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Late afternoon shadows lengthened into evening as Vanessa walked beside Jake along Pearl Street. They passed an outdoor dining area, and the chatter of diners, mixed with the rush of traffic, drifted to her.
She pushed aside the knot of nerves. The board’s decision was out of her hands. The best thing she could do now was get to the bottom of this trail of clues, which would hopefully give her another way to save the museum...
“Here we are,” Vanessa made an expansive gesture toward the 18th century building in front of them.
“You can really tell it’s been here awhile,” Jake said. “Definitely different from that brick and glass skyscraper behind us.”
The white clapboard inn had a row of six-by-six windows done in green trim, with matching green shutters. A flag hung above the entrance. As Vanessa approached the door, painted the same color, she saw several bronze historic plaques mounted on the side of the building.
Someone had locked a blue mountain bike to the iron banister beside the front steps. “It’s not too far up, actually, from the tavern where Washington gave his farewell address to his troops after the war ended in 1783.”
She walked up the steps. Through the wavy glass window pane, Vanessa noticed diners sat in high-back Windsor chairs at round tables with pewter candlesticks. “They serve traditional Colonial food here. Supposed to be some of the best in Manhattan.”
“I’ll have to try it sometime,” Jake said.
They stepped through the door into a long, narrow hallway. On the left was an open space that housed the large dining area, which, Vanessa noted, had a large fieldstone fireplace, pale green walls, and wide plank flooring darkened with age.
Straight in front of them was a set of narrow and steep wooden steps. On the right, just in Vanessa’s line of sight, was another room. She craned her neck. Looked like the bar area, along with a hall that probably lead to the kitchens.
“So let’s keep our eyes open for any horse or horseshoe symbols around,” Vanessa said.
Just then, the maître-d’ approached. “Would you care to look at some menus?”
“Thanks,” Jake said. “The food smells really good. But actually, we’re here in the city shooting a television show. I made a call to Carrie, the manager, not long ago about permission to look around. Name’s Jake Ford. She should be expecting us.”
“Oh, okay. Just a second. Let me get her.”
A minute later, a tall woman joined the small group of Jake, Vanessa and TV crew in the hall.
“Hi guys,” she said. “Nice to meet you all. I’m Carrie.”
“Likewise. I’m Jake.” He shook her hand and then introduced everyone else. “You ready to get started?”
Carrie nodded and began to walk down the hallway as the group followed. “After we chatted, Jake, I went through what I know about the history of the building and the items in our small collection of artifacts.”
“Great. This place has been here awhile, yeah?” Jake said.
“Since 1725. It’s New York City’s oldest continuously run inn. George Washington slept here.” She laughed. “So many places say that, but we have proof. There’s actually a small museum in one of the wings of the building here. But it’s closed for renovations and maintenance at the moment.”
“I’d love to take a look when it’s done,” Vanessa commented.
Carrie nodded. “Since this place has been here so long, we have quite a few interesting items. I’m sorry to say, though, we have nothing relating to what you’d mentioned in your brief, Jake.”
Vanessa exchanged a look with Jake.
“Maybe the best thing to do would be give you a tour of the building,” Carrie said.
As Jake and Vanessa walked through the building, the wooden floorboards creaked under their feet. “I don’t seen any symbols yet,” she said.
“Me either,” Jake replied. “But let’s both keep our eyes peeled.”
After they’d explored what seemed to Vanessa to be every inch of the space, though, they’d come up with nothing.
“Since this place was an inn, it must’ve had a stables.” Vanessa turned to Carrie.
“It did have a stable out back, yes. Still there. It’s not open to the public, since it’s used mostly for storage. But I can show you if you want. We haven’t really touched it. Just made sure it has a good roof on it. No one goes in there much”
“My kind of place,” Jake said. “Lead on.”
Carrie led them down the hallway that passed the bar and the kitchen. At the far end, on the right hand side, was a wooden door with a porcelain knob.
“This will take us right out back,” Carrie said. She took an ancient-looking key from her key ring, unlocked the door and pushed it open.
*
A WHOOSH OF COOL AIR fanned Jake’s face as they stepped into the dim interior of the former stables. His pulse spiked. What would they find in here?
He exchanged a grin with Vanessa as they followed Carrie down the narrow aisle between stalls.
“As you can see,” she said, “it’s pretty much all storage.” She waved a hand. On both sides, the stalls were filled. Tables were piled neatly on top of each other beside stacks of chairs. Boxes and crates and even a few barrels stood in other stalls.
