Exhale, Outer Banks [ 1 ]

011. TANNYHILL

The pogues got a fire going and are all gathered around it. JJ changed back into his clothes, not wanting to stay in the tux he wore at Midsummers. Cordelia still has her gown on, not having any other clothes in the Twinkie having left her bag at Kie's, but she did find one of JJ's zip up jackets which she put on to help with the night breeze.

Cordelia gently tears and plucks at the petals on her flower crown that managed to stay partly on the whole night due to the bobby pins. She stays focused on that while she replays the night in her head over and over.

JJ is sitting next to her and Pope is sitting on a rock to her right. John B is across from the siblings with Kie across from Pope.

"Hey, guys. So, like, my dad's already gonna kill me. So what's this mandatory meeting about?" Pope asks, breaking Cordelia from her thoughts.

John B gives JJ finger guns.

"Might as well tell him, man, before we're gaffed." JJ says.

"You ready for this?" John B asks.

"Yeah." Kie nods.

"So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant." John B says.

"Here we go again with this." Pope groans.

"No. All right, wait. Hear him out, all right?" JJ says.

"What, so we can do something where we almost die again?" Cordelia asks.

"It's been here the whole time. It's on the island." John B informs.

"Are you serious?" Kie asks and the brunette nods. "Oh, my God!"

"I'd like to voice my skepticism." Pope comments.

"I'd like to let him." Cordelia agrees.

"I'm sure you would, Pope, but can I please present you with my evidence, sir? And madam, who is leaning towards his side." John B says.

"Proceed." Pope sighs, knowing he will anyway.

"Whatever." Cordelia mumbles.

"All right. So, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny." John B states, pulling the letter out.

"Who the hell's that?" Kie asks.

"Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck. Check this out." John B hands a piece of paper to Kie. "Okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery. So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom."

"After that, he bought his farm." John B says while Cordelia and Pope read the letter. "Drumroll, please, because that farm is..." He stops as Kie and JJ give him a drumroll. "Tannyhill Plantation."

"Tannyhill?" Kie asks.

"Yeah. So, after that, he used his money to free even more slaves, and then he sold a shit ton of rice, which pisses off all the white planters, and then they decide to lynch him." John B informs. "So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the gold."

"Where?" Kie excitedly whispers.

"Harvest the wheat in parcel nine, near the water. Except... there's no wheat." John B says. "You see, wheat is code for gold. Check this out." He shows Pope another paper. "The gold is in parcel nine, near the water."

"Holy shit." Pope mumbles as Kie laughs.

"All we need is an original survey map of the property, and we've found the gold." John B grins.