Garden of Forbidden Secrets

by Eric Wilder

  “This boat is beautiful. You said it was a rumrunner. What’s the rest of the story?” Eddie asked.

  “This beautiful old lady’s name is Argo. A rumrunner who lived part-time on Oyster Island owned her. Its original name was the Island Mistress because though the rumrunner had a wife and family in New York, he had a mistress who lived with him during the time he spent on the island.”

  “Interesting,” Eddie said.

  “The Argo was built in 1928. The decks are teak, the hull constructed of the finest Douglas fir. A 180-horsepower diesel engine propels it, and its dual 200-gallon fuel tanks are big enough to get you to the Bahamas.”

  “So the Argo was used to smuggle illegal alcohol?”

  “She was registered as a fishing vessel. Her crew would pick up a load of hooch, store it in the hold, and top it with a load of fish. She’s so slow the Coast Guard never suspected she carried illegal booze in her hold.”

  Eddie glanced around at the polished brass and woodwork in the cozy wheelhouse.

  “Is that unusual?”

  “Pretty much so. The Coast Guard had a fleet of fast boats armed with cannons. Most rumrunners, much faster than the Argo, were shot out of the water.”

  “Sounds like a dangerous profession,” Eddie said.

  “But lucrative. The man who owned the Argo lived like a king on Oyster Island.”

  “The Feds never caught him?”

  Jack laughed. “No, but his jealous wife finally did. Shot his knee off and crippled him. Stopped his running around forever. She also made him change the name of the Island Mistress to Argo.”

  “The reason I’ve never been married,” Eddie said. “Where are we heading?”

  “A barrier bar just ahead. The water depth drops off pretty fast on the Gulf side. It’s about fifty feet deep where you’ll be diving, the water fairly clear.”

  Jack handed him a pair of binoculars. Eddie saw the barren, low-lying island that paralleled the shoreline.

  “What do you expect to find?” Eddie asked.

  “Ruined hulls of boats caught out beyond the barriers during unexpected storms.”

  “But not a Spanish treasure ship?”

  “Just some old fishing boats which had no business motoring this far from shore,” Jack said.

  “Are we in any danger?” Eddie asked.

  “The Argo is seaworthy and has traveled more than once all the way to Jamaica. In anything short of a hurricane, she’s good to go.”

  “What happens if we get caught in a hurricane?” Eddie asked.

  “A hundred years from now, divers would be motoring out to dive atop our remains,” Jack said.

  Chapter 20

  A flock of brown pelicans lifted skyward as the Argo motored past the barrier island. Eddie watched as they headed north to avoid the approaching storm. A hundred yards on the seaward side of the island, Jack killed the engine, drifted to a stop and dropped anchor. Eddie followed him out of the wheelhouse and down the ladder to the main deck.

  Chief was waiting for them, the diving tanks resting against the hull and wetsuits draped over the railing. A dull gray sky had only grown dimmer as Chief and Eddie pulled on their wetsuits and readied their equipment. Jack was polishing the railing with an old rag.

  “You’re not diving with us?” Eddie asked.

  “Would if I could swim,” Jack said.

  “In the Navy for thirty years and can’t swim. How’d you get away with that?”

  “Wasn’t easy.”

  “You wouldn’t be pulling my leg, would you?”

  “Nope, can’t swim a lick.”

  “Being out on the water doesn’t scare you?”

  “Not anymore,” Jack said. “At least until someone reminds me.”

  “Sorry about that,” Eddie said. “What would you do if our boat started sinking?”

  “Take the rubber life raft, or else go down with the ship,” Jack said.

  Chief had heard it all before and was shaking his head as he adjusted the air tank on his back.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  Eddie gave him the high sign. “Any special instructions?”

  “Just follow me down,” Chief said.

  Chief did a backward splash into the blue water of the Gulf, and Eddie followed him off the side of the boat. The anxiety he’d had about diving in the Gulf disappeared as he sank beneath the surface. Chief was below him, bubbles from his regulator rising upward as he tracked the anchor line to the bottom.

