Treasure Sleuth (3 page)

"Something for me?"

"Yes, you specifically."

"What? What did he leave me?"

"A book."

Sounding almost disappointed, Abby said "Oh really, I was hoping maybe it was something more."

"It is something more. It contains a key inside. When he gave it to me he only said 'for my abbey' and that I would understand when the time was right. I always assumed it was a specific key. A key to an old abbey that I'd one day need to explore. But now I realize it wasn't a specific key, it was a specific person. Not an abbey, but you - Abby."

Feeling more interested, Abby asked, "A key to what?"

"Without meaning to sound overly dramatic, it's a key to another world. A world your grandfather only wanted you to see. His world. He would have known only you would care enough to make the journey from America to England to carry out his final wish. Only thing is, what you think is his final wish isn't. His real final wish is for you to open a door and take a step into the unknown."

"Mark, are you for real? This sounds crazy!"

"Yes Abby, I am. And yes it does sound crazy. But it also sounds…"

"Like my Grandpa!"

"Indeed."

"But what study? There isn't a study in the cottage or the lighthouse. I've been here before and know every inch of this place. And I would know if there was any extra furniture I have to organize for the house clearance people tomorrow."

"Cancel them."

"What?"

"Trust me, just cancel them, this is too important."

"But I'm leaving on Friday after the sale. Everything is booked."

Mark was taken aback. This was all so sudden. With the thought of Eugene's passing barely sinking in, now the lighthouse is being cleared out. "Damn, you don't hang around do you? Please just trust me, I'll show you everything. Then if you still want the furniture out I will take care of it myself. I promise. But you're going to want to see this."

Abby thought for a moment. "Okay, so I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yes. Tell you what, there's a kettle in the lantern room at the top of the lighthouse, why don't we sit up there and have a chat. It's where me and Gene would chat when he had something important to share with me. He would call me up and ask if I fancied a coffee with a view, and then I knew it was going to be something good. I know he'd get a kick out of this if he knew we were both sitting up there."

"Sounds good to me. It will be interesting to meet you Mark. See you tomorrow."

"And you, see you tomorrow."

Mark rested his elbow on the armrest and brought his clenched fist up to his mouth. Imagining the last time he saw Eugene and their chat, could Gene have known that he was going back to the States for the last time? He was a sneaky bugger and this was his style. No last goodbyes, so his spirit would always be felt. Mark rubbed away a tear rolling down his cheek, grabbed the gear shift and selected 'drive' before pressing the accelerator to the floor and spinning the rear wheels into a cloud of tire smoke. The big Jag gave a hearty growl into the late afternoon air and leaped forward disappearing into the mountains. Mark had a new mission now.

The silence of the early morning stillness was broken by the hard edged crackle of the supercharged V8 slicing through the narrow Devon lanes. The wing mirrors clipped the wet hedge lines splashing morning dew along the sleek black body of the Jaguar sports car.

Upon entering the tiny village of Hope Cove Mark took the sharp left for Inner Hope and cruised along the cliff edge stopping momentarily outside the chapel that overlooks the cove. The lighthouse stood on the opposite cliff with the beach below lined by sharp rocks and cliff edges. The tide was out revealing a smooth blanket of sand. Mark checked his watch and couldn't help grab himself a quick half hour detecting on the shoreline. It was an old favorite of Gene's and one of the main reasons he came to England. This was the site of a Spanish shipwreck where silver coins could sometimes be found along the slipway in front of the old lifeboat house.

Mark drove along the lower sea wall and turned left to park opposite the lifeboat house. At this time of the morning his best parking space was almost guaranteed and meant he only needed to make a few steps across the road and down the slipway. In front of the lifeboat house the small pathway led up steep steps along the cliff edge and up onto the cliff top where the lighthouse sat.

