Sam used the span of his hands to measure along the wall. “It should be right about here,” he said pushing on the panel. There was a creaking sound as the old wood groaned and revealed a small crack between the panels. “The release mechanism must be rusted shut.”
They heard a loud pop from the front of the house followed by
the sound of breaking glass. “It’s getting dangerous in here,”
Will said. “Maybe we should get out of here now.”
“Not without your treasure,” Rocky said, handing Rebecca’s box to Sam. “Let me at it,” he added, wiggling his fingers into the
small crack. “Right about now I’m grateful to my brothers for locking me in the pig pen when I was younger. The only way to get out was to pry it open from the inside.” More plaster fell on them and the crack in the wall reached the ceiling.
“I think I feel the catch,” Rocky said, twisting and turning his arm to get his fingers closer to it. They heard metal grinding and grating against itself as Rocky worked to release the latch. The house creaked and moaned and it seemed like forever before the door finally popped open.
Will yanked on the rusted door, pulling it off its hinges. He reached into the blackness and pulled out an old leather valise. Flakes of leather fell to the floor as it started to disintegrate in his hands.
“Wrap it up in your jacket,” Sam said urgently. “We can’t prevent it from falling apart, but at least all the pieces will be in one place.”
Another loud crash came from the front of the house. “Sounds like this two-story house is about to become one-story,” Rocky said.
“We need to move quickly but carefully,” Sam said, surveying the structure of the windows and fireplace. “Follow me exactly. Only step where I step. The support beams are only four inches wide, so there’s no room for error.”
Echoing the morning’s walk back in time, the three boys formed a line, this time with Sam in the lead. They moved towards the open windows, then hugging the wall, they edged to the open door. Floorboards cracked and broke as they leapt out onto the porch and rolled off into a heap near the bushes. Behind them, the roof fell in, covering them with dust and debris.
Rocky was on top and rolled off quickly. “Y’all ok?” he asked, coughing from the dust.
Will patted the wrapped valise. “All good here.”
“I’m okay,” Sam said, standing up and brushing himself off.
“But the house isn’t.”
The mighty vines that had been wrapped around the house still held up some of the siding and roof, but the windows he’d seen Genny in were destroyed when the rest of the house collapsed onto itself.
Sam went over to look into the parlor and was amazed to see the
portrait was still leaning up against the wall where he’d placed it.
He didn’t feel any prickling down his neck and Genny didn’t call to him. The ghosts were really gone.
He was glad they’d found their way, but wished they could have stayed longer. There was so much more he wanted to learn. So many more questions he wanted to ask them. A gentle breeze blew in from the water and he heard the call of the seagulls circling overhead. Sunlight broke through the clouds and he turned to see a full rainbow form over the ocean. Sam knew all the facts about how rainbows formed, but deep inside he believed this one was a thank you from the ghosts.
A rustling sound coming from the bushes made all three of
them jump.
“At least you know it’s not me this time,” Will whispered.
“There you are!” Libby said as she broke through the overgrown bushes.
“Are any of you hurt?” Eliza asked, running over.
Sam relaxed and suddenly started laughing. Rocky and Will
joined in.
“What’s so funny?” Libby asked, her hands on her hips. “We were worried about you guys.”
“I’m sorry,” Sam said as he caught his breath. “I thought you were another ghost or something.”
“Yeah, me too—and I’ve had enough of them to last me a long durn time,” Rocky said.
“There was more than one ghost? Really?” Libby threw her arms over her head. “How could we miss so much in less than an hour?”
“Wait,” Sam said. “Less than an hour? What time is it?”
“It’s almost 6 am,” Eliza said. “The storm was going strong for a little while after you left and then it just stopped, like someone turned off the power.”
“When was that?” Sam asked.
“About 10 minutes ago,” Eliza said, still keeping a close eye
on Sam. “We got Rocky’s text saying he was here so we came too.”
The boys exchanged confused looks.
“Why?” Eliza asked. “What have you been doing?”
“Well,” Will said, pushing his shoulders back proudly.
“We found a letter proving Captain Stover didn’t order the Dragonfly out in the storm.”
“Yes, but that was only after we went back in time 200 years so we’d know where to find it,” Sam said with his most genuine smile ever.
Beside him, Rocky was nearly dancing with excitement. “They got me to bring over Rebecca’s box from the museum, and we broke up a 200-year-old fight going on between Harold and Henry.”
“We did have to figure out how to get Rocky inside,” Sam said with a shrug, “But Rebecca and Genny helped with that.”
The girls were speechless.
“The storm might have stopped when Henry was finally released,” Sam mused.
“Or, it coulda been when Harold turned to ashes and the sailors turned what was left of him into a twister that Rebecca blew out over the ocean,” Rocky said, searching the bushes for his hat.
Libby finally found her voice. “You saw Rebecca and Genny?
And Harold turned to dust?” she asked. “Oh, there’s going to be some good story telling around the campfire tonight.”
“First, I think we all could use some food and rest,” Eliza said. “Especially you guys. You’ve been through a lot since yesterday.”
“Heck yeah we have! We’ve been awake for 200 years,” Rocky said.
