Secrets of the Treasure King Read online

  “What did she say?” Sasha asks when I disconnect.

  “She said she’ll get someone on it tout de suite.”

  Robbie scrunches up his face. “What’s that?”

  “It’s mayor talk for right away.”

  “How do you know?” Robbie asks.

  “She told me once. Come on, let’s go do something fun. I think the mayor’s version of right away is a lot longer than we wanna wait.”

  “We should go to the marina,” Robbie says.

  Ever since his parents took him to the maritime museum in San Ladron, Robbie’s totally gotten into boats. He knows all the different kinds and has tried to explain what makes each of them unique, but I don’t have his enthusiasm. It’s all like super boring.

  “My mom said a huge treasure hunter boat came in. She heard the cops are not happy.”

  The cops? Not happy? That could mean Deputy Baker is down there now. Maybe that’s how I could make my story about her. “Awesome. Let’s go.”

  We take Main Street down to the roundabout near the marina where we can see a new boat that’s docked. It’s like massive. I ride straight toward it and when we’re down by the water, I stop and read the name on the bow. “The Treasure King. It’s like twice the size of everything else in the marina.”

  Robbie stares at the boat. “Whoa. It has to be a hundred feet long.”

  “Flynn O’Connor showed me pictures of one like it. She said she saw it while she was in Cartageña. They were searching for an old Spanish galleon just like the San Manuel.”

  Robbie’s eyes get all big. “Was she diving? I think diving would be awesome.”

  “No way. I couldn’t do it,” Sasha says.

  I can feel my jaw drop open and it feels stupid, but I can’t stop it. “What? I know you, Sash, you’d…”

  “I can’t swim, Alex.”

  “You? Can’t swim? But you’re down by the water all the time.”

  “I’m on land, Alex. I just can’t like go in above my head.” Sasha hunches forward and gets a worried look on her face. “I sink.”

  Holy moley. Sasha’s never been afraid of anything. I reach out and hold her hand. Her fingers tighten around mine, and she looks at me.

  I smile at her and say, “It’s okay, Sash. We’re not going in.”

  “I know,” she says.

  Mr. Gray is talking to a man who looks kinda like he might be the captain. But they’re not just talking. The other man is all in Mr. Gray’s face, and Mr. Gray looks like he’s super mad. Maybe I could start my interview with Mr. Gray, and then I’d have to talk to Deputy Baker.

  Robbie’s still watching The Treasure King. It’s like he’s memorizing every line on the boat. “Do you think they found the treasure?”

  “My mom doesn’t think the treasure exists,” Sasha says. “She thinks it’s all a big marketing scam to bring in money for the town.”

  I shake my head. “No way, it’s for real. Flynn told me she’s still here ‘cause the museum she works for wants her to find it before anyone else. And she’s done all kinds of research on it, so she even knows it sank in 1568. She says it’s loaded with fine china and ivory and super old artwork. It could be worth millions, depending on how much stuff they can bring up.”

  Sasha leans forward on her handlebars. “Well, someone’s gotta find it first.”

  That’s totally the big argument in town. The San Manuel is four-hundred-years-old. If it’s real, how come nobody’s found it? I gotta believe my friend Flynn ‘cause she’s a professional archaeologist and works for a museum. Flynn’s cool and I like her, but she’s also super smart, so she’s gotta be right.

  Mr. Gray is still with the other man. They sure are taking a long time. “I’m gonna go check it out. I need to ask Mr. Gray a question.” I ride my bike down and stop on the other side of the big welcome sign. Mr. Gray and the other man aren’t very far away and their voices are carrying, so it’s easy to hear them.

  “No, Captain Carroll, you cannot ‘just leave her here’ for a few hours. You must move to the outer dock. You’re blocking three slips, none of which are designed to handle the load of a boat the size of The Treasure King. If you don’t like it, anchor offshore and tender in.”

  “That’s too inconvenient. We’ve got supplies to load and everyone will be coming and going.”

  “I don’t care how inconvenient it is. You must move. If you don’t, I’ll call the police. They’ll notify the Coast Guard, and you can explain why your convenience comes before safety.”

