by Eric Wilder
“Fine,” Odette said. “Then we’ll all go. We need to be in the water at first light, the moment the storm ends.”
“Sounds to me as if Odette is the smartest one here,” Chief said.
“I second that,” Eddie said.
“I got no problem with that,” Jack said. “We’ve been looking for the sunken boat now for five years. If Odette can tell us where it is, I’m ready to kiss her ass.”
Chief laughed. “You’ve been ready to do that since the night we met her in New Orleans.”
“I meant no disrespect,” Jack said.
“None taken,” Odette said. “Let’s clean up, get Brutus, and then have a look at those charts. With all this pressure on me, I just hope I’m able to perform.”
When they left the restaurant, they were wearing storm slickers. Odette had tucked Mudbug beneath hers. Jack fumbled with the keys when they reached the metal building.
“Hurry up before we drown,” Chief said.
“Hold your horses,” Jack said. “It’s dark, and I can barely see.”
The metal door soon creaked open, the stale air inside gushing out. Jack fumbled for the lights. When they came on, Eddie was amazed at how big the building was. They not only saw the ATV, but also the black Range Rover that went with the restaurant.
“Hope this metal bucket has a lightning rod,” Chief said.
Illuminated by fluorescent lighting, Eddie could see the stacks of wooden crates that filled the large metal building almost to the ceiling.
“What’s in all these crates?” Eddie asked.
“Who the hell knows?” Jack said. “Most everything in here has been stored since the original owners shut this development down some seventy years ago. One thing for sure, everything in this building is yours. Mr. Castellano told me so.”
“Is there a manifest anywhere that catalogs the contents of the boxes?” Eddie asked.
“None I’ve ever seen,” Jack said.
“The boxes are marked with different symbols. Surely, there’s a meaning,” Eddie said.
“Could be,” Jack said. “Right now, we better get moving. We can worry about these boxes at any time.”
Jack started to get behind the wheel. Odette stopped him.
“I’ve always wanted to drive one of these things,” she said.
Jack moved out of the way. “Be careful. It has more power than you think. Don’t let it get away from you.”
Odette patted Jack on the butt. “Don’t worry. I’ll get us to where we’re going in one piece.”
“Yes ma’am,” he said, climbing into the front passenger seat.
Jack was holding Mudbug in his lap, Eddie, and Chief holding on for dear life in the backseat as Odette powered up the hill to the lighthouse. When she slid up to the front door, Jack handed Mudbug to her and then ran inside to get Brutus. Jack returned with the dog and two bottles of rum.
“Someone needs to direct me to Chief’s teepee,” Odette said.
“Might help if you’d turn on the headlights,” Jack said.
“You could have told me this bucket of bolts has headlights,” Odette said. “How do you turn them on?”
Jack reached across her and turned on the lights.
“Down the hill,” Chief said. “I’ll give you directions as we go.”
With Chief’s help, Odette followed the beach until he tapped her left shoulder.
“Left?” she said.
“Straight up the hill. Watch out for the trees. You’ll go straight to it,” Chief said.
They found Chief’s teepee at the top of the hill, in a grove of old-growth oaks. Odette pulled up to the front flap, and they all piled out, following Chief into the teepee. Chief sat on an Indian rug and used flint to start a fire in the center of the teepee.
“I could have lent you a match,” Eddie said.
“It’s important to honor the old ways,” Chief said. “Jack, can you feed my animals?”
“Sure,” Jack said.
“You have animals?” Odette asked.
“You kidding?” Jack said. “Chief here’s a rancher. He’s got horses, cattle, cats, stray dogs. Why hell, you just name it, Chief’s got them.”
“I’ll help you,” Odette said. “I love animals.”
The fire in the center of the teepee had warmed the large structure when Odette and Jack returned from feeding Chief’s animals.
“You have a llama?” Odette asked.
“She keeps the coyotes away,” Chief said.
“Is that a still in the back of the teepee?” Odette said.
