Chapter Six Benny
Six
Benny
Biking home alone, now she had time to think. To panic. To worry.
There was a lot to worry about.
Evelyn’s game, which she thought she’d won, was still going. The stakes were higher. Evelyn’s note spoke of danger. Kimble, Aggy, and Gil were all keeping secrets of their own. Benny could read faces, and like that cat Winks, they all were hiding something. Apparently, so was Evelyn.
Why a second game? What was with the secrecy of the first clue?
How would they find the remaining pieces of treasure in time?
And how many pieces were there still out there waiting to be found?
Could she prevent anyone else from finding the island or the treasure and being cursed?
Was Ryan really that desperate for money he would steal Tesouro Eterno?
Was his dad’s financial situation that bad?
Benny’s was, but she’d never steal the treasure. Yes, they’d given up their apartment in Boston, her mom had quit yet another crappy job, and the rules of the game said they could only stay in Evelyn’s home till Benny finished the game, and that deadline was today.
She felt her stomach clench at the thought of the deadline.
How did she prove to her lawyer she’d found the island? She couldn’t bring him there. Plus there was the whole letting-others-know-a-mysterious-island-with-mythical-treasure-that-seemed-to-be-a-fountain-of-youth-was-real thing to consider.
Why was this all so hard?
You’re not a quitter, she could hear her grandmother say.
My girl is cleverer than anyone I know. Her grams had given her a tricky puzzle box, and Benny grew frustrated, unable to figure it out.
She was ready to quit till Grams said those words.
After that, she solved the puzzle box by nightfall and found a five-dollar gift card for the local ice cream shop inside.
Stop whining. You’re not a quitter, Benny reminded herself. Focus. Find the treasure, save Evelyn’s friends, and then maybe you can tell your lawyer about the island. This isn’t over.
Biking up to the Terry Inn Resort, Benny wasn’t surprised to see a bunch of cars parked in the circular driveway.
As Long Island’s number one resort on the East End’s North Fork (not to be confused with the South Fork and the Hamptons), Benny knew people were always checking in and checking out.
There were also some who came for the day to go to the nearby Terry Estate Vineyards, which also doubled as an event space for parties and weddings.
But this morning, several cars, including a police vehicle, were parked in front of the house.
Benny was pretty sure they were there because Benny hadn’t come home last night.
She jumped off the bike and rushed inside. The house was dark.
“Mom?”
She could hear people talking in the kitchen, a police scanner going off, and voices.
“Benny?”
Her mom and two officers came from opposite exits of the kitchen into the living room. Benny and her mom crashed into each other in a tangle of arms.
“Where were you?” her mom demanded, smoothing her hair. “You didn’t come home, then you didn’t answer your phone.”
Benny thought fast. “I’m so sorry. I lost my phone in the storm, and then when we got to Zara’s and dried off, we fell asleep. When I woke up it and saw it was morning, I biked right home.”
Her mom looked at her, her brown eyes so similar to Benny’s own holding hope and worry all at the same time. “Next time use the landline and call me, please?”
Benny smirked. “People still have landlines?”
“Actually, the landline was down with the storm, so that wouldn’t have worked anyway,” said Wally. He wore his signature uniform (a black sweater-vest over a white button-down, pressed trousers, and his usual warm smile). He held out a plate of cookies.
“Is it too early for cookies? I made them last night before the power went out.” The lights flickered and went on. “And…we’re back.” He smiled at Benny. “You must be good luck.”
Benny let go of her mom and took two cookies.
“I hope so.” She couldn’t remember when she’d last eaten.
She noticed Wally’s blue eyes lock on hers, then shift left.
Benny’s sight line followed. Harris Gale stepped into the room with two more officers.
Benny stiffened, thinking of Ryan and all that had happened.
“Hello,” she said, trying to mask her feelings.
“I’m sorry I scared everyone. As you can see, I’m fine. ”
“They’re actually here for a different reason,” her mom said tightly.
“Even so, we’re glad you’re okay.” Harris handed Benny a phone. “And the good news is Ryan found your phone. I’m afraid it isn’t in good shape.”
At first, she thought the screen was cracked, but then she remembered the protective cover.
She pulled it off and saw the phone was fine.
Thankfully she had a passcode, which meant Ryan couldn’t unlock it.
(Watch enough police shows like she had, and passcodes were a must.) She tried to power the phone on, but it flickered once and didn’t light up again. The phone needed to be charged.
