“I think someone wanted him out of the way because Eddie had discovered something.
“Sean and Eddie had a whole separate business. You know how fascinated Sean is with Nigel Bridgewater. I’ve been using Eddie’s computer to check out his research. Here’s the thing, both Eddie and Sean believed that Nigel was carrying huge sums of money, as well as crucial documents, when he learned that the British were on his trail. When he was apprehended, he had nothing on him. It was important to him not to implicate anyone who had financed or otherwise helped him. Remember, the British considered the Revolution to be an act of treason. It wasn’t called a war until it was over. Anyone who signed the Declaration of Independence was ready to accept a hangman’s noose if apprehended.”
“They signed it anyway.”
“Yes, and we take what they did for granted because the war was won, but it might not have been. Back then, plenty of people prayed for independence from Great Britain, but that didn’t mean they were ready to die for it. Nigel Bridgewater was a careful man with a great respect for those who wanted to help him but might not have wanted to die for it. So he hid whatever he was carrying, papers and money, which means it’s possible he really did leave behind a buried treasure.”
“And Sean and Eddie were hunting for that treasure,” Caer said thoughtfully.
“I may be way off, but Eddie also loved Sean like a brother, and we know that he sent him something that he considered a big deal. With any luck, whatever it is will show up soon, because I think it will prove me right. I think Eddie discovered the treasure.”
“But…if Eddie did find the treasure and was killed for it, wouldn’t whoever killed him have taken the treasure and made off with it by now?”
“Not if Eddie didn’t actually have the treasure in his possession but had only left some kind of clue, which this person hasn’t discovered as yet,” Sean explained. “I’m assuming the killer wanted timing. Eddie and Sean gone at once, or practically at once, or why kill Eddie without having the treasure? Unless the killer was certain there was a clue that would lead him—or her—to the treasure whether Eddie was around or not. Or, Eddie was growing suspicious and the killer had to take the chance that he/she would still find the treasure.”
“So we’re going out looking for treasure?”
“Yup.”
“And you think we’re going to be able to find a treasure no one else has been able to find?” she asked skeptically.
“Exactly. Not even the killer, who probably thought he had it figured out, then discovered he’d killed Eddie and gone after Sean prematurely. Why is he still trying to kill? Fear of exposure. Or fear that he won’t get to the treasure first.”
“You’re crazy, too,” she told him.
He smiled. “There are a number of charts in Sean’s office.”
“Maritime charts,” she agreed.
“One of them was taken out of the frame, and lines were drawn on it,” he said.
“And no one else noticed?”
“No, it’s subtle, just a darkening of some of the original markings. If Sean were to really study it, he would see it. If I hadn’t been in there looking around last night, I might not have noticed it, either.”
“So you have a line on a chart?” she asked him.
“Yes.”
“And it leads to…?”
“Cow Cay. Eddie’s boat was found right off of Cow Cay,” he explained.
She frowned, and met his gaze. “Zach, do you realize that you’ve passed the wharf?”
“Of course I do.”
“So where are we going?”
“To buy supplies.”
“Like?”
“Shovels. How else do you dig for buried treasure?”
“You are crazy,” she told him.
“I don’t think so.”
“Crazy people never think they’re crazy,” she said.
He shrugged. “All right, maybe I’m a little crazy. I guess it was the birds last night.”
“The birds?”
“You didn’t see them? There must have been hundreds of them.”
“What kind of birds?”
To Zach’s surprise, Caer appeared agitated.
“Crows, I think. Maybe ravens. They were big crows, if they weren’t ravens.”
“No, I didn’t see them,” she told him. She was looking straight ahead. Had he imagined the tension she suddenly displayed?
“Are you afraid of birds?”
“What?”
“Birds. Do they frighten you?”
“No, of course not. It would be sad to go through life afraid of birds, don’t you think?”
“I’m sure plenty of people do,” he told her. “Bridey thought that they were a foretelling of something.”
“Maybe she’s right,” Caer said, and he realized that she was studying him closely. “I mean, we all go through life believing in what we see and feel, but most of us have some kind of faith, as well.”
“So you think that a bunch of birds flying around last night means something?” he asked, and he couldn’t help sounding slightly amused.