Carrie said. “All the stalls were here, and then,” she turned a corner. “The tack room’s in here. Grooms’ quarters were upstairs.”
“It’s a little bit cramped in here. Watch yourselves.” Carrie stepped into the small space and flicked on an ancient light switch.
Jake chuckled. “This isn’t exactly ideal shooting. But you’ve handled worse, hey, Bryce?”
Jake clapped the cameraman on the shoulder. Bryce flashed him a thumbs-up as he headed to a pile of wooden crates in the farthest corner of the room opposite Jake and Vanessa so he could get the widest shot possible.
“So,” Carrie gestured. “As you can see, there’s not really much to see.”
“Mmm,” Jake rubbed his jaw. “This place itself is pretty cool, though. I mean, look at this. All these stones are hand-laid, and,” he brushed his fingertips along the wall nearby, “you can see all the trowel marks here from where they applied the mortar.” He shook his head.
Vanessa came over to him. “You really get a sense of the history of a place like this.”
She couldn’t help grinning at Jake’s enthusiasm. He loved history as much as she did, that was for sure.
“Bryce,” Jake called over his shoulder, “Maybe you should get a shot of the stonework over here.”
Vanessa saw Bryce take a step sideways to get a better angle for his camera. He paused to move a few wooden crates out of his way. But as he straightened again and picked up the camera, his foot slipped on the uneven stonework on the floor and he lost his balance.
The heavy camera didn’t help, and they all watched, eyes wide, as Bryce crashed backwards onto the floor.
A second later, they all heard a splintering sound as old, rotted wood gave way and Bryce disappeared from sight.
*
“BRYCE!” JAKE YELLED, as he sprinted across the space to the spot where the cameraman had vanished.
A hole now gaped in the floor. Vanessa noticed Bryce had fallen through what must have been an old wooden trap door.
“Bryce,” Jake called again, “Are you all right, man?”
A muffled “I’m okay,” came from below as Jake peered into the hole. “Think I saved the camera, too.”
The manager rushed over, her hand pressed to her chest. “No one had any idea this was here! I’m so sorry about this.”
Jake knelt down on the stone floor, about to extend a hand into the dark. But before he could, Bryce’s arm, soon followed by his head and the rest of him, along with the rather beat-up looking camera, appeared.
Bryce dusted himself off. “I’ll get reshuffled with the equipment.”
“If you’re sure you’re okay.” Jake clapped Bryce on the shoulder. “You certainly seem to be drawing all the short straws on this trip, aren’t you?”
“Just a few cuts and scrapes. I’ll be fine. That’s why I have health insurance. But I’d say I had a lucky break.” Bryce held up a horseshoe with square-headed nails sticking out of it. “Was underneath one of those old wooden crates I moved to get a better angle for the shot. Must’ve been nailed onto the trap door’s frame originally.”
“Like how people would hang horseshoes over doorways for luck,” Vanessa said.
“Except,” Jake said, “how do we know that one’s not just some random leftover? This was the stables after all.”
“Can I see it?” Vanessa said. Bryce handed it to her.
She examine the rusted iron horseshoe. Flipped it over in her palm and frowned. “I don’t see anything unusual about it. Could just be—Oh,” she brushed away the flaked pieces of rust at the top. “That’s a 5 stamped there on the edge.”
“And look,” Jake counted the nails. “There are three on one side, and five on the other. Which equals 355.” A big grin spread across his face. “Secret trap door that just happens to have a horseshoe deliberately placed nearby, with 355 clearly indicated. What do you say the chances are that’s our symbol?”
“Only one way to find out,” Vanessa said, as she came to a stop beside Jake and peered into the dark cavity. “What is this place?”
“I’m not really sure...” Jake said before he crossed to the equipment bag Bryce had brought along. He pulled out a pair of headlamps from one of the pockets, came back to the opening and flashed one of the lights around. “Some sort of cellar? Looks like there’s stone steps.” He turned to Bryce. “You’re lucky you didn’t split your head open. I think it’s better if you guys stay up here at least for the moment and get what shots you can on solid footing,” Jake said.
“Got it,” Bryce said.
Jake handed Vanessa a headlamp and showed her how to slip it on before he put on his own. Then he extended a hand. “Shall we?”
They descended together.
Their light beams illuminated only a small section of the steps. Vanessa trailed her fingers along the dank wall to help keep her balance and her courage.
