"We are on our way," said the leader. As they stepped outside, he reminded them that they would be waiting to "escort" them out of town. "Just get your things packed up and be outside in five minutes."
"This treasure must be worth millions for them to want it so badly," said Jay, as he put his toothbrush, iPhone, and jeans into his backpack.
"I don't care," said Jim. "I'm just glad we are all safe and getting out of here." He finished putting a few things into his suitcase and checked the bathroom.
Adrianna was strangely quiet. "Do you have everything, honey?" asked Jim.
"Yes," she said. She packed some items into her pink pack and looked around the room for anything she might have missed.
They exited the room and turned off the lights. Out in the parking lot, they saw the large silhouettes of the biker gang and their motorcycles.
"All right," said the leader. “Let's roll."
Instead of getting right into the car, Adrianna went up to the big man who ordered everyone around. "Mister," she said. "Mister. There's something I didn't tell you. You didn't ask me."
Jim shouted out, "Adrianna!"
"I had a clue," she said innocently, truthfully.
"What are you saying, little girl?" he grunted.
"I had a clue," she repeated.
"And where is this clue? Can you give me the clue?” he asked.
"No, I can't."
"Why not? he snarled.
"Because I lost it," Adrianna said.
Jim thought he might pass out. All hell may break loose now, he thought. It's over. It's all over.
The biker leader said coldly, "Do you think you might know where we could look for the clue, little girl?" He reached in his jacket and put his hand on his gun. Jim noticed the movement.
"I'd have to think about it. I'd have to retrace my steps," she said calmly.
"Oh, you think you'd have to retrace your steps. I see. Well, maybe I can help you with that." He pulled out his gun.
Jay and Jim were moving into a full-out panic.
"What should we do, boys?" he asked, “Cowboy Boots” and T-Shirt.
"I don't know boss," said Cowboy Boots”, pulling the knife out of his boot. "Maybe this here knife might just wake up her memory." He laughed low and slow. "Does this remind you where it is, little girl?"
"No," Adrianna replied.
"How about this?" asked T-Shirt, as he flashed his pocket-knife in the light of the lamp.
Jim had the pistol in his breast pocket. The question was how, and, when, to pull it out without anyone getting hurt. He was no marksman, but he would risk his life if he had to. But how to keep the kids from getting cut or shot?
"No," said Adrianna.
Jay looked pleadingly at his dad.
Jim decided to risk it. He watched the gun in the leader's hand. He was waving it around like a toy. The other two would not use their weapons unless the leader gave the go-ahead, so the gun had to be knocked out of his hand first. He stepped forward toward the leader. One step. He pulled out the gun, lunged toward him with a sweeping undercut, and knocked the leader's gun onto the ground. The other two raised their knives. Jim had his pistol leveled at the leader's head. "Don't try anything," he said. "Kids, run to the motel office and tell the man to call the police." They both took off running.
Jim was left alone with the three bikers. He said to the guys with the knives, "Throw your weapons over there with the gun." They did. "Now get moving toward the office. I'm going to hold you there until the police come. I will use this if I must. Put your hands up against that wall." They did. "And don't move."
The men stood with their arms up for what seemed an eternity. They were outside the office. The kids were safe for now. And Jim had a loaded gun. The leader shifted his position. Jim cocked the pistol. "Don't try anything," he warned. Just then, the door opened a crack. Jim was distracted. The man closest to him kicked back at Jim's stomach. Jim doubled over and dropped the pistol. The biker quickly grabbed it and turned on Jim. "You fool," said the leader to Jim. He spit at him and walked over to pick up his own gun. He strolled easily into the office as “Cowboy Boots” pointed the gun at Jim.
The leader came out pushing, Jay and Adrianna forward with the butt of his gun. "Daddy tried to be a big man. But it didn't work out," the leader taunted. “And now we're gonna have a little change in plans. We're gonna see if we can jog your memory, little girl." He pushed Adrianna and Jay closer to their dad.
