a famous hair and makeup designer. I’ve got the education and experience. Look at me.” She held her arms out. “I know what I’m doing. I only need to take the final step.”
“And what is that?”
“New York City.”
I was surprised. “Not Los Angeles?”
"Nope, too common. New York has class and so much more: TV, movies, Broadway, and the women with money who want to look fabulous. I can do it all. I just need the treasure to get me there. Then I'll make my dream come true." Her expression changed in an instant, making the pretty girl ugly.
I put my hands in my lap, trying to appear calm. This girl believed the treasure still existed and it belonged to her. The truth didn’t matter. Her perception was her reality. If I humored her, I might get out of this mess in one piece. “Well, if that’s the case, I could help you find a lawyer and—"
“HA!” She laughed again. “The law doesn’t always do what’s right.”
“Stephani, you have accomplished so much. No one, not even the law, can take that away from you. Why would you throw it all away on some crazy notion? You can still—"
“SHUT UP!”
And I did.
I remembered the confrontation with Josh on my patio. Brother and sister. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. They both wanted something for nothing. Without some easy influx of money, he would end up laying concrete into his fifties, wearing nothing but an old t-shirt and dirty jeans. He would have to bully people to have any friends at all. They’d stand around making fun of other people. His beer belly would be so big, he wouldn’t be able to see his feet.
We sped down the road. The lack of light pollution from houses and streetlights was an advantage. Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, the moonlight made it easier to see the shape of the land. Stephani pulled hard on the steering wheel and sent us careening into the field surrounding the Lone Oak. It took what little strength I had to keep myself from being jostled right out of the vehicle.
In black silhouette against the star-filled sky, the Lone Oak loomed large. For more than a century, it had guarded a treasure that had cost two lives and ruined more. Would I be next? I glanced over at Stephani and could see the lust for riches that consumed her. No amount of logic could reach her.
Chapter Forty-One
“Every oak tree started out as a couple of nuts who stood their ground.”
—Henry David Thoreau
Stephani slammed the brakes and we stopped in a cloud of dirt. “Get out!”
I fumbled around, trying to move my leg, hoping for a miracle.
"Stop stalling!" She came around to my side, seized my arm, and yanked me out of the Jeep. Her iron grip was the only thing that kept me from falling to the ground. When I regained my balance, she let me go. Teetering, I groped for the Jeep's fender for support.
She scanned the area. “Okay, where is it?"
I rolled my eyes. “Look, I keep telling you. I don’t know.”
"Liar!" she roared. She reached into the back of the Jeep then held a bunch of manila folders from my desk triumphantly in the air. Folders, that included the yellow one.
No! It was the yellow folder where I kept Daniel's letters or what was left of them. She must have grabbed it when I wasn’t looking. I had to get it away from her before she could paw through the pages. I didn't know if the letter with the coordinates for the treasure chest had faded away yet.
“Those are mine,” I declared with a false sense of bravado. “Give them back.”
She held the folders high over her head and sang out to the universe. “She wants her papers back!” Then she whined. “Poor baby, I took her things.” She lowered her head and drilled her eyes into mine. “But the information in them isn’t yours. It belongs to me. You know where the treasure is buried.” She shook the folders in the air again. “It’s all right in here.”
She took a couple of steps toward me and held the folders under my nose. “Go on. Deny it. I dare you,” she sneered.
I wanted to move away, but I didn't. I fought down the fearful trembling that was welling up in my body. If this person saw proof of my fear, I had no idea what she'd do. She had shed the persona of a studious young woman as easily as she'd tossed away her fake eyeglasses. Now, she was a frantic madwoman. Her cobalt blue eyes flashed with rage. I couldn't reason with this monster she'd become. But if reason didn't work, maybe attitude would.
“You’re a thief,” I snarled right back at her. “I trusted you. You stole those files and you have the nerve to threaten me.” I felt like a fool, but the tactic worked. She was thrown off when my bullying attitude met hers.
“Y-yes, and it’s all your fault,” she sputtered. “You shouldn’t have cut me out.”
“Cut you out?” I let out a crazed laugh to the sky. “You’re an idiot. Everything in those folders came from your precious Maryland Room.” That wasn’t exactly true. I held on to the slim hope that she hadn’t seen the transcriptions of Daniel’s letters.
“It was all right there, under your nose, and you didn’t even know it. Stupid girl.”
“I knew it!” She held up the folders again. “It’s all right here.” She laid them on the hood of the Jeep and started rifling through the papers. Her forehead wrinkled. “You know, this is inefficient. You’re supposed to use the tabs on the folders to label what’s in each file.”
“Ha! Still the mousy librarian,” I was feeling the role and sneered. “You have to cut me in on the treasure or find it yourself. And we both know how well that’s worked for you.”
I must have touched a nerve. She put both hands flat on the hood and slowly pushed herself up straight. Then she cocked her head and twisted her lip.
“I’m not going to read through everything. You’re going to tell me where the treasure is.”
