A Spirited Gift

I thought about the mates he’d left here after the treasure was buried, and got a little creeped out. I called Gramps on the radio to let him know that I was all right. “I don’t know if I can pull this chest out of the sand. It’s big and probably waterlogged. Any ideas?”

“I have a few. Can you hold on until I get back? It shouldn’t take more than an hour each way with the fog gone. I can get some equipment and a few spare hands.”

“Yeah. That’s fine. It should be completely light by that time, so we’ll be able to see everything. Bring back some coffee and biscuits with you, huh? All this predawn work is making me hungry.”

I worked for a while longer after I heard the Eleanore’s engines leaving the area. I sat down on the hard, damp sand when I just couldn’t dig anymore. My shoulders ached and my hands burned. Probably blistered, but no one ever said finding treasure was easy.

It was sunrise—pink and orange streaks running across the sky. I watched a few ships going by and enjoyed the antics of some seagulls. The island was a beautiful place. Who knew pirates and treasure lay buried here? If anyone had known, no doubt the wood chest would’ve been long gone by now.

I finally heard the Eleanore return. Gramps called to let me know he was back. I had dug enough sand so that the box was visible, but the bottom half was still embedded.

I wasn’t surprised to see Kevin with Gramps when they brought the second dinghy to the island a short time later. They tied up to the same spot I did and came toward shore with block and tackle and sturdier shovels.

I kissed Kevin when he handed me a large coffee and two biscuits. “Still warm! You are a wonder.”

“I have to keep up with you,” he said. “You could’ve told me you were following the pirate ghost out here looking for buried treasure.”

“I thought you’d had enough to do the last few days. I was going to surprise you.”

“I’m surprised.” He looked down into the hole I’d dug. “That’s bigger than I expected.”

Gramps looked at the chest too. “That could hold a lot of gold. Let’s get started.”

I attached the special rigging Gramps and Kevin had thought up to raise the chest. While I did that, they set up the block and tackle. I figured we might be rich by lunchtime. Maybe there was something to this talking-with-ghosts thing. I wondered why Shayla didn’t make contact with some wealthy ghost who could show her where to find a fortune.

The wet sand under the chest sucked hard at the wood, making it strain against the rope that was trying to pull out the chest. Twice we had to reset the ropes and repair the block and tackle. But eventually, the island gave up its treasure.

Rafe’s initials were scratched into the brass lock fixture. I looked at Gramps and Kevin, then hit the lock with a hammer. It fell open and Kevin pushed the top back.

“Yep.” Gramps pushed his hat back on his head. “That’s about what I expected.”

“What is it?” Kevin asked. “It doesn’t look like gold coins.”

“I guess it’s what Rafe thought was most valuable in the world.” I dropped to my knees in front of the chest. Inside was an old sextant, covered in green mold. Beside that was a compass that didn’t seem to be working anymore. There were some brass buttons and a silver knife and fork. And of course, there were three bottles of rum.

“Honey, I don’t think this will even buy us lunch,” Gramps said. “I hope you aren’t too disappointed.”

“No. Not at all.” I smiled at him and Kevin. “I’m sure the museum will love to have this. And the whole thing isn’t an adventure I’m going to easily forget.”

Kevin put his hand on my shoulder. “Let’s at least open the rum. I have some cups. This should be the good stuff.”

“Sure. Why not?” I passed him a bottle. It took almost as much prying to get the cork out of the bottle as it did to get the trunk out of the sand. I held my cup up for the first taste.

But when Kevin upended the bottle, small stones poured out and filled my cup. They sparkled in the sunshine.

“Dae!” Gramps exclaimed. “The bottles are filled with gemstones! Maybe old Rafe knew what he was talking about after all.”

I let the diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires sift through my fingers, totally amazed. I thought I heard a touch of pirate laughter in the air around us—but that was impossible.

Chapter 50

The Duck Police had arrested Marissa and charged her with two counts of murder. I heard that she admitted to being Matthew’s girlfriend—even to killing Sandi at the Blue Whale. But she never admitted to killing Matthew. The police didn’t believe her, given the circumstances surrounding the crime.

People in Duck were satisfied that the killer had been caught—especially so since she wasn’t technically from the area. They felt the entire incident was an outsider kind of thing that wouldn’t have happened if Marissa hadn’t moved to Duck.

I found the courage to invite Danny to the house for dinner one night. Gramps made stew and biscuits, and I made a cranberry apple pie.