Jim dreaded what the man might mean. Will he kill one of us at a time until Adrianna tells where it is? Did she hide it? Or was she telling the truth that she lost it? If that was so, she might never recover it. And how would this thug take it? Would he let her go? Oh, God help us! came the cry from the depths of his soul.
"Ok, boys, get your weapons," he commanded.
The two others walked over to pick up their knives. They stood ready to spring.
"Now, we're gonna take a little ride here. Don't you be botherin' about us. We're gonna have a good time," said the leader.
He walked over to Jim. "Give me your keys, daddy," he said. Jim reluctantly gave him the keys from his pocket.
"Now, we're gonna take a little ride. Boys, mount up."
He walked over to the family. He looked at each one of them, scanning their faces. He turned around as if to leave. Then he turned back, grabbed Adrianna by the wrist, and pulled her toward him. "We're goin' on a clue hunt, little girl," he said as he pulled her over to Jim's car. He opened the passenger door and shoved her in. "Don't tell the cops, or she may never come back," he called to Jim. He got in the driver's side and peeled off out of the parking lot, the two motorcycles behind him. The sound of the engines receded as the two O'Neill men stood in the darkness.
Treasures of Darkness Book 2
Jay and Jim stood stunned in the parking lot. They felt helpless. Adrianna had just been kidnapped by the Quants, the motorcycle hoodlums who had been tailing the family since they left on their family vacation.
This was too overwhelming to handle alone. Jim began a prayer, a conversation actually, which began, "Oh, God...help us...help Adrianna." When their thoughts had turned to quiet, Jim got on his phone and dialed the police. "Yeah, this is Jim O'Neill. You were looking into the house being set on fire. Well I have much worse news to report. These guys, these animals, have just kidnapped my daughter and stolen my car."
He heard the policeman's response, "When did this happen?"
"About ten minutes ago, " answered Jim. "We're at the Sleep Inn Motel on Prescott Avenue."
"We'll be right over, " was the response.
"Please hurry!" said Jim.
Along with Jim's keys, the leader of the Quants had abducted Adrianna in Jim's car. The two other bikers had followed, leaving the third motorcycle in the parking lot. After the police had questioned Jim and Jay, they called to assign two squad cars to begin the search for Jim's car and the Harleys ridden by the two bikers. They had been told the route the men would have likely taken to find the lost object. "You say they were trying to get your daughter to recover a clue?" asked the Sergeant.
"Yes, a skeleton key wrapped in an old, blue, felt cloth. It, it was a clue, or a key, to a treasure," said Jim awkwardly.
The cop looked at Jim and Jay incredulously. "What kind of bull is this?" Bikers and a lost treasure chest? It sounds like a middle school novel to me," he concluded. "All right. We'll call you when we know anything. If the guy told you not to follow them then don't. I'm sure we'll have good news for you soon." He and his partner got into their car and drove off.
"Dad, how can he be so sure that everything will be fine," Jay asked.
"I don't know." He gave Jay a wry look, "Maybe he knows somebody."
"So, how do we get out of here? We are going after them, right?" asked Jay.
"You better believe it," replied Jim. "But very carefully."
"How? Uber?"
"No way," said Jim. "We have to keep our heads in this situation. Uber would
be impractical and I don't know if we can trust just anyone to drive us around."
Jim thought for a moment and then looked at Jay, You know how to hot wire a car, right?"
"Uh, Zack did pass on that information to me once," replied Jay sheepishly. Zack's father owned an auto repair shop and had lot of old cars sitting around. "How did you know that?"
Jim walked over to the Harley that the bikers had left behind. "Well, we all know Zack." The question is does the same technique apply to motorcycles."
"Actually no, dad. But he showed me how to start a Harley with a code once."
"How convenient," said Jim.
"You have to know the code. The dealer usually sets it randomly."
"This is Dusty's bike. He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Pardon the expression. Maybe he wrote it down somewhere on here so he wouldn't forget it."
"Let's look in these saddlebags," said Jay. He rummaged around in the bags and found a lot of stuff but no papers with numbers. His fingers passed over a large piece of tape stuck on the inside of the bag. He pulled it off and read it. "It looks like a code to me."