“So… I guess we’ve gotta wait for the details on this,” Libby said with a sigh.
“Sorry Libby, but some rest sounds like a good idea. I didn’t sleep very well last night,” Sam said. “How about we meet at my campsite after lunch?” he added, suddenly realizing he’d invited them over without a second thought, as if they’d been friends forever.
Will gently patted the wrapped valise. “Sounds good to me. I can’t wait to see what’s inside and Betty knows how to handle all this old stuff.”
“You don’t reckon we could take a peek in there right now, do you?” Rocky asked. “Maybe find us a treasure map?”
“We probably already damaged the papers in there,” Will said. “I don’t want to find out we turned the deed into scraps by looking inside.”
“Besides,” Sam said. “The Dragonfly and her treasure aren’t in there.” He pointed to the ocean, still churning with the remnants of the storm. “It’s out there, still waiting to be found.”
They walked around to the front of the house, pushing aside the rain drenched gardenias and prickly holly branches and everyone’s phone started dinging.
“Looks like our parents are wondering where we are,” Eliza said after reading the text message.
“And it looks like Mrs. Wilson told them we left already,” Libby said.
“My sister’s left me five messages wanting to know if Rebecca’s box is okay,” Will said with a chuckle.
“What are you guys going to tell your folks?” Rocky asked.
“I don’t think we should mention anything about ghosts, but whatever we come up with, we need to be consistent,” Sam said. “My mom’s pretty perceptive so I’d like to keep it as close to the
truth as possible.”
Will looked back at the house. “We sure can’t say the house collapsed because we sent away the ghosts that had been keeping it together.
Sam thought a moment. “True, but the house was in bad shape. People will probably figure the storm was too much for it. Then we could say we went over to check on it. We can also explain finding the valise with the deed by saying we saw it in the debris.”
“That should work,” Will said.
“But how are you going to explain wanting Rebecca’s box to Betty?” Rocky asked.
“We don’t need to worry about Betty,” Will said. “She’s always felt like there were some unusual forces at work here. I’m going to tell her everything.”
“Okay, so I’m going to say you guys went to check on the house, and when the storm cleared, I figured it was a good time to see a sunrise over the ocean,” Eliza said. “My parents have been bugging me to get up early to see one but I always sleep in.”
“That works for me too,” Libby said. “After all, Eliza and I always do everything together anyway.”
“It’s strange going from being in the past to this,” Sam said, texting his parents.
“Betty’s coming to pick us up and will drop you guys off at the campground,” Will said.
When Betty pulled up, they piled in, and she drove them to the campground, chatting excitedly about the historical documents that could be in the valise. She and Will headed home and Sam, Rocky, Eliza, and Libby stood at the crossroads of the camp entrance.
“Libby and I cleaned up everything in the camp house,” Eliza said, “But you’ll need to take back the rain jackets.”
“Thanks,” Sam said, hesitating before they all went their separate ways. “And thanks for, well, you know, seeing all this through.”
“You got it, Buddy,” Rocky said, punching Sam in the arm.
“But you know we’re not done here. We still have a treasure to find.”
“That’s right,” Eliza said. “And Libby and I want to hear every detail of your adventure. We’ll see you after lunch.”
Chapter 25
Sam smiled as he turned down his fork in the road. His friends would be over after lunch. Friends. He certainly liked the sound of that.
By the time he got to his campsite, exhaustion had taken over. His mind was lost in a fog of ghosts, portraits, treasure, and lavender. He told his parents the agreed upon story, and made sure to ask them about the storm to derail any questions from his mom. Robotically, he went through the motions of showering, dressing, and eating, but he didn’t remember any of it. His parents headed out for their research and Sam settled into the hammock to try and sort through the events of the last days.
Being able to talk to ghosts was amazing, but his mind kept going back to Rocky, Will, Eliza, and Libby. In just a few days he’d gone from being an outsider to part of a group—a group of friends. He still couldn’t believe he had friends. And they were nothing like what he thought friends would be. He’d always assumed friends had to have similar backgrounds and preferences, but not this group. Maybe being different made the group stronger. Maybe not. He was just glad to be part of it.
He wondered about how they’d gotten together. It started with him bumping into the lifeguard stand. Did the ghosts make him bump into it? What if Rocky hadn’t insisted on his help to find the treasure?
How could such seemingly little things add up to something as wonderful as friendship? Sam finally accepted that he might never understand it all and let sleep overtake him. He slept soundly until the smell of hot dogs brought him back around. When he opened his eyes, Rocky was standing next to the hammock waving his hat to bring over the smell of the hot dogs cooking.
“It’s about time!” Rocky exclaimed. “We’ve been talking, banging pots and pans, and even singing songs trying to wake you up.”
“If I hadn’t started cooking lunch, we’d probably still be waiting,” Libby said.
“Cooking?” Sam asked. “Did I miss lunch?”
“Only by an hour,” Libby said. “We came by just as your folks were leaving. They said to help ourselves to whatever while we waited for you.”
Sam looked around. “Where did they go?”
