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it by now?”
    “Treasures are still being discovered every day, Marcy.” He looked up at me. “Oh, I see what you’re saying. You’re thinking I’m too old to be searching the seas for treasure.”
    “I’m not saying that at all. I just don’t think it’s the solution to your current problem.”
    “It couldn’t hurt. Adam and Mary are always fighting about money. There’s never enough. He thinks she mismanages it, but she does the best she can.” He smiled sadly. “I am old. And I’m out of ideas. But I’ve been in touch with a treasure hunter, and he thinks there could be something of the
Delia
left for us to find. As late as July of 2010, gold coins and a bronze cannon from a 1715 shipwreck were found off the coast of Florida.”
    “But, Mr. Cantor, you and Mary and Melanie need to get to safety now. You can
still
locate the treasure,” I said. “Take the tapestry with you.”
    “And let someone
steal
it from me at that
homeless
shelter? Steal the tapestry
and
the treasure?” He shook his head in obvious alarm.
    “Then give it to someone you trust to hold on to it . . . your attorney, maybe. Or put it in a safe – deposit box.”
    He sighed. “They want to leave, don’t they? Mary and Melanie, I mean.”
    I nodded. “They want to do it today . . . and they want you to go with them, Mr. Cantor. In fact, they won’t leave without you. They’re afraid for you to stay here with your son alone.”
    “I’m getting what I deserve,” he said, his rheumy eyes filling with tears. “I did Adam wrong all those years ago when I divorced his mother. Then his mother married a man who was harsh with Adam. I later tried to make it up to him, but for the longest time, Adam wouldn’t have anything to do with me. And who could blame him?” He lowered his head. “This treasure could be the answer to my prayers. It could let me get my daughter-in-law and my grandchild to a safer place, and then Adam would see what he was missing. He’d understand what he’s been doing to them. And then I could convince him to let me get him some help.”
    I patted his hand. “I hope you do find that treasure, Mr. Cantor.”
    “Will you help me?” he asked, raising his eyes to mine.
    “If I can,” I said.
    “Will you take the tapestry somewhere safe for me? If you’ll take it to the bank, or to the police station—anywhere they’ll put it under lock and key, I’ll go. Then when Mary, Melanie, and I get to a safe place, you can get it back for me. What do you say?”
    How could I say
no
?

Chapter Four
    W e still had a little time before any of us had to be at work, so Reggie, Audrey, and I went to MacKenzies’ Mochas. Keira seated us—which made me uncomfortable since she despised me—and took our orders. I requested my usual low-fat vanilla latte with a dash of cinnamon, Reggie ordered a cappuccino, and Audrey went with Colombian dark roast coffee with cream and sugar.
    As soon as Keira had sauntered away from our table, I leaned in so I could lower my voice. “Do you think they’ll go through with it? I’m still afraid Mr. Cantor might back out at the last minute.”
    “Well, Manu said he’d send two plainclothes deputies in an unmarked car to pick Mr. Cantor up first,” Reggie said quietly. “The officers will take him to the men’s shelter before going to pick Mary up at work. From there, they’ll take Mary and collect Melanie from school.”
    “Mary did say she’d take an early lunch so she can come home and pack up some things for herself and Melanie, right?” Audrey asked.
    “Right.” Reggie sighed. “Mr. Cantor was supposed to start packing as soon as we left.”
    “I think he will,” I said. “He’s kinda like a little boy, though. He made me promise to hold on to that tapestry he had and not to show it to anyone. He thinks it’s a treasure map and that it’ll lead to enough money to fix all his family’s financial problems.” I looked up to see Keira standing there with our