The Treasure Seeker Read online

  Kate gave a last swipe across the small side table she had been polishing. “There’s still another box behind the desk.”

  Ry glanced down at the notebook. Everything was crossed off. She used the book when she shopped. She would jot down each item as she negotiated the price. It helped her to remember the amount they had agreed upon and to make sure she didn’t leave any purchases behind. Once she was back at the shop, she would check the items off as she entered them into her inventory. “There shouldn’t be anything else. It’s probably just an empty box.”

  Kate went behind the desk and bent over. “It’s definitely not empty. It has some magazines and an old metal box.”

  Ry shook her head. “I didn’t buy anything like that.”

  Kate placed the cardboard box on the wooden table where she had worked earlier. “There’s a stack of Old West magazines, some books and this old beat-up metal file box.” She tugged at the rusted latch. It seemed to be stuck.

  When Ry saw the cardboard box, she sighed. “How did that get mixed in?” She rubbed her tired neck. “Crap. He probably thinks I stole it from him. I tried to buy the magazines, but he didn’t want to sell them. In fact, he wanted to keep everything in that box.” She tried to quell her frustration. The trip out to return the box would be another hour or more wasted tomorrow. She didn’t have a phone number for him, so she would have to drive back over there as soon as possible to return it. Hopefully, he would still be there. “With my luck, he’ll call the cops.”

  Kate finally succeeded in opening the metal file box. “Well, the good news is, he can’t shoot you. At least not until you return this to him.” She held up a pistol.

  Ry gasped when she saw the revolver. “Please tell me that thing isn’t loaded,” she said as she carefully took the weapon. “That box was bouncing around in the back of my truck all afternoon.” The pistol was obviously old. She checked it and frowned. What sort of fool stored a loaded weapon in a cheap file box? She pressed the cylinder release latch to open the cylinder. It was loaded with two half-moon clips. She removed them. Her father had taught her never to leave a loaded gun lying around the house. Then she examined it closer. It was a beautiful weapon.

  “This is a Smith and Wesson M1917,” Ry said. “It was manufactured around World War One.” She turned it over in her hands. “It has been well taken care of.” She studied the hammered silver grips. “These grips look handmade. They must have cost a fortune.” She continued to study the revolver. “I used to have a Smith and Wesson forty-five-caliber Model 625. It was my favorite target pistol.” She took one of the half-moon clips from inside the box. It held three shells. “I’ve heard guys at the range talk about these half-moon clips, but this is the first one I’ve ever seen.”

  Kate gave a loud uninterested sigh.

  Ry took the hint and placed the revolver and clip back into the metal box. She had grown up around a wide assortment of target and hunting weapons. Her father, three brothers and every other male Shelton over the age of eight were avid hunters. Even though she refused to hunt, Ry’s father had encouraged her to learn how to shoot and handle a weapon. On her first trip to the range she discovered she enjoyed target shooting and by the time she was fifteen she could hit a target’s bulls-eye four out of every five shots as easily as she could tie her sneakers.

  She placed the metal container back inside the cardboard box. “I’ll return it to him first thing tomorrow morning.” She glanced at Kate. After the earlier outburst, Kate had been in a decent mood, so she took a chance. “Would you like to ride out there with me?”

  Kate linked her arm through Ry’s arm. “I’ll ride out with you if you buy me breakfast at the Pancake Hut afterward.”

  Ry held her breath as she thought about her already burdened credit card. Surely there was enough left on her credit limit to cover a couple of pancake breakfasts. She could wait awhile longer for a haircut. Or maybe she could get her mom to cut it. Her mom had cut her brothers’ hair when they were younger.

  She realized Kate was still waiting for her to answer. “That would be nice,” Ry said as she headed toward the stairs. “Would you mind checking to make sure everything is locked up? I need to shower.”

  “Sure.” Kate turned and headed into the front area of the shop.

  Ry rushed through her shower. She wanted to take advantage of Kate’s good mood. It had been weeks since they had made love. When she dashed out a few minutes later, Kate was in bed fast asleep.

