Chapter 18 Luke

CHAPTER 18

LUKE

Luke sat beside Tay on a park bench, both of them staring at the town fountain, which they were now calling their "nemesis." They'd been here, examining the darned thing for hours now, and had nothing to show for it.

Tay leaned back, her feet straight out in front of her, her arms crossed as she scowled. "I can't figure it out."

"It's perplexing." Luke frowned, trying to tamp down his own impatience. "There's nothing there."

"We've missed something." She pulled out her phone and opened some photos. "I took pictures of every side. Do you see anything? I didn't."

"I've already looked at those. More than once, too."

She shook her phone impatiently.

He sighed and took it. After staring intently at every photo, he handed it back. "I don't see anything either."

"It has to be there!" Tay adjusted her glasses, the abruptness of her movements conveying her exasperation.

He eyed the fountain in frustrated silence. As structures went, it wasn't all that outstanding. It was of a good size, like most fountains of that era. The exterior was of red brick and capped with plates of smooth white marble that were common in these parts; there were a number of quarries dotting the nearby countryside. The interior of the fountain was concrete, just like that of every fountain he'd ever seen. And the spout and the piping seemed normal, too.

"I wonder…" Tay tilted her head to one side. "Is the concrete lining new? Could there have been tiles there at one point?"

"It would be nice if there had been tiles spelling out a new clue, wouldn't it?"

She nodded morosely. "But that would be too obvious."

"I'd think so. I can't say for certain if the lining is original, but concrete was pretty standard even in the 1900s."

"Really?"

"Yup. The Greeks had concrete over five thousand years ago. Heck, the earliest record of it being used was around…" He frowned, trying to remember. "I think it was 6500 BC."

She shot him a curious look. "How do you know that?"

He raised his hand. "Hi. My name is Luke and I'm a documentary addict."

She smiled. "Me too. How many do you think you've seen?"

"Hundreds, probably thousands. I know a lot of useless information. It's one of my—"

"Uncle Luke!" Lulu came running up, Grandma Rose not far behind. "Can I stay with you? I don't have any homework today."

Grandma Rose leaned against her cane. "She was driving me crazy, chattering like a mad monkey. I figured she could come here and play while you and Miss Tay do your thing." She looked around curiously. "What is your thing, by the way?"

"The fountain," Tay answered with an impatient sigh. "The clue we retrieved from the gravestones sent us here."

Luke eyed his grandmother curiously. "How did you know we were here?"

Tay elbowed him. "You know how."

He sighed. "Right. We're town celebrities. People talk."

Grandma Rose looked at the fountain. "I don't see anything remarkable about it."

"Neither do we," Luke admitted. From his seat on the bench, he leaned forward and zipped up Lulu's jacket, pulling the collar closer to her round face. "Lulu, you can play if you like. I'll be right here."

Lulu gave an excited hop. "I'm going to swing !" She yelled the last word as she hopped and skipped to the swing set on the other side of the fountain.

He watched her go and had to smile. It was beautiful today, the wind still chilly, but the smell of the grass warmed by the sun was enough to remind a person that spring wasn't far off.

He turned back to Grandma Rose. "Who's watching the bookshop?"

"I put up the ‘Back in Fifteen Minutes' sign. It'll be fine, although I can't be gone long." Her gaze flickered past Luke and Tay to the town hall, which was located just across the parking lot. "You all have an audience."

He followed her gaze and realized that there were faces peering out at them from various windows. He recognized Grace and Zoe and— Hold on. Was that Ella and Gray watching from the town office? Ugh. There is no privacy in a town like this.

Grandma Rose nodded to the library across the street. "It looks as if Sarah and the new library part-timer are wondering what you two are doing, too."

Sure enough, Sarah and her new assistant librarian were now sitting on the top stoop of the library, watching Tay and Luke as if ready for a circus to begin. Now that he was aware of the onlookers, Luke noticed several other storefronts where people stood in their doorways. "The whole town is here. Well, part of it, anyway."

"There's not much going on in town today," Grandma Rose said. "They're hoping you'll find that gold, but it looks to me like they're bound to be disappointed. You seem to be at a dead end."

