by Shelly West
Abigail shrugged. “I suppose…”
“How about we wrap it up for the day?” Grandma asked. “We can walk the dogs for a bit and take in the afternoon air. The poor things must have cabin fever.”
Abigail noticed Thor jump up when he heard Grandma say the word ‘walk.’ Missy, on the other hand, huddled into the corner.
Abigail laughed. “You did it now, Grandma. Thor just heard the ‘w’ word. Missy doesn’t seem as excited, though.”
“She’s never liked the thought of exercise, though once she gets out there, she ends up enjoying herself.”
“Yeah, I think a walk will be nice for all of us.” Abigail grabbed two leashes hanging from an antique hall tree, then called the dogs over to get them ready. Grandma pulled on her cozy red cardigan while Abigail put on her raincoat, then they led their leashed dogs out of the store.
*
Outside, Abigail locked arms with Grandma as they carefully walked down the steps, the sidewalk, and then turned right. The dogs pulled them from one nice smelling object or bush to another.
“Whoa there, pups,” Abigail said while trying to catch her breath. “Let’s pace ourselves.”
Thor turned his head back at her then huffed, as if exasperated by their slow pace.
They walked a few blocks, Grandma regaling Abigail with information about the owners of stores and homes as they passed by. Eventually Abigail noticed Grandma’s voice becoming more tired as they ventured farther, so she decided to turn around to head back home.
Missy and Thor caught on to the change in direction and together slowed their pace. Grandma observed, “I believe we have us two cohorts in crime.”
“And what crime is that?”
“Lollygagging when we have a warm fire to return to.” Grandma winked.
“I believe you’re right. I wonder if the ‘t’ word might quicken the little criminals?”
“That just might do the trick,” Grandma replied. She stopped walking and addressed Abigail with a loud uptone. “Do you think Missy and Thor would like some treats?”
Abigail played along. “Hm. Jeez, I don’t know, Grandma. I think they’d rather stay outside.”
Missy tried getting their attention, spinning and dancing on her hind legs, begging for them to look down.
Thor, who wasn’t known for being an excitable dog, did the most excited thing he could think of and sneezed. Not once. Not twice. But three times!
“Okay, okay!” Grandma relented. “A treat it is!” She gave Abigail a sideways glance. “I think they’ll hurry things along now.”
An hour later, Thor and Missy were fast asleep by the fireplace. Grandma and Abigail wrapped up a dinner of New England clam chowder and freshly baked yeast rolls, served with a warmed cider.
After they cleaned up the dishes, they sat by the fire, reading from their books for a short while before Grandma yawned and suggested it was time to turn in.
Abigail felt already so at home with Grandma. She dreaded the morning when she would have to return to Boston.
“Time’s going by too fast,” Abigail later said as she laid in bed, looking toward the curtained window. Her gaze followed the light from the moon which shined on Thor, who slept peacefully at the foot of the bed.
She whispered to the sleeping giant, “This feels like home, doesn’t it, boy? I’d hate to leave.”
Eventually she managed to fall asleep.
Chapter 25
The next morning, Abigail awoke to the familiar groaning of an old man. “What in the world?” she mumbled as she sat up, realizing that this perceived old man was actually Thor barking his head off at the window.
“Jeez, Thor, why can’t you bark like a normal dog? What’s with the groaning and moaning?”
Thor paid her no heed, his moaning worsening.
“Only been around Miss Yipsalot for a week and you already picked up her bad behavior, huh? Nothing’s worth getting this hysterical about.”
Thor stopped for a moment, eyeing Abigail as if he took issue with being compared to Missy, before giving a low ruff.
Abigail got out of bed and looked out the second story window, scanning the quiet road for whatever had Thor so upset. “You seeing things, boy?”
He nudged her aside, his eyes honing in on his target.
“Oh.” Now Abigail saw it. A cat. “That’s it? You usually don’t bark at just anything. You’re about to lose your window privileges, mister.”
Thor insisted, continuing to point with his eyes at the cat.
