Lady Justice and the Ghostly Treasure (14 page)

    The next morning, Kevin emerged from the tent rubbing his eyes.

    “What was all the ruckus last night? I had just drifted off when I heard Mary bellowing, and then you left.”

    “We were robbed,” I replied. “He came like a thief in the night.”

    “Who came?”

    “A raccoon. Mary left the marshmallows by the fire and the masked bandit made off with them. I followed him to the old rock wall. He was just sitting there, happily munching away.”

    Kevin looked over to the wall. “Guess he ate his fill. The bag’s still there.”

    I looked over and sure enough, there was the bag, sitting right where I’d seen Mr. Coon.

    Something didn’t add up. I’d seen coons before. They would eat about anything and wouldn’t quit until it was all gone.

    I had to take a look.

    I expected to find an empty bag, but it was almost full. Only a few were missing.

    When I picked it up to examine it closer, I noticed something about the wall I hadn’t seen before. The wall was made of native stone, held together by some kind of cement mortar. Every seam between every rock was filled with the mortar --- except right here --- right below where the coon had left the bag of marshmallows.

    On closer examination, I discovered that the mortar wasn’t just chipped away --- it was missing altogether.

    I got goose bumps all over when I touched one of the rocks and it moved.

    “Hey guys!” I shouted. “All of you! Come here! Quick! Kevin, bring a couple of screwdrivers.”

    “What’s so all-fired important?” Kevin asked, tossing the screwdrivers at my feet.

    I couldn’t speak. I just pointed.

    “Holy crap!” he muttered, dropping down beside me.

    Everyone gathered around as we worked the screwdriver blades between the rocks and pried.

    Suddenly, one broke loose, fell to the ground, and out poured dozens of gold coins.

    Needless to say, we were speechless.

    “Henry’s gold,” Mary whispered, “right where Momma said it would be!”

   CHAPTER 12

    Needless to say, we were overjoyed. All our hard work had paid off.

    We gathered up the coins and headed back to the campsite, anxious to examine our booty.

    After closer inspection, Kevin said, “Marie’s diary said the coins were German and that looks exactly right. There’s a photo of some bearded guy on the front and the word ‘Kaiser.’ On the back, it says it’s a 20 mark piece minted in 1888.”

    Even though there were smiles all around, I noticed Camilla wiping away tears that were streaming down her face.

    “Something wrong?” I asked.

    “No, exactly the opposite,” she replied. “It’s just so overwhelming --- all of it. First, we find Uncle Hiram’s grave and then this. I can’t believe it happened the way it did. Think about it. We worked our butts off trying to find the gold and came up empty. Then Dan shows up with marshmallows. What if he didn’t? Then Mary leaves the bag outside for the coon to find. What if she hadn’t? Then the coon leaves the bag right on top of the coins. What if he had sat on any other part of the wall? If all that hadn’t happened just the way it did, we’d be packing up and going home empty handed. Doesn’t that freak you out just a little bit?”

    I had to admit it did. Just one more extraordinary thing to add to old Cyrus and the apparition at the hospital.

    After a moment of reflection, our attention drifted back to the coins.

    “These are really old,” James remarked. “I wonder how much they’re worth.”

    “Probably a small fortune,” Kevin replied. “They’re not just old --- they’re gold!”

    “And we wanna thank you kind folks for finding ‘em for us,” came a voice from behind.

    We were so focused on our treasure, we hadn’t heard two men in ski masks approaching from the river side of the property.

    “Ever’body just sit nice and quiet and nobody gets hurt.”

    Both men were brandishing twelve gauge shotguns.

    Kevin started reaching for his knapsack. I knew he’d brought his Glock.

    “I wouldn’t do that old-timer,” the man admonished. “I’d hate to fill you with double-aught buckshot. It’d pretty much cut a man in two at this distance.”

    Thankfully, Kevin made the prudent choice and withdrew.

    “Okay, Grandpa,” one of them said, tossing me a leather pouch, “how ‘bout you fillin’ this here bag with those shiny gold pieces. Nice and careful now. No funny business.”

    I did as I was told. He grabbed the bag and attached it to his belt.

    “So what we gonna do now?” one asked. “I say we kill ‘em all. Can’t leave no witnesses.”

    “You ain’t thinkin’ straight. We got on masks. They can’t identify us, an’ if we go shootin’ up the place, ole Stacy or someone across the lake will come runnin’. Let”s tie ‘em up and gag ‘em. It may be hours before anyone finds ‘em an’ we’ll be long gone.”

    “Guess you’re right. Okay, all of you, get up and back up to one of those oak trees.”

    He looked us over and hesitated. “Do we have to tie ‘em all up?” He pointed to Camilla. “How ‘bout we take this young ‘un with us and have some fun?”

    His friend thought for a minute, then grinned. “Yeah, I guess we could do that. She looks real feisty.”

    “Don’t you dare!” James shouted, charging at the man.

    The man ducked James ill-advised rush and planted the stock of his shotgun in James’ gut.

    I had noticed James and Camilla spending more and more time together and wondered if they were becoming an item. James rash act confirmed my suspicion.

    Camilla ran to his side. “Oh James, you shouldn’t have.”

    One of the men pulled her to her feet. “Get up, bitch. Save some of that spunk for me an’ my friend.”

    He was about to kick James when Mary blurted, “Please don’t hurt him again.”

    “Okay, Grandma, don’t get your panties in a twist. I’m a nice guy, but I’m losin’ my patience.”

    He brandished his shotgun. “Now all of you, back up to a tree.”

    We did as we were told and they bound our hands behind our backs.

