Paper Cuts, page 23
She knocked softly on Tucker’s door and said, “Hey, Tucker. It’s Nora from the bookstore.” She pointed at the map in her hands. “Is this an island?”
Tucker went abruptly silent and cast his eyes down.
Nora mouthed “Sorry” to Val, who shook her head as if to say “It’s okay.”
Just as Nora was about to back away, Tucker grabbed another piece of paper from a loose pile on his bed and shoved it under the door.
This sheet was less rumpled than the previous ones, and the map had been drawn with more care. It was clearly the same island, but Tucker had added a bunch of elongated V’s to represent water and a big, bold, red X marked a spot in the middle of the landmass.
“Looks like a treasure map,” Nora said to no one in particular.
Tucker selected another paper from the top of his bed and slid it under the door.
This map was beautifully detailed. Every line was precise and deliberate. There was a rose compass in the bottom corner, mountains and trees dotted the island, and certain areas were carefully labeled. As Nora’s gaze swept over names like “Spyglass Hill” and “Skeleton Island,” she knew exactly what Tucker had drawn.
“It’s the map from Treasure Island. Tucker, this is amazing.”
Kirk got up from where he’d been sitting on the top step and joined the two women.
“Why does he keep drawing this particular place?” he whispered.
Another sheet appeared under the door. Val scooped it up and held it so that they could all look at it together.
This map was very similar to the previous one. The only difference was the inclusion of an impressive drawing of a schooner in the bottom left corner. The site of the ship and the map reminded Nora of the sailor’s valentine—the one covered in her fingerprints. That map had shown a chain of Caribbean islands.
Are there other maps in Virginia Love’s collection?
When she asked Kirk and Val this question, they gave her blank looks.
“Just on the valentine that went missing,” Kirk replied. “And I don’t know if you heard, but the thief broke it. They pulled the map part off the base, but they were too rough, and the base cracked in half.”
What were they looking for?
“What about the books? Did any include a map?”
Kirk mulled this over for a moment before answering. “I don’t think so. Folks from the sheriff’s office checked every page for loose notes or clues but didn’t find a thing. None of the other valentine collectibles had a map or nautical themes. Why do you ask?”
Nora wasn’t sure. A string of words ran through her mind like a news ticker: Valentine, treasure, map, ship, love, Tucker, casino, land.
“What are you thinking?” Kirk softly prodded.
“Nothing cohesive. I just . . .” She shook her head and started again. “Did you know that Lawrence was behind the casino deal?”
“Not until today.”
Val lowered her voice to a whisper. “He said that he came for the funeral, but I didn’t believe him. We made the arrangements at the last minute and didn’t tell anyone. We wanted it to be as low-key as possible for Tucker’s sake. When I told Lawrence he shouldn’t have come, he said he was in the area anyway. He could’ve jumped out of a plane right over the cemetery, and he still shouldn’t have come! What kind of man shows up, uninvited, to the funeral of a woman he treated like dirt?”
For once, Nora was in complete agreement with Val. She nodded in solidarity before turning back to Kirk.
“Has Tucker ever drawn a map of North Carolina?” she asked, speaking too quietly for Tucker to hear. “Like this town, or someplace nearby?”
“Not that I’ve seen.”
What are we missing? Lawrence must’ve said something to Tucker to incite the meltdown at the bookstore. Had he been cruel or demeaning? Had he insulted Kelly or tried to touch Tucker without the boy’s permission? Because even though Derrick had helped Tucker through the meltdown, the boy was still distraught. That much was obvious. The reasons behind his distress were less clear.
Stepping into Tucker’s room, Kirk said, “Buddy, I had no idea you could draw the map from Treasure Island. Did you and your mom read that book together?”
The three adults held a collective breath as they waited for Tucker to answer. Finally, he murmured, “Meemaw read it to me. We saw the movie too. Twelve times.”
“Do you have the book in your room?” asked Nora.
