Page 55 of The Curse Breaker

He knows everything. She felt her stomach sway. She tried to stay calm. She had been right to think Harris knew more than he let on. He’d been married to a Rudd. His son was a Rudd. Of course, he was on their side. And now her mom was dating him, but she couldn’t let on. Now what? Benny tried to sound casual. “I’m meeting Zara.”

“All dressed up in one of my rompers?” her mom asked, making things worse.

Harris watched her.

“Her grandmother got tickets to some boring historical thing, so Zara is dragging me along.” Her mouth felt dry. She wanted to get her mom away from him. “Do I look okay?”

“You look lovely.” Her mom fixed the waist-tie on the romper.

“I should let you get cleaned up, and I should do the same,” Harris said.

Benny’s stomach dropped. He’s going to tell Ryan I’m leaving.

“I’ll check in on you later?” Harris told her mom. “We can get dinner. Somewhere other than Hooked, which had damage. It’s closed indefinitely,” he said, eyeing Benny.

Did Gil get in? Where was Zara? Did Harris know they were there? “That’s a shame,” Benny said evenly.

“Isn’t it?” her mom said as Harris kissed her lightly and headed to the door.

“Bye Benny. See you soon,” Harris said it like a warning.

Benny waited till the door was closed to speak. “Mom, you haven’t talked to Harris about anything I’ve told you, have you?”

Her mom frowned. “I might have mentioned the dragonfly.”

“Mom!” Benny raised her voice. “I told you not to tell anyone anything.”

“It’s Harris,” her mom replied in surprise. “We can trust him. He wants you to collect Evelyn’s inheritance. He wants us to stay here.”

“Does he?” Benny snapped, before she could stop herself.

Her mom frowned. “Benny, what is wrong? You’ve been acting weird around Harris since Peter was here.” She sighed. “Is this about me spending so much time with him and not helping you? I thought you had things covered.”

I always have things covered, Benny thought, getting mad now. It was just like when Grams was alive. Your mother has a good heart, but she doesn’t always think, Grams would say. It was true, but sometimes Benny wished she had a mom she could confide in the way she always could Grams. Instead, she felt alone. As much as it pained her, the less she said right now, the better. “Never mind. I have to go.”

“Eat something before you leave,” her mom said awkwardly, grabbing Benny’s backpack and unzipping it. “You know you work better when you’re not hangry.” She tucked two protein bars in the bag and removed Benny’s wooden bird. Her expression was puzzled. “You carry this around with you?”

Benny took from here. “Yes. It’s the only thing I have from my dad. I don’t want to lose it.” She looked at the tiny bird again, rolling it over in her hand and staring at the small smudged circular mark at the bottom.

“Oh, honey.” Her mom put an arm around her. “I’m sorry. I never even got his number. He hated the phone, he told me. Said he’d write, but he never did. I didn’t even know his address or how to reach him. If he still lived here in Greenport, you’d figure I would have run into him by now and I could tell him about you, but…”

“Wait. He lived here?” Benny asked, surprised. “I thought he was on vacation like you.”

“No. He lived here. Worked on a ship, maybe?” She smiled brightly. “What I do remember was him being a gentleman, and we had a lovely time together. He loved playing board games. Just like you and I do.”

This was the most her mom ever said. “What was his name?” Her mom’s face clouded over. “You can tell me. I’m not going to go on Ancestry-dot-com and try to find him. I swear.”

Her mom laughed. “You wouldn’t. His name was Joe Knight. There’s probably a million people with that name.”

Joe Knight. Benny looked at the bird again and wondered where in the world he was at that very moment. Maybe someday she’d find him. But for now, the treasure came first.

Twenty

Benny

Benny could hear Kimble yelling before she even reached his boat. Winks sat outside the cabin, blinking at Benny with her right eye. Benny noticed the cat’s red collar with the silver tag.

“Bloody torture devices!” Kimble yelled. “Meant to strangle a man!”