With the half-medallion safely secure around his neck, Adam was thinking more of the pirates in Tobago’s past than the rest of its colorful history. So far they had been unable to identify the old coin left by Walt in any of the research books he poured through. Since he and Lance had plans to scuba dive Barcolet Bay, he would send Beth into town to examine the remains of Fort King George where the Tobago Museum was located.
As they slowed to enter Rockly Bay and the harbor, they could see the remains of the fort situated on a rocky point. Several aging cannons stood guard as they once did to repel the marauding pirates. But, exploration of the Fort would come later. They first needed to get situated at the Blue Haven Hotel.
The crowded wharf and the dry, dusty town were left behind as their taxi wound through the famous 100-year old Palm Alley that led up to the front of the brilliant pink walled, white roofed resort. Nestled on five acres of plush tropical vegetation, the hotel boasted fifty-five rooms—all ocean views as they were surrounded by azure blue water on three sides. Robinson Crusoe was claimed to have been stranded on this exact location. More importantly to the three treasure seekers, the adjoining white sand beach of Barcolet Bay was where Swiss Family Robinson had been filmed in 1960. During the 1940’s the hotel had been haven to many celebrities from Hollywood’s Golden Years. However, these three seekers were interested in only one celebrity and his association and activities within the surrounding area.
Their deluxe suite had two bedrooms, a sitting room and a small kitchen. Ceiling fans kept a breeze moving throughout the rooms. The suite had hardwood floors, deep white cushioned chairs facing the large patio sliders, four-poster queen-sized beds covered with lacy white cotton, white wicker furniture on their private balcony, and even vases of hibiscus and Birds of Paradise in each room. A welcome basket of island fruits with a resplendent gold bow sat in the middle of the kitchen table.
Beth walked in a happy daze through the rooms looking at everything, trying to believe she was actually there. The fatigue from the long flight yesterday and the slight seasickness on the ferry ride over were all forgotten. Standing at the edge of the balcony off her bedroom, she stared out over the swaying palm trees and rolling white caps of the ocean. Inside, the two men had pushed aside the fruit basket and laid out their research papers. Adam’s mind was divided between the work at hand and the desire to share some of Beth’s first impressions. He recalled the tropical honeymoon he had planned for her—plans that immediately evaporated when his little joke backfired on the Keel Boat dock and he never saw her again. Lance thumped Adam’s arm and brought his mind back to the present. Lance seemed unusually tense and more and more focused only on their mission. Adam would have to talk to Beth about him later whenever they might be alone.
Beth was called from her daze and, with great reluctance, left the balcony. Her retort to Lance’s abrupt call was stilled by the look on his face. She could tell he didn’t want to joke around right now. Whatever happened in Boston with his family must have been worse than he let on. This wasn’t really Lance.
Lance reminded them of the time constraint they were working around.
“We have three days.”
A little smile flitted across Lance’s face. “Thank you, Captain Obvious,” he told her not unkindly. “Yes, we have three days. After lunch Adam and I have reservations at a dive shop. We’re going diving in Barcolet Bay. We would like you, Beth, to go through the museum in the Fort. See if you can find any links to treasure discoveries or anything that might be of use. You know it can be obscure. Look for any references to the filming of the movie, too, if there are any. We still need to identify our Jeremy B. Anything else, Adam?”
Adam could tell Beth was disappointed she didn’t get to go diving with them. “You’ll get plenty of beach time, don’t worry,” Adam reassured her. “We just need to get the obvious searching done first.”
She just nodded. “What about the medallion? Should I take it with me? Or will you wear it diving?”
The guys looked at each other. They hadn’t thought of that. “Maybe you’d better wear it under your blouse. I wouldn’t want to lose it somewhere out in the ocean.” Adam reluctantly removed the gold piece and handed it to her.
The men left the suite wearing white T-shirts over their swim trunks. With the 80-degree water, they wouldn’t need a wetsuit for their dive. Beth watched until they were out of sight on the little path winding through the palm trees and ferns. Disappointed to be alone again, she went out to meet the taxi Lance had called to take her to the Fort.
The turquoise-blue dive boat swung around in a tight arc. The skipper, standing spread-legged at the wheel, looked over the side into the clear water. Checking his position relative to the beach, he cut the motor. The gentle lapping waves gave a rocking motion to the boat as he dropped anchor to the sandy bottom. The two divers were busy fastening on their fins. Air tanks were strapped on and face masks spat into to rid the mask of respiration fog; regulators placed in their mouths and tested; watches set for air time. Uncharacteristically taking the lead, Lance backed to the edge of the boat. Sitting, he held his face mask in place and fell backwards, disappearing into the crystal blue water. Adam followed a moment later after Lance had begun his descent towards the bottom of the Bay.
