tj jensen 01 - barkleys treasure (4 page)

“Kill the cat, kill the cat.”

I ran downstairs just in time to see Cuervo jump from the top of the cage where he must have been harassing the poor bird and run for cover.

“Are you okay?” I asked Blackbeard.

“Kill the cat, kill the cat.”

“How about we move you back to the sunroom instead? We can get you settled in for the night.”

I was afraid that moving the extremely large cage back and forth from the living room to the sunroom was going to be a huge pain, but Kyle found a second cage in Garrett’s bedroom that he set up in the sunroom. I made sure Blackbeard had plenty of water, as well as a special treat, before I closed the door to the cage, checked and rechecked the latch, covered the cage with the drape Kyle assured me was supposed to be used when the bird slept, then slipped out of the room, closing the door behind me. I was going to have to have a chat with Cuervo about house-guest etiquette and how rude it would be to eat the resident bird, but for now I poured myself a glass of wine and took it out onto the deck. It was a warm evening with just a tiny breeze to keep it from being unbearably hot. I watched as the waves crashed onto the beach less than a football field away. It had been a hectic and stressful day tacked onto a stressful and hectic few months, but as I watched the sun set into the ocean, I knew I’d found a haven to mend my heart and bring a sense of order back into my life.

Both Grandpa and Doc had retired to their rooms and, as promised, Kyle had gone to fetch enough groceries to see us through a couple of days. I have to admit that now that we were finally here, the adrenaline I’d existed on ever since I’d made the decision to make the trip east had dissipated somewhat and left behind a level of fatigue I couldn’t quite describe. I’d made the decision to come to the island on a whim after my dad became engaged to his longtime girlfriend, leaving me feeling adrift in a rowboat without a paddle when they decided to move in together. It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy for them; I was, but because the girls and I lived at the resort with him, the new living arrangement left us feeling like third wheels. When I’d heard about Garrett’s need for someone to oversee the resort renovations I’d jumped at the opportunity to take a step away from my life. I was considering whether to head upstairs myself when I heard someone ring the bell. I got up and went through the house to the front, where I opened the door to Deputy Savage.

“Deputy. What can I do for you?”

“I need to take another look at the attic. It seems we may have new information regarding Buck Barnes’s murder.”

Chapter 3

Tuesday, June 14

It took a bit of negotiating to get Ashley and Gracie to agree to check out the Gull Island Kids’ Camp. Ashley was still pretty committed to her agenda of making my life miserable by hating every single thing about the island, and Gracie was so insecure that she almost broke into tears at the thought of being left alone in a strange environment. After I assured them both that not only was Uncle Kyle coming with us but that I wouldn’t force them to stay at the camp if they weren’t so inclined, they both agreed to give it a try.

“Wow, this looks really nice,” I commented as we pulled up in front of a large wooden building right on the beach. The facility was situated so that a wall of windows looked out onto a pool area that divided the grassy area where soccer and baseball fields were set up with the ocean just beyond. There were rows of volley ball nets lined up along the beach and colorful rowboats tied to buoys just offshore.

“It’s okay,” Ashley agreed. “Did we bring swimsuits?”

“You each have your backpack with a swimsuit, a towel, sunscreen, a snack, and a water bottle, just in case you decide to stay.”

It was obvious by the look of terror on Gracie’s face that even the prospect of swimming in the Olympic-sized pool wasn’t going to be enough to convince her to spend the day at the camp. I have to admit that in spite of the fact that Ashley had become a huge pain in my backside with her frequent outbursts, I’m much more concerned about my youngest sister. When Ashley and Gracie had first come to live with me after our mother died, Ashley had refused to accept the fact that Mom was never coming back and spent months making sure everyone in her orbit was as miserable as she was. In comparison, Gracie seemed to make the best of her new situation after only a brief period of adjustment. I hoped that her willingness to adapt to new situations would carry through on our trip to the island, but so far she seemed to be having an even harder time than Ashley.

“Let’s go inside to talk to the director so we can see what it’s all about,” Kyle suggested.

“Okay, but remember, we don’t have to stay,” Gracie reminded him.

“Got it. This is just a recon mission.”