There was a sudden rumble, and a shower of dirt rained down. “What was that?” Vanessa’s eyes widened.
“Subway, I’d guess,” Jake said as their feet touched bottom—a hard-packed dirt floor. Vanessa heard Bryce and the rest of the crew move around above them.
She swallowed hard. This wasn’t exactly a roomy space. “Jake, uh, just to let you know, small spaces like this can sometimes make me nervous.”
Jake’s brows drew together and he titled his head. “Are you okay right now?”
She took a deep breath through her nose and then exhaled slowly through her mouth as she let her attention focus on her breath. Calm filled her. She’d be fine. She was fine, she reminded herself, as her fingers tightened around Jake’s.
“I’m good, yeah, thanks. Focusing on my breath, and on a task, keeps me calm. Besides, we won’t be down here that long, right? And this is too important to me. I want to be here. That’s worth the risk.”
“All right. If you’re sure.” He squeezed her fingers back.
She nodded.
Jake flashed his light around. “Hand-dug in here. Musta had to do some maneuvering to get in those ceiling cross beams.” He looked up at the low ceiling. “After 250 years, this won’t exactly be a feat of sound structural engineering, either.”
Vanessa took a step forward and brushed her fingertips against a pile of debris—large clods of dirt, stones and pieces of wood. “There was a pretty big cave-in at some point.” She crouched down. “The way’s mostly blocked. But it looks like this beam fell sideways. Makes a small opening on the ground.”
Jake crouched down beside Vanessa to more closely examine it.
But as he did, something crunched under his foot. He shone his light on the ground.
“That’s really old paper. May I?”
“Be my guest,” Jake said as he lifted his foot and Vanessa reached down to carefully pick up the torn and smudged page.
8 September 1780
I have done it—the flag is complete. And he shall never know. Though he has taken my hand, he shall never have my heart. That’s why I have given the flag to 310’s proprietor for safekeeping. Lord C—m can never associate such an act with me, his betrothed.
And I derive all the more satisfaction because of it. For with one stroke of a pen, he cut down my true love. But with the flourish of my needle, Patriots all across the Colonies will be united under these colors.
Live free or die.
Jake whistled as he finished reading.
“I know, right? She never gave up. And I’m not, either.” Vanessa narrowed her eyes as she lowered to her hands and knees to study the small opening. “We could be on the verge of a major discovery. Whatever she hid is down here somewhere.”
“It’s just a matter of getting through there.” He jerked his chin at the opening. “Doesn’t look very big though. I’ve squeezed into my share of tiny spaces but this is...”
Vanessa turned to Jake, a gleam in her eyes. “Let’s shine some light through the opening and see if we can see what’s in there.”
“Right.”
Just then another shower of dirt rained down on them from overhead.
Vanessa’s pulse jumped, but she closed her eyes a moment to steady herself. They could be uncovering the find of a lifetime, she reminded herself. She could do this. She would do this. Dust drifted onto her as she shifted to lay flat on her stomach. Jake moved in to lay beside her so they could both see into the opening.
As Vanessa’s eyes adjusted to the gloom, she noticed the space in front of her didn’t extend very far. Maybe ten feet.
“Looks like there’s not really much here,” she said.
“You mean no treasure chests heaped with gold and diamonds?” Jake replied.
Vanessa coughed on another cloud of dust as she inched forward on her elbows. “Not that I can see—”
But the angle of the beam from Jake’s light glanced off something that caught Vanessa’s eye. “Hold your light steady,” she said as she reached into the space, a determined tilt to her chin. They’d be out of here soon...
“What is it?” Jake
“Not sure,” she replied, as her fingers closed around the object. Once she retracted her arm, she brushed at the dirt. “Looks like rusted metal or something...”
Another stream of dirt sifted down on them both, shoulder to shoulder. This time Jake coughed.
“Careful there,” Jake said.
Vanessa’s heart jumped at the concern in his tone.
“It looks like,” her voice rose in excitement, “...a bridle.” She felt a bolt of adrenaline. Could they be getting closer?
“Huh,” Jake said.
Vanessa held up a snaffle bit that a few flakes of rotted leather still clung to. “It’s really small, though,” she added.
“Pony?” Jake said.
Vanessa shook her head. “Too small for that. I think...it’s from a toy horse.”
“Maybe the horse is still here. Let’s dig a little deeper.” Jake reached his arm in beside Vanessa’s.
