Wicked Charms (14 page)

We reached Penobscot Bay at midmorning. The sea was calm and the sun was shining. Wulf slowed and cruised along, following the coordinates from Diesel’s boat guy.

“That’s Brimstone straight ahead,” Wulf said.

It looked like a cupcake with green icing. In reality it was a massive hunk of rock with just enough topsoil for trees to grow. We circled the island, keeping our eyes open for Gull Rock. Most of the coastline consisted of ledges and boulders, but we found a small sand beach on the north side of the island and a larger beach on the west side. The west-side beach was packed with people. A tiki hut had been erected on the beach and music carried across the water to us. Small boats were moored a few feet from shore.

“I thought this was supposed to be a lost deserted island,” Diesel said.

Wulf scanned the beach with binoculars. “The sign on the tiki hut says
BRIMSTONE BAR AND GRILL
. It looks like a nudie beach for seniors.”

Diesel took the binoculars from Wulf. “Whoa!”

He grinned and handed the binoculars to me, but I passed. I was happy to have old age creep up on me. I didn’t want a full frontal preview.

We returned to the north side of the island where there were a lot of rock outcroppings.

“There,” Diesel said, pointing out to sea. “Gull Rock, according to my source. It’s the chunk of rock that looks like bird wings, and it’s filled with gulls. There’s probably good fishing around it.”

Wulf motored around the rock, watching the fish finder and side-scan sonar. He enlarged his circle and found a wreck on the second pass. He cut the engine and dropped anchor.

“What’s the depth on the wreck?” Diesel asked him.

“Not deep. Looks like about twenty-five meters.”

“In feet?” I asked.

“About eighty,” Diesel said. “I could free-dive that, but I can stay down longer with tanks.”

“They’re in the salon,” Wulf said.

“Are you diving, too?” I asked him.

“No,” Wulf said. “I drive, and he dives.”

Wulf put out a dive flag, and Diesel changed into a wetsuit and scuba gear. He went over the side and disappeared into the dark water. He reappeared after twenty minutes and hoisted himself onto the boat.

“It’s a relatively small wreck,” Diesel said, shrugging out of the scuba gear. “Looked like a fishing vessel that was intentionally scuttled. Didn’t look disturbed. Not much of value in it with the exception of this chest.” Diesel handed Wulf a net pouch with a small barnacle-encrusted box in it.

Wulf took the box out of the net and opened it. “At first glance, I’d say I’m looking at the Blue Diamond.”

Diesel took the diamond out of the box and put it in my hand. “Do you feel anything?”

“A small vibration and some heat.”

“It’s cold when it’s in
my
hand,” Diesel said.

“It’s not glowing,” I said. “Devereaux told us it glows blue when it approaches the stone.”

“I’m sure it needs to be closer to the stone to do that,” Diesel said. “There was nothing else down there, and clearly it’s empowered by the stone if you feel a vibration.”

“Boat approaching, sire,” Hatchet said.

We all turned our attention to the boat. It was a center console, about half our size, and it was traveling at a good speed, pushed by two outboards.

Wulf had the binoculars up. “Professor Devereaux and a mate,” he said. “Hatchet, raise the anchor and stow the dive flag.”

The boat came up on us, swerved, and sped away. It whipped around and came to a stop at some distance with its prow aimed in our direction.

“What’s going on?” Diesel asked.

“Devereaux is angry. The mate looks worried,” Wulf said, binoculars still trained on them.

“I’m sure Devereaux isn’t happy to find we got here first,” Diesel said.

Wulf moved to the wheel and hit the ignition. “Devereaux just shouldered a handheld rocket launcher. We need to move
now.
Hang on.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The twin turbines roared and our boat jumped forward. I saw the flash from the rocket launcher, and then I was flying through the air. I went underwater, kicked my way to the surface, and struggled to stay afloat. Debris from Wulf’s boat was all around me. A seat cushion floated by, and I grabbed hold. I was too stunned to hear the smaller boat approach, and still stunned when I was dragged out of the water. I lay on the floor of the boat, catching my breath, clutching the seat cushion.

“What?” I said, jostled by the motion of the boat as it raced through the water.

Josh was on his knees next to me. “Are you okay?” he asked. His face was white, and he looked shaken.