“What’s recon?”

“It’s an investigation to see what’s what. Sort of like spying.”

That had Gracie giggling.

Gracie loved Kyle. Don’t get me wrong: We all love Kyle. He has to be one of the best people on the planet, but Gracie seems to have forged a special bond with the man who I suspect has become some sort of surrogate father in her young mind. Not that I mind. If Gracie was going to attach herself to some man, Kyle was a wonderful choice. But I did worry about what would happen if either Kyle or I permanently moved away from Serenity and he was no longer in our lives.

“I hope this isn’t some lame camp for little kids,” Ashley commented as we walked across the parking lot toward the large structure.

“Garrett made it sound like the camp catered to a wide range of age groups.”

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“I know that. It never occurred to me that you did. However, it might be fun to have something to do every day other than hang out at the resort
literally
watching the paint dry.”

“Lame.” Ashley rolled her eyes at my attempt at a joke.

A rush of cool air greeted us as we opened the front door. I was still getting used to the fact that most of the buildings on the island had been outfitted with air conditioners that I imagined ran continuously throughout the summer. Having grown up in the mountains, with a much cooler climate, the centrally cooled air was something I would have to get used to.

In the lobby we were greeted by a woman who looked to be around my age. She had dark hair that she wore in a long braid over one shoulder. Like me, she had a smattering of freckles across her nose and, also like me, she was petite and totally devoid of makeup.

“Welcome. My name is Willow. I’m the director of the Gull Island Kids’ Camp. How can I help you?”

“This is Ashley and Gracie,” I introduced. “We’re going to be spending the summer on the island and our friend Garrett Hanford suggested we check out your program.”

“You must be the wonderful friend who has given up her summer to help Garret with his renovations.”

I nodded. “My name is Tj, and this is Kyle.”

“So very happy to meet you, Kyle.”

Willow’s eyes seemed to actually dance with delight when she spoke. Of course, Kyle tended to receive enthusiastic greetings from all the women he was introduced to, although if you asked me, he never seemed to notice the stir he created with his exceptional good looks.

“Do you know Garrett well?” I wondered.

“We’re friends. We share a common love of old black and white movies, turtle rescue, and sappy novels.”

Sappy novels? This was something I didn’t know about my father’s longtime friend. “You have a beautiful facility. It’s very inviting, and I love the view of the ocean just outside the windows.”

“Thank you. We consider ourselves to be very fortunate. Our land was donated for use as a recreation facility by one of our oldest families and the entire island pitched in to raise the funds we needed for the building.” Willow came out from behind the counter and turned her attention to the girls. “So, how old are the two of you?”

Ashley and Gracie answered in turn.

“That’s prefect. We cater to both island residents and visitors between the ages of six and sixteen. Our campers are grouped by age: six through nine, ten through twelve, and thirteen through sixteen. The older group is more often than not engaged in activities off site such as sailing or scuba diving, while the two younger groups spend the majority of the time at the facility. We do, however, have a wonderful surfing program that anyone who can pass the swim test can sign up for.”

“Can the younger campers participate in sailing and diving as well?” Kyle asked.

“They can in some instances, but only as a group activity with a fairly high level of supervision. A lot of our campers have little to no experience with the ocean and we want to be sure everyone is safe. We have both indoor and outdoor programs to keep the younger groups entertained. As you can see, we have a pool, volleyball and baseball fields, and basketball courts. We also have craft rooms, an exercise room, and a computer lab inside, although our computer lab is down at the moment. Seems our system crashed and I haven’t had a chance to have it looked at yet.”

“You have a centralized server with work stations?” Kyle verified.

“We do.”

“I can take a look at it, if you’d like.”

“Kyle is a wiz with computers,” I assured the friendly woman.

“Really? That would be great. I’ve been trying to get someone out to look at it since Friday of last week.”

Kyle turned to look at me. “Why don’t you go ahead and take Ben into town as planned? I’ll take a look at the server and then just hang out here with the girls for a few hours. You can pick us up later in the day, if that’s okay with Willow.”

“That’s more than okay.” Willow grinned.

I looked at Ashley and Gracie. “Are you both in?”

