The Old Cape Teapot (25 page)

I was confused and upset. I went to get a snack for the kids and waited for Nick to give me a better explanation.

He came into the kitchen. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to leave this afternoon. I guess my Corps assignment’s starting date has
been
pushed up to this coming Tuesday. My flight leaves tonight for Antigua.” He stood quietly in front of me for a second.

I wondered if he was lying to me. He’d seemed like such a nice kid. I didn’t want a confrontation with him, so I kept my eyes down toward the sink as I rinsed the dishes.

“Okay, I guess I better get packing.”

I tried to make small talk as he left the kitchen but it felt
awkward. All I could come up with was, “That’s too bad.”

I knew Danny must have seen something, but I just couldn’t bring myself to believe Nick would have a gun. Little boys have such
wild imaginations, especially Danny.

Within minutes, Paul walked into the kitchen to find out where Danny was. As he reached for another cup of coffee, I told him about what Danny saw in Nick’s room.

“A gun?” Paul swallowed hard.

I dried my hands on the towel. “That’s right, but I’m not sure what Danny really saw.”

He put his cup down and turned to me. “You said Nick’s leaving this afternoon?”

“Yes.”

“Well, don’t say any more about it. Let him go. We’ll probably never see him again.”

***

When Nick was packed and ready, we all stood in the foyer to say
goodbye, except for Danny, who cowered behind the chair by the closet and waited. I gave Nick a half-hearted hug. “Have a safe trip.”

Paul shook his hand and managed a stern goodbye. Molly
smiled and waved at him.

As Nick walked through the doorway, he added, “Say goodbye to Casey for me.”

We watched him put his suitcase in the trunk of the rental car and drive left out of the driveway.

***

Nick’s car sped past the green highway sign pointing the way to
Boston and continued up the road until he came to the first motel. He parked his car, checked himself in at the desk and settled inside the small room. After his shoes came off, he sent a short text:
Still on Cape. Little snag in plans nothing I can’t handle.
Then he ordered a
pizza and took out a file
from under the old sweatshirt at the bottom of his suitcase. Inside the folder were papers printed with the words
1715 Spanish Fleet sinks – led by the San Miguel,
along with several pictures of jewelry. He sat down on
the bed and stared at a newspaper clipping of Nancy Caldwell
wearing a beautiful necklace around her neck.

Present Day

CAPE COD

THE GAME ROOM
was already crowded by Friday afternoon, following Tommy’s visit to the Caldwell home. Irritated with Silas’s
lateness, Tommy D yelled, “It’s about time you got here.”

“Sorry. I had some business to take care of.” Silas sat down with a thump behind the register and waited for his boss to tell him what to do.

 “See if you can get the Black Knight going. That old pinball has been jamming lately.” Tommy D checked his pocket watch that was dangled from a long chain attached to his belt.

“Yeah. Okay.” Silas sauntered across the room and plugged in
the game. “Hey, I’m gonna be a little late on Monday. I gotta do a
favor for my old man.”

“Your dad? Isn’t he doing time at Concord?”

“Yeah. But I owe him one. He made me pick up this creepy guy at the bus station in Hyannis a few days ago. I’m supposed to let him
stay with me for a while at my dad’s place in Brewster.” The Black Knight started to clang and bing. “Now I gotta take him someplace else; he won’t say where. I guess the dude has some unfinished business or something.”

“You still sleeping over there?” Tommy D asked without looking up from his email.

“Just for a while, until I can convince my girl to let me move back in with her.”

“Well, watch your step with that old guy. You don’t want to end up in jail again.” The young proprietor started to type.

“Hey…I may be short, but I’m a fighter. I’m not stupid.” Silas bounded over to the counter and jumped up to sit on top of it. “I’m like a Berserker. You know? A Norse warrior who fights like he’s in
a trance.
You can’t stop them.” Silas held his fists up in the air, as if he were a champion. His curly hair glowed fiery red against his wide blue eyes.

