Page 139 of In the Pursuit of Haven
“Abbywould be very grateful for your help,” Jessie added quickly.
I elbowed him.
“You think so, huh?” Davey asked. Strangely, the assurance wasn’t enough to make the tour guide throw all caution to the wind—he still held back. “Where is she? She hasn’t been answering my calls.”
How much to tell him? What did he know about the girl he was seeing off and on? “She’s kind of in a bad place right now,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t kill me for divulging that to her crush. “We’re trying to reach her too.”
Jessie watched him closely. “How about it? Will you help us?”
Davey sighed. “Yeah… but only if you let me in oneverything. I’ve got a book to write after all.”
“You’ll get exclusive interviews,” I said, “afterwe find that treasure.”Would he be cool with that?
“Done.” He reached for my hand to shake on it. “I’m holding you to that. I’ve got a podcast I want you on too.”
“Sure, sure.” Jessie was willing to agree to anything to get underground.
“Follow me.” Davey marched for the Witch House, and my tightening stomach reminded me of all the trouble we’d get into for breaking and entering—seconds before he turned to go into the trees instead. Well, this was one way to get past Jude. Thank goodness!
Grateful not to face Ruth’s father again, I marched through the heavy shrubbery. Davey found a coal chute at the nearby mansion and led us down the stairs. He stuffed his thermos into the pocket of his oversized black coat. His shoulder rammed against the heavy wooden door.
Ah man! Were we really going to break and enter? “Do you know these peop—?”
Jessie cut me off with a hand to my arm, but Davey grinned. “This is my aunt and uncle’s place,” he said. “I used to play down here when I was a kid.”
That must’ve been what got Davey interested in the smuggling tunnels around the area. Finally, someone who knew his way around! Good thing this was his relatives’ place too, because after another loud crash that the neighborsdefinitelywould hear, the door scraped open. Peering around Davey’s arm, I saw a long, dismally dark cellar with the same cobbled walls we’d found downtown in the smuggling tunnels.
Strange that I’d assumed our new friend was from out of town. “Wait.” The tin artifact we’d found was on his property. “I thought you were staying at the metal sculpture yard,” I said.
“Yeah.” Davey nodded. “I’m renting it.”
The tin relic had been passed down through the Crowninshield line… it was funny that I hadn’t suspected Davey of being connected to them, but now that I knew his family was from around here, it made sense. We followed him into the cold blackness as I began to wonder what he knew. There was actually a chance that he could clear up this mystery for me. “Are you renting from your aunt and uncle?” I asked.
“No, Luther Leon. You know him?”
I stumbled over my feet. The sound echoed through the long tunnel ahead. “Whoa!” Jessie reached out and steadied me.
Haven’s dearest friend. Was he a Shepherd of the Relic? He’d been so far from my list of suspects that I felt like an idiot. “You know Luther?” I squeaked.
“Yeah,” Davey said. “He’s Zak’s uncle, right?”
That was also news to me! But that would make sense since Zak bragged about being related to the Crowninshields. The link was right here. I should’ve known in a small town that the answer would be with our friends.
I swiveled to Jessie. His hands shot up in the air to proclaim his innocence. “I swear I didn’t know. Zak never said anything.”
Davey pushed open another door, and another dank corridor loomed before us. “Yeah, Luther bought the sculpture yard from Zak’s dad when he passed.”
Zak’s father had been in debt when he died, but… had Luther bought the property to keep the Relic safe?
“Luther’s quite the collector,” Davey explained.
My gaze shifted back to Jessie. The flashlight illuminated the reluctance taking over his dark features. “I don’t know,” he said. “Even if he’s…” his eyes swerved to Davey before he could say,Shepherd.“Do you think he’d want anything to do with the treasure anymore? His brother died in all this. And he’d never work with us.”
I stilled uncomfortably, and glanced over at Davey in front of us, not wanting him to know all my business.
“I’m sorry!” Jessie dropped his voice to a whisper. “I know you want me to let people in, but can we really trust him? He hates my family, but you know who he hates more?”
My grandfather.
