Page 35 of Tack’s Bounty

Lake rolled her eyes and turned back toward her partner in crime. “Listen, we’ll check this out, and then if we find anything, hopefully, it will keep Sophia and us safe. There’s nothing to feel bad about,” Lake replied as she used the lockpick to jimmy open the back door.

Freedom followed her in. Lake flipped on the small flashlight she’d brought. It was dark enough outside that she didn’t want anyone noticing a large flashlight. She scanned the front room, not seeing anything of consequence.

“Let’s see if there is an office,” Lake suggested, checking the doors in the hallway. The first led to a bathroom but the second was promising.

“Bingo,” she whispered, walking into the room. She stared for a minute, then realized that the room didn’t have a window. She pulled the door closed behind them and flipped on the overhead light.

“All right. We’re looking for anything that pertains to Sophia, her parents, or the property the farm is on. I’ll start on the desk drawers. You start on the top drawer of the file cabinet,” Lake directed.

She sat down at the desk, opening each drawer and pulling the items out to sort through. There was a small stack of pictures rubber-banded together. She tugged the rubber band off to look through. One was a picture of a younger-looking Jolene with a man she assumed was Rufus’ father because the resemblance was striking. He looked so much like his dad.

Lake flipped through another couple, but she didn’t see anything worth noting. She closed that drawer and opened the next one. It was stuffed full with newspaper clippings and photocopied pages from books. She placed those to the side and pulled out another fat envelope, but this one was full of pictures. She wasn’t sure how old they were, but she was guessing at least 1920 or earlier. The type of paper used to print the photos was very old. She looked through a couple of pictures before pausing on one. There was a house with a strange-looking tree beside it. The only reason it stood out to her was because she saw that tree whenever she walked the property. It was a little taller but still had that lopsided look. Now, why the heck would Jolene and Rufus have a picture of the tree on Sophia’s property?

“Find anything yet?” Freedom questioned.

Banging on the door startled Lake. She held her finger in front of her mouth and moved in front of Freedom. No one was hurting her friend.

“C’mon, ladies. We know you’re in there, but we’d like to know what you’re doing,” Stinger called out from the hallway.

Lake walked over to the door, opening it but keeping her foot in front of the door. She wanted to look out but not let the guys in. Stinger, Shield, and Cuffs were grinning at her from the other side of the door.

“How?” Lake demanded.

“Did you think we wouldn’t have surveillance cameras on the house? You also tripped the motion detectors,” Stinger smirked.

Lake huffed, but then maybe the guys could help. She opened the door wider and motioned them in. The office was small and a little cramped.

“Find anything good?” Stinger casually dropped into the desk chair, spinning it around.

“Are you three? Quit spinning and let me sit back down,” Lake ordered.

She wasn’t listening to Cuffs and Shield. They were walking the small space and knocking on the walls periodically. Stinger sighed loudly but stood up and held the chair for Lake.

“Thank you,” she said, picking up the newspaper clipping again.

“That’s it. That’s why the tree looked familiar,” Stinger realized, snatching the paper out of her hands.

“Did you not learn to share?” Lake whined, punching Stinger in the arm.

“Nope. Grew up in foster care, and there wasn’t ever much to share,” Stinger stated flatly.

“Well, if you’re not going to share, tell me why that picture is significant,” Lake demanded, staring at the picture. Banging and a scraping sound had Lake turning to tell the guys to be quiet so she could hear what Stinger had to say, but the wall sliding inward stunned her.

“Is that—?” she whispered.

“A freaking secret room,” Freedom breathed.

It made perfect sense because Lake hadn’t understood why there wasn’t a window on the outside wall and why the room felt so cramped. It was because the secret room someone had built had a window in it—though someone had covered it with thick drapes. The room was also covered in pictures and notes. Lake walked to the wall with the same picture she’d found. Stinger joined her.

She read aloud what was written.

“Ma Jo’s Boarding House, 1874, believed to be located five miles north of Muncie, KS, and four miles west.”

Stinger tapped the picture of the tree. “That’s why I kept getting that feeling of déjà vu. I’m a history buff and have studied just about everything written about the James-Younger gang. Muncie, KS, was where they hit the railroad. I think they got ten thousand dollars total, with about five thousand being in gold. It was rumored that they were hidden multiple times by Ma Jo, but no one knew where back then.”

Cuffs walked closer. “Is this all about someone searching for a treasure?” he speculated.

“If they were searching for the gold, what would it be worth today?” Shield asked.