The Buried Treasure (3) - Solving the puzzle

John Brown was flabbergasted. He looked at his wife and asked:

“Do you mean you doubt they were federal agents, Dorothy?”

Mrs. Brown, who liked to dot the i's and cross the t's, replied:

“They obviously were two opportunistic members of the underworld who had been informed by bent cops of your discovery and took advantage of your honesty, dear.”

“What puzzles me is the map I found in the shed. It was lying on the floor and, though everyone was telling me that it was the work of a prankster, it proved to be genuine and led me to the buried loot.”

Nothing fazed Dot who believed in puzzles and quizzes and so she put her brain in motion to solve the conundrum.

She reckoned that the explanation for the map was simple.

John's allotment consisted of many raised beds, therefore it was safe to assume the the map was to trace the actual spot where the money had been buried when the perpetrators would come to dig it out.

Satisfied that she was on the right track, she continued to ruminate. Who could have committed the deed and where had the money come from?

It dawned on her that five years earlier her husband had been unable to tend the plot as he was recovering in hospital from appendicitis and a couple from the gardening society had kindly offered to look after it until John was fit once again.

They had kept the vegetable patch in shipshape and the Browns had been very grateful.

Dorothy had not seen them for a long time and seemed to remember they had left the village. She would ask Shirley, the local librarian if she knew of their whereabouts.

#

“Oh yes”, Shirley told her, “it caused quite a sensation at the time. She worked at an incinerator where they burnt old banknotes and was systematically helping herself by stuffing bundles of money in her bra. She wouldn't have been discovered if her husband had refrained from spending lavishly and causing suspicion.”

“They must have got their just desserts”, remarked Dorothy.

“They certainly did, my dear Dot; they got five years and with any luck, they may be out in less for good behaviour. But, mark my word, I would not be surprised if the stash that your John found is not part of their misappropriation.”

#

Not far away the gates of the coed, minimum security, Bushgate Prison shut behind two released prisoners who had served their sentences, a wizened old man and his elderly wife. 

 “I can't wait for the time when we can go and dig our nest egg”, he whispered”.

A car was waiting for them.  “Oh, thank goodness our Jill is here”, he sighed.

A girl, with a somber expression, walked towards them waving a newspaper with a bold headline.

© Luigi Pagano 2023

previously:

https://www.abctales.com/story/luigipagano/buried-treasure

https://www.abctales.com/story/luigipagano/buried-treasure-2-ill-gotten-...