  Visibility was good, though the water was a hazy shade of bluish-green, ambient light fading as they reached the bottom. Bits of metal and other debris lay on the sandy floor, green and red organisms growing on top moving like slow motion dancers in the current. A school of groupers swam between them. Not far away, Eddie saw something else.

  A jumble of old cars and boat hulls lay strewn on the sandy surface. Eels and tiny fishes swam among the cracks and crevasses, and Eddie realized why the large school of groupers had congregated at that particular spot. The old vehicles formed an artificial reef on the floor of the Gulf, and all manner of fish and vegetation had taken advantage.

  Chief swam past the maze of old wrecks after giving the man-made reef a cursory inspection. Enthralled by the plethora of life that had assembled around the old wrecks, Eddie gave it a closer look. When he saw a glint of light reflecting off something rocking in the gentle current, he was glad he did. Scooping it up, he placed it in the pouch attached to his wetsuit.

  Chief was looking for something else and moved around the vehicles in ever-widening circles. A large shark swam past them as he turned back toward the anchor. When they reached the line, Chief grabbed it, pointed toward the surface and started up. They got a surprise when they reached the surface.

  The frontal edge of a storm was upon them, heavy rain rippling the Gulf’s surface. Chief heaved his fins over the railing and started up the ladder to the deck of the Argo. Lightning lighted the dark sky, thunder sounding almost immediately as Eddie followed Chief up the ladder. Jack was in the wheelhouse and shouted to them as they hurried to remove their tanks.

  “Get a move on and let’s get the hell out of here. This old tub’s too slow to outrun the storm, and we’re about to catch hell.”

  Rain pummeled the deck as Chief and Eddie hurriedly stowed their gear and made for the ladder up to the wheelhouse. Waves were pouring over the deck, the old boat rocking as Chief reached the ladder. Missing a rung, he lost his footing, and his grip, and fell backward into Eddie’s arms. Blinded by the tumult and the wildly rocking boat, he didn’t see him coming.

  Eddie tried to hold on and break his fall, but Chief was simply too big and too slippery. Even amid the fury of the storm, Eddie heard a crack when Chief hit the deck.

  “You okay, Big Guy?” Eddie asked.

  Chief struggled to get up. “I think I broke my arm,” he said.

  Eddie grabbed him around the waist, wrestling him into a sitting position.

  “You gotta help me,” Eddie said. “We need to get below before we get washed overboard.”

  Eddie pulled the big man to his feet. This time, they avoided the ladder and made their way around the deck to the door leading into the main cabin. Chief grimaced as Eddie managed to lay him on the bunk. Jack had raised the anchor, turned the old boat around and was making toward shore.

  Chief was looking unwell and holding his arm. Finding a butcher knife in the galley, Eddie sliced the sleeve of the wetsuit to reveal the injury. The wound was more than just a break, The bone had pierced the skin and blood was soaking Chief’s arm. Eddie found some rags, applied a tourniquet and compressed the wound as best he could to staunch the bleeding.

  Chief nodded when Eddie asked, “Are you going to make it? Then hang tight a minute. I’ve got to tell Jack what happened.”

  Rain pelted Eddie’s head as he exited the cabin door. He could barely keep his footing as he climbed the ladder to the wheelhouse. Bounding through the door, he forced it shut with some difficul
ty.

  “What’s going on down there?” Jack said.

  “Chief fell and broke his arm.”

  “Bad?” Jack asked.

  “Real bad. The bone splintered and punctured the skin. I got the bleeding stopped, but we need to get him to a doctor.”

  “There’s a hospital about twenty miles up the road from the island. I’ll call for an ambulance. With a little luck, it’ll be waiting for us when we reach port.”

  “Are we going to make it?” Eddie asked.

  “Made in the shade,” Jack said. “We were safe once we passed through to the lee side of the barrier islands. Go take care of Chief.”

  “He’s in a lot of pain,” Eddie said. “Got anything to help him?”

  Jack tossed him a flask. “Give him some of this. Hell! Give it all to him.”

