Page 40 of The Curse Breaker

Zara handed Benny a blanket and pointed to a blow-up mattress in the room set up for her. The room had floral wallpaper and matching bedding. Zara had a pile of clothes on the bed stacked so high they reached a poster on the wall of a band Benny heard of but never listened to. Zara’s laptop was open on the bed, and there were two pictures on a dresser. Benny assumed it was a photo of Zara with her parents. One looked current. The other a childhood snap. In both, the trio—a man with light brown skin and a brunette woman with an almond complexion stood on either side of a mischievous-looking towheaded toddler.

“Gil is adapting well, by the way. I think he likes it here.”

“Good.” Benny bit her lip. “I just hope we can help him.”

“We are helping him.” Zara turned on some music to drown out her grandmother. “We regret giving Grams a karaoke microphone for Christmas. Listen, I didn’t want to tell you this part in front of Gil, but I have more information about the treasure.”

Zara motioned for Benny to sit on the bed across from her. “My mom said Tesouro Eterno is rumored to have been around for centuries, never staying in one spot for more than a few hundred years. El Tesouro Eterno means ‘the fountain of youth.’ Dad said there are stories about people claiming to find it and then never being heard from again.” Her eyes gleamed. “We need to ask Kimble what really happened.”

Zara’s grandmother could be heard singing still from one floor away.

Benny huffed. “He’s a vault. He won’t tell us anything!” Benny hugged herself and wondered how she was going to get him to open up to them. She yawned. That’s tomorrow’s problem, she could imagine Grams saying. Take things one day at a time.

Fourteen

Gil

Gil didn’t sleep well. It wasn’t the bed—it was much more comfortable than he remembered beds being (they slept in hammocks on the island). And it wasn’t that he watched too much TV (though he did spend a lot of time perusing something called Netflix).

It was because he couldn’t get his mind to stop racing. His thoughts veered from Aggy, Thomas, and Laurel, who he felt guilty leaving, to Evelyn, who he was both thankful for and angry with. Why didn’t you tell me? he asked the darkened room. I could have helped you.

Instead, you made things worse, a voice in his head said as he thought of Connie again. Connie, who was really Grace. Connie, who he’d been sweet-talked into telling everything there was to know about Sparrow. He tossed and turned (with the TV on) all night and finally fell off when the clock with numbers said 3:00. When the beeping went off—the alarm—he didn’t know how to shut it off. Zara did it for him, threw him some new clothes, and pointed him to the shower again. (Apparently people bathed daily.) After banging on the door twice to hurry, Gil came out and Benny handed him what was called a raincoat. (It repelled rain!)

“Rain or shine, we need to get to that country club when it opens,” Benny said, braiding her hair. “Before the Rudds know we’re there.”

“What time did you tell Kimble you’d meet him at his boat?” Zara asked.

“One o’clock.” Benny threw a raincoat over her head. “I’m not sure we look country club appropriate.”

“We’re fine,” Zara insisted. “Let’s just go.”

“Are we biking again?” Gil asked hopefully.

“Yes, we are,” Benny said with a grin that reminded him very much of Sparrow’s. He let her lead the way down the porch steps to something called a garage (to Gil it seemed like a small barn), where the bikes were waiting. Zara lent bikes to Benny and Gil, since Benny’s bike was back at Evelyn’s house, which was now Benny’s house.

A short while later, they were biking to an area of Greenport that was familiar. He recognized the Rudd property immediately. The original house was gone, replaced with a large brick structure with ivy trailing up the side. A sign on the green lawn, next to tiny cars with no sides, said North Shore Country Club. Gil could see a swimming hole in the distance. In front of the brick building was a circular road where a man was taking a person’s keys. Zara rolled right up behind the car and placed her bike next to the front doors. She beckoned them to do the same.

“Follow my lead and let me talk,” Zara said. “I’ve been here for events before.”

She went through the heavy doors into a room where a woman with wavy light brown hair sat behind an oak desk. Light piano music played from a small speaker beside her. The woman looked up and smiled. “Zara, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Good morning, Ashley. I’d like you to meet Benny Benedict, a friend of mine who is new to town and”—Zara leaned in and whispered—“is about to come into money. I told her if she has money to burn, she needs to become a member here, and Ashley Ford is the woman to see.”

Benny gave an awkward wave. “Hello. Would it be alright if I looked around? With my friends? This is our friend Gil.”

Gil bowed slightly. “Good morning, ma’am.”

Ashley frowned. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to let you walk around without an adult or a member to guide you. I could call someone and see—”

Zara cut her off. “No need! I’ve been here before. I can lead the tour.”

Ashley looked around the big empty room. “But you’re not a member. You need to be with a member,” she said. “It’s club rules.”

Zara blinked innocently. “Please? It’s raining, and we will be quick! Besides, I’m an excellent tour guide. I have great training with the historical society.”

“I think my mom would like it here,” Benny added, looking at Ashley and making eye contact. She added a bright smile. “Did I mention the trust is in my name? Left to me by an ancestor from the North Fork?”

Gil was impressed at the girls’ cunning.