085 Sea of Suspicion

by Carolyn Keene

  "They're going to try to grab the treasure," George said in a worried voice. "Nancy, Sean's down there alone. He could be in danger!"

  "I know," Nancy said, frowning. "We have to help him,"

  Talia joined them. "Ned's got the helm," she said to Nancy. "He's trying to contact the Coast Guard, but so far we can't raise anyone. I came back here to see if I could help."

  Nancy said, "Talia, you and I need to go below in the sub. Morley's about to go down in his sub, possibly to hurt Sean. We may have to scare Morley off."

  "Okay," Talia said. She swiftly readied the submersible for launching. Bess and George helped them swing the sub out over the waves and lower it into the water. Then Talia and Nancy climbed over the side and into the sub.

  "We don't have time to go through the safety checklist," Talia said as she sealed the hatch. "We'll just have to cross our fingers and hope that all systems are go."

  "Consider them crossed," Nancy said grimly as the sub plunged under the waves.

  Once they were underwater, Nancy peered through the view window for any glimpse of Sean or the treasure. All she could see was shimmering expanses of water.

  Finally they neared the ocean floor. There at last was Sean, swimming just below them near one of the treasure mounds.

  "Sean looks okay," Nancy said with a sigh of relief. "I don't see Morley's sub anywhere around."

  Just then a dark shadow moved across Sean. Her pulse quickening, Nancy spotted a diver closing in on him, clutching a lethal-looking fishing spear in his fist.

  "Where did that guy come from?" Nancy exclaimed to Talia. "I thought Morley was in his submersible."

  "That's Zach," Talia announced grimly. "I recognize that yellow stripe on his wet suit. He must have gone into the water while we were busy launching the sub."

  Nancy could see that Zach was closing the distance between himself and Sean. He raised the spear to strike, its tip a foot from Sean's back.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Nancy knew she had to do something to stop Zach, and fast!

  "Talia, can you maneuver the sub so that we move right behind Zach?" Nancy asked, "Let's give that rat a taste of his own medicine."

  "Great idea," Talia said, nosing the craft down. She pushed the throttle to maximum speed to overtake Zach.

  Zach appeared to be startled as the sub appeared overhead. He dropped the spear and moved slowly toward the surface.

  "Good work, Talia!" Nancy cried. Sean raised his head to them and waved. He was safe for the moment.

  Suddenly Nancy saw Sean begin to point and wave more frantically. "It looks like he's trying to warn us about something," Nancy observed. "Talia, I think we'd better—"

  Nancy was suddenly thrown back against her seat hard.

  "What was that?" Nancy exclaimed. She turned in time to see Hank Morley bearing down on them in his own submersible!

  "Morley just rammed us!" Talia said. She maneuvered around a rocky outcropping to escape Morley.

  Nancy felt something cold and wet on her arm. Looking down she realized that a trickle of seawater was leaking into the tiny cabin.

  "Talia, we've sprung a leak!" Nancy cried.

  "Something ruptured during the collision," Talia said tensely. "We'll have to make an emergency ascent, otherwise we could drown."

  Nancy shook her head. "We can't just abandon Sean. Hank Morley will kill him," she said. "We have to find a way to stop that leak."

  More water was trickling in now—they didn't have much time. Nancy glanced around the inside of the sub. Her gaze fell on the vat of liquid plastic that Talia had placed in there the day before. "What about this?" she asked Talia, pointing to the vat.

  "The polymer—great idea!" Talia exclaimed. "It should plug up the leak, like glue." She reached behind the seat to open the vat.

  Nancy spotted Hank Morley's sub gliding silently around the rock pile. "Uh-oh. It looks like Morley's going to charge us again," Nancy said. "We've got to stall for time."

  Just then her eye fell on the radio microphone, and she picked it up. "What radio channel would Morley use?" she asked Talia.

  "Probably just the standard open channel," Talia replied. "Just key the mike and talk into it."

  Nancy depressed the mike key. "Morley, are you there?" she spoke slowly. Through the window, she could only make out a shadowy outline of someone sitting inside the other sub.