  Awesome! This is totally what I need. My dad always says conflict is the heart of any story. Our harbor is super small, The Treasure King is huge, and Mr. Gray is the closest thing we have to a harbormaster. Now, if he’ll just call Deputy Baker. I stare at Mr. Gray, mentally begging him to make the call.

  My shoulders slump when the captain turns and walks away. As Mr. Gray comes back in this direction, I walk my bike over and say hi.

  “You kids shouldn’t be hanging around here,” he snaps.

  That’s weird. Mr. Gray has never complained about us coming here before. Especially Robbie, ‘cause he’s always like talking to him about the Navy and that kind of stuff. “Can I ask you a question, Mr. Gray?”

  He looks back at The Treasure King and grumbles, “Not now, Alex. These are not the best people. That captain in particular is trouble. I need to watch and make sure they don’t damage the dock when they move.”

  The man Mr. Gray was talking to is now standing on the dock yelling at a guy who’s looking down from the top deck. The guy on top starts the engines. The rumble totally drowns out everything else.

  Robbie and Sasha pull up next to me. Robbie’s mouth is hanging open. He yells over the engine noise, “That’s super loud.”

  There’s a woman standing on the main deck of the boat. She says something to the man on top, then jumps to the dock. She unties the rope that secures the rear and when that’s free, she runs to the front of the boat and does the same thing. When she’s done, she starts walking to the outer part of the harbor and the big dock.

  Mr. Gray looks pretty mad, but he doesn’t go anywhere. The engine noise is so loud you can probably hear it all over Seaside Cove.

  “Idiot,” Mr. Gray says over the noise. “I swear, if they damage that dock…”

  Robbie shifts from one foot to the other and hollers in my ear. “We should go, Alex.”

  His face is all scrunched up, kinda like he’s worried about something. I shake my head. “No way. We have as much right to be here as anybody else.” Besides, I’m not done getting the background I need.

  As the boat backs away, the noise level drops. I can actually hear Robbie when he tells me his dad doesn’t want him getting in any trouble.

  Sasha gives Robbie’s shoulder a shake. “We’re not doing anything wrong, Robbie. It’ll be okay.”

  I look up at Mr. Gray and tell him we don’t want to cause any trouble.

  He takes a deep breath. “Sorry, Alex. I don’t mean to take my frustrations out on you. Captain Carroll has been boasting that he has a map with an accurate location of the San Manuel. According to him, he visited it on a previous journey.”

  “Then how come they’re not out bringing up the treasure?”

  “Exactly. Personally, I wouldn’t believe a word that man says.”

  “Why?”

  “He says they docked for some perishable supplies, but they haven’t even been at sea a week. There’s no need for them to be here. Now, you kids need to move on. I don’t trust him or his passengers.”

  “But we come down here all the time.”

  Mr. Gray looks at The Treasure King. Two men stand on the deck. Both of them look really mean, almost like they’re a couple pirates. They’re yelling at Captain Carroll and he’s yelling back, but I don’t think they can hear each other ‘cause the engine noise is so loud.

  When Mr. Gray turns back to me, he looks super worried. This is totally looking like an awesome news story.

 
; CHAPTER SIX

  Rick

  RICK SCANNED THE guest list, then looked up at the elderly woman standing before him. “You’re in luck, Mrs. King. We were expecting a new arrival today, but they called last night and canceled. That means your room is available for another night.”

  Mrs. King, a diminutive, white-haired widow with an impish smile, turned to the man standing next to her. “You’re sure about this?”

  “Dolores, I’m positive. We had such a lovely time at dinner last night and again this morning at breakfast. I think we definitely owe it to ourselves to extend our stays.”

  Rick suppressed a chuckle. It appeared the matchmakers had succeeded, and now he was curious about the phone call Marquetta mentioned. “So what happened at dinner?” he asked.

  “It was the strangest thing,” Mr. West said. “I had just ordered a glass of wine when the manager brought Dolores to my table. He said he was expecting a big rush and wondered if he could impose by having us share.”

  “Mr. Grayson was quite accommodating,” Mrs. King said. “He even brought me a glass of wine on the house for the inconvenience.”

