Page 53 of Ghost Walk
A new thought occurred to him. Hang on. Maybe hecould.
“If we’re going to be using maps, we should use mine.” He said, brightening. “Grace, we should findmymap.”
“Oh Lord…” She rolled her eyes like she thought there was something impractical about a hunt for pirate treasure. “Let itgo, Jamie. I have enough craziness dealing with the lost recipe for troll powder.”
“I’m serious.” He insisted, excitement filling him. “My map is real and it’s surely still around someplace. No one in this blasted town throws anything away. We just need to locate the spot I buried my fortune and dig it up. That would see you secure for the rest of your life.” He arched a brow. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a chest full of gold and gems to spend?”
“Sure. I could build all my unicorn friends a sparkly new castle for our tea parties.”
He frowned at the sarcasm. “The treasure isn’t a fantasy, Grace. It’s somewhere near here, hidden under the ground, and all of it belongs to me. Toyou. All we have to do is find it and you’ll be taken care of forever.”
She didn’t seem enthused by the prospect of being Fuck-‘Em-All rich. “Let’s just concentrate on solving the murders, okay?” She flashed her Harrisonburg employee ID at a guard and was waved through the massive gates of the governor’s house.
The flat-fronted Georgian building was the largest structure in Harrisonburg. It had been called the governor’s “palace,” back when Virginia was still part of Britain, and the name wasn’t far off. The white mansion was huge, with lavish formal gardens and rooms full of gilded furnishings. It was the one building in town Jamie understood people wanting to tour while on vacation. The outrageous opulence of the place suited his personal style to a T. In the waning years ofOprahand beforeHaunted Highstarted airing, his favorite show had beenMTV Cribs.
In his opinion, the governor’s home would have made quite a striking state capital. And itwouldhave been just that, except Thomas Jefferson had hated living there, when he was governor, and moved the capital to Richmond in 1780.
Tom had always been an ass.
“The hedge maze is this way.” Grace headed down a set of shaded steps. “You probably know that. Were you here back in the day or was there a ‘no pirates allowed’ policy?”
“If you’re handsome and rich and notorious, you’re welcomedeverywhere.”
She sent him a dry look. “Which means you totally broke in to steal stuff.”
“Just small stuff.” He winked at her.
“Scoundrel.” Grace stopped in front of the maze’s entrance, which was blocked off by a chain. A sign dangling from it read: “Do Not Enter Without a Hedge Maze Host.”
It was easy to see why. Ahead of them, paths stretched off in three directions. The labyrinth was made of American Holly, to discourage anyone from pushing through the plants Bart Simpson-style, and dense enough that you couldn’t see through the walls. Given its massive size, you could easily be wandering around in there for hours.
Especially if you were following Ned’s half-assed instructions.
“They used to let school trips in here, but they had to stop a couple years back.” Grace said as if reading his mind. “The teachers kept missing their buses, because kids would getlost.”
“Perhaps we should take note of that and forget this plan.”
“Perhapsnot.” Grace retorted. “If there’s any evidence left of Anabel’s murder, this is where it will be.”
He studied her for a beat, his mind still dwelling on his impossible love for her. “Do you like children?” He asked, unable to stop himself.
“Sure. My family has a ton of them running around. My niece Joy once turned my car into a pink Barbie Corvette, which kinda pissed me off, but they’re mostly great to have around.”
Jamie sighed. Of course, she liked children. She deserved to have two or three of them underfoot, breaking the already broken knickknacks in her home and filling her life with magical chaos.
…And she would never, ever have that if she was with a dead man.
Grace studied the deplorable excuse of a map for a beat and nodded, missing his growing misery. “So far so good, too. The maze is starting in the same place now as it did back then. Do you remember it?”
Jamie grunted. “A bit.”
He’d occasionally snuck into parties at the mansion and the maze had been the most entertaining spot at the stuffy gatherings. The walls were over seven feet high, all full of dark corners and dead ends. Couples could be agreeably alone in the twisty pathways.
“A bit?” She repeated skeptically. “Is that your way ofnottelling me about your sleazy assignations in the garden?”
“Everything that happened before I met you becomes a bit of a blur.” He explained piously.
Grace’s mouth twitched. “That’s a good line.” She stepped over the chain barricade and moved down the maze’s left corridor. “Let’s try this direction. Keep your eyes open.”
