by David Wood
“I have three younger brothers, all of them knuckleheads. I’ve got this.”
“I can help,” Alexei said. “I’ve got nothing better to do until tomorrow.”
Bones thanked them and told them where Sea Foam was docked. “After dinner, if you’ll hand him over to my friends on the crew, that would be great. I don’t know when to expect Maddock and Rae.” On impulse, he gave Val a quick, around the shoulder hug. “You are the man.”
Val turned to the redhead. “Good luck with this one. He never knows the right thing to say.”
Bones introduced himself to the woman, who said her name was Thel.
“Short for Thelma?”
“No. It’s short for Thelxiope. It’s Greek.”
“It’s pretty,” Bones said, unable to find a mental footing. This was crazy. Thel was hardly the first beautiful woman he chatted up, but there was something about her that he found intoxicating.
“Thank you. You have nice eyes.” The simple complement sent shivers down his spine.
“So, what’s your poison?” He inclined his head in the direction of the bar.
“Oh, I didn’t mean buy me a drink literally. That stuff really is poison. I was thinking we could take a walk.”
“Sounds good to me.” Bones offered his elbow and she hooked her arm in his. Her touch was electric. It reminded him of the sensation he’d felt the first time he’d held hands with a girl. But that had been a long time ago and him just a kid. He found himself both excited and unsettled to have such a reaction now. Before he realized what he was doing, he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
She smiled and took a step back. “Slow down, Casanova. We just met. But it was a very nice kiss.”
“Sorry. I just like you a lot.”
“I like you, too.”
She took his hand and they strolled along the pier back toward shore, basking in the glow of the afternoon sun. Bones tried to make conversation, but Thel didn’t seem to want to talk.
“So, where are you from?”
“Here.” She didn’t elaborate.
“Lived here long?”
“A very long time.”
For a girl who, moments before had come right up to him and boldly asked him to buy her a drink, she sure seemed closed-lipped now. A thought occurred to him. Holy crap, what if she was a hooker and this was a business transaction? He’d made that mistake before.
“What kind of work do you do?”
“I’m a recruiter.”
“Corporate?”
She shrugged. “It’s a small organization. We conduct genetic research. I would tell you more about it but I...” She paused, thinking.
“Signed an NDA?” Bones finally asked.
Thel nodded vigorously. “That’s right,” she said, smiling. “Sorry, I’m a little out to lunch.” Her smile evaporated.
“Are you here on business or for pleasure? Or a little of both?”
Thel’s brow furrowed as if the question confused her. “I’m attending a conference at the resort up the road,” she said quickly. “It’s just that I don’t like to talk about my job. It’s not much fun and I hardly get any time away from it.”
“You said you could tell me about Riddick Blackwood,” Bones said, changing the subject.
She frowned. “Blackwood? Oh, yes.” She let go of Bones’ hand, turned, and leaned against the rail. The afternoon sun sparkled in her eyes and on her fiery hair. She suddenly looked sad. “Riddick Blackwood is a rapacious man. His appetites can never be satisfied.”
Bones thought the use of the present tense was odd. The girl had a flair for the dramatic. “Did those appetites include treasure?”
Thel nodded but didn’t elaborate. An odd flask was hooked to her belt. Somehow, Bones hadn’t noticed it until now. The woman really muddled his senses. It was a rustic looking thing, made of clay and stoppered with an old cork.
“That’s cool? Is that some kind of antique?
Thel glanced down at the flask and her cheeks reddened. “Not an antique, but you can’t buy it at Woolworth’s.”
Bones scratched his head. “I don’t think that chain is around anymore.”
Thel winced and looked away. She seemed to be debating something. Then she hastily unhooked and unstoppered it, took a drink, and then offered it to him.
“You should try this,” she said quickly. “It’s the best water in the world.”
“I don’t know about that. I grew up in the Appalachians. Have you ever taken a drink from a mountain spring?”
“I’m not joking,” she said. “This stuff is groovy.” She thrust the flask into his hands, rose up on her tiptoes, and whispered in his ear. “I promise you. It really is the best water in the world.”
Bones felt goosebumps on his neck where her warm breath caressed his skin. He looked down at the flask. Not only was it made of clay, but the inside was lined with something green. Moss or seaweed or something like that.
“This thing is handcrafted.”
“I made it myself. It’s one of my hobbies.” She put a finger under the flask and tilted it up toward his lips. “Now, drink.”
Bones drank. The moment the water touched his lips he knew Thel had been right. This was the best water in the world. It was like nectar of the gods. Tingled in a refreshing way, and he felt a tingling sensation all over his body. His head, already swimming just for being this close to the beautiful young woman, began to drift into a beautiful daydream that involved the two of them, an isolated beach, and lots of tanning oil.
Thel snatched it away almost immediately. “Not too much,” she said.
“Whoa, these edibles have got a kick,” he joked.
She frowned. “It’s water.”
He began to explain that he’d only been kidding, but she ignored him.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said.
“Could I have another drink, first?” He’d only gotten a taste, not even one good swallow, but he was dying for another drink.
“Maybe later. Let’s keep walking.”