“Meemaw said not to show it to anyone. Only Mom. I promised. And when you shake on it, that means you promise forever.”
Val gave Kirk a nudge so that she could enter the room too. “Was your dad trying to get you to break your promise? Is that why you’re upset?”
Suddenly words tumbled out of Tucker like stormwater from a gutter. “He said Meemaw’s secrets were his secrets because she was his mom. But that’s not what Meemaw said. She said I could only tell Mom. We shook on it! She told me everyone else was a pirate. And pirates steal people’s treasure.”
Kirk and Val exchanged puzzled looks.
“Did your mom know your secret?” asked Val.
After a lengthy pause, Tucker murmured, “She said I could tell you and Uncle Kirk after she died. She said I had to share the secret with one grown-up because I needed a grown-up to watch out for pirates.”
Val leaned close to Kirk and whispered, “It’s just a story. Let’s get him to bed. Poor thing is totally worn out. We can talk about treasure and pirates in the morning.”
Kirk held up a finger. “Give me a sec. Tucker? If I shut the door, and it’s just you and me, will you tell me the secret?”
“Just you?”
“Just me.”
“Okay.”
Val stepped into the hallway and Nora retreated until she was standing at the top of the stairs.
Kirk closed Tucker’s door.
As the women waited, time slowed to a crawl. One minute turned to two. Two minutes turned to five.
Since she couldn’t hear a peep from inside the boy’s bedroom, Nora was tempted to text Estella. She was worried about Estella and Gus and she felt guilty because she hadn’t connected with her friend all day. She pulled out her phone but couldn’t think of what to say. It was impossible to concentrate while Tucker’s door remained closed.
When the door finally opened, Kirk stood on the threshold looking shell-shocked. He reached out for his wife, and she rushed forward to take his hand.
“What is it?” she demanded.
Kirk moved his mouth, but no words came out.
Val peered over his shoulder to where Tucker sat cross-legged on his bed, hugging a large book to his chest. “Please, Kirk. You’re scaring me.”
“There is a treasure.” Kirk’s voice was filled with awe. “It’s a deed—to a huge piece of property. It’s close to here. I think it might be where Lawrence is planning to build that casino. Virginia gave the land to Kelly and Tucker. I didn’t go through all the legal paperwork, but I read enough to know that this happened years ago, long before Lawrence had Virginia declared incompetent. The bottom line? He doesn’t own the land he wants to build on. It couldn’t belong to him because it didn’t belong to Virginia when he took over her finances. It belonged to Kelly and Tucker.”
Nora gasped. “Is that why Lawrence came to Miracle Springs? To steal the deed from his own son?”
“Even if he did, it wouldn’t make a difference. It was recorded by the county. I saw a copy of that record.”
Val’s gaze swept over the papers on the floor. “Where?”
“It’s inside Tucker’s copy of Treasure Island. The book pages were removed. Now, there are only legal documents between the covers. Affidavits testifying to Virginia’s sound mind. References from physicians and influential members of Virginia’s community. There’s a letter from Virginia too. She wanted Tucker to have this land so that he’d always have an income.”
“I don’t get it,” said Val. “Unless it’s super rich farmland or has a gold mine, how can it guarantee him an income?”
Kirk smiled at her. “There’s no gold, but there’s plenty of copper.”
Nora was confused. “Is copper valuable? When I think of copper, I picture pennies and pipes.”
“I might not have Lawrence’s business savvy, but I know that you need copper to make electric cars. And batteries. As the demand for electric cars increases, so will the demand for copper. Virginia had the ore tested, and she left Tucker a high-quality deposit. When he comes of age, he can sell the land or lease it to a mining company.”
Kirk’s face was radiant with relief. As Val took in her husband’s words, the lines around her mouth softened and she smiled.
Though Nora was happy for the couple, she could see that Tucker was completely spent. What the little boy needed most right now was to change into his pajamas, brush his teeth, and go to bed. He needed a good, long, healing sleep. He also needed protection. All three of them did.