Mark opened the trunk and pulled out the detector. Walking across to the slipway he stood looking over the cove and watched the sea lap against the small harbor wall, a slight smile on his face as memories of Gene came flooding. Gene was obsessed with finding the shipwreck and loved this beach. Mark had spent many hours sweeping the detector along the sands and into the caves. It was Gene who encouraged Mark to get an underwater machine and get deeper into the surf where the best gold and silver rings were sitting there waiting to be picked like fruit from a low hanging tree. And it was this beach that Eugene would risk venturing onto in a storm as the winds and waves churned up the sands stripping it to the hard pack and revealing secrets lost for hundreds of years.

Mark walked down the slipway and onto the sands. Selecting his start point over by the tree lined lower cliff edge he rested the machine against his long handled sand scoop and put in his small ear headphones, when something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. A few feet away small gravel sized rocks began to fall from the cliff edge and before he was even aware of his actions, instinct took over and caused every fiber of his muscles to run with full force.

After a restless night in the Keeper's Cottage, Abby was up early with coffee in hand going through her grandfather's paperwork. The night time sounds of foxes screeching in the surrounding countryside, the howling wind whistling around the lighthouse while the waves pounded the rocks below was different from her romantic memories. Or perhaps it had more to do with the phone call with Mark the day before and the mysterious book and key. She hadn't cancelled the house clearance like Mark asked, but had postponed them for a couple of days. That would give Mark time to give her the key and let her see what her Grandpa Eugene had wanted before the final details of clearing the cottage and lighthouse would begin.

Abby began making a list of the utilities companies that needed calling. It all seemed simple from the water board to the council tax to the telephone provider. But one bill was confusing. Internet broadband. There was no computer in the cottage anywhere, nor did she remember seeing anything in the lighthouse. But then how did Grandpa send the family emails over the years? He must have taken his laptop with him to the States and it remained there. Finishing her coffee, Abby put on her boots and reached for her coat. She had spent far too long sitting down over the past couple of days. Time for some fresh air and to get the blood moving.

Leaving the cottage, Abby made her way through the side gate and was met by an older couple walking their boisterous Labrador.

"Good morning! What a lovely day!" they enthusiastically bellowed.

"Hi, good morning," Abby shouted back as the dog came running up to her with his tail wagging. "Hello, oh what a gorgeous chocolate coat you have!" she said stroking the Lab's soft fur as he jumped up to greet her.

"Come on Max!" the owners shouted across, "Don't get the poor girl all muddy." With that the dog turned and went bounding across the path, straight past the owners to the grassy cliff edge before turning again and bounding back towards Abby.

"Goodness, he sure has a lot of energy!" Abby laughed.

"I think it's the fresh morning sea air that does it. Hello, I'm Ken and this is my wife Margaret," the couple introduced themselves.

"Hi, I'm Abby, pleased to meet you."

"Are you a relation to Eugene?" Margaret asked.

"Yes, he was my grandpa, how did you know?"

"Coming out of the lighthouse gate with your lovely American accent we thought you must be family. How is Eugene?"

"I'm afraid he's no longer with us. He passed away at his home in the States."

"Oh my dear, I am so sorry, how terrible."

"He hadn't been well for a while but it still came as a shock. He never did learn how to relax and take things easy."

"Ah that's Eugene through and through," said Ken. "He was a bundle of energy and could squeeze more into a day than young folks half his age. Hope Cove ain't gonna be the same without him that's for sure."

"No it's not," said Margaret, "Who's going to find the San Pedro now?"

"The San Pedro? What's that?" Abby asked.

"It was the ship that crashed into the rocks down in the cove," said Margaret. "From the Spanish Armada fleet."

"I thought that was a myth, a folks tale," said Abby.

"Oh no, dear, it's a real ship and your grandfather could always be found somewhere down on the sands, in the water or climbing around the rocks especially when Mark was with him," Ken said.

"A right troublesome pair those two," Margaret laughed with a mischievous look on her face. "Especially that dishy Mark when he comes out of the water with his muscles on show. Oh, if I was thirty years younger I'd…"

Max came bounding up to see what the delay was, jumping in the air barking for attention.

"Okay Max, we're coming," said Ken.

