Heather Graham_Bone Island Trilogy_02 Read online

  He tapped her shoulder.

  She looked at him and smiled, and returned to her task of shifting sand.

  Her heart skipped a beat and thundered. After several minutes, she touched something. Something hard.

  She turned. She could see Sean’s eyes behind his mask. He was staring at her with great concern. She caught his hand and brought it down to the sand.

  He felt what she felt. He still frowned, but he seemed incredulous, as well.

  He began working in the sand. She carefully set the shoulder strap of the camera around her and began to dig, as well.

  Whatever they had discovered, it was large. A fair amount of work brought them to realize that they had found the top of something. It was about five feet by three, and appeared to go deeply into the sand. With what they had—their hands—they weren’t going to be able to dig it out.

  Sean motioned to her that they needed to surface. She nodded.

  He went up first on the dive ladder; she knew that he did so should she need help with the weight of her tank. She was good, though, and seldom needed help, but she allowed him to steady her as she climbed up. Katie came aft where they stood, helping each other remove their tanks and vests.

  “I was about to come after you,” she said sternly. “David and Jay have been up—they’re in the cabin. David was convinced you knew your air consumption…. I guess you did.”

  “We found something,” Vanessa told Katie breathlessly.

  “What?” Katie asked.

  “Ah—something?” Sean said, smiling.

  “As in? A cannon? An anchor? A big fish?” Katie asked, exasperated.

  “I don’t know,” Sean said. He went over to the ice chest for water, brought out two and tossed one to Vanessa. “We have to go back down. I have two blowers. I don’t know if it will be enough, but it will definitely help. Whatever it is, it’s buried deep. I honestly think it’s a treasure chest. To the best of my knowledge, gold and jewels have been brought up many times, but treasure chests…I think only one or two have ever come up. This is buried. It’s like it sank into the sand, and because of that, it’s preserved. It’s the right size, and it seems that it was wood, covered in leather. I believe the leather is disintegrating, but the chest is very solid. Lead-lined maybe. I’ve got to tell David.” He paused, turned, took Vanessa’s cheeks between his hands and kissed her quickly on the lips.

  Katie stared with surprise.

  Sean, oblivious, headed for the cabin.

  Katie stared at Vanessa. “I guess you two are getting along all right.”

  Vanessa nodded. She felt something at her back and swung around, but no one was there. Katie, watching her, looked guilty suddenly.

  “Is everything all right?” Katie asked.

  “Yes, of course. This boat just gets…strange drafts, I guess,” she said.

  Katie gasped suddenly. “A treasure chest! Do you think he’s right?”

  Vanessa shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s something—it’s hard.”

  “How did you find it?”

  “Digging in the sand.”

  “How did you know where to dig in the sand?” Katie asked.

  “I don’t know. Something just led me there.”

  “Wow. Like…something led you to the mermaid pendant?”

  Vanessa shrugged, wishing that Katie wasn’t looking at her so probingly. “I don’t know—I really don’t.”

  Katie nodded, frowning. The three men appeared, coming from the cabin. “New tanks, all of us, and two blowers…if it’s heavy, we’re probably going to need some kind of winch and tackle,” David said.

  “I think we should go for it now,” Sean said. “This could be the find of the century. All right, the Atocha was probably the find of the century. But…no. We go for it now. We can set up a winch. We’re talking fifty feet down. I have enough rope to set up a winch. Katie may not be able to handle it alone…. Four of us will go down and set it—and someone will come back.”

  “We’ll take the blower first?” David asked.

  Sean grinned. “Yeah—we’ll make sure we do have something,” he said. “But we do. I know we do. The pendant Vanessa found was real—it belonged to Dona Isabella. Jaden said it’s a beautiful piece. I don’t know exactly what we’ve got—or what Vanessa has. Rule of thumb is twenty-five percent to the state, but every find is subject to maritime law, and we are in Florida waters. Let’s go down—” He paused. “Vanessa? You good for a second dive?”

  “Of course.”

  Sean secured his portable blowers and checked that they were clean and ready for use, murmuring that it had been a long time since he’d had them out.

