The Case of the Phantom Diver

"Wha the...Hey!" a voice from the other end of the hallway interrupted the beatdown.

The assailant paused with a foot cocked in the air for another strike. The momentary pause gave the victim time to scoot over a few inches and prepare for a block attempt.

"Stay out of this, Savard. It's none of your business. This is between me and Magnum," Kevin told another of his former teammates.

"Like hell it is!" Andre responded, rushing forward. "You're going to pay."

"Jake moved in--"

"You and Trina broke up," Andre pointed out as he zeroed in on Kevin, his fist already cocked.

While his friend moved in to help, Jake attempted to kick his ex-teammate. He missed, but the effort told Kevin he'd lost the surprise advantage as the numbers shifted against him. Kevin performed the only sensible move at this point: he pushed the rear door open and fled.

"Yeah, you better run!" the dark-skinned defensive end yelled out into the small parking lot.

Entranced by Mindy, the alluring pink-haired girl, the rest of the table didn't notice Andre helping Jake across the restaurant until they nearly reached the table. Reed, their waitress and classmate, hovered around the pair. After receiving a reply to a question about what happened, the cute brunette shook her head with an I-told-you-so expression. Once the trio reached the table, she dashed off into the kitchen.

"Whoa!" Kody gasped, sitting up straighter.

"What happened?" Danny questioned, noticing how Jake winced while holding his side.

"Oh, my!" Mindy exclaimed.

"I found Armstrong kicking the shit out of him," Andre recounted.

"Jesus! That son of a bitch," Luke grumbled, standing up to help Andre get the sore Jake onto a seat. "How the hell did he..."

"Sucker punched me. I just got off the phone with Phinn and turned around into his fist," Jake reported, gingerly touching his bruised lip.

"Fuck. I hope Trina was worth it," Heath commented. He got several dirty looks from around the table and a strong kick underneath it. "What? Jake played with fire and got burnt."

"No, that burning sensation is your case of the clap again," Wally cracked. "You gotta stop porking those Bentworth skanks."

"Fuck off, Weaver."

"Guys, let's watch the conversation," Danny pled politely, gesturing at Mindy.

"I'm sorry. I'm not following. Who did that to you?" the pink-haired vision inquired of Jake.

"Kevin Armstrong. He's an ex-teammate from last season. He and his girlfriend decided to break up before heading to separate colleges. I went on a couple of dates with her this week," Jake explained.

"And that's probably all after last night," Luke hinted but didn't elaborate.

"A lover's quarrel? Oh, no! It's the curse of the music box!" Mindy squealed, her face turning ashen.

"Lover's quarrel..." Danny started before the curse part resonated in his brain.

"C-Cu-Curse?" Kody stammered.

"Whoa, wait! Trina and I are not in love," Jake insisted. "We only went out on a couple of dates."

"I would definitely call it lust way more than the beginning of a romance," Luke commented after his eyewitness experience.

"No, no, I'm sorry. Jake is not the person cursed...well, at least not directly. It's Kevin, the heartbroken boyfriend. If the stories about the Turma Music Box are correct, you need to watch out for this former friend. He's likely to grow increasingly jealous and violent," Mindy warned.

"I wouldn't really call him a former friend," Andre remarked, with Wally nodding wholeheartedly.

"Hang on. What the hell are all of you talking about?" Heath questioned.

Jake began to explain about the items rumored to be part of Thornbeard's treasure. However, he botched several parts in his retelling, which led Mindy to take over.

"Sorry," she apologized for correcting Jake a third time. "I went out and bought a copy of Oswald Cozart's book yesterday morning and have been reading it over and over. It's all so fascinating."

Assuming the narrative, Mindy held the guys's attention even after their food arrived. Despite having heard the gist of the lost legendary pirate and his treasure earlier, Jake felt surprised several times over details that Phinn omitted. The spunky storyteller spent most of her time on the music box but sounded more interested in the Baddox Diamond. She gushed a few times about the necklace's elegance.

"This all sounds cool and is likely a nice case for Jake and Phinn, but come on, curses don't exist," Luke commented, scoffing at the notion.

Danny nodded quietly while Andre shrugged his shoulders.

"Curses are real!" Kody insisted.

"No, they're not," Heath laughed off the possibility. However, he slyly inched his chair as far away from Jake as possible.