"For now, but we're not giving up," Tay said in a stubborn voice.

Luke liked how she snapped her words when she said things like that.

Grandma Rose didn't look impressed. "Yeah, well, good luck with that. If life has taught me anything, it's that what you want and what you get may be very different things. I— Lulu!" Scowling, Grandma Rose headed for the swings. "Who swings hanging upside down like that? It's dangerous!"

Luke watched her head to where Lulu was leaning so far back in her swing that she was indeed somewhat upside down. "I used to do that all the time." He noticed how badly his grandmother was limping today and wondered if he should speak to Doc Bolton about it.

Tay said, "She's a sweetheart."

Luke sent her a disbelieving glance, then realized she wasn't looking at Grandma Rose but at Lulu. "She is a sweetheart."

"It must be strange, becoming a parent all at once."

"It was a shock to both of us," he admitted. He matched his posture to Tay's, stretching out his legs and crossing his arms over his chest. "But it saved me, in a way."

She shot him a surprised look. "Saved?"

"I was drifting when Lulu first arrived. I was making money hand over fist, and it seemed as if I was super successful, but it didn't feel that way. I was deeply bored with work."

"So Lulu changed that."

He watched as Lulu, now sitting upright, kicked her legs so she could swing higher. She looked so little on that swing, her coat almost swallowing her, that his throat grew tight. "Having a child around can kick you out of the rat race and back into sanity faster than anything else on this planet."

"Did you hate your job so much?"

"I loved coding. Still do. It's what I did in the beginning. But then a friend of mine was working on a cybersecurity project and asked me to join him for a few months, so I took a little detour to help him. I made crazy money." Luke had to laugh when he remembered seeing his first paycheck. He'd been astounded and—although he hadn't known it at the time—seduced. "Before I knew it, I was working days, nights, and weekends, and taking on bigger and bigger projects until…" He gave a humorless laugh. "But I wasn't happy. It took Lulu to remind me of what's really important."

"How did she do that?"

"She loves simple things like coloring books and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Sometimes sharing a PB and J sandwich with your favorite kid can be one of the most joyous moments ever."

Tay's expression softened. "You really love her, don't you?"

He nodded, his chest unexpectedly heavy. He did. More and more. Which was both shocking and wonderful at the same time. He'd loved Lulu before, of course, but being responsible for her had changed things in ways he couldn't explain.

Lulu caught his gaze and waved, grinning wildly. The wind ruffled her hair, and she impatiently shook her head to get it out of her eyes.

He suddenly realized Tay was watching him, her gray-green gaze locked on his face as if she could read his expression, and he felt oddly vulnerable. What was it about this woman that made him tell her things he hadn't even yet told himself?

He shook off his thoughts and forced a smile. "So. What do we do about this fountain issue? We should give our audience something interesting to watch, at least."

"Truth. Let's go over what we know." She pulled her notepad from her pocket and flipped it open. "Let's do this chronologically. The fountain was built in 1920. I checked the Sanborn fire maps this morning, so the date is verified."

"The Sanborn what?"

"The Sanborn fire maps were made of most towns and cities for insurance purposes. They feature all homes, businesses, and points of interest in a town and were used whenever there was an insurance claim. The fountain first shows up on the 1920 map."

He sent her an admiring glance. "You know all the good sources, don't you?"

Her cheeks pinkened, and she looked pleased. "I know a few."

He'd bet everything she knew them all. She was such a sharp one, this bespectacled and quiet woman.

She cast a self-conscious glance his way. "You're staring."

"I was just admiring the view." Before she could respond, he slapped his knees. "All right, then. You've confirmed the earliest history of the fountain. What next?"

"The structure itself, which we examined this morning." She read off her notepad, "The exterior is a combination of brick and marble, the interior made of concrete with no tile or other markings that we could see."

He nodded, reluctantly returning his gaze to the fountain. "You checked to see if any of the bricks were loose, of course."

"More than once."

So had he. "Maybe it's a numbers game this time. How many bricks are in each row?"

"Ninety-five."

He liked that she didn't hesitate. She was as precise as a pin.

