Golden Glories

by Gerald Lopez

  We finally reached Jorri’s red, white, and blue striped golf cart. I was helped into the front seat, while Sassy and Charity sat in the back, and Alex sat on the seat at the rear where he could take photos easily.

  Jorri was good at maneuvering around the crowd as we made our way past the downtown area and toward the street where we’d left Forrest and Chip.

  “You should come back to visit this area when it’s not so crowded,” Jorri said to me, while Sassy and Charity talked amongst themselves.

  “We’ll do that,” I said. “It’s nice here.” I had to work hard not to chuckle when Jorri fluffed out his skirt.

  “The dog tags belonged to my son Jacob,” Jorri said. “He died in Iraq.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “It’s always a tragedy when one of our boys dies on the field.”

  “He had a hero’s funeral,” Jorri said. “The whole town showed up for it, as did his fellow soldiers. But people forget. They don’t mean to, but they do, and it’s as if my Jacob never existed.” He clutched his dog tags for a moment. “But I won’t ever forget my boy. I was proud of him for serving his country. Me—I was born with flat feet, so they wouldn’t take me when I was young.”

  “At least your son got a proper send-off,” I said. “Some don’t get even that much.”

  “Y’up, he did get that,” Jorri said. “He’s buried in the cemetery on the highest hill in Shiloh Key. Everyone remembered my boy that day.”

  “That’s why you wear the dress, isn’t it?” I said. “So people will look at the dog tags and ask about him.”

  “Guilty as charged,” Jorri said. “Hell, the dresses are real comfortable. Nice and breezy and let everything breathe, if ya know what I mean.” He chuckled. “But yeah, wearing the dog tags with just a T-shirt and shorts never got people to asking about him.”

  “The dress certainly seems to do the trick,” Sassy said. “It’s pretty too.”

  “Thank you, Ma’am,” Jorri said. “It’s not pride, ya know. I just—I just can’t let him be forgotten.”

  “He never will be, Uncle Jorri,” Charity said. “He was loved by a lot of us, and will always be in our hearts.”

  “Thank you for that, Charity. It means a lot to an old man like me.”

  “Hill!” I said. “That rings a bell to me for some reason. Surely a hill would be a great place to bury a treasure.

  “Makes sense to me,” Alex said from the back.

  “And it would fit with the one very big clue we have,” Charity said.

  “You know more than you’re saying,” I said, curious to hear her theory.

  Chapter 6

  Unnamed Places

  “I’VE BEEN THINKING about that Russian translation from the auction piece,” Charity said. “If we look at the second version of the translation: ‘By the hill where blood was shed for all’. That is actually a very specific place on the island. Don’t you think so Uncle Jorri?”

  “Oh, definitely,” Jorri said.

  “You probably shouldn’t say the name of the place out loud here where someone might hear,” Sassy said.

  “Agreed,” Charity said. “There’s just one thing I’m not sure about.”

  “What’s that?” Jorri said.

  “Would the actual location remain the same after so many years?” Charity said.

  “Hmm, you may have a point there,” Jorri said. “We can talk to Nikki about it. Nikki will have an idea about all of that stuff.”

  “That’s true,” Charity said. “I’m sorry to say I forgot about Nikki for a minute.”

  “How can someone who has met Nikki ever forget Nikki?” Jorri said.

  “Can anyone be as memorable as you, Jorri?” I said, then smiled.

  “Don’t be a flirt,” Jorri said. “I’m engaged to a male model, I’ll have you know.” He smiled.

  “Oh well, how can I compete with that?” I said, and chuckled. “For the record, I’m taken too.”

  “Yes he is,” Alex said.

  “How ya doing back there, babe?” I said.

  “Fine thanks,” Alex said. “How’s your head?”

  “Doing better,” I said. “The Tylenol has finally kicked in.”

  The road Jorri turned onto was a little bumpy. It was the same street where we’d left Forrest and Chip. There were houses of varying sizes on both sides. Jorri waved to a woman in the yard of one home, and she waved back. Finally Jorri stopped the golf cart in front of a wide and tall wooden gate that was flanked by trees and flowering bushes.