“Are you a government agent?”
“No,” she said.
“I can’t always trust Jack to supply my alcoholic needs,” Chief said.
“The Chief here makes some of the best moonshine in the parish,” Jack said.
“I’ve never tasted moonshine,” Odette said.
Jack glanced at the top of the teepee where the smoke from the fire was exiting, and said, “Good Lord, have mercy!”
Chief hefted a ceramic jug over his shoulder, took a swig, and then handed it to Odette.
“Watch it, Missy. It kicks like a mule, and it’ll knock you on your ass quicker than you can say scat,” Chief said.
“Whoa!” Odette said after drinking a healthy slug. “What’s the alcohol content of this shine?”
“You don’t even want to know,” Jack said. “Take a gander at these charts before you drink anymore. If you don’t, you’ll be out for about eight hours.”
Odette passed the jug to Eddie, and he took a healthy swig. Jack grinned as he watched Eddie’s eyes cross.
“Damn!” Eddie said. “That burned all the way down. This shit’s potent.”
“Moderate,” Chief said. “You just don’t know how potent. Sometimes Jack and I use it, instead of peyote, in my sweat lodge.”
“You have a sweat lodge?” Odette said.
“Yes ma’am, I do,” Chief said.
“I want to try it,” she said.
“It’s for men only,” Chief said.
“Are we partners or not?” Odette said.
“Hell, Chief,” Jack said. “We ain’t never seen any spirits yet, and I’m pretty sure your sweat lodge don’t work. What will it hurt?”
Chief glanced at the escaping smoke as nearby thunder shook the teepee. “What the hell,” he said. “While you’re studying the charts, I’ll go crank up the sweat lodge. Maybe it’s time for divine intervention.”
Chapter 26
Morning found Odette, Eddie, and Jack in Chief’s sweat lodge. Despite the rain that continued to fall, temperatures inside the small teepee had reached triple digits. Stoked by Chief’s moonshine, singing, and one-handed drumming of his tom-tom, they hadn’t really noticed.
Before the ceremony had begun, they’d stripped off their clothes. Dressed only in breechcloths and ceremonial paint, they’d taken to the native ritual with enthusiasm. A bucket of cold water in Eddie’s face awoke him from his stupor. Cold water also rudely awakened Odette and Jack.
“Everyone up,” Chief said. “The ceremony ends with a ritual bath at Dripping Springs.”
They followed Chief down a path through thick trees that led to a clear pool created by the damming of a small creek. Impermeable clay formed the bottom of the pool. Water from the previous night’s rain poured over the little dam. Jack stuck his toe in the water.
“I’ll pass,” he said. “Too damn cold for this old sailor.”
“It won’t kill you,” Chief said.
Jack reluctantly followed Odette and Eddie into the water. Chief threw them sponges.
“Wash off the paint and reflect on your moments in the sweat lodge.”
Eddie was rubbing his temples. “Remind me to never drink moonshine again. That stuff will kill you.”
“Tell me about it,” Odette said. “This cold dip is starting to revive me.”
“Dripping Springs mineral water,” Jack said. “There was a spa on the island in the thirties. People paid bi
g bucks to bathe here.”
Eddie dipped his head beneath the water then used his hands to squeeze the liquid out of his long hair.
“I’m starting to feel a little better,” he said.
Chief tossed them towels when they exited the pool, and they wrapped themselves in them on their walk back to the teepee. After dressing, they returned to the restaurant in the ATV.
“You didn’t tell us much last night after looking at the charts,” Jack said.
“Tell you the truth, I don’t remember much of anything about last night,” Odette said. “Let’s go to the kitchen. I’ll cook breakfast, and then study the charts.”
“I have a better idea,” Jack said. “I’ll cook breakfast. From the look of the clouds, I’d say this little patch of clear weather is going to be short-lived.”
Except for Jack, they were soon sitting around the old plank table, drinking coffee, and eating bacon and eggs, as Odette studied the charts. The workers had already arrived, and Jack was busy cooking and feeding them. When the last worker had eaten, he joined the others at the table.
