Wicked Charms (19 page)

I texted back
broom closet.
A moment later I heard the broom closet door open and mops and a bucket getting kicked around. I opened the secret door at the back of the closet, and Diesel handed me a cardboard box with four coffees from Starbucks.

“Morning,” Diesel said. “You look like you got run over by a truck.”

“I slept on the floor last night.”

“There are these things in the house called beds,” Diesel said.

“We were afraid Rutherford and his men would return. They kidnapped Gramps, tried to kill Josh, and burned down the Pirate Museum.”

“I go away for a couple hours and the world falls apart,” Diesel said.

Carl woke up at Diesel’s voice. He stretched, scratched his ass, and ambled off to the rest room. Everyone else took a coffee.

“Did you have trouble finding the coin?” I asked Diesel.

“No. It was in Devereaux’s pocket. I helicoptered to the island, but the pilot decided it was too dangerous to land at the top of the bowl, so he set me down by the tiki hut. I hiked to the bowl, found the tunnel entrance, and rappelled down the shaft. The ropes were still there from Rutherford’s excursion. I found the coin and heard a chopper in the distance. Obviously its pilot had more guts than mine because it landed on the rim and dropped a bunch of Ammon’s zombies into the bowl. I didn’t feel like taking on the zombie army, so I hid in an alcove and waited for them to leave.”

“They went back for the coin,” I said.

“The coin and the rest of the treasure,” Diesel said. “They packed it all out. Took them hours. They were like worker ants. They even took Devereaux. Maybe they thought he hid the coin on him…or in him. They took their ropes, too, so I had to use the stairs. They weren’t bad going up, but I’m glad I didn’t have to use them going down.”

“We need to get Gramps,” Clara said. “He needs his blood pressure medicine.”

“Do you have any idea where they’re holding him?” Diesel asked.

“No,” I said. “They sent me a photo but there’s nothing recognizable in it.”

I showed Diesel the photo of Gramps waving. There were no background objects. Just a white wall and two faceless thugs.

“I have a list of all properties owned by Ammon Enterprises,” Diesel said. “There are four in Salem, seven in Boston, one in southern New Hampshire, and Ammon’s personal house in Marblehead. I got the list because I thought Ammon would be at least temporarily storing the treasure in one of his buildings, and the stone might be with it.”

Clara put a bag of muffins on the bar, and we all took one.

“The best candidate for treasure storage is Ammon’s property on Green Street,” Diesel said. “He owns a four-story office building that used to be a bank, complete with a vault. The building is currently empty, slated for renovation.”

“I know where that is,” Clara said. “One of the tunnels runs under it, and then the tunnel continues on to the harbor. It meets up with another tunnel that goes to the lighthouse.”

“How long would it take us to get from here to the bank building using the tunnel system?” Diesel asked Clara.

“Maybe forty-five minutes. The tunnels don’t go in a straight line.”

Diesel pulled a map of Salem out of his backpack. “I’ve marked Ammon’s properties in orange,” he said to Clara. “Are any of these other addresses accessible by tunnel?”

Clara looked at the map. “I’m not familiar with the whole tunnel system. I only know the area around the bakery, the waterfront, and the area around Gramps’s house. A tunnel would run under the house on Marjorie Street, and the warehouse on First Avenue definitely has access.”

Diesel took the Blue Diamond out of his pack and handed it to me. “It found the stone on the island. Maybe it can find the stone in Salem. And if we’re lucky, Gramps will be with the stone.”

We all left the speakeasy and followed Clara through the tunnels.

“We’re like the seven dwarfs going off to work in the mine,” Glo said. “Except there are only six of us.”

I didn’t feel up to dwarf level. The dwarfs knew where they were going every day. I was blindly walking behind Diesel. If I were a dwarf my name would be Clueless.

I checked the diamond from time to time, but nothing was registering. No blue glow. Not even a flicker. We walked for over a half hour, and Clara finally stopped and looked around. We were at yet another fork in the tunnel system.