  The rain continued falling in waves as Eddie exited the wheelhouse. At least the boat was no longer rocking nor waves crashing the deck. Chief hadn’t moved from the bunk where Eddie had left him.

  “You okay?” Eddie asked.

  Chief’s eyes were half closed, and he was chanting in some language Eddie didn’t understand. After loosening the tourniquet and checking the bandage to make sure the bleeding had stopped, he opened the flask and held it to Chief’s lips. After the initial sip, Chief quickly slurped the rest of it down.

  “Thank you,” he said in a whispered voice.

  “There’ll be an ambulance waiting when we reach the marina. Jack says it isn’t far to a hospital. You’ll be okay.”

  The ambulance was waiting as they motored into the little harbor, docking with a precise thud. EMTs hurried aboard, removing Chief on a stretcher and taking him to the awaiting ambulance.

  “I’m going with him,” Jack said.

  Dressed in a rain slicker, Odette grabbed Eddie’s wrist.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “Chief took a tumble and broke his arm.”

  They watched as the ambulance raced away, its siren blaring.

  “Come inside,” Odette said. “Let's get you warmed up and something to eat.

  The building was dark. Odette had a flashlight and led the way. When they reached the restaurant, candles lighted the gloom.

  “Where is everybody?” Eddie asked.

  “The squall knocked out the power, and the workmen all went home early. Lucky for us there are plenty of storm candles.”

  “I’ve got to get out of this wetsuit,” Eddie said.

  Odette handed him the flashlight. “Be careful going up the stairs. Good thing we have gas because I have a pot of gumbo simmering on the stove.”

  Feeling safe and warm for the first time in many hours, Eddie returned dressed in chinos and monsoon sweater, the aroma of spicy gumbo easily leading him to the kitchen.

  “Grab a chair at the table. I’ll get you a bowl,” Odette said.

  Spotting him from her bed beside the stove, Mudbug came running. Eddie picked her up and put her in his lap.

  “Did you miss me, girl?” he said.

  Mudbug’s wagging tail told him she had. Odette was smiling when she placed a steaming bowl of gumbo and dish of rice on the table.

  “She likes you,” she said.

  “What’s not to like?”

  Eddie’s long hair was still damp, and Odette began drying it with a bar rag.

  “You’ll catch your death running around in this weather with wet hair,” she said. “Did you find what you were looking for out there?”

  “You mean your Spanish treasure ship?”

  “What else would I be talking about?” she said.

  “All we found was a jumble of old wrecked cars and boats, though I now know where to go fishing.”

  “Artificial reefs,” Odette said. “They’re all over the Gulf. Did Chief and Jack tell you what they were looking for?”

  “No, but it wasn’t what we found. I didn’t have a chance to talk to Jack about it though I could tell Chief wasn’t a happy camper.”

  “Will he be okay?”

  “I think so. He was in lots of pain, so I gave him some of Jack’s rum. He’ll have more than just an aching arm when he wakes up tomorrow.”

  When Odette finished cleaning the kitchen, she sat down with Eddie. Eddie had found a bottle of scotch in the bar and was having a drink. The storm had stalled over the island, rain pelting the window panes. It didn’t seem to matter as the scotch, along with the flickering candles, had begun lulling Eddie into a relaxing stupor.

  “You okay?” Odette said, shaking his shoulder.

  “Sorry,” Eddie said. “I didn’t get much sleep last night. This scotch and your wonderful gumbo have me more relaxed than I’d care to admit.”

  “Why don’t you just go upstairs and get some sleep? Everyone’s gone home, and there’s nothing left to do here.”

  “Stay with me tonight,” Eddie said. “The weather’s too wild out there to risk sleeping in the tent.”

  “You’re my employer. Good employees don’t sleep with their bosses.”

  “I know. I’ve been fighting the urge to ask you since you met us at the dock,” Eddie said.

  “We just met last night. Though I may have worked in a strip joint, I’ve never been one to sleep around.”

