I gave myself a mental shake and focused on the paper in my hand. There would be time to reminisce later, hopefully over a decent bottle of wine, with both my father and Violet. Now, it was on to business.

The map was a crude depiction of the coast of Spain. A small chain of islands in the south noted as Las Islas Canarias were circled and there was an X marked directly to the east of these islands. This map wasn’t much help. She hadn’t even marked the longitude or latitude lines. Cursing at Violet’s pithy cartography skills, I noticed some scribbling at the bottom of the page.

It read: “James, sorry for the poor quality of this copy. The original map was not much better! Rumor suggests that the galleon containing the treasure sank east of the Canary Islands. I suspect Esteban will know more.Violet.“

Who was Esteban? A sudden stab of jealousy caught my breath. Ignoring it, I concentrated on the map. I wondered if my father had seen the map or read her note. If anyone could figure it out, it was him.