by Suzi Weinert
“You stupid woman,” he sneered. “You led me right to the treasure.” He gave a derisive laugh. “I didn’t need your map or riddle after all. I only needed dumb, gullible you. You can even do the work. Continue digging. I always want the most for the least. In this case, I’ll own the reward but leave no witness to speak of what happens here tonight.”
Jennifer quivered. He intended killing her and stealing the treasure. Desperate to figure a way out of this situation, her mind raced while she dug.
Suddenly the shovel blade pinged, striking something solid yet invisible. A stone? Metal? They both understood the sound’s implications.
“I’ll take it from here.” Early elbowed her aside. Grabbing away her shovel, he plunged it into the ground, levering out a great clod of earth. Below it, metal glinted in the lantern light. He dropped the shovel, fell to his knees and clawed feverishly with his hands. With a grunt of satisfaction, he lifted out a glistening golden goblet. He lifted it high as he knelt on the ground. “Yes,” he cried his elation into the night. “I found Mosby’s treasure.”
Surreptitiously, Jennifer had edged toward the shovel. Deftly retrieving it, she raised it to slam down on Early’s head. But in an impossible undulating wave of movement, he morphed into the form of a huge eastern diamondback rattler, coiled around the goblet, beady eyes fastened on Jennifer. She knew the snake could strike faster than her downward bash of the shovel attempting to dispatch it. What to do?
Just then, the lantern illuminated a rodent, scampering across the clearing right toward the snake. The serpent shifted focus from immobile Jennifer to moving prey it savored. As it struck the rodent, she brought the shovel down sideways. When the snake, mouse in its fangs, hesitated, she plunged the sharp point of the shovel to sever the reptilian head from the body. Trapped in the snake’s disembodied head, the rodent’s legs trilled with the effort to escape.
Stepping back in horror, she screamed for help, but her screams echoed into the dark night with no one to hear them. She turned and ran full out through the dark forest, unable to see her way around trees, past rocks and over rises and swales, yet on she went, certain something crashed through brush close at her heels.
Suddenly she tripped, twisting onto her back as she fell in order to look up at her attacker. Early’s blue-uniformed body stood menacingly over her, but from beneath the Union cap stared eyes in a serpent’s head.
Jennifer lurched bolt-upright in bed, gasping. Her heart thudded and she felt drenched with sweat. Gradually displacing the Virginia woods with her hotel bedroom, she slowed her hysterical breathing to normal. Wide awake now, she got out of bed and wandered through the suite to the balcony, where slivers of moonlight danced on the Gulf’s rhythmic waves.
In stark contrast to this timeless beauty, what did her terrifying fantasy mean?
CHAPTER 69
“Time to wake up, dear.” Grammy touched Jennifer’s shoulder next morning. “It’s eight o’clock. We need to let Peggy into the house in forty-five minutes for the sale’s last day. You’re usually the first one awake. Are you okay?”
Jennifer jumped out of bed. “Sorry, Mom. A rough night,” she yawned, “but I’ll be ready fast.”
Armed with coffee and donuts from a fast food drive-through, they arrived at the house to admit Peggy’s group.
“Yesterday went very well.” Peggy gestured toward the rooms. “We’re down to less than a third of your belongings. Today we’ll get bargain hunters because, as we discussed, we reduce most prices the last day. You’re leaving tomorrow morning then?”
Jennifer and Grammy exchanged glances.
“Yes,” Grammy confirmed this false information to cloak their true plans. “Remind me again when you send the check for my percentage of sales.”
“The contract reads within ten days, but experience shows it’s more like five. Your check comes with a full accounting of each sale, backed up by the individual receipts.”
“Very thorough.” Jennifer smiled.
“Do you want our company to dispose of whatever remains after the sale?”
Grammy considered. “I’ll make that decision when we know what’s left. But it’s possible.”
“Why don’t we wander around the house, Mom, to see what’s left?” They went upstairs.
“The movers took two bedrooms, but look, two more are empty,” Grammy marveled. “And the linen closet.”
