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"We certainly should do something like that." The librarian began to leaf through the ancient pages before him. Now, let's see what we can uncover about that cove."
Time passed quickly while the librarian pulled out other old volumes and leafed through a newspaper clipping file. We appreciated his dedication, but I began to despair about finding any mention of the cove. Finally, Tyler suddenly pointed at one of the newspaper articles.
"Did you see this? It's about an old shipwreck. From the map there with the article, I bet it's close to the cove."
I leaned up against Tyler, looking over his shoulder at the yellowed paper. It was a story about a schooner named Siren's Call that sank during a fierce storm in the late 1800s. The article carried a 1935 date, and it said a local man found a piece of the hull on the shore. He decided to dive and discovered the wreck was less than ten feet under the Lake Michigan surface.
"Ah, yes." The librarian tapped the article. "I've heard about that one. Old-timers here in town told me that people searched for a rumored treasure connected to the ship for years but never found anything."
Tyler asked, "Why would they think it had a treasure?"
"There's a story that one of the infamous Great Lakes pirates took over Siren's Call intending to use it as a base for plundering other cargo ships. That didn't work out when Siren's Call ran aground in a bad storm. Some believe it was carrying loot when that happened.
My heart raced when the librarian shared the story. "Pirate treasure on the Great Lakes. Who would have thought that? Do you think there's any truth to the story?"
The librarian shrugged. "Who knows? It took more than 15 years of constant searching for that Mel Fisher guy in Florida to find his Spanish treasure ship. I don't think Lake Michigan will ever give up her secrets easily."
Tyler nudged me with his elbow. "Can you believe that? Real-life pirate booty right here in Blue Harbor."
The librarian leaned back in his chair and looked at us. "If you guys are serious about checking out the shipwreck site, you might want to bring a dive mask. The water can be pretty murky, and who knows what you might find."
The suggestion only escalated Tyler's excitement. "A dive mask? That's a great idea. We could explore the wreck together."
I bit my lip. The thought of diving into the depths of Lake Michigan gave me pause, but Tyler's enthusiasm was impossible to resist. "I'm game if you are. At least we can see whether it has some connection with Great-Uncle Ian."
The librarian clapped his hands together with delight. "That's the spirit. I can't wait to hear what you find, but do be careful. Check the weather forecasts. The lake can have a mean undertow on certain days, and it has unpredictable moods."
Tyler reached out and high-fived the librarian. "Don't worry. I know to be respectful of the water around here, and we'll keep you posted about what we find."
Outside the library, Tyler took both of my hands and faced me. "We're getting closer. Can you feel it?"
I nodded. My pulse was already racing, and we weren't anywhere near the mysterious cove and the shipwreck site. "What if we actually find something? What if this leads us to something bigger than we ever imagined?"
Tyler stared into my eyes. "Then we'll sort it all out as a team, you and me."
Chapter eight
Tyler
The cheerful ringtone of my phone shook me out of my sleep. I opened one eye as I read the screen. It was Ronan calling. I wiped both my eyes and pushed myself up to a sitting position before answering the call.
"Hello?" I cringed, knowing how rough my still sleepy voice sounded.
"Hey, Tyler… sorry to call so early. Did I wake you?" Ronan's warm voice seeped into my bones chasing away any irritation at waking so early.
"Yeah, but it's alright. It was about time for me to get up anyway. What's up with you? I hope nothing's wrong."
"Oh, no—no worries. I was just thinking… maybe we should take a day to ourselves. I'm worried I've been ignoring things back at the home company a little too much, and I should show some interest. I love spending time with you, but yeah, you've probably got stuff to take care of, too."
My heart sank for a moment, but it quickly pulled out of the funk. Ronan was right. "Yeah, I'll miss you, but we should probably both make sure we're not forgetting important stuff. It's just so hard… to be without you when you're right here in town."
Ronan chuckled. "Believe me, I know what you're talking about. After I've checked in with my team and put out any smoldering fires, I'll be ready to leap right back into… well, ready to see you again."
"Yep, that makes a lot of sense." I absentmindedly traced out an R on my bedsheet with my index finger. "There's some personal stuff that I need to sort out. I'll try to make good use of the time."
Ronan suddenly sounded concerned. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, all is good." I did my best to reassure him. "This has all been a lot the last few days, and I'm realizing I can use a little time to process everything."
