Freedom's Treasure (26 page)

“Oh yeah, that totally clarified your point,” Anna didn’t know where the snide was coming from and she couldn’t decide if she should dial it back or ride it out.

“He always had it all,” his petulant tone caused Anna to want to slap him.

“You do realize that the day you turned 18, or whenever it is you believe you became a man, you were responsible for your own life. Whether it was Hunter or your parents making you think about things differently, you’re the responsible one.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Oh, I understand just fine. And, to add to the fun of this I’m going to share a thought with you. You aren’t a man.”

“What?”

“You heard me. You’re a pouting child who never grew up. I mean, seriously. You don’t get the attention you want from Mommy and Daddy so you make Hunter pay the price. You can’t control the woman you vowed to love until death do you part so you smack the crap out of her. You can’t find the treasure so, instead of buckling down, you kidnap me to have me do the work for you. How does that in any way, shape or form equal manhood? Don’t worry, think it through, I’ll wait.”

“But-“

“Nu-uh!” Anna interrupted him. “Don’t speak again until you have an answer for me. I’m going to look at these papers in the meantime.”

Sit, Ubu, Sit,
thought Hunter.
He’s going to end up killing her if she keeps talking to him that way. Do something, man!
He shook his head. From his current position there still wasn’t much he could do.

Dock was roaming the cabin with the gun loaded and aimed in Anna’s general vicinity. If Hunter burst through the door he could guarantee someone would get shot and he truly did not want it to be Anna or himself.

Most of an hour went by as Anna examined journals and maps. Dock looked over her shoulder occasionally but, for the most part, kept his distance from her and the door. What she’d said must have struck a chord with him and she could hear him mumbling to
himself. Her main concern was that he would work himself into an emotional frenzy and shoot her which, ultimately, worked against her own goals.

She did her best not to look at the doors and windows. Hunter was taking his sweet time swooping in to the rescue. Maybe he’d left, ducked to where he could get cell phone signal to call in the cavalry. She consigned him to Hell at least 20 times in the hour before changing her mind and knowing he was tirelessly working to figure out how to end this peacefully. She had faith.

It wasn’t in Anna’s nature to sit idly by and wait for the cavalry. She knew that about herself and she was doing her best to fight her instincts. Finally she couldn’t take it any longer.

“I know where it’s buried.” Her voice broke the long silence and Dock jumped. His hand twitched and the gun went off loudly. Stuffing from the couch wafted gently through the still air of the cabin. Anna cleared her throat. “I’m not sure that was necessary though I’m glad you’re excited. Thank you for not having that pointed at me just then,” she raised her voice to make sure Hunter knew she wasn’t injured. “I don’t think the couch will ever be the same though.”

Dock snorted. “Where is it?”

“Did you bring your tools? We’ll need flashlights and a shovel, at the least. The metal detector might be a good idea, too, but I don’t think we’ll need it.”

Dock crossed the room quickly and gestured with the gun. “Show me on the map.”

At the wild look in his eye Anna did not hesitate. She found where the cabin was located on the map, moved her finger a few inches and pointed.

“Oh shit,” Hunter mouthed to himself. He had been within seconds of bursting through the door and using the element of surprise. Now he had a feeling Anna would be bringing the fight to him. Unfortunately he couldn’t read her mind and had no idea where she was about to lead Dock. He’d have to stay fluid, mobile. He rolled off the deck and into the backyard. He moved underneath the floor boards of the deck and kept his ears tuned in to their conversation. Hopefully she’d drop a few hints.

“Where’s the map Samuel drew?” Anna asked Dock. “I want to verify something before we go haring off.”

Dock stood at her shoulder and dug through papers until he found the one she had requested. Anna noted his crotch was at elbow level. With the proper swing of her arm she could probably disable him, at least temporarily. However she found herself caught up in the thrill of discovery. She really wanted to know if she was right and dismissed the urge to do physical damage to her abductor.

Anna snatched the map from Dock’s hand and laid it over the one she’d been studying. The scale wasn’t the same but Anna was able to discern what she needed to.

“Tell me,” Dock said.

“There was a letter in the journal. Obviously I didn’t tell you about it and none of your sources would have known either. I’m not sure Hunter knew. I found it when I was at his house packing up. Not that that matters right now. Point being, in the letter Samuel told Mary Ellen that he buried the treasure the same way her father had except he hadn’t built a smokehouse. He used a granite boulder the same size of the smokehouse to mark his way.

“According to this map there was a granite boulder here, quite large to qualify for this map, I’d say. All the times I’ve been down there I noticed the slab of rock but it was just part of the scenery.”

“That’s because they blew that rock to hell and back trying to move it in the logging days. Jesus Christ. I can’t believe it’s been right there the whole time.” Dock ran his fingers through his hair. He looked closely at Anna’s face and his lips curled into a smile. “You’re just as into this as I am. So when I go out to the truck to get the tools you aren’t going to run, are you?” He laughed, deeply.

Anna felt sick. If that’s what he wanted to believe, however, who was she to change his mind? “No, Dock, I’m not going to run,” she tried to sound excited as opposed to the flat fear she felt. “Get what you need and then we’ll head toward the graves,” her voice rose at the end, hoping and praying Hunter was close enough to hear the destination.

