Chapter 9: Treasure Map
We had only three chances of getting Jack Slater into the Rose Garden Tea Room: slim, fat and none. So we went around to the other side of the building where a café overlooked the Shakespeare Garden. As long as we dug him up some chili or a sandwich and didn't let Jack see how much it cost, we'd be okay. It wasn't quite noon yet, and so we sat at a table waiting for the café to open.
It was there that the police inspector found us.
"How's it going?" asked Jack, feeling more comfortable now that murder and mayhem were back on the menu.
The inspector made a face. "I'm going to end up dealing with those pain-in-the-butt Hollywood police," he grumbled. "Turns out the lady who was the head of these thugs just bought a house over by the Hollywood Bowl. So, we'll be executing a search warrant there."
Whitney's ears pricked up. "Hollywood Bowl?"
"You're the history expert right? The one these guys were after?"
"Yeah," she said. "Why?"
"We found this in her purse, and maybe you can use your knowledge of history to clue us in." He spread the photocopy of an old map on the table in front of us. It looked like it dated from the mid-19th Century. It had an "X" drawn down in the Cahuenga Pass at a place marked "La Nopalera," another "X" drawn at the top of a nearby summit, a line drawn between the two, and a halfway point on the line also marked.
"Let me guess," said Whitney. "Her new house is located right at the halfway mark, right?"
"I don't know. Could be."
"Bet on it. We're going too."
"Hey lady, this is an official police investigation."
"So you think Jack Slater is not an official police officer? You think I'm not an official reserve officer, and he's not our official ride-along? But don't worry inspector, we won't get in the way of your little investigation."
He glared at her. "See that you don't."
Jack put his Harley back into the bed of Whitney's pickup and drove us over towards the Hollywood Freeway.
"From Ph.D. to police ride-along," I mourned. "How the mighty have fallen."
Jack grumbled, "Whitney, you shouldn't have told him you're a reserve officer. You can get into a lot of trouble impersonating an officer of the law."
"But I didn't," she replied. "I asked him if he thought I wasn't a reserve officer. There's a difference."
"I doubt that a judge and jury would agree with you."
The woman's newly purchased multi-million-dollar house was in a cul-de-sac at the end of Los Tilos Road. The property did indeed overlook the Hollywood Bowl.
We got out and waited for the police to arrive with their warrant. Whitney hung back in the pickup for a few moments, rummaging behind the seat to come up with a cane. She got out and started limping around with it.
Jack eyed her suspiciously. "What now?"
"Oh Daddy, you remember when I sat on that rattlesnake, and Ted here had to suck out the poison to save my life." She patted her delectable backside.
He looked suitably embarrassed while she continued to pace back and forth across the front lawn (never covering the same piece of ground twice, I noticed).
I crept up next to her and softly asked, "What's so important about the map?"
"It's the only one I've ever seen," she replied, "that shows the location of La Nopalera, the tavern where Moreno had his prophetic dream. The treasure should be located about halfway between the tavern at the summit, or just about in here someplace. The ash tree will be long dead, of course, but we're in the right general area."
"And your cane is a metal detector, right?"
"Bright boy. The handle vibrates when its foot passes over anything metal. So far everything's been linear: water mains, sewer lines, and electric. Once the police get here with their warrant, I can check out the backyard too."
I looked around dubiously. There were lots of houses here in the cul de sac, and any one of them could be the burial site. There was even one wedged-shaped piece of property which was so steep, no house could be built on it. It most probably belonged to the Hollywood Bowl. However, it was not too steep to have footpaths switchbacking back and forth from locals making their way down to the Bowl.
Without the ash tree, the area which had to be searched was very large and the terrain was mostly inaccessible. And the treasure was very, very small.
This new map had made the potential haystack a lot smaller, but we were still looking for a much-too-small needle in a much-too-large haystack.