“We should call the sheriff,” she whispered to Kirk and Val. “Whoever broke in before—they might come back.”
Kirk instantly sobered. “I left my phone in the kitchen. I’ll go down and call right now.”
Val led Nora into the hall, where she took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “You’ve been such a friend to us. More than I deserve.”
Up close, Nora saw the dark circles under Val’s eyes that her concealer had failed to hide. She thought of everything Val had been through in the past few months. She’d moved, started a new business, and opened her home to her sister-in-law and nephew. These high-stress events were compounded by Kelly’s murder and a break-in.
The woman had been through hell, and Nora instantly forgave her any past unkindness. She demonstrated exactly how she felt by giving Val a hug.
When she let go, Val said, “It’s time for Tucker to go to bed.”
“I’ll show myself out. Goodnight, Tucker. You were very brave. Your mom would be proud of you.”
As Nora turned toward the stairs, she heard a loud thump from the first floor.
“Kirk?” Val shouted.
The sound of heavy footfalls floated up from below. Nora pictured a pair of black boots seconds before a man with a shaved head peered up at her from the bottom of the stairs.
He wore dark clothes and a predatory grin. His thick neck was tattooed, and in his right hand, he held a hunting knife.
Seeing the knife, a lightning bolt of adrenaline coursed through Nora’s body. She shoved Val into Tucker’s room and told her to lock the door. As soon as she heard the click of the lock, she darted toward the room at the end of the hall, pulling out her phone as she ran. She pressed the red emergency button and managed to scream, “Send help!” before a meaty forearm snaked around her throat and she found herself caught between the python-like limb and a torso as solid and unyielding as a cannon.
“Hush, now.” The man’s gravelly voice filled her ear. His arm tightened around her neck, cutting off her air supply. “I don’t want to hurt you. If I wanted to do that, you’d have a knife sticking out of your back. Right about here.”
The point of a sharp blade bit into Nora’s skin and she whimpered in terror.
“Give me the deed and I won’t need to cut you. I don’t have time to—”
Without any warning, Nora stomped down hard on the man’s foot and then immediately slammed her fist into his groin.
He let out an “oof” and released his hold on her. Those precious seconds allowed her to twist away from him and make a break for the stairs.
She was about to descend when the man launched himself at her.
The impact of his body knocked her off balance and she launched forward like a kid bellyflopping into a pool. Only there wasn’t water below Nora. There was only empty air followed by a flight of uncarpeted steps.
All Nora could do was raise her arms to shield her face. She came down hard, landing in the middle of the staircase. There was a snap of breaking bone and a searing flash of pain as her left arm took the full impact of her fall.
Gravity dragged her down the last few stairs. She heard the bump of her shoulders and knees as her body slid over the smooth wood and a dull thud as her head struck the floor, but it felt like it was happening to someone else. Nora felt detached from herself, as if she were watching the scene on TV.
Someone was shouting.
Nora tried to listen. She tried to fight against the fog closing in around her, but she wasn’t strong enough.
She closed her eyes and sank into darkness.
* * *
Ten minutes later, smelling salts jerked her back to consciousness.
“It’s okay,” said a paramedic. “I’m Amanda. Can you tell me your name?”
As Nora answered, she stared up at the ceiling and suddenly remembered where she was. Then, she remembered the man with the knife.
“Are they safe?” she asked, trying to raise her shoulders off the floor. Pain shot through her arm, and she grunted.
“Whoa, there. You need to lie still. You had a nasty fall and I’m pretty sure your arm is broken. I put a sling on it, but you’ve earned yourself a free ride to the hospital.”
“The little boy—is he okay?”
Amanda nodded. “He’s in his room. His aunt and the sheriff are with him.”
“And Kirk?”
“He’ll have a cartoon-sized lump on the noggin, which has earned him a free trip to the hospital too, but he’s going to be okay.”
Nora shut her eyes and sent up a silent prayer of gratitude. When she opened them again, McCabe was kneeling beside her.
