Treasured Secrets (30 page)

‘Looks
disgustoso
.' Alessandro screwed up his nose.

‘Yeah.' Jimmy made a display of enjoying what he was swallowing. ‘No more
disgustoso
than them pickled artichokes you Italians eat.'

Archer could see Alessandro's mind ticking over a response and cut in to diffuse the debate. ‘Okay boys, quit your fighting. It's time to pull up the anchor and get going. Ginger, you and your eagle eyes are on rock-hunting duty.' He handed his father's binoculars to her and she grabbed them in one hand and reached for Alessandro with the other. Together they raced towards the stairs. Archer could've sworn Alessandro flung a smug grin at Jimmy as they passed. Archer was certain Jimmy wouldn't care. He wasn't stupid enough to think he had a chance with Ginger. Not when her eyes had been almost fixed on Alessandro since he'd stepped aboard.

Jimmy worked the anchor engine and within a matter of minutes, the entire chain and its heavy burden were secured and
Evangeline
was away. Rosalina stayed by Archer's side as he hugged the boat close to shore. With her delightful scent and tantalisingly low-cut top he struggled to focus on both the depth sounder and the craggy island.

For seven hours they cruised the crystal-blue waters that lapped at the deserted beaches dotted around the island without any success.

Archer needed to get some air. He left Jimmy at the wheel, grabbed Rosalina's hand and led her up to the top deck where Ginger was still scrutinising the island through the binoculars. An enormous bluff rose up out of the ocean on the south-eastern end of the island. On top of the cliff stood the abandoned Monastery of Panaghia Kalamiotissa. Most of it was in ruins, but Alessandro was quick to point out its architectural significance.

Archer was beginning to doubt their choice of island and faint threads of disillusion crept into his thoughts. He fought to curb the negativity and began reviewing his father's clues in his head.

‘I found it!' Ginger's squeal dragged him from his negative vibes. She jumped into Alessandro's arms and wrapped her arms and legs around him. The unsuspecting Italian just about toppled overboard.

“Do you see it, Archer?' she yelled.

Ginger climbed off Alessandro and proudly pointed midway up the island cliff. She handed the binoculars over and Archer scanned the scraggy landscape. He spied the rocks almost immediately. They stood out like a lobster dish on a buffet table.

‘
X
marks the spot.' Archer fought back a flood of emotions by kissing Rosalina.
Can I really do this? Can I return to the spot where Dad was killed?
When Rosalina looked up at him, he had no doubt she was trying to read his mind. Scared that she really could, he put on a fake smile. ‘This is it, babe.' He hugged her to his chest so she couldn't see him.

‘Are you okay?' She said it anyway. Damn, she was good.

‘Of course. This is closure. I've been waiting a bloody long time for this.'

That seemed to placate her as she snuggled deeper into his arms. He looked over her head at the island. Other than the deserted monastery high on the right, there were no other buildings or signs of civilisation. A long pebble beach met the water's edge at the base of the cliff and there were no obvious access points to it. Hopefully this meant no one went there. Archer was pretty certain their diving spot was completely isolated and better still, it looked safe from prying eyes.

Archer reached for the pendant. The last time he'd stood in this spot was an hour before his father died.
I'm going to make things right again, Dad
.

Rosalina tightened the knot on her bikini bottoms then tugged her sleeveless wetsuit shirt down to her hips. Archer helped her into the buoyancy vest, taking his time as he drew the zipper up over her breasts. His wavy hair was just a bit longer than he normally wore it and in this full sunlight, the tips had lightened a couple more notches. She noticed the same thing when she ran her hands through the small patch of hair on his chest. Archer's cheeky grin lit up his face. It was great to have her sassy man back.

She clipped on her fins and adjusted her stance to hold the weight of the air cylinder.

‘Ready?' Archer said before he loaded her buoyancy vest and tank onto her back.

