Zach was already scrolling through data as he spoke, so she started looking more carefully through Eddie’s books and DVDs. Most were on the Revolution. Some were on the Civil War, and some were on history that was closer to home for her. There was a biography of the first president of the Irish Republic, Eamon de Valera, and another on Brian Boru, and the Vikings in Ireland.
“Nigel Bridgewater was something of a northern Swamp Fox,” Zach said, talking absently as he worked. “He knew the northern waters like the back of his hand. He’d been a Royal Navy man at one time, and then he opened a print shop…. He took all kinds of letters and documents up and down the East Coast, and he even carried payroll at times. Legend has it that not long before his capture, he met with a French ambassador before the French were fully committed to the American cause, and received a large sum in gold, silver and jewels to be delivered to the Continental Congress. The British knew about him for years, but he eluded them time and time again. He was young—only twenty-six—when he was finally apprehended. And he was caught because his ship—a fast moving sloop too light to be heavily armed—was outgunned in Rhode Island Sound. The ship went down in flames, but the British captured him. And they were furious with him. He’d made a fool of them too many times. He was taken off the ship before it could sink, brought down to Boston, given a sham of a trial and hanged on the spot. They say he was tortured first, but that nothing the British did could make him talk. He died without telling them anything they wanted to know. He knew the names of American spies throughout the Colony, and even in Britain, but he never revealed a single one.”
“How extraordinary,” Caer said. “What courage. But if he was caught and hanged, what’s the big mystery?”
“Most people believe that the treasure and his last dispatches went down with his ship in the Sound. The ship has never been discovered. Of course, it’s deep out there, and cold, but they’ve found the Titanic, so it’s possible that one day his ship will be found, too. The thing is, some people say that he was afraid he might meet up with the British on that particular trip. They believe that before he set out he hid the treasure and all the letters he was carrying somewhere around Rhode Island. If so, though, there’s no record of it. His men went down with his ship, or were killed outright in the fighting.”
“Do you think it’s possible that Eddie figured out where the treasure was?” Caer asked.
“I don’t know. I think he might have found some kind of clue, at least. On his calendar, at the office, he made a note on Christmas Day about a gift for Sean. He wrote ‘Sean will know.’ So I’m assuming Eddie found out something Sean wanted to know, and that Eddie’s gift was going to be that knowledge.”
Caer had been trailing her fingers over the rows of books and DVDs. She paused suddenly, staring at something stuck between two books.
Frowning, she tugged at it.
“Zach.”
“Yeah?”
“I think it was more than knowledge that Eddie intended Sean to have,” she said.
“Why?” he asked, turning around, then getting up to join her.
She showed him what she had found: the remnants of a sheet of wrapping paper and a courier receipt.
Zach’s fingers brushed hers as he took the receipt. “It’s insured, but it’s coming parcel post,” Zach said.
“What do you think he sent? Not just information, right?”
Zach looked at her. “No, definitely not. Not if it weighed twenty-five pounds, five ounces.”
11
“We’re going to have to wait until it arrives,” Sean said pragmatically, when they showed him what they’d found.
“But it’s…in the system somewhere,” Caer said, looking hopefully at Zach.
He shook his head, smiling. “I doubt that even Aidan’s FBI buddies can break into the postal system, Caer.” He shook his head. “Leave it to Eddie. He would trust the mail.”
“I can’t even get the electric bill half the time,” Sean said.
“Oh no, you mean this could be lost in the mail forever?” Caer said.
Sean laughed. “Probably not. But it is frustrating. We’re just going to have to wait until it gets here, then we’ll know what he sent.”
“It should come soon,” Zach reasoned.
“It’s almost Christmas, don’t forget. They’ll be rushed off their feet,” Sean warned.
“Even so…” Zach said thoughtfully, figuring the time since Eddie had disappeared.
Still not quite a week.
“Even so. Yes, hopefully, we’ll see it soon,” Sean said.
Sean yawned and stretched. “Well, I think I’m off for a nap. I told Kat I’d spend some time with her tonight. She wants to try out a few new songs on me.” He looked over at them, and Zach realized they were both staring at Sean with concern.
He sighed. “Look, you two, you can’t watch me all the time. Please, I’m not a fool. I’m taking everything very slowly and very carefully, all right?” He shook his head. “It’s like I’m the king or something—pretty soon you’ll be thinking I need a food taster.” He groaned. “Oh, God, stop looking at each other like you think that might be a good idea.”
Caer shifted in her chair, looking away silently, leaving it to Zach to reply.