𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 | jj maybank

XV. One Flew Out of the Hawk's Nest

John B rubbed his hands together, ignoring Stella's concern. "You guys ready for this?"

Kie looked at him in excitement. "Yeah."

"Not if it's gonna get us gaffed."

John B shot Stella a look that heavily resembled that of a teacher scolding a child for speaking out of turn. "Stella," he firmly reprimanded.

She threw her hands up in surrender when she saw that everyone was looking at her the same way. "What? Why are you all looking at me like that?" she exclaimed. Her hands dropped to her lap with a huff. "Fine. I'm sorry I value your lives and don't want you to get hooked like a fish."

John B nodded at her with his eyes locked on JJ. Seconds later, the blond pulled her onto his lap and placed a kiss behind her ear, causing her mood to shift immediately.

John B shook his head at the small smile on her face then turned to the others. "So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant," he revealed with a knowing grin.

Pope let out a loud groan and covered his face. "Oh, my god. Here we go again with this."

"Alright, wait." JJ raised a hand. "Hear him out."

John B continued, "It's been here the whole time. It's on the island."

"Are you serious?" Kie questioned.

Pope folded his hands and brought them to his mouth before letting them drop. "I'd like to voice my skepticism."

Stella nodded. "As would I."

"I'm sure you two would," John B said, standing up like he was about to give a lecture. "But can I please present you with my evidence, your highnesses?"

"Proceed," Pope granted with the wave of his hand.

"Alright. So, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny."

Stella looked up at him. "And who is that?"

"Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck. Check this out." John B dug through his backpack and pulled out a sheet of paper, unfolding it before passing it to Kie. "Okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery. So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom."

Kie handed the manifest to Stella, who analyzed it with a careful eye. Like John B said, Denmark Tanny was listed as one of the passengers. Stella then passed it to JJ, who then passed it to Pope.

"After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll, please, because that farm is..."

Stella and Kie shared a look before slapping their knees to mimic a drumroll.

"Tannyhill Plantation."

"Tannyhill?" Kie repeated with her eyes wide, shocked that the gold had been hiding right under their noses. "Like down Stella's street Tannyhill?"

John B nodded. "Yeah. So, after that, he used his money to free even more slaves, and then he sold a shit-ton of rice, which pisses off all the white planters, and then they decide to lynch him. So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the gold."

"Where?" Kie whispered with a smile.

Stella leaned into JJ and in a low voice whispered, "John B is really good at telling stories."

JJ nodded in response as the boy continued.

"Harvest the wheat in parcel nine, near the water. Except there's no wheat. You see, wheat is code for gold. Look." He presented a copy of Tanny's message and a picture of British gold. On the letter, there was a small scribble of wheat that resembled the wheat symboled imprinted on the gold. "The gold is in parcel nine, near the water."