Lady Justice and the Ghostly Treasure (18 page)
Read Lady Justice and the Ghostly Treasure Online
Authors: Robert Thornhill
“Maybe not,” James said, describing the four images that materialized briefly, then morphed into the swirling grey mist. “Your family may have saved our lives.”
More ghosts
, I thought.
Why not! It would be a fitting end to this improbable story.
EPILOGUE
Ox arrived on the scene, and as soon as Slick was in custody, he started singing like a bird to save his own skin.
With Slick’s testimony, the cops raided The World of Gold and arrested Morey. Unfortunately, Morey had hidden the gold coins and steadfastly refused to reveal their whereabouts. Undoubtedly, his plan was to serve his time and retrieve the treasure after his release.
I seriously doubted that would happen. Morey owed Sammy ‘the Shark’ Saldano twenty five g’s, and Sammy’s not a patient man. With Sammy’s connections inside the prison, I figured the most likely outcome would be a shiv in Morey’s ribs.
If that was the way things turned out, the cache of gold coins would once more be hidden away until sometime in the future, when maybe other treasure hunters would be given clues by kindly spirits.
James paid his debt to Sammy, and I received a personal note from Carmine Marchetti, thanking me for keeping my end of our bargain. While I have no intention of maintaining or developing an ongoing relationship with the godfather of the Kansas City mob, it’s comforting to know I haven’t pissed him off. You never know when our paths might cross again.
I wonder what Sammy would have thought if he knew James was handing him his own money that he had lent to Morey? Once again proving that Lady Justice loves her irony.
A portion of the money was set aside for Martha’s care in the nursing home. Mary was as happy as a kid in a candy store to be reunited with her long-lost sister, and equally happy to have a nephew. Up to now, we had been her only family, and she had seemed satisfied, but there seems to be something special about blood, especially if you are a twin.
Camilla enrolled in nursing school and seems to be very content in her relationship with James.
Although this strange saga had come to an end, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I tried and tried to make some sense out of this improbable series of events, but I kept coming back to the same question over and over, “How could that have possibly happened?”
I remembered the Professor’s words, “There are many things in this world that are beyond the comprehension of mortal man.”
As I analyzed the details, it was almost like opening a safe. There are a predetermined set of numbers, and if they’re selected in the proper sequence, the safe will open. You turn the knob to the first number, and ‘click,’ the tumbler falls in place. The same with the second and third numbers, ‘click’, ‘click.’ If even one number is off, the safe will not open.
Our amazing journey started with a call from Mary that some ghost had scared the bejesus out of Mr. Feeney and Mr. Barnes. If old Cyrus hadn’t made an appearance, Rick Branch in #6 would not have moved out. ‘Click.’ But he did and Mary had Mr. Feeney stick a ‘For Rent’ sign in the yard. ‘Click.’ James saw the sign, stopped, met his Aunt Mary for the first time, and told her about her sister. ‘Click.’ That opened the door that led to the diary and ultimately the map. If all those things hadn’t happened just as they did, James would have driven right by and none of this would have happened.
Then there’s the apparition at the hospital. Mary swore she saw it. It directed us to the room where we found the footprints leading to the map. If there really is such a thing as the spirit world, can they leave footprints? I wasn’t about to argue. Two sets of paranormal investigators and many employees swear that there are many things at the old Odd Fellows home that go bump in the night. It’s not such a stretch to believe that out of the ten thousand or so souls that perished there, that a few have decided to stick around.
What about James? Although it’s never happened before, his boss asks him to escort a client around town. ‘Click.’ Out of dozens of bars in Westport, James takes the client to the Levee. ‘Click.’ While most men would think twice about confronting a Neanderthal abusing a woman, James threw caution to the wind. ‘Click.’ If even one of those things had not happened, James and Camilla would never have met.
After a hard day in the woods, Dan brings us s’mores for dessert. ‘Click.’ What if he’d brought apple pie? Mary, bless her heart, leaves the bag of marshmallows by the fire. ‘Click.’ A coon, drags the bag and leaves it in the exact spot where the coins are hidden. ‘Click.’ What if he’d dragged it to any other spot on the wall? All those things fell perfectly into place and we found the gold.
James and Camilla decide to move in together and go apartment hunting. ‘Click.’ They have a flat tire on the way. ‘Click.’ The flat tire causes them to lose one apartment, so they go to the one owned by Bernard Hoffman. ‘Click.’ If they hadn’t had the flat and rented the first apartment, they wouldn’t have had the spirits of the mist to protect them and Slick could have gotten away with the cash.
But it did happen. All of it.
If I was describing this series of events to a stranger, his response might be, “Wow! You were really lucky!”
That made me wonder,
What exactly is luck?
As I thought about it, it occurred to me that what we call ‘luck’ is really just another word for good fortune that comes our way that has no other explanation.
Human beings are good at that. We put labels on things we can’t explain. In 1692, people who behaved in ways that others couldn’t understand were labeled witches.
Then, letting my imagination run wild, I started thinking,
What if what we call luck is really the intervention of the spirit world in our daily lives, and that intervention, coupled with the good choices we make, leads to a positive experience?
Some might say that the choices that were made were preordained. I don’t buy that. I’m a firm believer in free will.
Every day, from the moment we step out of bed, we make thousands of choices. Some are important, some are not. Wheaties or pancakes for breakfast? Should I report that crime or not get involved? Most choices are made without much thought, guided by the moral compass that’s in each of us.
If there really is such a thing as a spirit world, and those who dwell there are capable of interacting with us in positive ways, that would certainly explain a lot of things we simply don’t understand.
I couldn’t help but wonder if Lady Justice and Lady Luck work hand in hand. If they do, that’s certainly a dynamic duo.
A few weeks ago, if someone had told me that the benevolent spirit of a Franciscan monk named Cyrus had been in residence at the Three Trails Hotel since the turn of the century, ministering to the needs of the poor souls who dwell there, I would have been skeptical, to say the least. I might have even snickered a bit, and said the whole thing was poppycock.
Now, I’m not so sure.
Sometimes Reality Is Stranger Than Fiction
The Three Trails Hotel
During the 10+ years I owned the Three Trails, it was exactly as described in the Lady Justice series.
Twenty sleeping rooms were occupied by retirees and day laborers who shared four hall baths.
And yes --- it was managed by a dear, sweet lady named Mary who carried a ball bat.
It was built at the turn of the century and the main structural support in the basement was a tree trunk.
If walls could talk, volumes could be written about those who called it home.
The walls might even mention Brother Cyrus.
The Odd Fellows Home
The property stands today exactly as described in the book. The winery occupies the first floor of the old orphanage. The three adjacent buildings, including the hospital are in ruins.
All of the artifacts pictured, the doll, the gurney, the creepy old man painting, the skeleton, and the children’s drawings found hidden in the walls of the orphanage, are all there.
Considering the fact that over 10,000 souls lived and perished there, is it beyond the realm of possibility that some of their spirits still inhabit the old ruins?
Check out these videos and decide for yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBAirO8g4O0
The Old Stone Wall
It’s all there --- the lake, the dam, and the old road leading to the stone wall surrounding what remains of a woodland fishing cabin.
Should you choose to fight your way through the underbrush, you could stand on the concrete slab where the old cabin once stood.
If you listen carefully, the wind rustling through the leaves of the stately oaks almost sounds like whispers from the past --- voices of those who loved this wilderness retreat.
Is there really a spirit world? And if there is, can those spirits interact with the living?
There are many who would say ‘no’, but like Walt, having lived for seventy-three years, I’m not so sure!