Chapter 4
Once they were on the road back to Grandpa’s old house, Jaden leaned across the back seat toward Damon. Jaden’s eyes seemed to light up.
“So?” Jaden whispered. “What do you think about that treasure map?”
“What about it?” Damon asked quietly.
“We should find it,” Jaden said. He flashed Damon a wicked grin.
“Are you kidding me?” Damon said. “You heard Grandpa. Besides, who knows if the treasure map is even around anymore, not to mention the treasure itself. If either ever even existed.”
Jaden kept smiling. “Don’t be such a baby,” he said. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. You heard the orderly. Your grandpa’s probably just getting senile.”
Damon didn’t answer. He just stared out the window.
“Besides,” Jaden said, his voice softer now, “if we can find that treasure, I bet there would be enough money so that your grandpa wouldn’t have to sell his house.”
Damon hesitated. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to look,” he said. “Maybe Grandpa kept the map in the same trunk where you found that photo.”
Jaden nodded. “Probably,” he said.
Damon asked, “But aren’t you scared?”
Jaden nearly laughed. “Of course not,” he said. “I’m not some little kid.”
Damon turned away. He looked out the window at the tall, crooked elms that lined the street. “Neither am I,” he said.
* * *
Cleaning in the afternoon was more difficult than the morning had been. Grandpa’s bedroom wasn’t that messy, but the other two bedrooms were filthy and filled with random items. Damon wondered if Grandpa had ever thrown anything away in the seventy-two years he’d lived there.
While they worked, Jaden kept bringing up the treasure map. “So?” he said. “Can we go look for it now?”
“I wish you’d just forget about it,” Damon said. He unfolded another cardboard box. “We have a lot of work to do. There’s no time to go on some silly treasure hunt.”
“Oh, please,” Jaden said. “We’ve got this thing in the bag! I checked with my mom, and they’re almost done with the main floor already. They’ll come up soon to help us, and everything will be done before you know it.”
“Oh,” Damon said quietly. He wrapped a little glass vase in newspaper and placed it carefully inside a box.
Jaden stood up and put a hand on Damon’s shoulder. His grip was stronger than Damon expected. “We’ll have all day tomorrow to hunt,” Jaden said. “I’m going to sneak up to the attic and find that map.”
Jaden ran off before Damon could respond.
Damon stayed in the room, wrapping and packing. Fifteen minutes later, Jaden returned. He was breathing heavily and his wicked grin was bigger than ever. “I found it!” he said.
“What?” Damon said. He jumped to his feet. “I don’t believe it. Did you find it in the trunk?”
Jaden nodded. He held up the folded and frayed piece of paper in front of Damon’s face. “Give it to me,” Damon said, reaching out his hand.
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from the hall. Jaden quickly hid the piece of paper in his pocket.
“Hey, you two,” Damon’s mom said.
“Great news,” Martha said. “The work is going more quickly than we thought.”
“Yep,” Mom said. “We can start loading up the truck now. Then we can relax tonight. In the morning, we can go say goodbye to Grandpa and head home.”
Damon glanced at Jaden. He was frowning.
“I’m going to call the moving truck company,” Mom said. “You two keep working, and we’ll be back soon to help you finish.”
The moms headed back downstairs. Damon glanced at Jaden. His smile was back.
“I guess we’ll never get the chance to look for that treasure,” Damon said, shrugging. He stood up and grabbed the packing tape.
“You’re scared, aren’t you?” Jaden said. “Well, guess what — we are still going to find the treasure.”
“When?” Damon asked. “You heard my mom. We won’t be here tomorrow.”
“We’ll look tonight,” Jaden said. “After we get the truck loaded, I’m gonna say we’re going to go get pizza.”
“What if our moms want to come?” Damon said.
“I heard them say they were looking forward to ordering Chinese,” Jaden said.
“I guess you have it all planned out,” Damon said.
“I sure do,” Jaden said. “And don’t try to get out of it. You’re coming with me.”