Ashley and Gracie both agreed if Uncle Kyle was staying.

Willow looked at Kyle and me with a look of confusion on her face. “Are the two of you siblings?”

“Just friends,” I answered. “The uncle designation is honorary.”

“Honorary aunts and uncles are the best kind,” Gracie informed Willow.

“I totally agree.” She smiled. “I have a couple of honorary relatives myself and they’re just as important in my life as my real relatives.” Willow turned to Kyle. “Would you like to see the lab?”

Kyle nodded. “Let me just grab the girls’ backpacks out of the car first.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with staying?” I confirmed. “It will probably be several hours. I could just wait for you and take Grandpa into town later.”

“I’m fine with staying,” Kyle assured me. “It’ll be fun.”

“If Ashley and Gracie decide to continue with the program we’ll need to have you fill out information packets,” Willow informed me. “They’re mainly to ensure we have medical information and emergency contacts. I’ll send them home with the girls and you can look them over this evening.”

“I’ll do that. By the way, can you tell me where I can find a pharmacy in town?”

“There’s only one. It’s in the same building as the barbershop on Cove Street, which is where you’ll find most of the services you’d need as a resident, such as the dry cleaners, the medical building, and the hair salon. It’s the next street up from Bayview.”

When we’d driven through town the previous day, I’d noticed that the commercial section of the island was laid out over five square blocks that were bordered on the south by Bayview Drive and the north by Seal Parkway. Bayview seemed to be populated with cute, touristy shops, while Seal Parkway was home to the grocery store, elementary school, and fire station.

Once Kyle retrieved the backpacks, I said my good-byes and headed back to the resort to pick up Grandpa. Doc had plans with Gertie, so he’d declined to accompany us into town. In spite of the fact that I’d had an intuition that Doc and Gertie had hit it off, I was surprised by the gusto with which Doc was pursuing the woman. You see, while Doc was a totally wonderful man who I simply adored, he was also a bit of a Casanova who had a reputation back home for dating women who were much thinner and much younger than he was. Gertie was neither.

“Do you have all the information you’ll need?” I asked Grandpa as we headed out the front door toward my car.

“I do. I called and spoke to my doctor as well. He’s going to send my prescription to the pharmacy once we get a phone number to send it to.”

“That’s good. It should speed things up a bit.”

“How’d the girls like the camp?”

“They were a little unsure about it at first, but they agreed to stay once they found out Kyle would be staying as well.”

“That’s good. I think Gracie is having a hard time with the changes. I heard her on the phone with your dad this morning.”

“She called Dad? When?”

“It was around eight o’clock.”

I grimaced. If it was eight o’clock here it would have been five a.m. at home. I’d need to go over the time change again with the girls so my dad’s sleep wasn’t disturbed on a regular basis. “Did you happen to overhear what they were talking about?”

“Gracie wanted to be sure your dad remembered to water your mom’s tree.”

I felt my heart break. Poor Gracie. Shortly after my mom was killed in a car accident along with her third husband, Ashley and Gracie had come to live with me. After we’d settled in at Maggie’s Hideaway, we’d planted a tree in memory of our mother. Ashley had cried a few tears at the time but hadn’t seemed overly moved by the tribute, but Gracie had visited the tree every day for months afterward. In fact, visiting the tree was one of the last things she’d done prior to our leaving on this trip.

“I’m really worried I did the wrong thing dragging everyone across the country. I expected Ashley to be mad but not this mad, though to be honest I really thought Gracie would take things in stride. I’m really worried that she’s so upset.”

“She’ll be fine. They both will. Kids are resilient. I know they miss your dad and their friends, but once they get settled they’ll have a wonderful summer.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I think you need to turn left on this next street,” Grandpa instructed.

“Yeah, I see it.”

The Gull Island Pharmacy and Barber Shop was quaint and old-fashioned. Not only was there a red-and-white barber pole out in front, but when you walked into the welcoming shop from the past, you were greeted by two barber chairs to the right and an old-fashioned ice cream counter to the left. If you continued on into the cozy shop you found several rows of merchandise before arriving at the pharmacy counter in the very back of the store.