  “I’ll open the gate,” Charity said, then got out and did so.

  When Charity was back in the golf cart, Jorri continued forward. We soon found ourselves in a large courtyard surrounded by colorful trailer homes that had wooden porches. There was a tall and large woman with big, red hair waving to us. She was dressed in a sparkling, multicolor caftan. Upon closer inspection, the woman turned out to be a man in drag.

  “Hello, my darlings,” the man in drag said when the golf cart stopped in front of him.

  “Everyone this is Nikki Hall,” Jorri said. “What she doesn’t know about the key isn’t worth knowing.”

  “What a handsome group,” Nikki said, while looking my way.

  “Nikki, do you have time to talk a little key history with me?” Charity said.

  “Sure, honey,” Nikki said. “I’ve got time right now. Your friends can come too, if you want.”

  “Layton should probably rest,” Alex said.

  “I’ll do that while you all go talk with the lovely Nikki,” I said.

  “Layton got jumped from behind,” Jorri said. “He should probably have a lie down in the guest yurt.”

  “I’ll have Julio take him there,” Nikki said, then turned. “Oh, Julio.”

  A tan, muscular man with short black hair wearing only a sarong, flip-flops, and a smile appeared.

  “Baby love,” Nikki said, “would you mind showing Layton to the guest yurt where he and his friends will be staying?”

  “No problem, baby,” Julio said. “Which one of you guys is Layton?”

  A SOFT, FAMILIAR kiss on the lips woke me from my slumber. The kiss I knew, but as I slowly opened my eyes I found myself in unfamiliar surroundings.

  “Where am I?”

  “With me,” Forrest said, then kissed me again.

  “Mmm, not a bad place to be then,” I said, then sat up on my elbows and looked around. I was lying on a large bed in a round space with a high ceiling made of fabric and wood. “Oh yeah, Julio was walking me to the guest yurt.” I chuckled, finding the phrase I’d uttered funny. “A yurt—cool.”

  “How are you?” Forrest said, as he got in bed and wrapped me in his arms.

  “Parts of me are feeling better than good right now,” I said. “But I stupidly let myself get hurt earlier.”

  “I heard,” Forrest said, then kissed me. “How is your head?”

  “Better, was I asleep long?”

  “No, just about ten minutes or so, your hunky yurt boy told me,” Forrest said, then pulled off his shirt. “We’ve got time for a little distraction—and we have our Alex’s blessing—if you’re up for it.”

  “I’m always up for it,” I said. “How’s Alex?”

  “He’s busy learning the lay of the land, and unfortunately can’t join us,” Forrest said then got my shorts off me. My cock sprung straight up when my underwear was pulled down.

  “You weren’t kidding about being up for things,” Forrest said, before taking my cock into his mouth.

  When we were completely undressed we moved into position to sixty-nine.

  “Hang on,” I said. “Where’s Chip?”

  “Safe on the beach with kids and parents I trust,” Forrest said, before going back to what he was doing—me.

  After a satisfying climax on both our parts, we lay in each other’s arms.

  “Thanks for checking up on me,” I said. “The other stuff was fun too.”

  We both chuckled, then kissed again for
several seconds.

  “I don’t like how that kid got the edge on you, babe,” Forrest said.

  “Can’t say that I liked it either. Would you believe me if I said I let it happen just to get you here to play nurse?”

  “I would, but you know all you would’ve had to do was ask me,” Forrest said, then whispered in my ear. “I’d do anything for you and Alex.”

  “Ditto,” I said, then noticed I was hard again. But I wasn’t the only one. “What was that you said about doing anything for me?”

  “And what is it you have in mind for me to do?” Forrest said, then smiled.

  “Me,” I said. “Help me forget my stupid mistake from earlier.”

  “Unfortunately, it seems all it takes to get a foot up on you soldiers is to send in a kid, then you go all soft,” Forrest said. “We cops think a little differently. One of those kids could’ve had a gun, you know.”

