Pirate

Fifty-one

It’s the four caverns,” Percy said. “Dangerous place, that. Lots of twists and turns. Some of the chambers drop right down. Too easy to fall. These, though,” he pointed toward the tailor’s shop again. “Much easier to get in. First ones I ever went into. Used to be wine cellars.”

Remi put her hand on Percy’s shoulder. “Definitely my favorite. But these,” she said, pointing to the clover, indicating the four caverns. “Where do we find them?”

“Behind the ivy. Lot of those caves were hidden when the houses were built. There’s an ancient stone wall in the park. The ivy grows right over it. See the X?”

Sam leaned in close and saw the entrance was actually marked. “Would you mind if I took a photograph?”

“Not at all,” Percy said.

Sam took a few photos with his phone while Remi asked, “When’s the last time you were there?”

“Years ago. Used to take some of my students on tours down there. It’s still there. You came with me, remember?” he said to Aldridge.

“Vaguely. We’ve traipsed through a lot of caves.”

Percy nodded. “This one I like because it’s right there, but no one even knows. Through the ivy. That’s how a lot of them are. Lost. But right there in their own backyards.”

Sam and Remi left for Nottingham Park, a neighborhood that had once been the deer park for Nottingham Castle. The area they were looking for — from what Percy had described to them — had a greenbelt running between some of the grand houses set on large parcels. Unfortunately, what he didn’t have was an exact address, and as Sam drove around, they realized the description fit several areas.

It wasn’t until Selma called with a piece of information that allowed them to fit a puzzle piece into place. He pulled over. “Can you repeat that?” Sam said as he put her on speakerphone. “I want to make sure we heard you right.”

“Grace Herbert-Miller’s cousin,” Selma said. “The one who inherited the estate in Nottingham?”

“Something McGregor, wasn’t it?” Sam said.

“Henry McGregor. I did some checking. This estate he inherited is in that very neighborhood.” She read off the address. “The property’s up for sale, and nobody’s living there at the moment. But we called and Mr. McGregor said you’re welcome to go anywhere on the property that you want.”

Remi plugged it into the GPS on her phone. When it came up, she and Sam compared it to the map that Percy had given them. Almost in the middle of his red clover marking the four caverns he’d talked about.

“X marks the spot,” she said.

Sam dug out his backpack, pulling out what they needed for their initial foray into the cave — should they be lucky enough to find it. He and Remi each took a compact Stinger flashlight and case, a four-inch Buck Knife, and a magnetic compass. Sam carried his gun in the hidden holster of his fishing vest and his knife in its case on his belt. Remi wore a pancake holster with her P938 nine-millimeter, pushing it toward the small of her back so it wouldn’t be readily visible.

They drove to the address given for the McGregor property. Other than the sign out front listing the estate for sale, there was nothing to indicate that there was anything unusual about the place. It was Remi who pointed out that the property lines could’ve changed over the centuries. “Who knows if the Herbert or McGregor ancestors parceled any of this out, way back when. The entrance might be on someone else’s property by now. Never mind that there’s no ivy here. Percy mentioned something about ivy.”

Sam let his foot off the gas as he looked at the McGregor property.

“Now what?” she asked.

“Drive around and see if we can’t find some ivy.” He glanced in his rearview mirror and saw a car pull onto the street behind.

“There!” Remi pointed to the right of the McGregor estate. “A lot of ivy in that park.”

Not quite a park, it was a greenbelt running between the two homes with a graveled footpath. Right now, though, Sam was more worried about the car behind him — until he saw it pull into the drive at the corner and caught a glimpse of the woman driving and the young boy sitting in the front passenger seat.

He continued past the greenbelt, when Aldridge called. “Bit of a problem,” he said after Remi put him on speakerphone. “I just got off the phone with Swift’s wife. He’s just returned from meeting with someone about the caves. I’m assuming these are the men you’re worried about.”

There was no doubt in Sam’s mind who Swift met with, which meant Fisk and company were probably on their way to the caves. “Thanks for the update.”

Remi shifted in her seat to get a better look as Sam continued down the street. “I don’t see any other ivy in the area. Maybe that’s really the entrance.”

“It certainly looks like it. Right now, I’d like to find a place to park without being seen.”

“You think it’s really there?”

“The treasure?” Sam said. “Wouldn’t Percy have found it in all his wanderings? Or someone else during the last eight hundred years?”

“I was thinking more of a clue.” She gave a faint smile. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

Sam drove a bit farther, making a U-turn as the rain started up again. “A lot of other treasures out there waiting to be found. If we don’t find this one, it isn’t the end of the world.”

Remi picked up her phone. “Slow down. I’ll take a few pictures on our way out.”

He let his foot off the gas while Remi took a few photos of the ivy vines cascading down the stone wall. Now that he had a better look at it, he realized the crumbling, ivy-covered wall against the side of that low hill didn’t really seem to belong to anything — maybe left over from some other time before the current houses had been built in the area.

That had to be it, he thought, when he saw a blue BMW turn the corner up ahead. He threw the car in reverse and backed into the drive across from the park.

“What’s wrong?” Remi asked.

“Company.”