Chapter 20 Benny
Twenty
Benny
Benny could hear Kimble yelling before she even reached his boat. Winks sat outside the cabin, blinking at Benny with her right eye. Benny noticed the cat’s red collar with the silver tag.
“Bloody torture devices!” Kimble yelled. “Meant to strangle a man!”
He’s talking about a tie, Benny thought with amusement, realizing Kimble’s long-forgotten accent sounded thicker when he was mad. It was as if he were a British actor who slipped back into his native tongue every few words.
Benny sidestepped a rusted beach chair and a hand-carved table on the deck and knocked on the cabin door.
Winks skittered away as the door swung open, revealing Kimble’s living quarters.
Benny made note of the details: a long narrow room with wood paneling and gold wall sconces.
One side of the room had a couch and a table that held board games and books.
Farther back, Benny could see an alcove with a bed made with hospital corners, so firm Benny guessed she could bounce a coin on it.
There was a tiny kitchen with pots that hung above the stove and two stools with faded red pleather cushions.
There were no photographs, but there was a small canvas painting of a ship with a pirate flag flapping in the wind.
Benny wasn’t sure why she expected the place to be a mess, but it was pin straight, uncluttered for someone who had lived over four hundred years.
Benny wondered where he put his mementos.
Did he have any? How long had he owned this boat?
“Need some help with the tie?” she asked, and he scowled.
“What do I need one of these things for?” He whipped the tie around like a lasso. “I look like a stuffed shirt.”
Stuffed shirt. Benny had to say she liked the expression. “You’re escorting me to the Harrison School. It’s a private school. Zara and I think the next clue is there.”
Something flashed across his face. “Evelyn’s kids went there.”
“Yes,” Benny said, wondering if there was more to this story. “I’m a prospective student.”
“Kid,” he said, sounding exasperated even more than he already was.
He looked at his watch. It had a gold face, more than one set of hands, and three dials.
Benny wondered what that was about. It was different from the tide clock that had led her to a clue in Evelyn’s first game.
“Why do I have go to some fancy school with you? Can’t your mama take you? ” His left eye twitched.
Mama. “She doesn’t know about the school,” Benny said. “She’d ask too many questions, and I’m not ready to give anyone answers, especially when I keep learning new things every time I get one of Evelyn’s diary entries or learn something about Tesouro Eterno. Who is Lady Adrienne?”
“Where did you hear that name?” He stepped closer.
Benny didn’t answer the question. “Who is she? Is it true you and Grace were working for her?”
Kimble placed his hands on a counter and appeared to take deep breaths. “Doesn’t matter. She’s not your problem.”
“But—” Benny started to ask something else.
“She’s gone!” he barked, breathing hard. Benny didn’t move. “Sorry. I…just… She’s gone. Let’s focus on the coin Evelyn stole, and I’ll do the rest.”
Gone. Dead? Left? What did he mean? Benny crossed her arms. She wouldn’t let him think he scared her. “Doesn’t sound like you’ve gotten much done.”
He laughed to himself. “Kid, what I got to do can’t come till…” He stopped. “Stop trying to pry. You’re a piece of work. Like Evelyn. She was hard to ignore too.” A hint of a smile played on his lips.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Benny held up her palm for the tie. “May I?”
“How do you know how to tie one of these things?” he asked, calming down. He hadn’t shaved for the occasion, but his scruff was lighter, his blond hair wet from the shower.
“YouTube,” she said, smoothing the tie and draping it around his neck. She buttoned the top button on his shirt, and he grimaced.
“What’s a you tube? A device to hang ties with?”
“An app,” she looked up at him as she began the loop on the tie. “You do know what an app is, right?”
“Yesss…but forget it, kid. You’re not talking me into a phone. I’ve made it this long without one. I’m not getting it for a you tube.”
“How have you survived without a phone or a TV?”
“No need for a TV. I’ve got books. Games. Hobbies. I carve. I’ve got Winks.” The cat brushed up against his legs and ran past, sitting on the bed to watch them.
Games. He was like her. And he’s a wood-carver. She pushed the small voice with questions further away. “Yes, but with a phone, you could do research about Tesouro Eterno. You could keep track of time. You could call people.”
She watched the way he worked his jaw. “Who am I calling?”
Benny felt a pit in her stomach at the thought of him alone all these years. “There must be someone you talk to. You couldn’t be alone all…this time.”
“I talk to people,” he said gruffly. “That doesn’t make us friends. You try making friends when they all grow older and you don’t age.”
Benny and her mom moved around the last few years, making it impossible to keep friends. And that had only been a few years. Not hundreds. “So why not move?”
He sighed. “The treasure doesn’t let me. Found that out the hard way. Whenever I get too far, say off the island or too far out in the ocean, something goes wrong. Fire. Accident.” Something sad flickered across his face. “My boat sinks with my crew on it.”
Benny was starting to feel worse. In a way, he was just like Evelyn’s friends on the island—trapped.
Free but not free. Even if she convinced them to leave like Gil, if they didn’t find the treasure, their fate would be the same as his.
“We’re going to change that,” she said decisively.
She tightened the tie and stood back. “You look great.”
He grumbled. “I look ridiculous,” he said, looking at the tiny porthole mirror he had on a wall. He eyed her crankily. “You better be right about where this next clue is.”
“I’m right. So can you drive us?” Benny asked. “It’s far by foot or bike.”
“Yes. I got gas for Harry,” he said, pushing past her and almost overturning a Scrabble board open on the table.
“Your car has a name?” Benny asked, amused.
“Yes. Had it twenty years. Harry never lets me down, much like my first mate never did,” he looked at her. “Gets me where I need to go. A car is a necessity of this day and age. A phone you can carry in your pocket is not.”
“It is if you need GPS.” Benny followed him out. “At least we have mine to navigate.”
“I don’t need GPS.” Kimble headed down the docks to a maroon Jeep she’d riden in the other night. This time he opened the door for her. They both got in. “So who did you tell the school was bringing you today?”
Benny smiled, enjoying this. She put on her seat belt and he pulled out of the parking spot. “My dad. That’s you.”
Kimble hit the brake hard with one motion, then threw his arm out to keep Benny from flying forward with his right arm. “You did what?”
“Relax! No one will know I’m lying,” Benny promised. “It’s a half hour of pretending to be a parent, max. You can handle being a dad for that long.”
Kimble stared straight forward and started driving. “We’ll see about that.”