Abigail looked more closely and gasped. “Oh! The poor thing’s missing a leg!”
She hurriedly put on some clothes, tucked her phone into her pocket, then quietly padded off down the hall, trying to not wake up Grandma. Could the cat have been hit by a car? Attacked by some coyotes? Gotten a little too friendly with a lawnmower? She almost didn’t want to imagine what could’ve happened.
Abigail shoved her feet into Grandma’s slippers and headed out the door, slowing her approach to not scare the lumbering cat.
But the black and white cat didn’t seem the least bit frazzled. In fact, as it limped around Grandma’s roses, it looked like it didn’t have a care in the world.
“Oh,” Abigail said, seeing that whatever had happened to its leg, it must’ve happened a long time ago. The three legged cat looked anything but injured.
She kneeled and put her hand out, expecting the cat to be skittish. Instead, it let out a comically deep ‘mrrrreow’ and moseyed on over to her, rubbing against her legs.
“You’re an odd-looking fella,” Abigail remarked, petting him, then noticing he had a collar. She lifted him up and read his tag to learn his name. “Blackbeard, huh?” He meowed in confirmation. Abigail could see how the name fit him, what with his missing leg and black muzzle.
And boy, was he hefty. “You look a bit too pampered to be an outside cat.”
She noticed a neighbor sitting on their porch, and figured she ought to ask, “Hey, any idea whose cat this is?”
The neighbor squinted. “Oh yeah, that’s Lee’s cat. He lives down the road, in that nautical-looking house.” She pointed. “I rarely see Blackbeard outside, though.”
“Is that so? Guess I’ll return him.” Abigail shifted the heavy cat in her arms and walked off, her mind abuzz. She had no clue that Lee lived so close, or that he was a cat person. That might’ve explained his distaste for Thor.
“Now, what could your owner be up to that he forgot about his kitty, hm?”
Blackbeard had no response. For a moment Abigail worried she wouldn’t be able to tell his house from one of the many neighbors, but then she saw it: A house that looked like a freakin’ boat.
“Well, that’s ridiculous.”
Blackbeard started squirming in her arms as she approached the house, so she let him go and followed him up the sidewalk. That was when she noticed the front door was wide open.
“Huh.” She watched Blackbeard scurry inside and wondered if she should follow him.
Something was definitely not right. The whole thing reminded her of the night when Sheriff Wilson found Missy outside with Grandma’s door wide open.
Abigail cleared her throat and stopped in front of the doorway. “Lee?” She waited, but received no answer. “Lee?” she said again, this time loud enough to insure he couldn’t sleep through it.
She wasn’t sure if she should step in. It would be trespassing, wouldn’t it? But then again, what if he was in trouble?
Abigail wrung her hands, not sure what to do. The last time something like this happened, it produced a dead body. Though she didn’t have a good first impression of Lee, she really didn’t want him to end up with the same fate. She had to make sure he was okay.
So Abigail stepped in, announcing her presence loud and clear. “I’m coming in, Lee. Don’t shoot me, okay? It’s just me, Abigail. You remember, the only person in this town who takes her coffee black.”
She reached the back of the house, having seen no evidenc
e of a break-in or struggle. “Well, this is just plain weird.”
Abigail took out her phone and headed for the front door. She did her due diligence, but now it was time to involve the authorities. With a killer on the loose, one couldn’t be too careful.
She dialed the sheriff.
“Sheriff Wilson,” he answered rather hurriedly.
“H-hi. It’s Abigail.”
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine, I just—”
“I know we thought we had the killer in custody, but I was wrong. So I hope you’re somewhere safe.”
“What?” Abigail glanced around, feeling like the killer could be right behind her. “Are you serious? What about Kirby?”
“The markings on the bullet didn’t match the barrel of his pistol. Well, err, I really shouldn’t be telling you that, but I just want you to know you need to be careful.”
“You let Kirby go, then?”
“Yes. We’re back to square one.”