She added, "Then there are the capstones, which are standard. Two-inch-thick slabs of local marble." She handed him her notebook so he could see the figures.

He looked for a pattern in the numbers. "I don't see anything here."

"Me neither." Tay reclaimed her notebook and turned a page before handing it back to him. "These are my notes from the town records regarding the fountain. There's no record of the exterior ever needing repairs. However, the plumbing needed fixing a few times over its life, mainly for pipe corrosion. Under the last mayor, it completely stopped working, but as Grace mentioned earlier, the fountain somehow fixed itself. It sounds as if a clogged pipe released, but to hear people talk, it was a miracle of some sort. You'd have thought someone turned water into organic wine."

Luke read through her notes and then handed them back to her. "I wish that stupid fountain had been tiled. Those could have spelled out a clue."

"I know, right?" Tay slipped a glance back at town hall. "Grace and Zoe are gone, so we're not being stared at by quite as many people as before."

Luke scanned the rest of the area. "Everyone else is still watching, though. I feel like we're performance art of some sort."

"It's annoying," Tay said sullenly. "We should charge an admittance fee."

A voice behind them said sharply, "If you want to charge a fee, then you'd better do something more interesting than sitting around looking dejected."

Tay and Luke turned around to find Aunt Jo standing behind them on the sidewalk, cane in hand, her fat bulldog waddling behind her. In addition to bright white tennis shoes, she was wearing a red dress and a purple coat, which matched little Moon Pie's red coat and purple leash.

"Hi, Aunt Jo. Come and sit." Tay scooted over, making Luke do the same, and then patted the seat beside her. "Where are you going all dressed up?"

"I just got back from church. Everyone in a leadership position had to go through emergency ethics training." Aunt Jo settled on the bench, Moon Pie collapsing at her feet.

"Did you say ‘emergency ethics training'?" Luke couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, and it was as boring as it sounds. We had to attend because Preacher Johnson, God bless him, named Wanda Cook as the leader of our Divorced Ladies Group."

"I like Wanda," Tay said. "She's a card."

"She's high-spirited and also recently rid of bad husband number three. Unbeknownst to Preacher Johnson, Wanda was still in the red-hot-rebound stage, and she took that attitude with her to the Divorced Ladies Group."

"Uh-oh," Tay said.

"It was like adding kindling to a forest fire. According to some complaints that were made, she encouraged the ladies in her group to engage in questionable activities."

"Define ‘questionable,'?" Luke ordered, leaning forward so he could see Aunt Jo better.

She looked over her shoulder and then tilted in his direction and said in a loud whisper, "Apparently Wanda used church funds to hire a party bus."

"A party bus?" Tay's eyes widened.

Aunt Jo nodded. "They went to see the Men of Means strip event at the luxury casino down toward Kings Mountain."

"Props to Ms. Wanda," Luke said. "That definitely qualifies as ‘questionable.'?"

"Is she in a lot of trouble?" Tay asked.

"It depends on who you ask," Aunt Jo said. "The ladies had a good time, so they weren't upset. In fact, Mary Ann Klaus said it was the best church trip she'd ever been on, and she'd pay double to go again. She said she'd never said, ‘Thank you, Lord!' so many times in one day."

"I'd call that a win, then," Luke said.

Tay frowned. "If the ladies had a good time, then who made the complaint?"

"A jealous bag of wind." Aunt Jo snorted. "I suspect it was Kayla Breeze's soon-to-be-ex, Kyle. He's the small-minded sort and deserves to be divorced more than anyone I know. However thrilled the ladies were, the preacher was not happy to learn about the party bus. Now, because of tattletale Kyle, every deacon and group leader had to attend that ridiculous Ethics in the Name of the Lord Seminar this afternoon. I just got out."

"The question is," Luke asked Aunt Jo, "are you ethical now that you've had the training?"

"I was ethical before, thank you very much, but I doubt a little training will be enough to quell the demon lurking in Wanda's burning heart." Aunt Jo looked at Tay and Luke. "But that's not why I'm here. Any luck with this fountain?"

Luke couldn't help saying in a sullen tone, "I'm sure you've heard everything already."

