key.
“There’s no way it fits this trunk, but it does fit something.” He held up the black key. “This, however, has to be it.”
Deacon had cleaned off the lock while she was upstairs. It looked old, but not dating back to the 1700s. He slid the key in, and after a little jiggling, the thick lock clicked open. Sydney held her breath as Deacon worked to pry the heavy lid open. With a groan and a creak, it gave way and finally lifted. She had done it. Sydney had found the family treasure.
CHAPTER TEN
Sydney breathed in and coughed. Her family treasure stunk! When Deacon lifted the lid, all she could see were layers of tan canvases overlapping. The trunk looked to be constructed of wood and then covered both on the inside and outside with leather. Then large sheets of canvas enclosed all the items.
“What is that? And why does it smell?” Sydney gasped as Deacon got up and opened the outside door. He tried not to turn green from the stench. The fresh air blew into the room as he also reached up to turn on the ceiling fan.
“It’s waterproof canvas. The old-fashioned way to waterproof was with wax and oil. I know you want to jump right in, but let’s let it air out with the fan for a bit. You never know if anything toxic has built up over time.” Deacon guided a disappointed Sydney into the kitchen and closed the door between the two rooms. “I’ll make you lunch, and then we can go in and check it out.”
“I hate sitting here doing nothing,” Sydney told him as she took a seat on the bar top.
Deacon reached for some bread and started making sandwiches. The night before, as he held Sydney in his arms, his mind had turned to losing her. He ran over every word the attacker had said to her and one thing had stuck out.
“We won’t be doing nothing . We’re going to work on finding Bailey. Something bothered me. He knew you had been looking for him. One of the people you emailed must have told him.”
Deacon saw Sydney recoil in shock. “You’re right. I can’t believe one of my friends would be caught up in this. It’s too horrible to even contemplate. The only people I emailed were people I’ve worked with for many years.”
“Tell me about them. Who did you email and how do you know them?” Deacon asked as he pulled lettuce and tomato from the stainless steel refrigerator.
“I emailed my mom. I think we can cross her off the list,” Sydney said dryly. “Then I emailed my old agent. I worked with her for six years. She’s the one who told me about their shady reputation.”
Deacon nodded as he cataloged the probability of the leak. “Most likely not. Who else?”
“I emailed some of my fellow models. None of them has ever been with Tristan, and they’re women I traveled all across the world with. They’re like sisters to me.” Sydney took a deep breath and Deacon could see the thought cross her face that one of them had sold her out.
“Which one don’t you trust?” he asked quietly.
“Emily Tamlin. We were close, but not as close as the others. She was always more concerned about being friends with us so she could use us than being a true friend. However, she was never mean about it. Just opportunistic.”
“Anyone else?”
“Patrick Mawler. He’s a famous photographer. Then there was Teddy Brown, the designer. That’s everyone I emailed.”
“What do you think of Patrick and Teddy?” Deacon asked as he sliced the sandwich in half and put it on a plate for her.
“They’re geniuses. They’ve worked with everyone. They said they knew Durante, but they didn’t go into much detail and said they never heard of one of his agents named Vic or a girl named Bailey.”
“I think we have to put Emily, Patrick, and Teddy on the suspect list. I’ll do some research into them and see if I can find a connection to Tristan.” Deacon pushed the plate across the island to Sydney. She took it and didn’t say much as she ate. That was fine with Deacon. He was too busy
“There’s no way it fits this trunk, but it does fit something.” He held up the black key. “This, however, has to be it.”
Deacon had cleaned off the lock while she was upstairs. It looked old, but not dating back to the 1700s. He slid the key in, and after a little jiggling, the thick lock clicked open. Sydney held her breath as Deacon worked to pry the heavy lid open. With a groan and a creak, it gave way and finally lifted. She had done it. Sydney had found the family treasure.
CHAPTER TEN
Sydney breathed in and coughed. Her family treasure stunk! When Deacon lifted the lid, all she could see were layers of tan canvases overlapping. The trunk looked to be constructed of wood and then covered both on the inside and outside with leather. Then large sheets of canvas enclosed all the items.
“What is that? And why does it smell?” Sydney gasped as Deacon got up and opened the outside door. He tried not to turn green from the stench. The fresh air blew into the room as he also reached up to turn on the ceiling fan.
“It’s waterproof canvas. The old-fashioned way to waterproof was with wax and oil. I know you want to jump right in, but let’s let it air out with the fan for a bit. You never know if anything toxic has built up over time.” Deacon guided a disappointed Sydney into the kitchen and closed the door between the two rooms. “I’ll make you lunch, and then we can go in and check it out.”
“I hate sitting here doing nothing,” Sydney told him as she took a seat on the bar top.
Deacon reached for some bread and started making sandwiches. The night before, as he held Sydney in his arms, his mind had turned to losing her. He ran over every word the attacker had said to her and one thing had stuck out.
“We won’t be doing nothing . We’re going to work on finding Bailey. Something bothered me. He knew you had been looking for him. One of the people you emailed must have told him.”
Deacon saw Sydney recoil in shock. “You’re right. I can’t believe one of my friends would be caught up in this. It’s too horrible to even contemplate. The only people I emailed were people I’ve worked with for many years.”
“Tell me about them. Who did you email and how do you know them?” Deacon asked as he pulled lettuce and tomato from the stainless steel refrigerator.
“I emailed my mom. I think we can cross her off the list,” Sydney said dryly. “Then I emailed my old agent. I worked with her for six years. She’s the one who told me about their shady reputation.”
Deacon nodded as he cataloged the probability of the leak. “Most likely not. Who else?”
“I emailed some of my fellow models. None of them has ever been with Tristan, and they’re women I traveled all across the world with. They’re like sisters to me.” Sydney took a deep breath and Deacon could see the thought cross her face that one of them had sold her out.
“Which one don’t you trust?” he asked quietly.
“Emily Tamlin. We were close, but not as close as the others. She was always more concerned about being friends with us so she could use us than being a true friend. However, she was never mean about it. Just opportunistic.”
“Anyone else?”
“Patrick Mawler. He’s a famous photographer. Then there was Teddy Brown, the designer. That’s everyone I emailed.”
“What do you think of Patrick and Teddy?” Deacon asked as he sliced the sandwich in half and put it on a plate for her.
“They’re geniuses. They’ve worked with everyone. They said they knew Durante, but they didn’t go into much detail and said they never heard of one of his agents named Vic or a girl named Bailey.”
“I think we have to put Emily, Patrick, and Teddy on the suspect list. I’ll do some research into them and see if I can find a connection to Tristan.” Deacon pushed the plate across the island to Sydney. She took it and didn’t say much as she ate. That was fine with Deacon. He was too busy
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