He couldn’t explain why, but he wanted to do whatever this young woman said. It wasn’t just that she was beautiful. She was... persuasive.
They took off their shoes and walked in the surf. Bones did most of the talking. He began with the broad strokes, family, friends, his time in the service. But soon he was revealing deeply personal things, stuff he didn’t even talk to Maddock about. He was aware of what he was doing, but he couldn’t stop himself.
For her part, Thel said little. Oddly, her vocabulary was peppered with outdated idioms like groovy, hip, and I can dig it. He didn’t mind. Her presence was intoxicating.
He felt as if he were flying, and he looked down to make sure his feet still touched the sand. He was surprised to see that despite that heat of the late afternoon, fog was rolling in off the sea. He looked around. He couldn’t see the sun, or the sky for that matter. All he could see was Thel’s smiling face.
“This water is kicking my ass,” he said. “In a good way.” He wondered if he ought to be concerned. This couldn’t be ordinary water. She must have dosed him, but looking into her eyes, he didn’t care.
“It’s trippy the first time you drink it,” she said. “But don’t worry. It’s just very good water.”
“Are you sure?” he said. “This is nothing like a mountain spring.”
“You are not what I expected,” Thel said quickly.
“What do you mean?”
“The truth is, I thought you were all brawn and no brains. Good breeding stock.”
“You make me sound like a prize stallion,” he said. “But don’t get me wrong. I like to have a good time as much as the next guy, but I’m not interested in reproducing any time soon.”
Thel gazed at him for what felt like an eternity. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration. She bit her lip.
“You all right?” he asked.
“How do you feel?” she asked, tension filling her voice.
“Like I’m floating in a cloud.” He paused. “My mouth tastes weird. Really, really dry.”
“We’ll get you something to drink.”
“You’ve got water.”
“No!” she said abruptly. “You shouldn’t have too much. It’s a bad idea.”
“Okay, no worries.” He couldn’t hide his disappointment. He could think of nothing but another drink.
“Oh, don’t look like that. I’m sure there’s something else we could do.” She smiled and batted her eyelashes like an actress in an old movie.
“What did you have in mind?”
“Come on. I know a place.”
Wandering in a half-stupor, Bones allowed her to lead him away. He didn’t know where they were headed, but right now he’d follow this girl to the gates of hell.
6
Nassau, Bahamas
The College of the Bahamas was located in the capital city of Nassau on the island of New Providence, just a short ferry ride from Andros. The main building was a two-story structure, its entrance done in Greek Revival style, with a pedimented gable supported by four massive white columns. Palm trees flanked the entrance, swaying in the breeze. Three tall, arched wooden doors provided access inside.
Classes were not in session, so the building, like the rest of the campus, was eerily quiet. Rae led the way along a series of corridors and up a flight of stairs to a door simply marked Laboratory. She looked around nervously.
“Is something wrong?” Maddock asked.
“No. It’s just that... It’s not that I’m not allowed to be in here, it’s just that I don’t normally work in this lab. I’d rather not have to explain to anyone what I’m doing.”
“But you’re on the faculty?”
“Yes. I’m a female faculty member in a department of male academics in the field of Biological Science. That doesn’t garner me a lot of respect.”
Just then, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Rae hurriedly unlocked the lab door and ushered him inside. Leaving the lights off, she closed the door behind them and they waited listening.
The footsteps came closer.
There was a small window in the door and Maddock peered out. All he could see, however, was the outline of a figure silhouetted in front of a large picture window.
“Can you see anything?” Rae whispered.
“It’s a man,” he said softly. “But I can’t tell much else.” He didn’t feel as if they were in danger. But he also didn’t want Rae to get into trouble while doing a favor for him.
“Let me look.” Rae slipped in front of him and he took a step back so she could look outside. “And there he goes, whoever he is.” She turned and smiled. “Must’ve been one of the maintenance staff. We ought to be okay. I didn’t see a single light on in any of the offices.” She flipped on the light. “I don’t know what I was so nervous about. I have a right to be here, even if certain people don’t think so.”
“Anyone in particular?”
“Yes.” She flashed him a dark look but said no more and Maddock didn’t press.
Rae took the egg out of the backpack and carried it over to a device that Maddock did not immediately recognize. It was a metal square with a hinged door on the front, like a smaller version of a dishwasher you’d find in a commercial kitchen. Except it was connected to a keyboard. She opened the door and carefully placed the egg in an upright position with its base in a concave stand at the center of what looked like an old record turntable.
“Are we going to play it like a phonograph record?”
“Ha ha, funny guy. This is a knockoff version of a 3-D scanner. The object slowly rotates and this row of lasers,” she pointed to a vertical strip of tiny lights running up one side of the interior, “casts light on the surface. The instrument reads the wavelengths of the reflected light and the results are transferred to the computer over here.” She pointed to a monitor a few feet away. “It’s essentially the modern way of making a plaster cast of something. But it’s much more accurate. The lasers record lines that have mostly faded away, and it doesn’t damage the instrument.”
Maddock had heard of this technology but had never seen it in action. “Interesting. I’ve been wanting to see one of these.”
