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The teens wasted no time in making their way over to Heyward. They immediately saw the man sitting at the bench with a huge cut on his forehead. Sarah offering to help clean it up.
"Let me know if I'm hurting you." She says placing a bandaid on his head
"You're doing fine." Heyward groans
"Okay." She says as the backs away from him
He winces, "Thank you, darlin'."
"Pop, what happened ?" Pope says walking over to him as Sarah sits beside Kie. Charlotte and Estrella leaned on the railing beside John B as JJ paced.
"Thank you." Heyward mumbles again, "Oh, I should've known better. He came in just as I was about to lock up. Caught me by surprise. Once he had me down, he put his knee in my chest, and he asked me about that... that... that key from that... that drawing you showed me." Estrella looks over to Charlotte who holds an angry look.
"And in case you're wondering, I ain't tell him nothing." Heyward says as he looks around at the teens, "Now did you track it down ?"
Pope looks over at Estrella who nods. He digs in his pocket and pulls the key out before handing it to his dad, "I found it in Mee-maw's old apartment above the pharmacy just like you said."
"Shit, boy, you should've gave this to me. I wouldn't have had to take a beating. What's the big deal ? It ain't worth anything. Why they want it so bad ?"
"I don't know." Pope says sitting beside him, "First, I get this letter telling me that I need to go to Charleston. And then I meet a rich lady who wants me to give her a key that I didn't even know was in my family."
"None of it makes any sense." Estrella says shaking her head
"Well, don't y'all just sit here whining about it." He says looking over at her, "Figure it out !"
"No." Pope says, "I'm just gonna give the key to that lady. It's not worth--"
"No, no, no." Heyward interjects, "Did I raise you to back down from a fight, boy ?"
Estrella smiles to herself as Pope looks back at his dad, "No, sir."
"Well, all right." Heyward nods, "Now, I... I didn't think about it before. I admit that. But now... Now ?" He smiles as he points to his bandage, "I'm interested. Well, did they say why they wanted it ?"
"Something about an old cross. I think it might be some kind of lost treasure."
"You know who you should talk to ?" Heyward says holding the key out to Pope, "Your great-grandmother, Mee-maw."
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The next day, the teens piled into the Twinkie and made their way to the home Pope's great-grandmother was living in. JJ sat passenger with John B driving. Pope sat in the seat behind John B and Sarah, Charlotte, and Kie sat in the middle seat. Estrella sat behind JJ on the ground with her legs out in front of her seeing as it was more comfortable because of her leg.
"Guys, the thing that Limbrey said, I don't think she meant to let it slip." Pope says, "She said the key leads to the Cross of Santo Domingo."
"Wait. Can I see that ?" JJ says holding his hand out. Pope handed it to him before turning back.
"Are we supposed to know what that is ?" Sarah says
"I'm guessing it's some sort of historical artifact of great importance." Pope says
"Well, according to the interwebs, it was a gift from New Spain to the Spanish king." Kie reads from her phone. Estrella noticed that Pope was staring out of the window instead of looking at Kie like he normally did. It was weird to her, but she brushed it off.
"New Spain ? Is there an Old Spain ?" JJ says as John B passes the key back to Pope. Estrella's face scrunches up in confusion at JJ's comment.
"Shit, talk about over-gifting. Look at that thing." Kie says turning her phone to Estrella and Pope. "Looks like a person standing next to it."
"So it's a giant-ass cross." JJ shrugs
"It was widely considered at the time to be the most extravagant tribute ever from the provinces. It was lost off the coast of Bermuda in 1829." Kie reads
"Did you just say Bermuda ?" JJ exclaims
"Oh, no. Not the triangle." John B mumbles resting his head on his hand
"It always leads back to the triangle, dude." JJ says hitting John B's arm. Estrella rolls her eyes, "Like every single time something's weird, it's Bermuda."
"What does a key found above your mee-maw's pharmacy have to do with any of this ?" Kie asks
"Yeah." Sarah mumbles
"Where do we come in ?" Estrella says looking at him
"I don't know." Pope says looking down at her, "That's a good question."
As soon as the van stops, JJ jumps out. He opens the back door before helping Estrella out. As soon as the girl stands, Pope hops out. Estrella sets her hand on JJ's shoulder as Kie starts to get out.
"Hey, actually, I think I'm gonna do this one by myself." Pope says. Estrella frowns.
"Are you sure ?" Kie asks
"Yeah, I can handle it. I don't really need you, so..." Pope shrugs
Kie blinks rapidly as she looks away offended. Estrella's eyes go wide before she looks down. "Wow."
"Oh, we're just all one big happy family today, aren't we ?" JJ says sarcastically. Estrella sits back in the van as Pope walks toward the home. JJ closes the door behind her before getting in the front.
"Hey, man, pick you up in a bit." John B says before Pope disappears into the home.
