smooth seas//john b

thirty six

Heyward is right. We head off for the nursing home Pope's great-grandmother is living in.

"Guys, the thing that Limbrey said, I don't think she meant to let it slip. She said the key leads to the Cross of Santo Domingo," Pope tells us.

"Wait. Can I see that?" JJ asks.

Pope hands him the key.

"Are we supposed to know what that is?" Sarah asks.

"I'm guessing it's some sort of historical artifact of great importance," Pope offers.

"Well, according to the interwebs, it was a gift from New Spain to the Spanish king," Kie tells us.

"New Spain? Is there an Old Spain?" JJ asks.

"Shit, talk about over-gifting. Look at that thing." Kie holds her phone up with a drawing of the cross. "Looks like there's a person standing next to it."

"So it's a giant-ass cross," I state.

"It was widely considered at the time to be the most extravagant tribute ever from the provinces. It was lost off the coast of Bermuda in 1829," Kie tells us.

"Did you just say Bermuda?" JJ asks.

"Oh, no. Not the triangle," John B remarks.

"It always leads back to the triangle, dude," JJ insists. "Like every single time something's weird, it's Bermuda."

"What does a key found above your mee-maw's pharmacy have to do with any of this?" Kie asks.

"Yeah," Sarah agrees.

"Where do we come in?" Kie asks.

"I don't know. That's a good question," Pope says.

We park the van outside the nursing home and everyone starts to get out.

"Hey, actually, I think I'm gonna do this one by myself," Pope tells us.

"Are you sure?" Kie asks.

"Yeah, I can handle it. I don't really need you, so..." Pope says directing it at Kie.

"Oh, we're just all one big happy family today, aren't we?" JJ remarks.

"Hey, man, pick you up in a bit," John B tells Pope.

We head into town. Kie, Sarah, and I head into a store to get a drink while JJ and John B stay in the van.

Sarah looks at Kie and I. "So what the hell happened to make y'alls relationships implode?"

"I told Pope I just wanted to be friends," Kie tells her.

"That's why he's acting all butthurt?" I ask.

Kie nods. "Yeah."

Sarah looks at me expectantly. "Mai?"

"I don't know. I know he's still weird about what my Dad did. I can't expect him to just get over it, but..." I trail off. I shake my head. "I don't know. We're just off."

"Tell me about it. All of this crazy shit's happening, and Pope's giving me the silent treatment for not being in love with him," Kie says. "

"And we're the dramatic ones," I remark.

"Sure," Kie says with a laugh.

We head back to the nursing home. Pope is already waiting outside for us.

"There he is," JJ says.

Pope sighs as he gets in the van.

"So, how'd it go?" John B asks.