Search Me(39)

“As tempting as that sounds, I was thinking more of a monetary payoff.”

I threw my hands up in exasperation. “You have got to be freaking kidding me. Ten minutes ago we were pests with a phony map and now because of a little animal skin parchment you want a piece of the ‘alleged gold’?”

Paul gave me an arrogant smirk. “Didn’t you ever stop to imagine that might be a stipulation of my services?”

“But you’re not even translating the whole thing.”

“Keep up that attitude, and I won’t transcribe one word,” he challenged.

“Enough.” Maddox stepped between Paul and me. “We’ll be happy to cut you in on whatever we find.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and growled in frustration. “It was Maudie’s painting. She deserves all the gold considering she almost died for it.” I then proceeded to spill the entire story of what had happened to us in the last fifteen hours. I couldn’t help getting teary when I told about Paul about Maudie being shot and being in a coma. Paul’s mouth gaped open, and his eyes widened at the parts about Jensen chasing us and then the shootout that followed.

“That’s unbelievable,” he said when I finished.

I wiped my eyes. “Yeah, and allegedly so is a map to hidden Cherokee gold.”

Paul leaned back in his chair, and his expression softened. “Believe me when I say I’m truly sorry for what the two of you have been through.”

“Thanks,” Maddox and I grumbled in unison.

“I realize after dealing with armed men and potential murderers that when I said I wanted monetary compensation, you assumed my intentions were selfish—that the money would be only for me.”

“Well, who else would it be for?” I asked.

“I want it for the park—you know, to fund more educational projects. The historical items we can’t get grant money for.” He eyed the pile of paperwork on his desk contemptuously. “And to help pad our budget so I don’t get stuck doing all this extra work.”

“Seriously?” Maddox asked.

Paul nodded. “It’s the truth.”

I glanced over at Maddox, and he gave a short bob of his head. I mean, what choice did we have? We were between a rock and a hard place, and at least the gold would go to a good cause and not to some asshat like Jensen.

“Okay, fine.” I extended my hand. “It’s a deal.”

Paul shook my hand. Then he sat back down and picked up a legal pad and pen. He started furiously scribbling down words. His head would bob between the map and the paper. Finally, he put his pen down. “Okay, I think I have it.”

I leaned over and started reading aloud:

With the power of the white, leave where there are tracks and travel into the place where the yellow gift was first found. From there, ward off the devastation of the Black Man to go into where the rocks talk. Find the cave where the pretty fawn shed her tears. Under the place of the sacred fire you will find the bloodstained treasure.

“That’s it?”

Paul and I glanced up at Maddox. His face contorted with extreme frustration. “That’s like some whacked out riddle. It doesn’t tell shit about where the gold is!”

Paul sighed dramatically. “Did you actually think it would spell it all out for you? The Cherokees weren’t stupid, especially when it came to their treasure.”

I groaned and threw my head back. “Now what?”

“As per our deal, there’s nothing else for me to do. It’s all in your hands,” Paul replied.

“Then we’re totally and completely screwed,” Maddox growled, flopping down on the plush leather couch.

“Look, I’m still not a hundred percent sold on the map’s authenticity or the fact that there’s really gold at the end of the search. But to show you that I’m not totally unfeeling, I do have something else that should have the answers you need,” Paul said, walking over to one of his bookshelves.

“Let me guess. It’s some fat-ass volume of Cherokee lore that will have the answers to our riddle?” Maddox asked.

Paul chuckled. “Aren’t you a smart one?” He selected an ancient looking book that could have doubled as a weapon since it was so heavy. When he placed it in my hands, the smell of dust and musty earth invaded my nose.

I ran my fingers over the worn cover that read Cherokee Lore: The History of the Eastern Band of Cherokees, Past and Present. “Wow, that’s an intense title for an intense looking book.”

“The historian who wrote it was very thorough.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” I turned to Maddox and jerked my head to the door. “I guess we better get going. I know you have a lot of work to do.”

Maddox hopped off the couch. “Yeah, and unfortunately so do we.”

Just as we got to the door, Paul cleared his throat. “Here’s one last thing and then really you have to get the hell out of here.” After Maddox and I whirled around, he continued. “The Cherokees were really big on numbers and colors being symbolic. I’d start there with the research.”

I smiled. “Thanks, we will.”

After closing the office door, Maddox moaned and rubbed his eyes. “Great. Now we have to spend the rest of the afternoon reading through that moldy book instead of hunting the treasure.”