“Any idea where the boat went down?” Odette asked.
Jack pointed to a spot on one of the charts. “The barrier islands form a natural levee around Oyster Island. Problem is, some of the islands don’t protrude out of the water much or else lie a few feet below the surface. They pose a danger to large boats riding low in the water.”
“Even with bottom finders?” Odette asked.
“The locals didn’t need bottom finders. The Coast Guard boats were too big to get into the harbor except by way of the main channel. If a rumrunner could make it through an opening, they could usually escape their pursuers. The night the Coast Guard blew the Island Star out of the water, that wasn’t the case.”
“Are you sure this is where the boat went down?” Odette asked.
“It’s where the Coast Guard reported the sinking.”
“Too bad they didn’t make it to the lee side of the barriers.”
“Not really,” Jack said. “If they had, they’d have already salvaged the rum. As it is, there’s still a chance for us to find the sunken boat.”
“What do you think?” Eddie asked.
“The prevailing current is from east to west. The energy of the current will carry its load until the energy dissipates. When it does, it drops its load,” Odette said.
“Such as?” Eddie said.
“At the mouth of a river, for example,” Odette said.
“I have the geological and engineering study for Oyster Island which Mr. Castellano had commissioned. Will it help?”
“Don’t know,” Odette said. “Get it and let’s have a look.”
When Eddie returned with the report, Odette opened it and began pouring through the maps.
“Bingo!” she finally said.
Jack, Chief, and Eddie were quickly all ears. “What do you see?” Jack asked.
“There’s a structural ridge underlying the island. It’s the reason for the rolling hills and artesian spring. The subsurface ridge runs transverse to the coastline and extends into the Gulf.” Odette pointed to a spit of land protruding into the Gulf. “The current makes an abrupt turn right here. The water’s one-hundred feet deep. At least twenty feet deeper than the average water depth this far from shore.”
“And your conclusion? Eddie said.
“Unless I miss my guess, we’ll find the wreck in the deep water just off this point.”
It wasn’t long before the Argo was motoring out of the harbor on its way to the spit of land labeled Devil’s Arch on the navigation charts. It crossed Eddie’s mind there might be some reason for the scary name. He let the thought pass as he stood in the wheelhouse beside Jack.
“You think Odette knows what she’s talking about,” Eddie asked.
“I got no idea,” Jack said. “She sounded knowledgeable. Then again, bullshitters always do.”
“She has no reason to bullshit us,” Eddie said. “She gains nothing unless we find the sunken boat.”
“That’s why I’m driving this crate instead of bitching,” Jack said. “Have you ever made a hundred-foot dive?”
“Can’t say I have,” Eddie said.
“What about the girl?”
“I haven’t talked to her about it,” Eddie said.
“There’s a dangerous rip current down there.”
“How do you know?” Eddie asked.
“Divers steer clear of Devil’s Arch. Get sucked up in one of those currents, and your body won’t surface until you’re halfway to Texas.”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” Eddie said. “I’m going on deck and help Chief and Odette.”
With his broken arm in a sling, Chief was little help to Odette as she readied the tanks for the dive. Eddie pulled her aside.
“Have you ever made a dive this deep before?” he asked.
“About a thousand times,” she said. “My dad took me diving when I was ten. I’ve dived on every man-made reef in the Gulf.”
“Jack says there’s a rip current where we’re going.”
“He’s half right,” Odette said. “Rip currents are found at the surface. What we’ll be dealing with is a deep-water current. Just as dangerous, if you get caught in it, and harder to escape.”
“How do you know where it’s at?” Eddie asked.
“Sea creatures avoid it like the plague. Hopefully, we’ll see the turbulence.”
“And if we don’t?”
“Deep currents are narrow, usually no more than twenty meters wide. It’s hard but not impossible to escape a current. Sometimes, you have to go with the flow and conserve your strength until there’s a change in energy.”
