Blue Bloods

CHAPTER 34

Since there was nothing they could do for Dylan right then, Oliver suggested visiting the Repository in the basement of The Bank again. On the way, he and Schuyler filled Bliss in on what they knew. They had to keep trying. So far, none of their leads had led to anything, especially since they didn't even know how to spell Croatan.

"What about looking up Plymouth instead?" Oliver suddenly asked. "Sky, you said Jack Force mentioned it was part of his memory that was blocked out. Something about the Plymouth Colony."

The Repository was emptier than usual, and the three of them diligently set about their tasks. Schuyler found several history books documenting the colonization of Plymouth and the Mayflower passage, Bliss found an interesting record of every passenger on the Mayflower, and Oliver came up with a large, leather-bound book that contained civil documents. But nothing included any mention of Croatan. "Looking for cheese again?" Renfield asked, gliding past their table.

"Cheese?" Bliss asked, confused, while Oliver and Schuyler chuckled.

"We'll tell you later," Schuyler promised.

A little while later, Bliss and Schuyler remembered they had an appointment with the Stitched for Civilization crew to go over their photographs, so they left Oliver for the rest of the afternoon. The new advertisement was going to be rolled out on a billboard in Times Square the next week, and Jonas wanted to show them the final image they'd chosen.

During the meeting, Schuyler's cell phone rang. "It's Oliver," she told Bliss. "I should get it." She excused herself from the table. "What's up?" she asked.

"Come back, I think I've found something," he said, the excitement palpable in his voice.

When they returned to the Repository, Oliver showed them what he'd found. It was a slim, leather-bound book. "It was hidden so far back in the stacks I almost missed it. It's a diary, by a woman who was one of the original settlers in Plymouth. See what she says…"

They read the pages, documenting the journey across the sea, the foundation of the colony, her husband's trip to Roanoke, and the final, frantic entry. The writing was almost incomprehensible, as if the writer had been almost too frightened to write the words on the page.

But there it was.

CROATAN.

"A single word, written in a message on a tree." Oliver intoned. "They are here. We are not safe."

"It's happened before," Schuyler said. "That's what Jack told me. It must have happened then as well. That must be what she is talking about. What they were frightened of."

"You're right. Croatan must mean something—they're scared of it. It has to be the key." Oliver said.

"Croatan," Bliss said, the word rang distant alarm bells in her memory. "I think I've heard of it somewhere." Her brow furrowed. “And she talks about Roanoke. You remember Roanoke, right?"

"I'm not real good at history, actually," Schuyler apologized. "But it had something to do with a missing colony, right?"

"The Lost Colony," Oliver agreed. "I don't know why it didn't occur to me before. It was the original colony, settled several years before Plymouth. But they all disappeared. There was nothing left of the colony."

"Right. They all died, remember? Nobody ever found out what happened to them. It's an unsolved mystery of American history," Bliss added. "Like the JFK assassination."

"They must have been Blue Bloods," Oliver said.

“And they were all killed. At least, Catherine Carver seemed to think so." Schuyler nodded.

"Is that all there is?" Schuyler asked.

"There's just one more page," Oliver said, showing them the last page of the diary. "About some kind of election or something. Here she writes, 'Flee or stay? Well, we know what happened. They stayed. The Blue Bloods stayed. We wouldn't be here if they hadn't. Myles Standish—whoever he is, he must have won."

"There's nothing more about Croatan, or Roanoke, or anything?" Bliss asked, taking the diary and flipping the pages.

"No. That's it. The diary just ends. Like the pages have been torn out and someone doesn't want us to know about it, or something. But I did find something. Look here, there's a list of the last people who've borrowed it."

They looked to where he was pointing. There was a yellow flap listing the names of the Blue Bloods who had borrowed the diary.

"Most of them are so old, they're gone by now. But look at the final one."

Schuyler peered at the borrower list. The final signature contained three letters written delicately in fine script: CVA. 12/24/11.

"Whoever borrowed this did so in 1911, and that means, they're—"

"Over a hundred years old by now," Bliss interrupted. "How do we know they're still in this cycle?"

"It's possible. Anyway, it's the only chance we've got," Oliver said.

"CVA?" Bliss asked. "Who's CVA?"

"CVA," Schuyler repeated. The letters were familiar, as was the spidery writing. "Those are my grandmother's initials. CVA. Cordelia Van Alen. And it looks like her handwriting. I'm sure of it."

"You think she borrowed this book? Maybe she knows something about it?" Bliss asked.

Schuyler shrugged. "I don't know, but I could ask her."

“When is she getting back from Nantucket?" Oliver asked.

"Tomorrow. I'm supposed to meet her at the Conservatory lunch. I almost forgot," Schuyler said.

"So, Oliver, this Croatan thing, that's what's behind Aggie's death?" Bliss asked.

"I think so," Oliver said. “Although I still don't know what it is."

"But even if we did find out, it still doesn't do anything for Dylan. Even if Croatan is what killed Aggie, how are we going to prove Dylan didn't do it? How are we going to prove he's been set up?" Bliss asked.

"We don't," Oliver said. "I mean, you guys don't. I don't know how much help I can be."

"What do you mean? You've already done so much," Schuyler protested. She gave him an admiring glance that made him blush.

"Research, yes. I can do research. That's what we're good for, but I can't do anything to help with the plan."

“What plan?" Bliss asked, amused.

Oliver looked so serious and purposeful for a second. He had dropped his glib jokes for once. "We've been acting as if the system works for us. It doesn't. You need to think like Blue Bloods. We're never going to convince anyone to let Dylan out based on what we know. So we do something else," Oliver said.

"What?"

"Bust him out."