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RORY SAT ACROSS from Chet Calhoun in Martha's Diner. The marvelous smells from the cooking were mouth watering and the meal they had just shared had proven how good it really was. And just like the first time Rory had been here, the diner was full and noisy. From the number of out-of-state license plates in the parking lot, there were a lot of tourists here. But the majority of folks at the tables seemed to know each other. They greeted each other cordially, even talking across from table to table. This was obviously the local watering hole.
Chet sat back and patted his stomach, "Didn't I tell you the shepherd's pie they make here is the best in the South."
Rory nodded as he picked up his coffee, "I don't usually have seconds so I have to agree with you."
"I've been trying to figure out the secret for years." Chet tapped the side of his head with a finger, "I figure they use a bay leaf or two along with Heinz ketchup."
Rory smiled, "All I know is it tastes great."
Chet picked up his coffee and saluted Rory, "That it does, Rory-Mack. That it does."
The tall, white-haired waitress with the crazy red glasses appeared with her coffee pot, "Is Chet here still trying to discover our secret ingredients in the shepherd's pie?"
"I'm not saying a thing," Rory said as he held his coffee mug out for a refill.
"Come on now Jesse, it's just normal for a man to be inquisitive," Chet said as he watched the waitress fill Rory's coffee mug. He lowered his voice as he held out his own coffee mug, "I won't tell a soul."
Jesse refilled his cup and gave him a skeptical eye, "Yeah. And come tomorrow morning, you'll be flapping those gums on your radio show, telling everybody in the county." She looked at Rory and shook her head, "Man can't keep a secret know-how."
Chet scowled good-naturedly as the waitress wandered away to her other customers.
The two men sat there, drinking their coffee and looking out the window at the passing cars and the customers who were either coming or going. It was a beautiful summer evening and Rory thought about the strangeness of the whole thing. Life in the community carried on while two local children were being held somewhere. Or maybe buried somewhere nearby.
"Penny for your thoughts."
Rory looked across at Chet. He shrugged and set his coffee down.
"Little Emma's disappearance is really bothering you, ain't it?" Chet said quietly.
"I guess meeting Emma, even briefly, makes it a little more personal," Rory admitted. "But...the whole thing is bothering me, Chet. Not just the disappearance, but the attitude of law enforcement." He shook his head, "I don't know, everything just seems...off."
"Not much we can do about, I guess," Chet said. "The FBI and State Troopers did have people out searching for a couple of days." He shook his own head in frustration, "Couldn't find a blasted thing. I talked it up on the radio. Asked people to phone in, with even the slightest thing that might pertain to Emma's disappearance, and nothing came of it. It's just like she...like the two of them young'uns...dropped off the face of the earth. You know what I mean?"
Rory nodded. He took a sip of his coffee, thinking. Rubbing his hands around the mug, feeling the warmth, Rory said, "Abductions by a stranger are rare. That's what your Nora-Jane Jackson said in that interview. Right?"
Chet thought about it for a moment and then gave Rory a nod, "That's true. She did say that." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "But...and no offense to you...but we do have a lot of people passing through this small community. Lots of people traveling between Atlanta, Georgia and Greenville, South Carolina. I mean, a lot of tourists come and go through here."
Rory just continued feeling the warmth of the mug, thinking, without looking up at Chet.
Chet sat there, looking at Rory for a moment. Then he narrowed his eyes and shifted forward in his seat, lowering his voice, "You're not suggesting somebody local did this? Are you?"
Rory's looked Chet directly in the eyes, "I'm not suggesting anything, Chet. But you have to take everything into consideration, don't you? Or does that make you feel uncomfortable?"
Chet sat back, chewing on his lower lip, drumming his fingers lightly on the table, considering what Rory had said. "Truthfully," he finally said, "I'm more uncomfortable with the fact we got two missing young'uns." Chet gave it some more thought as he looked at Rory. Then he straightened up and leaned forward, "You got something on your mind, don't you? I can tell there's something there...."
Rory looked out the window, watching a young couple play with a pair of greyhounds. They looked happy and carefree. The direct opposite of how those young children must've felt the day they were taken. It made him angry inside. He looked back at the man across from him, "Chet, I've been doing investigations into all sorts of situations for quite a while now. And you end up with a nose for things...."
"And...?"
"And my nose tells me the disappearances have something to do with this local treasure," Rory finally said. "Call me crazy, but...."
Chet had a concerned look on his face as he scratched his chin, "I'm sure by now you know about my family connections to the treasure...?"
Rory nodded, "That Sara Madison at the Golden Library said your three-times great grand-daddy was involved at the start."
"So...you're not suggesting...?"
Rory shook his head, "No, Chet. I don't think you had anything to do with it."
Chet let his breath out and sat back, looking relieved.
"But you do know a lot about the subject. Right?"