The friends leveled out a few feet above the coral reef, mindful not to damage the frail organisms with a careless brush of their fins. They knew these waters were home to giant manta rays, sting rays, and even nurse sharks. But they weren’t there to view the colorful inhabitants. After scanning the seabed, coral, and sponge below them, Lance motioned for Adam to go further west. Crisscrossing, they looked for anything that might indicate hidden loot—the remains of a ship, anything that might indicate the gold medallion could have come from this region. As popular as this location was, they weren’t surprised to come up empty.
Adam froze when a dark shadow passed his peripheral vision to the left. Lance was swimming steadily towards the beach, head down. Releasing some air from his buoyancy compensator, Adam sunk deeper in the water. The shadow, looking to be about ten feet long, banked right and snaked closer. The diving knife strapped to his leg wasn’t much, but it did make him feel better to place a hand on it as he watched. Glancing at his watch, there was plenty of air if he had to wait it out. He wondered if Lance noticed he had fallen back. Knowing how sound traveled underwater, he could always signal by banging the knife against his air tank.
He was a little surprised, but relieved, when the shadow revealed itself to be a nurse shark: Surprised because this kind of shark usually traveled and hunted only at night, preferring to sleep during the day on the sandy bottom or in a secluded nook somewhere. He was relieved as this shark ate mostly crustaceans, mollusks, and other fish. Nurse sharks aren’t known to attack humans, but he didn’t want to test the theory.
The shark circled lazily a few times and swam slowly back into the distance away from the two divers. Whatever had disturbed its sleep was probably gone. Adam made sure the shark didn’t decide to return before he added air to his BC and rose in the water. With a pounding heart, Adam took a couple of deep breaths through his regulator to calm himself and resumed his search of the seabed floor.
Lance swam back and gave the two palms up gesture, asking if he was all right. Adam returned with the gesture for shark and pointed off to the west. Lance pointed to the surface, asking if they should go back to the boat. Adam shook his head no and pointed to his watch, indicating they had another twenty minutes of air. Satisfied, Lance returned the way he had come, making slow strokes with his long legs.
Beth wandered over the grounds of the old Fort King George. Noticing the lighthouse next to the fort was the reverse colors of their hotel with white walls with a pink roof, she doubted this was the kind of information she was supposed to uncover.
Unlike the freshly painted lighthouse, the Fort was dark brown with dingy Cathedral windows facing the ocean. Cannons and remains of cannons still stood on their battlemen
ts. Behind these, a flame tree, or a Royal Poinciana, was in bloom. Enjoying the view of the harbor of Scarborough, Beth let the island breeze blow over her, tugging at the hem of her short broomstick skirt. The medallion lay warm against her chest, a reminder of why she was there.
The Tobago Museum closed at 1 p.m., so she had an hour to snoop around. The Fort had been built in the 1770’s and was well used during the frequent times the island changed hands. Now the museum stood in the Barrack Guard House. She found many documents from the Colonial period of the island, military relics, and items used in earlier times. She read a few of the yellowed papers. Many dealt with the cruelty of slavery and some were farm reports. No mention was made of pirates or any findings of significance in the waters surrounding them. Wandering around the grounds, she spotted a gift shop but wasn’t interested in shell animals or the colorful native wraps.
Instead of asking for a taxi, she decided to walk down the steep hill back to town. Getting directions to a café known for its Italian coffee and ice cream, she found the Ciao Café down Carrington Street at the Burnett Street turn. Opting for her favorite strawberry ice cream, she sat in one of the café chairs outside under the awning. The café was popular, so she had a lot of people to watch while she rested her sore calf muscles. Boy, I’m out of shape! she thought as she quickly ate the melting ice cream.
Another couple of minutes of walking brought Beth to the main part of Scarborough. Market Day wasn’t until Saturday, but there was still plenty of traffic on the narrow streets and congested sidewalks. Posters on walls told of the just-finished annual goat races. Not sure what they were exactly, Beth thought it looked like a lot of fun. Window shopping, she walked slowly along the main street. It was hot and dusty in town, but the air got cooler the closer she got to the harbor. Seeing a book store on the other side of the street, next to a small jewelry store, she was about to cross over when a honking stopped her. Expecting to have to apologize to some driver, she was surprised to see Adam hanging out of a taxi window, waving at her. Running across to the car, she hopped in the front seat with the driver. As Adam and Beth compared notes on what they did—or more specifically—what they did not find, the driver merged into traffic with some good-natured yelling and cursing.