“Okay, okay, get off the counter. I’ll be in the office if you need me.” Tommy D sighed as he left Silas out front.

Opening the old ledger, Tommy D flattened the vellum with the written directions across his desk. He tied up his long black hair back and Googled,
Cove Inlet, Orleans MA, Magnetic North, Baker property Orleans 1722.

Nothing appeared that seemed relevant to him. He held his forehead with both hands over the keyboard then leaned back in his chair and whispered “Crap. I don’t know what I’m looking for.” The noise of the games and loud voices of kids began to grate on his nerves; he couldn’t think straight. Tommy D wondered why they’d
never
bothered him before, but then he realized that this was possibly the first time he’d ever tried to figure something out that was really important. He went out the back door into the alley and took a few
deep breaths to clear his head.

Silas noticed his boss leave. He quietly slipped into the office and behind the desk. He refreshed the computer screen for anything important. Noticing the open paper about the Baker Davis Mill Site,
he took a photo of what was written with his phone.

Tommy D re-appeared in the doorway. “What’re you doing, man?”

Startled, Silas jumped. “Looking for a pen.”

“I don’t want you back here. Stay out front.”

“Hey, take it easy. I’m not doing anything wrong.”

“Just leave me alone.” Tommy D moved quickly to close the tabs
on the computer screen.

Silas started to leave but hesitated. “Hey, I was wondering.
What’s with that Caldwell lady?”

Tommy D gave him a strange look as he shuffled the papers on his desk. “What do you mean?”

“You know, she lives right across the street from my old man’s
apartment, in Brewster. I saw her name on your computer and
looked up her address.” Silas pointed to the old books. “And where’d you get those?”

“None of your business.”

Silas came closer to the desk. “I read that she found treasure. She got anything to do with what you’re searching for?”

“Listen, you leave her alone.” He closed the books with a bang. “She’s a real nice lady and has a family.” Tommy D slid the old paper back into the ledger. “I’m only trying to find out who my ancestors are.”

“So you’re not looking for pirate treasure?” A sly smile grew across
Silas’s face.

“What? Are you crazy?”

The phone rang.

“Get out front and answer the phone. Make sure no one steals anything.”

Silas left in a huff, slamming the door behind him. By the time he reached the counter, the phone had stopped. He mumbled under his breath, “The hell with it. I don’t need him anymore.”

***

Tommy D stayed in his office long after Silas closed up. He had
nowhere else to go. The game room should pull in some good money through the coming holidays. He could use the extra income. He dreaded the long and quiet winter ahead of him.

***

Silas headed back to his Dad’s place, hating the thought of spending any time with the old man. Hopefully the guy’s not a talker. He couldn’t believe that he had to get up an hour earlier next week just
to take the cripple to some mysterious place. Silas liked his sleep.

Present Day - Saturday

BREWSTER

THE NEXT MORNING,
Silas got up, showered, made some coffee,
and was about to leave for Tommy D’s when his roommate let out a loud yawn. Silas peered into the bedroom. He could see the General swing his legs out of bed and then heard him thump his feet to the floor. As Silas sipped his coffee, he watched him struggle to put the brace on his knee.

Their eyes met. “What are you starin’ at?”

Silas quickly looked away. “I gotta get to work.”

“Hey, hold on a minute. I wanna talk to you.” The General
pushed himself up off the bed and limped towards Silas. “Don’t forget next week, Monday. I need a ride.”

“Where we goin’?”

“Off Pleasant Bay. Near where the town wells are.”

“You mean in the woods?” Silas looked nervous.

“Yeah, up the hill.”

“I ain’t going where there’s any bugs or crap.”

The General smiled. “You scared of the outdoors?”

“No. I just don’t like to go into the woods. Not a fan of spiders.”

“It’s too cold for any of them to get you. Now ticks…that’s different.” The General started to laugh.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothin’” The old man took a bottle of pills from his backpack.

Silas looked puzzled. He was going to be late, so he left in a hurry.

