Page 25 of In the Pursuit of Haven
I reached for his hand.
That was Jessie’s hand, same familiar veins, same muscular build.
I stared up into his eyes and stiffened at the familiar gleam I saw there.
That’s the way Jessie looked before he always kissed me.
I turned from him, trying to find a distraction. “I bet they used this stone because it was the only one they had that was so big. I mean, look how much the gravestone inscriber wrote on there.”
It was all in Latin. “What’s it say?” I asked.
“I don’t know Latin,” he said, cracking a grin. “Nobody does.”
No online translators back then. No internet. No social media. Those poor people in the ’70s… those incredibly lucky ones! Biting back my smile, I made a mental note to check out the gravestone for myself someday. I’d learned Latin for my degree.
“I bet it’s a secret message then,” I teased. “The reverend told us exactly where to find the treasure and we’re all just simpletons.”
He laughed appreciatively. “I wouldn’t be surprised. There are clues all over Salem; we just blindly walk past them every day.”
In an instant, my mind veered to his brother, Drake. Jessie’s uncle had been looking for treasure when he met his untimely end on Gerry Island. And Jessie and I had found Dimond’s rattle at Brown’s. Was that related? And where was that ugly thing anyway?Matthew cut into my thoughts:
“Drake is way more into this treasure hunt than I am. He thinks there are clues in that ruby locket that Crabb gave us.”
“What kind?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Don’t know. I’ve only seen the locket a few times. There’s a number nine written inside the locket. I remember that.”
“Nine?” Puzzles were kind of my thing, and I turned the number over in my mind. “Nine… nine what?”
He burst out into a laugh. “You’re just like Drake… Leon too. He’s always bringing this stuff up.”
“Leon?” My nose wrinkled. That was hard to imagine—Leon wouldn’t know what to do with a serious thought besides make fun of it. “Is there anything else on that locket?”
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“No!” I threw my hands up in the air and spun around. “Not until we find that treasure and run far away from here.”
He caught my hands, laughing down at me. “I like the way you think…”
“You like the way I think, huh?” I kept moving and he moved with me.
“Ilovethe way you think,” he said and slowed, “but why do we need the treasure to leave here together?”
No lie. I was thoroughly enjoying flirting with him. I bumped him with my shoulder. “Well, why not have the best of both worlds?”
He froze and his eyes snapped to mine.
The loud barking coming from the other side of the cemetery made us both turn in panic. “Willis!” Matthew hissed. “C’mon, we’ve got to go.” The dog lunged out at us through the darkness. Matthew’s grip tightened over my hand.
Teasing must run in the Crabb family because Matthew was sure laying it on thick in his letter:
“Admit it. Your heart was going to beat out of your chest if I hadn’t kept it in by holding you so close. Or was that your doing? You sure had me pinned behind that gravestone when that old man came by!”
Oh, Willis was a man, not a dog.
The old guy ratcheted his gun as he passed us through the cemetery. Matthew held onto me, breathing hard as we hid behind the creepy stone.
As soon as the menacing figure disappeared around the bend of the pond, Matthew turned to me. “Haven?”