Abigail felt an odd sense of relief, considering. “I’m glad he didn’t do it. Oh! But I’m calling you because Lee’s missing. His door is wide open, just like Grandma’s was.”
“Where are you?”
“At his house. I was returning his cat, and—”
“Get back to the antique store. I’ll come investigate in the meanwhile. You and Mrs. Lane need to watch out for each other.”
“O-okay.”
Sheriff Wilson hung up.
Abigail hesitated, then decided to close the door so that Blackbeard didn’t get out again before she hurried back to the store.
*
Abigail crept into Grandma’s room, finding both the elderly woman and Missy snoring in unison. She wondered if she should wake them, but decided against it. There wasn’t much either of them could do now anyway.
She headed back downstairs with Thor, letting the dog out for his morning business. She sat out on the porch stairs, one cheek resting on her hand as she scrolled on her phone. And here she thought she’d get to enjoy the weekend without any more of this murder drama.
Her phone buzzed, the caller ID revealing it to be Sally. “This early in the morning?” Abigail mumbled to herself before answering. “Hello.”
“Abi!” Sally said, her voice all choked up.
“What is it?”
“Dag’s gone!”
Abigail frowned, straightening up. “How do you know that? Maybe he’s just sleeping in.”
“I know he’s missing, because the Lafayette’s missing too!”
Abigail jumped right up. “How does a big boat like that go missing?” she almost shouted, now matching Sally’s tone.
“I don’t know!”
“Okay, I’m coming down. Gimme a second.”
She ended the call then whistled for Thor. He galloped over, awaiting her command. “You watch the house, you got it, boy?”
He let out a low ruff.
Abigail grabbed her keys before remembering Grandma. She took a moment to run up the stairs, this time not hesitating to wake the woman up. She opened the bedroom door, saying, “Grandma! You won’t believe it.”
Missy whimpered as Grandma groaned herself awake. She rubbed her eyes and grumbled, “Oh, did you have to wake me up? I was dreaming about Humphrey Bogart and things were just starting to get steamy!”
Abigail lost all train of thought for a moment. “Uh. Kirby’s innocent. The Lafayette is missing. And so is Lee. And Dag. I can’t sit around here—I have to see what’s happening.”
Grandma’s eyes grew wide. “Oh! You must! I’ll hold down the fort. You go get ‘em!” She quickly added, “And Abigail?”
“Yes?”
“Be careful.”
Having received Grandma’s blessing, Abigail shot her a thumbs up and tore down the stairs.
Chapter 26
Abigail arrived downtown within a couple of minutes. She found Sally and Bobby outside the Book Cafe, sitting at one of the outside tables with… Dag? Abigail parked and got out, a quizzical look on her face.
Sally waved her over, explaining, “Abigail! I thought Dag was missing, but my father found him out by the pier.”
Abigail looked Dag over, seeing the normally confident and handsome man doubled over in grief. She asked, “Okay, so what happened?”
Dag mumbled, “I got my brother back, but now I’ve lost the Lafayette. It seems like I’m cursed, doesn’t it?”
“Now, let’s not get superstitious here. Did you report the missing ship?”
Bobby was already on the case. “I called it in straight away, but Sheriff Wilson’s investigating a house that was broken into.”
Lee’s house. “Oh. But he’s coming, right?”
Dag nodded. “Yeah, said he’s gonna round up the Coast Guard, but it’s pointless. The ship’s long gone.”
“When did it get stolen? Don’t you sleep inside the Captain’s Quarters?”
“Yeah, I do. Whoever took her knocked me out, tied me up, and left me on the pier. I only managed to break free of the ropes half an hour ago, then Bobby saw me a little after that.”
“Who attacked you?”
“I don’t know. It was dark.”
“Why would someone steal her?”
“Beats me. I mean, besides her being the most beautiful ship at sea, she only has historical value. It’s not like her thieves could sell her off or whatever, not without being caught. She isn’t like a stolen work of art; you can’t sell her underground. She’s huge.”
