Treasure Sleuth (17 page)

Mr. Schwartz sat nibbling his finger nails in anticipation as Mark, his number one freelancer, leaned back in the chair envisioning Spanish galleons in the ceilings aertex paintwork. Mr. Duncan gave the approving nod and thanked Mr. Schwartz for his agencies' hard and dedicated efforts. It was a success and Mr. Schwartz would be retaining the client.

Once Mr. Duncan and his board had left, Mr. Schwartz turned to Mark.

"Congratulations Munro," he said collecting his papers and slipping them into a file. "We also have a new client who needs a website update for his import wholesale business by end of week, you game?"

Mark shook his head slowly as he undid his tie. "Sorry Mr. Schwartz, I have some other pirates I'm spending the weekend with."

Mark strolled through the imposing glass doors of the large office building and joined the hustle and bustle of London's Regent Street. He glided through the chaos of tourists, workers and students of all ages, unruffled and made his way down a side street where his sleek black Jaguar F-Type was waiting. Pressing the red flashing starter button the V8 roared into life, the exhaust bark echoing off the surrounding buildings.

The in-car phone system started to ring and Mark pressed the 'answer' button. A young woman's voice boomed over the car's speakers.

"What do you know about Sir Francis Drake?"

"Mmm, I recognize that beautiful American accent," Mark said. "So your heir hunting the Queen's treasure hunter now?"

"You knew he worked on behalf of the Queen?" Abby asked.

"Well kind of, it's understood in history that he took part in unofficial missions for his country, put it that way," Mark said.

"We have a client asking if we will look into the recovery of items belonging to them and thought to have been stolen by Drake."

"Items?" Mark asked with a curious tone. "What kind of items?"

"Gold ducats. Twenty five thousand of them with a value of over sixteen million," Abby answered.

"Dollars?" Mark asked.

"Pounds Mark! Sixteen million pounds!" Abby said.

"Do you have any ideas on where to start looking?"

"There are a few leads but I'm interested in an old abbey he bought in secret before the gold ducats went missing," Abby said.

"When do you want to go after this Dragon Gold?" Mark asked, hoping Abby would be coming along in person on the mission and not giving him directions from 5,000 miles away.

"Dragon Gold? What's that?"

"I'll tell you when I see you. England is missing you."

"My plane lands tomorrow morning 7am at Heathrow. You fancy a coffee with a view?"

"Absolutely! I'll be there..."

Amy Shaw was born in Illinois, USA and moved to the South West of England to follow her two passions - treasure hunting and writing. Her first novel, Treasure Sleuth, was inspired by childhood vacations and the Spanish Armada at the seaside village of Hope Cove.

When she is not researching or writing she can be found metal detecting along the coasts or in woodlands of the UK searching for lost hoards, buried vaults and long forgotten artifacts. She has recovered numerous relics - rings, coins, brooches, gold and silver - from all periods including Celtic, Roman, Tudor and Civil Wars. One of her finds, a post medieval silver-guilt dress accessory was declared treasure and is on display at The British Museum in London.