Hidden Agemda (Kate Diamond Adventure) (17 page)

“Oh.” Kate hadn’t thought about that … good thing she had Gideon to back her up.

Vic continued. “And he gave me the coordinates for this island. Gertie has them programmed in.”

“Anyone want a sandwich?” Carlotta had come in and was standing in front of the open fridge.
 

“Umm … Maybe we should come up with a plan.” Kate looked out the window. They were going pretty fast and would be at the island soon, a plan of action was critical.

“Oh, yeah. We already discussed it. Gideon said the best place to land was the east side of the island. Gertie picked this spot here.” Vic walked over to the dinette and pointed to a spot on the map that lay on the table. “We’ll split up and search in different directions to cover the most ground, then rendezvous back in two hours and reassess.”

“Okay. That sounds good,” Kate said feeling a little left out. Wasn’t this
her
mission? She should have come up with the plan but, truth be told, she couldn’t think of a better one.

“Just what are we looking for, Kate?” Sal had come down from the bridge and was looking in the fridge with Carlotta.

“I guess any sort of hiding place or anything that looks suspicious,” Kate said. “A building maybe, or a cave …”

“But why would he hide the ruby on this deserted island?” Carlotta bit into a turkey on rye. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

“I know, but Benedetti hired Summers to steal the ruby and Benedetti’s trail leads here. So I figure either the ruby is here, or some sort of clue is on the island.” Kate shrugged and picked a pickle chip off Carlotta’s plate. “We should look for anything out of place; which, I guess on this island, is anything that isn’t bird poop, volcanic rock or feathers.”

“Land ahoy!” Gertie called down from the bridge and Kate glanced out the window to see a large island up ahead. It was lush with tropical plants and she could see the cone of a volcano sticking up in the middle.
 

“Okay, There’s no dock so we’ll take the inflatable ashore,” Vic said. “Gertie will drop anchor as close as she can, then we’ll inflate the boat and drop it into the water. I brought the trolling motor so we can motor ashore.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Kate said as she sat on the sectional, ready to change into the special mountain climbing shoes Gideon had sent. Vic lifted the bench on the leather covered banquette and Kate’s eyes went wide when she saw what was stored in there—an arsenal of guns. “You don’t think we’re going to need guns, do you?”

Vic shrugged and Kate looked out the window again.

“There’s no one on the island,” Kate pointed out. Or was there? If Benedetti’s boat wasn’t at the marina, then where was he? Would they round the island to find his boat moored somewhere?

The boat slowed to a crawl. They had rounded the island and were on the east side. No other boats were in sight.
 

“I guess no one else is here,” Sal said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“We should each take a gun to be on the safe side,” Vic said. “It might come in handy if you scare up some kind of animal. It looks pretty dense out there and who knows what kind of creatures lurk in the jungle.”

Kate felt a shiver run up her spine. “Gideon said it was full of crows.”

“It sure is.” Gertie came in wiping something from her arm with Frances right behind her. “Damn things are flying all around up there and pooping all over the boat.” She eyed the guns. “Good, I’m gonna go shoot ‘em.”

“Hold on, there,” Carlotta said. “Let’s check out the island first.
Then
you can shoot the crows.”

They each put on the gear, picked out a gun and headed to the back of the yacht. Vic dragged the inflatable out of its storage spot in one of the specially made lockers on the side of the boat next to the live well, then dropped it over the edge and pulled the chord to inflate it.
 

The small yacht was shallow so they were able to moor it close to shore. They could have paddled the inflatable in, but Vic set up the trolling motor anyway. The back of the yacht sat low in the water. It was only two feet off the surface, so they only had to sit on the back and swing their legs over to get into the raft.
 

As they motored over to the sandy beach, Sal took off his shoes and rolled up his khaki green cargo pants, then once they raft was bumping up against the sand, he jumped out of the front. Splashing in ankle-deep water, he pulled the raft up onto the beach so the rest of them could get out without getting their feet wet.

“Thanks Sal.” Kate patted him on the back as she jumped out of the raft.
 

“Don’t mention it.” Sal sat on the front of the raft and put his shoes and socks back on.

