"WELL, HELLO, PRINCESS," JJ GREETED WHEN HE SAW SARAH. They were all lounging in chairs and on couches on the porch at the Chateau when she pulled up.

As the rest of the Pogues greeted her politely, John B was very bitter about it. "Shouldn't you be on Figure Eight with your little group of polo players? Or did you break up with Topper?"

"We're just friends," she informed him with a sarcastic smile."

John B breathed out, clearly not believing it, "He's just a friend. You have a lot of friends, Sarah Cameron. All right, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here for Pope," she sighed, and everyone furrowed their eyebrows, including the Heyward boy as she turned to him. She and Pope did not seem to be very close, at least not as close as she was with everyone else, so what did she want with him? All of their eyes widened when she announced to them, "I think I found the island room."

So, they hopped in the Twinkie and started on their way to the Camerons' house.

"Guys, listen to this," Pope told them as he flipped through the pages of Denmark Tanny's diary, reading what the man wrote to see if it gave them any more clues. "The diary says the cross holds the most holy relic in all of Christendom, the Garment of the Savior."

"So wait, he's saying there's a holy garment inside the cross?" Bree questioned leaning over to see if she could read or see the pictures over Pope's shoulder.

The Heyward boy nodded before elaborating, "Yeah. It says the garment is capable of healing the sick from any malady."

"Mmm, yeah. 'If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well,'" JJ quoted, and that made everyone in the vehicle whip their heads toward him in confusion, wondering how in the hell he knew that or if he just made it up. "What? I went to Sunday school."

"Well, that explains why Limbrey would want the cross so bad. She thinks it can heal her," Pope suggested after nodding slowly at the Maybank boy's comment.

The Carrera girl raised her eyebrows at him and asked, "What else does it say?"

"'Many feel that we have sinned to steal such a sacred thing, and God will strike His vengeance on us,'" Pope read out, and Bree's eyes widened when she remembered that the ship sank.

Kie, clearly thinking the same thing, said, "Thing is, God did have His vengeance."

"He sent a hurricane to sink the ship," Pope added in agreement as he leaned back against his seat and looked back up at his friends. "Only Denmark survived."

"Whoa! You've got to be kidding me," Pope breathed out once they entered the room in Sarah's house that she claimed to be the Island Room.

The wallpaper in the room had been torn off mostly to reveal a mural type thing that covered all of the walls. It did not take very long to realize that the paintings each represented a location in the Outer Banks.

"Yeah. I know, right? It's the island room," Sarah responded, standing back while the rest of them examined the walls. "It's been here this whole time."

As he pushed past the girl that he used to be married to — Bree was not totally sure about the current status of their marriage — John B muttered, "This is incredible. Yo, this is a map of the whole island."

"Yeah, John B, I think you're right because this is Rixon's right here," the blonde boy pointed out, specifically to the Callaway girl standing next to them. He ran his finger along the pictures on the wall as he spoke. "And then, there's the lighthouse."

"Guys, look, Parcel 9 and the well," Kie informed them, pointing to a spot on the wall beside her.

John B nodded at each of them before rushing over to a spot on the opposite wall as JJ and Bree. "So, if that's Parcel , and then if that's Rixon's, then that's gotta be the surf break at Mase."

"Right. And look. Pope, come here. This is Denmark's handwriting for sure," the Maybank boy told them, waving the Heyward boy over and pointing to some writing below the painting that John B was pointing at. Bree leaned over his shoulder so that she could see as well.

"The drawings, they match up," Pope exclaimed as he held up the diary to the drawing to compare them. He turned around with a smile. "Holy shit. Denmark, you genius! These are all his drawings. He... he painted this entire room." He looked at Sarah with raised eyebrows. "How did you know to uncover this?"

"I didn't. It was like this when I got home," the blonde girl answered after shaking her head.

The brunette girl furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. That was really weird, and it was kind of scary how not concerned that Sarah was about the fact that someone tore up her house and she had no clue who it was. "Okay, then who did it?"

"I don't know," the Cameron girl responded with a shrug.

All of a sudden, a voice behind them answered their question — well, kind of — causing them all to jump. "The freaks."

"Wheeze!" Sarah exclaimed as the rest of the group jumped and gasped.

Once they realized that it was just the young girl and really processed what she said, they all furrowed their eyebrows as JJ questioned, "What freaks are we talking about, Wheeze?"

"Uh... that sick lady and her attack dog," the girl answered before elaborating. "They...they showed up last night, and they wanted to talk to Rafe."

"Wait, pale blonde lady with crutches?" Bree questioned with raised eyebrows, and they all looked at each other with knowing looks when Wheezie nodded.