Fear rippled through me. Her swagger was back. She gave me only a second to respond, which wasn't fast enough. She held up the yellow folder and swept the others on the ground.
“Is it in this one?” She raised one eyebrow. Her eyes bore into me, watching for my reaction.
The wind caught one of the papers and pulled it out of the file. It danced it up into the branches of the Lone Oak high above our heads.
“Is that the one that tells where the treasure is?” She demanded, her eyes never leaving the paper.
I looked at the paper floating above, tantalizingly close but out of reach. Was Daniel keeping the secret safe? I dropped my eyes and fired back. "Are you crazy? How should I know? I—"
She thrust a pointed finger in my face and squealed in triumph. “You know where it is.” She yanked me over to the tree’s wide trunk.
“What? No. I… Get it! Get the paper,” I ordered. Playing a bully was better than being the simpering, pleading little person I felt I was inside.
But Stephani stood as if she was made of stone, watching the page dance on the wind in the glare of her Jeep’s headlights.
“GET IT!” I ordered again. "If you're so sure that's the one with the clue."
This time, Stephani sprang into action. She ran after
the paper, jumped and flailed, as it swirled out of reach. She watched the soaring piece of paper, not where she was stepping.
"OW!" Down she went with a heavy thud. All I heard were moans, then a crybaby's voice. "My ankle. I hurt my ankle." She touched it. "Ow!"
Stephani had stepped in a freshly-filled hole and twisted her ankle. But she wasn't my concern. Not now.
I looked up to locate the missing sheet of paper. My eyes followed each gyration as it made its escape. The breeze swirled and pushed it around. It did somersaults between the branches of the mighty tree.
If I only had wings, I thought in desperation. Even two good legs. I had no choice. I couldn't keep up with it. I could only stand and watch it escape. A sudden gust caught it like a mighty hand and slammed it to the ground in front of me. I snatched it up, folded it, and stashed it in the back pocket of my jeans. I had no time to celebrate its rescue. The night still held surprises.
Chapter Forty-Two
“To write a good letter of condolence requires good taste and fine feeling…do not call up the harrowing details of the sad event.”
—How to Write Letters
by Professor J. Willis Westlake, 1883
“You should watch where you’re going, Fanny.” The voice came out of the darkness, deep and gruff and sarcastic. “You could hurt yourself out here.” His tone changed to mock concern. “Oh, you did hurt yourself. Too bad.”
“Shut up!” She snapped as she struggled to her feet.
“That’s not a very nice way to greet your beloved brother,” said the man, mewing as if she had injured his feelings.
“I thought you were in jail,” she snarled.
"Not anymore," he said, singsong. The tall young man walked into the pool of light coming from the Jeep. It was hard to believe they were related. His solid, chunky build was so opposite her willowy figure.
“Josh, how did you get out?” Stephani demanded.
“Mom, of course.” He cocked his hip and looked at his fingernails. “She does everything I tell her to do.”
My head swung back and forth between these two people, sparring like children. They had forgotten I was there. Tentatively, I slipped my right foot toward the line between the light and darkness.
Josh crooked his head to the side, considering her, judging her. “You should be more like Mom and do what you’re told. Fanny.” He said her nickname with great relish.
“Don’t call me that.” Her voice was low and threatening.
He snapped his fingers. “Oh, that’s right. You hate my nickname for you, big sister. I forgot, Fanny.” Each word dripped with sarcasm.
“Mom said it was cute when you were little. I hated it then and I hate it now. You know that,” she shot back. “Now, go away,”
He took a step toward her and held out his arms in submission. “Why would I leave my sweet big sister out here in the dark to…”
I stopped listening to the treasure hunters squabble and concentrated on getting away. I knew I couldn’t outrun them. I thought if I could hide, maybe I could save myself. I took another step.
Stephani fired back at Josh. “I have every right to be here. This was my idea. I was here first. You think you can swoop in and finish what I started? I’d be long gone if Kid Billy hadn’t been such a wimp.” She made her voice high and whiny. “I don’t want to do this anymore. I want to go home. I won’t tell anybody, I promise.”
She went on in an icy cold voice. “I told them I was the boss. I ordered him to dig. I told them all to keep digging.”
“I know, I know, I saw the whole thing.” Josh clasped his hands together as if in prayer. “Oh, when will you realize you need me to get anything done?” Josh dropped his hands in disgust. “Thought you could use my posse and cut me out? Never happen.” He started to pace with a swagger in front of Stephani. “You taught me how to be a bully, but I added the finesse that inspires loyalty. Something you fail to understand.”
“You knew?” she said in disbelief.
He shrugged. “Of course. They’re my boys. Mine.” He planted his feet and pulled up his jeans. “I watched you do the hard work, getting dirty and all. But you surprised me, Fanny. I didn’t think you had it in you.”
Fanny didn’t say a word.
Josh shook his head. “The Kid only wanted to go home.”