“We need to work on your wrestling moves.” He pushed her hair off her forehead and smiled. “You’re supposed to throw the other guy down the stairs.”
“I was trying to run away.”
“Glad to hear it.” A crinkle appeared between his brows. “How bad’s the pain?”
“My arm aches, but only when I move it. Same with my head.”
McCabe’s face went red, and his voice was choked with emotion when he spoke next. “When I saw you—God—my heart just stopped. You’re my favorite person in all the world, Nora. You know that, right? I love my job, but the best part of the workday is when it’s over and I get to be with you. I feel like we’re just getting started, you and me, so you need to be more careful, because I want to end my days with you until I run out of days. Can we do that?”
“We can do that.”
He bent over and brushed her lips with his. “You need to get patched up now. I wish I could come with you, but Andrews called Hester. She and June will meet you at the hospital.”
Someone called for McCabe, but when he turned to go, Nora grabbed his shirt sleeve. “Did you get him? The man?”
McCabe nodded. “We got him.”
Nora nearly melted through the floor with relief.
“I love you,” he whispered before joining his colleagues upstairs.
Because of her injuries, the paramedics insisted on putting Nora on a gurney and wheeling it down the driveway to where the ambulance was idling at the curb.
Blue and red lights strobed the grass, making it look like a dance floor. When Nora saw the man sitting in the back of a sheriff’s department car, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. The door was open, so Nora could see that the man’s hands were cuffed behind his back.
A pair of deputies stood a few feet away. One was talking to a woman in a bathrobe while the other spoke into his cell phone.
“Wait!” Nora told the paramedics. “Please! You have to stop!”
Amanda peered down at her in concern. “You okay?”
“That man in the car. Is he under arrest?”
Amanda glanced at the car. “Looks like it.”
Nora started shaking her head. “No, no, no! That isn’t the man who attacked me. You’ve got to tell the sheriff. The man with the knife had a spider web tattoo on his neck. He came for the deed. Oh, God. The deed. He must be working for Lawrence. Please get McCabe. He can’t get away! He’s already killed two women!”
Amanda exchanged a pointed look with her coworker and Nora knew they weren’t going to do as she asked.
“Give me my phone, then. I need to call him!”
“Listen, Nora. You hit your head pretty hard and—”
“I know what I saw!” Nora shouted. Despite the throbbing in her head and the aching in her arm, she tried to sit up.
Amanda put a firm hand on her shoulder and said, “Whoa, there. You need to calm down. Everything’s under control. You’ll see—”
“No! They’ve got the wrong man.”
As Nora tried to kick her legs free from the blanket covering her lower half, she heard Amanda say something about ketamine. And before she could object, she felt the prick of a needle in her arm.
“Please,” she cried as the drug surged through her bloodstream. “Tell McCabe. Tell him . . . he’s got the wrong man . . .”
Her tongue was too thick to form more words and sleep was rolling over her like a wave.
The last thing she saw was Gus Sadler’s agonized face, staring at her from inside a cop car. Then her vision faded and there was only oblivion.
Chapter 18
Better a broken bone than a broken spirit.
—Lady Marjory Allen
By the time Nora’s mind cleared, she was lying on an exam table while a woman in scrubs wrapped her arm in strips of plaster.
“Where’s my phone?” Nora asked the woman. A badge clipped to her front pocket identified her as Monique Anene, MD.
“Hey, there. You slept through all the boring bits—well done. I’m Doctor Anene from Orthopedics.” The woman gave her a brief smile. “Your friends have your phone. They’re out in the waiting area. As soon as we’re done here, and I’m just about finished, you can see them. You had a nice clean break. No surgery required. You’ll have this stylish accessory for six weeks and—”
Nora grabbed the doctor’s hand. “I need a phone. The man who caused my injury is still at large. A child’s safety is at stake, okay? The man who hurt me might go after him. I need a phone.”
“Use mine.” The woman punched in her passcode and handed Nora her phone.