  She envied Kate’s ability to fall asleep so quickly. It was already after one in the morning, but Ry knew she would toss and turn for an hour or more before falling asleep. She considered going back downstairs to start pricing the new stock but didn’t feel like working. Too exhausted to read, she turned off the lamp and stretched out next to Kate.

  Despite the fact that they lived practically in the center of town, the night was quiet. All of the surrounding shops closed between six and nine. The only business still opened at this hour would be Leroy’s, a bar nearly a mile away, out on the highway.

  Ry lost track of time as she mentally arranged and rearranged the new furniture into displays. She was just beginning to doze when a loud clatter jarred her awake.

  Kate groaned and rolled over. “What was that?” she asked.

  Ry put an arm around her and snuggled against her back. “It sounded like the raccoons turned over the trash can again.”

  “Did you put the straps back on the can?”

  “Yes. Try to go back to sleep.” Ry smiled slightly. Kate’s breathing had already settled back into a steady rhythm. I wish I’d follow my own advice, she thought wearily as she stared into the darkness. Damn raccoons. If there was one creature on earth she wouldn’t mind shooting, it would be raccoons. They got into everything and destroyed anything they touched. She had to strap the trash can lids down with the vinyl-covered wire used for bicycle locks. She had tried using bungee cords, but they chewed through them. She thought about the pistol downstairs. Its six measly bullets would be useless against the destructive creatures that seemingly numbered into the hundreds.

  The unexpected noise of a car engine cranking interrupted her thoughts. It sounded as though it had been at the corner. She listened as it drove away into the night. As she drifted off to sleep, she dreamed of mutant raccoons running rampant through the streets, breaking windows and stealing cars.

  Chapter Two

  Ry opened her eyes to find Kate sitting in the middle of the bed drinking coffee and messing with her phone. Ry smiled. This was the private Kate who no one other than Ry was ever allowed to see. Not the never a hair out of place perfectly tailored Kate, but the Kate with one side of her hair frizzed out in a wild mess and a ratty sweatshirt that Ry had discarded long ago.

  “Good morning,” Ry said as she sat up. She glanced at the clock and suppressed a groan when she saw it was after nine. She had overslept. There was no way she would be able to return the cardboard box, follow through on the promised breakfast with Kate, tag the new merchandise and move it onto the sales floor before noon. Her chest felt like a vise was squeezing it making it difficult to breathe. She closed her eyes and pushed everything but the moment at hand out of her thoughts. One thing at a time.

  Kate said, “Mom wants us to have dinner with them on Friday night. Want to go?”

  “Don’t you have to work on Saturday?” Ry liked Kate’s family, but the thought of working all day Friday and then driving the seventy miles roundtrip to San Antonio didn’t appeal to her. Neither did the idea of the argument that was sure to develop between Kate and her father. They couldn’t be in the same room for more than ten minutes without finding something to disagree about.

  “Yes, but that’s not a problem. I’ll be fine.” Kate typed something into her phone. “I get off at three on Friday. We can leave as soon as I get home.”

  Ry bit her tongue. Kate was well aware that the shop didn’t close until seven. If Ry went, she would have to ask Sally Watkins to fill in for her. Mo
re expenses she couldn’t afford. The vise around her chest began to tighten again. She fought it off. “That’s fine.”

  To avoid any further conversation, Ry pulled on her clothes. “While you’re getting dressed, I’ll go see how much damage the raccoons did.” Without waiting for a response, she hurried down the stairs.

  After a quick cup of coffee, Ry grabbed Kate’s keys from the table by the stairs. Kate didn’t like riding in the truck unless she had to. Ry then went to her office to retrieve the box of items she needed to return. She shivered when she stepped outside. The area had been experiencing an unusually early cold front. After she had locked the box and the gun inside the trunk of Kate’s car, she decided to take the items for the nursing home as well. She smiled as this one brief ray of sunshine brightened her day. By dropping the box for the nursing home off today, she would save a trip out there next week. After placing the nursing home box in the backseat of the car, she went to see how much of a mess the raccoons had created.

