common? Are you as unlucky with the ladies as I am with the guys? ”
“ Maybe. ” Before he realized what he was doing, he was telling her about his wife, Melissa, and her tragic death; a subject he studiously avoided even after all these years. Then it was on to his ex-girlfriend, Kaylin, and, finally, his current sometimes-girlfriend, Jade. “ Things just aren’t working out between us. Sometimes I think Jade and I are too much alike, you know? ”
“ I ’ ve got to hand it to you, Maddock. I never suspected you had that many words in your vocabulary, much less you were the kind of guy who would talk relationships for ten minutes straight. ” She reached out, tentatively, and took his hand. It was a good feeling: companionable and comforting.
“ That ’ s the longest I ’ ve ever talked to anybody about relationship crap, ” he said, knowing he sounded a bit too much like Bones. “ Is this typical sibling conversation? ”
“ Don ’ t ask me. I ’ m new at this too . Are we good? ”
“ Yeah, ” he said after a long pause. “ I think we are. It ’ s still weird, though. ”
“ Totally, ” she agreed, slipping her hand from his grasp.
“ How about we bring the two peeping Toms back inside and let ’ s make a plan for getting to whatever Dad wanted us to find? ”
Bones and Angel were making no effort to hide the fact that they were watching Dane and Avery through the window. When Dane motioned for them to come inside, they bounded through the door like children headed to recess.
“ This is so cool! ” Angel said. “ Now I have somebody who can understand what I go through with this assclown. ” She glared at Bones, who feigned innocence and his heart.
“ Time ’ s short. Let ’ s get to work, ” Dane said.
“ Bossy, ” Avery said to Angel in a confiding tone. “ I just told him about that. ”
“ They don ’ t listen, ” Angel said in a mock-whisper. “ You have to learn how to push their buttons to get what you want. I ’ ll show you. ” She smiled at Dane, eyes sparkling, and winked.
Once again, he found himself feeling uncomfortably warm, and hurried on.
“ It ’ s going to be me and Bones going in. You get it, right? ”
Avery gave a grudging nod.
“ What can you tell us about this spot on the map? ” Dane asked.
“ We ’ ll have to compare it against contemporary maps and photos. ” She couldn ’ t hide her guilty expression. “ I lied. I have no idea what spot on the island this correlates to. ”
Dane buried his face in his hands. “ Why me? ”
“ Just kidding. I know exactly what this spot is. ”
Bones and Angel burst out laughing and Angel high-fived Avery.
“ Fine, ” Dane sighed. “ Fill us in. ”
“ The spot here is in the swamp. ” She pointed to the mark that denoted what they presumed was the entrance to the passage. The swamp was a triangular body of water that virtually cut the island in two.
“ I thought the swamp had been investigated and dismissed as a possibility, ” Dane said.
“ Sort of. Back when portions of the island were privately owned, someone tried to drain it . As the water receded, he found what looked like a wooden shaft rising up out of the water, but when they investigated it further, it turned out to only be a few feet deep. He gave up his efforts to drain it any further. After that, there were disputes over the swamp between the different people and groups who owned parts of the island. Eventually, the government took control and , since then, the swamp has been ignored. ”
“ Do you think this map is pointing to that shaft? ” Bones asked. “ If we have to dig, there ’ s no way. ”
“ It ’ s not. Look here. ” She pointed in turn to six circles. “ These indicate the locations of huge granite stones that form what we call the Oak Island Cross. The width of the cross, ” finger hovering millimeters above the aged map, she traced the line, “ is 720 feet, with the center stone perfectly
“ Maybe. ” Before he realized what he was doing, he was telling her about his wife, Melissa, and her tragic death; a subject he studiously avoided even after all these years. Then it was on to his ex-girlfriend, Kaylin, and, finally, his current sometimes-girlfriend, Jade. “ Things just aren’t working out between us. Sometimes I think Jade and I are too much alike, you know? ”
“ I ’ ve got to hand it to you, Maddock. I never suspected you had that many words in your vocabulary, much less you were the kind of guy who would talk relationships for ten minutes straight. ” She reached out, tentatively, and took his hand. It was a good feeling: companionable and comforting.
“ That ’ s the longest I ’ ve ever talked to anybody about relationship crap, ” he said, knowing he sounded a bit too much like Bones. “ Is this typical sibling conversation? ”
“ Don ’ t ask me. I ’ m new at this too . Are we good? ”
“ Yeah, ” he said after a long pause. “ I think we are. It ’ s still weird, though. ”
“ Totally, ” she agreed, slipping her hand from his grasp.
“ How about we bring the two peeping Toms back inside and let ’ s make a plan for getting to whatever Dad wanted us to find? ”
Bones and Angel were making no effort to hide the fact that they were watching Dane and Avery through the window. When Dane motioned for them to come inside, they bounded through the door like children headed to recess.
“ This is so cool! ” Angel said. “ Now I have somebody who can understand what I go through with this assclown. ” She glared at Bones, who feigned innocence and his heart.
“ Time ’ s short. Let ’ s get to work, ” Dane said.
“ Bossy, ” Avery said to Angel in a confiding tone. “ I just told him about that. ”
“ They don ’ t listen, ” Angel said in a mock-whisper. “ You have to learn how to push their buttons to get what you want. I ’ ll show you. ” She smiled at Dane, eyes sparkling, and winked.
Once again, he found himself feeling uncomfortably warm, and hurried on.
“ It ’ s going to be me and Bones going in. You get it, right? ”
Avery gave a grudging nod.
“ What can you tell us about this spot on the map? ” Dane asked.
“ We ’ ll have to compare it against contemporary maps and photos. ” She couldn ’ t hide her guilty expression. “ I lied. I have no idea what spot on the island this correlates to. ”
Dane buried his face in his hands. “ Why me? ”
“ Just kidding. I know exactly what this spot is. ”
Bones and Angel burst out laughing and Angel high-fived Avery.
“ Fine, ” Dane sighed. “ Fill us in. ”
“ The spot here is in the swamp. ” She pointed to the mark that denoted what they presumed was the entrance to the passage. The swamp was a triangular body of water that virtually cut the island in two.
“ I thought the swamp had been investigated and dismissed as a possibility, ” Dane said.
“ Sort of. Back when portions of the island were privately owned, someone tried to drain it . As the water receded, he found what looked like a wooden shaft rising up out of the water, but when they investigated it further, it turned out to only be a few feet deep. He gave up his efforts to drain it any further. After that, there were disputes over the swamp between the different people and groups who owned parts of the island. Eventually, the government took control and , since then, the swamp has been ignored. ”
“ Do you think this map is pointing to that shaft? ” Bones asked. “ If we have to dig, there ’ s no way. ”
“ It ’ s not. Look here. ” She pointed in turn to six circles. “ These indicate the locations of huge granite stones that form what we call the Oak Island Cross. The width of the cross, ” finger hovering millimeters above the aged map, she traced the line, “ is 720 feet, with the center stone perfectly
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