“Ryan said he found it after you and Zara biked off,” Harris said.
Benny looked at him curiously. In addition to being Ryan’s dad and her mom’s maybe boyfriend, Harris was a member of the Terry estate board and a restaurant owner with financial troubles.
(Benny wasn’t sure if her mom knew about his money problems.) Harris had been nothing but kind since they arrived almost two weeks ago, and he was good to her mom, but Benny felt like she still couldn’t get a read on him.
He dressed well—today it was khakis and a blue polo shirt with the vineyard’s crest (a sparrow), which made Benny focus on his blue eyes.
Could she trust him after what happened with Ryan? Benny wasn’t sure.
“Thank you,” Benny said, still aware of the police in the house. “So if the cops aren’t here because I didn’t come home, why are they here?”
“Good morning, Benny.”
Benny spotted another figure in the kitchen doorway. “Peter!”
Peter Stapleton, the lawyer from Fineman, Larken, and Burr who had tracked Benny and her mom down in Boston to tell her about Evelyn’s game and the inheritance, was here.
He was wearing his Yankees ball cap with a suit.
His smile disarmed her for a moment; then everything came rushing back.
Evelyn’s game. Evelyn’s rules. The deadline.
“Are you here about the…inheritance?” she said, stiffening.
“I wasn’t supposed to be, but yes.” Peter expression turned grave. “I received a call last night telling me you didn’t finish Evelyn’s game in time.”
But I did finish! she wanted to shout. I found the island! But she knew she couldn’t.
“I’m sorry, Benny,” Harris said, frowning. “I couldn’t hold her off.”
“I’m the one who called Fineman, Larken, and Burr,” said a new voice.
Benny saw a woman’s shadow in the doorway next to Peter.
Benny looked up. Vivian Rudd was wearing a cool cream pantsuit, had an expensive-looking brown leather bag hung from the crux of her elbow in one arm, and was holding a teacup in the other hand.
Her gray and palest of blond hair was coiffed and sprayed into a short bouffant like so many women of a certain age favored, and she wore a pale pink lipstick.
Her smile looked artificial and thin. Like Ryan’s always is, Benny thought.
Vivian, the Rudd matriarch, would be the heir to Evelyn Terry’s fortune if Benny didn’t find the island before the deadline.
Those were the rules, which made Benny want to scream, because not only did Vivian not need the money (she basically owned all of Greenport), Evelyn didn’t like the Rudds, and from what Benny had learned so far, the Rudds had not liked Evelyn.
They blamed Evelyn for Axel’s death. He’s alive, she thought. She couldn’t tell Vivian that either.
“Good morning Mrs. Rudd,” Benny said politely. Her heart was pounding so hard, she could hear it. Be strong, she told herself, looking around the beautiful house her mom was so at home in already. Benny too, if she allowed herself to be honest. This fight isn’t over yet.
“Good morning, dear,” Vivian practically purred. “Why don’t we all sit down in the kitchen to discuss the matter at hand? No reason for us to be standing when my lawyer is inside. Don’t you agree, Mr. Stapleton?”
“Yes, Mrs. Rudd,” Peter said tightly. “After you.”
Vivian led the way while Harris and the officers followed. Benny and her mom looked at their lawyer.
“Don’t speak unless I ask you to,” Peter said quietly. “Let me do the talking.”
“I cannot believe that woman called you already,” Benny’s mother hissed. “Harris told me she was difficult, but I cannot believe she’d sweep in to take a child’s inheritance!”
Peter winked at her mom, then smiled reassuringly at Benny. “No one is taking anything today. Just let me talk. Understood?”
Benny nodded and put a trembling hand on her mom’s arm.
If there was one thing she was good at, it was dealing with difficult people.
Landlords, building maintenance staff, school administration when her mom didn’t show up for scheduled meetings because she had to take a second shift.
Killing them with kindness. It was Benny’s secret weapon. “It will be okay, Mom.”
“Of course, honey. I’m sure it will.” Her mom didn’t look convinced though.
They followed Peter into the kitchen. A pasty man eating a muffin was already seated, a stack of papers in front of him. He had thinning hair, concealed with a bad comb-over and bushy eyebrows that could not be tamed.
“Finally!” the man said. “Can we get this over with already? I’ve got a two-hour drive back to the city, and if it rains the way they say it will, l will be stuck on the Long Island Expressway forever.”