  “I know, and you’re right to remind me of that,” I said, then gave Forrest my saddest look. It got me a long kiss on the lips.

  “I love you,” Forrest said. “Watch your ass on the job. I’ll take care of it for now.” He smiled, then worked his magic below.

  By the time he’d entered my ass with his thick, hard cock I was desperately needing it. If there’s anything that can take a man’s mind off his own stupidity for a while, it’s getting screwed senseless. Forrest knew what I needed, and he came at me full force, not wasting time. When he was finished, he held me in his big, strong arms, and I closed my eyes as we spooned. Soft kisses running down my neck woke me again.

  “Hi, my hunky men,” Alex said as he looked down at Forrest and me.

  “Shoot!” Forrest said. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep… but our guy needed me.” He smiled at Alex. “How long have we been sleeping?”

  “Only about an hour,” Alex said.

  “I need to check on Chip,” Forrest said, then let go of me and started to turn.

  “No need,” Alex said. “Charity and Sassy are with him and the other kids. I’ve made an executive decision, and we three have other plans.”

  Forrest turned back my way and held me tightly.

  “Sexy plans?” I said.

  “You two wish,” Alex said, and chuckled. “I don’t think you guys ever get enough. Get up, we have plans to go up the hill with Jorri in ten minutes or less.”

  “I love it when he gets bossy,” I said, then looked at Forrest. “Don’t you.”

  “Yeah, I do,” Forrest said. “His cute nose wrinkles up in front a little when he’s bossy.”

  “Oh yea,” I said. “And his eyes light up.”

  “Almost as bright as yours do when you’re having an orgasm,” Forrest said, then jumped from the bed to avoid my playful punch.

  Making a beeline for Alex, Forrest hugged him, and kissed him passionately on the lips. My cock was starting to stir just looking at them, so I decided it was time to get out of bed.

  “Did you learn anything, Mr. Executive?” I said to Alex, then kissed him. “Yum, that was a tasty mixture of my two favorite kissers.” After throwing Forrest a kiss I winked at him.

  “You are very playful today, Layton,” Alex said.

  “I’m trying not to think about how stupid I’ve been so far,” I said.

  “That’s what I sent Forrest in here to do,” Alex said. “Take your mind off things.”

  “He did that for a bit,” I said. “But now on to business.” Spotting my clothes on a chair in the corner, I walked toward them and began to dress. As I dressed, my mind turned to important things regarding our situation on the key. “If things get crazy and we need to get off the key—”

  “What do you mean by crazy?” Alex said.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Let’s say something supernatural beyond our control happens, and we need to get outta here. We find Miss Lucy or one of her group, and get a lift on their boat. If we get split up, our priority needs to be on getting Chip, Charity, Lily May, and Chip’s friends out. The rest of us can survive on our own, I think.”

  “It’s a plan,” Forrest said.

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Alex said. “I know I don’t have the type of training you two do.”

  “Hell, you’re in better shape than I am right now,” I said. “My head’s throbbing again.”

  “I brought you Tylenol and bottled water,” Alex said. “You only took one Tylenol earlier, so take another before we start on our trek. Who knows what we may run into in a cemetery?”

  Chapter 7

  Ghastly Ghouls

  ONCE I WAS dressed, I followed Alex and Forrest outside to where Jorri was waiting by his golf cart.

  “Did you have a good nap, Layton?” Jorri said.

  “In between all the other fun,” I said, then grinned and got in the back seat.

  Alex sat on the end again with his camera at the ready, and Forrest took the seat beside me, then put his arm around my shoulders.

  “Coming!” Nikki said as she rapidly walked our way waving her arms in the air to be noticed.

  Julio was beside Nikki, and he helped her into the front seat of the golf cart next to Jorri. He kissed her on the lips quickly, then waved to everyone.

  “Have fun,” Julio said, then looked at me. “You definitely know how to have fun.” He laughed, then stepped back from the golf cart.

  “Now what do you think he meant by that?” I said, then chuckled.

  “Sorry I was late,” Nikki said.

  “Not a problem,” Jorri said. “Right, guys?”