Hunter did hear and he had a plan now. God bless a smart woman, he thought. He quickly left his hiding place beneath the deck and hurried to his truck while still doing his best not to give his position away. He started it up and quickly took side roads around to the top of the hill that sloped to Anna’s cabin.

When he’d reached the right spot to keep watch while making a call he dialed his phone and said a few more prayers. He took a few extra moments after disconnecting the call and essentially booby trapped his truck. It was going to suck but the end goal was well worth the effort. Besides, he had insurance, didn’t he?

Dock hurried out to his truck to get the shovel, flashlights and pickax he’d left in the back. He couldn’t juggle everything with the gun and, after a second of debate, shoved it into the back waistband of his pants once more. He thought he heard an engine start somewhere far away and discarded the feeling of unease moving across his shoulders.

“You do realize I’m not carrying any of that,” Anna told him when he returned to her side. “I have to use the cane and, well, I’m just not helping you with that.”

“Fine, get the door at least.” Dock struggled to carry everything.

Anna did so and started down the deck steps. She used a far slower pace than she actually needed. He didn’t need to know she was more mobile than she’d been letting on. She stumbled a few times in the driveway before Dock thrust one of the flashlights into her open hand. She nodded gratitude and they kept on the move.

Anna wondered why walks in the dark took longer than during the day. She knew her pace, knew she was going at a steady clip but the 10 minute walk felt it was taking a year. Finally they reached the two graves, one marked, one unmarked. Anna felt a chill from her toes that streaked up her spine.

“This is so wrong,” she whispered.

“What?”

“Never mind. The boulder used to be over there,” she used the cane to point and, once again, considered bashing in the back of his skull when he walked by her. “Samuel’s map was from the cabin to the boulder though some landmarks may have changed. Like the curve of the road.”

Even in the darkness she could see the mad light filling his eyes. “Where do we dig once we reach the boulder? What did the letter say?” Intensity streamed off of Dock in waves that nearly lifted Anna’s hair from her shoulders.

“In the first journal I read, the one with the original story of Samuel’s departure from the plantation, they started at the smokehouse and took five paces north and two to the east. In the letter to Mary Ellen Samuel says to ‘follow your father’s lead but backwards’. So we start at the boulder, or the remnants of, and take five paces east and then two to the north,” Anna explained as she carefully made her way to the slab of granite that remained. She pictured the thrust of rock pointing to the sky and wished it had never been blown to bits.

Dock took the flashlight from Anna’s hand and laid both on the large rock. After getting his bearings he angled them to the east. The illumination was weak but better than nothing. With great ceremony he stood at the side of the stone and took the necessary paces. He swung the shovel from his shoulder and started digging.

Anna brushed dirt from the slab and sat down gently. Her ankle was humming though the pain wasn’t debilitating. She casually turned it, trying to ease the ache while she watched Dock dig. She seriously hoped there was something there though she doubted it would be the treasure. Yes, she had transposed the directions but in her mind backwards would have actually meant five paces south and two to the west. By her calculations that was exactly where the unmarked gravestone sat.

Hunter crept down the side of the road, sticking to the underbrush. The shallow light of the moon allowed him to keep an eye on Anna’s bright yellow shirt. The bobbing flashlights helped as well but their bodies blocked that at times. He took a quick peek at his watch and figured he had about 15 more minutes before the sheriff would show up.

He crouched behind a bush 25 feet from the boulder and admired his woman’s brain. She really had come up with the answer and in a time of high stress. It sounded like she had more information than he’d thought but she still made the answer sound easy. He shook his head and watched Dock sling the dirt from the hole he was creating. If Anna was smart enough to come up with an answer then she was also smart enough to direct Dock to the wrong location while making it sound completely reasonable.

After muffled curses and some panting there was a clanking sound as the shovel stru
ck something solid. Hunter was shocked. Anna had directed Dock to the right location. It seemed amazing. And though it didn’t change his plan in the least he did start amending it. History favors the victor, he thought, and tonight Anna would be victorious.

Dock scraped the last of the loose dirt from the box in the ground. It was far larger than he’d anticipated. He looked over to Anna who, he noted, now stood and was poised to come see what he’d found. “Bring that flashlight over here, would you? I can’t see what’s in the hole.”

Anna was shell shocked. She was confident she’d been wrong and yet here they stood with a box ready to be opened. How had that happened? She scooped both flashlights up and brought them over to Dock. Her curiosity was overwhelming.

“That box is huge,” her eyes wide, Anna crouched down on the leaves and grass to reach down and stroke the cover. “I can’t believe it’s really here.”

“You should have more faith in yourself, Anna,” Dock told her. He used the blade of the shovel in an attempt to lift it from the ground. “It’s heavy.”

“Is it still partially buried? The dirt would hold it down.” Anna used both flashlights to follow the perimeter of the hole.

“No,” Dock grunted, “I think it’s heavy. My God, how much did he bury?” In frustration he used the sharp blade of the shovel to smash through the top of the box. After several strikes he was able to use the shovel to lever the top boards off.

Hunter watched Anna’s face as she illuminated what was in the box. He watched it fall and panic strike. She started backing toward the road which was exactly what he had hoped she would do. Dock, on the other hand, never turned away from the hole.