“We should split up to cover more ground. Katie, you, Carlotta, and Sal go to the north. Gertie, Frankie, and I will go to the south,” Vic said, looking at his watch. “We’ll meet back at the raft in two hours. Then we’ll decide what to do next.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Sal said and they all held out their fists for a group fist bump.
 

Vic, Gertie and Frankie disappeared into the lush vegetation on the right. “Well, I guess we’d better get started,” Carlotta said as she walked toward the giant ferns on the north side of the beach.

“Yep,” Kate said. “Oh, wait. I should use this communication gizmo to make sure I can raise Gideon.” Kate pressed a button on the watch-like instrument that sat on her wrist, shrugging her shoulders when all she heard was static.

“Is it broken?” Sal asked.

“I’m not sure.” Kate pressed the button again. “Gideon? Are you there?”

More static, then “… ate … er … me.”

“Gideon?”

“Hey Kate … o hear me?”

“Yes, there’s some static … I think something is interfering with the transmission—let me go to an open area on the beach.” Kate walked over by the water, pressing the button again, this time with less static. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes, much better.” Gideon’s voice came through clear. “Are you on the island?”

“Yes.”

“Any surprises?

“Not so far. We just got here.”

“Okay, watch out for the rocky slopes,” Gideon said, then added. “And the crows; I hear they can be quite vicious.”
 

Kate looked up as a crow flew overhead. “Will do.”

“Okay, I’m looking at more satellite photos. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

“Okay, over and out,” Kate said.

“Right.” Gideon’s chuckle mixed with static as Kate walked back over to the edge of the trees. “You don’t have to say over and out … you can just say bye.”

“Okay, bye,” she said, rolling her eyes.

Carlotta raised a brow and held a giant fern out of the way for Kate and Sal to precede her. “Well then, I guess we’re going in.”

Blue Crow Island was hot, humid and hard to navigate. Even with special shoes that helped them cling to the rocky terrain, it was hard to keep from stumbling. Mosquitoes buzzed in Kate’s ear as she wiped the sweat out of her eyes. The lush undergrowth made it impossible to see more than five feet in any direction.

“I don’t see how we’re going to find a ruby in here—you can’t
see
anything,” Sal complained.

“I think if we get above the vegetation line, we’ll be able to look down and then any hiding places might be evident,” Carlotta said.

“Caw!”
 

A crow flew over them and something splattered on a giant leaf beside Kate. The ground was dotted with white splotches of crow poop and there seemed to be more and more birds the higher they climbed.
No wonder Benedetti’s shoes had been encrusted with the stuff
, Kate thought as she struggled up the hilly terrain.

“Damn birds.” Kate looked up. She could swear the bird was looking down at her. Watching her. Tracking her every movement. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she got that creeped-out feeling that she was being watched. But that was ridiculous, the island was deserted and the crows certainly didn’t care what she was doing.

Finally, the plants started to thin and they stopped to rest, sipping from the bottled waters they’d brought in their vests.
 

“I can see a good part of the island from up here.” Carlotta had scurried ahead and was standing on a large boulder that stuck out from the side of the hill. She held her hand up to shade her eyes. “There’s nothing but trees, ferns and crows. Are you sure the ruby is here?”

“Well, I’m not exactly sure. But it’s all I had to go on.” Doubt started to take hold of Kate. What if she was wrong and there was nothing but crow poop here? If she was, she’d just made an awfully expensive trip for nothing.
 

“We can’t possibly search this whole island. It’s too dense.” Sal had joined Carlotta on the boulder.
 

“Isn’t there someplace obvious that stands out?” Kate asked hopefully, as she climbed up on the boulder. They were right, it would be impossible to search every inch of the island. She’d hoped once they were here, the hiding place would stick out like a sore thumb.

From her vantage point, she could see the blue waters of the Atlantic and the green vegetation of the island below. Above her, the brown rock top of the volcano loomed toward the sky. Crows circled overhead. She didn’t see any place where one would hide a ruby and was wondering why she’d even thought Benedetti would bring it here … but his shoes
proved
that he’d been here and they were the only clue to the ruby that she had.