  Within minutes, they were diving in, one by one, David and Sean carrying the handheld blowers, which looked like vacuum cleaners. Sean had a keen sense of direction and led the way, never glancing at his compass. When they reached the object, David and Jay ran their hands over it.

  Sean motioned Jay and Vanessa out of the way and he and David went to work on opposite sides of the object. Little by little, they began to create wedges.

  Sand flew in a fury.

  Then both turned the blowers off and waited. Sand settled.

  And there it was. It still needed a great deal of digging to come free, but it was evident that they had indeed made a discovery.

  It was a chest. A pirate’s chest.

  A treasure chest.

  8

  David wound up working with Katie on deck. Vanessa helped, but Jay and Sean seemed to have a system for rigging the rope around the chest, and she hovered within easy call if they beckoned for her assistance. Eventually, the sand was dug out enough; rope was gotten around the chest, and Sean tugged on the rope, letting David know it was time to work the winch.

  They guided the chest as it began a slow and careful ascent to the surface.

  When they breached the water, there were several hectic moments as they moved as quickly as they could to board the boat, shed their gear and guide the heavy chest aboard, as well.

  When they were finished, they all collapsed on the deck. Jay began to laugh; it was contagious. Then there were high fives all around, and David went down and broke out the beer.

  “Not to ruin this party, but we still don’t know what we have,” Katie pointed out.

  “True,” Sean said. He ruffled his sister’s hair. “It’s treasure. Come on, be a ray of sunshine, huh?”

  “I’m not so sure I like treasure,” Katie said, frowning. “Well, it’s Vanessa’s treasure.”

  Vanessa shook her head. “It’s a group treasure, whatever it is!” she said.

  “You found it,” Katie reminded her.

  Sean had gone to the chest. The old, encrusted lock that held it closed was firmly in place. It seemed to be sealed as tightly as if the long-ago owners had welded it shut.

  “We can break the lock, but I don’t think that’s going to help. The damned thing is heavy as hell—and it looks like they might have welded it or something. They wanted it to be sealed, watertight,” he said.

  “We can take it to Jaden and Ted. They’ll know the best thing to do,” David said.

  “They’ll know, yes,” Katie said. “And we should be getting back in. We’re going to lose the sun any minute. And I have to go to work.”

  Sean smiled. “Are you afraid of the dark, Katie? You never were. Work! You work all the time. You can be a little late. This is a treasure chest.”

  “Yes. I know it’s a chest. I’m so excited. But we’re not going to open it here,” Katie said.

  Vanessa realized that she, too, wanted to be back onshore. There was something about the trunk that suddenly made her feel uncomfortable. It was wet, dark with age, still covered in sand, but the lock, encrusted, seemed somehow ominous. She felt ridiculously superstitious. Someone had locked the trunk carefully. They had sealed it.

  For a reason.

  What the hell was in it?

  Yes, it did look like it belonged in a Robert Louis Stevens
on novel. Or in Mel Fisher’s museum. It was dome-topped and handsome, even in its current state. Maybe it was just the way Katie was acting.

  Vanessa wished that she had never found it.

  The strangest thing was that she wasn’t certain she felt the same way as Katie. Katie seemed scared. Vanessa wasn’t certain that she was scared. Yes, yes, she was scared. The chest was…

  An instrument…of something else?

  Ridiculous. None of them even knew what was in it.

  “We’ll head in right now,” Sean assured his sister. He seemed puzzled by her reaction and paused to give her a hug. “It may be treasure,” he said.

  “And it may not,” she told him. She waved a hand in the air. “Maybe it’s documents. A captain’s log, something like that.”

  “To me, that would be a greater treasure,” Sean said.

  “Pieces of paper?” Jay queried glumly.

  Sean laughed. “Come on, you must know the value of that kind of paper.”

  “Yeah. Historic!” Jay said. “I say it’s going to be pieces of eight! Gold and silver ingots. We know the Santa Geneva sank there. And she had come from Columbia to Cuba—and to Key West to bring Dona Isabella and others back to Spain. There had to have been great treasures on the ship!”