Chet nodded his head, "Spent my whole childhood looking for it."
Rory tapped the table with a finger in emphasis, "Just like those missing children." He paused and then asked, "Did the FBI or your Sheriff follow up on the treasure angle?"
Chet did some thinking, then shook his head no, "They said...if it was kidnappings...it looked to be what they called 'crimes of opportunity'. Young'uns being out alone in the woods and the kidnapper comes across them. That would make it nearly impossible to crack the case they said. Course, when they couldn't come up with anything, they just decided the young'uns ran away from home. Jackasses. Just covering their behinds cause they couldn't figure it out."
Rory nodded, "Now, I may be wrong, but I'd like us to work together, to see what we can find out following the treasure lead. You game?"
"Sure," Chet said. "But how exactly do we do that?"
"Well...you said you searched for it as a kid. Where would these kids go to hunt for the treasure around here?"
"Oh wow, there are dozens of spots. There are signs on rocks and trees and the like all over," Chet said.
Rory shook his head a little in frustration, "I was hoping there would be one particular spot. But I guess not. Emma showed me one of the signs in back of Donna-Lou Haney's house."
Chet nodded, "Yeah, I know about that one. But I'm not sure if that sign would do anybody any good anyway."
Rory looked at Chet in surprise, "Why not? Isn't that one of the signs from The Knights of the Golden Circle?"
"Oh yeah," Chet replied, "But where those houses are built, I was told by my granddaddy that it used to be one of the old apple orchards. The old farm, the orchard and some of the hillside and trees were removed when those houses were built over the years. There was even a filling station near there at one time that's now long gone. Anyways, sounded to me like a lot of the signs were destroyed. You see each sign that was there was part of a larger network of signs that crisscross and point to other signs or some other type of clue."
Rory nodded in understanding, "I guess members of the Knights of the Golden Circle weren't expecting progress to wipe out their signs."
"No, I suppose they expected the Old South to rise long before then," Chet said.
"Anything helpful passed down through your family tree?"
Chet shook his head sadly no, "I had the vague recollection that my daddy and grand-daddy were a part of the KGC, from the stories that I remember hearing. And they did teach me a few things. But when I was six years or so, my daddy and my granddaddy were killed in an accident–" Chet sat up straight in his seat again.
"What's wrong?"
Chet's eyes moved back and forth, like he was looking into the past, "It's just...I remember momma getting frustrated with me, even mad at times, when she found out I was out looking for the treasure. I remember my aunt Nell saying to momma when she would visit, 'that boy is gonna get his-self killed too'." He looked at Rory, "That's exactly what she said...'too'. Momma would agree and forbid me to go out treasure hunting again." Chet shook his head softly, "I hadn't thought about that since I was a boy. But now...."
Rory cocked his head, "You think your father and grandfather were killed because they were looking for the treasure way back then? By who?"
Chet looked across at Rory as if it should be apparent, "By the KGC."
That didn't make any sense to Rory, "But why would they kill them if they were part of it?"
Chet took a breath and let it out slowly, "Keep in mind the Knights of the Golden Circle were a secret society, Rory. Members were forbidden to reveal anything about the society, on the penalty of death. The organization even had their own army, going way back to 1860. Once they began burying money in anticipation of the South rising again, they appointed members of the army to be Sentinels. Those sentinels were expected to keep watch, guard the caches and kill anyone who got too close...or kill any member who talked...."
"But that was the 19th century! We're in the 21st century and–"
Chet shook his head somberly, "The task of being a KGC Sentinel is said to be passed down from generation to generation, Rory. It's an honor and it's taken seriously. Every person looking for the treasure has heard of recent accounts of armed Sentinels who responded to incursions by outsiders into treasure areas. Tourists who were treasure hunting around here have claimed they was run off by men on horseback, if you can believe it."
Rory leaned forward, "So you believe the Knights of the Golden Circle still exist? That there are still armed Sentinels guarding the treasure?"
Chet gave Rory a shrug but his face was dead serious.
Rory rubbed his chin as he contemplated what Chet was saying, "I was thinking more along the lines of someone wanting the information these kids might have figured out. Figuring it was their ticket to a personal lottery. But I never thought about someone protecting the treasure in this day and age. A secret society...."
"And I have a hard time believing someone around here would be that evil. Scaring people off is one thing. But killing young'uns?" Chet said. He looked at the people around them, eating, drinking, laughing and talking.
"I'm sure you've watched enough television to know how people with a cause have used children and didn't care if their ambitions resulted in their deaths."
"In other countries maybe, But this is the United States of America," Chet countered, still having a hard time believing it.
"Maybe...."
Chet nodded solemnly as he gave it some thought. Then he got up and stood by the table. He hitched his pants up and said firmly to Rory, "If there are KGC Sentinels around here like that - then me and you can give them more than a couple of young'uns to worry about."