  There was a moment of silence. Then Morley's voice came over the speaker. "You might as well give up and go back to the surface, Nancy," Morley said. "The treasure's already mine."

  "What makes you think you're going to get away with stealing it from Sean?" Nancy countered. "There are too many witnesses who'd testify that he found it first."

  "Unfortunately for you, the Lady Jane is about to have a bad accident—and all hands on board will be lost," Morley said with a chilling laugh. "So much for witnesses."

  Nancy felt cold sweat form on her brow. It was clear that Morley would stop at nothing to get his hands on the treasure. She glanced at Talia, who had just finished plastering the leak with the liquid plastic.

  "We'll need a few minutes for it to dry," Talia whispered.

  "I'm curious, Morley," Nancy spoke into the mike again. "What kind of accident are you talking about?"

  "The kind that sends you all to the bottom of the sea/' he growled. "Of course, everyone will blame your deaths on the curse of the Ninfa Marina."

  Suddenly all the strange incidents on board the Lady Jane made sense to Nancy. "Is that why you and Zach staged all those accidents on board Sean's and Dorning's boats? So that people would start believing in the curse?" she asked.

  "That's right," Morley said smugly. "Zach did the sabotage on the Lady Jane, and my son and I rigged the accidents on Dorning's boat. We had to escalate things when you started nosing around," he continued. "Zach put the scorpion in your trunk, and Marcus followed you to the inn to plant the skull as a warning. Too bad you didn't get the message. You were lucky to escape when he took that shot at you outside the restaurant, but you won't get away this time."

  Nancy tried to stifle a prickling sense of fear. "I'm sure you were responsible for the sinking of the Sea Scorpion, " she prodded.

  "That was easy to set up," Morley boasted. "I disabled Dorning's pump system when they were refueling. Then I drilled a small hole in the outer

  hull It was only a matter of time before she went down. I thought Doming was about to discover the main treasure pile, so I wanted his ship out of the way—permanently."

  "Very clever," Nancy said. "And you managed to set things up so that Sean and Doming would accuse each other of sabotage."

  "They were already so competitive, it was easy to play them against each other," Morley explained.

  "And what about Rusty?" Nancy pressed. "You killed him, but why?"

  "Unfortunately, Rusty discovered our scheme when he caught Zach setting the engine fire on the Lady Jane," Morley said. "Zach scared him into staying quiet, but we knocked him off later, anyway. Marcus and I lured Rusty to the boat house on a ruse. After we killed him, Marcus tracked you down and left the phony note for Sean."

  Nancy suddenly recalled how uneasy Rusty had been after the engine fire that first day on Sean's boat. Now she knew why—he was being threatened by Zach.

  "And you set Sean up for Rusty's murder. That was clever," Nancy replied.

  "Yes. Zach grabbed the ingot and we planted it at Rusty's to give Sean a motive for going after the old guy. We figured the police would suspect Sean right away, but Sean even helped us more by putting his fingerprints all over the murder weapon," he said, cackling.

  "My plan all along was to let Doming and Sean lead me to the gold," Morley continued. "Now all that's left is for me to arrange the final, fatal accident and claim the treasure for myself."

  Nancy could see Morley's sub was moving closer. It was close enough now for her to see his cruel expression through the window.

  "Let's get ready," Nancy whispered to Talia.
"When the moment comes, we'll need to attack him before he attacks us."

  Talia nodded and swallowed nervously. She poised her hand over the throttle.

  "Enough talk." Morley's voice was a harsh rasp over the radio speaker. "Time to die."

  Nancy felt a surge of fear as Morley's sub lurched toward them. "Now, Talia!" she yelled.

  Talia depressed the throttle so that they shot straight for Morley's sub. Then she veered slightly upward so that her sub's robotic arm smashed against Morley's view window like an iron fist.

  The blow cracked Morley's view window in half. Through the glass they could see Morley frantically trying to stop seawater from leaking into his sub.

  "We got him!" Talia cried happily as Morley pulled away and made an emergency ascent to the surface.