  Just as she expected, the trash can had been tipped over. Luckily, the devious critters hadn’t managed to get the lid off. She set the can upright and started back into the house. As she rounded the corner leading to the back door, something on the ground caught her eye. A cigarette butt was on the ground below the back window. It lay on the narrow strip of grass that separated the building from the pavement. The paved spot, barely large enough for four cars, had once been used as the store’s parking lot.

  She glanced toward their vehicles and saw something glittering on the pavement. Even before she walked around her truck, she knew what she was going to find. The driver’s side window had been smashed and the door was only partially closed.

  “Oh, my gosh, what happened?”

  Ry turned to find Kate behind her. She had already showered and was dressed in a pair of cream-colored slacks and a striking multihued lightweight sweater. “Somebody has broken into my truck.” Ry held onto the door for strength. Less than two weeks earlier, she had dropped everything but liability on her truck insurance. Kate was going to have a stroke when she found out. She looked at Kate’s car. It seemed to be fine. “I don’t think your car was bothered.”

  “Why would someone break into your truck? Did you leave your cell phone or something valuable lying on the seat?”

  Of course, it’s my fault. She swallowed her anger. “No.” She felt her hip pocket. “I have my wallet and my phone.”

  “I’ll call Victor.”

  Victor Orozco was the Jackson City sheriff. He’d become a good friend of theirs after his wife and two-year-old son had been seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident. She and Kate had been coming from San Antonio and happened upon the accident. Kate was able to stabilize both victims until the ambulance arrived. The doctors told Victor that Kate’s actions probably saved both of their lives.

  “No. Don’t call Victor, yet,” Ry said. “Wait until we get back. I don’t know how long the report will take, and I have to return that box before it gets any later.” She decided she would wait until after Kate had finished her pancakes to tell her about the insurance. Surely, the mega-dose of sugar and carbohydrates would help curb her anger.

  Kate shrugged. “Okay.” She started toward her car. “You drive.”

  * * *

  The estate sale sign was still posted on the side of the highway. Ry turned onto a county road that if the potholes were any indication, the county had stopped maintaining years ago. She drove slowly; the last thing she needed to do was damage one of the car’s tires or knock the wheels out of alignment. She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally spotted the white ranch-style house with the green sedan in the driveway. “I was worried he wouldn’t still be here.” Ry eased the car into the short driveway behind the green sedan.

  “It’s a creepy looking place,” Kate said and shuddered. “It looks like something out of one of those slasher movies.”

  Ry popped the trunk latch. She hadn’t noticed yesterday how poorly maintained the house and yard were. “It’s just old and run-down. I don’t think anyone has lived here for quite a while.” Her phone rang. She took it from her pocket and glanced at the screen. It was a vendor she knew from San Antonio. Ry decided to call her back later. She laid the phone on the console before she opened the car door and stepped out. “You can wait here if you want. I’ll only be a minute.”

  Kate nodded. Then in a rare moment of playfulness she added, “Yell if anything gets after you.” She waved Ry’s phone at her. “I’ll call nine-one-one.”

  “My s-hero,” Ry replied drily.

  “Hey, I always leave the butch stuff up to you,” Kate replied quickly.

  Ry walked to the back of the car and raised the trunk. She started to take both the metal file box containing the gun and the cardboard box, but they were so heavy she decided it would be better to make two trips. She grabbed the metal box and closed the trunk.

  The smells of autumn filled the air. Fallen leaves and dead grass crunched under her shoes as she made her way across the yard. The large, dark, empty windows stared out of the forsaken house. She couldn’t stop the slight shiver that crawled up her back as she realized how quiet it was. Sounds from the main road didn’t carry this far back. Signs of neglect showed everywhere. Three sides of the isolated house were hemmed in by expansive tree-lined fields dotted with dead, shredded cornstalks, and despite the abundance of trees and brush around, there were no bird sounds. Not even the buzzing of an annoying cicada. She glanced looking for the endless grasshoppers that had been plaguing the area for weeks. Nothing moved.

