CHAPTER 10

At six-thirty on Monday morning, Theo was standing on a snowy beach a mile north of Star Harbor’s downtown area. It wasn’t quite sunrise and he could still see stars in the dark, predawn sky. The beauty of the early morning helped make up for the cold. It was no longer snowing, but the wind hadn’t quit. It whipped around him, stinging his cheeks and making his hair fly. He pulled the collar of his coat higher and wrapped his gloved fingers tightly around the map he was holding.

Cole would say he was crazy for coming out here so early, but he felt exhilarated. He loved getting closer to a book. It was like piecing together a puzzle. His talk with Avery had inspired him, and he was definitely no longer stagnating. Not by a long shot.

Staring out at the still-black water, he examined the coastline. There was just enough light for him to see that the beach went on for a long stretch before disappearing behind a curve. At that curve—about half a mile down—a huge dark cliff rose, its jagged sides climbing to a level area on top. When the tide was high, water would crash on the crags below, concealing the small beach at its base.

Theo and his brothers had been taught from a young age never to walk on that little beach—or to explore the intricate web of caves that water and time had carved into the bottom of the cliff. They were more than dangerous; they were deadly. When he was younger, a couple of boys from Falmouth had gotten trapped inside the caves and had drowned in the fast-rising tide.

But the top of the cliff was fair game. Julie Kensington, the local doctor, lived in her parents’ old house on the bluff. When Theo and his brothers were younger, they’d sneak up to the Kensington property for the best view in town. Their outings had usually involved beer filched from their dad’s cooler.

One time their dad had actually caught them sneaking beer off the fishing boat. Instead of chewing them out, as Theo had been sure he would, he’d simply given them a stern look and taken the cans away. It was one of the few times he’d seen his dad without a smile. Within a year, he was dead. Theo sighed. The smell of fresh sea air always brought back memories of his dad, who’d been killed in his prime in a freak hurricane on Labor Day weekend twenty years ago. God, he still missed him terribly.

Theo took a deep breath, filling his lungs with icy air, and squinted down at the map, trying to get back on task. Then he swept his gaze out to the dark water once again. By his calculation, he was standing just west of the Lorelei’s wreck. The wreckage would have spread close to two miles along the shore in either direction, enticing looters from all along the coast of Cape Cod to salvage what they could. With Bran’s permission, he had photocopied the original map to get a precise location for the midpoint. Even without measuring the distance exactly, he was reasonably sure that he was in the general vicinity.

He could see how a ship could capsize here on a dark, stormy night, especially a ship laden with treasure. An overly heavy load made a ship unstable, and according to legend, the Lorelei had been filled to the brim with five tons of gold, silver, and jewelry, not to mention armed to the hilt with forty cannons.

Though the lore surrounding the ship had grown over time, the account of her capsize was considered fact. In the fall of 1711, the Siren Lorelei was caught in a terrible nor’easter just south of Cape Cod. The ship was swept into Vineyard Sound near Falmouth, where it ran aground on a sandbar close to shore. Trapped in the storm, the Lorelei took a beating until the main mast finally snapped and the ship capsized. When that happened, those heavy cannons tore through the decks and ripped the boat apart.

Theo intended to walk the entire length of the wreckage site, all four miles, in dark and in light. It would give him the most accurate impression of the area. Feeling fortunate that he had the luxury of in-person, hands-on research, he started walking down the beach toward Star Harbor. The snow was about three inches deep on the sand, so he kept as close to the shoreline as he could. Walking a fine line between tide and snow was challenging, but it would be a huge slog if he were forced to walk the whole way through the snow.

By the time the sun rose at seven, Theo had made it to the cliffs. The tide was coming in and he didn’t want to risk getting trapped between the water and the cliff face, so he stopped. He was about to head back when something odd caught his eye.

Some snow at the edge of the tidal line was pushed up, as if someone had recently been walking there. But that was insane. There was no way anyone could have accessed that area except by boat, and he hadn’t seen one since reaching the beach. He glanced around. No tracks led up the beach to the dunes. Theo didn’t know exactly when it had stopped snowing, but he seriously doubted anyone would have come out here after the storm passed through last night.

An uneasy sensation came over him, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on what was bothering him. So, someone had come out here by boat in the middle of the night, walked around on the sand, and then taken off again? It was weird, but it was hardly a crime.

