“Jacques, calm down!” Jessie said a little too sternly. “We will find it. What about Henry?”
Jacques sighed. “Henry has done nothing but read cookbooks and is now making dinner. He hasn’t left,” Jacques said in frustration.
“Wow!” Jonathan said as he took a gander at the tree. “How did you get that on that little car?”
“It wasn’t easy,” Jessie said.
“Easy?” Jonathan chuckled. “It defies physics.”
“Another miracle.” Jessie smiled.
“Yeah, that was some photo,” Jonathan said. “Did you Photoshop that?”
“Not I,” Jessie said. “I claim innocence on that one.”
“Innocent, huh?” Jonathan teased with a slight gleam in his eye.
Jacques gave him a double take and shook his head. “He is so like me, I’m surprised I didn’t notice before.”
Jessie started laughing at the two of them. Of course, Thor was only partially aware of why she found his comment so hilarious.
As soon as the tree was standing in the corner, Jonathan, who’d had to move most of the furniture in the living room at her mother’s direction, had taken a break. Sitting on the end of the sofa he was so big he claimed most of the couch. Jessie turned her attention towards Jacques who had waited through the process, pacing the floor and waving his hands.
“I’ll be right back,” Jessie said as she went upstairs.
“Okay, dear,” her mom said. “I’ll get the eggnog out.”
“Are you still convinced someone has stolen it?” Jessie asked as they went down the hall toward her room.
“Oui!”
“Okay, Mr. Impatient let’s find this,” Jessie said as they tore her room apart for the second time that day. “It’s not here,” Jessie said. She clamped her hand over her mouth and pointed to the doll, then waved at Jacques to follow her to the bathroom.
“I was hoping that when you invited me in here that it would be under different circumstances,” Jacques said playfully.
Jessie shut the door and turned to shake her head at him. He had a sensual glint in his eye and grin that was quite telling. “You are a little devil.”
“I’ll have you know I am an angel.” Jacques winked. “Just ask anyone.”
“Jacques, I’m worried,” Jessie said.
“Ah,” Jacques said. “What happened to . . . calm down, Mr. Impatient?” Jacques asked sarcastically.
She turned on the water to drown out her voice even more. “If Henry didn’t put that in the doll, maybe he knows who did,” Jessie said. “I think we should go visit him. “C’mon,” she said running out of the bathroom and back downstairs. “I’ll be right back, Mom,” Jessie called out as she grabbed her purse and keys.
“Where are you going?” Her mom came down the hall carrying a tray of eggnog.
“I just remembered I had to pick up something from the Ancient Mariner before they close.” Jessie said. Information was a thing, right? She wasn’t really lying. “Be right back.”
She and Jacques drove to the bookstore. Jessie parked out front. She could see the closed sign in the door. “Are you sure he is here?” she asked Jacques.
He vanished and then reappeared. “Oui, he is in the back.”
Jessie stood out in the front banging on the door until she could see the silhouette of Henry as he walked toward her from the back. She waved at him.
“What is the emergency?” Henry asked when he opened the door. “Did you already read through all those books?”
“No, I’m still working on them,” Jessie said. “But I broke the doll that I bought aunt Katie and was wondering if there was another.” Jessie had worked out that line on the way over.
“No.” Henry shook his head. “In a store like this most of those things are from private vendors and one of a kind.”
“Could you tell me who the vendor was for that doll?” Jessie said. “Please it’s incredibly important.”
Henry nodded and stepped back, letting her in. “Let me check my records.” Jessie browsed the books at the front counter, surprised to see so many about the Mayan calendar on display. Henry noticed her interest as he thumbed through his accounts. “People are curious now that the end date draws closer.”
She glanced up at him, wondering what had prompted him to say it that way. The end date, Jessie thought as she picked one up on the mythology and started thumbing through it.
“Here it is,” Henry said, putting his finger on the log where he’d recorded the transaction. He chuckled. “Now I remember.”
“What?” Jessie asked as Jacques peered over his shoulder looking up in surprise.