  “No problem,” I said. “Sorry I missed speaking with you earlier.”

  “That’s alright, baby,” Nikki said. “That was one heck of a bump on your head. I’m glad to see its gone down significantly.”

  “You’re not the only one,” I said, then slipped off my flip-flops and stretched my feet.

  Jorri started the golf cart and we were on our way. He pointed out some of the sights, since it was slow going. There weren’t a lot of cars on the road, but there was a ton of pedestrian traffic.

  “We’re gonna stop by my son’s grave,” Jorri said. “The cemetery also happens to be located on the highest point in Shiloh Key.”

  I noticed others seemed to be headed the same way as us, and commented on it. “So do folks think the treasure is buried there? Is that why others besides us are going the same way?”

  “No,” Nikki said, turning around in her seat to speak to us. “There are two large cemeteries on the key. The one we’re heading to is Shiloh Bluff Cemetery and that one was discounted years ago as a possible location for the treasure. People go there for the view they get of the key. Now the second cemetery named Calvary Hill is where the priests and monks were living. There’s a chapel and a tower there. And some folks believe the treasure is still hidden somewhere on those grounds.”

  “That makes sense,” Forrest said, before turning around to Alex. “How’s it going back there?”

  “Fine,” Alex said. “But it’s hard to get a good picture with this throng of people all around.”

  “Don’t worry about that, Alex,” Jorri said. “The Shiloh Bluff Cemetery will be good for some interesting photos, with all its twisty trees and old gravestones.”

  “Alex specializes in photographing nudes,” Forrest said. “He’s good, too.”

  “Well, I’m sure Nikki wouldn’t mind posing for him,” Jorri said, then let out a hearty laugh, as did Nikki.

  “You’re so crazy, Jorri,” Nikki said.

  The main thoroughfare we were on was continually rising. I heard Alex shout, and turned around. Jorri stopped the golf cart a minute. Someone had tried to grab Alex’s camera, and Alex had kicked him.

  “Shit that hurt,” the man said.

  Forrest hopped out of the golf cart, walked toward the man, and showed him his badge.

  “It’s not gonna feel much better sitting in a cell, ya hear me,” Forrest said to the man, who was clutching his stomach where he’d been kicked.

 
“Yes. Sir,” the man said. “It won’t happen again, Officer, I swear.”

  “That was your one warning,” Forrest said, then looked at Alex. “Come sit in back between Layton and me.”

  “My head is hurting a little, let me sit in the middle,” I said.

  We were on our way once more, and I felt good squeezed in between Alex and Forrest. My head really did hurt again, and I silently cursed myself for letting a kid get the upper hand on me. But, who knows, maybe it really was an accident that she hit me with that big yo-yo thing she called a diabolo. At present, I just didn’t feel right for some reason, so I decided to close my eyes for a minute and when I opened them again I jumped slightly.

  To the side of the golf cart, walking on the sidewalk was a small group of six nuns. One of them had turned my way, and I thought I saw a silver, supernatural glimmer in her eyes.

  “What is it, Layton?” Alex said. “Why did you jump?”

  “Those nuns,” I said when we were farther up the road.

  “What about them?” Forrest said.

  “They didn’t look normal,” I said. “Jorri, Nikki, what do you know about nuns on the island?”

  “Nothing,” Nikki said. “There’s only one old priest and a brother at the small Catholic church here. No regular nuns.”

  “Nope—none of them around,” Jorri said. “Except sometimes on Halloween and festival days and most of them are boys in drag.”

  “No army of nuns then,” Alex said.

  He’d caught on to what I was thinking about, or rather remembering from a former case—the one where we’d first met.

  “If we see many more I’m gonna start to worry,” I said. “Nikki, what’s the story about the treasure, and what’s supposed to happen tonight. Anything supernatural?”

  “The story is,” Nikki said, turning back to talk to us again, “at midnight there’s supposed to be a sign leading to the treasure.”

  “What sort of sign?” I said.

  “Moonlight is supposed to shine through a certain tree along the front beach area, and highlight where the treasure is buried,” Nikki said.