Peg Leg's Lost Treasure

"Jesus," Dave interjected, "we don't have anything that sophisticated. Where'd you get something like that?"

"You don't want to know, Dave," he answered with a smile.

He looked back over at Aaron. "Okay, Thursday night you need to go home all excited. Tell your wife you just got the report about the map. Tell her the truth. Say, although the expert couldn't verify any handwriting, he did say the paper and ink was from the early-eighteen hundreds. Tell her that's good enough for you and that you're going to make plans to out to California."

He looked back at Dalton. "You said the waitress laid two menus on the table without saying anything? That probably means they go to the same restaurant all the time. They obviously leave work a few minutes apart so they don't create suspicion.

"Just in case, though, we'd better follow them from work again. We don't want to be waiting at the wrong restaurant. We'll use my car. I'll run by your studio and pick you up. We can go over the computer stuff, then we'll wait for dipshit to leave for lunch."

"Sounds like a plan," Dalton commented.

That Thursday night, Aaron played his part well. "Brenda, guess what?" he said as he rushed in the house. She had just gotten home and was in the kitchen getting ready to cook dinner.

"What, Aaron?"

"Remember that lost gold mine I told you about last week?"

"Yeah, the one in California?"

Aaron immediately caught his wife's flub. He never told her where it was. He almost asked how she knew, but caught himself before tipping her off. "Yeah," he confirmed. "Well, I sent that map to an expert to get it authenticated. He told me he couldn't verify the handwriting, but the paper and the ink is between a hundred and seventy-five and two-hundred years old. That lines up perfectly with the lost gold mine. There's a good chance that map is real.

"I'm going to do it, Brenda. I'm going to go out there and find that mine. It could worth millions, even more."

"That's wonderful," squealed Brenda. She put her arms around him and gave him a big kiss. "We'll have to celebrate tonight," she urged.

Aaron didn't want to make her suspicious, but he wondered if he'd even be able to get it up. Later that night, he was able to perform but didn't really have his heart in it. He hoped she didn't notice. It was ironic, as they both laid there, recovering; they each had the same thought, it was probably be the last time they'd be intimate with each other.

After twenty-five years with the paper and being responsible for it winning several awards for their journalistic integrity, Jack enjoyed complete freedom to come and go as he pleased. He showed up at Dalton's studio right on time and ran over the recording software with him. "Got it?"

"Got it," Dalton replied.

From there they drove over and watched from across the street as their suspect got in his car and drove to the same restaurant as before. They parked along the street and waited a couple more minutes.

"There she is," Dalton said.

Jack got out of the car and followed Brenda inside. She was just sitting down as he entered. Jack reached into his pocket and put the tiny microphone between his index and middle fingers before starting for the counter. As he passed, his leg bumped into their table, sending everything on top shaking and wobbling.

"Oh, Jesus, excuse me," he said, as he steadied the table with both hands. "I apologize. Normally I watch where I'm going. Are you okay?"

"Fine," grumbled the male figure.

Jack walked away and sat at the counter, knowing the transmitter was safely stuck to the underside of their table. Now he just hoped Dalton was getting it all down. Since he couldn't leave before the two lovebirds, Jack ordered lunch and told the waitress to wait about thirty minutes before putting a second order in for take out. He wasn't going to forget his buddy waiting in the car.

It was quarter to one when Dalton saw Brenda leave the restaurant. Her male companion left about five minutes later. Jack nonchalantly grabbed the mic and was right behind him.

"Did you get it?" he asked as he slid into the driver's seat.

"Oh, I got it all right. What's this?" he asked as he took the bag from his buddy's hand.

"I thought you might be hungry."

"Thanks, yeah, I'm starving."

"So what did we get. Do we know their game?"

"Oh yeah," Dalton replied. It was easier to find the text than a particular spot on the tape so Dalton took the mouse and scrolled up until he found what he was looking for and showed it to Jack.

"Holy shit!"

That night, Dalton talked to his wife, Tracy. "Hey, hon, last week you asked if there was anything you could do to help with the investigation Jack, Dave, and I were doing."

She perked right up. "Yeah, what can I do? You want me to seduce a man into my bed so I can learn all his secrets?" she asked with an impish smile.

"Ah, nothing quite that drastic there, Mata Hari."

