Hutchins Creek Cache

by Deborah Garner

  “But you’re getting off track here – ohh, sorry about the pun, that was bad,” Jake said. “Why would Stephen know how to start up an engine?”

  “He probably wouldn't, but we can’t be sure of that. He’s been coming to Hutchins Creek for years, and he hangs out around the museum. Maybe he’s using Tommy’s interest in trains as an excuse. Though I hate to think that.” Paige sat back and thought about this. “Still, he probably had plenty of opportunities to watch Jesse.”

  “We have no way to know that,” Jake pointed out. “And he seemed genuinely concerned last night when he found us after the accident.”

  “True,” Paige whispered. “Still, it seemed odd that he was right there, just after it happened.”

  “Yes, but his explanation made sense, and the paramedics were right behind him.”

  “OK, OK,” Paige said. “What about Henry?”

  “Just a friendly and harmless town fixture, from what I can tell. A little eccentric, sure seems willing to help people out.”

  “I agree,” Paige said. “I can’t see Henry causing any trouble.”

  “And he didn't seem to know anything about the derailer or the coins aside from what he might have learned from us,” Jake added.

  “Maybe the coins were gone by the time they brought The Morning Star back up to the yard,” Paige said. “Someone else could have removed them after we left with the paramedics.”

  “Or he could be lying when he says he didn’t see them,” Jake said. “And he’s always been a part of Hutchins Creek, right? He’s got that reputation for being helpful; maybe he’s helped Jesse move those train cars around.”

  “Actually, he hasn't always lived here,” Paige pointed out. “He came here about forty years ago.”

  “Really? I just assumed he was a local.”

  Paige shook her head. “No, Jesse said something about him coming in from the Midwest. He’s not exactly sure where Henry came from originally. In fact, that seems sort of odd, now that I think about it. How do you not find out where someone is from, over that long a period of time? And he sure seems to know the train cars well.”

  “Like I said before: too many suspects and too much danger. Paige, please let this go. Tonight let’s just enjoy a nice, relaxed evening together.” Jake finished his iced tea and waited for her to respond.

  “Fine.”

  “We’ll send the other coins we collected to the detectives at the Denver Mint and let them take things from there.”

  “Fine.”

  “If you’re hungry later, we can go down to The Iron Horse and have a quiet meal.”

  “Rose is making dinner.”

  “Good, even better,” Jake said. “You see how easy this is? We don’t need to go anywhere or worry about anything. We’ll just relax at the inn.”

  Paige thought a moment and then smiled. “That sounds perfect.”

  “Great, we agree.” Clearly pleased, Jake stood and retrieved his crutches from beside the booth, positioning his weight over his good ankle. He pulled his wallet out, tossed money on the table to cover both their check and a tip for the server, and put his wallet away.

  Paige stood and accepted Jake’s extended arm carefully with her one free hand. She walked toward the café exit, Jake hobbling right behind her. If he’d been able to see her face, he would have noticed that her smile lingered. Their last night in Hutchins Creek promised to be intriguing, especially since Jesse, Stephen and Henry, three of their “suspects,” would all be there to share the meal Rose would fix.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  “More cornbread?”

  Paige smiled at Rose, tempted, but shook her head. “I won’t be able to eat anything else if I fill up on bread. I’ve already had two pieces, complete with honey butter.”

  “No one can resist that honey butter,” Jesse said. “Rose is famous around these parts for that particular concoction.”

  “It’s the only reason I come around for meals,” Henry quipped.

  “Why, Henry Sanders!” Rose placed a square of cornbread on his plate. “I thought you were partial to my apple pie.”

  “Of course I am, Rose,” Henry said. “It’s hard to not be partial to anything you make.”

  “And here I thought it was just my charming personality.”

  “That, too, of course.” Henry thanked Rose and reached straight for the butter crock.

  Sam and Tommy skipped into the room and slid into seats. After they both held up their hands to prove they’d washed them, Jesse and Rose nodded their approval.