This was my chance. Slowly, I shifted my foot backward and took one step then another, and another. I hoped Josh would start talking again to cover any sound I might make. And he did.
“You could scream to the heavens that you were the boss, but that wouldn’t make it true. You came up with a great line. ‘Can’t you get it through your thick skull?” Josh chuckled. “The Kid promised he’d tell nobody, but you didn’t believe him.”
"I was so close. And they were going to run away." Stephani's explanation sounded thin.
I kept moving.
“I had to prove to them that I was in control,” Stephani insisted. “I grabbed the shovel and swung it. I only meant to scare him.”
Josh’s words dripped with disgust. “You’re weak, Fanny. You can’t control nothin’. Especially your temper. When he ducked and you missed, it made you mad.”
I took another step back and slipped into the shadows.
“What would you have done?” Stephani said, trying to salvage her pride.
“Physical violence is no way to treat your posse. I use finesse.” He gave a little wave of his hand, preening over the use of such a word. Then he dropped the façade. “But I must admit, you had a good idea.”
“Whacking Kid Billy in the head?” Stephani said.
“Yeah, you didn’t have the guts to carry it out the way you should. He would never have kept your secret about the treasure. He had to go.”
“So, you picked up another shovel…” Stephani stated.
Josh shrugged.
“Somebody had to finish what you started. It wasn’t my fault that he couldn’t get out of the way a second time.”
She gave her head a little shake. “Why didn’t the other guys turn you in?”
He held his hands up in the air. “Isn’t that obvious? I never used violence against any of them.”
“Until that night,” Stephani added.
"That's right. I had to teach the Kid a lesson. I had to teach them all a lesson. If I could kill once, I could do it again."
“You’re a hot mess, Joshua Collins.”
The truth of the murder was worse than I imagined. Together, who knows what they could do. I had to move.
Josh stepped closer to his sister. “None of this matters. I came to this godforsaken place for one thing, Fanny. And I will have it, Fanny. Then I’ll be happy to disappear and leave you here, all by your lonesome self, Fanny. Oh, wait! You won’t be alone, will you? Once you get ole TJ to knock you up, you’ll make it to the Big House,” he scoffed. “Imagine, my big sister Fanny, will be Miss Stephani of Waterwood.”
TJ… The Big House… Miss Stephani of Waterwood!
I almost blurted out my surprise but clamped my lips together. Keeping my balance was something else. The world gyrated as my leg decided if it was going to hold me up or collapse. Finally, the muscles engaged and I was stable again.
Josh wasn’t done with his sister. “You’ll really come up in the world, Fanny. And you’ll do it the old-fashioned way, on your back.” His laughter filled the night.
I stifled a yelp when I bumped into the fender of the Jeep. I'd worked my way around in the shadows and came up from behind on the driver's side. Strength was draining out of every muscle. All I had to do was pull myself up in the seat. I knew how to do it on the passenger side. This would be harder. I had to rely on my bad leg. I raised it into the Jeep, gripped the steering wheel, and pulled myself up and in. Thankfully, my leg didn't give way.
Josh was still lecturing Stephani. "All I want is what's coming to me, what our family should have had a long time ago. Then everything would have been different and nobody would be dead. I’ll even give yo
u some.” He took two steps forward so they were almost touching. “Now, tell me where it is, Fanny. Then I’ll be out of your way.”
Stephani started to say something and choked. She cleared her throat and started again, trying to sound innocent. “Where is what?”
In the Jeep, I was stiff with dread. I hadn’t been behind the wheel of a car since the accident.
The sibling argument raged on. Josh declared, “I want the same thing you want, Fanny.”
“You’ll get nothing,” she pronounced.
“And who’s going to stop me?”
“I am.”
“You?” he sniffed. “That’s a joke.”
I could see the siblings clearly in the headlights. Stephani pulled something out of her coat pocket. It glinted.
A gun.
Now, I whispered to myself.
“Give me that,” demanded Josh as he took a step toward her.
“No way!”
He grabbed for the gun. She shrieked. The night herons screeched in response.
I started the Jeep’s engine, drowning them out. My foot stabbed the accelerator. My hands pulled hard on the wheel. The tires ground through the soft dirt. The headlights swung madly. There should have been two surprised persons caught in the beams.
But there was only one standing under the Lone Oak. She was waving the gun in my direction and screaming for me to stop.
Kerrackk.
The shot sounded like the end of the world, but I couldn't let it stop me. I steered away. The wheels caught the loose dirt in a hole.
She ran and got ahead of me. The gun was pointed right at the windshield. Certain she was blinded by the lights, I kept going. But one lucky shot would end it all.
Something roared in the darkness. A waterman’s truck with no muffler like a workboat on land. Was it a savior or a threat? I couldn’t wait to find out. The only way to save myself was to do it all by myself.
I steered the Jeep right at the girl who’d lied to everybody, used everybody. Invaded my home. Threatened me.