  Rick bit his tongue to avoid bursting into laughter. Ken Grayson never gave anything away at the Crooked Mast without good reason. He suspected Marquetta had twisted his arm, or had promised to pay for the wine herself. “Ken is like that. Always thinking of his customers. So you two had a good time?”

  Mrs. King’s head bobbed enthusiastically, and Mr. West gave him a thumbs-up. “It was the highlight of my trip. We talked for hours. It was the strangest thing, though. The restaurant never did get very busy.”

  “Maybe they had a big party cancel.” Rick suppressed another smile, then added, “I’m glad it worked out. Now, I believe you said you have some exploring to do. Am I correct?”

  “Yes. Your daughter gave us a full itinerary at breakfast,” Mrs. King said.

  “That’s my daughter,” Rick said. “She loves having our guests feel welcome. I’ll let you two get to it.”

  Rick suppressed another chuckle when Mr. West took Mrs. King’s hand. She giggled, and they started toward the door.

  “I feel like I’m eighteen again,” she said.

  Mr. West stopped and beamed at her. “Then that makes me the luckiest man alive.”

  Rick watched them leave, wondering how long the match would last. Perhaps, he thought, till death do them part. He had a sudden urge to find Marquetta. Tell her about the development with their guests. And maybe even how he wanted to move their own relationship forward. He’d spent enough time debating.

  He heard the whine of the vacuum coming from the second floor. He closed the reservation book and followed the noise. At the landing, he stopped. The sound was coming from his left. He went to the corner and saw Marquetta working at the end of the hall. Her hair was pulled back and her ponytail bobbed as she pushed the vacuum forward, then pulled back.

  She saw him, waved, and turned off the power as he approached. “What’s up, boss?”

  “I just extended the stays for Mrs. King and Mr. West.”

  “Yes!” Marquetta pumped her fist and followed it up with a little dance.

  Rick stood back, watching her. He wanted to reach out, take her in his arms, and kiss her. That would go against their agreement to limit their public displays of affection around the guests—and especially around Alex. But if he took her out to dinner as Alex had suggested—yes, he knew what he wanted to do.

  He cleared his throat. “I thought the news would make you happy. By the way, I have to go into town to set up a tour for the Carstons. They want to take the Joaquin Murrieta jeep tour.”

  Marquetta raised her eyebrows and locked the handle of the vacuum in the upright position. “Really? They don’t want to do the San Manuel tour?”

  “Nope. Mrs. Carston has panic attacks when she’s on a large body of water. Anyway, I promised them I’d set it up for tomorrow morning so they could go into San Ladron today. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

  Marquetta raised her eyebrows and smiled. “Since you’re going into town, could you pick up a dozen eggs and some bacon?”

  Rick mentally mapped out the location of the market, the Crooked Mast, and the tour operator. Nothing in Seaside Cove was that far apart, including the jewelry story he intended to visit. He’d have to do a little backtracking so he could hit the market last, but that would only add a few minutes. “Sure. Anything else?”

  Marquetta shook her head. “This will get us through the morning.” She checked the hallway in both directions before kissing him on the cheek. “Have fun. And don’t rush. Without any ins or outs, this will be an easy day.”

  “Actually, it’s going to be a wonderful day.” Rick walked away, humming to himself as he went down the stairs, confident that Marquetta had no idea he was about to buy an engagement ring.

  The air was still crisp as Rick exited the B&B and took a right on Front Street. He followed the roundabout to the left at Main, which brought him to Seaside Cove Treasure Tours. The heart of the downtown extended up for two more blocks. Short blocks, at that. And, best of all, the jewelry store was right next door.

  Seaside Cove was a hard town in which to keep a secret. And hiding the fact that he was looking at engagement rings would be even harder to conceal because the jewelry store was across the street and two doors down from Scoops & Scones—home to Alex’s favorite ice cream and the town’s biggest gossip, Mayor Francine Carter.