  “Dad said he’d be here in a minute,” Tommy said. “He’s on the phone.”

  “OK, dear.” Rose said.

  “How’re you two feeling?” Jesse asked Paige and Jake.

  “Sore,” Jake answered. The others around the table smiled sympathetically. “Paige got the worst of it, I’m afraid.”

  “I’m so glad your injuries weren't even worse,” Jesse said. “I don’t understand how the whole accident could have happened. I keep those cars secured. And the engine…”

  “Jesse,” Rose interrupted. “I don’t think Paige and Jake want to relive those moments. They were terrifying enough to go through once, I’m sure.”

  “No, it’s fine,” Paige said.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” Paige said. “I’m curious how it might have happened, too.”

  “All right, then,” Rose said before she left to collect more of the meal.

  “Could anyone start up that engine, Jesse?”

  “Not just anyone, but it’s not that hard. It only takes someone who’s been around train yards enough to learn how.”

  “What about the coins?” Paige addressed the question to Jesse, but quickly had the attention of the whole table.

  “What coins?” Jesse said.

  “That’s what I said on the way back from Durango,” Henry piped up, looking at Jesse. “They asked me the same thing.”

  “You must have been mistaken,” Jesse said. “I inspected the car when we dragged it back up to the yard. There was nothing there.”

  Paige and Jake exchanged glances.

  “Jesse, I know what I saw,” Jake said, his tone even.

  “Saw what?” Rose asked, returning from the kitchen with a platter of fried chicken. Without waiting for an answer, she made a second trip and added serving bowls of mashed potatoes and sweet corn. She looked around the room, immediately picking up on the tension. “Wait just a minute. I’ll have no serious discussions around my dinner table, especially with guests here. Now you all just decide if you want to go hungry or enjoy a nice meal.”

  “I choose a nice meal,” Henry said as he rubbed his hands together.

  “That’s what I thought,” Rose said.

  “And the derailer?” Paige asked Jesse. “Maybe you didn’t see the coins, but what about the derailer on the track?”

  “We didn’t find a derailer when we went down to the scene to drag the car back up to the yard,” Jesse said.

  “Yeah, I told ‘em that, too,” Henry said. “You sure you two weren’t just imagining things in the dark?”

  Paige placed her good hand on Jake’s wrist. She was impressed that he stayed so calm when he answered.

  “Jesse, I saw it, I know I did,” Jake said, his tone even. “I inspected the tracks after we were thrown off.”

  “Sorry to be late. What did I miss?” Stephen slid into his chair and unfolded his napkin, placing it in his lap. He looked around the table and frowned.

  “Nothing,” Jesse said, passing him the basket of cornbread.

  The platters of chicken and accompanying dishes circled the table, each guest filling a plate.

  “We were asking about the coins inside The Morning Star,” Paige said.

  “There were coins inside The Morning Star?” Stephen asked. He took a square of cornbread from the basket.

  Jesse set his fork down and looked at Stephen. “There weren't when I inspected it.” He paused. “But you were
the first on the scene. You didn't see any?”

  Stephen shook his head. “I just called the paramedics. Once they arrived, I came back up to tell you about the crash. I never looked inside the car.” He reached for a pat of butter with his knife. His voice struck Paige as oddly controlled considering Jesse’s question had vaguely resembled an accusation.

  “But you know about the coins,” Paige said. “You knew about the stolen batch, even before we came back from the Denver Mint.”

  “That’s true,” Stephen said. “Jerome told us about them.”

  “Us?” Jesse asked.

  “Isn’t that right, Henry?” Stephen said.

  All eyes turned to Henry.

  “Well, yes. I guess there’s no harm in saying so now,” Henry said. “Seems just about everyone knows. Funny how Jerome sounded so ‘hush hush’ about the whole thing, considering how many people knew about it.”

  “You’re talking about the theft itself?” Paige said. “Who else knew about that?” She waited as eyes flitted around the room, each person searching the others’ faces.