  “I say that it’s going to be gold and silver because the damned thing is heavy as hell,” Sean said.

  Katie moved back by Vanessa. She waved a hand in the air. “Boys, boys! Bring this boat back in—or I’ll take the helm!”

  Sean grinned at her and started the engines.

  Vanessa glanced at her. “He doesn’t want you driving his boat?”

  “Oh, he’d let me, but I hit the dock once. It was rather an expensive error,” Katie said. She tried to grin. The grin failed.

  Sean, David and Jay remained excited. Sean was at the helm, but David and Jay hovered with him. They gestured as they spoke, all enthusiastic.

  Vanessa jumped off the boat quickly to help with the ties when they arrived at the dock. By then, she didn’t even want to be on the boat with the chest. It was ridiculous, but she felt uneasy. It was so stupid! She didn’t usually let herself behave so ridiculously. Even when they had found the bodies of Travis and Georgia…or what had remained of them, she hadn’t been uneasy. She had been horrified, and then angry. They had been so young. They had been so cruelly robbed of their lives. And someone was getting away with it.

  She was tired. Certainly, that was it.

  As if reading her mind, Sean looked over at her. “You all right?”

  She nodded. “Hey—I’m going to run back to the inn and get the rest of my things.”

  “I’ll meet you there.”

  “Are you two coming by tonight?” Katie asked. “I’m going to change for work.”

  “I’ll be home soon,” David promised, pausing to kiss her, smiling and smoothing her hair back.

  “Boys, boys—take your time. Vanessa and I will be fine,” Katie assured him. She looked at Vanessa. “We can walk part of the way together.”

  “Perfect,” Vanessa said.

  She was on the dock; Sean was on the boat. He smiled at her. “I won’t be all that long, really. I’ll come to the inn and get you. We definitely need a big drink at ye olde family bar tonight!”

  She was glad to see him so enthusiastic.

  Jay was staring at her, too. He gave her a thumbs-up, glad because she was proving that the two of them were worth something.

  “What do you think our problem is?” Vanessa asked Katie as they started toward Front Street.

  “I don’t know—weird, isn’t it? I was as excited as anyone when we started—then it came aboard. Creepy. Hey, we are probably idiots. If that thing is filled with treasure, even after the state gets hold of it, we’ll be in nice shape.”

  “Katie, all of us are working. None of us is desperate for a treasure. Okay, maybe Jay. He went through a serious funk after…after everything with the movie went so badly. He didn’t work a lot. I think he’s been working lately, but…not doing what he wants. Underwater weddings, scuba trips…just enough to keep going. He thought we would have been in the big bucks once the movie went to a distributor. But then it was all so horrible…”

  “Well, we’ll leave it to the boys,” Katie said, rolling her eyes. “And Jaden and Ted have worked with some of the most amazing finds. Treasure after treasure. They’ll get it unsealed without compromising anything. Now, that is amazing! Sealed and preserved. We need to be happy.”

  “Sure,” Vanessa said. She wrinkled her face in perplexity and stopped to stare at Katie. “It’s absurd. I was excited. Now I’m not. What made the difference?”

  “I don’t know…I don’t know. Maybe we should go back tomorrow to see Marty—he’ll be getting his shows going and all by now. We’ll get him to talk about Dona Isabella. Maybe that will help us somehow.”

  “I did a lot of research—I was nuts about the legend. It was so tragic. I’m not sure what else Marty can tell us,” Vanessa said.

  “Can’t hurt, right?” Katie said.

  “Can’t hurt,” Vanessa agreed.

  She was surprised when Katie wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. “Sorry—goose bumps. I’m glad Sean is coming back for you.”

  “I’d be fine,” Vanessa said. She was glad, too.

  “Come into Katie-oke. That’ll make you feel normal!” Katie assured her.

  Vanessa nodded. She and Katie hugged quickly, then went their separate ways.

  She was glad to head down Duval. The tourists and bright lights helped her shake her feelings of unease.

  She was surprised when she hesitated as she neared her inn and decided she’d like a break instead of going right inside.

