Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I was determined to finish my coursework, including my final project before summer made my work schedule crazy with festivals. Like the one at the end of the month. I used to love Memorial Day weekend when I worked a real job as an attorney. It meant a long weekend where I didn't have to do anything. Of course, I typically took work home to complete during the long weekend, but at least I wasn't in the office. Now, long weekends meant more tourists and more tourists meant more money for our businesses. The joy of being self-employed, I guess. You just became your own bad boss.

After work on Wednesday, I headed straight to campus and the library. I needed to finish the research on my last project, and time was running out. My phone rang as I turned onto the Pacific Coast Highway toward Bakerstown. Checking the car display, I hit the button to answer. "Hey, Greg, what's going on?"

"I wanted to see if you were home yet. I'm feeling like grabbing lunch at Lille's. What's that noise?"

"The wind in my hair. Hold on a second." I rolled up the windows. "Is that better?"

"Much. But you're not in town, are you?"

Maybe I was imagining it, but I thought I heard disappointment in Greg's voice. It could have been that Tiny's stuffed meatloaf was Diamond Lille's special today. "No, sorry. I'm heading to the library to work on my project. I didn't even go home because I didn't want to see Emma's disappointed face. Can you stop in and let her out on your way to lunch?"

"Who said I was going to lunch without you?" He chuckled. "Fine, I'll run home first and let her out."

"So is everything okay in South Cove? You seemed to be a little concerned with my run yesterday. And then you had that meeting last night." Greg hadn't come home for dinner. Instead, he'd met up with Bill Sullivan from the city council for a meeting.

"Nothing to worry about. Bill and I were just talking about ways to increase my payroll budget. The state has a grant program through the tourist division for festival assistance. I'm going to have to apply for every festival we have to keep the guys on full-time. And get some extra help from other departments." He sighed. "Thank goodness I have Esmeralda here to help. I'm not sure I could run everything without her."

"You need to tell her that. It's nice to be appreciated." I also knew that our neighbor and local fortune-teller was considering moving back home to New Orleans to marry her childhood sweetheart. It would kill Greg to lose her, but life happened, right? "Anyway, I'll be home late, so you're on your own for dinner. I'm grabbing something at the SUB."

"Sure, abandon me for both meals."

I laughed. "Dude, you lived for years as a bachelor. I'm sure you can feed yourself until the end of the month. I'll just be glad to have this degree finished."

"Maybe I'll call your aunt and see what she and Harrold are doing for dinner."

I knew it was an idle threat. Greg liked my aunt in small doses. "If you want her to go all Suzy Homemaker on me for leaving you hungry and defenseless, go for it. Otherwise, I'll see you when I get home."

"I love you, Jill."

His tone made me smile as much as the words did. "I love you, too."

After hanging up, I rolled the windows back down and turned up the tunes. Greg and I were in a great spot. It had taken years for me to relax enough in our relationship to be able to say the three little words without freaking out just a bit. Now, they rolled off my tongue. I was growing up.

After pulling into the campus parking lot, I rolled up the windows, locked the Jeep, and got into student mode. I knew what I needed to finish by the end of the day. I just hoped my goals weren't too lofty. Otherwise, my project was going to roll into summer and be another to-do item on my already crammed list.

* * * *

Later that evening, I was in the library reading when I heard my name called. I looked up to see Professor Horace Wellborn coming toward me. I'd taken several of his California history classes for electives during my program. Probably more than I needed, but being well versed in the area's history was important for a bookseller. At least, that was my story. I just loved learning about local history.

"Professor Wellborn, nice to see you." I glanced around my section of the library, and besides one girl with earbuds over in the corner, the place was empty. That was one of the reasons I headed up to the fourth floor when I wanted to work.

"Nice to see you as well. I've been meaning to call you. I've been researching an amazing find in your little town. A local antique dealer found a journal that seems to have directions to a lost treasure." The enthusiasm beamed from his face. "It's probably nothing, but I've found some corresponding material here that seems to corroborate the fact that this bank robber actually settled here in the area. Rumor was he died young, but his last bank heist was in gold bullion. Wouldn't that be amazing to find?"

"It would." I could only imagine that the local antique dealer had to be Josh. Maybe that was why he'd been silent for the last few meetings except for his engagement announcement. He'd been researching buried treasure and didn't want to share the information with anyone. This would make interesting dinner conversation tomorrow. "Are you working with Josh Thomas?"