“And the hall decorations and the plant on the landing.” Jennifer added as they investigated the upstairs.
Back on the main floor, Grammy noted. “Oh my, your father’s desk is gone and most of the other den furniture as well. Just a few books left in here.”
They strolled through the other rooms, commenting on the estate sale’s success.
“Do you think we should warn Peggy about a possible snake attack?” Grammy whispered. “I mean, Detective Goodwin told us three snakes were stolen but only two have surfaced. And remember, Early came to this very house before to scare us. If I were in Peggy’s shoes, I’d want to know what could happen.”
“I hear your caution, Mom, but wouldn’t it scare them all unnecessarily? What if the last snake escaped from the men who stole it and is no longer an issue? Or what if they intended it for something else? The sale’s going so well, and we have no real knowledge they plan another incident here. I understand your protective instinct, but I vote no. In fact, I’ll surreptitiously collect the wasp spray containers and dispose of them later at the hotel.”
“Hope you’re right, dear. But speaking of the hotel, I think I’d be more comfortable there. Do you mind dropping me off? Then you might even sail off on some other estate sale shopping of your own in Naples. It is our last day here.”
Back at the hotel, they found Becca’s note: Away for several hours with my friends. Back at 4pm for our 6pm appointment. They all knew “appointment” meant departure for their seven o’clock airport charter tonight.
“Any last-minute errands I can do for you while I’m out, Mom?”
“Don’t think so. This gives me relaxed time to pack and be ready to visit my home one last time to empty the safe into our carry-ons. And then on to the airport.”
“Okay, I’m a cellphone call away if you need me. Like Becca, I’ll be back by four o’clock. It’ll take no time for me to pack. I’ll just shove everything I brought into my bag.”
“On your way, then.”
When Jennifer left, Grammy puttered around, watched TV and studied the room-service menu for a lunch order. At a knock on the door, she approached and asked, “Who is it?”
“Housekeeping,” said a female voice.
Grammy opened the door to a woman with a cleaning cart and a stack of clean towels in her arms.
As their eyes locked, they recognized each other. Both froze in a moment of shock and fear.
“YOU!” shouted the chambermaid.
“YOU!” cried Grammy. “You and Max left me to die in that closet, Jane. How could you do that? How did you get here?”
“I work at this hotel. I’m desperate for money while Max rots in jail because you had him arrested.” She rammed her cart through the door, forcing Grammy inside as the cart pressed against her. “You destroyed my life when you destroyed my man.” Jane kicked the door shut behind them. “I hate you, you horrible old woman.”
“Jane, stop. Think. He used you. You’re just another victim because he’s conned seniors many times using this handyman-housekeeper scam. Police have a rap sheet on him for these very incidents. You helped him this time, but other women he abandoned helped him other times. Don’t you realize I didn’t destroy your relationship? He would have left you when you were no longer convenient for him.”
“You lie. He loved me. The minute he escaped, he came directly to me.”
“But why? Because you are the love of his life or because he needed your safe place to hide while he worked on his own revenge—revenge causing his second arrest?”
“He protected me when they interroga
ted him.”
“Because he might need you again? To write him letters and pay for lawyers as the years of incarceration spread before him? To bring him cookies in prison?”
Jane screamed. “How dare you say this to me!”
“Jane, it’s awful to admit a woman could love a cheating loser. It’s hard to accept they’d sacrifice us to save themselves. It’s insulting and humiliating to give a man our all and have him take it and walk away, leaving us with nothing. It’s an ancient, heart-wrenching story for women. I’m an old woman who’s seen this happen many times. I forgive you for what you did to me because I understand you did it for Max. But now you must realize he was the mistake. This requires strength, but you can do it.”
“You’re deranged. He loves me and only me.” Tears glistened in her eyes.
“Jane, think. You have a choice. Stay on Max’s bad road or turn onto a new road. You decide what happens next.”
Enraged, Jane grabbed a broken tumbler from the trash sack on her cart. “I’ll show you, you crazy old woman. My love for Max gives me the power to deal with you.” She grasped the broken glass in her hand, intent upon inflicting a gory wound upon whatever part of Grammy she could strike.
