11
Ronan
Ronan was exhausted. After the kids went to bed, Ten gave a full accounting of the shipwreck of the Whydah.
It had been just as horrific to hear the details the first time, but the second had been pure torture.
He could only visualize the events in his mind, but Everly had seen them first hand, as if she’d been standing on the beach next to Maria when the ship ran aground.
Everyone had laughed when Everly revealed she had a way to find Sam that might land them in jail, but Ten had an even better suggestion that did not include a mugshot and a cake with a file in it.
Ten usually had the best luck locating spirits when he had an object that had belonged to the person in life.
His suggestion was to head back to the Whydah Pirate Museum and find out if it was possible to borrow a gold doubloon or pieces of eight.
Jace and Cope agreed to stay at the house with Lizzie and Ezra when Aurora and Wolf insisted on coming with them to the museum.
After Everly’s vision the night before, neither of her friends would leave her side.
The kids didn’t know what happened on the beach, but they’d known something was wrong with Everly.
Ronan had no problem bringing Wolf and Aurora, even if it meant shelling out more money at the museum shop.
He’d been kicking himself for days because he hadn’t gotten a skull and crossbones mug and the kids had been asking for hoodies, since the nights on the Cape were much cooler than the days.
He’d kill two birds with one peg leg and scoop up the booty.
With the kids strapped in the furthest row back watching Pirates of the Caribbean, Ronan turned his mind to the job at hand.
“How the hell are we going to convince the museum people that we want to reunite the spirits of Black Sam Bellamy and Maria Hallet, oh, and by the way, we need some gold to do it?” Ronan sounded completely insane just saying the words out loud.
“I’ve been wondering the same thing.” Fitz eyed Ronan in the rearview mirror. “We’ve all got our badges with us and a simple call to Cisco would confirm who we are, but I can’t imagine these people handing over artifacts that are over three hundred years old.”
“It’s possible they might know who Ten is,” Jude suggested. “If that’s the case they might be more likely to at least listen to us and what we have to say.”
“Yeah, Ten can break out the old razzamatazz. Do his Sherlock Holmes impression. Reunite people with their long-lost white-haired grannies, and faster than you can shout, ‘I’m rich!’ we’ve got the gold.”
“No more Froot Loops for you.” Fitz rolled his eyes. “As much as I hate to admit it, Ronan might be right.”
“I’m always right!” Ronan puffed out his chest, before quickly sobering. “Ten’s a real miracle worker, so we need you at your best so Everly doesn’t have to get involved.”
“How’s she doing this morning?” Jude asked. “I was really worried about her last night. When she cries like that, I swear it breaks me. I could hear her from the living room and wanted to run to her but didn’t want to interrupt what was happening on the deck.”
“She’s better,” Ten said. “I think it’s going to take her a long while to get over watching the Whydah’s crew drown, especially Sam. She somehow shares a connection with him, something I could only feel a little bit of, so she’s taking what she saw even harder than usual.”
“Do you think he’s trying to possess her or something like that?” Ronan’s heart pounded in his chest at the thought.
“I don’t think that’s the case.” Ten paused for a few seconds, looking like he was choosing his words carefully.
“I think Sam’s telling her his story and asking for help.
I got a sense that he understands what’s happened to him and where he’s been all these years, where Maria still thinks it’s 1717, Sam knows what century he’s in. ”
“Jesus,” Fitz muttered, under his breath.
“I can’t decide what’s worse, being obvious to how much time has passed or feeling each excruciating second pass by.
Maria has the frustration of reliving that last day, Groundhog Day-style, while Sam watches the passage of time fully aware of when he is in time. ”
“I think it’s worse for Maria,” Ronan said. “Constantly walking the beach, waiting for her one true love to come home to her and grieving all over again when he doesn’t.”
“It’s hell on earth for both of them,” Ten said. “All we can do now is find a way to reunite them.”
“If the worst happens, and we can’t get a piece of treasure,” Jude began, “what else can we do?”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” Ronan said. “The museum shop sells Jolly Roger flags. Maybe something like that could bring him ashore? A fake treasure chest and some of those fake doubloons?” The kids had been crazy to get their hands on the replica coins so they’d have their own booty.
“I don’t know about that,” Ten said, nibbling his bottom lip. “This man was an expert in treasure. I don’t think he’d be fooled by fakes.”
“All we need to do is get his spirit on the beach at the same time Maria is there and Cupid can do the rest.” Jude snorted. “Do you think Cope would still be crazy about me three hundred years from now?”
