The Buried Treasure on Route 66: A Nancy Keene Mystery (5 page)

“I’ll just tell her that ‘I
was
up
all night
with Nancy’,” he says, with a twinkle in his eye.

“Well, that
is
the literal truth,
isn’t it?” Nancy jokes.

“You naughty girl,” Ned
says, giving her a little “love-spank” on her derriere.

After Ned assures his mother
that he is alive and well, he and Nancy start planning their road
trip. They intend to spend the morning researching Route 66. Nancy
says, “I think we should limit our road trip by only driving from
Flagstaff to Tucumcari, New Mexico. I have a hunch that the Blue
Swallow Motel is where Mr. Wood left his new will.”

Ned says, “Someday we’ll go
on another trip on Route 66 when it’s just the two of
us.”

“It’s something we can both
look forward to,” Nancy says.

Ned says, “Besides, I don’t
think I’d like to spend too many days on our trip with our elderly
friend tagging along. I mean, she’s nice and all, but we don’t want
to overdo it with her.”

“I agree with you, Ned; but
I want to make sure that we’ve done all we can to help her find
that newer will.”

“All right. You’re a very
sweet girl to do this for her.”

“You know how I like the
elderly and hate it when people take advantage of them.”

“I don’t like it either,”
Ned says. “It makes me mad, too.”

Nancy and Ned continue their
research. Nancy says, “Have you ever wondered why Route 66 is
called, ‘The Mother Road’?”

“No. Why?”

“Because it is the main road
connecting Chicago to Los Angeles.” She tells him that for many
people, Route 66 represented a new beginning, a better life. “Think
of the Joad Family in ‘The Grapes of Wrath’. They were Oakies
trying to escape their lives in the Dust Bowl, hoping to come to
California and find a new land, full of opportunities. They thought
that when they reached California, they’d find good jobs and better
lives.”

“Well, we all know how that
didn’t work out for the Joads.”

“It made for a good novel,
though, didn’t it?”

“That’s very
true.”

Nancy says, “I think that
our road trip should end at The Blue Swallow Motel. We’ll plan on
staying there until we figure out where the will is.”

Ned says, “I’ve been looking
at pictures of the Blue Swallow and it looks awesome at night when
its neon signs are lit up.”

Nancy tells him, “It really
looks like a beautiful place. I’ve read that the people who spend
the night there like to sit outside and get to know their fellow
travelers.” She continues, “Won’t Mrs. Wood get a kick out of it? I
wonder how long it’s been since she was there.”

Ned says, “Well, I guess we
had better go over to see her and run all this past her. We’re just
assuming that she wants to go, when maybe she doesn’t.”

“Good idea, Ned. I’ll give
her a call.”

****

Mrs. Wood is delighted to
see them both. She has made tuna casserole for their lunch. “I hope
you two are hungry.”

“It smells wonderful in
here, Mrs. Wood,” Nancy says.

“Have a seat at the dining
room table, you two. Today, I’ll be your personal waitress,
attending to your every need.”

“You’re so sweet,” Ned says.
“Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

After they finish eating,
Nancy asks Mrs. Wood if it would be okay if Ned looks at her Route
66 postcards.

“Of course. Let me go get
them for you.”

She gets the cards from her
bedroom and hands them to Ned. He reads the messages on each of
them and asks her, “What do you think he meant when he said
‘remember our days in Eden’?

“I think he’s talking about
the Blue Swallow Motel where we spent our honeymoon.”

“Nancy told me that you and
Mr. Wood liked to bury momentos at each of the places where you
were happy. Did you and your former husband bury anything
there?”

“Let me think. Our honeymoon
was 45 years ago and we only stayed there together that one
time.”

Nancy says, “Forty-five
years is a long time ago to try to remember anything, isn’t it,
Mrs. Wood?”

“I’ve got it!” Mrs. Wood
says. “Now I remember. We buried the bride and groom decoration
that was on our wedding cake.”

“That’s great!” Nancy says.
“Do you remember where you buried it?”

“I think so. I’d have to go
back there and see for sure.”

“Well, it’s great that
you’re bringing that up right now.”

“Why?”

“Because Ned and I would
like to drive you to the Blue Swallow Motel.”

Mrs. Wood starts crying and
is lost for words. She gets up from her chair and hugs Nancy and
Ned. “This is a dream come true. Thank you. Thank you! I can’t
believe this is happening. I feel like I’ve just won the
lottery.”

Ned says, “I’ll bet Mr. Wood
buried the new will in your special place there.”

“Maybe so. When can we
leave?” Mrs. Wood says.

Nancy tells her that Ned has
to work until Friday; but his boss is letting him take four days
off after that. She continues, “I have to talk to my father about
all this. I don’t know how he’s going to like the idea of me going
away on a long trip without him.”

“Maybe he can come with us,”
Mrs. Wood says.

“We’ll see. Start packing
your bags, Mrs. Wood, because I think I can talk him into it when
he comes home from New York tomorrow.”

“Thank you both so much for
all you’ve done for me. I haven’t been this excited and happy for
years.”

“Okay. I promise to call you
after I’ve spoken to my father.”

Mrs. Wood hugs them goodbye
and tells Nancy that she loves her.

“I love you, too,” Nancy
replies.

****

Nancy is waiting for her
father’s flight to land at the airport in Phoenix. She has bought a
lei at her favorite flower shop and is planning to say “Aloha” when
she greets him. Finally, the 5:00 flight comes in from La Guardia.
She waves at her father as he comes to her. “Did the plane make a
wrong turn and land in Honolulu?” he asks.

“Welcome home, Dad!” she
says as she places the lei over his head. “It’s so good to see you,
Dad! I missed you!!”