“It was Earl Hebert,” Henry said spinning the book around so that she could see the name.”
“The gardener did it?” Jessie said, stunned. She looked back up at Henry. “Thank you so much!” She turned to leave, taking the book with her. She got to the door before she turned around and ran back. “Can I get this?”
Henry chuckled at her. “Just take it.”
“Thank you,” she breathed, with a little hop before she left.
Henry slowly walked to the door to lock back up. He watched as she drove a back tire up onto the sidewalk while she un-parallel parked, and bumped the car in front of hers. “Drives just like her aunt too.” He chuckled.
Chapter 14
It was dark by the time Jessie pulled up in front of the house again. Jacques had disappeared as soon as they left the bookstore and had not returned. Jessie stepped out of the car and snuck around the back. “Jacques,” she whispered.
She slowly crept closer to the carriage house that had been turned into quarters for the gardener. She could see a light on through the front window. As she got close to the door she could tell the television was on. “Jacques,” she whispered again. . . . Nothing.
She tapped on the window pane on the front door. “Mr. Hebert?” she called softly, trying to see around the ill-fitting curtain. “Earl?” she said a little louder, tapping a little harder. The door swung in. Jessie swallowed, looked over her shoulder and then opened the door a little wider.
“Earl?” she called out again as she took a tentative step into the room. The television volume was up quite high, but there was no one watching. She tip-toed into the kitchen, it, too, was empty. She headed back the other way and slowly approached the darkened room on the other side. “Earl? she called out again. “Jacques,” she said a little more softly.
The door to the bedroom was slightly ajar. She nudged it with her foot, staying in the living room while it opened. “Earl?” she said, looking briefly back at the television. She stepped a little further into the room, standing just over the door’s threshold. She strained to see anything, but could hear what sounded like the faint sound of someone snoring. She took a deep breath, wishing she had a flashlight.
“Okay,” she gave herself a talk, “You’re going to have to be a little braver than this if you’re going to save the world.” With that she squared her shoulders and stepped boldly into the room.
Once her eyes adjusted to the light and her heart rate came back down she could see that the bed was empty but the sounds of snoring were more defined. She edged closer to the closet.
Quwa-a-a-a . . . b-r-r-r-r.
It was. . . . Jessie thought, It sounded like, no, it couldn’t be!
Quwa-a-a-a . . . b-r-r-r-r.
“What are you doing here?” a male voice asked her.
“Augh!” Jessie screamed, twisting around to see Jonathan standing in the door watching her. Jessie grabbed her heart. “What are you doing?”
“Your mom wanted me to check on you,” Jonathan said. “She’s a little worried about you.”
“Why?” Jessie asked.
Jonathan scratched his head and looked like maybe that should be obvious. When we watched you sneak by the house, she said you had been acting a little strangely lately and asked if I wouldn’t mind keeping an eye out since there had been some trouble last night.”
Jessie rolled her eyes.
“Hey don’t shoot the messenger,” Jonathan said.
Quwa-a-a-a . . . b-r-r-r-r.
Jessie looked back at the door. “I’m looking for, Ja—Earl,” Jessie said.
“And you think he’s in the closet?” Jonathan asked with something akin to disbelief and amusement in his voice.
Quwa-a-a-a . . . b-r-r-r-r.
Jessie couldn’t take it anymore and reached for the handle. It was locked. She turned back to Jonathan. “You know what? I think Earl bugged my room, stole some items from me, and now I think he has trapped a friend of mine in there.”
Jonathan looked alarmed. She didn’t know if it was because he believed her or if he was convinced she was a lunatic.
“I don’t care if you don’t believe me,” Jessie said. She stepped back and ran at the door putting her shoulder into it and bounced back from the impact. Jonathan caught her.
“Hold on there, Doc, you’re going to hurt something.” He set her upright and kicked the door open with one motion and walked into the room.