As they worked in silence for a few minutes, Vanessa chose to ignore the slight tremble in her hands and the increased pounding of her heart as she dug. This was fine. She’d be out of here in no time and—Another stream of dirt rained down. Had that been more than before? She shook off the jolt of panic. Focused on the digging. She was going to find answers.
Her fingers scrabbled against something solid. Like...wood? Adrenaline shot through her.
Wow. She stared at it, with a strange sort of certainty. This could be it, couldn’t it? All her time, all her effort, could pay off big right now, really and truly. All the answer they’d been searching for could finally be right here. And she’d be the one to discover it. Her and Jake. Another spike of giddiness, combined with adrenaline, washed through her.
She swiped the back of her hand across her forehead as she began madly clearing away the dirt from around the object. She shone her headlamp down on it.
“Oh, wow, Jake!” she said with a laugh. “It’s a rocking horse.”
*
“BUT IT’S STUCK.” VANESSA leaned on her elbows as she tried and failed to get a hold on the wooden horse. “And just out of reach. If I can get a tad farther inside...”
“Sit tight. This isn’t stable. Let’s try this together.”
But Vanessa didn’t wait for Jake. She put action to words and started to wriggle forward. Larger pieces of dirt rained down on her.
Jake’s gut clenched. Vanessa had no experience with this sort of thing, and if small spaces made her sometimes nervous... But then again, it was all too easy to get carried away by adrenaline in the heat of the moment. He’d bet she was running on pure adrenaline, and not thinking properly.
He opened his mouth to stop her but a cloud of dust kicked up and he coughed instead.
By the time he blinked away the grit from his eyes, she was nearly halfway inside. “Now I can reach it.” Her voice sounded muffled but excited.
Jake’s heart pounded. “Careful...”
“I’ve got it, I’ve got it.”
A thin stream of dirt hit Jake on the back of the neck.
“Good,” Jake said in a steady voice he didn’t quite feel. “Now, if you hold onto it and move back out toward me very slowly, I think we can use our combined force to pull it free...”
He put his hands on her waist as she began to wriggle back toward him. But as she did, there was rumble and shudder. The subway. Jake swore under his breath. At the same time, a bigger cascade of dirt and debris streamed down on them both with her movements. There was a cracking noise. The beam.
He clamped an arm across her body. If he could just get her out of the—
“It’s working,” Vanessa said in an excited voice. “Pull harder.”
“Vanessa,” Jake said in her ear, “forget about the damn horse. We need to leave. This whole thing’s gonna go.” There was another rumble. More dirt fell.
He locked both arms around her waist and put everything he had into pulling her backward.
If they didn’t get out now, the whole thing would collapse around them and—his heart lurched—he’d never get a chance to say how he truly felt to her.
“I can’t just leave this here!” More dirt fell, and small stones followed larger stones.
“Vanessa,” he said between clenched teeth as he gave one final hard pull. “you have to.”
“No,” she said.
With one last hard yank, the pair of them tumbled back onto the hard-packed dirt, just as the rest of the debris pounded down onto the spot they’d occupied a second ago. The wooden horse landed with a clatter beside them.
His mind raced as he held Vanessa’s wild-eyed gaze. He’d been scared to lose her. Him, Jake Ford, afraid? Yes. He’d been afraid to put his heart back on the line. That’s what he didn’t—couldn’t—admit to himself before this moment. But it was true—he was afraid to risk it all for love, and lose again. But what sort of life would he be living if he didn’t take that emotional chance? Not one he wanted to live, that was for sure.
Without another second’s pause, Jake jumped to his feet. “The rest of this could collapse any second.” He yanked Vanessa, who looked a little dazed, up after him.
“But the rocking horse—”
“Just go.” Jake gave Vanessa a gentle but firm push up through the trap door opening. She stumbled on the first step but made her way up the stairs.
On the other side, Vanessa dusted herself off and turned back toward the opening. But Jake wasn’t there.
“Jake?” she called.
No reply.
*
VANESSA WHIPPED OUT her cell phone and was about to dial 911 when Jake’s head poked through the hole, streaked with dirt and grime.
“Jake,” she breathed, her eyes shiny, “are you ok—” She sprang toward him, and cut off the rest of her own sentence with a tight hug that he returned even more fiercely.
After a moment, he held up the rocking horse. “Should we see what secrets this thing has?”
