“Oh,” I said with a laugh. That explained why his account had been logged out before.
“Then, when I actually went into town to pick up the ring, that was the day you texted me asking if I was home. I half freaked out, thinking you and Sophie must have known where I was, and that you would have figured out I was going to the jewelry store to pick up the ring.”
“Don’t worry, we had absolutely no idea,” I replied truthfully. I felt a little bit silly; while Sophie had been trying to convince me that Jason might have been doing something a bit untoward, she was completely wrong. Jason had been hiding something from me, that was true. It was just the greatest surprise ever.
The rest of the day absolutely flew by, and the next morning, as we flew back from Honolulu to Portland, I couldn’t help but think that while I didn’t want to leave, I was also really looking forward to celebrating with everyone.
Chapter 22
As soon as we finally got home and I stepped through the front door, my jaw dropped open in surprise. Rather than the empty house with a cat ready to complain that Charlotte never fed her anything and she was starving, I found myself facing a dozen or so of my family and friends. Sophie and Taylor were there, as was her mom Lisa and her boyfriend Austin. Karen and her husband stood by the entrance to the kitchen, and a huge cake sat on the kitchen counter.
“What is this?” I asked, looking around at everyone.
“Jason told us to hold a surprise party for you after your trip,” Sophie said. “But he wouldn’t say why.”
I held up my left hand and straight away the entire room burst into a cacophony of noise.
“Oh my God!”
“That’s amazing!”
“Let me see the ring!”
“When did he propose? Was it romantic?”
I laughed as I quickly found myself the center of attention, answering question after question about the proposal.
After a few minutes, I felt a furry presence against my leg. “Hi, Bee.”
“Yeah, like you care about me at all. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve eaten?”
“Oh, yeah, you definitely look like you’re starving. I’m sure Charlotte hasn’t given you anything to eat at all.”
“That’s right! Don’t ever leave me again. Also, if anyone was going to put a ring on that finger, I guess Jason is an ok human to do it.”
I smiled as Bee ran off straight after that last comment. That was definitely her way of congratulating me.
After eating some celebratory cake and entertaining partygoers, eventually everyone began to leave, until finally only Charlotte, Sophie, Jason, Taylor and I were left.
We sat around the table chatting about the trip. “It was amazing. Absolutely incredible,” I gushed. “The hotel room we stayed in literally looked exactly like a place from a brochure. Like, the view was actually even nicer than the ad for vacation rentals in Georgetown or wherever in Michael Carlton’s apartment.”
“Georgetown?” Charlotte repeated, and I nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Was it one word, or two?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Two, I guess. Why?”
Charlotte raised an eyebrow at me. “Do you know where George Town is?”
“No. The Caribbean somewhere?”
“Yes. Specifically, it’s the capital of the Cayman Islands.”
My eyes widened. “Isn’t that supposed to be some sort of major place where people hide money?”
“Like the proceeds of a bank robbery,” Sophie nodded.
“Would Michael Carlton have gotten ads from there even if he’d never been?” I asked nobody in particular, and Jason shook his head.
“I wouldn’t think so. More popular places, sure, maybe. But the Cayman Islands is kind of niche enough that I don’t think they would. Especially not here on the west coast.”
“So Michael’s half of the money is hidden in a bank in the Caymans somewhere,” I said.
“We’ll have to tell Chief Gary,” Charlotte said. “With him dead, maybe law enforcement can get some of that cash back.”
“That reward money should help pay for an epic wedding,” Sophie grinned. “I can’t believe you’re getting married. Well, I can. Maybe this will help Taylor get a move on and put a ring on my finger,” she said with a pointed look at her boyfriend.
“I’m just never sure I can tame such a free spirit as you,” Taylor teased.
“Trust me, if the diamond is big enough, I’ll do anything you want,” Sophie replied.
As we all laughed, I wondered if Charlotte was right. Maybe they were going to be able to uncover the lost money after all.
Lying in bed that night, I couldn’t sleep at all. It was no wonder; the last few days had been among the most hectic – both physically and emotionally – of my life. Was Charlotte right? Did Michael Carlton hide his money in the Cayman Islands? What about Francis? Where would his money be hidden? Had he also picked an overseas bank that couldn’t be traced?
Then, Betty’s words came flooding back to me. The last time she had seen Francis was when that woman killed the hitman her husband had hired. That was right around the same time as the bank robbery, right?
Why would Francis Romano pick that time specifically to come back to Willow Bay for a quick visit?
Obviously, the answer was he’d come back if he had a bunch of stolen cash he wanted to hide. But where would he hide it?
I sat up in bed as I began to think things over.
“Are you ok?” Jason murmured sleepily.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I think I know where Francis Romano might have hidden his cash.”
“Really?” Jason said, sitting up.
“Well, not exactly where. But I have an idea. You coming?”
“To go on a treasure hunt with my fiancé in the middle of the night? Absolutely.”
The two of us slipped on our clothes in silence and made our way to the front door.
“Where are you going? Can I come?” Bee asked.
“No, I need to talk to some animals to figure out where to go, and you always scare the birds away.”
“It’s not my fault I’m a ferocious predator descended from the jungle hunters of old.”
“Well, either way, I can’t have you scaring them off. Stay here, Bee, and I’ll take you to work in the morning.”
This was definitely going to be a day powered by coffee, seeing as I’d barely gotten a wink of sleep and it was already 4am.
As Jason and I left the house, he turned to me. “So what’s the plan?”
“We need to find the place Francis Romano found,” I said. “He said he had found some old bunkers in the woods, maybe from World War 2.
“Seriously?”
“It wouldn’t be super weird. They did do a bunch of training around here before shipping soldiers out to fight in the Pacific.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that. Do you know where the bunkers are?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I’m hoping the animals can help with that.”
The two of us walked down towards the park, but on the way there, I spotted an owl sitting on a lamppost, his keen eyes eagerly looking for his next meal.
“Excuse me, Mr. Owl,” I said, and the owl hooted at me.
“Well, if it isn’t the human with the ability to speak to animals. I have heard of your existence many a time, but I had quite believed you to be a myth.”
“I’m not a myth,” I said with a smile. “I’m very real.”
“So I see. I believe I owe my friend the doe an apology. Why is it that you are out in the middle of the night, when the rest of your kind are sleeping?”
“I’m looking for a place that another human might have found. It’s very important. Do you know of a human-built structure in the woods, one which no humans use anymore, which may be partially hidden in the ground?”