“The left fork goes to the Wessel House,” Clara said. “The house has been in the Wessel family for generations. Jerome Wessel was a ship’s captain when the house was built. Bitsy Wessel ran a boardinghouse there during Prohibition and never lacked for boarders since there was a steady flow of rum punch coming out of the root cellar in the backyard. I dated Kenny Wessel when I was in high school, and we used to make out in the tunnel. The Wessel House is a block from Ammon’s bank building. I’m pretty sure the tunnel runs under the bank building, but I don’t think there’s access. The men who built the tunnels didn’t care about robbing a bank. That part of the tunnel dead-ends two blocks beyond the bank at the corner of Marjorie and Clinton. The right fork goes to the warehouse on First. The rumrunners brought their small boats into the shallow water or to the lighthouse. From those two points the hooch was transferred to the warehouse and beyond.”

We went left, walking under the Wessel House and under the bank building. We continued on to the end of the tunnel. We didn’t see any access points beyond the Wessel House, and the diamond never glowed or flickered or felt warm. We retraced our steps and took the right fork. We walked past the warehouse entrance and went all the way to the lighthouse. Again, no sign from the diamond.

“Okay, we go to plan B,” Diesel said. “We’re not picking up any vibes in the tunnels, so Lizzy and I will go aboveground. Everyone else will go back to the speakeasy.”

“Check for text messages once in a while,” I said to Clara. “I’ll keep you in the loop.”

Diesel and I exited through the root cellar in the Wessels’ backyard. It was locked from the outside, but that wasn’t a problem for Diesel. No one was out and about when we emerged. We walked toward the bank building and watched it from half a block away. It looked abandoned. Windows and doors were boarded over. No one stood guard at the door. We continued on to the warehouse on First. It had no doubt been impressive when it was built. Today it looked quaintly historic. A single loading dock in the back. Two stories. Lettering on the door said
AMMON ENTERPRISES
. No guys standing guard. No tingles. No glow from the rock.

“I don’t think he’s here,” I said. “I don’t think anyone is here.”

“Ammon has a house in southern New Hampshire that’s a fortress. It’s a huge stone monstrosity set in the middle of a hundred acres. I have someone checking it out. In the meantime, I think we should negotiate for Gramps.”

“Are you willing to give them the coin for Gramps?”

“Yeah. They have the stone. I don’t see where the coin is going to make a difference. The stone, the coin, and all the tea in China isn’t going to awaken Mammon. Rutherford, Ammon, and their followers are already delusional and greedy. A couple more degrees of greed won’t make a big difference. Ultimately I need to get the stone and the coin back anyway.”

“I have Rutherford’s number programmed into my phone.”

“Make a deal.”

I called Rutherford and told him I had the coin.

“I want to swap the coin for Gramps,” I said.

“I knew we could count on you. Mr. Ammon will be pleased. He’ll insist that we prove the authenticity of the coin, of course.”

“The coin is divided into eight pieces, and it has the chop marks needed to read the map. Beyond that, I don’t know how to prove its authenticity to you, since I’m the only one able to sense the power of the stone.”

“As luck would have it we picked up a gentleman named Hatchet. He’s a little odd, but we’ve been assured he’s your equal. We found him wandering around naked on Brimstone Island, and he’s now in service to Mammon.”

“I think he’s already in service to someone else.”

“Finders keepers,” Rutherford said. Very jovial.

Good luck with that one, I thought. I wouldn’t want to tangle with Wulf.

“Where do you want to make the swap?” I asked Rutherford.

“We would like the transaction to take place at Mr. Ammon’s country residence in southern New Hampshire. You can come at your convenience. And you must come alone.”

“Okeydokey,” I said. “See you soon.”

I disconnected and looked over at Diesel. “He’s in the New Hampshire house. They want me to come alone. And they have Hatchet.”

Diesel’s face creased into a wide grin. “They have Hatchet?”

“Rutherford said they picked him up naked on Brimstone and you know…‘finders keepers.’ ”

“It’ll be more like ‘finders weepers’ when Wulf shows up. He’s not good at sharing.”

I texted Clara that we had a lead on Gramps, but that they should still stay underground until we returned.

“We need to use your car,” Diesel said to me. “We can’t fit Gramps in the Porsche.”

“I’m supposed to go alone.”

“I’ll wait by the car. I’m not sending you off completely alone.”

That sounded like an okay plan. I didn’t want to go alone. And I wasn’t sure my junker car could make it to New Hampshire and back. At least I’d have Diesel to push me to a service station or zap up a new car.