"From more than one person," Aunt Jo replied calmly. "You two are doing the same thing you were doing when you fell out of that tree. You're out sleuthing for William Day's lost gold."

"No we aren't!" Tay said defiantly. "We're looking for the family secret Sarafina told her daughter about."

Aunt Jo didn't look convinced. "Tay, we've had this conversation before. Technically, a lost treasure could also be called a ‘family secret,' couldn't it?"

"That's true," Luke murmured under his breath, wincing when Tay elbowed him.

Aunt Jo patted Tay's hand. "Sweetheart, there's no need to be such a pessimist. At least admit that it's possible—just possible , mind you—that some of that gold is still here in town."

"It's highly unlikely. For one, the sheriff confiscated Johnson's gold right away, which meant that only McCleary's gold was left. Then, during and after the trial, hundreds of people came to town looking for that gold. And they did so for months and months."

"I heard all about it from my great-uncle," Aunt Jo said. "Those people dug holes everywhere, drained wells, and broke into houses. Why, the old Day barn was torn apart by one enthusiastic group of treasure hunters. I heard tell they were Masons from Asheville, but that might have just been a rumor."

Tay frowned. "Everything you just said indicates that the gold was probably found and removed long ago."

Aunt Jo sighed. "I suppose that's true."

"When you think about it," Luke added, "the only thing we really know is that whoever found the gold had to be an out-of-towner."

"How do we know that?" Aunt Jo asked.

"Because if someone from town had suddenly shown up with wealth like that, it would have been noticed, even back then."

"Exactly," Tay said in a firm tone. "That gold is long gone. I'm sure of it."

"So you're just looking for a family secret instead of gold." Aunt Jo stared at the fountain. "You two are about as exciting as mud on a pig."

"It's not our job to be fun," Tay said.

Luke heard the defensive note in her voice and sent her a quick, reassuring smile.

"Since I'm here, I might as well help you out." Aunt Jo leaned over and tried to read Tay's notebook. "What do you have so far?"

"Nothing yet." Tay pulled off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "We didn't find any markings on the fountain, and the whole thing is glued together with cement, although I did spend a considerable time examining the bricks to see if any were loose."

"And you looked inside the fountain, too."

"Of course," Luke answered. "The water's pretty clear, which isn't surprising, as they just refilled it now that it's warmer. So we got a good look at the bottom and the pipes."

"What else?" Aunt Jo asked.

"That's about it," Tay admitted.

They all sat staring at the fountain, the minutes ticking by.

Aunt Jo tilted her head to one side. "Did you look under every-thing?"

Tay sent her a frustrated look. "Under what?"

"Under the pipes, and under that little ledge, and under…" Aunt Jo waved her hand in the general direction of the fountain. "Just under. "

Luke frowned. "Under, huh?" He glanced over at Tay. "I hate to admit this, but she's right. We couldn't see under any of those things. To do so, we'll have to climb inside."

"Inside?" Tay eyed the water with mistrust. "It'll be cold."

"So what?" Aunt Jo grabbed her cane and got to her feet. "Luke, climb in there and see what you can find."

Sheesh. Was he the only one with a pair of legs in this place? Still, curious, he got up and went over to the fountain.

"No!" Tay was on her feet in a flash. She grabbed his good arm and pulled him back. "You're not going in that water. You're injured."

"I just need to walk around the edge and see if there's anything out of place or printed under the—"

"It's probably slick in there, and you could fall. We don't know how clean that water is, or—"

"That's not an issue," Aunt Jo said firmly from where she stood nearby, looking more and more like a manager rather than an onlooker. "This fountain has never been cleaner now that Grace is the mayor."

"See?" Luke smiled reassuringly at Tay. "It's clean. I'll be careful. I'm just—"

"Whatcha doing?"

They turned to find Zoe and Grace now standing by the far side of the fountain.

Luke had to fight to keep his smile. "You all know exactly what we're doing."

"Hi!" Kat Carter hurried up and slipped her arm through Zoe's. "Thanks for the text. I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Tay gave a frustrated sigh. "You guys need to chill. We aren't looking for gold. It's some sort of family secret."