I pushed myself up to a sitting position, and Josh helped me get to my feet and pivot onto the bench seat in the back of the boat.

“What happened?” I asked.

“He blew you out of the water,” Josh said. “He’s nuts. He blew that boat to smithereens.”

“Why?”

“The treasure. He’s obsessed with it. I admit I joined up with him to get some money and go on a treasure hunt, but it’s like all of a sudden he’s nutso. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. He said it would be a lark. A race to the finish with winner take all.”

I looked back at the wreckage. “Diesel and Wulf…”

“They’ve surfaced,” Josh said. “They’re floating on something. There’s a third mate, too.”

“That would be Steven Hatchet.”

I looked down at my hand. I was still holding on to the Blue Diamond.

“Whoa,” Josh said. “What is that?”

Devereaux stepped away from the console and looked at the diamond. “It’s the
finder,
” he said. “It’s the Blue Diamond of Babur. I never thought I would have this opportunity, but here I am. You were the critical missing element. And now I have everything I need to claim the treasure. And Ammon has nothing!”

“Wow, that’s great,” I said. “Good for you. Maybe since you have it all we should go back and pick up the men who are floating in the ocean.”

“I don’t need them. I hope they drown.”

Not an unexpected answer since the man blew up our boat, but it sent a chill through me all the same.

“You alone can find the treasure,” Devereaux said. “It’s in the diary. And it’s in the writings of Mammon. The guide will find the way. You’re the guide.”

“I thought you weren’t a follower of Mammon.”

“I’m not a believer. I’m a historian. When I find the treasure my name will be listed with the greatest historians and treasure hunters of all time.”

“Not to mention, you’ll be shockingly rich.”

Devereaux smiled. “That, too.”

“If those three men drown back there you’ll also be listed as a murderer,” I said.

“Who will accuse me? Josh? He’s an accomplice. And no one will believe you. You’re just a hysterical, delusional female.”

I was soaking wet and shivering, and I worried that he might be right about the delusional and hysterical part. There was definitely an element of unreality to all this, and I could feel the hysteria twitching in my chest, ready to burst out at any moment.

Devereaux returned to the controls and directed the boat toward shore. He had a semiautomatic pistol shoved into his pants pocket, and I thought he was wacko enough to use it.

“Here’s how this will play out,” Devereaux said. “I’ve studied the map, and I’m going to beach this boat in the most likely starting point that will lead us to the treasure.”

“How does the finder work?” I asked.

“According to the diary, the finder will want to join with the stone, so it will emit energy as it gets closer.”

“It will glow,” I said.

“Yes, I thought the finder might be the Blue Diamond, but I wasn’t sure. I personally feel like Palgrave Bellows made this whole treasure hunt more complicated than it had to be, but it is what it is.”

“Suppose I don’t want to do this?” I said.

Devereaux looked at Josh. “I’ll kill him.”

“Aargh,” Josh said. “Best not be hasty.”

“True,” Devereaux said. “I’ll just shoot off some fingers. Maybe an ear.”

“It’s not good to be missing an ear,” Josh said. “I’m fond of them both.”

Devereaux followed the rocky shoreline until he came to a small patch of sand in a protected cove. He nosed the boat in as far as he could, and when he started to churn sand he raised the engines.

“Take a line and pull us in,” he said to Josh. “Secure the line to the tree at the edge of the shore. We’re at dead-low tide. The boat will be floating when we return.”

Josh grabbed the line and jumped into the knee-high water. He pulled the boat in as far as it would go, waded out of the water, and walked to the tree. When he got to the tree he looked back at us and put his hand to his ear. No doubt thinking he didn’t want to lose it. He dropped the rope and ran off into the woods.

“Oops,” I said.

Devereaux fired off two shots, but Josh continued to crash through the brush, so I assumed he wasn’t hit…or at least not badly.

“This isn’t going well,” I said. “Why don’t I give you the diamond, and you can find the treasure all by yourself?”

Devereaux hung a beat-up knapsack on his shoulder and pointed the gun at me. “Because that might not work. It’s not clear if the diamond will glow for an ordinary person. Wade in to the beach and tie up the boat. I’ll be right behind you, and I’ll shoot you if you decide to follow him.”

