The gleam of the gold caught the light.
Sophie and Jolene gasped at its brilliance.Sophie tore her eyes away from the gold and looked up at Cheyenne.“What is this?”
“This is the only piece of the treasure that’s been found.It’s also the reason my mother died.”She caught her breath and said, “Grandy found her after she was forced away from the battle twenty years ago and even while he was beating her to death, she never told him where she found it.”
Sophie sat back in her chair and tears fell silently down her cheeks.“That must have been...Really hard to go through.”She wiped her tears away angrily and looked at Cheyenne.“You show that to Emma and she’ll get word to Patsy.She always has ways to tell her daughter what to go for.Oh, and you might want to warn your officer to watch the impound lot.Patsy has an extra key to the RV and she’ll try to get it back.That damn RV is their own little arsenal of weapons and I don’t think the sheriff has found them all.”
Asa nodded.“I’ll let him know.”He paused then asked her, “You really think this lure would work?”
Sophie nodded.“Oh yeah, this will work.Patsy won’t be able to resist something like that necklace.And I definitely know that Emma won’t.”
“I don’t think Simon will be able to resist it either,” Miss Amy told them.Then she looked over at Cheyenne.“Are you sure you want to risk that piece, honey?”
Cheyenne stared at her for a long moment then she shrugged.“If I had a choice between that damn necklace and another day with my mom I would choose her every time and twice on Sundays.That necklace means nothing to me.She died because Grandy didn’t know when to stop beating her.Then he almost led another ambush on this place to get his hands on it.He was as obsessed with that damn treasure as Amos was.Only in the end, it cost him his life.Can I say I’m sorry about that?Hell no, I’m not sorry he’s dead.But if using that necklace will bring this Patsy girl to us and end this?That’s a risk worth taking.”Cheyenne shook her head.“I may not know Patsy but I’ve known people just like her.I had a foster family like that.They robbed me on even my way out of the hell they had me in.They told me my checks belonged to them as they were the ones feeding me and letting me live under their roof.The only thing was, they were getting money from the state to take care of me.But I wasn’t fool enough to let them get everything.I walked away from that fucking house with enough to start over.”She looked down at the necklace and shook her head.“That bauble means nothing to me but we need to stop the insanity over this treasure.”
Mad Dog had been seated the entire time and he now reached over to take her hand.Raising it, he kissed her palm.
Jolene gasped as she had never seen such a warm, caring gesture in her world.Looking over at her mom, she smiled.
Sophie leaned in close and told her, “See?I told you that there were decent men in the world.”
Asa stared at his daughter, Cheyenne.“You make me proud, girl.Just when I think that my Georgia is gone, I see her in you.
Miss Amy nodded.“Cheyenne is a lot like her.”
They all looked over at Miss Amy.
“Yes, I met sweet Georgia many times on her hikes,” Miss Amy told them.“I liked her a lot.She loved dogs too.”
The room went quiet for a moment as if they were all paying respect to Georgia.
Miss Amy cleared her throat and said, “Then let’s begin this final charade.”She got to her feet and looked at Asa.“We need to take this game to the sheriff’s office.”
Asa got to his feet and grinned.“Yes ma’am.Let’s roll.”He looked over at Mad Dog and the other men under his command.“You boys stay here and watch over the place.Patsy is still out there and she might be watching, hoping to slip in here unnoticed.And yeah we want to catch her, but on our terms, not hers.”
Mad Dog nodded at him.Then he looked around at Steel, Rock and Stroker.“Our terms.”
Nodding their heads, they all grinned at him.
Asa, Miss Amy and Cheyenne got into one of the trucks.
When they arrived at the Sheriff's station, they had to explain why they were there.
Sheriff Abe paused to allow their plan to sink in.“So, you want to take the necklace.Show it off then wait for this Patsy girl to come and get it?”
They all nodded.
“Then once we do that,” Miss Amy explained, “We are going to go after the treasure finally and we will need your help to find out who to give it to.”
He stared at Miss Amy and looked rather shocked.”There really is a Pirate treasure?”
Miss Amy slowly nodded her head at him.“We believe so.”
“Well, damn...”Sheriff Abe shook his head.Then he said, “I agree with you on this, because this has been a helluva year.We even had the FBI here.Famous criminals and all kinds of characters.Once it is found and we get it to a national archive, then tell the world it has been found...maybe the Boondocks can be peaceful and quiet once again.”He ushered all three to the cell area.
Miss Amy looked over at Asa and Cheyenne.“Let me do this, like we discussed in the truck.”
Both of them smiled at her as they nodded.