Jim said, "You know how to enter it, right?"
"Yeah, here on the handlebars." The code worked and the bike started up.
"I should be able to handle this, Jay. I have ridden in the past. Get on and hope for the best."
They rumbled out of the lot and were on their way to retrace the route where Adrianna may have lost the key and where they might find her and her captors now. Jim couldn't think past his first initial reactions since the kidnapping - tell the police, get some wheels, find your daughter.
They pulled up about a block from the ice cream place. With the bike parked on a dark side street, they took a back way to the shop. From the side of a building in an alley, Jim and Jay scouted the area. They saw no bikers outside or in. Jim left Jay in the alley and walked stealthily toward the door. The well-lit shop brightened the many colored ice cream filled tubs. Two teen girls leaned against the back counter. With a glance over his shoulder, he made sure all was well. He asked the girls, "Have you seen any guys on motorcycles, rough looking types...maybe with a young girl?" he asked.
"Ugh!" said the dark haired girl. "Are they coming here? Maybe we should close early," she said, eyeing her friend.
"Did anyone find a big, long key wrapped in blue cloth around here?" Jim asked the girls. They shook their heads.
"Don't tell them I was looking for them," Jim said as he walked out the door.
"Sure," said one of the girls.
Jim met Jay in the alley. "They haven't been seen in the ice cream shop, nor has the key," Jim said. "Let's go back to the house."
They took a chance that someone might hear the motorcycle by cruising past the house on the south road and then pushing the bike into the field beyond the oak tree. The moon was almost full and its light shone blue and silver on the yard and the fields. There was no sign of anyone. Jim put his phone on vibrate. He parked the bike in the tall grass. Jay and Jim crouched down and looked at the house. It was quiet but there was a light on in the kitchen. Adrianna might be there. She might be alone. "I should go see if she's in there," whispered Jim.
"No, dad!" said Jay. "What are the chances that they left her there by herself?"
"She could be tied up. The biker could be asleep," replied Jim.
"Yeah, and if she is there, what can you even do about it? As soon as you open the door, someone would come running."
No sooner had Jay spoken these words, but the two motorcycles and Jim's car came into view. The bikers parked in front of the house. The leader, "cowboy boots", and Dusty came around the corner of the house to the back yard. But where was Adrianna? The leader stopped and called. Adrianna came out of the shadows on the side of the house and walked slowly behind them. The leader barked out another order and she quickened her pace. They got to the back yard now. Jay and Jim could hear them more clearly. The leader said to Adrianna, "It's too dark to look outside. If you don't see it in the house, we'll come back tomorrow. I got a lady friend who can watch you tonight." The four of them went inside. Adrianna seemed to be unharmed, at least physically.
Jim thought about calling the cops and getting them over there. But that might be worse for Adrianna. "If only I still had that gun," said Jim quietly.
"If you still had that gun, we wouldn't be in this mess," answered Jay.
Jim said, "Ok, I think we hide out here 'til they leave. I can't see following them. They've got all the weapons. And they think I am minding my own business."
After what seemed to be an eternity but was probably about twenty minutes, the group came out through the kitchen door again. From the sluggish movement, Jim gathered that they hadn't found what they were looking for. The group made their way to the vehicles in the front of the house. After they drove off, Jim realized he would have to be patient and, at least for now, let things take their course. Leverage! He had to have leverage. What could he give them that would cause them to give Adrianna back. Of course, the treasure. But how to get it? That key was no clue after all. They thought they'd find a lock in a box, or chest, or cabinet that the key fit. But there was nothing in sight. That wasn't a clue, but only a key.
Jim called the police station. The sergeant was still on duty. "Klein," he said tersely.
"Sergeant," said Jim. "Any word on my daughter's whereabouts?"
"Not a thing, Mr. O'Neill. As a matter of fact we think the bikers may have left town. We had a couple of squads arrive down at the house just a few minutes ago. They should be checking things out now."