Abigail stared off at the shore, seeing how bare it looked without the Lafayette. “You don’t just steal a ship like that for no reason.”
“Tell that to whoever took her.”
Abigail’s absent stare turned into a pointed glare. “She’s the key.”
“Key? Key to what?”
“A long-buried treasure. It’s a long story, but it’s got to do with the old Lebeau and Fischer rivalry.”
Dag and Sally looked at each other, neither of them following Abigail.
Abigail turned and put both hands on the table. “Look. That wheel’s gotta be the key to the treasure chest. That’s why removing it would sink the ship, because you’re supposed to bring the ship to the treasure. Both Fischer and Lebeau are supposed to cooperate.”
Dag blinked hard, trying to comprehend her. “What treasure are you talking about?”
“Oh, that’s right. You guys don’t know, but Grandma unknowingly had a map to a buried treasure chest—a map that was stolen. And according to Piper, the ship somehow has the key… or is the key, to the treasure chest. The chest is rigged to destroy everything inside if you don’t use the key. The original heads of the Fischer and Lebeau families came up with this treasure hunt as a way to get the two families to cooperate.”
Dag shook his head. “Sounds far-fetched. If the ship wheel contains the key, one could have just put it in dry dock and remove the wheel without the risk of it sinking.”
“But nobody would know to do that, unless both the Lebeaus and the Fischers cooperated and shared what they knew. The Lebeaus had the treasure map, while the Fischers had the key. At least, they did before the ship became historical town property. But either way, neither family would get anywhere without cooperating. Unless, I suppose, somebody stole the map and the ship…”
“Which is where we are now,” Dag concluded.
Sally asked, “Then where’s the treasure?”
Abigail looked toward the foggy horizon. “Somewhere off in those islands.”
“Dead Man’s Cape?” Dag asked. “I suppose that’s as good a place for buried treasure as anywhere else.”
Bobby was hanging on to every word the three of them were exchanging. He finally interjected, “We must sail to those islands, before it’s too late!”
Everyone’s expression grew serious, until Sally said, “Dad, there’s no way.”
Bobby stood up. “Of course there is. My boat, The Little Kahuna. It’s only big enough for two people, but it�
�s a sailboat. It can navigate Dead Man’s Cape with ease!”
Dag stared off at the ocean, the distant islands obscured by fog. “It is possible…”
Sally was already on the phone. “Don’t you guys do anything crazy, okay? I’m telling the Coast Guard to look there.”
Dag stated, “The Coast Guard doesn’t know those islands like I do. It’s very rocky waters, dangerous to navigate quickly, unless you know the exact path to take. Which I do.”
Bobby grabbed Dag by the shoulders and shook him. “Then take her! I bought The Little Kahuna a while back, fancying myself a fisherman. But after catching nothing but seaweed, I left her languishing there for years! She deserves some adventure.”
Dag looked down, a man defeated. “I hardly deserve to sail a fishing boat, much less the Lafayette. I can’t believe I let her get taken on my watch…”
It was Abigail’s turn to shake Dag by the shoulders. “Dag, you’re the best sailboat captain in town, aren’t you? You’ve got that Viking blood in you. Come on, where’s that salty dog spirit? We need to go before whoever stole the ship snags the treasure and hightails it out of town!”
That got Dag moving. “A-all right! I’ll go, but someone needs to come with me to help with the sails.”
Abigail didn’t hesitate a moment. “I’ll go.” She turned to Bobby. “Where’s your boat?”
He pointed toward the pier. “The Little Kahuna is the blue and white one. Hurry!”
Dag and Abigail gave each other one last look, then took off for the pier.
“But be careful!” Sally called after them, a little less excited about this adventure than her dad.
Abigail almost laughed. Careful? Today, she didn’t know the meaning of the word.
Chapter 27
Dag captained The Little Kahuna with grace and ease, swinging the sail just the right way to catch the wind, cutting through the fog on their way to Dead Man’s Cape.
