Paradise on Earth

Chapter Twenty-Two

(Later - Outfit One)

The Autumn air brushed against the Chateau as my friends and I hung out on the porch. My boyfriend's feet rested on my leg as I sat on the patterned couch, fiddling with the string of my bracelet. John B sat on the chair's rest with his arms crossed, Kiara sitting beside him. Pope paced back and forth while reading Denmark Tanny's journal entry that Mr. Sun had given him.

"August 15th, set sail from Port-au-Prince on calm seas. Came upon the Spanish ship San Jose on fire. The entire deck was aflame, and we could hear the screams of men trapped below. The Spanish captain cared about only one thing: his valuable cargo, the Cross of Santo Domingo and countless bars of gold. Once the cargo was on board, we went to help the crew, but Captain Limbrey ordered us to pull bayonets and not to let any of the Spanish crew on board," Pope read.

"And left them to die," he finished. Pope looked up from the leather journal, catching sight of our expressions. JJ sat up from his spot and took his feet off my lap. He set an arm around top of the couch, massaging the back of my neck. "So, it didn't go down off Bermuda," he huffed. I rolled my eyes from his statement, slightly chuckling. "And it was a Limbrey stealing shit again," Kiara commented. 

I sighed and leaned into JJ's touch, beginning to get tired just by his touch of affection. Pope stopped pacing and stood in the front of us with the notebook still in his hand. "This diary proves that both the gold, and the Cross of Santo Domingo we're on the Royal Merchant," he said, waving the book. He lightly flipped through Denmark's journal to see if he had missed anything. My phone began to vibrate, the third time since I had gotten out of school.

For the past hour, Lynn had been asking where I was; mainly consisting of informing me that my father wasn't returning her calls, or that she wished that I'd come to Chapel Hill to visit my grandmother. "Why didn't we find it in the well then?" JJ thought, "I mean, if Denmark was able to get this, like, bedazzled cross off of the Merchant to shore, why didn't he just hide it with the gold?"

My thoughts were interrupted by my boyfriend's smart suggestion. John B sat up in his seat, catching on to what his best friend was saying. "Because it was too big," he said. Pope nodded. He set the journal into the backpocket of his shorts, stepping forward as he continued the conversation. "He had had to hide somewhere else," he said. "But where?" Kiara asked.

Pope pulled Denmark's notebook back out and flipped to the front page. He read it for a few seconds before looking back at the four of us. "Right before he was hung, Denmark said he'd buried the treasure at the foot of the angel," Pope said. My brows furrowed in confusion as I sat up from my seat. JJ's hand dropped from the back of my neck, now sitting at his side.

"Wait, but I thought this was about the key?" I inquired. For a second I thought I had understood everything, but the longer I listened the more confused I became. "The path to the tomb begins in the Island Room," Pope quoted. He looked up in thought then back at us. Kiara tilted her head back in annoyance, not understanding what the Island Room was. I didn't either.

JJ stood up from the couch with a smile on his face. Kie and I exchanged a look then glanced up at my tall boyfriend. "You know what helps me figure shit out?" he said with his classic smirk sitting on his face. John B groaned and rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Smoking beers, and drinking weed," JJ said. I withheld my chuckle as I tried not to encourage him anymore than I already am.

"The ideas just pour out of me. If we just sit here and try to figure this out, we're gonna get nowhere. But, if we get creative and go to this bonfire tonight," JJ said, "Maybe we'll get somewhere."

He looked at me with raised brows, waiting for my response. I shrugged my shoulders and stood up from the couch to join his side. JJ threw an arm around me, bringing me to his side. "Kie?" I said. She looked up from the ground and tucked a strand of her wavy hair behind her ear. "Well, I just got disowned by my parents, and I'm an official member of the I-have-nothing-to-lose-club," she said.