Grammy’s hand reached for one of the many aerosol cans sprinkled helter-skelter throughout the hotel suite.
“If you try to hurt me, I’ll protect myself, Jane. Then police come and you’ll end up in jail like Max. Is this really what you want? You can stop this nightmare right now.”
Jane lifted the broken glass and rushed forward toward the old woman as Grammy pressed the wasp spray trigger.
CHAPTER 70
Jennifer’s cell rang. “Goodwin here. Look, we have an incident at the hotel. Can you get over here?”
“What? Who?”
“Your mother. An intruder.”
Jennifer’s heart raced. “Is she okay?”
“Yes, but hurry if you can,” Goodwin encouraged.
“An intruder?”
“Not William Early.”
“But…”
“More when you arrive.” Goodwin closed his phone.
Jennifer rushed to her car and careened toward the hotel. What could have happened? How much more trouble could any of them take before they left for Virginia?
Braced for chaos when she reached the hotel suite, Jennifer walked instead into a quiet, controlled scene. Her mother seemed calm and unhurt. The intruder had gone. “What?” she cried.
Goodwin explained the situation, summarizing, “So we arrested Jane for assault. One more road block out of your way and an important puzzle piece for us in the Roderick case.”
As Jennifer sank into a chair, Goodwin ambled closer to talk privately with her. “At the Naples Airport tonight, if you leave the keys under the driver-side floor mat of your unlocked car, one of my men will deliver the vehicle to the rental company tomorrow morning. If anyone’s nosy, this eliminates one clue to your departure. Tomorrow you call the hotel to describe your unexpected hasty check out and pay your bill over the phone.”
Jennifer nodded. “Got it. I…I thank you again, Deputy, for rescuing Mom one more time.”
Grammy added, “…and for advising us to charter a plane and quietly leave Naples without alerting that nasty Mr. Early. And bonus: it’s even the safest way to take along our valuables.”
Goodwin chuckled. “I’d say that daughter of yours is a problem-solver and now I’m keeping an eye on your beautician, who’s pretty smart, too. Look, I like you folks. Glad I could help.”
He shook their hands and moved briskly toward the door. “Try to stay out of trouble up in Virginia,” he said over his shoulder.
After Goodwin and his team left, Jennifer sighed. “Let’s order a room service lunch and finish packing. When Becca comes at four o’clock, we’ll be ready to roll.”
They were.
* * * * *
Jason met them at Dulles Airport, barely cramming all their suitcases and carry-ons into his vehicle.
The next morning the moving truck occupied most of their day as Grammy’s familiar belongings filled the empty first floor of the Donnegans’ house. While Jennifer helped her unpack suitcases, made her bed and put her towels in the bathroom, Becca bought groceries and arranged them in Grammy’s refrigerator and pantry.
When everyone felt tired by dinnertime, Becca revealed, “I bought fixings for a large salad just in case we order pizza tonight.”
Jason smiled. “Now there’s a gal who thinks ahead.”
After their pizza feast, Jennifer looked for the cloth originals of her map and riddle, hidden behind vases in the laundry room cabinet. Relieved, she found them undisturbed.
Later in the dark in their bedroom, Jennifer told Jason about William Early.
He sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. “The threats, the snakes. Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”
“I knew you’d worry and you were a thousand miles away where you couldn’t help.”
“Jen, does this mean you…our family…we’re all at risk again?”
“Honey, I didn’t plan it this way. Maybe we’ll never see Early again.”
He gave a mirthless laugh. “Doesn’t sound that way to me. Jen, Jen. I want to protect us all. Do you think what’s written on pieces of cloth is worth endangering everything we hold dear? Why not give the cloths to Early? Better yet, to a museum where experts can decipher clues and have the proper authority to find and dig up X. Even if there’s a treasure and you find it, it’s either on public land or private property. You can’t just dig wherever you like. And whoever owns that property also owns X.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
“Well, you need to. Look, sweetheart, you’ve been gone a month and I’m so happy you’re back, the last thing I want is an argument, but you have to agree this Early guy is determined, unpredictable and, if he murdered John Birdsong, he’s a killer. The longer you keep the cloths, the greater our risk that he’ll do something crazy to get them from us. What if he kidnaps one of the kids or grands for leverage? Wouldn’t you give him the cloths to save the life of someone we love?”