Pope said, "It's gotta be Limbrey."

"What happened?" John B questioned, which was something they all wanted to know. Bree was wondering how they figured out that this was the island room and not just some random room if the wallpaper was covered up.

"First, they searched the whole house looking for something, and then Rafe told me to go upstairs. But I didn't wanna miss out, so I listened through the grate," the young Cameron girl explained before adding, "And they were talking about getting across the sand flamingo."

JJ muttered, "That's code for something."

"The cross. The Cross of Santo Domingo?" Pope quizzed in realization, and they all nodded along, figuring that that was probably more likely than Limbrey talking about crossing the sand flamingo.

"Yeah, that's it," Wheezie responded, and then she remembered something else that they had said. "Oh, and they were talking about angels. A lot of angel talk. I don't know."

The Heyward boy deciphered that quickly. "Guys, Denmark's famous last words. He buried the real treasure at the foot of the angel. They're looking for an angel. We have to find the angel in the room."

"Start looking," the Callaway girl told them, gesturing for them to spread out. Everyone started talking at once, and nothing was making any sense. Bree could barely make out what each person was saying as she examined all of the walls for something that might be an angel.

"Hey, guys, I think I found something. Come here," the Maybank boy called to them, and they all gathered around him to see that he was staring at a tree. "This humongous tree is still on Goat Island. You know what it's called?"

Pope answered, "Angel Oak."

"Look there. There's the keyhole." The blonde boy pointed at a hole in the tree that was shaped like a keyhole.

"That means the cross is buried at the foot of the angel," the Heyward boy informed them, backing away from the wall and walking toward the door while everyone else followed him. "Wow, that must be where he put it. That must be where they are right now! We have to go!"

Very proud of himself for figuring that out, JJ told them, "I think I'm Sherlock Holmes, all right? You're welcome by the way." Bree smiled from the doorway since he was the only one still in the room with Wheezie. She gestured for him to move.

"Yeah. Let's go, Sherlock."

《✵》

"GUYS, WE'RE COMING UP ON FREEDMAN'S CHURCH." They were in the Twinkie, headed to the Angel Oak tree, and Pope was being their lovely tour guide. "The church Denmark built for all the slaves he freed."

They could see the tree that they were heading toward, and as they drove through the woods, they had to stop because part of the road was covered in water. John B exclaimed, "Oh, shit! Tide's coming in."

"Hey, wait a second. Look. They already came through here. Those have to be Limbrey's tire tracks. Guys, we gotta go," Pope urged them, pointing to the tire tracks in front of their vehicle.

"Mmm, what do you think, chief?" JJ questioned, looking over to his best friend that was sitting in the driver's seat next to him.

The Routledge boy responded, examining the water in front of them and trying to decide whether they would make it through or not, "I'm thinking it's looking a little dicey."

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with that statement."

Since the tire tracks went all the way through the water and to the other side, Kie pointed out, "Okay, clearly, they made it. No?"

"In a two-wheel drive?" the Maybank boy questioned with raised eyebrows, looking between the girl and the road. "I don't know about that."

"Why are y'all acting like you're not gonna do it anyways? Like when have y'all ever done the safe thing?" Sarah asked, and she had a point. The two Pogue boys that were sitting at the front of the car did have a tendency to do the dangerous thing.

Bree nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I don't know why you're even considering it."

"She's got a point," JJ said, and John B nodded before preparing himself to make the drive. "Speed is your friend here, okay? So, put her down in second and hammer down, brother."

"All right, ready? Here we go," John B announced to them, and then he floored the gas and they went speeding through the water, the whole car rocking as they went.

JJ was guiding him through the whole thing. "Come on. Punch it. Speed is your friend. You're not going fast enough."

"Not to put any more pressure on you, but if you don't make it through, we'll be stuck here forever," Pope informed his friend, sticking his head between the two, only for it to be pushed back by the brunette boy.

They continued to all yell at each other, but they finally made it all the way through. They started cheering as the Routledge boy breathed out. "I told you we'd make it."

"All right, right here. That's good. Angel Oak is right through here," the blonde boy told them as they climbed out of the car and started to push through the branches of the woods and in the direction of the tree. "All right, so word to the wise, definitely know that gators nest back here, so keep your eyes peeled, okay? You don't wanna step on a mama gator. That's the last thing you want. All right. You don't wanna be a Pat Womack. She had her calf chewed off by a gator, right? You know that, right?"

"That's actually not true. Pat Womack was injured in a car accident, but I hear you," Kiara corrected him, but they all got the point. Don't get attacked by a gator.

