"No. Tobin told the Gordons to buy the land, based on this legend of Captain Kidd's Ledges. There is also a place called Captain Kidd's Trees, but that's a public park now. Regarding the ledge or the bluff, this spot is not as well pinpointed in history books as the trees are, so Tobin knew that any bluff in the area would do. But he didn't want it to get around that he was buying useless land up on the bluffs — that would lead to all sorts of gossip and speculation. So he had the Gordons buy the land with their own money, which was limited, but they got lucky with that piece of Wiley land — or maybe Tobin knew about it. The plan then was to wait awhile before burying the treasure, then discovering it."
"Incredible."
"Yes. And because it's almost impossible to fake the age of a vertical shaft, they intended to tuck the treasure chest into the side of that bluff — on that ledge that we found — and then say it was exposed by erosion. Then, when they hacked it loose from the sand and clay, using picks and shovels, the site is basically destroyed, and the chest itself is in splinters, so the recovery of the chest makes it impossible for anyone to study the site."
She said again, "Incredible."
"These were three very bright people, Beth, and they had no intention of screwing up. They were going to snatch ten or twenty million dollars' worth of treasure right from under Uncle Sam's nose, and the first that Uncle was going to hear about it was when it made the news. Enter the IRS, which they were prepared for." I explained about the treasure trove laws, income tax, and all that.
She thought a moment, then asked me, "But how was Tobin to get in on the money after the Gordons announced their find?"
"First of all, these three established that they'd been friends for almost two years. The Gordons had developed this interest in wine, which I don't think was real, but it was a good way to get Fredric Tobin and the Gordons seen together in public as friends." I explained what I'd discovered from Emma about the nature of the relationship. I said, "However, that didn't agree with what Tobin had told me about the relationship. So I had another interesting inconsistency."
She nodded. "Being friends is no reason to share millions of dollars in found treasure."
"No. So they concocted a whole story to go along with the discovery. Here's what I think… First, they pretended they had developed a mutual interest in local history, and eventually that interest led to some information on pirate treasure. At this point, according to what they were going to put out to the press, they entered into a friendly agreement to search for and share whatever they found."
Beth nodded again. I could see she was mostly convinced of my reconstruction of what had taken place before the murders. I added, "The Gordons and Tobin would say they all pored through old archives in the various historical societies here, which is true, and they did the same in England, and so forth. They became convinced that the treasure was on the land owned by Margaret Wiley, and while they had some regrets about having suckered her out of that parcel, all's fair in treasure hunting, and so forth. They'd give Margaret a nice jewel or something. They'd also point out that they took a twenty-five-thousand-dollar risk because they couldn't be positive the treasure was there."
I sat back in my chair and listened to the wind and rain. I felt about as bad as I'd ever felt in my life, and I was surprised at how much I missed Emma Whitestone, who'd come into my life so quickly and unexpectedly, then moved into another life, somewhere among the constellations perhaps.
I took another deep breath, then continued, "I assume the Gordons and Tobin had some sort of phony documentation to back up their claim to have discovered this location in some archive. I don't know what they had in mind regarding this — a counterfeit parchment, or a photostat of what was supposed to be an original that was lost, or they could simply say, 'None of your business how we found this. We're still researching for more treasure.' The government doesn't care how they found it, only where they found it, and how much it's all worth." I looked at her. "Does this make sense to you?"
She thought about that and said, "It makes sense the way you laid it out… but I still think that someone would make the Plum Island connection."
"That's possible. But having a suspicion of where the treasure was found and proving it are very different."
"Yes, but it's a weak link in an otherwise good plan."
"Yes, it is. So let me give you another theory, one that fits what actually happened — Tobin had no intention of sharing anything with the Gordons. He led the Gordons to believe all of what I just said, he put them up to buying the land, and the three of them constructed this whole story about how they found the treasure and why they were going to share. In reality, Tobin, too, was afraid of the Plum Island connection. The Gordons were the solution to his problem of how to locate the treasure and move it from Plum Island. Then the Gordons became a liability, a weak link, an obvious clue to where the treasure had actually come from."
Beth stayed silent, rocking in the chair, and she nodded her head and said, "Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead."
"Exactly."
I continued, "The Gordons were bright, but also a little naive, and they'd never come across anyone as evil and deceitful as Fredric Tobin. They never smelled a rat because they'd gone through this whole scenario, bought the land, and so forth. In reality, Tobin knew from the beginning that he was going to kill them. Most likely, he intended to either bury the treasure on his own property near Founders Landing, which is also an old historical site, and discover the treasure there — or he was going to fence the treasure, here or overseas, thereby keeping not only the Gordons' share, but Uncle Sam's share."
"Yes. I think that's a strong possibility, now that we see he's capable of cold-blooded murder."
"In any case, he's your man."
Beth sat with her chin in her hand, her feet hooked over the front rung of the rocker. She finally asked me, "How did you meet the Gordons? I mean, how is it that people with such an agenda took the time to… Are you following me?"
I tried to smile and replied, "You underestimate my charm. But it's a good question." I considered the question, not for the first time, and replied, "Maybe they really did just like me. Maybe, though, they did smell a rat, and they wanted a rat catcher close by. They also made the acquaintance of Max, so you should ask him how that came about."
She nodded, then asked me, "So, how did you meet them? I should have asked you that on Monday at the crime scene."
"You should have." I replied, "I met them at the bar in Claudio's. You know it?"
"Everyone does."
"I tried to pick up Judy at the bar."
"There's an auspicious start to a friendship."
"Right. Anyway, I thought the meeting was serendipitous, and maybe it was. On the other hand, the Gordons already knew Max, and Max knew me, and it may have been mentioned that the shot cop on TV was a friend of Max's and was convalescing in Mattituck. I had — and still only have — two hangouts, the Olde Towne Taverne and Claudio's. So, it's possible… but maybe not… it's hard to say. Almost doesn't matter, except as a point of interest." I added, "Sometimes things just happen by fate."
"They do. But in our job, we have to look for motives and agendas. Whatever is left over is fate." She looked at me and asked,
"How do you feel, John?"
"Okay."
"I mean really."
"A little down. The weather doesn't help."
"Are you hurting?"
I didn't reply.
She informed me, "I spent some time talking to your partner on the phone."
"Dom? He never told me that. He would have told me."
"Well, he didn't."
"What did you speak to him about?"
"About you."