I tied the boat to the tree and set off on a path that led into the woods. I came to a fork in the path, Devereaux pulled a folded map of the island out of the knapsack, studied it for a moment, and told me to go left. I was still dripping wet and my shoes leaked water with every step. I looked at the chosen route and cringed. The rock-strewn trail wound uphill to a granite ledge.

“What’s the finder telling you?” Devereaux asked.

“It’s not telling me anything. It’s a little warm but that’s all.”

“Keep moving,” Devereaux said.

I was struggling to follow a narrow dirt path that was littered with rocks and sporadically overgrown with tangled vines. Thorny shrubs and stunted evergreens hugged the trail, obscuring the view. I could hear Devereaux laboring behind me. I reached the granite ledge, and the evergreens gave way enough for me to see the surf crashing onto the rocks far below me. The cove where we tied the boat was no longer in sight. I looked at the diamond and sucked in some air. The diamond was glowing. The light in the gemstone was very faint, but definitely there.

Devereaux saw it, too.

“I knew it!” he said. “It’s going to lead us to the treasure.”

His voice was hoarse and his face was red from the exertion of the climb. His eyes were glazed, his pupils narrow pinpoints of insanity.

“Do you have the coin on you?” I asked him.

“Of course.”

“Is it in anything…like a lead box?”

“It’s in my pocket.”

“It’s occurred to me that it might be affecting your behavior,” I said. “I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but you’re a little nutso. You’re not really yourself. Maybe you should sit and rest. Catch your breath.”

“No time for that. Ammon could be following us.”

I didn’t think he had to worry about Ammon as much as he had to worry about Diesel and Wulf. I was confident that they were on the hunt, looking for me.

Now that I was on the granite ledge there was no path to follow. It was all rock with patches of scrub forest. I chose a direction at random and the diamond stopped glowing. I backtracked and went off in another direction, and the light returned. We were climbing over boulders and bushwhacking through brambles. I had scratches on my arms where I’d caught thorns, and my jeans were torn at the knee from skidding down a rockslide. From time to time I’d turn and check on Devereaux, hoping he’d fall behind enough for me to escape. So far he was keeping up, trudging along with the gun in his hand, his eyes bright with crazed excitement. I had to stop and backtrack again twice when the diamond went dim, but for twenty minutes now the glow had been getting steadily stronger.

I approached what at first looked like a dead end, but turned out to be a narrow canyon made by two slabs of granite. The distance between the slabs was three feet at best, and the walls were thirty to forty feet high. I stepped into the slot, looked up at the ribbon of blue sky far above me, and felt a rush of panic burn in my chest.

“I can’t go in there,” I said to Devereaux. “It’s too narrow. We’ll get trapped.”

“There’s plenty of room. What does the diamond say?”

I had the diamond in my pocket, so he couldn’t see it, but the stupid thing was glowing through the denim.

“There has to be an easier way to get to the treasure,” I said. “We should go back and try a different route.”

“We’re not going back. We’re following the diamond. Give it to me. Hand it over.”

I gave him the diamond, and it went cold. No glow. No heat. Nothing.

“I guess you’re not the guide,” I said.

“Lucky for you, but that doesn’t mean you’re not expendable. I’ve gotten this far, and I have a map. If you cease to be useful to me I’ll eliminate you and go it alone.”

“You won’t find the treasure on your own.”

“So be it, then.”

I didn’t like the word
eliminate.
The prospect of being
eliminated
was even less desirable than threading my way through the slot. I put my head down and walked forward, putting one foot in front of the other. I watched my feet. I didn’t look up, and I didn’t look ahead. The narrow passageway seemed to go on forever, and then suddenly I was in bright sunlight and in an open space that was shaped like a bowl. The rocky sides of the bowl were maybe thirty feet high, and the bowl was thirty or forty feet across. Not huge, but I could breathe easier. Problem was I didn’t see a way out of the bowl other than the way we came in.

“Now what?” I asked Devereaux.

“Walk around and see what happens to the diamond.”

I set off around the perimeter of the pit, and a third of the way the diamond began to pulse with light. Two years ago I wouldn’t have believed any of this, but since Diesel popped into my life I was willing to believe almost anything. And I have to admit it was hard not to get excited about the pulsing diamond. I looked up at the rim of the bowl high above me hoping to see Diesel or Wulf, but there was only blue sky.