“What a sick bast—” Jonathan started then stopped himself as he walked into the room. The walls looked like they were dripping with black tar and feathers hung on the ceiling. There was a table that had some type of surveillance equipment. “Looks like you weren’t kidding.” Photos of Jessie and ancient Mayan gods were pinned to the wall.
Quwa-a-a-a . . . b-r-r-r-r.
Jessie looked at Jacques who was lying on the floor at Jonathan’s feet. Other than being asleep he looked fine. “Uh.” Jessie raised a finger as Jonathan took another step into the room and picked up a necklace from the floor. He was standing right in him.
“I don’t see your friend,” Jonathan said with concern. “We can put an APB out.”
“No!” Jessie said. . . . He’s,” Jessie sighed. There is no time like the present to claim crazy, she thought. “You’re standing on him.”
“I’m standing on him?” Jonathan raised both eyebrows looking at her.
Jessie noticed as he held the necklace Jacques moved and mumbled in his sleep. “May I have that?” Jessie said.
“This?” He held it up. “I noticed Earl wearing this today, said it was to make the animals sleep. I thought the crazy bast—” Jonathan paused. “I thought he meant his obsession with gophers had led him to wear it. He took it off and put it in a wooden case.”
“I think that must be what is making him sleep.”
“Who sleep?” Jonathan asked.
“Jacques,” Jessie said. “He’s here.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Jonathan nodded at her like she’d finally bought that ticket.
“Please,” Jessie said, “just let me have it.”
Jonathan looked at it, shrugged, and then tossed it to her.
She ran out of the room, then out of the house, and threw it out into the yard. Running back inside the room she looked at the floor expectantly. “Well?” she asked breathlessly.
“Ah. . . .”Jonathan looked at her like he was measuring her up for that white jacket.
“Jacques,” Jessie said, kneeling down beside him on the floor at Jonathan’s feet. He stepped away like there was an invisible giant bug on the floor.
“Jacques.” Jessie blew in Jacques’s face hoping she wouldn’t have to kiss him again in front of Jonathan and end up in a straightjacket before the night was over. Jacques mumbled. She blew again this time harder.
“Does he require CPR?” Jonathan asked.
“What?” Jacques opened his eyes to see Jonathan standing over him and then looked at Jessie. “What happened?”
“I think Earl used some type of sleeping charm on you.” Jessie sat back in relief.
Jonathan watched her. “Is he awake now?”
“He knows?” Jacques asked in surprise.
“It’s a little complicated,” Jessie said, “but, yes, he helped me rescue you. Although I think he’s not quite convinced you are not a figment of my imagination.” Jessie’s smile looked more like a grimace when she said it.
“Tell him I used to sit by him on the docks at night when he’d skip rocks and talk to his dad looking up at the stars.”
“Ah- he says that he used to sit by you on the docks when you were—” Jessie looked at Jacques questioningly.
“Ten,” Jacques provided.
“Ten,” Jessie said. “You would skip rocks and talk to your dad while looking up at the stars.”
Jonathan seemed taken aback by that one.
“Oh,” he also says that when you were sixteen you took . . . Oh,” Jessie blushed.
Jonathan laughed. “Gotcha. Does he know where Earl went?”
“I—” Jessie looked down at Jacques. “Any idea?”
“He’s gone after my treasure,” Jacques said.
“He went after the treas—” Jessie started then looked back at Jacques. “Give me some type of information that doesn’t make me look insane here,” Jessie said and looked up at Jonathan who laughed, as if to say, too late.
“You won’t look insane,” Jacques said.
“So who is this invisible man?” Jonathan asked.
“He is your great-great-great-great grandfather.”
Jonathan half scoffed half groaned at that. “Not Theodore.”
“No,” Jessie said. “His name is Jacques.”
“Jacques?”
“Yes,” Jessie said as Jacques stood up. “I’d like you to meet Monsieur Renault Bernard Jacques Blanois.” Jessie rolled her eyes and then added. “He wants you to know that he was the one that really built this place. Theodore was his first mate.”
“Ah, how do you do?” Jonathan nodded.