They carefully moved away from the trap door opening and into the middle of the tack room.
Vanessa had forgotten completely about the cameras until they set the rocking horse, caked in centuries of grime, onto the flagstones. But she found she was too excited to care as she sank to her knees beside Jake, who crouched by the child’s toy.
Vanessa swiped dust off the horse’s head and ran her fingers over the faded paint. “There’s a chunk out of the poor thing’s forehead, though.”
“Looks like it,” Jake said as he cleaned off the rest of the horse’s body. The horse had once been painted chestnut, with three white socks and a tear-drop shaped blaze on its forehead.
“But it’s pretty sturdily built.” He rapped his knuckles against the horse’s head.
Vanessa helped him wipe the dust and dirt off the remainder of the horse.
“If I’m not mistaken,” Carrie stepped forward to examine the rocking horse. “This is a John Townsend piece.”
“Who’s that?” Jake said.
“Colonial cabinetmaker out of Newport, Rhode Island. His side of the Townsend family moved from the Oyster Bay area in the early 1700s.”
“So he could be some sort of relative to Robert and Sally Townsend,” Vanessa mused.
“Probably somewhere in the family tree there’s a connection,” the other woman said. “Though usually he didn’t work in children’s toys.”
Jake began to systematically rap his knuckles against the rocking horse: head, neck, withers. He moved a bit farther down the horse’s back. “That....” He met Vanessa’s gaze.
“...Sounds hollow,” she finished for him.
“Townsend had a reputation for putting secret compartments into some of his cabinetry.” Carrie volunteered. “If this one’s like that, then there must be a concealed lever somewhere.”
“It’d be a matter of triggering the mechanism, then,” Jake murmured.
Vanessa’s eyes fixed on the groove on the horse’s forehead. “I think I know the answer.”
She reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out one of the garnet earrings.
“Knew there was a reason I felt the urge to grab these earlier,” she said as she fit one of the garnet earrings into the groove. As she pressed it flush with the wood, there was a faint click.
“Look at that,” Jake exclaimed. “The blaze is teardrop shaped. So are 355’s earrings.”
A concealed door on the horse’s belly had popped open on its hinges. Gently, Vanessa and Jake laid the rocking horse on its side.
“You can do the honors,” Jake said to Vanessa.
She reached forward. “There’s nothing here,” she said as she felt around inside. “It’s not—Oh.” Her eyes widened. Her fingers closed around what felt like heavy thick material of some sort.
She tugged gently.
“Wow,” Jake whispered as she slowly extracted the material.
Red, white, and blue.
“The flag,” Jake murmured. He reached out to help Vanessa. The wool was moth-eaten in places, disintegrated in others, but in the places where the material still hung together, the colors remained bright. Jake touched a fingertip to one of the red stripes. “Her cloak.”
“Wow.” Vanessa whispered. “I bet the white and blue are other pieces of her clothing repurposed to make the flag.”
As they gently put the flag aside, something solid slipped from the folds and thudded to the floor. A cloth bag and a leather-bound book.
Jake let out a long, low whistle as Vanessa gently loosened the bag’s ties to reveal a mound of glossy pearls.
She gasped, wide-eyed as she met Jake’s stunned gaze.
“They were here, all this time.” He blinked rapidly, and dashed the back of his hand across his eyes.
Vanessa put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “We found them,” she whispered joyfully, a huge smile on her face. “And look,” she pointed to the book’s inside cover.
To Miss Henrietta Mason, on the occasion of her birthday. November 28, 1774
“This is Agent 355’s diary—the entries are all in the same hand as the other pages, too.” Vanessa said, her voice rising in excitement as she carefully turned pages.
“Looks like her last name was Mason, after all,” Jake murmured.
“It does,” Vanessa agreed.
“She must have lived in what’s now your museum,” Jake added.
“Probably so. I’ll have to cross-reference this name with the genealogy databases to see if I can find out more about where she came from and exactly how she’s related, but I think you’re right.” Vanessa’s gaze fell on the final entry.
3 November 1780
This, the day of my wedding, should be the happiest of my life. But I cannot say ’tis so. However, I shall not allow myself more than a moment of weakness, for my duties to the Cause have not quite been completed.
Geoffrey has been awarded a commendation for his role in the events of 3 September. As such, we shall make our way to Halifax, the headquarters of the British forces in North America, as my new husband has been transferred there.