Margaret turned to Abby and grabbed her hand squeezing it gently, "Eugene was a wonderful man dear, we will miss him greatly. Perhaps his spirit will live on through you being here."

"I wish that was the case, I'm actually leaving on Friday," Abby said in a sullen voice.

"Just come back and visit us once in a while," Margaret said in a concerned tone.

Abby swallowed and just nodded.

The three of them walked along the cliff top, across the open green field towards a small wooded area where a narrow stony track led down through the trees to the lifeboat house on the seafront. Max enjoyed running ahead before turning and bolting back past them, stopping for the occasional sniff along the bush line before leaving his scent.

"He really enjoys his walk," laughed Abby as Max raced on by brushing her legs.

"Oh he loves it," said Margaret. "A little too much sometimes. We have to come out early because if we don't he ends up running all over the sand chasing other dogs and trampling over children's sandcastles!"

"Max! Come on boy," Ken called out as he entered the downward track in the woods. The track was so narrow and steep they had to go single file. Max came running up behind and squeezed his way past their legs and the thorny bushes. "Good boy!" Ken was pleased he listened.

The track widened slightly as the trees now lined either side, a large bank on the right, the cliff edge just a few feet away on the left. The sound of the water against the rocks below was getting louder as they made their way lower to the beach. Suddenly a squirrel jumped out from behind a tree and Max gave chase.

"No Max! Come here!" shouted Ken as the squirrel scurried around the lose stony ground before scampering up a tree to safety.

"Max careful! Get back here!" shouted Margaret in a tone of authority.

But it was too late. Max skidded on the gravel and gave out a yelp before tumbling off the cliff edge.

"Max!" Margaret cried out as Max disappeared from view.

Ken turned and hugged her tightly as she burst into tears. It was a steep drop and there was no way a dog could fall from this height onto sharp, jagged rocks and survive. Abby was horrified and knew what this meant. She had seen dogs before at her mom's rescue center who had suffered falls or gotten hit by cars. It was a sickening sight and she knew Margaret would be devastated if she saw her poor doggy slumped over the rocks. She ran down the track as fast as she could, her heart pounding hard and tears blurring her vision. The roof of the lifeboat house came into view and the track became so steep that steps had been cut in. As she ran down the steps, concentrating to make sure she didn't fall as well, Abby reached ground level and ran out of the alley way onto the pavement and onto the slip way.

Slowing down to catch her breath and scan across the rocks for the body, she saw a dark haired man walking towards her. He had his arms outstretched with Max draped across them. Abby wiped her eyes and began a slow walk down the slip way towards the sand fearing the worst.

"I think somebody was trying to abseil, but forgot his ropes," the man said as Max wagged his tail.

"Max!" Abby cried out. "Is he hurt?" she asked.

"No he's fine, but I think I've torn my shoulder," the man responded.

"Did you see him fall?" Abby asked, as the man bent down to put Max on the sand.

"I saw a bunch of gravel fall from over there," he said stretching back up and pointing to the rocky cliff edge. "So I ran over and held out my arms half expecting a child to fall, but then I caught this great furry lump instead!"

Abby was shocked. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Although judging from the size of his muscular arms it shouldn't have been a complete surprise that he could catch a falling dog. She looked over at Max who seemed completely oblivious that he just cheated death and was now barking at the sea. She turned to the stranger and hugged him.

"Thank you so much, that was the most amazing thing ever," she said.

"Ouch," the man flinched.

"Oh sorry," Abby said letting go and stepping back feeling slightly embarrassed.

"You're welcome," he replied smiling as he took in Abby's beautiful swirls of chestnut brown hair resting on her rounded cheek bones. Rubbing his shoulder he asked, "You're American? "

Before Abby could answer, Margaret cried out "Max!" as she and Ken came into view on the slipway.

Abby immediately turned and shouted back, "He's fine Margaret, this man was under the cliff and... "

"Mark! " Margaret interrupted. "Did you save my Max?! "

Mark started walking towards the couple who were as shocked and relieved as Abby, "Hello Margaret, hello Ken, how are you both? "