"Oh, darn." She laughed.

"Would you mind if I had the guys over for a couple of hours, Friday night?"

"No, of course not. Is that it? Just play hostess? I want to help."

"Honey, believe me, that'll be a big help. We've got information for Dave's cousin that's going to be hard for him to hear and we just don't want to do it in a bar someplace."

She sighed with disappointment. "Of course you can have them over. Will the girls be with them?"

"No, just the guys."

"That's fine, Dalton, no problem."

Friday night, Jack and Dave kissed Tracy on the cheek as she held the door for them. Dave introduced Aaron and everyone took seats around the coffee table. Jack was carrying his laptop and had the recording on a thumb drive.

Dalton came in from the kitchen with several bottles of beer and passed them out to everyone.

Aaron was nervous. He had no idea why they were all meeting at a house instead of Plato's Place like they did before.

Dave began the conversation. "Okay, the first thing is, since we had his first name, I was able to find out more information on Sean. His last name is McCall, and he does work with Brenda. He's been there about two years. He doesn't have a record, but he has had a couple run-ins with the law from being named as a person of interest in a couple of scams."

"So he is a con man. It has to be about the money then. Were you able to find out what they're up to?"

"Yeah, Aaron, we know exactly what they're up to, but I don't think you'd believe me if I told you. You need to hear it for yourself, but I have to warn you, this is going to be hard for you to hear." He nodded to Jack, who opened his laptop and tapped two or three keys. Everyone stayed vigilant in case Aaron needed help. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for the worst as the audio recording started to play.

Well, you've got him hooked." Aaron recognized his wife's voice.

"Really? What'd he say?"

"He had that map analyzed. It was just as you said, it was really old. The guy he sent it to said it came from the early eighteen hundreds. That's good enough for Aaron, he's convinced the map is real. It isn't, is it?"

"No, of course not. My idiot sister goes to these abandoned storage facility auctions. You know, they bid on the contents sight unseen. Anyway, she paid three hundred dollars for a bunch of old junk, including that map and everything. When she found it she got all excited and had some guy in Chicago take a look. He told her there were no real maps, just a lot of fakes that people made at the time. She was just going to throw it out, but I asked for it. I knew it would come in handy someday."

"Well, he's going to call you tomorrow and tell you he's going to do it."

"Ha, didn't I tell you? I knew he'd never be able to turn down a chance to find a lost gold mine. For guys like him, the thrill of the hunt is more important than the money."

"I just wish we didn't have to kill him..."

"What?" screamed Aaron as he jumped to his feet. "Did she say kill me? They're planning to kill me?" He couldn't believe what he'd heard. "This has to be some kind of a joke."

Dave stood up and put his hand on Aaron's shoulder. "I'm afraid it's no joke. They've got the whole thing planned out. This Sean character has a tracking device that Brenda is going to hide in your luggage where you won't see it. That way, he'll be able to follow you without being seen. Then, when you got far enough into the desert he's planning to hold you up at gunpoint and take everything, the animals, your food and water, everything you'd need to survive, and just leave you out there to die. When they found your body, it would look like your horse and mules got away from you. There's no phone service out there, so there'd be no way you could call for help."

"But why?" he cried. Tears streamed down his face.

"They're in love," Dave replied.

"So why not just ask for a divorce? Why kill me?"

At that point, Jack entered the conversation. "I've been asking myself the same question, Aaron. Do you by any chance have a prenup?"

"Ah pre..." he stopped to think. "Jesus, I'd forgotten all about it. A friend of mine had just passed the bar when we were getting married. He talked us into it. We were his first clients."

"Well," said Dave, "evidently Brenda hasn't forgotten about it."

"I don't believe this," he said. His legs turned to rubber as he almost fell back into his seat. "She should know me better than that. I'd have never cheated her out of her share of the money."

"This Sean character isn't taking any chances," Jack noted.

Tracy felt so sorry for Aaron as he put his face in his hands and bawled like a baby. It was as embarrassing as hell, but he couldn't help himself. It was a few minutes before the tears started to subside. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry," he told everyone. "I didn't mean to break down like that. I... I just never expected..."

"Don't worry about it," Dalton told him. "We knew this was going to be brutal to take. That's why we met here instead of the bar."

After a few more moments, Aaron looked up at Dave. "Are you going to arrest them?"