  She walked onto the patio restaurant next to the shop and decided that she’d like one drink. There was a small empty table and she sat at it. Despite the fact that it was busy, a waitress came her way fairly quickly, and she opted for a whiskey with cola.

  Her drink came and she sipped it, watching the activity. Yes, Pirates in Paradise was happening. A trio, dressed as pirates, was playing back at the small bandstand.

  She smiled, closed her eyes for a moment and sipped her drink. She opened her eyes, feeling more relaxed and focused on taking in her environment.

  The next table was filled with would-be pirates. It was fun to see the different ensembles. Women were fond of the corsets—which could be bought on Front Street or on the grounds of Fort Taylor. The skirts were in a multitude of colors and lengths. Despite the fact that Key West pirates most often appeared to be very authentic, a few women were in short, sexy costumes from well-known short, sexy costume manufacturers.

  Some wore them better than others.

  Everyone seemed to have a good time, though.

  As she casually surveyed a group at a nearby table, a woman turned toward her.

  She was a wench.

  A well-done wench.

  She was a pretty woman with strawberry-blond hair that was wild and curled down her back. She wore no hat of any kind. Her blouse, beneath her corset, was billowing and a shade of off-white that looked to be unbleached cotton. Her skirt was long, but with ties that could hike it up so that it wouldn’t constantly sweep the ground.

  She looked a bit tired, a bit worn.

  And she looked right at Vanessa.

  Vanessa smiled in return.

  The woman’s mouth moved as she spoke. She was saying something to Vanessa. The beat to “Joy to the World” was pounding in the distance, and there was a great deal of conversation and laughter all around them.

  And yet Vanessa thought that she heard her.

  “It’s not what it seems. Help me, I’ll help you.”

  She was a stranger; it couldn’t be what she was saying. Frowning, Vanessa rose, ready to walk over to the woman and introduce herself, prove that she was saying something else.

  She stood. A heavyset man in a giant frock coat walked between the tables.

  Vanessa knew
that he didn’t see her; politely, she gave way.

  But as she headed for the other table, she stopped. The chair where the strawberry blonde had been sitting was empty.

  Vanessa looked around; she had to be somewhere nearby.

  She would just ask the people where their friend had gone. The chair she had vacated was quickly filled by the man in the giant frock coat. She approached the group, who looked at her with friendly smiles.

  “Hello?” said one of the women, her smile open and generous.

  “Hi, all. You look great,” Vanessa told them.

  “Thank you,” the man in the giant frock coat said. He stood. “Care to join us? This is great for us—we’re having the time of our lives. Jessy—that’s my wife over there—teaches high school history, so for history buffs, this is just cool.”

  “Can we get you a drink?” another woman asked politely. “I’m Gena, Jessy’s sister.”

  Introductions went around.

  “No, thank you so much on the drink. Actually, I was looking for your friend. She was trying to tell me something, and I couldn’t hear her,” Vanessa explained.

  “Our friend?” Jessy asked. “We’re all here. Oh, I mean, we’re meeting all kinds of new friends—this is like grown-up costume-party fun right along with a fabulous learning experience! Like minds and all that. But…our whole group is here.”

  “There was a woman…sitting here,” Vanessa said. “A strawberry blonde.”

  They all stared at her.

  “Oh!” Gena said suddenly. “I think I might know who you mean, but I’m afraid she isn’t our friend.”

  “Who are you talking about?” her sister asked.

  “Oh, she was around… I don’t know who she is,” Gena explained. “But she sure looked great! Kind of like a prostitute of old. I saw her, but she wasn’t one of our friends.”

  “She was sitting right here,” Vanessa said.

  They all looked at her blankly, probably regretting that they had asked her over.

  At least Gena had seen the woman, too.

  She smiled and rose. “Ah, well, I must have been mistaken. Thank you—and have a wonderful time!”

  They assured her that they would.

  Vanessa turned around, returned quickly to her own table and set money on her check. She picked up her drink, drained it and left. She really needed to wash off the salt. She wanted to shower.