“Today it’s their turn to get tortured by Mr. Henley,” Eliza said with a smirk. “They weren’t going to go, but Rocky did some of his famous sweet-talking to get them to leave.”
Rocky shrugged. “We couldn’t be talking about ghosts and stuff with them around, so I just told them how many facts Mr. Henley’s tour included and how it would be such a shame to miss it.”
Sam laughed as he added mustard and pickles to a hot dog. “You keep talking about my smarts being useful, but your sweet-talking is too.” Before Sam could say more Will walked into the campsite.
“I hope I haven’t missed anything. It took a while to go over the stuff in the valise with Betty.”
“What’d you find? Was the deed in there?” Sam asked.
“Or maybe a treasure map?” Rocky asked.
“Sorry Rocky, no treasure map. But the deed was there. It includes the house and three acres of waterfront property. The land goes from the house all the way down to the lavender fields and includes the marsh land below it,” Will said. “She checked with a realtor and the land alone is valued at over two million dollars.”
Rocky whistled. “That’ll go a long way towards fixing up your house.”
“There was also a bunch of information about how the house was built and receipts from the store for specific wallpaper and molding. It’ll make rebuilding it a whole lot easier,” Will said.
“Will, I hope you’ll talk to my dad about restoring the house,” Libby said. “I’d love to help make Genny’s house a home again.”
“That would be great because I’m not quite sure where to start,” Will said.
“Maybe that’s the way it was supposed to turn out,” Sam said.
“What do you mean?” Eliza asked.
“I was thinking about how we all got together and maybe it wasn’t just to help the ghosts. Maybe it was also to help each other.”
“Of all the things you’ve said, this one makes the least sense,” Eliza said. “Maybe we should have let you sleep a little longer.”
“Think about it,” Sam said. “It’s like there was a reason for each of us to be here. Rebecca said they needed my brains and tenacity to solve their problem, but they needed Will to tell the story that got me interested. In return, when I solved Rebecca’s problem, Will got to clear the Stover name. But I wouldn’t have gotten involved with Rebecca and Genny if it weren’t for Rocky pulling me into the treasure hunt… and out of the water. Eliza was there to save me from drowning and Libby was there to decipher the articles.”
“Each one of those pieces was needed to get rid of Harold and allow the ghosts to crossover. And on top of that, Libby’s dad just happens to be in the restoration business, which is just what Will needs to make Henry’s house a home again.” Sam looked around the group hoping that what he said made sense. “It’s like we all brought something with us and used it to help someone else.”
“You got any facts to back that up, Buddy?” Rocky teased.
Sam sat back and smiled. “Not a one. Not a single one. And I’m okay with that.”
Rocky sighed. “So… I’m glad I was around to lasso you and pull you out of the water and all, but don’t you think maybe we were meant to find the treasure too? Even Bart said there was treasure on board, so I’m not giving up on finding some real treasure. You know, the kind I can show off to my brothers,” he said, twirling his hat in his hands
“I know Bart talked about there being an actual treasure,” Will said. “But people from all over the world have been searching for it for centuries and never found any of it. I don’t know where else we could look that hasn’t already been checked.”
> “If Sam’s right about each of us bringing something special to form the group, maybe we’re supposed to figure this part out as a group too,” Libby said spreading out a map on the picnic table. “Here’s a map of Safe Harbor as it looks now.”
“Where did you get that?” Sam asked.
“Your mom and I were looking at it while you were sleeping. She showed me where they found the lavender fields,” Libby said, pointing to an area down by the water.
“That’s pretty close to Henry’s house,” Sam said.
“You mean Will’s house,” Rocky said, turning to Will. “Hey, maybe you can raise money selling lavender.”
“Move over, Funny Guy,” Will said. “Betty made me a copy of a map she found in the valise. Let’s see if they match up.”
Sam looked at the maps, noting the similarities. Both showed the curve of the bay and the river spilling out into it. Will’s map marked the location of H & H Shipping Company and showed how much smaller the town was back then.
“What’s the date on your map Will?” Sam asked.
“1795,” Will said.
“So it was made four years before the storm that took the Dragonfly,” Sam said, looking back and forth between the two maps. There had to be a clue to the location of the Dragonfly somewhere in the maps, he just knew it.
Will pointed to the south side of the bay. “The searches for the Dragonfly have been concentrated in this area. With the sandbar over here, it’s the only way she could have drifted.”
Sam felt himself starting to smile. “But no one else had all the information we have. You see, when I was busy trying not to drown, I heard someone talking about looking for love and treasure as if they were the same thing. My mom said Mrs. Wellbottom told her there’s a folktale about how the lavender from the field smells like love, so there’s got to be some connection between the folktale and what I heard.” He looked up to see all eyes were on him again, but not one of them seemed concerned that he was quoting ghosts or folktales.
“I know for a fact that this lavender field is French lavender,” Sam said, pointing to the map. “My mom said it’s bloomed in that location for centuries, but when anyone tries to transplant it, it dies. I just filed that information away because I didn’t think it mattered. Then Bart said something about one of the trunks being filled with linens scented with lavender. French lavender, just like what’s growing in this area.”
A Ghostly Twist Page 15
