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CHAPTER 20
"Hey! Just the people I wanted to see! I have a question of historical nature made for you guys." Mr. Sunn pushed them inside the room. "I digitize documents for the Maritime Museum and in return, I've been given access to the archives." He opened a door. "And I found this." He grabbed a box from the shelf.
"A box." Pope said in disbelief.
"More than a box." Mr. Sunn removed the lid. "Go ahead Mr. Heyward."
Pope took a brown book outside of the plastic and examined it. "Woah."
"It's a diary. The author's unknown." Pope opened the diary, revealing a huge wheat symbol on the first page.
"And this is a sample of a Denmark Tanny letter." Mr. Sunn placed a photocopy on the table. "Compare the handwriting."
"No way." Juls flipped through the pages of the diary. "This is Denmark Tanny's diary." Juls flipped to another page with a drawing. "Guys it's Captain Limbrey."
"August 6th, 1829"
"That's the year the Royal Merchant went down."
"I thought you all might find this interesting."
"Thank you so much for this." Pope looked up. "It's important to know your own history." Mr. Sunn walked out.
"Oh my god. It's the cross of Santo Domingo. It was all on the Royal Merchant."
. . .
"Guys this is from his diary. August 15th, set sail from Port-au-Prince on calm seas. Came upon the Spanish ship San Jose on fire. The entire deck was aflame, and we could hear the screams of men trapped below." Pope paused for a few seconds.
"The Spanish captain cared about only one thing, his valuable cargo, the Cross of Santo Domingo, and countless bars of gold. Once the cargo was on-board we went to help the crew, but Captain Limbrey ordered us to pull bayonets, and not to let any of the Spanish crew on board. He robbed them, and left them to die." He put the diary down.
"So it didn't go down off Bermuda." JJ sat up. "And it was a Limbrey stealing shit again." Kiara sighed.
"This diary proves that both the gold and the Cross of Santo Domingo were on the Royal Merchant."
"Why didn't we find it in the well then? I mean, if Denmark was able to get this, like bedazzled cross, off of the Royal Merchant to shore, why didn't he just hide it with the gold?" JJ faced them.
"Maybe it was too big?" Suzy questioned.
Pope pointed at her. "You're right. He had to hide it someplace else."
"But where?" Juls shrugged.
"Right before he was hung, Denmark said he'd buried the treasure at the foot of the angel."
"Wait, I thought this was about the key." Suzy gave JJ a weird look.
"Right. So what's the connection?"
"The path to the tomb begins in the island room. Kiara groaned. "But what is island room?"
JJ stood up. "You know what helps me figure shit out?"
Suzy sighed. "Enlighten us."
"Smoking beers and drinking weed. The ideas just pour out of me." Suzy burst out laughing.
"If we just sit here, and try to figure this out were gonna get nowhere, but if we get creative and go to this bonfire tonight, maybe we get somewhere."
"Well, I just got disowned by my parents and I'm an official member of the I-have-nothing-to-lose club." Kiara smiled.
"Pope?" He looked up. "Were so close."
"Look, look, think about how much you could think if you just gave your brain a rest." John B and Suzy wiggled his fingers in front of him.
"Okay fine." JJ sat up and cheered, elbowing Suzy in the face.
"JJ you bitch!"
. . .
"Hey! She's not interested." JJ sat beside Juls as the guy walked away.
She scoffed at him. "Why would you do that?"
JJ just shrugged and put an arm around her shoulder.
"You gonna murder me like you murdered Sheriff Peterkin?!" John B punched Kelce.
Juls ran to him. "John B stop it!"
Suzy stood up and pushed the girl that was with John B, off of Sarah.
The girl's face turned red. "Yo who's side are you on?!"
"She's my best friend you bitch!" She helped Sarah stand up. "You okay?"
