Nothing is hidden under the sunlight // JJ

Chapter 36

"I think it's time you learn about what happened last summer. And since no one is telling you I think I'll be the one who will."

Sophie looked at Jessica. Finally. She was about to learn what had happened. But maybe this was not what she wanted. Of course she wanted to learn the truth but... what if the truth was going to hurt her? And it was going to hurt her. If it wasn't why nobody had told her before?

You know what? She could handle it. It would help her understand the consequences her friends and family were facing now. The girl shook her head making Jessica understand that she was ready.

"Have you ever heard of the Royal Merchant?"

Sophie gave her a curious look. The name was not reminded her of anything. Well of course, how could she know? The last time she'd visited the place was when she was 10. Even if she knew she had forgotten.

"I imagined so. I'll tell you the basics and then I'll continue with the story. The Royal Merchant was a ship in which they were contained bars of gold. Anyway the ship sank and no one found neither it nor the gold."

For someone at her age, Jessica knew exactly what she wanted to say. In contrast with all the other elder people who start talking about the climate change and end up steering the conversation to everything except that. Sophie stayed quiet waiting for the woman to continue.

"Last year people started looking for the gold. Well some of them were looking for it before too but it was only last year when that became known. Among them were your Uncle -Ward, Big John -John B's father, and eventually the Pogues -as you like to call them."

The girl took an amazed expression. Really? All this for a treasure hunt? Not that she knew what had happened but it was kind of a messed up story from the beginning. She couldn't understand why on earth would someone want to go d the gold. They were other ways for someone to get rich than that. And what about the fact that when and if they found it they wouldn't know what to do with it? As a child she was interested in finding gold and things like that just to say that she had found some but she had learnt that once you found it it would be difficult to do something with it.

"John B's father was close to finding it, as he had help from Ward. They argued about how much money would each of them get and then accidentally Ward killed Big John."

Sophie raised her glance from her plate from which she was picking whatever was left from the piece of cake. Great! Surprisingly she wasn't that shocked as she was when Rafe told her about Peterkin. Maybe the fact that was an accident helped her accept it.

"He continued looking for the gold.  Big John went missing. As he couldn't find it himself he decided asking Scooter for help. That led to his death eventually since he decided to go exploring the day of the storm. Now that I'm mentioning storm. Funny how we didn't have one yet."

"So Scooter's death was Ward's fault too, wasn't it?" Sophie asked. In the end everyone related to her would end up having to be convicted for something.

"Well, partly. I don't know if it was Ward who told him to go on that day. But...yes. well of course it wasn't murder at first degree but he led him to that."

"Amazing..." The girl said bitterly. Now she understood why Rafe hadn't told her anything about it. Why JJ didn't want to tell her all by himself. Both of them were afraid of how would she cope with these information.

"And then the kids started looking for the gold. And somehow I think they found it. And then I don't know what happened. Sheriff Peterkin was after Ward but she got shot. But this is all I know."

"Well Miss Bale thank you. For telling me whatever you knew. But I have a question. How did you learn about it?" Sophie and trying to keep herself calm.

"The day of the shot sheriff Peterkin was on church talking to Scooter's wife. What they didn't know was that I was there too." Jessica Bale said with a proud and she tried to hide a proud smile that was slowly appearing on her face.

Sophie smiled. If she could picture herself 60 years from now she would -without a question- picture it like this woman.

"Now I'm afraid I'll have to go. Uhm... And Sophie, do me a favour. Don't be prejudiced against Pogues, they're good kids, with difficult stories, but good kids. Talk to the them. They'll help you understand better."

These were her words and then she left leaving Sophie on her yard lost in her thoughts. Her family had two murderers, two drug addicts, one person missing -well, alive- who choose to protect her boyfriend over her family, a teenager obsessed with technology, a woman utterly indifferent towards them -and that's on Rose, two people who were working and couldn't even take a break to spend some time with their children, and her... But that's another story. Yes that was it. At least she could feel hair that she wasn't in first grade where she would have to describe her family in front of everyone. The description wouldn't be what they teacher would expect.

Sophie smiled at the thought of that. Well as someone once said Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. "Well, what would you say at my position Dumbledore?" She said out loud, mostly as a bittersweet comment.

She sat there sceptically for a couple of minutes weighing the options she had. On the one hand she could go straight to Ward and ask him to explain. On the other hand she could go to find the Pogues. Well to be honest that wasn't a bad idea. She was starting becoming attached to JJ and she really wanted to see him again.

So she ended up going with the second one. Ward could wait. After all he had planned it really well and now that Rafe was in jail who could testify against him?