  As Rick approached Seaside Cove Treasure Tours, he checked across the street. The coast was clear. Francine was not yet out sweeping the sidewalk in front of her store, which meant he could duck in to check out rings unseen if he was quick. He walked past the tour agent and went straight to the jewelers, but when he turned the doorknob, the door was locked. Only then did he read the sign hanging in the window. Closed for the day.

  “Crap,” he muttered and jiggled the doorknob. He cupped his hands to the glass and peered inside. There was nobody around. “Double crap.”

  He hurried back to the tour agent before you-know-who spotted him. It only took a few minutes to make the reservation for the Carstons. When he finished, he checked for Francine again. She was sweeping her sidewalk, but had her back to him. He darted across Main St. and cut into the alley. If he had any hope of keeping the dinner with Marquetta from becoming the rumor du jour, he had to avoid Francine’s prying eyes. It often felt like she had more spies than the CIA—and better security.

  Rick was at the end of the alley when Police Chief Adam Cunningham called to him. He was approaching via the same route Rick had taken. Rick waited as Adam trotted toward him, his crisp police uniform giving him an official air. Adam still had the same boyish smile, but he’d updated his appearance since his promotion to Chief of Police and now wore his brown hair slicked back.

  “What are you doing, Rick? Avoiding Madame Mayor?”

  “You know me too well, buddy. The truth is I'm planning a nice quiet dinner with Marquetta tonight and didn't want to endure a million questions.”

  “Smart move.” Adam pretended to check the time on his watch. He cocked his head to one side and sucked in an exaggerated breath. “This early in the day she'd have…oh, a good eight hours to spread the news.”

  “Especially this news.” Rick looked around, saw no others in any direction, and lowered his voice. “I'm going to pop the question.”

  Adam’s eyes widened. “Are you sure you want to do that at the Crooked Mast? The town’s most eligible bachelor proposing in public?”

  “I know. But I was standing there watching Marquetta holding onto that old vacuum and doing that happy dance and…”

  “Oh my God. You have it so bad. You do realize this news will go viral in Seaside Cove before you even have an answer.” Adam reached out and laid a hand on Rick’s shoulder. “You know how this town is, Rick. Rumors, spies, perceptions and lies.”

  “You’re probably right. I have a bigger problem. The jewelry store is closed for the day.” />
  “Wait a minute. You haven’t talked to Markie about the ring?”

  “No. Giselle made me look at fifty rings before we got married. I thought Marquetta would want to keep things simple.”

  “Holy smokes. You don’t have the ring. You, my friend, need some tutoring in the fine art of woman wooing.”

  “Woman wooing? Seriously? And since when are you the expert?”

  Adam did his own look around and tapped himself on the chest. “I’m the only one in this alley who’s currently engaged.”

  “Sorry, buddy, but I went through the whole process. Rings, engagement, marriage, divorce.”

  “I don’t think that counts. It appears the divorce turned your brain to mush. You’re the one thinking of proposing before you’ve decided on a ring.”

  “Okay, Obi Wan. I bow to your superior knowledge. What’s my next move?”

  “As far as a ring goes, talk to Marquetta. Find out what she wants.”

  “But that would ruin the surprise. How about if I get an empty ring box and tell her she can fill it with whatever she wants? That’s a thing now. Right?”

  Adam snapped his fingers. “Tell you what. Let’s create a diversion. We can make this dinner a double-date, then if you decide to dive in later in the evening, you won’t look like you’re a complete doofus. You’ll just look impulsive.”

  Rick stuffed his hands in his pockets and chuckled. “So now I’m naive when it comes to women—and I’m a doofus? Remind me again why I put up with you.”

  “Because I’m the Chief of Police and the mayor has forced you to be nice to me. Besides, if you go down in flames in public, you’ll make me look bad. I have an image as a crack crime solver to maintain thanks to you and your daughter. I am not about to let you blow my aura.”

  “Please…stop. You’re killing me with all this—fine, can we do dinner at six? I don’t want to leave Alex alone too late.”

  “No worries. I have a feeling I’ll be on duty later tonight. The Treasure King is back and that group is nothing but trouble.”

  A movement at the Main St. end of the alley caught Rick’s attention. He looked, realized it was only a tourist, and regarded Adam. “Really? Why?”