Chapter Sixteen
Lector was tense as he and Evangeline wandered the small cemetery. So far they hadn't found any other secret passages, and Evangeline was bitter as they looked.
"I wonder how many of these people are the ones in the North wing," she said. "Maybe someone we've honored all through the years repaid us by hurting Mr. Nesbitt."
"We don't know that," Lector said, although it was impossible not to wonder.
"I used to be proud to be in this family," Evangeline said. "I can't feel proud anymore. I feel like changing the spelling of my last name like you did."
"Or you could keep it to show that not everyone with that family name is bad," Lector said gently.
"Yeah . . ." Evangeline said slowly.
"Hey!" Yugi suddenly called with a wave.
"Hello!" Evangeline called back. "Feeling better?"
"Great!" Yugi ran over with Atem and Téa. "Atem may have figured it out!"
Evangeline perked up. "Show us!"
Atem came over, holding his list. "First I organized the letters by date. Then I found the first possible clue when she talked about her mother facing West to enjoy the sunset every day. Her mother was still alive at that point, but I'm assuming a tomb had already been picked out?"
"Yes," Evangeline said.
"That's kind of a morbid practice," Téa shuddered.
"And a very ancient one," said Atem.
"We already tried that tomb, though," Lector said. "Are you suggesting we simply use that as a starting point?"
"Exactly," Atem nodded. "This is basically a map. Follow it to each checkpoint and at the end, if I've done it right, we should be able to find the treasure."
Everyone walked to the tomb in question and stood on the West side.
"Alright," Evangeline said. "Now what?"
"The next clue talked about her brother always liking to sit at the East side of the dining room table," Atem said.
"Isn't it a little weird that she's so specific about directions?" Téa said. "I mean, if we're not supposed to find anything until the end, who cares if we're standing on the East or West of a tomb?"
"That is strange," Atem admitted. "I'm still trying to figure that part out. I wonder if she could have broken the treasure up and a part of it is in each specific location."
". . . What if it's in the coffins?" Yugi suggested, although he cringed a bit as he said it. "Maybe we have to check the coffins positioned on those sides of the tombs."
"Gross!" Téa exclaimed in horror.
"Not to mention unsanitary," Lector frowned.
"Would that work, though?" Yugi wondered. "I mean, even if the tomb was picked, surely they didn't choose coffins until after the person was dead. . . ."
"It could be in the stand or the chamber that the coffin was placed on," Lector said.
"It's worth trying," Evangeline said. She walked up to the tomb and unlocked it. "I do know my great-grandmother's coffin is on the West side of this tomb. We can poke the stand's West side for a secret compartment."
"And hope Joey doesn't come out while we're doing this," Téa said wryly. "He wouldn't be able to deal with it." She bit her lip. "I'm not so sure I can either. . . ."
"It'll be okay, Téa," Yugi soothed. "Maybe we'll find something neat."
"Just as long as we don't find something creepy too," Téa retorted.
xxxx
Johnson was tense as he and Nesbitt stepped through the open wall into the North wing. "What if it closes up while we're in here and we can't get out?" he worried.
Nesbitt stiffened. That was certainly the last thing he wanted to have happen, especially when all he wanted was to be helpful. "We should either find a way to prop it open or text the others about what we're doing," he said.
"Or both," Johnson said. He grabbed a chair and placed it in the doorway, so that if the passage tried to swing closed it would be prevented.
Nesbitt frowned. "I don't want them all to worry. That should be good enough."
Johnson wasn't convinced. When Nesbitt went farther inside, he lingered and sent a text message to the other three.
We found a secret passageway into the North wing that wasn't closed off.
We're trying to see now if there's a passageway leading outside from the North wing.
Nesbitt badly wants to do this to be helpful. You know how he's been lately.
Please give us the chance to try to find the passageway, as like it or not, we really do
need to see if one's in here. If we're not back out within fifteen minutes, come check on us.
Then, drawing a deep breath, he shoved the phone back in his pocket and followed Nesbitt over to the other side of the entryway. He really didn't want to be here. Part of him wanted to turn and run. But he wouldn't. He certainly wasn't going to leave Nesbitt in here all alone.
Nesbitt was tapping along the walls when Johnson caught up with him. Johnson joined in, saying nothing for several minutes.
The feeling that they were unwelcome was there, of course. Johnson had felt it the moment they walked in, and he had to assume Nesbitt had too. It was only increasing the longer they stayed. Finally Johnson couldn't stand it any longer.
"Nesbitt, I really don't think we're going to find anything," he blurted. "We should leave before something else goes wrong."
"You should leave," Nesbitt retorted. He moved to the next outside wall and started tapping again.
