𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞〚𝚙𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 〛

Chapter 30: Clever, Clever Boy

"Uncle Ross?" shouted Delilah, entering her aunt and uncle's mansion.

"In the office!"

With hurried steps, she swung herself in the room, forgetting to take the time and admire the sculpted fireplace that had mesmerized her as a child. 

Her uncle Ross looked up from the paperwork on his desk, raising an eyebrow as if he could feel something was bothering her. 

Delilah paused, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear in search of the proper words. Not sure what to say, she threaded carefully.

"Do you remember the guys that broke in and threatened you at gunpoint?" she asked.

He nodded wordlessly, narrowing his eyes. 

"That map they were looking for," she bit her lip. "The one you said you burnt...."

"I didn't burn it," admitted her uncle. "It would have been a shame, and a betrayal to John B's father."

She sat down on the chair in front of his desk, leaning forward with interest. "You knew him."

Ross sighed. "I did. Before his death, he gave the most important maps of his research to me, for safekeeping."

She frowned. "What happened to them?"

A spark of guilt lit his eyes as he adjusted the cuff of his shirt. "I sold them two days ago."

Delilah jumped up, eyes widening as they focused on the purple skin of his wrist. "Another threat? Why didn't you tell me?"

Ross sighed, slumping into his chair. "Eli, listen to me. The guy wasn't threatening me, he was threatening you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you."

The girl pinched the bridge of her nose between her nose and forefinger, trying to clear her head. She hated the fact that she was the reason for all this mess.

"Do you have a note with John B's father's writing on it?"

Ross frowned, going through his papers. "I think so. Hold on."

He handed her a pink post-it note filled to the brim with hurriedly scratched hand-writing.

 Bingo. 

Her mind was on the verge of over heating with all the information that flew around in a scrambled mix of words and ideas. She pressed her hand to her forehead, trying to think straight.

"Delilah!" yelled out a familiar voice, making her snap her head towards the door.

Pope leaned against it, trying to catch his breath. "The truck... the license plate..." He suddenly straightened, sheepishly running a hand through his short hair. "Oh. Hi, Mr. Thompson, sorry for intruding."

Ross merely waved away his apologies, sharp eyes focusing on the boy as he tried to read through his enigmatic words. "Don't mind me."

In a few quick steps, she was standing in front of him, resting her hands on his shoulders as if it would calm him down. "Breathe, Pope. What's going on?"

His eyes focused on her face, using her to ground his thoughts. "I didn't have anything to do today, so I thought about scouting out the junk yard. I know we were supposed to do it together, I--"

She shook her head, interrupting him. "Don't worry about it, it was the smartest thing to do."

A small smile appeared on his lips, making his shoulders relax. "When examining the truck, I noticed that the license plate had been ripped off, so I asked a couple of guys and managed to track it down. With that in hand, I went to the police station and said I was doing a school project on their database and stuff like that. I improvised."

She smirked. "And they believed it?"

"I can be quite convincing when I want to be," he protested, fighting the amusement in his voice.

She stuck out her tongue at him. "I'll believe it when I see it."

It was incredible how easily they got distracted. Delilah blamed it on how comfortable they were with each other.

He shook his head with a smile, trying to get back on track. "Anyways, the officer in duty showed me how it worked and I suggested using a license plate I found in the junkyard."

"Clever, clever boy," she laughed, amazed.

A light blush appeared on his cheeks as he continued his story. "Here's the interesting part; the truck was registered to Big John's name, with all the appropriate paperwork filled out by him."

"John B's father? How is that possible?" she said, eyes narrowed in concentration. "And it was signed after his death?"

"Way after," confirmed Pope.

"Uncle Ross?" she asked distractedly, trying to piece things together. "Who could've gotten their hands on Big John's personal documents?"

Ross hesitated, weighing his words. "Well... Ward was his partner, and the one in charge of all the paperwork related to their project. Someone could have stolen them from him."

"Or he simply kept them," she said darkly.

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up," demanded Pope, rubbing the palm of his hands against his eyes.

"This morning, I went to the Cameron's house with Rafe to pick up his stuff and Mr Cameron called us to his office," explained Delilah. "On his desk, buried under other papers, was the map taken from my uncle. Not to forget that he has the compass. And now the license plate?" 

She took a shaky breath. "Ward Cameron is after the gold of the royal merchant, and he's the one that was trying to kill us."

"Shit!" cursed Pope, eyes wide with barely contained panic. "John B is living under his roof."

"He won't try anything for as long as he doesn't know where the gold is," she tried to reassure him, fighting down her own fear. "Ward needs him."

"We have to go warn the others," decided Pope, the determination to protect his friends outweighing the rest.

She nodded sharply, following him out of the room only to skid to a stop as her uncle called out to her. She peeked her head through the door, showing him she was listening.

Her uncle's expression was grave. "With what you told me just now, I might be able to gather the evidence needed to support you. But, please, be careful. And don't jump head first into something that could backfire."

She smiled, although a shadow danced in her eyes. "Thanks, uncle Ross. Love you."

A/N Thanks for reading, folks! -Aella