    “One more thing before we go,” he said, pulling a roll of duct tape from his pack. “We can’t have you all bellerin’ for help, now can we?”

    He ripped off pieces of the tape and covered our mouths.

    When he was satisfied we were firmly bound and gagged, he gave us a wave. “I wanna thank you for all your hard work and for findin’ this for us,” he said, patting the bag of gold. “Ya’ll have a nice day in the woods.”

    He grabbed Camilla by the arm and the three of them headed to the bluff.

    A few moments later they disappeared over the edge, undoubtedly taking the old staircase to the river’s edge. My suspicion was confirmed when I heard the chug of an outboard motor.

    I was straining to loosen my hands when I heard a familiar voice.

    “Mornin’ pilgrims! You all ready to rock-n-roll? Hey, where is everybody?”

    “MMMMM! MMMMM!”

    “What the hell?” he muttered, seeing us all trussed and gagged.

    As soon as the gag was off my mouth, I told him what had transpired. By the time we were all free, he had the whole story.

    “Masked, huh. Too bad we don’t know who they were. If I knew that, I might know where they were headed.”

    “I know,” Mary replied, emphatically. “I know exactly who they were!”

    “How could you possibly know that?” Maggie asked. “Their faces were covered.”

    “It was those two assholes in the restaurant. The ones that blowed smoke in my face. When I got after them for it, one told me not to get my panties in a twist. When someone tells me that, I don’t forget, and that’s exactly what that creep said to me this morning. I’d know that voice anywhere.”

    Dan thought for a moment. “Oh yeah, I remember. That was Billy Ray and Lenny. I knew they were a couple of dumb-asses, but I never thought they’d do somethin’ like this.”

    “Well they sure did,” Mary replied, indignantly.

    “Which way did they go,” Dan asked.

    I pointed west. “It sounded like they went upriver.”

    “Makes sense. Them boys got an old shack off B Highway between here and Roscoe. I’m bettin’ they put in the river at Roscoe and they’ll be pullin’ out there and headin’ to their shack.”

    He thought a moment more. “All those boys got is a 5 horse outboard on an old jon boat. It’ll take ‘em a half hour to get to Roscoe. If we hurry, we can beat them there. Here’s what I want you to do.”

    We took Highway B to Highway E and headed south to the bridge that spanned the Osage at Roscoe. Dan said the boat ramp was about a quarter mile upstream.

    We reached the bridge just as the jon boat was passing beneath.

    “Y’all wait here an’ I’ll go to the other side. As soon as you see their old pick up get on the bridge, pull your SUV across the road so’s they can’t get by. When they’re on the bridge, I’ll do the same on the other side. They’ll be trapped on the bridge.”

    “What then?” I asked.

    “Haven’t quite got that figured out yet, but we’ll think of somethin’.”

    We took our places and as soon as the pickup started across the bridge, Kevin pulled the SUV across the road, blocking their path.

    The pickup, seeing us, stopped and started backing up, then abruptly put on the brakes seeing Dan’s truck blocking the other end.

    The two men bailed out of the truck, pulling Camilla with them.

    One had a shotgun to her back. “Get out of our way or she dies!” he shouted.

    Kevin brandished his Glock which thankfully they didn’t take. “Nowhere to go. We’ve got you covered on both ends. No way this ends well for you. You hurt a hair of that girl’s head and you’re both dead. I promise you.”

    “Then maybe that’s the way it will be,” he shouted back. “No way we’re goin’ to jail. I’d rather die right here on this bridge, but I’ll take this gal and a couple of you with me.”

    “He’s just crazy enough to do it,” I whispered.

    “I agree,” Kevin replied. “Looks like we’ve got us a stand off. Any ideas?”

    I was about to say I didn’t, when Camilla, grabbed the barrel of the shotgun with one hand, pushing it aside, and stomped the guy’s instep with her foot. He bellowed and loosed his grip enough for Camilla to pull away.

    She reached into the pickup, grabbed the bag of gold coins, sprinted to the bridge railing and climbed onto the edge.

    “No!” James shouted. “Don’t do it!”

    The other creep had turned in her direction and fired just as she jumped off the bridge into the muddy Osage fifty feet below.

    Seeing the gold and their hostage both gone, the perps suddenly changed their tune. They threw down their weapons and held up their hands.

    “No way she survives that fall,” James said, rushing down the bank. “Just the gold itself would weigh her down.”

    I was right behind him, fearing the worst. I seriously doubted we’d ever see Camilla or the gold again.

    But to our surprise, Camilla was sitting in a fishing boat dripping wet, between two dumbstruck fishermen.

    “How in the world?” I said helping her from the boat to the shore.

    She grinned. “When we were coming up river, I spotted the fishermen tied up underneath the bridge. I figured if I jumped upstream and could at least get to the surface, the current would carry me to their boat. I’m a strong swimmer. I was on the swim team in high school. I figured it was better than hanging around getting shot by a couple of degenerates.”

    James pulled her close. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

    “Yeah, me too.”

    By the time we’d climbed back to the bridge, sirens were blaring in the distance.

    “Called the sheriff,” Dan said. “Anything you want to say to these two before he gets here?”

    “I do,” Mary said.

    She walked up to her tormentor and smacked him in the gut. “Now let’s see whose panties are in a twist, asshole!”

    As we were driving back to the campsite, I couldn’t help but marvel at the unbelievable turn of events in the past twenty-four hours.

    Aside from all the weird stuff that had brought us to the gold, the way Camilla’s abductors had been captured made me wonder if maybe Lady Justice was in cahoots with the spirits that had been watching over us.

    Why not? It made as much sense as anything else we’d been experiencing.