Last evening, he presented me, quite proudly, with my bridal gift. An ornately carved mahogany box, with numerous large pearls. He must have recalled my remarking upon them, and wished to present me with the spoils of war.
’Twas my intent to bring these to 721 at once, but Geoffrey’s departure has been hastened by his recent duty call at Halifax. As his wife, I must accompany him. So I have secreted the cache, and a part of my diary, in the belly of my favorite childhood toy, crafted by Sally’s relation. Certain other important pages, I have taken the precaution to separate from this book & tucked them behind loosened stones in our larder.
’Tis too risky to directly convey to any other ring members what I have done. Instead, I have chosen this more secretive method in the hopes that the hints I have left behind might be discovered in due course and be of use to the Culper members who still fight for the cause.
I shall pray that my departure shall not impede the quest for liberty.
“Except the pearls were never found,” Vanessa murmured as she lifted her eyes from the page to Jake.
“No,” he said as he put a hand on hers. “Until now.”
“But what she was striving for was not lost.”
He reached a hand up and brushed a smudge of dirt off of Vanessa’s cheek. She smiled at him. “No, it wasn’t.”
“And since she loved horses, it makes sense she’d hide the valuables inside a rocking horse.”
“Certainly not a place many would think to look,” Jake said.
“And—”
Vanessa’s phone suddenly rang. She looked at the ID. Roseanne, from the museum board. “I should probably answer this,” she said as a knot formed in her chest. “Hello, Vanessa speaking.”
“Vanessa, hi. We’ve made our decision.”
Vanessa’s stomach clenched but she made herself take a deep breath.
“And well, it wasn’t exactly a clear-cut answer.”
“What do you mean?” Vanessa clutched the phone.
“I mean that the vote was very close.”
Vanessa swallowed.
“But,” Roseanne said, “your argument was compelling enough that the appeal for a loan extension passed by the narrowest of margins.”
Vanessa closed her eyes and exhaled slowly.
“Thank you,” she whispered. Her eyes snapped open. A big grin spread across her face as she glanced first at the pearls, then at Henrietta’s diary and finally at Jake’s face. “I have some news I think that the museum board will love to hear.”
*
JAKE’S PHONE BEEPED while Vanessa was on her call. He read the screen: Sara.
The Early Morning Show interview got a positive response. Your damage control is working. Oh, and since you and Bryce have been busy, I did some digging into the footage situation. They apologized about the delay and said because of the software update, the files had somehow been put into another user’s folder. They’ve transferred them back to our editing suite.
Jake stared down at his phone, tension draining from his entire body. He closed his eyes briefly as he exhaled long and slow.
So glad to hear it on both counts, he replied. A huge grin split his face as he continued. You’ll never guess what we found!! We’ve located the pearls and the flag—in an antique rocking horse, no less—viewers are going to love this! Let’s arrange a meeting ASAP to discuss.
What?! That’s incredible! Congratulations to you & the crew! Call me as soon as you can.
Jake, Vanessa, and the rest of his team, along with Carrie, left the dim stables and stepped back out into the daylight with the rocking horse. After Jake had a brief chat with Carrie, he made a quick call back to Sara.
Then he turned to his team. “Sara says ‘Congratulations!’, guys. Dinner’s on me tonight.” He gave everyone high fives.
“Looks like this’ll be a great start to our second season, hey?” Bryce said, as he slapped Jake on the back.
“Think so, man. I think so.”
Finally, Jake approached Vanessa, who stood by the door texting. “How’d the call go with the board?”
She looked up and beamed. “Finding these pearls, and 355’s identity, means the museum won’t have to close after all. In fact, I just discussed it with the board, and they’re eager to have me get right on a display about 355 and her involvement with the lost pearl cache.”
“That’s amazing, Vanessa—congratulations!” Jake high fived her.
She laughed. “I know, right? I can’t believe it. But it’s true. We really did it.”
“Yes,” Jake murmured, as he held her gaze, “we did.”
Vanessa’s heart fluttered.
After a moment, she said, “So what did your boss have to say about our finds?”
Jake laughed. “She’s over the moon—we’re working on getting the final cut in to her as soon as possible. It’s looking like we’ll actually be a day or two ahead of schedule with our deadline.”
“I’m so happy for you, Jake.” Vanessa grinned at him. “And you know what else?”
“What’s that?” Jake nudged her.
“I’ve finally figured out how to make this exhibit about Agent 355 really memorable for people.”
“Oh?”
