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There was a long pause on the other end of the line, the silence stretching out between us like a deep canyon. Finally, Neil spoke, his voice low and measured. "Personal? Ronan, I know you. I've known you for years, and you've never let anything personal get in the way of business before. What's going on?"
I hesitated. I'd already said I wasn't going to share any details, but maybe Neil deserved to know part of it. He was right. He'd been a loyal part of the company for years now. That meant forever in Silicon Valley.
"It's... it's my great-uncle. He passed away recently, and he left me this... a mystery to solve. There's a winding trail of clues and riddles leading to something at the end. I'm sure it sounds entirely crazy, but that is part of why I feel like I need to see it through. We all should be carried along on a wild adventure once in a while. It's good for the soul."
Neil was silent for a long moment, and I could almost hear the gears turning in his head. "And this... this treasure hunt. Is it more important than your company? Than your clients? Than everything we've worked for?"
I shook my head, even though I knew he couldn't see me. "No, it's not more important. But Great-Uncle Ian and all of his adventures... are part of who I am. He was one of the most insightful people in my family, and I need to know what he wanted me to find out."
Neil sighed. "I have to admit that I don't get it. I probably never will, but I know one thing about you. Once you set your mind to do something, nobody can stop you. So... how much time do you need?"
I exhaled. "Just a few more days—a week at most. I promise I'll make everything work. I'll personally take responsibility for keeping this client happy and do whatever it takes. Thank you for understanding that I need this time, and a chance to see this through."
Neil was quiet for a moment. I could hear the distant hum of highway traffic on his end of the line. "Okay, you've got it. A week, but not a day longer, and we'd all appreciate it if it were fewer days than that. We're counting on you. The whole company is counting on you. Don't let us down."
I nodded, feeling the weight of my promise settling on my shoulders. "I won't. Just you wait and see."
"Don't make me regret this conversation. Keep me posted and let me know if anything significant changes."
"I will, and I'll be back in San Francisco before you know it, ready to take on the world."
As I hung up the phone, a wide range of emotions swirled inside me. The strongest was relief that I'd bought myself a little additional time. I felt a twinge of guilt for putting my own needs ahead of everything else for the first time in ages.
I needed to get out of the hotel, and I knew where to go. My walk to the marina was a blur. It was like my feet had an autopilot mode that let my thoughts freely roll around as I made my way there.
"Fancy seeing you here again."
I jumped and turned to my right. Gus was there, standing a few feet away. He had a friendly smile on his weathered face.
"Gus, um, hey. I didn't think I'd ever see you again. You were like some kind of ghostly messenger in the night."
He chuckled. "I just didn't know what I would run into when I volunteered to deliver that envelope for old Ian. He was hard to predict, but you probably know that."
He stepped up close to me and pointed at his left ear. "You'll do best if you aim your talk here. I'm getting a little hard of hearing in old age. Tell me how you're doing with whatever that old rascal left behind."
I gestured for him to sit beside me on a bench. "We've hit a dead end in the search. I'm not sure where we should look next. We spent hours at the cove below Whispering Bluffs finding nothing. And now, work is trying to pull me back to San Francisco."
Gus rubbed the gray whiskers on his chin. "That's the cove you visited? It's not the right one if you're trying to find out anything connected with Ian. The one you want is just up the shore from here, less than half a mile."
My eyes opened wide. "Are you kidding? How do you know that?"
Gus laughed again, a deep, rich sound reverberating in his chest. "Ian and I went way back. We met in the late 60s when I was still a young man. He used to wax poetic about that cove, the one just around the bend from that lighthouse out at the point. He said it was his favorite spot in all of Blue Harbor. He loved it even more than that old rambling house."
The air suddenly rushed out of my lungs. It felt like I'd been punched in the gut. We spent a couple of days barking up the wrong tree. No wonder we hit a dead end.
"Thank you so much for that info. Our investigation is officially alive again."
He dismissed my comment with the wave of a hand. "No problem. Glad to help you out, young man. So, tell me, the athletic one you were with last time, the one with the kind eyes. What's the connection?"
Gus didn't have any problem with being nosy. I hesitated for a moment, but then I decided he was a perfect neutral person to confide in. I could share my heart's desire and the doubts about it that needled me.
My voice was soft as I began. "Gus, can I ask you something?"
He pointed at his ear again. "Keep leaning a little closer, and yes, of course."
I took a deep breath and braced myself. "The man who was with me was Tyler. He's become… more than a friend. I think I'm in love with him and want to spend the rest of my life at his side."
My confession didn't appear to phase him at all. He merely nodded. "I had a feeling that was the case. The way the two of you looked at each other… I thought he meant the world to you."
