HILL OUT, COOP!”

Tension drained from me. I knew that voice.

Shelton approached, careful to let the wolfdog recognize him. Though still a puppy, at sixty pounds Coop could do serious damage.

“Easy, boy.” I scratched doggy ears. “He’s one of us.”

Coop finally caught Shelton’s scent, yapped, and wagged his tail.

“He’s becoming quite the guard dog,” Shelton said. “Good thing we’re tight.”

Coop rushed forward and planted his forepaws on Shelton’s chest.

“Okay, okay!” Shelton struggled to keep his balance. “I missed you, too!” I clicked my tongue. Coop spun back to my side, then scuttled off in search of more crabs.

“What’s happening?” Me. False cheerful.

“Something wrong?” Shelton. Not buying it.

“I had a fight with Kit. And yes, it was my fault.”

“It’s eggshells at my house, too. My parents are so stressed, barely anyone talks.”

“Is that why you’re out here?”

“Naw, I came to find you. Your dad said you’d taken Coop for a walk.”

“Well, here I am.”

Coop’s route took us back toward the docks. We trailed along, letting the wolfdog set the pace.

“What’d you and Kit fight about?” Shelton asked.

“Moving.” I sighed. “He keeps mentioning job offers in different places. I know it’s not true, but sometimes it feels like Kit doesn’t even care about my feelings. So I lost my temper and blasted him. I won’t be winning Daughter of the Year this time around.”

We walked a few more yards in silence.

“I can’t stop worrying about Whisper and the other Loggerhead animals. That island is a special place. Selling it to developers would be criminal.”

“Remember when Hi sat on that anthill near Dead Cat Beach?” Shelton chuckled. “Sucked to be him. The welts didn’t go down for a week.”

I giggled. “Almost as funny as Ben getting chased by those monkeys.”

“Good times,” Shelton said. “Good times.” His voice was softer this time.

More quiet paces. Thoughts of Loggerhead saddened me now.

I changed the subject. “What did you want to tell me?”

“Oh, right! I found something online,” Shelton said. “Anne Bonny–wise.”

“Super.” Stuck in a funk, I couldn’t get excited. After my argument with Kit, searching for treasure seemed so juvenile.

But Shelton was pumped enough for both of us.

“I was bored, so I started googling names and phrases. Anne Bonny, treasure maps, whatever I could think of. For an hour, nothing but wasted time. Then I scored this baby!”

Shelton held up what I guessed was a printout.

“It’s too dark,” I said. “What is it?”

“An ad. A pawnbroker in North Charleston is selling a box of pirate artifacts.”

“That’s it?” Shelton’s naïveté surprised me. A pawnshop listing?

“Of course not. This seller claims the collection includes papers belonging to Anne Bonny!”

“And you believe it?”

Shelton nodded. I think.

“Wait a second. Where in North Charleston are we talking about?”

“Well, not the best part,” Shelton admitted. “Myers.”

“Myers.” One of the roughest neighborhoods in the area. Maybe the country.

“It can’t be that bad,” Shelton muttered. “We can go during the day.”

“Let me get this straight.” I stopped walking. “You want to visit a Myers pawnshop because of an ad for ‘pirate artifacts’ that mentions Anne Bonny? Seriously?”

“I haven’t told you everything.”

“All ears.”

“Come over by the light.” Shelton hurried toward the dock with me trailing behind.

“Notice anything?” Shelton shoved the paper into my hand.

I skimmed. The print was hard to make out in the dim glow. The listing looked like any other classified ad. Authentic pirate collection. Rare papers. Anne Bonny. Priceless. Historical. Yadda yadda yadda.

I was about to quit when I caught it.

“Oh.”

“Oh is right,” Shelton said. “Think maybe we should check that out?”

“Yes. Yes I do.”

A rectangular border surrounded the ad, each corner embellished with a corny illustration. Skull and crossbones. Dagger. Treasure chest. Standard stuff.

Except for the image in the lower right.

That corner was decorated with a cross. Tall and thin, ringed, and oddly shaped, with the upper tine curving to the right.

“Where have we seen that before?” Shelton crowed.

Our high five echoed far out over the water.