“It’s the Goblet of Nemo,” the man said in a fervent whisper as if he were revealing a state secret.
“That sounds fake,” Vi told him. He shot her a dark look, recognized her only after he’d done so, and then looked regretful.
“It’s not fake. Nemo means nobody.”
“Yes, I know.” Vi rolled her eyes and glanced at Rita before she turned back to Hollands. It was the elder of the brothers, and Vi couldn’t quite remember his name, but she remembered that he hadn’t been the one carrying the bag of poisons and nonsense. “That name isn’t a likely name for a treasure that supposedly has been hidden for centuries.”
“The story of where it came from isn’t clear. The name Nemo was given by those who uncovered the first layer of secrets. But the ruins on your estate date back centuries,” he said to Rita.
Rita turned to Vi. “Of course, they were able to find the tale of the history. They were able to find the goblet. But they weren’t able to find the real name of it?”
With a furious hiss that Hollands tried and failed to hold back, he retorted. “That’s why they called it the Nemo. The pages of history are obscured by idiots who threw things away that were valuable.”
“And you were the one who was able to see through the obfuscation to the truth that no one else has been bright enough to recognize?”
“Please, Rita. Please.”
Vi stared at her pregnant, emotional friend. Rita was mad if her heart strings played so easily under Hollands’s pleading.
Rita took a deep breath in and Vi knew she had given in. “We’re having a party,” Rita told him. “We’ll look for your treasure together.”
The man’s eyes widened and he grabbed Rita’s hand, squeezing it too tightly. “Thank you. You’ll see. You’ll see, Rita. It’ll be just what I said. When?”
“Saturday. You can stay at Vi’s house.”
Vi shot Rita a dark look, which only made her laugh.
“Saturday!” He laughed and then hugged Rita. Her arms were sticking out from him as she avoided touching Hollands’s back. “Saturday!”
He turned and fled out the building.
“How did he know we were here?” Vi asked.
Rita shrugged.
“You realize that’s bothersome, right?”
“You realize you’re sensitive since Preston Bates.”
“Rightfully so,” Vi shot back, meeting Rita’s gaze stonily.
“Rightfully so,” Rita agreed. “Maybe we should be careful with him until we’re sure he’s just a foolish man who’s believed some fairy tale and not someone who will smother us in the dark in order to take credit for a mythical treasure hunt.”
The cozy tables in the darkened restaurant had been spread out to help with the heat, allowing the light breeze to circulate among the patrons, and though it wasn’t quite cool in the restaurant, it was better than Vi had imagined.
She sighed in sheer joy when they were led towards a table in the corner next to a window. “Bless your perfect heart,” Vi told Beatrice as she was seated in the corner, taking her glass of chilled champagne. They sipped their drinks and enjoyed the respite before their appetizers arrived, but then Hollands returned.
“Is it all right if I bring my brother?” he asked before being acknowledged.
Rita nodded with an exasperated air the man didn’t even notice.
He added, almost apologetically, “I have an investor.”
“To find treasure at my house?” Rita asked scathingly. “We might allow you to see the goblet. We might allow you to conduct your hunt, but bringing in a slew of investors to my home? That’s not something we’re discussing right now.”
A look of extreme distress and out and out poorly disguised frustration bordering on the edge of anger had Rita giving Hollands a challenging look. He faced off with her and then, as if understanding that she could ruin his plan only occurred to him at that moment, he struggled to put on a look of control.
“Ah,” he stuttered, “yes, of course. Of course.”
“What in the world?” Vi hissed to Beatrice despite the man’s presence.
Beatrice’s expression said she was still not surprised by Hollands.
Vi muttered, “How many times did he stop by the house?”
“So often Smith threatened him and then the man still came back.”
Vi’s gaze returned to the fellow and Rita. He was leaning down and talking rapidly and Rita finally lost her patience. “I’ve already invited you to the party this weekend,” she said with a warning note in her voice. “If you want to bring it up with Ham again, at that time, you can do so.”
A frustrated expression crossed his face once again, but Rita didn’t slow her tirade.
“I get you want to do your little treasure hunt. I get you want to use the goblet to do so. Maybe you even feel like the goblet is owed to you. I also understand that you didn’t win.”
“But the winner died,” Hollands shot out in a furious cough. “He died before the prizes were handed out.”
“Which doesn’t make you the winner,” Rita snapped. “I told you that you can discuss it again with Ham. Now leave me alone or I’ll remove that option as well and your invitation will be revoked.”
“I am dogged in pursuit of what I know is right. I will persevere in the face of any obstacle.” He intoned the words like a martyr facing death.
Vi bit down on her bottom lip but her laughter escaped regardless. Her brother was the devil, but she couldn’t wait to tell him about this day.
“I didn’t expect you to be like this,” the man hissed at Vi and then tried again for a conciliatory look. “Rita, you know me.”
“Come to the party,” she said. “Now go away. It’s too hot for this nonsense.”
The look he gave Vi and Beatrice could have killed them, but the look Rita gave him in return made it clear that he’d be lucky to be let into the house if he kept it up, so he spun on his heels and hurried away.
“What in the world?” Vi asked.
Beatrice leaned