  “I knew,” Jesse said. “Jerome took me out fishing one afternoon and told me. Said Jasper had hidden the coins somewhere.”

  “Jerome didn't say where?” Jake asked. “Did he know?”

  Jesse shrugged. “Jasper never told him where they were hidden.”

  “He didn't want them to be found, I take it,” Paige said.

  “True, but not for the obvious reason, which would be to hang onto them.”

  “Why then?” Paige was growing more curious by the moment. Each added bit of information just brought new questions.

  “The way I understood it from Jerome, Jasper was involved in the theft, but immediately regretted it,” Jesse said. “He wanted to turn the coins back in, but his partner threatened to blame the entire caper on him. He would have gone down for the crime while the co-conspirator walked away free.”

  “So he hid them until he felt it was safe to turn them in,” Stephen said.

  Jesse nodded. “Right. That was his intention. But years passed by and it never seemed like the right time.”

  “And when Roosevelt recalled the gold, he felt he couldn't turn in stolen coins without repercussions.” Jake said.

  “That would make sense to me,” Paige pointed out. She got a few confused looks. “In 1933 he was newly married with a baby on the way. Who would’ve taken care of Pearl and the baby if he went away? He must have told her he turned them in. That’s why Pearl thinks Roosevelt has the coins. That’s what she told us, anyway.”

  “I think eventually he would have turned them in if he hadn't passed away first. Or at least told Dad they were hidden in The Morning Star,” Jesse said.

  “He always guarded that car carefully,” Henry said quietly.

  Jesse turned to Henry, confused. “What did you say?”

  “Your father, he guarded that car with his life.”

  “How do you know that? He never mentioned anything about guarding it to me.”

  Henry paused, aware he had the attention of the entire room now. “Because I used to ride the rails. Did it for many years. Learned from my old man. He was a hobo way back, was even crazy enough to ‘ride the rods’ underneath the cars. Died that way, too. I played it safe, sticking to boxcars and sliding into a passenger car now and then, when I could get away with it. I’d always try to sneak my way into The Morning Star if I was riding the Antonito-Durango line, way back when it still ran.”

  Paige gasped. “You’re the one who marked the car, aren’t you? With the hobo code?”

  “The what?” Steven said, leaning forward.

  “I can explain,” Henry said. “Like I said, I’d try to sneak onto The Morning Star when I could. Usually I got away with it. But Jerome caught me once and threw me off. Threatened to come after me with a gun if I ever set foot on that car again. I put that mark on the train so others would know to stay away. I never saw him shoot at anyone, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t.”

  “Jerome never recognized you later when you came to Hutchins Creek?” Jake asked.

  Henry shook his head. “He’d only seen me that one time, and I was just a youngin’ back then. Anyway, over the years I heard about the missing coins – you know how those hoard stories get around – and came here to see if there was anything to it. I got thinking about how Jerome would throw people off that train car. Then, once I was here, I found out how adamant he was about not having the train restored. I figured he was guarding something and maybe that something could be the coins.”

  “Henry,” Jesse said. “You’ve been here for years. Have you been looking for those coins all this time?”

  “At first I did, looked all around The Morning Star. Never found them. But then I realized I’d found something more valuable.”

  “Pirate treasure!” Tommy’s shout caused everyone to jump since they’d been so caught up in Henry’s story that they’d forgotten about the children, who had been oddly quiet until this point.

  “No,” Henry said, a smile creeping across his face. “Something even better than pirate treasure, Tommy.”

  “Wow, must be pretty special.” Tommy and Sam looked at each other.

  “It is,” Henry said. “You see, when you live a hobo’s life, you don’t really have a place to call home. You don’t have a regular joint for your morning coffee like the Rails Café. And you meet people, but they’re always moving on. Here in Hutchins Creek I found a home, and a community. You can’t put a price tag on that.”

  A commotion at the front door interrupted the discussion. The door opened and closed; heavy footsteps sounded. To the surprise of all but one person, Detectives Ferguson and Simons entered the room. Everyone was unnerved when they saw Chancy Conroy with them, Detective Simon’s hand fastened on his upper arm.