"Okay, just live in ignorance. But like, she had her calf chewed off by a mama gator. I know that for a fact. They like the brackish water. Wait. Hold on. I see something," he was rambling until he paused when they reached the water. He grabbed a stick nearby and whacked the water with it.

Bree exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Right. Wake them up. That's smart," Sarah mumbled sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the boy's antics.

"I was just making sure it wasn't a gator," he replied frustratedly. "That's all, all right?"

Pope shushed them all of a sudden when he heard voices. They crept over to a bush and crouched behind it to see Limbrey, her blonde goon, Rafe, and a couple other men digging in front of the tree. The Pogues watched as they dug for a second before they hit something.

Bree's eyes widened, and she strained her neck so that she could see what it was. All she could see was a sliver of a wooden surface. Limbret noticed it as well because she ordered the men to pull the object up by hand. They followed the orders and revealed that what they had hit was a casket. Limbrey got all excited, and she demanded that they opened it. When they did so, her hopeful face fell.

It was part of a skeleton.

The woman got all upset and insisted that they go back to the Island Room because she was sure that they had missed something. Once they left, Pope did not hesitate to rush over to the open coffin, despite his friends' protests. "Pope. Pope, wait. Wait! Shit. Wait, wait. Yo." He stopped when he reached it and stared down at the skeleton inside. Her crouched down and squinted at the faded inscription on the inside so that he could figure out who it was.

"Cecilia Tanny, Denmark's wife. He wasn't talking about the cross. He buried her at the foot of the angel. The true treasure. His wife," they Heyward boy breathed out in realization, and despite the situation, Bree could not help but smile because of how sweet that was. "Denmark was hung for burying his wife, and now they defiled her grave." Pope was starting to sniffle and cry as they all crouched with him.

"This must have been from Denmark. Her wedding ring," Sarah told them, and Bree looked over to thee that she was wiping off a golden ring. The blonde girl looked up at John B, and they shared a sad look because the ring reminded them of their marriage.

The Callaway girl placed a comforting hand on Pope's arm and rubbed up and down as he whispered to them, "We can't leave her like this."

"We won't," she assured him, and the other guys got to work. They placed the top back on the casket and hammered it back in place. Pope placed flowers on the top before they lowered it back into the ground and buried it once again.

As JJ finished up, Pope started sputtering out, "I just don't get it. I mean, you guys saw the map. He hides his gold so no one finds it for years. And then he sends a message to his son Robert to come here to his mother's grave, but the message never gets to him. Denmark wanted him to find the cross. I know we're in the right spot. It just feels like–"

"Like we missed something?" the Maybank boy cut him off, causing them al to turn and look at him as he dropped the shovel and climbed on top of the Twinkie, pointing at a hole in the tree. Bree climbed up behind him as he pointed out, "That looks like—"

"The painting in the island room," Kie finished for him.

"It's worth a shot, right?" he questioned, and when they all agreed, he gestured to Bree for her to stick her hand in the hole. "Go for it."

She shook her head. "No way. That's not happening. I went with you to try to bust John B out of jail. You owe me for that."

"She has a point. You do owe her," the Routledge boy said in agreement.

The blonde boy rolled his eyes, getting ready to stick his hand in the hole before pausing. Even though they already knew, Kie informed all of them, "He's scared."

"You seem scared," the brunette girl agreed despite his protests. Finally, he just shut up and plunged his arm into the hole. It was a lot deeper than they all expected it to be.

"There's something in here," he informed them after feeling around for a second. "Wait."

Suddenly, he started screaming like he had been attacked by something, and Bree's stomach dropped. She grabbed his waist and began pulling at him while everyone else screamed. They were about the yank him out when he just started laughing, and realization crossed all of their faces. Bree hit him in the side angrily. "I hate you, you asshole."

"Yeah, real original," Pope added as the rest of them rolled their eyes and groaned.

"Oh, man! I got all of you on that one," the blonde boy laughed out like it was the funniest thing in the world. Then, he got serious again — well, as serious as JJ could be. "Wait, but seriously, there's something in here."

The boy pulled out some sort of tube, and Pope held his hand out for it and started reading an inscription on it. "Let me see it. HMS Royal Merchant."

"Give it to the captain. Here we go. It's a spyglass," the Maybank boy informed them, grabbing it and extending it as he looked through one of the ends.

John B and Pope grabbed it from him, and the brunette boy pointed at something on the end. "An inscription right there. Look at that shit. Oh, what does it say?"

"You've come this far. Do not falter. The cross is on the Freedman's altar,'" Pope read out, and a smile crossed his face as he laughed. "'Freedman's altar.' The cross is at the church!"