  “There’s a spare bedroom in my apartment. At least stay there for the night. I wouldn’t get a wink of sleep if I knew you and Mudbug were out in the storm.”

  Odette grinned. “Sure you won’t come sneaking into my room during the night?”

  “There’s a lock on the door,” he said. “You’d have to want to let me in.”

  “What are we going to do, Eddie? You know I’m attracted to you. I want this job as restaurant manager more than I’ve wanted anything since I can remember. Please don’t spoil it for me.”

  “I won’t,” he said. “I promise. Chief and Jack didn’t find what they were looking for. I found something quite interesting.”

  “Spanish doubloon?”

  “Wait here, and I’ll show you,” he said.

  Eddie retraced his steps up the dark stairway to his apartment, returning with the pouch from his wetsuit. Opening it, he pulled out an ornate bottle of rum and set it on the table. Though the bottle was burnished by sand and the motion of currents, the seal was intact and still filled with dark rum, the same as the day it had been bottled.

  “Where did you find this?” she asked.

  “Among the wrecked cars in the man-made reef. I looked for more. This was the only one I found. It’s what you really came to the island for, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Chief said Jack was drunk and making a fool of himself when he pulled him out of the bar.”

  “Jack was drunk. We were sitting together at the bar. He was trying to come on to me and hoping like hell I would respond.”

  “Where was Chief?”

  “Sitting alone, watching the dancers on stage. Jack was buying me drinks, and I was only half-listening. Until. . .”

  “Until what?”

  “He started talking about sunken treasure. I was laughing at him, telling him I’d heard the story before. He staggered out to his truck and returned with a bottle of rum just like the one you found today and gave it to me.”

  “Did he say where he got it?”

  “No, but he said it was worth its weight in gold, and there were lots more bottles on the island just like it. When Chief checked on him and realized how wasted he was, he carted him out of there.”

  “My friend Bertram says it’s the best rum he’s ever tasted.”

  “I took pictures of the bottle with my cell phone and researched it the next day at the Tulane library. It is from a distillery in the Dominican Republic and was bottled during Prohibition. I sold it to a pawn dealer for five-hundred bucks, and he told me an unopened bottle would be worth at least three-thousand dollars.”

  “You drank the rum?” Eddie asked.

  “It was only half full when Jack gave it to me. You had some of it last n
ight.”

  “No wonder it tasted so good. Did you figure out how it got here on the island?”

  “This island was once a haven for rumrunners and a major entry point for illegal booze coming into Louisiana. I’m betting somewhere out there, a sunken rumrunner, still loaded with crates of Dominican rum, is waiting for us to salvage it.”

  Chapter 21

  Madeline and I watched in surprise as Adela hugged the large raven to her breast, kissing its beak and ruffling the feathers of its head with her chin. Calpurnia reveled in the attention. If birds could smile, she would have been smiling.

  “You two know each other?” Madeline said.

  Adela’s face glowed with a satisfied smile. “Although I haven’t the foggiest idea how it’s possible, I feel as if we do. I’ve also enjoyed meeting you and visiting your shop and beautiful courtyard, though I’m not sure why Wyatt brought me here.”

  Calpurnia climbed back onto Adela’s shoulder when she finally stopped caressing her. The bird continued rubbing her head against Adela’s neck and calling her Aisling.

  Madeline took the tea tray and pointed to the door of the building where she lived.

  “Wyatt is a man who rarely does anything without a purpose. He brought you here because we have important things to discuss. It is getting chilly out on the patio. Please come with me to the house.”

  Calpurnia hopped on Adela’s hand when she placed it near her shoulder. When she lifted her hand, Calpurnia flew into the air and began circling her head.

  “Aisling,” she said. “Aisling.”

  Madeline took our cups, and we followed her into the living area. She led us into a room with a dinner table that overlooked the courtyard through a large window.

  “Sit,” she said. “Now, I think Wyatt has something to tell me. Am I correct?”

  “Something important I think you can help us with,” I said.

  “Then speak. Perhaps we can make some sense of how my majestic raven seems to know this beautiful young woman.”