until we can be sure these awful people stay off our property, I
won’t take the risk. If that means we lose the farm, so be it. I don’t care
anymore.”
Her voice caught, exposing the lie. She
did care. If we lost the farm, it would not only be the end of a business, but
of a historic tradition. Chases had been on the property since the founding of
the colony, and now we were the only ones left who cared enough to run it. If
we lost the property, the banks would subdivide it and build. Uncle Michael’s
heart would have broken at the idea.
I can’t let this happen , I thought. But
what can I do about it?
We sat in silence for a moment. I wondered
how I could convince Aunt Susanna that the trails were safe enough to keep open
when I couldn’t even convince myself.
Then she lowered the boom.
“What are you going to do about Professor
Randall?”
After a long, weary day of unexpected
surprises, you’d think I’d have grown immune to shock, but I hadn’t. When I
finally recovered my voice, I managed to squeak, “What?”
She was calm and steady. “What are you going
to do about his proposal? He told me he talked to you tonight.”
I remembered: she’d let him into the
house. Of course, she must have had some conversation with him. I relaxed and
was able to answer evenly. “Oh, right, yes, that crank. He wanted to look for
the treasure. I told him to take a hike.”
“You did?” Aunt Susanna cocked her head.
“But - didn’t he tell you about the letter?”
My heart sunk. “The letter?”
She regarded me soberly. “It’s a fake,
Maddie.”
“A fake?” I squeaked. “When did he tell
you that?”
He told her, he told her I forged it, he
told her and she’ll…
She was saying, “Darlene and I pulled up
just as you left in the ambulance. I was frightened, as you can imagine.
Randall was there, watching you go. He told us what had happened and then
Darlene asked him what he was doing here. She recognized him right off,
actually.”
“Recognized him?”
I was horrified. So Darlene knew,
too? Did Randall tell everyone what I had done?
“From his books – Darlene’s read them and she
recognized his picture. Well, he told me that he had watched the Dulles show
and was interested in the McInnis robbery. Did you know that he’s an expert in
treasure hunting? He found those papers in New York and it made him the go-to
guy for finding lost historical items. Even Mark Dulles consults with him.”
“I’m not surprised Randall told you that,”
I said bitterly. “He struck me as a braggart.”
Aunt Susanna’s eyes flashed, but she
continued. “Anyway, he showed us his copy of the letter and told us his
theory.” She leaned forward and I instinctively retreated. “We’ve been lied to,
Maddie. Someone clever enough to fool Professor Maddox forged that letter from
Beaumont and planted it where we’d be sure to find it. They wanted us to stop
looking for that treasure, to stop looking for the truth about Alexander Chase.
They wanted me to think that Michael was mistaken, but he wasn’t ,
Maddie! Michael was right – all along, he was right! There’s more to
Alexander’s story and Michael was right!”
Her eyes began to fill with tears and I
stared at her, my mind whirling.
Someone clever enough to fool Professor
Maddox…
Then Randall hadn’t told Aunt Susanna
about my involvement in the letter’s creation. Surely she would guess soon
enough… But why hadn’t he clued her in? He knew I was behind the whole thing
and he knew I would block his attempts to search for the treasure. So why
hadn’t he used his suspicions to try to drive a wedge between Aunt Susanna and
me and convince her to go along with it?
“You don’t know…” Aunt Susanna was wiping
her eyes on a napkin, sniffing, and I braced myself. “You don’t know what it
meant to me to hear that, Maddie. All this time, thinking that your uncle died
for nothing – that he’d been mistaken. I don’t mean about the
won’t take the risk. If that means we lose the farm, so be it. I don’t care
anymore.”
Her voice caught, exposing the lie. She
did care. If we lost the farm, it would not only be the end of a business, but
of a historic tradition. Chases had been on the property since the founding of
the colony, and now we were the only ones left who cared enough to run it. If
we lost the property, the banks would subdivide it and build. Uncle Michael’s
heart would have broken at the idea.
I can’t let this happen , I thought. But
what can I do about it?
We sat in silence for a moment. I wondered
how I could convince Aunt Susanna that the trails were safe enough to keep open
when I couldn’t even convince myself.
Then she lowered the boom.
“What are you going to do about Professor
Randall?”
After a long, weary day of unexpected
surprises, you’d think I’d have grown immune to shock, but I hadn’t. When I
finally recovered my voice, I managed to squeak, “What?”
She was calm and steady. “What are you going
to do about his proposal? He told me he talked to you tonight.”
I remembered: she’d let him into the
house. Of course, she must have had some conversation with him. I relaxed and
was able to answer evenly. “Oh, right, yes, that crank. He wanted to look for
the treasure. I told him to take a hike.”
“You did?” Aunt Susanna cocked her head.
“But - didn’t he tell you about the letter?”
My heart sunk. “The letter?”
She regarded me soberly. “It’s a fake,
Maddie.”
“A fake?” I squeaked. “When did he tell
you that?”
He told her, he told her I forged it, he
told her and she’ll…
She was saying, “Darlene and I pulled up
just as you left in the ambulance. I was frightened, as you can imagine.
Randall was there, watching you go. He told us what had happened and then
Darlene asked him what he was doing here. She recognized him right off,
actually.”
“Recognized him?”
I was horrified. So Darlene knew,
too? Did Randall tell everyone what I had done?
“From his books – Darlene’s read them and she
recognized his picture. Well, he told me that he had watched the Dulles show
and was interested in the McInnis robbery. Did you know that he’s an expert in
treasure hunting? He found those papers in New York and it made him the go-to
guy for finding lost historical items. Even Mark Dulles consults with him.”
“I’m not surprised Randall told you that,”
I said bitterly. “He struck me as a braggart.”
Aunt Susanna’s eyes flashed, but she
continued. “Anyway, he showed us his copy of the letter and told us his
theory.” She leaned forward and I instinctively retreated. “We’ve been lied to,
Maddie. Someone clever enough to fool Professor Maddox forged that letter from
Beaumont and planted it where we’d be sure to find it. They wanted us to stop
looking for that treasure, to stop looking for the truth about Alexander Chase.
They wanted me to think that Michael was mistaken, but he wasn’t ,
Maddie! Michael was right – all along, he was right! There’s more to
Alexander’s story and Michael was right!”
Her eyes began to fill with tears and I
stared at her, my mind whirling.
Someone clever enough to fool Professor
Maddox…
Then Randall hadn’t told Aunt Susanna
about my involvement in the letter’s creation. Surely she would guess soon
enough… But why hadn’t he clued her in? He knew I was behind the whole thing
and he knew I would block his attempts to search for the treasure. So why
hadn’t he used his suspicions to try to drive a wedge between Aunt Susanna and
me and convince her to go along with it?
“You don’t know…” Aunt Susanna was wiping
her eyes on a napkin, sniffing, and I braced myself. “You don’t know what it
meant to me to hear that, Maddie. All this time, thinking that your uncle died
for nothing – that he’d been mistaken. I don’t mean about the
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