tj jensen 01 - barkleys treasure by Kathi Daley Read Free Book Online Page A

the location of the treasure,” I commented. “Do you happen to know where the map came from in the first place?”
    “From what I’ve gathered, the map was discovered around a hundred years ago by Garrett’s great-grandfather, who’d found a parchment sealed in a vault in one of the caverns on the island. The Hanford family was said to keep the details of the map close to the chest, so I personally have never been able to verify the authenticity of the document, if it ever existed, though I have no reason to believe their ancestors would lie about such a thing. Having said that, I’d be amazed if the map was actually left on the island by John Barkley, as Garrett’s family believed.”
    “It would seem unlikely,” I agreed.
    “While I very much doubt whatever map they had belonged to John Barkley, I’d still be very much interested in obtaining it for the museum.”
    “According to Garrett, his mother destroyed it after his father’s death.”
    Meg frowned. “If a map did indeed exist I doubt Lillabeth Hanford destroyed it. Lilly was an educated woman who would have understood the intrinsic value of a three-hundred-year-old parchment, even if it didn’t actually lead to a treasure. I suppose she may have told Garrett she destroyed it as a means of preventing him from making the same mistakes his father and grandfather had. It’s my guess that, if there was a map, she would have hidden it rather than destroyed it.”
    “So the map could very well be hidden somewhere that only a dead woman would know,” I mused.
    “Yes, I suppose that could be true. Such a shame. A map of that age would be a huge find for the museum.”
    “Or it might just bring it trouble,” I pointed out. “Whether or not the map actually leads to a treasure, there are treasure hunters—quite a few, from what I’ve gathered—who do believe in its existence. I have a suspicion that if you were to display such an object it wouldn’t take long for someone to break in and steal it.”
    “Yes, you could be right. It’s not as if we have any sort of high-tech security system.”
    Grandpa and I spoke with Meg about the treasure a while longer before the conversation drifted to her favorite subject, the turtles who nested on the island. I watched Grandpa as his eyes twinkled with interest as Meg described what went into the task of serving as guardian for the annual visitors and their offspring.
    “The beach just beyond the southern border of the resort is a key nesting area,” Meg informed us. “Garrett had always been so good about monitoring the activity on that section of beach to protect the nests.”
    “We’ll help out in any way we can,” I assured the friendly woman. “When exactly is nesting season?”
    “Early May through late August. The eggs begin to hatch in early July. I’m part of an organization that monitors and attempts to ensure the safety of as many nests and hatchlings as possible. We have teams that check on the nests every evening during hatching season.”
    “Do the turtles really require that much help?” Ben asked.
    “The turtles can use all the help they can get. Even with education programs and help from groups like ours, only about three-quarters of the eggs hatch and only a very small percentage of the hatchlings make it to adulthood.”
    Grandpa and I continued to talk to Meg until it was time to pick up Kyle and the girls. Meg was passionate about her cause and very persuasive to boot. By the time we left, Meg had managed to obtain a promise from Grandpa to serve as a volunteer for both the museum and the turtle league. His first turtle walk would be with Meg that very evening.
     

Chapter 4
     
     
    The news that Buck Barnes hadn’t been murdered, as we’d assumed, but had died of natural causes came as quite a shock.
    “Natural causes? But what about the head injury?” I asked Deputy Savage, who had come by the house to give us the news.
    “We believe Buck hit his head when he fell.”