talked about Blackbeard for a while longer before he asked about my meeting with Jack, which I’d told him had gone well.
“I spoke to Jack about his idea to subdivide the land,” Garrett continued. “To be honest, I’m not sure what I think about the whole thing, but I told him I’d be willing to look at his plans. It’s going to be really hard on me to have to sell the resort. Seems like cutting it into small pieces will be even harder.”
I crossed the room and sat down on the sofa. “Yeah, I get that. Change in any form is difficult, and the more severe the change the harder it can be. I wish this was easier for you. I grew up on a resort, so I understand how you can become invested in every little aspect of the property. You have your favorite spots where you like to take time for yourself, your favorite traditions with the changing of the seasons, as well as your favorite customers who return every year and feel like family. I know it would kill my dad if he were forced to carve up Maggie’s Hideaway. The resort is almost like a second child to him.”
“Exactly. I knew I chose the right person to oversee this project.”
“Having said that,” I added, “Jack has a point. It’s going to cost a lot of money to renovate the resort as it now stands. Probably more than you would be able to recover.”
My statement was met with silence. I could hear Garrett breathing, so I knew I hadn’t lost the connection.
“I know my health issues are going to most likely prevent me from living a long life. I most likely only have a few years left on this earth. I’ll need money to take care of my needs, but I don’t need a lot, and I don’t have any heirs to leave the rest. The most important thing to me is to find a buyer who will love the resort as much as I do. I need to know that the land and wildlife that make their home on the beach and in the marsh will prosper long after I’m gone.”
“Are you saying you’d be willing to take less money from the right buyer?”
“Absolutely. If I had kin, I’d be passing it down and not selling it at all. Making certain the integrity of my great-grandfather’s vision stays in tact is the most important thing to me.”
“Okay.” I was glad to have that clarified. I had no idea how much money Garrett had or how much he felt he needed, but I did feel that I completely understood his priorities. “I’ll make certain we find you the perfect buyer who will love the land as much as you do.”
Garett let out a long breath. “Thank you. It means the world to me.”
Poor Garrett sounded depressed. I could understand that, but I wished I could do more to make his life a little easier.
“I decided to let the discussion about the resort rest for another day. “I have some news you may find surprising.”
“Could use a surprise.”
“I was in the attic yesterday, trying to straighten up a bit, and I found an old map hidden in the wall.”
“A map? What map?”
That seemed to answer the question as to whether Garrett knew about it and could even have put it there himself. “I’m not really sure. I thought you might know.”
“Don’t know nothin’ about any map. My mother told me she destroyed the one to Barkley’s treasure, and that’s the only map I ever heard anyone mention.”
I tucked my feet up under my legs to make room for Echo, who’d chosen that moment to sit directly in front of me. “We don’t know what this map leads to, but we’re certain it isn’t old enough to have belonged to a pirate who lived in the seventeenth century. My friend Kyle knows someone who works at a museum. He’s going to take a stab at dating it for us.”
“You think there’s another treasure hidden on Gull Island?”
“I don’t know.” Echo put his paw on my lap and I gave him a scratch on the head. “What I do know is that someone has accessed the map’s hiding place recently. I have no way of knowing if it was involved in Buck Barnes’s murder, but
“I spoke to Jack about his idea to subdivide the land,” Garrett continued. “To be honest, I’m not sure what I think about the whole thing, but I told him I’d be willing to look at his plans. It’s going to be really hard on me to have to sell the resort. Seems like cutting it into small pieces will be even harder.”
I crossed the room and sat down on the sofa. “Yeah, I get that. Change in any form is difficult, and the more severe the change the harder it can be. I wish this was easier for you. I grew up on a resort, so I understand how you can become invested in every little aspect of the property. You have your favorite spots where you like to take time for yourself, your favorite traditions with the changing of the seasons, as well as your favorite customers who return every year and feel like family. I know it would kill my dad if he were forced to carve up Maggie’s Hideaway. The resort is almost like a second child to him.”
“Exactly. I knew I chose the right person to oversee this project.”
“Having said that,” I added, “Jack has a point. It’s going to cost a lot of money to renovate the resort as it now stands. Probably more than you would be able to recover.”
My statement was met with silence. I could hear Garrett breathing, so I knew I hadn’t lost the connection.
“I know my health issues are going to most likely prevent me from living a long life. I most likely only have a few years left on this earth. I’ll need money to take care of my needs, but I don’t need a lot, and I don’t have any heirs to leave the rest. The most important thing to me is to find a buyer who will love the resort as much as I do. I need to know that the land and wildlife that make their home on the beach and in the marsh will prosper long after I’m gone.”
“Are you saying you’d be willing to take less money from the right buyer?”
“Absolutely. If I had kin, I’d be passing it down and not selling it at all. Making certain the integrity of my great-grandfather’s vision stays in tact is the most important thing to me.”
“Okay.” I was glad to have that clarified. I had no idea how much money Garrett had or how much he felt he needed, but I did feel that I completely understood his priorities. “I’ll make certain we find you the perfect buyer who will love the land as much as you do.”
Garett let out a long breath. “Thank you. It means the world to me.”
Poor Garrett sounded depressed. I could understand that, but I wished I could do more to make his life a little easier.
“I decided to let the discussion about the resort rest for another day. “I have some news you may find surprising.”
“Could use a surprise.”
“I was in the attic yesterday, trying to straighten up a bit, and I found an old map hidden in the wall.”
“A map? What map?”
That seemed to answer the question as to whether Garrett knew about it and could even have put it there himself. “I’m not really sure. I thought you might know.”
“Don’t know nothin’ about any map. My mother told me she destroyed the one to Barkley’s treasure, and that’s the only map I ever heard anyone mention.”
I tucked my feet up under my legs to make room for Echo, who’d chosen that moment to sit directly in front of me. “We don’t know what this map leads to, but we’re certain it isn’t old enough to have belonged to a pirate who lived in the seventeenth century. My friend Kyle knows someone who works at a museum. He’s going to take a stab at dating it for us.”
“You think there’s another treasure hidden on Gull Island?”
“I don’t know.” Echo put his paw on my lap and I gave him a scratch on the head. “What I do know is that someone has accessed the map’s hiding place recently. I have no way of knowing if it was involved in Buck Barnes’s murder, but
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