“That doesn’t sound encouraging,” Eddie said.
“We’ll be attached by a long rope. If one of us gets sucked in by the current, maybe the other’s weight will be enough to leverage the other out of it,” Odette said.
“And if it isn’t?” Eddie asked.
Odette tapped the knife belted at her side. “Cut yourself loose. No use both of us drowning.”
“Sounds grim,” Eddie said.
“The boat won’t be in the current, though it could be close to it,” Odette said. “We just need to be cautious.”
When Odette glanced up at the wheelhouse and gave Jack thumbs up, he cut the engine and dropped anchor. She and Eddie had donned their wetsuits and scuba gear.
“You okay?” she asked.
“A little scared. What about you?”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t,” she said. “Stay behind me the length of the rope. If we’re careful, the current will be no problem.”
Odette dived over the side of the boat. Eddie waited a few seconds and then followed her. Something was roiling the water. He became concerned when he found the visibility much less than during his first dive. He continued downward, following Odette’s bubbles as they floated past him.
In addition to the limited visibility, there were no fish or sea creatures around. He remembered Odette’s words, “they avoid currents like the plague.” He tried not to think about it as he continued to descend deeper than he’d ever dived.
Eddie was near the bottom when he saw Odette swimming ahead. She must have spotted something because he was as far away from her as the rope would go.
Odette could see the broken hull of a boat in the murky water. From its size and shape, it could be the wreck of the rumrunner. Swimming forward, she ignored the tug on her rope. When she reached the boat, a sudden yank left no doubt Eddie had swum into a current.
As the current pulled Odette across the top of the sunken boat, she looked for something to grab. She was quickly approaching a broken piece of iron protruding from the railing and knew it was her only hope.
Odette clutched the bar, the current too strong, and her grip too tenuous to hold on to it for long. It gave her just enough time to jam her fins against the railing, creating slack in the rope. She began looping the rope around the misshapen piece
of iron bar, continuing until Eddie’s listless body floated toward her through the gloomy water.
Eddie had swallowed water, but his regulator was still in his mouth. After detaching the rope and holding on to Eddie, Odette began following her bubbles to the surface. They were at least a hundred feet from the boat when their heads popped out of the water.
Chief spotted the two and signaled Jack to raise the anchor. Odette was doing her best to revive Eddie when the boat reached them, and Chief tossed them a line. They were soon on the deck of the Argo, Odette performing mouth-to-mouth as Jack pumped Eddie’s chest and Chief watched.
Chief was searching for a pulse when Eddie began belching seawater. In a moment, his eyes popped open. Jack turned him over, lifting him by the waist until all the water had cleared from his lungs. After a coughing jag lasting five minutes, Chief put an oxygen mask on him, leaving it there until his ashen complexion became normal. When Eddie removed the mask, Odette kissed him.
“Oh my God!” she said. “I thought you were dead down there.”
“I would have been if you hadn’t saved me. The current sucked me in. I was powerless to get out of it,” Eddie said.
“Did you see the boat?” Jack asked.
“The rumrunner’s down there,” Odette said. “I saw the name on the hull. I’m going back.”
“No, you’re not,” Eddie said.
“I’ve dived around currents before. I want to know right now if there’s rum aboard the wreck.”
“I won’t allow it,” Eddie said.
“I know what I’m doing. Do you have a fresh tank, Chief?”
Jack, Chief, and Eddie watched as Odette disappeared over the side of the boat.
“She’ll be fine,” Chief said. “She knows more about diving than I do.”
Eddie wasn’t so sure. When Odette’s head finally broke the surface, he was more relieved than he could ever remember.
“Anything down there?” Jack asked as they helped her aboard.
“Something at the end of the rope,” she said.
They watched in anticipation as Eddie reeled in the rope. What popped to the surface was a wooden crate. Jack helped him haul it onto the deck. Chief handed Jack a crowbar, and he soon had the top popped off revealing four bottles of Dominican rum.