"What makes you think that?" Wally inquired of Kody, not offering his view.

"My great-grandmother once cursed her rival for a man. She said it worked as the guy chose the other woman," Kody revealed.

"How did it work then?" Andre asked.

"Because the guy turned into a drunken bum," Kody added earnestly, causing groans and chuckles.

Reed returned with two bags of ice for Jake. Between bites of food, he placed one on his jaw and lip. As they dug into their food, the table conversation slowly returned to the basketball finals. The close game grew out of hand, lessening interest and thinning out the restaurant. Occasionally, someone plotted revenge against Kevin, but it wasn't discussed in depth with Mindy's warning about a curse.

Eventually, with Jake's sore body stiffening up, they decided to call it a night. Old enough to drink, Mindy opted to stay a little longer by the bar. During the course of the meal, the college coed revealed she was in Edgewater for part of the summer, visiting friends who attended Bentworth College. She thanked the guys for letting her join them.

"Be careful," Mindy whispered when it came Jake's turn to receive a hug.

Unsure if she meant the curse or the treasure hunt, the athletic detective merely nodded.

The group took several extra minutes to leave the restaurant as they walked over to say hello or goodbye to other dining classmates while discussing the finished game. During one of these pit stops, Jake nudged Luke away slightly.

"Phinn and I need a favor. Do you know the Tarr family?"

"Somewhat. They belong to the same sailing club as my parents. I wouldn't call them close, but acquaintances they say hi to and make small talk. Why do you want to know?" Luke asked.

"One of their ancestors might--and I'm stressing might--have been involved in a search for the treasure. Phinn thinks it's possible the diver from the beach was involved," Jake explained. "We want permission to look at their family papers. Supposedly, it's hard to get."

"Wow. I mean, sure, I can try to see. Um, you wanna try tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that works," Jake thanked before lowering his voice. "Let's keep this quiet for now, okay? Too many people are also looking."

Luke nodded. He'd assisted in small doses with their cases over the years. So he knew secrecy could be key.

Unfortunately, neither teen realized they had an eavesdropper who heard most of the conversation.

**********************************************************************************************************

"You feeling any better?" Phinn greeted.

He never looked up from his bowl of cereal when he heard the back door open. The footsteps sounded like those of his oldest, closest friend. His assumption was confirmed when Jake dropped onto the kitchen chair opposite him.

"My lip is still puffy, and my side feels like it got kicked a few times,' Jake reported. "How about you?"

"Still sensitive to light a little, but don't tell my mom."

"Late breakfast?"

"I slept off and on last night," Phinn revealed. After noticing the unasked question, he added, "Might have been due to the hit, but I mostly couldn't stop going over the case. I re-read Cozart's entry on Thornbeard twice."

"Are you good to go?" Jake whispered, unsure where Mrs. Farris might be in the house.

"You don't need to whisper. Mom left to drop Pug off at a friend's. However, I do appear to be stuck at home," the brainy sleuth admitted. "I tried, but she's in one of her moods. Too bad I didn't think of the jealous ex-boyfriend excuse for why I got jumped."

"You won't miss much outside. It's sure coming down," Jake said about the rain. He knew his friend had to be enormously disappointed and agitated over being unable to interview a possible source for a lead.

"I'll miss our first introduction and impression of the Tarr family," Phinn replied bitterly. "Remember, don't push too hard for access. The goal is to get permission, but it doesn't have to be today."

Jake held in his surprise at the suggestion. He wondered if Phinn allowed more leeway since he wouldn't be along to survey any of the papers. With Edgewater filled with treasure talk, they couldn't take their sweet time conducting the investigation. The pair of historical society burglars and the archive assailant proved others were also desperately searching. The experienced detectives also knew better than to assume the two incidents involved the same individuals.

"I know what you're thinking. However, we might have a slight lead on any others because Zelda tipped us off to the possible Tarr connection," Phinn said, answering Jake's internal thought. "First off, note the initial reaction to your arrival. While Luke likely mentioned the reason for your visit, I think he's been around us enough not to have revealed much."

"Shit, I didn't warn him to keep it vague," Jake admitted, mentally kicking himself for getting distracted from that point.

"Second, try not to spring our interest in Jason Tarr too fast or too obviously. Bring up Barnabas first. Here, I made a small list of names and topics to use before you get to Jason. Hopefully, a misdirection will allow them to drop their guard. That's why you should watch how they react to Jason's name. I'm curious if his descendants know anything about a possible search expedition."