Johnson frowned and walked around to be in Nesbitt's line of vision. "I made the mistake of worrying that all of you would leave me because of an impulsive lie I told in the past," he said. "You scolded me earlier, when you realized I wasn't thinking enough about my value to the rest of you. I hope you're not telling me that you think you're of such little value that none of us would care if the ghosts hurt you again."
Nesbitt clenched a fist and dug it against the wall. "Of course not," he snapped. "I just . . . I guess I don't think they'll hurt me again."
"Maybe they'll hurt me instead," Johnson said.
"That's why you should leave," Nesbitt insisted.
"I won't leave," Johnson insisted.
He sighed as they reached the stairs. Nesbitt turned, looking around the stairs to the bedrooms. "I'm going to have to start in on those now."
Johnson's stomach dropped. "We didn't even go in any of the bedrooms before!" he protested. "We just stayed out here, and that was bad enough!"
"Yeah, well, now the bedrooms have to be checked," Nesbitt said. He headed towards the first one and walked inside without hesitation.
Johnson definitely did hesitate. But at last he drew a deep breath and followed his friend inside.
The rooms carried much stronger feelings than the entryway and corridor. Johnson could barely stand to stay in there. It was all he could do not to run screaming for the passageway. Nesbitt, on the other hand, was so determined to stay that he either ignored the feeling or honestly didn't feel it. When he finished going over the room, he walked back out and into the next one.
Johnson trailed after him. "Nesbitt, we shouldn't be here," he desperately protested. But he took a good look at the room as he spoke. It was interesting, how it looked like a perfectly preserved 19th Century room. It made sense, given that the North wing had been off-limits in the 1860s. And this room had a connecting door leading to the one next to it.
Nesbitt peered through it. "This room looks more like some kind of sitting room," he remarked.
Johnson cautiously went over to look. Nesbitt was right; that room featured old-style couches and even a harp in one corner, but no beds. They had apparently been too disturbed by the feelings to really notice before that this room wasn't a bedroom. Not that it really seemed to matter.
Or at least, it didn't until Nesbitt went in and found an outside door against the wall.
Johnson's jaw dropped. "Why didn't we notice that door outside?!"
Nesbitt tried the knob and found it unlocked. He pushed it open. "I'd say because it's completely covered in vines," he scowled.
Johnson slumped back. "So there probably isn't a secret passage in this wing that goes outside," he realized. "They're probably getting in through that door and then into the main part of the house through that secret passage we found."
"I'd say so," Nesbitt grunted.
"Nesbitt?! Johnson?!" Gansley and Crump were suddenly at the doorway. "Why on Earth are you still in here?!"
"Because we've solved a big part of the mystery!" Johnson exclaimed. "Look!" He pointed to the door.
Crump stared. "Well, whaddya know about that."
"Only now there's more questions," Nesbitt said. "Such as, has this door been unlocked since the 1860s? And if not, how did it get unlocked and how did the intruder first get in?"
"All good questions," Gansley nodded.
"And now I've got another one," Crump said. "Where's Lector? Why didn't he answer the text message too?"
"He was going to the cemetery," Gansley said. "Let's just go out this door and find him."
"Might as well," Crump shrugged.
They all trouped out the vine-covered door, Nesbitt pulling it shut behind them.
xxxx
Lector was quite busy trying to assist the others in checking for the secret compartments in the tombs. They had been searching the great-grandmother's tomb for some time without success, and by now a lot of the group was trickling out to join them. Of course, some were horrified by what they were doing.
"You're going through coffins?!" Joey shrieked.
"We're trying to see if there's a compartment in the coffin that has no contact with the body, Mr. Wheeler," Lector retorted.
"Or if there's anything in the stand or the wall," Téa added.
"Well, I guess that's a little bit better," Joey gulped. "But not by much!"
Yami Bakura walked past him. "If you want to find secret places in tombs, you should have called me," he smirked. He pressed a spot on the wall and a drawer popped open.
Everyone gawked.
"Hey, how'd you do that?!" Lector exclaimed.
"I was a tomb raider in my day," Yami Bakura shrugged.
Evangeline rushed over. "Look at all these jewels!" she gasped, lifting out a handful of gems and necklaces.
Joey's eyes went even wider. "Well, that's a pretty good start on a family treasure," he breathed. "Who am I kidding?! That's a whole family treasure right there!"
Yami Bakura couldn't hide the gleam in his eye. Finding secret passages and treasures brought back memories from ancient Egypt that he enjoyed. Not that he planned to go back to his dubious and very illegal profession, but the nostalgia was pleasant.
If anyone else noticed his expression, they didn't comment.
"Apparently there's more treasure, according to their grandmother," Yugi said. He looked to Atem. "So, let's move on to the next tomb!"
Evangeline took off her bandanna and wrapped the jewels in it before they left. "That's strange, though," she mused. "Great-Grandmother's diary talked about one compartment with a family treasure. Now it seems like there's more than one?"