Vanessa nodded. “I’m thinking why not let the public experience the same thing we did on the treasure hunt?”
“I like where you’re going with this.”
Vanessa grinned. “We’d display all the documents, all the objects, and let the visitors to the exhibit solve the clues and find the pearls. Have it spread throughout the museum’s main floor.”
“That’s fantastic.” Jake smiled back at her and took a step closer. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”
*
VANESSA’S HEART SKIPPED a beat at the intent look in Jake’s eyes. She took a breath as she tucked her phone into her pocket. “There’s something else I want to say, too.”
“Okay,” he said.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry again—about our fight at the gala.”
Jake took her hand. “You don’t need to apologize a second time.”
“Thanks. I guess I just...” She sighed.
He squeezed her hand.
She squared her shoulders. “Eric had never acknowledged my work—or me. No matter what I did or how hard I tried, I was never enough, in his eyes. So I kept trying and trying to prove to him that I was enough for him by showing him all the hard work and effort I put into my job. But it didn’t work. After we’d broken up, I started to figure out his behavior wasn’t about me.” She swallowed hard. “When you and I first met, I thought on the surface, you were the same as Eric. But as you and I spent more time together, I started to think differently. There was still that little voice in the back of my mind, though, that claimed you two were the same. I got scared, thought I hadn’t learned, after all. And that’s what came out at the gala.”
She ducked her head and a strand of her hair fell forward.
“Oh, Vanessa,” Jake murmured. He tucked her hair gently behind her ear, his fingertips warm on her face.
For a moment, neither spoke.
“I didn’t see things very clearly either,” Jake said, his voice husky. “Before we uncovered this treasure together.”
Vanessa caught her breath at the look in Jake’s eyes.
“I’m sorry about how I acted at the gala, too. I shouldn’t have gone off like that. But I...” He cleared his throat. Blinked a few times. “I thought that with my kind of lifestyle, I couldn’t have both freedom and love. That I didn’t deserve it somehow”
He spoke even more slowly now, as if carefully weighing each word. “I was afraid that if I made a deep connection with someone...” He reached out and stroked her cheek, “...that it would fall apart.”
“I used the excuse,” he winced, “of not wanting to get entangled in a long distance relationship, to keep myself blind to the fact that I was simply...afraid that I’d get left again—” he heaved a sigh. “—and scared I’d be the reason for it.”
He paused. “It’s funny, what you don’t see even when it’s staring you in the face. Your fears are the biggest blind spot that you have.”
He put one arm around her waist. “But if you aren’t risking, you aren’t really living. That’s the first thing I learned from this job. And I realized today, back in the cellar, that I need to apply that to my love life, too. I shouldn’t be afraid to take a leap just because I don’t know quite where I’ll land. Like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Where he’s standing at the edge of that abyss, he has no idea if he’s going to plunge to certain death. But he steps out...”
“...and there’s something there,” Vanessa whispered as she interlaced their fingers and squeezed.
“I want to take that leap with you, Vanessa.” He cupped Vanessa’s face with his palm. “Because you’re different than anyone else I’ve met before, in all of my travels.”
He tugged her nearer to him, and she could feel his warmth radiate toward her. Her heartbeat accelerated as she slid her hands up his chest. “I feel the same way, Jake.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Jake said, his lips inches from hers. “Speaking of travel, I know you said you’d like to do a bit more of it, so I was thinking...” His eyes glowed. “How would you like to come with me on my next travel adventure?”
She laughed as she slid her arms around his neck. “That would be amazing. Yes, I’d love to! I’ll ask for some vacation time and arrange for a temp after my exhibit opens.”
“Perfect.”
“But you know, there’s one little mystery we didn’t solve,” Vanessa said.
“What’s that?”
“We never found out who sent me that first letter of Henrietta’s.”
“No, we didn’t. But Aaron at the library did say that the Culpers could still exist. Maybe one of them sent it to you.”
“Ooo, I like that idea. They wanted to secretly help us find out 355’s identity.”
“Well, we have, so their little nudge worked.” Jake stroked his thumb across Vanessa’s cheek. “In fact, it seems like it worked on more than one level,”
“Maybe that was their ploy all along.” Vanessa whispered. She was rewarded with a flare of joy that kindled in his gaze at her words.
“I bet it was,” Jake murmured just before their lips met, “because you and I, we’ve discovered not only priceless pearls, we’ve also uncovered the hidden treasure of the heart.”