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The map included the outline of the Blue Harbor coastline. Someone recorded elevations and water depths by hand. It was the same flowing script as the journal, so it must have been created by Great-Uncle Ian.
"Look!" I pointed at a familiar curve in the shoreline. "Isn't that the cove below Whispering Bluffs. It looks just like what we saw when we looked down off the edge." He then pointed at the water near it, and is that a sketch of a boat like it's under the water?"
"Wow, could be." Ronan tapped another spot on the map. "That must be Great-Uncle Ian's house. It's in the right place when compared with those hand-drawn roads."
We both hunched over the desk. I traced the coastline with my finger, and it felt like I was touching the past. "Can you believe he drew this? And then he went to the trouble to hide it."
Ronan scratched his cheek. "I'm not convinced he was hiding it. We found it relatively easily, and I wonder whether he just wanted to make sure it ended up in my hands and not with somebody else."
"Very good point, so those markings." I pointed to a series of X's drawn along the shoreline. "What do you think those are?"
As Ronan leaned in closer, I felt his warm breath on my cheek. "Good question. Knowing Great-Uncle Ian, they could be anything from buried treasure locations to the places where he found plants that he wanted to study."
"Quite a character." I smiled and then pointed at a group of circles further inland. "And what do you think these circles are? They seem to be concentrated in this one particular spot."
"I do know what that is, don't you?" I peered at the map, and I thought about what I knew existed in real life."
"Oh, is that the old mines? The ones where they dug out iron ore?"
Ronan smiled. "One of the few things I know about Blue Harbor history because Great-Uncle Ian told stories about it. He said he knew one of the last miners, but those mines have been closed for many many years now."
As we continued to study the map, it looked like everything had been arranged to put his house at the center of it all. He'd drawn a sketch of it where it perched on a bluff overlooking the lake.
"Doesn't it look like the house is in an important place? Like almost dead center." I tapped it on the map. "Do you know anything about what happened to it? I've driven along the road a few times in recent years, but that driveway gate has been closed and locked every time. It's not exactly an invitation to proceed."
Ronan reached up and ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't really know much. It wasn't left to me. I asked the estate attorney about that, but I didn't ask who got it. He had other relatives that were closer than me, but he didn't have any kids."
"So, you don't know who inherited it?"
"My best guess would be my second cousin, Evelyn. She was close to Great-Uncle Ian, but I haven't spoken with anyone on her side of the family for years."
"Family drama like we all have?"
Ronan chuckled, but his laughter had an edge. "You could say something like that, but it's easiest to just say the Gallaghers aren't known for warm and fuzzy family reunions. We tend to gather at funerals and occasionally weddings."
I was silent for a moment and tried to imagine what secrets the house might hold. "Do you think they would have done anything yet since he passed?"
Ronan shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. It might be sitting empty out there, or Evelyn could have moved in for all I know. Maybe developers bought it and tore it down."
The idea that a clueless developer might bulldoze such an important structure made me feel sick to my stomach. "I think we need to find out about it." My voice was more forceful on the point than I intended.
Ronan agreed with me. "You're right. If we can get inside it somehow, legitimately, it could have a lot of useful information for this search."
I turned my attention back to the map. Near the house sketch were other small symbols I hadn't examined closely. Trees, a shed, and something that might have been a well all looked very deliberately placed. They weren't merely background decoration.
Sweeping my finger around the items, I said, "These all look intentional, like they might be individual markers or clues."
Ronan's brow furrowed. "You're right, and they almost form a perfect… triangle around the house. Do you think that's a coincidence?"
I gripped his hand. "Pinch me. I can't believe this is real. When I was a little kid, I read mystery books, and I always wanted one to happen to me. Here it is. We're on a treasure hunt and solving a mystery."
Ronan laughed. "So we are. Though, knowing Great-Uncle Ian, the treasure could turn out to be a pan pipe from Peru or a rock that was part of the pyramids instead of gold from the Incas."
"I'm not picky about the what. Ancient artifacts or gold doubloons—as long as we're looking for it together, I'll be happy."
Ronan squeezed my hand. "Me, too."
"Okay," he added as he stood straight and tall. "Our first goal is we need to find out what's going on with that house. We can drive to it later today, and if we can't figure anything out, I'll track down Evelyn or the estate attorney and dig a little."