"Maybe she only knew about the one," Tristan shrugged.
"Maybe," Evangeline said.
"Just like you did know about a tragedy on the property even though you said you didn't when you were asked," Tristan added.
Evangeline looked down sadly. "All I knew was what Grandmother said about seeing the ghosts on the roof. I didn't really know anything had happened. I still don't, despite the scene on the roof and the siren in the pool. But I'm sorry I didn't mention the rooftop scene earlier. I wasn't even thinking about it because I wasn't sure it was even real."
"I think we have more important things to worry about right now," Lector interjected.
"I just hope nothing else is being kept from us," Tristan scowled.
"It's not," Evangeline said.
"Only that's hard to believe now," Tristan said.
"Tristan, come on," Téa sighed.
"Well, he does have a point," Duke muttered.
"At least on this matter, Evangeline wasn't deliberately trying to keep anything from us," Lector pointed out. "She honestly didn't feel she knew anything had happened when all there was to go on were some vague comments made by our dear but confused grandmother."
"That does make sense," David said.
Tristan still didn't look happy. "I guess."
The confrontation might have continued if not for the fact that just as they all stepped outside, they nearly walked into the Big Four coming from the other direction.
"Lector!" Crump ran over. "What's up?! Why didn't you answer Johnson's text?!"
"A text?!" Lector took out his phone and brought up the messages. "I didn't hear it come in." He started when he saw it and looked to Nesbitt with a jerk. "You went in the North wing after you were hurt in there?!"
"It looked like that's where we needed to go," Nesbitt retorted. "And I was right! For once I actually did something useful; I found an unlocked door hidden by vines. Someone must be getting in that way!"
Evangeline gasped. "Oh no! Then it must be someone with a key!"
Lector was too upset to really focus on the new information. "And what if you'd been hurt again?!" he countered. "Or what if Johnson had been hurt?!"
"It was my choice to go with him, Lector," Johnson said. "He tried to encourage me not to."
Lector wasn't consoled. "Nesbitt, don't you know how much we care about you?! I know you don't remember how I feel, but the others . . . ! None of us want you going off and getting yourself hurt!"
"I know that!" Nesbitt snapped. "But I can't just sit around twiddling my thumbs and waiting for my memories to come back! I have to do something useful!"
"Not deliberately walking into danger is doing something useful!" Lector said. "But you just always have to be impulsive and reckless, don't you?!"
"I'm sick of you judging me!" Nesbitt finally yelled.
"You've judged me too," Lector blurted before he felt like stopping himself.
"Stop it, both of you," Gansley interjected. "You're both saying things you're going to regret later."
Nesbitt growled and turned away, too prideful to concede. Lector, however, knew Gansley was right. He approached the other man sorrowfully.
"Nesbitt, I'm sorry," he said. "Everything's been so stressful and I've been so worried about you. . . ."
"When did I judge you?" Nesbitt demanded. "I don't remember."
Lector rocked back. ". . . It was a while ago," he said. "You didn't really mean it; you were just upset. . . ."
"But obviously you're still hurt by it." Nesbitt finally turned to face him.
". . . It's hard not to be hurt by something like that, even if you logically know why it's happening," Lector said. "But I shouldn't have said that, especially now."
"I don't know why you care about me," Nesbitt said in disgust. "When have I ever done things right? When have I ever made you happy instead of hurt?"
"All the time," Lector insisted. "You're right—if we didn't have good times together, we wouldn't be able to weather the bad times. We trust and care about each other so much, Nesbitt!"
"It's hard to believe that when I don't remember," Nesbitt countered. "And when all the memories I get back are ones where I hurt you. All I get out of this is that I'm not someone worth loving. You've said I'm a fool because I'm impulsive and reckless. You're a fool for caring!" With that he stormed off through the cemetery.
"Nesbitt!" Lector called after him in vain. He fell back in horror, running a hand over his face. "What have I done?"
"You're both under such heavy stress right now," Gansley told him. "You've tried so hard to be patient, but eventually something would have to give way. I was upset when I got Johnson's text too. Had I immediately seen Nesbitt, I probably would have bawled him out myself. The only reason I didn't was because I had time to think things through before we found him."
"No," Lector retorted. "I'm sure you would have handled it better no matter what."
"Well, things can't be left like this," Crump exclaimed. "You've gotta go after him!"
"He thinks he's made everything worse. I don't see how I can make this situation better," Lector objected. "I'm the one who hurt him this time."
"Lector, you're hurting too," Crump retorted. "Thinking Nesbitt was running off into a situation where he'd get hurt again is a completely logical reason to blow up! It was just too much for you to take after everything else."
"But how do I ever convince him that he is worth caring about?!" Lector said in despair.
"I don't know," Gansley admitted, his heart heavy. "Someone who has such a low opinion of himself can't easily be convinced otherwise. But this time it really does need to be you who goes after him."