"Right. This doesn't look too bad," Jake said, understating his impression of Phinn's list after glancing at it.

"Third, charm the pants off whichever Tarr you deal with. I don't care if this Regina is ugly or if you get her mother or her grandmother, flirt like hell with them," Phinn ordered.

"I'm not hitting on a grandma!"

"Yes, you will. It's imperative that we get access to whatever they have. We might be on the wrong track, so it would be nice to know that sooner than later. If we are a step or two ahead of the competition, we can't lose much of that advantage," Phinn explained.

"Well, I'm not flirting with any guys. Not with Luke tagging along."

"Seriously?" Phinn asked, surprised that Jake would think of that. Sighing, he pulled off his glasses and pinched his brow. "If you get anyone called Mr. Tarr, hope he likes football. Luke will be with you, so it might be mentioned early on already."

"Alight, alright. But if the guy does follow high school football, he's probably doing so for the Sea Wolves, not the Puffers," Jake stressed, knowing his friend didn't think much about the importance of sports rivalries.

"Even better. He might be curious about his hated rival's players," Phinn pointed out. "Finally, before you start with questions, call my phone. I want to listen in."

"That might be tricky. It's summer, and I won't have anything to hide my phone under."

"You shouldn't need to hide it under a hat or gloves. I'd prefer not to listen through a muffled pocket, but it's better than nothing if you can't slyly place your phone face down."

"Yeah, yeah. Crap! I need to pick up Luke. Is there anything else?" Jake inquired, spotting the time on the microwave clock.

"I don't think so, but don't turn off your ringer."

After Jake left the home, Phinn turned to clean up his late breakfast. He didn't need his mother nitpicking over another thing. Finished rinsing out the bowl and glass, he placed them in the dishwasher. While bent over, the house phone rang. Despite not calling his cell phone, Phinn guessed it to be Jake with a follow-up question.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Phineas?" a man asked.

Phinn answered affirmatively. The thought of it being the media entered his mind after those news articles about them went up last night. Still, it didn't sound like Stone Barrington's voice.

"Uh, this is Davis Stensland. We met yesterday during the incident at the library."

"Yes, I remember you, professor," Phinn responded. His curiosity piqued slightly as he'd seen Stensland's interview about them yesterday evening.

"I'm calling to apologize for the interview I gave to Channel 9. I'm not sure if you saw it, but I'm embarrassed by how I came across."

"I did see it," Phinn said, keeping his response simple.

"Yes, I'm sorry again. Seeing it last night, I realized it came off as unnecessarily harsh about you and your friend. I don't have much defense except that the reporter arrived shortly after you left, and I was still upset about the whole matter. I hope you don't think poorly of me," Prof. Stensland said.

"That's alright. I'm unsure about my behavior due to the concussion."

"Well, I also wanted to tell you what happened after you left for the clinic. I stayed around while several administration members stuck their noses into the situation. Clark Fuller insists that he locked the outer door upon leaving. Questions were asked about who has additional keys to the archive. After returning, Clark noticed a spare key in the reception desk wasn't there," Prof. Stensland recounted.

"Ah, that's intriguing. It doesn't rule out another key's use but could point to a planned break-in," Phinn surmised.

"I suppose so. However, Clark conducted a quick search of the room where you were assaulted and confirmed a missing box. I understand he will do a more thorough search today," Prof. Stensland relayed. "He does seem fairly confident that there is no mention of a pirate in the Blakely family papers."

"That would confirm my doubts on the matter," Phinn stated, not revealing his interest in a search expedition from roughly a hundred and fifty years after Thornbeard's death.

"After I saw my interview and regretted it, I gave more thought to this pirate. I can think of a few colleagues who may be in fields that intersect with Thornbeard. Woodrow Terwall and Amy Maynard cover early American history in our history department. Perhaps one of them has run across this pirate's name."

"Woody's friend's with my father. If he knew anything about a local pirate, he'd never shut up about him," Phinn stated about the elderly professor who loved to playact historical characters. Then, unsure if his concussion affected his memory, Phinn wondered if they'd had this conversation yesterday.

"Oh, I see," the professor replied, taken aback by the teen's blunt response. "Amy Maynard is currently away doing research for her next article. However, if you want, I could message her."