Poor Aaron had already received so much bad news, he hated to give him anymore. "Well, we have a small problem there," he said.

Aaron looked at him with tears that still made his eyes glisten.

"You see, we can't use the recording. Illinois is an all-party-consent state, which means anyone you tape has to give their consent first. What Jack did was illegal. That tape would never be allowed as evidence in court, which means, we genuinely don't have any evidence against either one of them."

"Marvelous," Aaron scoffed. "So that's it? If I hurry and file for divorce you think they'll still try to kill me?"

"I doubt it. Once the papers are filed, you'd probably be okay. Even so, I think I'd go into hiding until the divorce was final, or at least get far enough away that you'd be out of their reach, or..." Dave let the last word just hang there.

"Or? Or what?"

"Or we could set them up. Go through with the whole thing. Let this Sean character take all your gear and leave you out there to die. We'd be right there to make sure he doesn't get away with it, of course, but at least we'd have him on attempted murder. I'm not sure what charges the D.A. would bring against Brenda, but at the least, I think it'd be conspiracy to commit."

Aaron sat a few moments to think it over. "But what if he shoots me out there?"

"He's not going to shoot you, Aaron. They don't want it to look like murder. If there was proof of wrongdoing, there'd be a lengthy investigation. Even if they never faced charges, your estate would be held up until the investigation was completed," Jack told him.

"Brenda is planning to wait for a couple of weeks or better before calling the cops. By that time, McCall will be back in town. She's going to tell the cops how you went into the desert to look for lost gold and that she has a bad feeling because she hadn't heard from you. She'll ask them to start a search."

Dalton picked it up from there. "They want it to look like you simply got lost and died in the desert like a thousand other guys have."

Aaron looked up at Dave. "How would we do it?"

"Well," Dave said, "after we heard what they had planned, I spoke to my captain. Of course, I had to lie my ass off and told him I overheard the conversation between Sean and your wife." He looked over at Jack. "I couldn't very well tell him how we actually got the information."

Jack just gave him a devious grin and a shrug of his shoulders.

"Anyway," Dave continued, "we'd work with the California State Police. We decided not to call the Feds in on it. Attempted murder isn't a federal crime but crossing state lines to do it is, but we really don't need them. McCall is going to get life any way you look at it, so adding federal charges isn't going to do anything."

Aaron's head jerked up when he heard that. "Life? Will Brenda get life, too?"

"No, but if she's convicted of conspiracy she'll get fifteen years or more," replied Dave.

Aaron looked like he was starting to waver a little.

"Aaron, they're plotting to KILL you," Dave said, emphasizing the word, "kill."

"I know, I know," he responded. "It's... I still can't believe it."

Tracy could see how much this was hurting poor Aaron. "Why don't we all take a short break."

"Good idea," agreed Dalton. "Who's ready for another beer?"

For the next twenty minutes, they all talked about different things, all except Aaron, that is, he just sat there staring at the floor. It was apparent to everyone that he was in no shape to discuss the situation any further. Dave would have to lay out his plan the following night. He was also getting concerned that Aaron was going to blow it.

"Aaron, you look like shit, man. Are you going to be able to go home and face Brenda tonight? You can't let her know you're wise to their scheme, you'll blow the whole thing."

"I... I don't know, Dave. I..." his words just drifted into thin air.

Dave looked at Dalton and Tracy. "If I take him home with me, my wife might make a slip of the tongue if she talks to Brenda..."

"No problem," said Tracy before Dave could even finish. "We have a spare room upstairs. He can spend the night here." She had no doubt she spoke for Dalton, as well, but he nodded just to confirm.

"I'll call Brenda." Everyone stayed quiet as Dave took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. "Hello, Brenda?"

"Yes?"

"Brenda, it's Dave Wyland."

"Oh, hi Dave, Aaron's not here right now."

"I know, he's here with me. I've been helping him with the gold mine thing. Anyway, we've been doing some early celebrating and... well, Aaron's had a little too much. We're here with a friend of mine who lives close by, so Aaron's going to spend the night with him. They'll come back to get Aaron's car in the morning."

"I assume your friend is male," she sarcastically joked.

He chuckled. "Yes, of course. You want to talk to him?"

"No, that's not necessary, Dave. I trust you."