It wasn’t a far walk to the bakery. Diesel let us in, and we packed a lunch for us and a bag of food for Clara, Glo, Josh, and Carl. I texted Clara that food was waiting for her in the tunnel. We locked up behind ourselves and chugged off in my car. We made a fast stop at my house, so I could take a shower and change my clothes. Men can be heroic when they’re wrinkled and smell bad. Women work better with a little lip gloss and clean hair. I gave Cat fresh water and a new bowl of food. I grabbed my tote bag, and Diesel and I took off for New Hampshire.

—

The driveway wasn’t well marked from the road. There was a rusted mailbox with the house number on it, and a single-lane gravel road leading into the woods. We followed the road for a half mile as it gradually wound its way uphill. When we broke out of the woods into rolling pastureland we could see the house looming in front of us. It looked like a downscale, builder-grade version of an old Scottish castle with dark, water-stained stone walls and minimal landscaping. Halfway to the House of Doom there was a guardhouse, complete with a man wearing black fatigues and carrying an assault rifle.

“Lizzy Tucker to see Martin Ammon,” I said to the guard.

The guard looked in at Diesel and then at me. “You were supposed to come alone.”

“I’m almost alone,” I said. “He’s going to wait in the car.”

The guard made a phone call and waved us through.

A second guy with an assault rifle met us when we approached the house. He directed us to a parking place and silently watched while I left the car and Diesel settled in to wait for my return.

The interior of the house was even gloomier than the outside. It was all gray stone, heavy columns, dark red overstuffed furniture, and dark wood trims. The front door opened into a massive foyer with an ornate staircase. I had the diamond in a leather pouch in my sweatshirt pocket. I put my hand to it and felt it hum. The stone was here somewhere.

Rutherford came to greet me. “Again, so sorry about that misunderstanding in the cave,” he said. “We certainly didn’t want to leave Mr. Ammon’s favorite cupcake baker behind.” Large smile.

I looked around the room. “Where is Mr. Ammon?”

“He’s out and about somewhere on the grounds. This is the time of day when he likes to get a little exercise. It’s important to Mr. Ammon that he stay fit.”

“I bet Mammon likes that, too.”

“Ha, yes. We all want a fit Mammon. Speaking of which, did you bring the coin?”

“Yes. Do you have Gramps?”

He nodded. “Yes. And he’s been a delight.”

“I’d like to see him.”

“Of course.”

There were several men in suits standing at parade rest around the room. Rutherford motioned to one of them, and a moment later Gramps was led in.

“This hotel is a disgrace,” Gramps said to Rutherford. “I don’t have a bathtub in my room and my eggs were cold this morning.”

“Oh dear,” Rutherford said. “Apologies. I’ll speak to the household staff about it.” He turned back to me. “Do you have the coin?”

I handed the coin over, and Hatchet stepped out of the shadows. He was wearing khakis, a white dress shirt, and a red tie with the Ammon logo.

I gave him a little wave. “Heard from Wulf lately?”

“Not lately,” Hatchet said. “My new lord doth forbid other contact. I now live to serve Mammon.”

Hatchet made a whirly sign alongside his head to indicate
crazy.
I smiled and Hatchet nervously shifted from foot to foot. We both knew there would be hell to pay when Wulf found him. And we both knew Rutherford was no match for Wulf.

Hatchet came forward and touched the coin. “It doth vibrate,” Hatchet said. “It is truly enchanted.”

Rutherford told his man to release Gramps into my custody, and Hatchet stepped back into the shadows.

“So glad you were successful in finding the coin,” Rutherford said to me. “Of course we’ll be seeing you again, very soon I expect. Mr. Ammon has mentioned that he would like to invite you to participate in the final ceremony. It will be quite the occasion. Very festive.”

Lucky me. I led Gramps out of the house to my car, where Diesel was waiting behind the wheel. I buckled Gramps into the backseat and jumped in beside Diesel, and he took off.

“That didn’t take long,” Diesel said.

“Rutherford got what he wanted. I got what I wanted. End of story.”

“Not exactly,” Diesel said. “I don’t have what I want.”

“The stone.”

“Yes. We’re going to hand Gramps over to Clara, and then we’re going back for the stone.”

“The diamond was humming, so I’m pretty sure the stone is there, but that place is a fortress guarded by a bunch of armed men in suits. It’s not going to be easy to get in and get the stone out. Plus, I’m guessing the stone is with Ammon. I didn’t see him, but Rutherford said he was on the grounds.”