"I guess it's worth a shot. Thank you," Phinn said, realizing Stensland's embarrassment level over the interview must be pretty high.

"Another person who might help is Kathryn Pettit. Although she's an anthropologist rather than a historian, Kate does specialize in American folklore. It's possible a legend about a pirate and his treasure might be more in line with her interest."

The junior sleuth thanked the professor for his suggestions and hung up. The teen promptly shook his head at his own incompetence. He absolutely knew Prof. Pettit from past cases and her friendship with his family. Cursing, he should've thought of her already as a possible source.

************************************************************************************************************

"What's up?" Luke greeted, getting into Jake's sedan.

"Hey, what did you tell the Tarrs when you called? I forgot to tell you not to give away too many details," Jake admitted, pulling out of the driveway.

"Then it's a good thing I didn't call them."

"Wait, what? You didn't call? "

"No, I figured we'd just drop by," Luke revealed.

"You fig...this isn't good. Now, we're going to be rude by just showing up on their doorstep. Fuck, this could go terribly wrong," Jake fretted.

"Don't worry. I thought it'd be better this way. I don't really know them very well, so a random call out of the blue isn't much different. Plus, it's easier for them to be rude and say no on the phone than in person," Luke explained.

"But what if nobody is home," the stocky detective pointed out an obvious flaw in his friend's thinking.

"It's a shitty Saturday out. Somebody should be home. One thing I know about the Tarrs is that their old mansion is huge. It's one of the largest in Edgewater and Kelpie County. Some relatives either live there or stay at the mansion when visiting," Luke recalled. "Somebody has to be around."

"I hope you're right, or Phinn won't let me forget about it," Jake mumbled.

Due to the pouring rain, it took them nearly twenty minutes to reach the old wealthy district. Located about a mile or so south of Library Park, most of the early mansions and grand homes from the 19th and early 20th centuries still sat in a small cluster. However, a number of them could be in better shape. Jake thought the Tarr mansion was one of them after Luke instructed him where to park the car on the narrow street.

"Damn, it looks like something out of a horror film," Jake remarked simultaneously as a crack of thunder sounded.

"It does look creepy on a gloomy day like today," Luke agreed as a lightning flash caused mid-day shadows to dance across the property. "Well, you ready?"

The pair raced out of the car in the heavy rain. Unfortunately, an old gate at the sidewalk took seemingly forever to open. Even with their light coats on, the two teens were soaked by the time they finished running to the oversized front porch. Shaking off the water as best they could, Luke rang the doorbell.

Huddled against the wall to avoid the wind, Jake commented on the slowly rotting porch and the exterior wall that needed a new paint job. Luke responded by talking about how expensive these large, old homes must be to maintain. After two minutes, nobody responded to the bell, so Luke knocked firmly on the oak door.

"This isn't going to work," Jake muttered.

"Relax. Somebody has to be home. A few lights are on inside."

Luke's assumption proved correct. The heavy front door opened to reveal a young man in his mid-twenties with light brown hair and suspicious brown eyes. His gaze went from one soaked teen to the other.

"Yes? We don't accept solicitations," he stated dismissively, intending to shut the door on them.

"Jace, right? Uh, it's Luke, Luke Ridley. Our families belong to the, um, Yacht Society Club," Luke awkwardly reintroduced himself.

"Who?"

Jake glanced out of the corner of his eye in disbelief at his longtime friend. This wasn't how he imagined the moment going at all.

Okay, maybe we just got one of the Tarrs he doesn't know well. Hopefully, someone else inside knows the Ridleys better.

"Luke Ridley. We met a few summers ago. I think it was an extra party at the club for your college graduation."

"Ah, yes. The Ridleys," Jace Tarr replied, his voice giving away what he thought of Luke's family. "What do you want?"

"Uh, okay," Luke muttered at the brusque attitude before raising his voice. "This is my friend and teammate, Jake Magnum. You might have heard of him, as he's a pretty damn good football player. Uh, no? Well, he's a private detective. He and Phineas Farris have been successful over the last half dozen years. I know you went away for college, but I bet you've heard of them. They used to be called Busybody, Inc. with another friend."

Jace's gaze turned from disinterested to mildly interested when he shifted from Luke to Jake. He appeared to size up the stocky detective before he sneered, "So you're one of the brats who got my cousin arrested."