“It’s funny you mentioned phonograph records,” she said as she closed the door on the scanner. “Back in the eighties, 3-D scanners used what they called contact probes, sensors that actually touched the artifact, like a record needle touched the spinning record, and recorded the bumps and dips. This way is much more accurate and there’s no risk of harm to the artifact.” She tapped a few keys and the computer flared to life. A few more commands and the scanner began to hum.
“How long does the process take?” Maddock asked.
“Not long at all. It’s not a large artifact and it appears to be in decent shape.”
They stood in silence, watching the computer screen as if waiting for a cake to rise. After a few minutes he began to feel a little foolish.
“You know what they say about a watched pot,” Maddock said.
“You’re right. We need a way to kill time.” Rae thought for a moment. “Tell you what. You tell me something you’ve never told anyone else.”
“Does that include Bones? Because I gave up trying to keep anything from that guy a long time ago. He is ridiculously nosy.”
Rae made a disapproving frown. “Do your best.”
Maddock considered the question for a moment. There were plenty of things he had never told anyone, but in most cases there was a very good reason for his silence. Hell, a lot of the stuff he wasn’t even allowed to talk about.
“I found the wreckage of Amelia Earhart’s plane.”
Rae gaped at him for a full three seconds before she started laughing.
“Come on. Take the game seriously.”
“All right. I’ll come up with something else.” Of course she didn’t believe him, even though it was true. Maddock thought quickly. “When I was a kid, my dad went to Nova Scotia for a few weeks every summer. He was a treasure hunter too, but one of the academic variety. He was interested in all sorts of pirate treasure but his great passion was Captain Kidd. I always wanted to go along with him but he would never let me and he wouldn’t explain why.”
“Oh, that’s tragic.” Rae mimed a shocked face, pressed her fingertips to her cheeks. “How horrible it must have been to have to call your dad on the phone a few weeks a year. Sorry. That was mean of me.”
“It’s fine, but that’s not it,” Maddock said laughing. Of course someone who grew up in the foster care system would have trouble mustering much sympathy for the middle-class kid with two loving parents who didn’t get to go on a particular vacation with his dad. “It wasn’t about missing the trip. The summer I turned thirteen, he was up in Nova Scotia, and a letter arrived from one of his treasure hunting buddies. Inside was a small section of an old map. I was feeling spiteful so I burned it.” He hung his head at the admission. “I always wondered if maybe I had thrown away the key to him finding Kidd’s treasure.”
“First of all,” Rae began, “I’m horrified that you threw away a piece of history, even if it wouldn’t have led to anything significant.”
“Believe me, I feel the same way.”
“Second of all, don’t beat yourself up. I once stabbed one of my foster dads. Of course, he deserved it.”
Maddock didn’t need to ask what the man had done. The look in her eyes said it all. He wasn’t certain how he should reply. He was saved when the computer monitor flared to life. A series of images began to scroll up. Maddock gazed, mesmerized at the pictures. It was like watching an ancient world comic strip.
In the first image, a giant sea monster destroyed a sailing ship. As they went on, Maddock recognized images from Greek mythology. He pointed to an image that showed a ship in peril, with a sea monster off its port bow and a whirlpool to starboard.
“Scylla and Charybdis,” he said.
“You consider me a young apprentice
,” Rae sang.
“I hate to break it to you, but that’s something Bones would do. But you have a much nicer voice.”
“Thank you.” She indicated another image, this one of a serpentine creature with tentacles and a long muzzle swimming toward a woman chained to a rock. Above her, a warrior held out his clenched fist.
“Cetus and Andromeda,” she said.
Maddock tilted his head. There was something about the picture that was a little bit off.
“I think so, but if that is supposed to be Perseus, something is missing.”
She gasped. “He ought to be holding Medusa’s head.”
“He’s going to have a tough time beating the giant sea monster without it.”
“Pretty cool, huh?” Rae asked, grinning.
“It’s baffling is what it is. We’ve got what appears to be an ancient world ship, carrying an egg engraved with scenes out of Greek mythology. Can we get a print out of that?”
“Absolutely.” She tapped a few keys and somewhere behind them the printer began to whine. She opened the scanner and took out the egg. “Now for the good stuff!”
Next, she placed the artifact in a CAT scan machine. CAT was an acronym for computerized axial tomography, although Rae said that academics had begun simply referring to it as a CT or computerized tomography scan. Primarily used in the medical field, the scan should give them images from all angles of anything that might be hidden inside the egg without damaging the artifact.
When they got the results, they examined them on a different computer monitor. Each image showed a dark shape inside the egg, right at its center.
“There’s definitely something in there,” Rae said.
“I can’t tell what it is. It’s just kind of a mass.”
“Maybe one of these other angles will give us a clearer picture.” She cycled through several more images and then a distinct shape appeared. They couldn’t make out a lot of detail, but it was definitely ring-shaped, with irregularities that suggested it had been sculpted. “It’s made of metal. And I think this,” she tapped a lighter spot on the image, “could be a jewel, but we won’t know for sure unless we...” She bit her lip.