Jim froze. This was the city police. And apparently they knew the same somebody. To keep things cool, he lied, "I appreciate your help."
"We'll track them down. Nothing to worry about," said sergeant Klein as he ended the call.
Jim said, "I can't believe this. The police are in on it too."
"What?" Jay cried.
"We're on our own here," said Jim.
"No, dad, you know we're not," assured Jay.
"You're right. We have all night before they're back here. Jay, that key is most likely the key to the treasure. But it's not a clue. I think we missed the clue and we should keep looking."
"You're right, dad. The key doesn't point us to anything. It doesn't move us forward. But where can we look? We've searched the house. We checked out the oak tree."
"But did we, Jay? We gave up, I gave up, on the oak tree. I got frustrated when we found all those holes dug by whomever...the gang, we supposed. What if the clue is there at the tree after all?"
Jay said, "We never explored higher up in the tree. But c'mon, realistically, anything put up there in the 1930s wouldn't be there anymore."
"Are you up for some climbing?" asked Jim.
"Yeah, what else can we do?" asked Jay. "Let's get the ladder and the flashlight from the barn."
In a few minutes they were both scrambling about like two squirrels, shining the light around the many branches. "I don't see anything unusual here, Jay, " said dad.
Jay stopped when he saw it. There was, on one of the lower, larger branches, a carved heart. "Give me the flashlight, dad," he said.
Jim came over and Jay focused the light on the carving. It was deep in the base of the branch. Obviously an old cut, it looked weathered and gray. The heart shape surrounded two sets of initials - M O'N + D T.
"This is old. It could have been carved in the 1920s, or before," said Jim.
"I bet grandpa did this when he was a kid. It says M O'N. That's Mike O'Neill!"
"So who is D T?" said Jim.
"If this was meant to be a clue, it would have to connect to something on this property. I'm sure he didn't expect Doris Taylor or Debbie Trent or whatever girl he might have liked to be here when someone, someday, started looking for his clues," replied Jay.
"Maybe we have to go to Marion the librarian to find out what D Ts were in his high school class and then hunt them down," said Jim.
"Didn't gran
dpa drop out of school? Besides, didn't they have a one room school house in this town?" asked Jay.
"He still knew girls here whether he went to school with them or not. It's funny though. His diary has nothing about girls in it. It's all about gangsters and how he's going to make a name for himself someday."
Jay thought about his grandpa for a minute. He imagined him climbing this tree and looking at the moon, or thinking about pretty girls, or what he was going to have for dinner, or how he never wanted to go back to the orphanage after his dad had died. Who were his heros? At the end of his teen years, he was seeing the gangster life for what it was - a dead end. That's when he had hidden the treasure so that he wouldn't get it. Crime doesn't pay. The outlaws will be caught. That's it, Jay thought. Grandpa might be squirrelly enough to do it.
"Dad, I know who D T is," said Jay.
"How can you possibly know that?" replied Jim.
"Grandpa would be clever enough to carve Mike O'Neill and Dick Tracy in this tree. I think this is the clue. It's a joke. Dick Tracy was the one guy grandpa looked up to. He knew him from radio shows and comic books," Jay looked at his dad, "Comic books, dad, old comic books."
Jay began climbing down. He grabbed the ladder after Jim had gotten down and ran to the barn. Jim followed him completely perplexed. Jay was already up to the loft where a few hours earlier he had found the comic book stash left by his grandfather. Jay had taken one Dick Tracy but there were many left, as well as some True Crimes . Jim climbed up after him. "So you think that the comic books are the next clue?" asked Jim.
"Well it's worth a try, dad. Let's check these out. Maybe something will jump out at us," Jay said.
Jim looked around the hay filled loft, "I hope not," he replied ironically.
The two O'Neills sat around reading comic books by flashlight and lantern light for about an hour. "Nothing strikes me as significant, yet," said Jim.
"What about this, dad? It's a story about Quantrill. It's called, Quantrill's Raiders. You know the Bushwacker that Bud told us about? It may have some connection to our story," said Jay.
Treasures of Darkness Box Set Page 4