She nodded sheepishly. “Of course, but…”
“Well, then let’s get rid of them before we have a catastrophe instead of wishing we had when it’s too late.”
“It’s just…just such a rare opportunity to open a window to the past.”
“Yes, but the same holds true if a museum finds X. And remember, Jen, X may not be what we hope. This could be someone’s buried laundry or garbage. This could be a hoax. If we agree Early shouldn’t have the cloths and a museum should, then don’t you see a reasonable plan for us to follow?”
“I admit the way you describe it makes sense.”
“Look, how about this. We’ve spent a super busy day moving your mom and we’re very tired now. Why not sleep on it tonight and tomorrow wake up with a solution?”
“I’ll try, Jay, but I’m confused.”
He chuckled. “More like stubborn.”
They both laughed as she curled up against him, but she noticed he laughed louder and longer. “I love you, Jay.”
“Love you, too, honey. Welcome home. I missed you big time.”
CHAPTER 71
The next morning, Jennifer put the two cloths on the table beside her paper copies. “What do you make of these, Jay?”
While he studied them, Grammy arrived from across the street to share breakfast with them as planned. They’d barely finished when the phone rang.
“Who calls at eight o’clock?” Grammy clucked.
“Anybody who knows we’re always up early.” Jennifer spoke into the phone, punching the speaker button. “Hello.”
Jennifer heard silence on the other end of the line, followed by a sob. “Hello? Hello! Who is this?”
“Mary Ann,” mumbled a broken voice.
“Sweetie, you don’t sound good. Are you…are you all right?”
“Jen, I’m wounded. I’m bleeding. He�
�s gone…Charlie’s gone. My life is over. He took my love, my life, my dreams and everything in my bank account. I want to die, Jen.”
“Mary Ann. Don’t move. Should I call an ambulance right now?”
“…No, it’s…it’s my broken heart that’s bleeding.”
“Stay put. I’ll be right over.”
Quickly explaining the situation to the others, she grabbed her cellphone and dashed out the door.
Worried at what she might find, she pounded on Mary Ann’s door before a push showed it wasn’t locked. She rushed inside. “Mary Ann?” she ran around the downstairs rooms. “Mary Ann?” she shouted.
“In here…” came the frail voice.
Jennifer followed it to the sun porch, where her friend lay on a rattan couch. She hurried over to see the situation for herself. Relieved at finding no blood, she hurried to kneel beside the couch. “Mary Ann, what happened?”
Mary Ann moaned. “My world is shattered. My life is over. He’s gone. It isn’t enough he destroyed my hopes and dreams, my future. He broke my heart. He used me, Jen. He used me emotionally, he used me physically and he used me financially.” Her voice rose an octave. “He stole all my money. I’m ruined. I’m devastated. I can’t go on.”
Jennifer eyed the empty Crown Royal bottle and glass on the coffee table. “How long have you been drinking?”
“Since yesterday late afternoon, when my bank called to say I’m overdrawn. But there isn’t enough alcohol in the world to make this pain go away.”
“Let’s call your daughter. Sibyle will want to be here with you.”
“NO! It’s too humiliating to reveal to anyone else. I told you only you because you’re open-minded. After five children, nothing shocks you anymore. You’re the only one I want to know about this.”
“Mary Ann, unscrupulous men luring women with love and conning them with scams like this is as old as human history. You’re just the latest one in the hands of this selfish criminal. It isn’t your fault. You’re the victim here, the trusting victim. You’ve done nothing wrong except being gullible, which we do when we love someone. He’s the problem and we need to get the police involved quickly to follow your money and maybe get it back. You know my son-in-law is a Fairfax County police detective. He can put us in touch with the right law enforcement to help you. Instead of being the victim here, it’s time to stand up and fight back.”