***

The General opened a Little Debbie cinnamon bun for his breakfast,
poured himself coffee and swallowed a pill. On the small table to his right, Silas had left his laptop on. All he had to do was tap the bar and he was in. Just for fun, he checked Silas’s history. When he clicked on some of the sites he found: Pirates-Treasure-Brewster lady
finds cache in backyard. The General straightened in his chair and stared at the screen. “Why was the kid searching this?”

He stood up to put on an old vinyl record and get a refill of
coffee. Then he settled back in front of the computer’s screen and waited for his heart meds to kick in.

***

Later that Same Day

THE CALDWELL HOUSE

“Mommy, can we stay up late tonight?” Molly asked for the tenth time.

“We’ll see.”

Danny came running into the kitchen. “No school tomorrow, it’s Sunday. Can we stay up late? Please?”

“I have a surprise for both of you. Casey drove over to her
friend’s
house and is spending the night. How would you like to go see
Finding Nemo
at the theatre? It’s a special showing.”

Danny yahooed all the way into the living room then jumped onto the couch.

Molly’s eyes opened wide, like saucers. “Are we really going to go? Tonight?” she started to dance in a little jig.

“Settle down or you’ll be in bed early.”

After Paul closed up, he cuddled in next to Danny on the couch
and teased him. “Maybe we should all get to bed early tonight.
Everyone looks so tired. What do you think?”

“Nooooo, ” Danny cried out.

“I’m teasing. We’re still going to the movie,” said Paul.

Danny looked relieved.

Paul kissed his little boy on the top of his head. “I bet you a
quarter that Mommy falls asleep first during the movie.”

Danny shook Paul’s hand and said in a tiny voice, “No she
won’t, you will! It’s a bet, Daddy.”

We hurried to eat our grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Just as we were about to leave, the rain came down in torrents. We left by way of the back door in the garage, which was closer to the car. The kids squealed with excitement as we ran through the
raindrops.

The movie wasn’t as crowded as I had expected. That was a nice surprise, a little less screaming. Midway through the movie, I looked over towards Paul. He was already asleep. I poked Danny and raised my thumb up to signal that he’d won the bet.

***

Silas, home early, drove to the back of the run-down house across from the Caldwell’s. As he entered the small upstairs apartment he saw the General looking out the window through binoculars.

 “What’re you doing?” He reached to grab them from the
General’s bony fingers.

“Hey!” the old man snarled.

Silas walked over to the fridge to get a beer. “Stay out of my business.”

“Well, you look like you’re up to something…and I might want in.” The General tapped his fingers across the Formica covered tabletop, waiting for a reaction.

Silas was quiet.

The General lit a cigarette. “You know, no one’s home over there now. They all left. I’ve been keeping watch.”

Silas looked out the window towards the Caldwell house. “Yeah. Their cars are gone.”

The General casually brushed his finger across the open computer’s keypad to bring up the screen displaying information
about Nancy
Caldwell. “So that lady across the street found pirate treasure in her
backyard?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Silas picked up the binoculars and stared at the Caldwell house. “I sure would like to get inside to see if there’s any gold in there.”

“Gimme your cell number, I’ll watch from here.” The old man took hold of his own phone and readied to add Silas’s number. “I’ll text you if someone shows up.” The General seemed to enjoy himself as he subtly dared Silas to go into the Caldwell’s house.

Silas hesitated for only a few minutes before he recited his phone number.

When the hard rain eventually stopped, Silas went down the back stairs and leaned against the outside of the house. He stared across the street for a few minutes, and then he ran across the road and onto the property. There were no lights on and it was almost dark. He walked up the decking to the main door, nervous, sweat beading on his forehead.

He was surprised to find the door was unlocked. Grinning, he
slowly entered. A quick look around the semi-darkened home signaled that he was in the middle of the house. He headed towards
the front,
passed a stairway, doubled back, and then climbed the steps in
search of the bedrooms. The flashlight app on the phone gave him enough light in the hallway to see what was in front of him.