“He says better and thanks for saving him.”
Jonathan looked at the air in front of him. “Where did Earl go? Where is your treasure?” he asked.
Jessie was half expecting Jacques to be overly protective over that information and was surprised when he answered simply, “Peru.” She passed the info along.
Jonathan nodded, pulled a small walkie-talkie type device out of his pocket and said. “The pigeon has flown the coop. I repeat the pigeon has flown the coop.”
Jonathan put the communication device back into his pocket and stood looking at Jessie who was now staring at him, dumbstruck.
“Thanks.” He nodded, turning to leave.
“Wait,” Jessie said. “What was that about?”
“Earl is a wanted man,” Jonathan told her. “He has several known aliases, the snake for one. He’s been in the witness protection for years now. He was a hit man for the Cartel.”
Jessie shivered.
“Exactly,” Jonathan said to her involuntary movement. “When he recently started renewing some connections, let’s just say, some people that I know became a little nervous.”
“What kind of connections?” Jessie asked
“The illegal transfer of certain items from Columbia and Central America kind of connections,” Jonathan said. “I see now that what he wanted was to flee the country.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I should have seen this. He even asked me about my plane the other day.”
“Are you a cop or something?” Jessie asked.
“Something like that,” Jonathan answered evasively. “You might say I pulled this assignment because it is fairly close to home.” He nodded in the direction of his house.
“That’s right. He has a plane!” Jacques said. “Ask him if it flies.”
Jonathan went to the desk and started going through more photos. There were several of a woman that looked just like Sondra only older. Maybe the old woman had been right.
“Uh—” Jessie started. Jonathan looked up at her. “Does your plane fly?”
“Why?”
“Well—” Jessie began.
“Just tell him,” Jacques pleaded with her.
Jessie sighed. “We have to take the sacred knife of Tezcatlipoca to the fabled city of El Dorado-in Peru,” she added, following Jacques’s input. �
��And place it in the sacred stone before the solar equinox to save the world.” Jessie was wincing by the time she’d finished that spiel.
Jonathan stared at her for a moment. “You what?”
Jacques started spinning every item in the room and floating most of the furniture.
“Whoa.” Jonathan stepped back from the desk as everything slammed back down and the pictures lay scattered all over the floor. “Oh,” he said. “You meant you have to take a sacred knife to El Dorado to save the world.” He nodded.
“You what?” Gloria stood in the doorway her mouth open at the sights and sounds within the small room.
“Oh,” Jessie groaned.
“Hello, Mrs. Phelps.” Jonathan smiled broadly. “I found her.”
“Jessie.” Her mom looked over at her. “What is going on?”
“It’s a long story, Mom,” Jessie said.
“I’ve got all night.” Her mother folded her arms over her ample breasts.
“Let’s go sit down and have some eggnog,” Jessie invited, “and I’ll tell you all about it.” Jessie led them from Earl’s house, through the backdoor of Aunt Katie’s, and into the living room, where she opened the cabinet and took out a bottle of rum. She then liberally added some to each glass and handed them out. “Sit,” she said.
“Jessie, are you having anger issues?” Her mother asked.
“What? No,” Jessie said.
“Well,” she glanced at Jonathan, who was sitting next to her on the sofa, like she didn’t want to mention it in front of him, but forged on anyway. “Your room was torn up again after you left, and I just thought that wasn’t like you.”
“You’re right, Mom.” Jessie nodded. “It’s not like me, but it’s exactly like Jacques.”
“Jacques?” Her mom nodded. “Like opa!” She did the fake cheer that Jessie had done the day before.
Jonathan chuckled.
When Jessie turned to stare at him, he took a sip of his drink. “No, Mom,” Jessie said. “Jacques is a man.”
“Oh,” her mother gasped and nodded in understanding. “Oh, I see,” she said. “You’ve created a split personality to deal with the stress.”
“Ah—No.” Jessie shook her head.
Treasure of the Jaguar Warrior - Mystery of the Mayan Calendar Page 15