  “Found Mr. Conroy here lurking outside the museum,” Detective Ferguson said.

  “Chancy?” Jesse frowned. “I thought I told you a long time ago to stay away. The last time you pried a panel off the side of a train car, I had to pay Henry a Boxcar Burger to get him to fix it.”

  “Hey, if that lady can snoop around my shop, I can snoop around this here museum and inn.” Chancy pointed at Paige.

  “I knew I saw someone look out of that window,” Paige whispered to Jake.

  “Chancy worked here, way back, helped with chores in the yard,” Jesse said. “There were quite a few episodes of vandalism back then – boards dislodged, the ground dug up. I suppose you were looking for the coins?”

  “Never found anything,” Chancy said. “I’d given up on them even being in this area until these people showed up with the Double Eagle they found.” He nodded toward Paige and Jake.

  “Was this back when you carried green and brown sweatshirts, Jesse?” Paige asked.

  “Maybe,” Jesse said. “Why do you…oh, wait.” He turned to face Chancy, fuming. “You’ve been down in Durango bothering Pearl?

  “Says who?” Chancy struggled to pull out of Simons’ beefy grip.

  “You left an old museum sweatshirt there,” Paige explained. “The nursing home called here, thinking we’d left it when we went to visit her. But it was brown. The museum doesn’t carry that color anymore.”

  “So what if I went to see her?” Chancy snarled. “Never did get any information out of that crazy old bag, anyway. And it’s not like I was trespassing. Visitors are welcome there, you know.”

  “However, it is trespassing to enter the museum yard at night without permission,” Detective Ferguson said.

  “You aren't keeping those coins, Jesse,” Chancy continued, ignoring the detective. “Those belong to me. If your grandfather hadn’t hidden them from my father, this would have been settled long ago. They were supposed to be in on that together. Jasper back-stabbed my father when he hid them.”

  Paige noticed the puzzled faces around the room and explained. “Frank Conroy was a guard at the Denver Mint at the time the coins went missing.”

&nb
sp; “They cleared him.” Chancy stomped a foot.

  “For lack of evidence,” Detective Ferguson pointed out.

  “Jasper only hid the coins in order to give them back to the Denver Mint, where they should have stayed all along,” Jesse added. “In any case, it doesn't matter. There aren't any coins.”

  “There are coins,” Paige insisted. “Someone is just hiding them.” She paused and looked around the room. “Again.”

  “Paige is right. The coins are here,” Stephen said. “Or Detectives Ferguson and Simons wouldn’t have made the trip out from Denver.”

  “You!” Chancy barked at Stephen. “You were supposed to be helping me.”

  “Actually, it was the other way around,” Stephen said. “You were helping me, you just didn’t know it.”

  “I was going to cut you in.”

  “Which would have been very generous of you,” Stephen added. “Except for two small details: One, the coins don’t belong to you. And, two, I’ve been working with the Denver Mint to help recover them. You weren't the only one who thought it was convenient that I often stay in Hutchins Creek.”

  “Cool! My dad’s a spy!” Tommy jumped out of his seat. Stephen prompted him to sit back down.

  “Is this true?” Jesse asked.

  “No. I’m not a spy,” Stephen said, turning to Jesse apologetically. “Please don’t think I was taking advantage of your family’s hospitality. I’d been coming here long before the Mint Police asked me to keep them informed.”

  “So where are the coins?” Detective Ferguson directed the question to the room in general. “Seems everyone here knows about them, yet no one knows where they are now.”

  “I have them.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Rose stood in the doorway, a small bag in her hand.

  “It’s time for this almost century-old situation to be laid to rest,” Rose said. “The coins are going back to the Denver Mint, where they belong.”

  “But how did you even know the coins were there?” Jesse asked.

  “I always suspected they were hidden in The Morning Star, but had no idea exactly where. I removed them when the car was first pulled back up behind the museum,” Rose added. “While you were still inspecting the tracks.”