"Yes, that's his name. He brought the journal in a few months ago for me to read. I was quite skeptical. You know how these things go. Everyone thinks they found pirate gold." He chuckled. "But the family lineage seems to match up with a Gabriel Santiago, who lived in this area when it was first settled."

"My shop is right next door to Josh's, so if you're ever in South Cove, be sure to stop by." I gave a pointed glance to my notebook.

"Oh, yes, well, I can see you're working. I'll be in South Cove on Friday, actually. I'll stop by your coffee shop." Professor Wellborn paused. "Please tell Mr. Thomas that he should be careful with the journal. There are people out there who would kill for it." Then he hurried off.

I watched him leave, stunned. Had Josh actually found a real treasure? The guy talked about antiques like they were all precious. I sat down, then realized I'd be leaving town around noon. Hopefully, the professor was an early bird, or he'd think I'd forgotten about my invitation. I stood and thought about following him to explain, but as I did, I saw him on the elevator through the stacks. The doors closed, and so did my opportunity to let him know. I'd have Deek Kerr, the barista who worked Fridays, give him a tour if he actually showed up. Deek liked people. Especially talking with professors.

When I got home, a note was on the kitchen table. I picked it up as I let Emma out. Since it was still warm outside, I stepped out on the porch with her and read the note aloud. "Sorry, honey, I had a call out. If you're still up, I'll see you when I get back."

Emma climbed the few steps from the lawn and sat down in front of me. I'm sure her message was It's not really too late to run.

But this time, my dog was wrong. We were getting the last few rays of sunshine before the sun set. Then the beach would be dark, especially since it was a new moon. I rubbed her ears. "Sorry, girl. I only have a few more weeks of this."

As we went inside to watch a movie while we waited for Greg, I wondered how she was going to take my weekend trip. All I could hope for was that it would rain while I was gone. Except it would rain on my parade as well since we were going to tourist our way through Santa Barbara after the fitting and checking in with the venue.

The next morning, I heard Greg talking to Emma downstairs. I never could hear the words as I got ready for my day, but the two of them seemed to have good conversations, especially when I wasn't around. Or was I being paranoid?

I stumbled down the last three stairs, and both of them turned to watch as I pulled myself back to vertical.

"Maybe you should sleep a little longer," Greg said as he poured me a cup of coffee. "What time did you stop reading last night?"

"Midnight. Or maybe twelve thirty. You were late." I slipped into a chair and took the coffee, holding the cup with two hands like it was an elixir that would magically give me alertness and energy with just one sip. It was going to be a long day.

"Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about that." He sat next to me. "Now, don't get upset."

"Aunt Jackie? No, you would have called. Not Harrold. Or one of my staff?" My mind raced through the names of people I cared about.

He held up his hand. "What kind of monster do you think I am? If it was your aunt or your uncle, I would have called. And the same with any of your staff. It's just that we're not sure yet if this person had run into foul play or just took off for a few days."

"Okay, who is missing?" I took another sip of coffee. "Oh no. It's not Darla, is it? She was acting so weird on Tuesday. Do I need to call her? Maybe she'll pick up for me."

"Jill, stop." He took a breath. "Mandy Jensen's missing."

It took a minute for her name to register. "Mandy, like in Josh's Mandy? She's missing?"

He nodded. "You said you talked to her on Tuesday, right?"

I paused to make sure I was remembering right. When you're involved with a police detective, it tends to change the way you answer some questions. Like this one. "Let me remember. Yes, it was right after I got off work, and I was taking Emma for a run. And I didn't run her yesterday, as I was working at the library. So, yes, I talked with her Tuesday, about one?"

"Okay, Josh said she didn't stop by the store before she went home, so you might be the last person to see her. Did she seem upset? Ready to run away?" Greg had taken out his small notebook he always carried and was making notes as I talked.

"No, she was excited that Josh had finally told the business council about the wedding. We talked about getting together at dinner. I guess they aren't coming tonight?"

He shook his head. "Not unless she just went to a friend's house and didn't tell Josh. But that's not likely. He's going crazy. He stayed at the station yesterday while we did all the calling to the hospitals and such. Her truck is still at the farm stand, although it was locked. Either she went for a drink with someone who stopped by, or…"

"Poor Josh. He finally finds someone who likes him—well, loves him—and she disappears just before the wedding. That guy has no luck at all." I peeled a banana. "At least in love. Professor Wellborn said Josh found a valuable journal that may lead to buried treasure."