She nodded. It was heavy and she didn't want to wait any longer to get into the water. She put her regulator in her mouth and took a giant step overboard into the warm Mediterranean Sea. Archer was smiling at her from the dive deck when she popped back up. She formed a circle with her thumb and index finger indicating she was okay, and adjusted the air in her buoyancy vest so she bobbed easily at the surface.

Between the two diving teams of Jimmy and Ginger and Rosalina and Archer, they had covered an area about the size of a football field. A large map taped to the dining room wall was divided into sections, and as each section was searched it was marked off. Nine sections were now marked with large crosses through them. They'd started closer towards shore and gradually progressed further out to sea, all the time keeping the four unusually shaped white rocks at the same angle from the upper deck to replicate the view in the photo.

Now that they were treasure hunting, Jimmy and Archer's competitive spirits had them pitted against one another. Each morning started with some creative wagering. Yesterday's wager and the subsequent lack of success had them cooking dinner together. Rosalina knew Archer could cook, but last night's food choices might have been deliberate sabotage. The two men combined some interesting and not entirely enjoyable flavours. It was all just a bit of fun though and she'd loved every minute, watching Archer and Jimmy and their impromptu sideshow.

Archer had been buzzing all morning, and after Jimmy and Ginger came up empty-handed on their first dive, he'd started bragging that this dive was the one that would find
Flying Seahorse
. Rosalina couldn't help but get caught up in Archer's excitement and really did have a good feeling about this dive. She selfishly wanted to be with Archer when he rediscovered the wreck.

Archer jumped into the ocean beside her, and moments later they released the air in their vests and descended down the anchor line together. Fifty-metre visibility allowed her to see the ocean floor as a brilliant display of colour and movement. It was good diving, lots to see, and as usual, a peaceful sense of being at one with nature enveloped her. She wanted to explore wherever her eyes took her, but instead she followed her compass to the designated area. With the portable metal detector gripped firmly in her gloved hand, she swept it over the ocean floor in wide arcs. Archer was slightly ahead of her, doing exactly the same thing.

Giant sea turtles cruised overhead, creating large shadows as they floated above her on the warm current. The underwater scene was picture perfect, with hundreds of fish that danced about in a kaleidoscope of neon colours and an abundance of coral of all shapes and sizes, each one showing off its unique design. Some were bigger than Rosalina.

A large school of trevally fish swam close to the surface, their bodies flashing occasionally in the afternoon sun. Her metal detector beeped and she tracked the signal into a large mound of pink coral. Using her gloved hand, she dug around the sand to locate the source of the sound. With a sigh, she removed a rusted fishing reel and dropped it into a netted bag hooked to her hip.

A slight movement caught her eye, and when she studied the coral near her cheek she found a seahorse camouflaged within the soft coral. She laughed at the irony and caught Archer's attention by banging on her tank with her metal signal rod. But he wasn't amused and indicated to her to keep swimming. The small creature hovered in its place as if held up by an invisible string. It was impossible to see how it propelled itself forward, but it did, and soon disappeared amongst the plant life.

Rosalina pushed off the sand and kicked to catch up to Archer. His white shorts looked almost luminescent against the rest of his tanned body. She caught up to him and tugged on his fin. He spun towards her and she placed her index fingers side by side, a signal that translated to them sticking together. He gestured okay, but she thumped him on the shoulder anyway. One of the first rules of diving was to swim with your buddy. His impatience was reckless and he knew it. Separating could be dangerous.

He removed his regulator and mouthed,
sorry
.

She removed hers and mouthed back,
you will be
.

He gripped her hand and they swam along, moving the metal detectors ahead of them in a synchronised swing. Both scanners beeped at the same time and they released hands, slowed down and panned the equipment back and forward. The beeping grew in intensity as they glided towards a large coral outcrop. Archer paused at the base of the coral and lowered onto the ocean floor, Rosalina knelt beside him. Their detectors emitted a high-pitched squeal and Rosalina joined Archer in digging in the coarse sand.