  Nancy let out a huge breath of relief. Morley was out of the way—for a moment, at least. "We'd better go after him/' Nancy said. "But first I want to make sure that Sean is all right."

  She spotted Sean swimming toward them around the rock pile. He was holding Zach's spear in his hand. He gestured to indicate that he was on his way back to the surface.

  "Sean's all right," Nancy said to Talia. "Let's go see what Zach and the Morleys are up to on the surface."

  Nancy nosed the submersible upward. As soon as they surfaced alongside the Lady Jane, Nancy opened the hatch and cautiously poked her head out.

  "Well, well, if it isn't Nancy Drew," she heard a man announce.

  Nancy turned in the direction of the voice and found herself staring down the barrel of a pistol. Zach Hardwick and Marcus Morley were aiming guns at her from the deck of the Lady Jane. Behind them, huddled together, were Bess and George. But where was Ned?

  Nancy looked back at the armed men. Her worst fears had come true. Zach and Marcus Morley had taken the Lady Jane by force!

  Chapter Sixteen

  "Get on board, you two. Now!" Marcus Mor-ley snapped at Nancy and Talia. He waved his gun at them from his position on the Lady Jane's deck.

  What's happened to Ned? Nancy kept repeating to herself. She tried to control her terror as she and Talia climbed slowly out of the sub onto the ship.

  "Welcome aboard," Zach said sarcastically. He prodded Nancy with the gun's muzzle until she reached the spot where Bess and George were being held at gunpoint.

  "Is Ned all right?" Nancy whispered anxiously.

  "Oh, Nancy," Bess's voice squeaked with fear. "Ned tried to fight them off. Marcus knocked him out cold and took him below."

  Talia's face darkened with rage as she glared at Zach. "What's gotten into you?" she asked angrily.

  Zach shrugged. "I tried to warn you away from Sean, Talia," he explained, "but you wouldn't listen.' 5

  "You didn't tell me that you were a murdering thief!" Talia retorted.

  "Calm down, Talia," Nancy whispered. "You'll only make things worse."

  "Where's Sean?" George asked as if she were afraid to hear the answer. "Is he—"

  "Sean's all right," Nancy said under her breath. In the distance, Nancy could see Hank Morley's sub tied up to his wooden boat. Hank was moving about on the deck of the other vessel. He's probably collecting what he needs to sink the Lady Jane, Nancy thought uneasily.

  George now followed Nancy's glance. "The bearded guy—Marcus—threatened to shoot us unless we let him on board," George said under her breath. "He held a gun on us until Zach and Hank Morley came back to the surface."

  Nancy leaned over to whisper in George's ear. "Hank Morley intends to sink the Lady Jane — with us on board. Do you know whether Ned was able to send the distress call?" she asked.

  George shook her head. "I'm not sure," she muttered. "He was still tinkering with the radio when Marcus stormed the ship."

  Nancy was thinking fast. She scanned the ocean. She wanted to spot Sean as soon as he surfaced.

  Hank Morley headed toward the Lady Jane in the motorized dinghy. As he boarded their ship, Nancy could see that he was carrying a small wooden crate.

  Opening the crate, Hank pulled out a mass of wires attached to a lump of putty.

  Talia's face blanched when she saw Morley's contraption. "He's got plastic explosive," she said in a trembling voice. "They must be planning to blow us up."

  Bess closed her eyes and moaned softly.

  "He's not going to blow up the ship if I can help it," Nancy muttered. She leaned back to whisper to Talia. "When Sean surfaces, Hank and the others will be distracted. That may be our best chance to make a move."

  Nancy noted the locations of each of their three captors. Marcus Morley and Zach were conferring several feet away from her. Hank Morley stood farther down the side of the ship, gingerly examining the explosive device in his hand.

  "Tell me one thing, Zach," Talia said, glaring at him. "Did you kill my brother, Jaime?"

  Zach shook his head. "No. I didn't have anything to do with that. There really must have been something wrong with his tank," he replied.

  "To tell the truth, his death set the stage for this whole scheme/' he continued. "People wanted to believe in a curse—so we created one."