He walked back down the beach, following the path of his own footprints. By the time he reached his Jeep, he was once again completely focused on his book. He couldn’t wait to get back to the Inn to put his thoughts down on paper.

At ten, Theo’s stomach growled. He’d been writing for two hours and he hadn’t even realized that he’d forgotten breakfast. A trip to the LMK for a fresh muffin would solve his problem, so he grabbed his coat and headed out. The foyer of the Inn was empty—no Avery and no Kate. Wondering where they were, he walked down Main, enjoying the chilly air racing through his lungs.

Despite the mid-morning hour, the Kitchen was busy when he arrived. Most folks looked like they were taking coffee breaks, but a few people were finishing up breakfast. He saw Emma and Jimmy Bishop sitting in a booth and went to join them.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he said, realizing they were holding hands across the table.

“No, man,” Jimmy said, glancing at his new wife. “We were just getting some coffee. Have a seat. That okay with you, Emma?” he asked. Emma nodded and blushed, but she didn’t pull her hand away.

Theo took off his coat and slid into the booth next to Emma, keeping a respectful distance between them. “What are you up to today, Jimmy?”

“More work on the barn. Been at it since six. But Emma told me she’d take me out for coffee during her break, so it was worth it.” He smiled at the tiny woman and she smiled back. “What about you?”

“I was up early doing some research on the Siren Lorelei for my new book. Scouted out Minamessett Beach and walked all the way down to Star Harbor Point.”

“How’d that go?” Jimmy asked.

“Fine,” he said.

“But not perfectly?” Emma asked.

He turned to look at her. She was studying him closely and he realized that she was just as sharp as her sister. “That’s right,” he said slowly. “I saw some weird tracks in the snow on the beach. They could only have been made by someone who landed by boat. No one I know is crazy enough to go out in such bad weather.”

“It could have been a fisherman.”

“Fishermen know the weather well, babe,” Jimmy said. “No one would want to risk their boat by going out in weather like that.”

“And I can’t imagine any fisherman would try for a landing at the Point, right?” Theo asked.

Jimmy nodded and laughed. “Yeah. Only crazies and delinquents would do something that stupid. Man, back in the day we did some pretty dumb stuff, right, Theo?”

“Tell me about it,” he agreed. “By the way, where’s Avery?” he asked. “I’ve barely seen her at the Inn over the past two days.”

Emma glanced at Jimmy. “She’s been busy.”

“Really?” Theo questioned.

“Yes,” she said, blinking quickly. “She, ah, had some business to attend to.”

“What business? I thought she was taking a break from it all.”

“Oh, just some stuff.” Emma waved her free hand in the air. “I’m really not at liberty to say. James,” she said, giving him a significant look, “I need to go freshen up. I’ll be back soon. Excuse me.”

Theo took her cue and slid out of the booth so she could get out. As soon as she was gone, he sat back down and faced Jimmy. “Well?” he demanded.

Jimmy cleared his throat and glanced around, as if trying to make sure that no one could overhear their conversation. Then he ducked his head to whisper. “Emma told me Avery’s meeting with her old boss at the Back Bay Recovery Center on Wednesday morning. She likes to eat at Charlie’s on Columbus. If you tell her I told you this—”

“You’ll kill me?” Theo interjected.

Jimmy cracked the knuckles on his big hands. “You got it.”

“Gotcha. Thanks for the information. I have one more question for you. Would you take me out on your boat to check out the wreckage site? I’d appreciate seeing it by sea as well as by land.”

Jimmy nodded. “Just name the time and the place.”

“Maybe sometime this weekend if the weather’s good.”

When Emma returned to the table, she said, “I hope you gentlemen had a nice conversation.”

“That we did.” Theo rose and gave her a grin before throwing on his coat.

“Well, I’ll look forward to seeing you at the lecture series tomorrow night. Be prepared for questions. Many, many questions.”

There were a number of history buffs in the area, including a group from a neighboring town whose sole purpose was to research and discuss pirate lore. “Let me guess. The Falmouth crew is coming?”

“That’s right. And, of course, our own Branford Weld.”

“I’ll be ready for them all.”

Emma smiled and sat down across from Jimmy. “I know you will.”

Before he could say goodbye, Lexie stopped by their table. “You’re leaving already? But you haven’t ordered yet.”

“I’ll take one of your pumpkin muffins to go.” He gave Emma and Jimmy a big wink. “Catch you later.”