“He’d have to be!” Ronan barked a quick laugh. “You’d come running back to me though, wouldn’t you, babe?” He pressed a kiss to Ten’s temple.
Ten raised a questioning eyebrow. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” Ronan half-screeched. His hand fluttered to his chest. “If we’d been separated for three centuries, I’d run to you as quick as my ghost legs could carry me.”
“Yeah, because that meant you’d spent all those years not being able to find clean socks.” Ten laughed. Jude and Fitz joined in.
“Fine, laugh at me. None of you would make it a week without your husbands. We’d all end up on that stupid beach lost and alone and cold, missing Ten’s kick-ass pot roast.”
“That’s what you’d miss most? My pot roast?” Ten asked, looking surprised.
“Not the only thing. I’d miss all the times you helped me find the Aztec’s lost dong and all the pirate booty I’ve gotten this week.”
“So, you’d miss sex and meat.” Ten shrugged. “It tracks, Ronan. That’s for sure.”
“Okay, everyone, game faces on. We’re here.” Fitz turned into the museum parking lot, which, thankfully only had two other cars. “Let me do the talking, huh?”
“Sure thing.” Ronan was more than okay with Fitz taking the lead. When the museum curators heard what Fitz was proposing, they’d call the men with the butterfly nets for him, rather than for Ronan.
None of the kids were as excited as they’d been the first time they’d come to the museum. They didn’t want to take pictures with the pirates and their eyes never wandered to the gift shop. Ronan had no doubt Wolf and Aurora understood this was more of a mission than a good time.
Fitz paid the admission fees for everyone and led them toward the lab portion of the museum. The kids had been interested in the treasure and the everyday items on display, but Ronan had wanted to spend more time watching the process of cleaning concretions from the artifacts.
Two young men were working near one of the large tanks which held the ship’s stove. One wore a black shirt with the Jolly Roger, the other wore red, like Sam Bellamy on that fateful night in 1717.
“My name is Captain Kevin Fitzgibbon from the Salem Police Department. I was wondering if Mr. Chambers is available to speak with me for a moment?” Blake Chambers was the name of the man who’d discovered the wreck of the Whydah in 1984.
“Is he in some kind of trouble?” the young man wearing the Jolly Roger asked.
Fitz shook his head. “No, nothing like that.”
“One sec.” The man walked toward the back of the lab and slipped through a door marked, Employees Only.
“He’s here,” Ten said. “I’ll try to reach out and give him a push to come see us.”
Several minutes later, the lab worker returned with an older man dressed in a similar black t-shirt and khaki shorts. “I’m Blake. Can I help you?”
Fitz quickly introduced everyone, putting a little extra emphasis on the detectives’ titles. “We’re with the cold case squad and we need to talk to you about an extremely cold case.”
“An extremely cold case?” Chambers asked. “You’re talking about Sam Bellamy, I presume?”
Fitz nodded. “This is going to sound completely crazy, but-”
“When Fitz introduced me, he failed to say I’m a psychic medium. I’ve spoken with the spirit of Maria Hallet and she’s desperate to reunite with Sam Bellamy. He’s been sending my daughter visions of the night the ship wrecked and let her know his spirit was still with the ship.”
Chambers’s eyes narrowed, moving between Tennyson and the three detectives.
“Look, guys, I don’t know what kind of a con job you’re trying to run here, but I’m not interested.
You paid admission, enjoy the rest of the museum.
” He turned to head back the way he’d come, when Everly’s voice stopped him dead in his tracks.
“You buried gold coins with your father when he died. One on each eye as payment for Sharon.” Everly called out.
Chambers spun around. “What did you just say?” His mouth hung open like a fish out of water.
“When you were a little boy, your father used to tell you stories about Greek heroes. Zoos, and Post-sided, but your favorite was Sharon, the ferryman. You put coins on the eyes of the dead, so they could get into the underworld. Your dad was also the one who taught you how to scuba dive. Having him with you to dive on the Whydah was the best moment of your life. Better than finding the ship, even.”
“I never told anyone about the coins,” Chambers said, his face pale. “Come with me.” He motioned everyone to follow him through the back door and into what looked like the employee lounge. There were scarred tables and chairs, along with a sink, microwave, and a coffee pot. “Have a seat.”
Ronan grabbed a couple of chairs from the other table so there were enough seats for everyone. Aurora and Wolf kept their vigil at Everly’s side.