Lector nodded. "I know." He looked to Evangeline. "Go ahead and keep collecting the treasure," he encouraged. "Once you have it all, we should take it to the bank and put it in your safety deposit box."
"Alright," Evangeline said softly. "Good luck, Démas. . . ."
"I need more than luck," Lector sighed. "I need a miracle."
xxxx
Lector had time to work out several possibilities of what to say as he wandered through the old family cemetery. Along the way, he also had flashes of long-ago memories of being here. He remembered exploring . . . macabre fascination. . . . The children weren't allowed to play in the cemetery, but looking around had always been encouraged.
"Look, Démas," he remembered his great-grandmother telling him, "this tomb will be for several members of the family, including you someday. I hope not for many years."
He had been 18 then, and though he had been told about the tomb many times, this was the first time it had been mentioned that it would be for him. It had seemed morbid, and he hadn't been terribly happy with being told about it when he had so many plans for his future. Still, the practical part of his mind had acknowledged that he needed to know.
He could see that tomb now, in his mind's eye, and as he rounded a corner, he saw it in real-life. Nesbitt was sitting on the stone ground, leaning against the side of it and glaring off into the grass. Lector took a deep breath and sat down next to him. Nesbitt didn't look over.
"When we first met, I didn't understand or like you much at all," Lector said. "We would both blurt things out when we were angry, but you would act on them as well. I could not begin to fathom such a reckless mind. But I appreciated your genius when it came to designing vehicles for the company, so I kept you on in spite of my personal feelings. When it came time to choose our board of directors, Gansley and I mutually agreed we wanted you."
Nesbitt slowly looked up. "Why? Just because I was good at designing things?"
"Not just because of that," Lector insisted. "We saw in you the potential for more."
"I wasn't even a team player," Nesbitt retorted.
"Gansley felt you could be," Lector said. "And I saw that you could be practical and logical, an odd contrast to your impulsive behavior. I had also seen that your interest in kendo was helping you to control your temper sometimes."
"It doesn't seem to have helped much with that lately," Nesbitt said. "It only really seemed to work when I didn't realize I actually cared about people."
"You're probably still trying to deal with all of those emotions," Lector said. "It's something so foreign to you that you're having a hard time figuring it out."
Nesbitt gave a noncommittal shrug, but he had to admit that Lector was right about that.
". . . Caring about people is hard," he said. "It hurts so much when they're hurting. And I get so upset and blurt things out. . . . And then if I hurt them, I feel like complete garbage."
"So do I," Lector said.
"And it's hard to really grasp that I could be cared about, when I didn't know I cared for so long and now I just can't figure out how to interact with anyone now that I know I do. . . . I know I'd be worried sick if someone pulled the stupid stunt I pulled today. And I'd lash into them a lot worse than you did to me."
"I am glad that you found how our intruder must be getting in," Lector said. "You were being very logical and resourceful to come up with that idea. But weren't you worried at all to go in the North wing again?"
"Yeah, I was," Nesbitt said. "But I wanted to be useful, not just lay around hoping I'd remember everything soon."
Lector laid a hand on his shoulder. "You're a fool, but you can be a brave fool," he said. "And you're my dear friend. I came to see the good in you, Nesbitt, and when I saw it, I wondered why I hadn't seen it before. It was so obvious, and it shows you absolutely are worth loving." He paused. "I only got so upset because of my worry and my caring about you, but I should have controlled myself better, especially when you only wanted desperately to be helpful. I'm very sorry."
Nesbitt gave a noncommittal shrug. ". . . I guess it's nice that someone cares enough to be upset. And I should have known that doing something stupid like that would only get you upset."
"How could you know when you don't remember?" Lector countered.
"I knew the others would be upset," Nesbitt said. "And like I said, I knew I'd be upset if our positions were reversed. It only makes sense that you would be upset as well." He slowly looked up at Lector. ". . . But how can we talk like this when I don't even remember you?"
"Your spirit still remembers me," Lector said quietly, thinking back on his dream. "It's only your body that's having trouble with that."
Nesbitt frowned. ". . . Maybe if I was better at kendo again, I'd be able to tap in to what my spirit knows."
"Did you even believe in the existence of spirits until we were thrust out of our bodies?" Lector wondered.
"Not really," Nesbitt admitted. "But after that happened, I didn't even need to believe. I knew."
Lector smiled a bit. "And when you remember, I hope you'll know how our friendship managed to continue even under these circumstances."
Nesbitt slowly nodded. "I hope so." He started to get up. "We should go find the others. . . ."
Lector stood as well. "Then let's go."
He doubted Nesbitt knew what tomb he had chosen to rest against, and he had no real intention of telling him. It didn't really matter anyway; it was just a strange irony.
But, he reflected as they started off through the cemetery, he had gotten his miracle.