LOST TREASURE! BILLIONAIRE PROMISES MYSTERY REWARD
Yet another scoop by Camari Maharaj, age 13
CASANOVA SOUND - An heirloom diamond ring owned by technology heiress Genevieve Oglethorpe has been lost somewhere between Sunset Beach and Stingray Point. The elderly billionaire is calling all treasure hunters to help her recover the priceless possession.
“And don’t you dare call me elderly in your little paper,” Oglethorpe said via telephone from her sprawling oceanfront mansion. “I’ll bet you five thousand dollars I could swim to Lighthouse Key and back before you can even get your suit on.”
After informing Mrs. Oglethorpe that this reporter was, in fact, in a wheelchair, she replied, “Fair enough, kid–you get a ten second head start.”
About the missing ring, she had this to offer. “I was walking my dog Freckles in the morning like we always do. A good, long walk. The wonder-mutt barks at the fishermen. I pick up a bit of trash and look for new sea turtle nests.”
But when she returned home, Mrs. Oglethorpe realized the ring had slipped from her finger. “I never noticed it missing,” she said. “I went up and down the beach until dark–no dice. I could have lost it anywhere.”
But it’s not just any ring. Pictured below, the antique setting is dominated by a 3-carat natural blue diamond. While it’s never been appraised, diamonds of this cut and quality can fetch tens of thousands of dollars. In this case, perhaps even more.
“It’s from the same mine where they dug up the British crown jewels!” Oglethorpe offered. “My great grandad won it from the King of Australia in a poker game.”
This reporter mentioned that Australia has never had a king.
“Well, great grandad was a pretty good liar,” the spritely octogenarian replied.
Oglethorpe decided to wear the diamond that day for fashion reasons. “I just got Freckles a new collar. It’s blue with silver studs. Blue collar. Blue diamond. We were all matchy matchy,” she said.
But Freckles was the only one to come home with his bling, and now Mrs. Oglethorpe is asking the community for help. As for any reward, she’s playing it coy.
“That old ring is worth more to me than it is to anyone else,” she said. “Whoever finds it will be glad they brought it back and that’s ALL I care to say.”
Complicating any recovery effort is an active storm season, with Hurricane Saritza expected to pass just offshore as a Category 1 storm. Even the smallest amount of storm surge could wash the ring past the protected dunes or even further out to sea, significantly expanding the search area.
Asked if she would evacuate her beachfront mansion, Mrs. Oglethorpe replied, “For a Cat 1? Nah. I’ll just sip cocoa on the balcony. Now, how about we go for that swim?”
This reporter politely declined.
With Saritza looming, the safe bet is to avoid the beaches this weekend. But as soon as the threat passes, it will be open season on buried treasure.
…
The newspaper dropped next to my empty plate.
Over my shoulder I saw a grinning Lewis, complete with flowery apron and short stack of pancakes on a spatula.
“What’s this?” I asked, sensing some sort of evil step-dad trap.
“It’s got words on it, Noah,” Elle chimed in across from me, her pancake mountain engulfed in an avalanche of syrup and buttery goodness. “When you read words in order, they tell a story.”
“Ha ha.”
“This is your friend, right?” asked Lewis as he piled me up with pancakes. “She’s got another byline in the paper. And this one might be up your alley.”
Curiosity got the better of me, so I glanced down and scanned the headline.
Okay so that’s pretty cool, I thought.* Not that I was going to admit it to Lewis. Besides, treasure hunting had been our thing–mine and Dad’s. Off limits for the interloper.
I looked up to see Mom standing beside Lewis, one hand on his shoulder. She gave me a sad half smile, almost as if she wanted me to say ‘thank you’ or somehow acknowledge that I appreciated him trying to connect. Instead, I waved them both away like restaurant waiters and dove into the story.
Woah. WOAH. WOW!
In those next few minutes, my summer plans all came together. Find the diamond. Win the reward. Go down in history as the first person in Casanova Sound to discover a priceless treasure on our beaches.
The more I thought about the possibilities, the more excited I got. There was a lot to do and I’d need some help from my best friends.
And nothing was going to stop me, not even a hurricane.