“Me, too, honey. Thanks for
picking me up. It’s good to be home.”

“Why didn’t you let me drive
you to the airport instead of having to call a taxi? You should’ve
woken me up.”

“I figured that you needed
your beauty rest after your previous night of 2:00 a.m.
cooking.”

“Speaking of cooking, I’ve
made your favorite meal for dinner.”

“Coq au Vin?”

“Bien sur,
Monsieur.”

“I can’t wait to get
home.”

When Mr. Keene arrives home,
he is escorted into the dining room by his daughter, who pours him
a glass of Moet & Chandon. “Care for some lobster bisque to
start, Dad?”

“Oh, boy!” he says, as Nancy
ladles out the soup from their best Villeroy and Boch
tureen.

“What a welcome home! You’ve
really outdone yourself this time!”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Okay. So, what’s up? Why
are you buttering me up like this? What’s on your mind?”

“Well, Dad. Since you’re
asking, there is something, but let’s finish our meal together
first. Tell me all about your trip.”

“Oh no, you don’t. Tell me
right now what your latest scheme is.”

“Well, Dad. You know how
I’ve been trying to help Mrs. Wood find that will I was telling you
about?”

“Nancy! I told you to let it
go. Stop being involved in that mess. Those stepsons mean
business.”

“Well, it’s funny you should
bring that up because I was thinking of getting her away from them
for a while.”

“She’s not staying
here.”

“Dad. That thought didn’t
even cross my mind.”

“What thought
did?”

“Well, I’ve been looking at
all of the clues and everything points to the newer will being
buried at the Blue Swallow Motel in New Mexico.”

“So you want me to hire some
people to go there and start digging?”

“Dad! I can’t believe these
thoughts coming out of your head. Being in New York has made you
very cynical, all of a sudden.”

“Okay, Nancy, what’s your
plan.”

“Let me pour you another
glass of champagne and I’ll tell you all about it.”

****

After two hours of telling
her Dad everything that’s been happening with Mrs. Wood, his heart
starts to melt.

“Nancy, you’ve always had a
way of wrapping me around your little finger. Okay. You may do it,
but here are my rules,” her Dad says, putting his foot down. “You
may go on your road trip with Mrs. Wood and Ned, but I’m going to
be coming with the three of you. I’ve been worried about this whole
situation with those two stepsons, and I want to stay as close to
you as possible right now.”

“Oh, Dad. You can’t protect
me forever. I’m an adult now,” she says, wrapping her arms around
his neck.

“I don’t know what I’d do if
I lost you, honey.”

“That won’t happen. We will
have a long and happy life together, Dad. The best is yet to
come.”

“Well, my dear. Once again,
you certainly have lifted my spirits. I’m even starting to get
excited about the thought of taking a road trip, too.”

“That’s the spirit,
Dad!”

****

“Road Trip!” Nancy says to
her father, the morning they are leaving for their
vacation.

“Road Trip!” her father says
back, pumping his fist up high.

“Oh, Dad. This is going to
be so fun, spending time with my two favorite people--you and
Ned.”

“And our little
friend.”

“Do you like Mrs.
Wood?”

“She’s sweet. What’s not to
like? Now, wait a minute: you’re not planning on being a
match-maker, are you?”

“Don’t be silly, Dad. Isn’t
she like 30 years older than you?”

“Don’t ask me. I’m a
terrible judge of a woman’s age.”

Nancy tells her father, “I
just want you both to enjoy spending time in each other’s company.
Plus, she makes a killer tuna casserole.”

“Nancy, are you afraid I’m
going to be too lonely when you go off to college.”

“Yes, I am. I promise I’ll
come home and visit as often as possible.”

“I just don’t understand why
you want to go to Boulder; there are a lot of good schools here in
Arizona.”

“I like their Computer
Science Program, Dad.”

Her father says, “Maybe we
could go camping in the Rocky Mountains together in the summer
time.”

“I’m looking forward to
that, Dad.”

“So, are all your bags
packed and ready to start our road trip?”

“Yes. Dad, you would be so
proud of me. I watched that Rick Steves’ show about how to pack
your suitcase the most efficiently and I managed to put all my
stuff in just one suitcase.”

“That’s my girl! I’m
wondering how much luggage Mrs. Wood plans on bringing? Your car is
pretty small to fit a lot of suitcases inside the trunk. Maybe we
should take my car.”

“But, Dad, I want to take my
Prius on its first road trip. I’ll tell you what: I’ll take half of
my stuff out of my suitcase, and you can put your stuff on top of
mine in it.”

“Okay. It’s a good thing
we’re only going to be gone for 4 days.”

“Okay: let’s hit the road,”
Nancy says and she gets into the driver’s seat. “Dad, I made a
special cd for this trip. Guess what the first song is.”

“Get your kicks, on Route
66.”

“I guess that was a little
too obvious, wasn’t it?” she laughs, as she plays the song. “The
next song is going to be harder to guess. I’ll wait to play it
until we pick up Ned.”

Ned is standing outside,
waiting for her to pick him up.

“Hi, Ned.
Excited?”

“Road Trip!” he says. He
tells them that he’s managed to put into his backpack everything
he’ll need for the trip.

“That’s great. Climb in. The
game is afoot.”

“Okay, Sherlock.”

Nancy begins her cd over
again so Ned can hear it, too.

“I love this song,” Ned
says.

As they are on their way to
pick up Mrs. Wood, Nancy turns up the volume on the cd player so
that her father and Ned can “Name That Tune.”

“That one’s easy, Nancy.
It’s ‘Take It Easy’ by the Eagles.”