MARLBORO NIGHTS [JJ MAYBANK]

denmark tanny

THE CICADAS CHIRPING NEXT TO HER EARS MADE KAROLINA REMEMBER WHY SHE WASN'T THE BIGGEST FAN OF RIXON'S COVE. They were attracted to the fire, she guessed, but it was so warm against her skin that she just accepted the bugs. She was still in the golden dress from Midsummers, so the fire wasn't quite enough against the cool, pre-storm breeze.

"Hey guys, so like.. My dad's already gonna kill me," Pope said, crossing his legs, "So what's this mandatory meeting about?"

Kiara, Karolina, and Pope watched John B and JJ expectantly. John shot finger guns at JJ, who replied, "Might as well tell 'em, man. Before we're gaffed..."

Karolina scowled, eyes widening. "Gaffed?"

Despite the mention of murder, John B smiled. "You ready for this?" He glanced at Kie.

"Oh, my God, just spit it out already," groaned Karolina, leaning forward on the fallen tree she was perched upon. John B grinned at her, before casting his eyes back into the fire.

"So... The gold never went down with the Royal Merchant.

Pope was rolling his eyes before the words "royal merchant" even left his mouth. "Oh, here we go again with this..." Karolina sighed, taking the pin from her hair so that her curls fell onto her shoulders, hairspray and all, hoping to provide a little more warmth.

"No, all right, wait," JJ said, poking her shoulder, "Hear him out, okay?"

She just shrugged him off, raising an eyebrow at John B. He still had that charming, matter-of-fact smile on his face. "It's been here the whole time. It's on the island."

Kiara looked at him wildly, excitement dripping from her voice. "Are you serious?" Karolina was skeptical; hadn't they once been convinced that the gold was at the bottom of the ocean? How could he be so sure?

Pope must have been reading her mind, for he said, "I'd like to voice my skepticism." John B nodded, agreeing, but said, "I'm sure you would, Pope. But can I please present you with my evidence, sir?"

Spreading his hands out in front of him, Pope gestured for him to go. "Proceed."

Standing, John B practically skipped to his backpack, saying, "So, in my backpack, I have a letter. From Denmark Tanny." He paused, as if they were supposed to know who that was.

"Who is that?"

"Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck," John B explained, "Check this out." He handed off the letter to Kie, who examined it. "Okay, so slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery. So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom. After that, he bought his farm."

"Tannyhill Plantation," Karolina said suddenly, the name finally connecting. It was the title of the Cameron's estate in Figure Eight. Kiara was obviously not in favor of it's location, considering her fallout with Sarah Cameron. "Tannyhill?" she repeated.

"Yeah," John B winked, continuing, "So, after that, he used his money to free even more slaves, and then he sold a lot of rice, which makes all the white planters mad, and then- they decide to lynch him.

"So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the gold," John B finished, satisfied. His grin was the craziest she'd ever seen it, and it reminded her why he and JJ had been friends for so long.

Kie stared at him, waiting fro him to actually finish. "Where?"

"Harvest the wheat in parcel nine, near the water. Except- there's no wheat. Wheat is code for gold, check this out." Yanking the letter from Pope's hands, he showed them the picture at the bottom; a picture of a colored square with a bundle of wheat tied on the front. "The gold is in parcel nine, near the water."