Rosalina touched something hard and pulled it from the sand. It looked like a large metal spike and when she held it up, Archer produced an almost identical item. She heard him yell through his regulator and his eyes glimmered with obvious delight, but she didn't understand the significance. She shrugged and Archer imitated hammering and she suddenly understood what they were. Nails. Giant nails. The type used in ancient ships.

Archer hugged her and they spun in the water. She removed her regulator and tugged his from his mouth to kiss him. But she had to give in to his impatience to keep looking and put her mouthpiece back in. Rosalina put her nail into her net bag and checked her dive watch. They still had thirteen more minutes at this depth before they had to begin their ascent. She put her watch right in front of Archer's facemask and pointed out the time. He responded with the okay signal.

They began digging. Within a short amount of time they had extracted dozens of giant nails from the sand. Rosalina was itching to reveal something of value, and, determined to beat Archer to the first significant find, she dug up to the wrist of her gloved hand and scooped back the loose sand. She continued to dig in a frenzied race against Archer who, based on his frantic digging, recognised the challenge. Light sand particles dispersed into a cloud that floated away in the current.

Rosalina felt something with her fingers and as she tugged on it, she brushed away the sand that secured it. She fingered the curved outer rim of the item and her heart pounded, aware that this was not another nail nor abandoned fishing gear. The outer rim gradually revealed itself from the beneath the sand like a sunrise on a frosty morning. As each millimetre unfolded, the golden metal reflected a warm glow as if delighted by its final discovery.

It released in a cloud of sand that spoiled the visibility and Rosalina anxiously waved it away. When the water cleared, her breath caught in her throat at the brilliant piece reclaimed from its sandy grave. The artwork around the edge of the large gold plate was like nothing she'd seen before: beautiful, bold, and its elaborate decorations told a story.

She held it up like a trophy and Archer's eyes nearly popped out of his mask when he glanced over. His reach for the plate was in slow motion, as if he were dreaming, but as soon as he felt the weight of the piece his eyes lit up his face and Rosalina almost burst with pride. This moment was twenty years in the making and she was so humbled to be sharing it with him.

She checked her watch. Time was up. She once again drew her watch into his vision, and he nodded and held the plate towards her. But she indicated that he should keep it. Archer hugged it to his chest for a brief moment before tucking it into his net bag. He motioned for her to wait one minute and she frowned as he undid the zippered pocket of his buoyancy vest. Once open, he removed a reel and began tugging thin white cord from the device. Using his dive knife, he cut the cord at a length of about two metres and handed it to Rosalina. He then signalled for her to tie one end down.

Now understanding what he was doing, she knelt on the sand to tie it to a lump of hard coral. When completed, she turned to see Archer removing his board shorts. He struggled to get the shorts over his fins and she couldn't help but giggle as he wrestled in the water. She spread her arms and shrugged her shoulders in a
What the hell are you doing?
silent question.

She gasped at a flash of movement at her side and snapped her hand back, but she was too late. An eel as large as her arm plunged its teeth through her glove and into the fleshy part of her hand. She screamed and the eel released and disappeared back into the hole from which it had escaped.

Rosalina ripped off her glove and a crimson cloud blossomed into the water.

Despite the amount of blood, she realised she was lucky. Eels can bite fingers right off. She only had six puncture wounds, but the salty water made them sting like crazy. The wounds were in the fleshy part of her palm, right between her wrist and little finger. The pain was excruciating. Archer dropped down beside her and the smile fell from his face when he saw her hand. He reached for her arm, cupping her elbow and palm as he examined the bite. She made the sign for
eel
and his frowned deepened.

She dreaded to think what was going through his mind. The last time he was here the spread of blood resulted in one of the most horrific things a person could see. Rosalina resisted the pain, determined to play down the injury. She gave Archer the okay symbol and put her glove back on.

She signalled
boat
with her hands and pushed off the sand towards the anchor line, but Archer tugged her back. He pulled his emergency safety sausage from his vest and did the thumbs up signal, indicating that he wanted to ascend here and draw the attention of the boat to them. They rose to five metres from the surface and Rosalina checked her watch. They would need to hover at this level for five minutes before they continued their ascent.