Page 98 of The Romance Game

Lally says, “I asked his name.”

“Captain J,” Isla says in a mock-male voice.

“Full name, date of birth, social security number,” Ryan says.

I tilt my head in his direction. “Seriously?”

“Magnus grilled the dude.”

“And we learned several important things. Captain J is Glandmans’s son, however, Aunt Lorena left before she gave birth.”

“Did he actually have a sword? Did you get this info out of him under threat of him walking the plank? Leading a mutiny on his ship?” I ask.

“Magnus can be convincing,” Ryan says.

“How can you be sure he was telling the truth that he’s your cousin and not just some interloper who’s trying to cash in on thetreasure?” I ask, having known and been briefly married to a scam artist.

“My question exactly,” Isla echoes.

“His middle name is John. João in Brazilian. Same as Márcia’s husband. Our great, great, well, you get the idea.”

“So, Captain J is Chip’s sister’s son, making him our cousin?” Royal asks, gobsmacked.

Ryan nods. “Dude doesn’t look anything like a McGregor though. Lorena and Chip had different fathers.”

“Hat off,” Royal says to his wife.

“Captain J is Gerome John Glandman, aka Johnny, from Lorena’s postcards,” I whisper, piecing it together.

“Affirmative,” Magnus says.

“Why would Chip hide them? Why wouldn’t he tell us that we had a cousin?” Royal asks.

“He kept the kid thing quiet because of Glandman. But he didn’t hide the postcards at the Sip & Scoop. Turns out Johnny has been prowling around town for quite a long time, collecting intel. Prior to Hurricane Howie, he snagged the postcards from Chip’s office and stashed them.”

CJ snaps his fingers. “Chip thought someone had been snooping.”

“And that’s not all. He confessed that he’s trying to get the treasure and crown because it’s his inheritance,” Ryan says.

“How’d you get that out of him?” Royal asks.

“Magnus can be very convincing,” Lally repeats.

“But how’d he even know about it? Chip did all the work,” CJ counters.

“His mother told him and I surmise that because Glandman took everything from her, leaving them with nothing, he too has a motivation, maybe even a vendetta.”

“Why would he have a vendetta against his own family?”

“It wasn’t entirely clear, but it’s against Glandman because once upon a tide, he too was seeking the crown,” Isla says, still in storytelling mode.

“Did he know anything else? Like what happened to the Crimson Tide?” Royal asks.

“We didn’t want to give away our position, but he didn’t seem to have any additional intel that we don’t already possess. I think he was telling the truth.” Magnus’s tone is pure confidence.

“So, is he an ally or enemy?” CJ asks.

“That remains to be seen.”

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