Greg's head snapped up. "What?"

"I ran into the professor at the library. He said he'd been working with someone from South Cove about a new find. He seemed quite excited about it." I polished off the banana and stood to get a carton of yogurt since I was still hungry. Greg had been on me to eat before I went to work so the cookies wouldn't call my name so loudly. It wasn't working.

"Funny, Josh didn't mention buried treasure. You don't think it was just an academic find, do you?"

I shut the fridge and turned back, grabbing a spoon from the drawer. "Oh, I forgot. Professor Wellborn said Josh should keep the journal close and not tell anyone about it. Of course, the professor is running his mouth about the find. Maybe I could be a bad guy."

This time, Greg laughed.

"What?" I stopped eating and stared at him. "It could happen."

"Not in this lifetime, but sure." He stood and kissed me. "I need to go talk to Josh about this buried treasure thing and see if he has gotten any ransom calls. At least it gives us a reason why Mandy might have been kidnapped."

"Wait, I thought you believed she was just missing. Cold feet from the wedding." I watched him grab his travel mug and head to the doorway.

"That was before you gave me a plausible kidnapping motive. I can't believe how you are always in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Maybe I'm always in the right place at the right time," I said to Emma, since Greg had already left the house.

I finished my yogurt, then got ready for work. Saying a quick prayer for Mandy's safety, I added one for Josh's sanity as I walked up the hill toward town. I had a busy day, but at least one thing was off my plate. Josh and Mandy wouldn't be coming for dinner. Maybe Greg and I would do burgers, then. If he even came home. When he was in an investigation, he disappeared into his work.

I didn't mind it really. I could entertain myself. All I needed was a good book. Of course, I also had the girls' trip starting tomorrow. I knew it was bad to be happy when Josh and Mandy were having problems, but I couldn't change what was happening to them.

The antique store was still closed when I walked by, but that wasn't unusual. Josh opened about ten, where, since I was the premier coffee place in town, I had customers lining up at six. Today, though, no one stood at the door waiting or sat at any of the tables, so I hurried in to get set up before the first commuter arrived.

The walk-ins slowed down about ten, and of course, my cell phone rang right when I was thinking about finishing the book I'd been reading last night. "Hello?"

"Jill Gardner?" a female voice asked.

"This is Jill. Can I help you?" I hoped it wasn't a last, final offer for a car warranty on my Jeep.

"Yes, this is Martha Long at the Santa Barbara mission. I see you're scheduled for a wedding and a reception this October?"

"Yes. I'm so excited. I was coming by this weekend to see the site again. It's so beautiful."

"I just need your priest's name and parish for the wedding."

"Excuse me?"

"The church is part of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and therefore we only allow Catholic weddings on the grounds. If you're not affiliated, we can do a reception outside, but not the wedding either inside or out."

I felt sick. "That's not what George and I talked about when I booked the site. He said it wouldn't be a problem. We have our own minister from South Cove who's a friend who is going to officiate."

"I'm sorry, George is no longer working here. He was not following our guidelines. Do you want to keep your reservation? As you know, our mission is very popular for weddings. I'm sure I'll be able to get most of your deposit back."

The woman sounded so chipper as she ruined my carefully planned wedding. For a second time. My soon-to-be mother-in-law had nixed our June wedding. Which would have probably slipped through Martha's strict rules. I felt like I was going to throw up. "I need some time to process this. So you're telling me that unless we join your church and have a priest do the wedding, we can't get married at the mission."

"Exactly. Although I'm not sure you could meet all the requirements to join by October." She paused. "Look, I know this is a shock, so I'll give you until Monday to make your decision. Will that work?"

"I think so." I tried to think of other ideas for the wedding venue, but we'd nixed so many in favor of the mission. "I'll pull out my planning folder and get back to you. What's your name and number again?"

After I hung up, I sank into the couch and closed my eyes. Now I had one more thing on my to-do list. And I'd been ready to send the invitations next week. I'd have to find a new venue, at least for the wedding, decide on the reception, then design new invites, and maybe they would get sent the following week.

My perfectly planned wedding was going down the tubes, again. Hopefully, the third time really was a charm.