Dave gave her his assurances Aaron was okay, then hung up before she could ask to speak with him.

Jack still had a couple of items to discuss. "Aaron, I know you're a rich SOB," he said with a laugh, "but can you get access to seven or eight grand without your wife's knowledge?"

"Yeah, sure, that's no problem. I have a ten thousand dollar CD that's matured sitting at the First National."

Jack looked over at Dalton. "Can you guys meet me tomorrow afternoon. He's going to need a couple things. We'll have to go to see Carl."

Dalton nodded in recognition. "Yeah, no problem. Call me when you're ready."

That night, Aaron finally came to terms with his situation. The next morning, both Dalton and Tracy recognized the change right away. He walked over to the freshly made coffee, poured himself and cup, and sat down with his hosts. "I'm ready," he said, after taking a sip. "I still find it hard to believe Brenda... anyone could change that much. I know she loved me at one time. How anyone can go from loving a person to plotting their murder is beyond me, but I heard it with my own ears. I have to face it."

"Love does strange things to people sometimes, Aaron."

"I know, Tracy. She's obviously more in love with this Sean guy than she ever was with me. Huh," he chuckled. "Maybe they can get connecting jail cells."

"I doubt that," Dalton interjected. "From what Dave says, he'll most likely serve a life sentence in California. Brenda will do time here in Illinois."

"What... ah, what time is everyone coming back? I need to hear Dave's plan."

"It'll be later tonight. I know it's Saturday, but both Dave and Jack have to work. Tracy owns an art gallery downtown so she's got to get going, too. I guess that leaves you and me to fend for ourselves."

"Yeah, I still don't feel like going home until later tonight. I'll call Brenda and tell her I'm getting things set up for the trip. I'll go home after the meeting tonight if that's okay with you."

"It's fine with us. Are you going to be okay? You can't let it slip that you know their plan."

"Yeah, I know. I'll be fine."

Since it was just the two of them, Dalton took Aaron to the bank first, then headed down to his studio and showed him around. He was fascinated with all the lights and fancy computer equipment Dalton used. He even got a free portrait when Dalton demonstrated how some of the equipment was used.

Around noon, they drove over to Tracy's art gallery and took her out for lunch. In the afternoon, Aaron killed some time by admiring all the art pieces she had. He had too much on his mind at the moment, but when it was all over he knew he would be back to buy a few paintings.

They were still there when Dalton's phone rang. He spoke for only a minute before telling Aaron they had to go. It was about a thirty-five-minute drive to a small electronics shop. Dalton told Aaron to follow him as he walked through the front of the shop and into a back room where they met Jack.

"Hi, Aaron, how're you holding up?"

"Better, Jack, much better, thank you."

"Aaron, this is Carl. He's the Q of Chicago."

Aaron looked puzzled.

"You ever see a James Bond movie? Carl here supplies various law enforcement agencies and security firms with very high-tech, highly sophisticated equipment. Stuff like you see in those Bond movies."

Aaron's jaw about hit the floor.

"It's all state of the art and it's not cheap. That's why I asked about getting the cash. We have four items for you. What size belt and what size shoes do you wear?"

"Ah, thirty-four belt and nine-and-half shoe," he answered.

Jack looked over at Carl. "You got 'em?"

"Yeah, no problem. I'll be right back." Carl disappeared behind another door but returned only a couple minutes later. "Here, try these on, see how they fit," he said while handing Aaron a pair of cowboy boots and belt.

Aaron sat on a stool and put the boots on. "Hey, these are nice. They're comfortable as hell."

"That's good," Carl responded, "cause they're going to cost you a couple of grand." He smiled at the shock on his customer's face. "They've got a GPS satellite tracking device embedded in the heel. The belt buckle has a small video camera with audio. So do these," he said, bringing out a pair of black rim glasses. "We don't know what all he's going to take when he holds you up. We do know he wants to make it look like you just got lost, so we doubt he'll take your boots or your belt. If he says anything about the glasses, just tell him you can't wear your contacts in the desert. We have one more piece for you. This watch is another tracking device, just in case. It's not very fancy, so I doubt he'll take it. You'll have a primary and a backup for video, audio and tracking."

"And in case you're worried about the animals," said Jack, chiming in, "they have tracking chips under their skin."