Kat nudged Zoe. "Gold could be a family secret."

"That's what I said!" Aunt Jo said with obvious satisfaction.

"But it's not!" Tay said impatiently.

Luke sighed and favored their audience with a flat look. "Will you all just stop it with the gold?"

Zoe nodded. "Of course." She leaned closer to Kat and said out of the side of her mouth, "Not."

For the love of heaven! "Clues, people!" Luke said firmly. "We're looking for clues to a family secret !"

"Luke's going into the fountain," Aunt Jo announced. "To look for clues. " She air quoted the word for emphasis.

"Ah." Zoe nodded sagely. "You mean gold ."

Luke heard Tay muttering under her breath, about every other word a curse word. He could commiserate. He was feeling the same way.

He felt a poke on his calf and turned to find that Aunt Jo had placed her cane against his leg.

She gave him a little push. "Get in there, Day. You're the tallest and most mobile of this group."

Tay whirled to face Aunt Jo. "Luke can't go into the fountain. He's not supposed to get his arm wet."

Zoe scoffed, "That sling is Velcro'd on. He can take it off for a minute or two, can't he?"

Aunt Jo offered, "Luke, I'll hold your sling while you're in the water."

"That's classic Aunt Jo," Kat said in a low tone to Zoe. "Did you see how she didn't hesitate or anything? Just solved the problem without even breaking a sweat."

Zoe nodded enthusiastically. "Stronger than an angel, that one."

Tay put her hand on his arm. "Luke, don't listen to them."

He shouldn't, but… his gaze found the clear, icy water of the fountain. It had reached fifty degrees today, which was balmy for March, but he knew the water would be much, much colder. Still… the clue had to be in this fountain, and the only place they hadn't been able to look was under the pipes and under the edge of that ledge.

"Hi, guys!" came a cheery voice behind him. "What's going on?"

Oh my gosh. How big is this audience going to get? Luke pressed his good hand over his eyes before moving it to see Tay's sister Ella join them. She was holding hands with her boyfriend, Gray. He lifted his hand in greeting.

Zoe called out to Gray, "How's that herd of Highland cows doing?"

"Terrific. Adorbs is getting big. I think he might outgrow his dad once it's all said and done." Gray looked at Luke and grinned. "I hear you're taking up tree diving as a hobby. I've got a few tall ones out at the farm if you run out of them at the cemetery."

"Shut up." It was an inelegant answer, but it was all he had right now.

Tay sent them both a surprised glance. "You two know each other?"

Gray's grin widened. "When Luke first got to town, Blake told me how good he was with computers, so I hired him to update the sys-tem I had installed at my farm."

Aunt Jo sent him a questioning look. "You needed a computer system for a farm?"

Ella answered, "Gray keeps crazy meticulous records. It's a science, what he's got going on there." She looked from Tay to Luke. "What are you two doing here? I heard you were searching for the lost Day gold, but it appears to me that you're just hanging out."

"Lazy, both of them," Gray agreed.

"That's exactly what I was about to say," Aunt Jo said brightly.

Tay sent Aunt Jo a dark look. "We're thinking right now. We—"

"Luke should hop into that fountain before the temperature drops," Zoe called out.

Ella looked at the fountain, her eyebrows drawn in concern. "Into, like into the water?"

"Do it! Do it!" Kat and Zoe chanted.

Luke frowned. "They want me to jump in and look for clues."

"Which he isn't going to do," Tay said firmly.

Surprised at the emotion in her voice, he glanced at her.

Her mouth was tight, her eyes sparkling behind her glasses. "We just need to look under this ledge. I'll go get a mirror and we'll—"

"Nonsense," he said briskly. "I can do it." It was funny, but seeing her worry made him want to jump into that fountain all the more, cold or not. "I'm going to demand hazard pay from here on out, though."

Tay's mouth quirked at his joke, but her worried look remained. "Don't do it. Let me get that mirror and—"

"Let Luke do his thing." Aunt Jo beamed at them as if she were the deciding factor. "Get on with you, now."