  Nancy suddenly spotted Sean's head surfacing in the water near Hank Morley. Sean was still clutching Zach's fishing spear.

  Hardwick and Marcus Morley were the next to spot Sean. They turned toward him and started to fire their guns.

  "Now!" Nancy yelled.

  She, George, and Talia charged forward. Nancy's foot shot out with a lightning-quick karate kick that folded Zach in half.

  At the same moment Talia and George sent Marcus Morley sprawling with flying tackles.

  Nancy whirled around, looking for Hank. He had dropped the plastic explosive, she saw, and was reaching for his gun.

  Nancy sprinted across the deck toward him. With another deft kick, she sent the gun skittering away. Bess came up behind Nancy and helped her grab his arms.

  Hank twisted away from them and dove overboard. For a moment it looked as if he might make it to the other boat. Then Sean swam up behind Morley. He held him at bay with the spear, preventing his escape.

  Nancy checked back to see what was happening with the other two. Talia and Bess had jumped on Zach and were pummeling him. Marcus Morley was still sprawled across the deck, knocked out cold.

  Then Nancy heard a low, vibrating noise in the distance. She heaved a sigh of relief. A huge helicopter was making its way toward them across the water.

  "Look, guys. It's the Coast Guard!" Nancy exclaimed. "Ned must have been able to send that SOS, after all."

  "Nancy!" Her heart soared with joy at the sound of a familiar voice behind her. It was Ned! Nancy whirled about and saw him approaching from the rear, rubbing his head. Before he even reached her, she threw herself into his arms.

  "Here's to you, Nancy," Sean said, raising his glass. "You saved my life and the treasure."

  It was late afternoon the following day. Nancy, Sean, Bess, George, Talia, and Leif Doming were celebrating in Sean's favorite restaurant, the Skipper's Loft.

  Leif Doming took a sip of his soda. "I can't believe everything that's happened," he said, reaching over to hug Talia. "I'm glad we were able to bury the hatchet," he said, smiling at Sean.

  "Me, too," Ned said with a grin. "What's in store for Zach and the Morleys?"

  "They're going to get a long, long vacation in prison." The satisfaction was evident in Sean's voice. "They were arraigned this morning on a bunch of charges—including Rusty's murder. Thank goodness I was cleared of it."

  "And you're rich!" Bess squealed happily. "I heard a reporter saying the treasure will be worth millions when it's brought to the surface."

  Sean nodded. He looked at George and smiled shyly. "Speaking of things to treasure—I have something for you, George," he said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a jewelry box and offered it to George.

  George blushed and shook her head. "I can't accept anything expensive, Sean," she protested.

  Sean smiled. "Just open it," he insisted gently.
>
  George opened the box. Inside was a delicate seashell attached to a silver cord.

  George gasped. "It's the shell we found when we were walking on the beach the other day!" she exclaimed. She leaned over and hugged Sean. "Thank you," she said.

  Nancy watched the two of them. She and George had talked about Sean earlier that day, and Nancy felt good about the way her friend was handling things. George had decided to spend time with the treasure hunter during the rest of the vacation, but she knew that neither she nor Sean was in any position to make a commitment.

  "Hey, Drew," Ned said, touching Nancy lightly on the shoulder. "Come outside with me. I want to show you something."

  The two of them strolled through a side door onto a deck that overlooked the peaceful ocean. They stood at the railing, silent for a moment.

  "So what was it you wanted me to see?" Nancy asked finally.

  Ned grinned. "That was just a clever ruse to get you all to myself." He put his arm around her and drew her close. "And now that I've got you, I don't plan to let you go."

  "We still have a little more time together," Nancy said. "Think of all the fun things we can do."

  "My thoughts exactly," Ned replied. "And if any new mysteries turn up, they'll just have to wait, because Nancy Drew is on vacation."

  Nancy laughed softly and leaned back against Ned's chest. She raised her eyes as a sea gull wheeled overhead. The bird spread its wings and glided gently downward until it vanished against the setting sun.