  Ry couldn’t help but flinch when the weathered planks squealed in protest as she stepped onto the porch. She tried to shake off the eerie feeling. This is all Kate’s fault, she told herself. Why did she have to make that dang slasher movie reference?

  Ry’s unease increased when she knocked on the door and it slowly swung open with a teeth-aching squeal. No matter how hard she fought against the memories, every gruesome movie she had ever seen or heard about came back to her. Not caring whether he was home or not she turned sharply to leave and ran squarely into Kate. Ry couldn’t stop the yelp of fright.

  “You scared the crap out of me,” she snapped, embarrassed that she had given way to such juvenile fears.

  “I felt guilty about sending you in alone. I thought I’d help out by bringing the box of stuff up here for you.” Kate was staring at the door. “Why is the door open?”

  “I don’t know. It opened when I knocked.” With Kate nearby, Ry found a new sense of confidence. She stepped back up to the door and knocked loudly on the doorframe. “Hello.” Inside she could see the large, floral print couch was still there. He had tried to give it to her after she had declined buying it, but it was too modern to be of any use to her.

  “Maybe he’s still asleep,” Kate offered, as she leaned inside the doorway and shouted. “Hello! Is anyone here?”

  Ry studied the car in the driveway. She hadn’t paid much attention to it the day before, but she was certain it was the same one. “It’s a new car,” she began. “I don’t think it’s something someone would just leave sitting out here.”

  “It’s a rental.”

  She looked at Kate in surprise. “How do you know that?”

  “There’s an Avis sticker on the back window.” Kate shoved the door fully open.

  “Hey, we probably shouldn’t…” Her protests were cut short as Kate bolted into the house, dropping the box of books and magazines just inside the doorway.

  Ry started to follow but froze when she saw what had propelled Kate into action. A man covered in blood lay on the floor. From the pools of blood and his ashen color, Ry didn’t need a medical degree to know he was dead. Her stomach started to churn. She quickly backed out of the room. Her head spun as she struggled to breathe. She sat down on the porch and leaned her head against the cool metal of the file box. She was still sitting there when Kate came out talking on her cell phone.

  Kate hung up and sat nex
t to Ry. “Are you okay?” she asked, as she put an arm around her.

  Not trusting her voice, Ry simply grunted.

  “I called nine-one-one,” Kate said. “The sheriff and an ambulance are on the way.”

  “He looked like it was too late for an ambulance,” Ry said as she tried to push the images away.

  “A medical examiner still has to come out.”

  “What happened to him?” Ry asked.

  “He was shot, twice. I think. There’s so much blood, it’s hard to tell without moving him.” She stopped. “I’m sorry. I know it’s hard if you’re not used to it.”

  Who could ever get used to that? “Do you think someone robbed him?” The house had been filled with furniture and household items. He had probably taken in quite a bit of cash yesterday. She had given him a little over three hundred dollars herself.

  “I don’t know. All I know is he hasn’t been dead long. The blood was still fairly fresh.”

  Ry’s head began to spin again as she recalled the river of blood. Just as she leaned her head down, a loud crack split the air. The bullet made a shattering thud as it dug into the wooden post and filled the air with splinters. Instantly, the side of Ry’s face was on fire as the tiny slivers of wood dug into her flesh. Before her brain had time to register why, Ry had Kate by the arm, dragging her into the house. She heard Kate screaming something about her phone as she tried to pull away. Ry tightened her grip. It had been a few years since she’d heard the sound, but that was definitely a gunshot. Another shot shattered the front window as they dove inside. They hit the floor hard.

  Ry slammed the door shut with her foot as two more shots exploded in rapid succession. She rolled away from the door, knowing it wouldn’t do much toward stopping a bullet. Still hugging the floor, she crawled beneath the window that had been shot out. She had to move shards of glass out of her way as she crawled.