He sat on the edge of the fountain and pulled off his boots and then tucked his socks into them. "I don't suppose any of you brought a towel?" He was greeted with a chorus of nos and nopes. "Terrific. I'll just—"

"What's going on here?"

Luke grimaced at the new voice, which he immediately recognized. Not Blake. The last person they needed to see was the town sheriff.

Blake crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels, his badge catching a glint of the late-afternoon sun as he eyed Luke's discarded boots and socks. "Getting ready to take a swim, are you? I don't suppose you noticed that ‘No Swimming' sign over there?"

Tay stepped forward. "See? Luke can't go into the fountain. It's illegal."

Aunt Jo snorted. "All he's going to do is wade around. It's too shallow to swim in."

Blake eyed the sign. "Hmm. The posted rules don't say a word about wading, do they?"

"Hop in, Luke!" Aunt Jo said brightly. "You have things to do."

Kat raised her phone. "Tell me when you're going in, as I want a video."

"No!" Tay said. "He's not going."

It was rather adorable how worried she was about him.

"He won't be long." Aunt Jo squinted at the fountain as if she'd suddenly become a fountain-sizing expert. "Ten minutes, maybe twenty if he moves like a turtle."

"I'll get hypothermia if I stay in longer than that." Luke supposed he was lucky they didn't live in Alaska, or they'd have suggested he shove the inconvenient blocks of ice out of the way before he climbed in.

Blake's mouth twitched as if he was trying not to smile. He took a few steps to the side of the fountain and looked over the stone rim and into the water. "Be careful in there, Luke. It's probably slick. There. You've been warned." Then he reached over and slapped Luke on the back just a little too hard. "Good luck, buddy."

Luke rubbed his shoulder and glared at Blake.

The sheriff just grinned. "Tay, if he hits his head or looks as if he's drowning, call 911. I'd have you call me, but I'm clocking out to get a cup of joe. Kat, send me a copy of that video, will you?"

Luke fisted his hands. "If I still had my boots on, I'd fight you right now."

"You're bootless, so you'd lose. Have fun. I'll be thinking about you as I have a nice cup of hot coffee in yon warm tearoom. See you all later." With a blithe wave, Blake ambled away, leaving Luke surrounded by amused women and a chuckling Gray.

A small hand slipped into his, and Lulu looked up at him, her blue eyes wide. "Uncle Luke, are you going swimming?"

Grandma Rose stood behind her. "He deserves a good dunking."

He ignored her. "No, Lulu. I'm just going to walk through the water. Miss Tay thinks she lost something in the fountain, and I'm going to see if I can find it."

"What did she lose?"

His dignity, for one thing. "I'll let you know when I find it."

Grandma Rose took Lulu's hand in her own. "Lulu, how would you like a cupcake? I can't stay here for this nonsense."

That was all it took for Lulu to lose interest in her uncle. "I want a strawberry cupcake!"

"Let's go, then." Without another look, Grandma Rose and Lulu headed for Ava's tearoom.

Luke felt oddly abandoned.

Aunt Jo announced, "I can't stand around all day, so I'm going to sit with Moon Pie over there." She headed for the bench.

"Hey, Luke!" Grace called. "I hate to bother you, but Zoe and I have reservations to get our nails done in about thirty minutes. At this rate, we'll have to cancel, and there's a fifteen-dollar cancellation fee."

He refused to even admit he'd heard that, but he couldn't help but mutter, "It's a wonder people aren't selling tickets."

At his side, Tay gave a surprised, choked laugh that made him instantly feel a little better. She had a delicious laugh that began in her throat and bubbled over him, as warm as a blanket right from the dryer. He straightened his shoulders, wincing a little when the sling pulled at his wrist. He'd have to be careful not to get it wet, but he was sure he could do it.

He reached down, grabbed his boots and socks, and moved them next to the bench where Aunt Jo sat, well away from the fountain ledge so they wouldn't get splashed when he climbed in.

That done, he straightened and took the final steps toward the fountain. He was just getting ready to step over the ledge when something flashed by him.

A large splash sent a wave of startlingly cold water over him as he blinked.

There, standing in the fountain in front of him, her jeans now wet to her thighs, stood Tay.