Just then, her wrist communicator cracked. “… ate … gency … now!”

Kate screwed up her face “Was that Gideon? What did he say?”

Carlotta and Sal shrugged.

Kate stabbed at the button. “Gideon? Come in.”

More static. Then “… alk … right away!”

Kate’s stomach clenched. The few snippets of voice she’d heard sounded tense. Was Gideon in trouble? Or, more likely Gideon had discovered something about the island that he needed her to know.

“I think Gideon needs to tell us something, but the reception is bad up here.” Kate shook the watch, then tapped on it. “Gideon?”

Nothing but static came out.

“It sounded urgent,” Carlotta said uncertainly.

“Maybe we should head back down. There’s not much to see up here, anyway,” Kate said.

“And it’s almost time to meet up with the others.” Sal jumped down from the boulder, surprisingly fit for an older man and the three of them started back down the thin path they’d made on the way up.

Going down was a lot easier than climbing up and they made it to the beach quickly. Kate could feel the crows watching her the whole time. It made her jittery and even more nervous about Gideon’s message. She tried the communication watch again on the beach, but once again, there was nothing but static.
 

“Oh crap. Gertie’s gonna be on the warpath.” Kate followed Carlotta’s gaze to the bridge of the boat where several crows were perched on the railing preening their bluish black feathers. She grimaced at the white splotches marring the once perfectly polished chrome.

“Jeez, we better go scare them off.” Sal motioned for them to hop into the boat.

“Yeah, and I can use the satellite communication to call Gideon,” Kate said as she hopped over the inflated edge.

“And I could use dessert,” Carlotta added as she joined Kate in the boat.
 

They motored to the yacht. Sal tied the inflatable off and they all jumped out.
 

Sal looked at his watch. “The others won’t be here for another half-hour so we can keep an eye out for them and come back to pick them up when we see them on the beach.”

“Good idea,” Kate said as she headed for the salon where there was a computer she could use. The yacht was equipped with satellite access so she could call Gideon on Skype and see what was so urgent.

Sal headed up to the bridge to scare away the crows and Carlotta followed Kate, making a beeline for the fridge while Kate slid into the buttery leather sectional. Pulling the laptop in front of her, she flipped up the screen and looked for Skype.

“Want some pie?” Carlotta asked as she backed out of the fridge with a tin pie plate and then pulled out the drawer for a fork. She leaned against the granite counter and dug into the pie.

“No thanks. I can’t find Skype on here … oh here it is.” Kate pushed the button and listened to the ring while it tried to connect to Gideon on the other end.
 

“Kate! Are you all right?” Gideon’s concerned face filled the screen.

“Yes, of course,” Kate said.
Why wouldn’t she be all right?
“The communication device was all static when you called me before. What’s so important?”

“Just a sec,” Gideon said and she could see him typing furiously on the keyboard. “I developed those pictures you took of the penguins a little while ago.”

“Oh great. Did they come out good?” Kate asked wondering why that was so important.

“Yeah fine. It’s not that though.” A tremor crept into Gideon’s voice that set Kate’s nerves on edge. “One of the pictures happened to be of the guys that were chasing you. They were on their ski-mobiles at the edge of the glacier.”

Kate remembered flying off the glacier on the sky-cycle and randomly taking shots with the camera in the hopes at least one of the pictures would be of the penguins on the iceberg. Apparently, she’d gotten more than that.

“Yeah. So?” she asked, wishing he would get to the point.

“I think one of the guys is that criminal you were after at the FBI. Hold on and I’ll put the picture up on your screen.”

Kate’s brow creased. “What crimina—“

A picture of six men in snowsuits flashed on her screen. They were at the edge of the glacier looking toward the camera. Two of them were sitting on the ski-mobiles, one half-standing and the fourth fully standing. Her blood froze as she studied the one that was standing.
 

Damien Darkstone.

What did
he
have to do with the ruby?

“Kate, is that him?” Gideon’s voice was urgent.

Kate could barely answer. She felt like she’d had the wind knocked out of her. “Yeah, but what would he possibl—”