In the jewelry store across the street, unseen by the three friends, the sun caught the gleaming shine of a gold half-coin pendant hanging on a display bust.
As the taxi stopped in front of the Blue Haven, Beth handed the medallion back to Adam. The driver chuckled as he accepted payment for the ride. “I see you like local legends. Dat is good,” he told them.
“Sorry?” Adam looked confused as he slipped the chain over his head.
“Dat pretty gold you wear. You got it from da jewelry store, huh, miss?”
“I, uh, no, I didn’t.” Beth hesitated, remembering the jewelry store she had seen before Adam called her. “No, I was heading for the bookstore when you honked.”
“Ah, my mistake.” The driver waved his hand good-naturedly at them. “Many visitors like dat coin as, how you say, souvenir. But, now that I think, it is wrong. The engraving on wrong side. My mistake.”
Adam felt the hair on the back of his neck tingle and looked at Lance, who had edged closer. “Do you think you could take us back to the jewelry store? I’d like to get another one for my friend Lance here.”
The driver chuckled again. “Ah, he be long eye, huh?” At their blank looks, he explained, “He likes what other people have, no?”
“Yes, that’s me.” Lance gave a shrug and tried to look uncomfortable. “I always want something else. Ha ha.”
Beth looked at him strangely as they got back in the car. He indicated to her not to say anything as the cab sped back to town.
The three stood on the sidewalk staring through the shop window at the mirror-opposite of their coin. There it was, sitting in the open in a little shop on the main street of town and nobody seemed to care. Trying the door, they found the shop was closed for the day. Through the material of his shirt, Adam ran a finger over the jagged edge and raised figures on the face and mentally put the pieces together. “That’s it,” he told them quietly. “That’s the other side. We’ll have to come back tomorrow.”
“But how can that be?” Lance shook his head, confused. “Who would display an old coin like that out in the open? Don’t they know its value?”
“Do we?” Beth asked, thinking. “You didn’t have it valued, did you?”
Adam told her no with a sigh, disappointed the store was closed. “Let’s go back to the hotel. There’s nothing we can do tonight.” He held the door of the cab while Lance and Beth climbed in.
They were quiet on the ride back to the Blue Haven. Lance paid the driver again who cheerfully waved good-bye as he pulled away. Later, as they sat down to dinner, they momentarily forgot their perplexing dilemma and enjoyed the Caribbean sunset. All the windows in the hotel dining room were thrown open to catch the trade winds. The sun dropped slowly in pools of pink and yellow and orange. The few clouds that remained from the daily afternoon shower turned dark red when the sun finally slipped into ocean’s blue horizon. “Wow.” Beth gave a deep sigh. The single word seemed sufficient as the last of the daylight faded and the room became illuminated only by candlelight, pale by comparison to the panorama of nature.
Turning their attention to the menu, Adam tried a local favorite, crab ‘n dumplings—crab stewed with curry and coconut milk and served with flat flour dumplings. Lance muttered something like “heck with him,” and ordered steak and lobster. Beth opted for a kibbie—a mixture of meat and corn wrapped in pastry and deep-fried. The guys had a locally brewed Carib beer; Beth asked for bottled water. As friends often do, they sampled each other’s plates. They found the curry dish spicy, but not over-bearing. The lobster was perfect with the drawn butter. All agreed they wouldn’t order a kibbie again.
After a second beer Lance seemed to relax a bit. After dinner, they strolled around the hotel grounds and finally ended up back in their suite. As Adam made notes on their find in town, Beth discovered she had forgotten toothpaste. Accepting Lance’s offer to walk her to the gift shop, Adam grumbled over another missed opportunity as the door clicked shut.
The gift shop in the lobby held the usual postcards and souvenir shot glasses depicting scenes of the famous hotel. There were plush white Egyptian cotton robes like the ones hanging in the closets in their rooms. Also for sale were racks of candy, sunglasses, sunscreen, a small liquor supply, refrigerated drinks, and a jewelry display.
Lance looked up as Beth pulled away from his arm. He had been asking what brand of toothpaste she used when she suddenly paled at the sight of the jewelry. Her hands went through what had to have been fifty of the half coins. Gold ones. Silver ones. Bronze ones. There was even a cheap pink plastic one tied with a ribbon. “Lance! Do you see this?” She just kept letting them fall through her fingers. Turning back to Lance, her voice dropped to a whisper. “Call Adam.”
In just a couple of minutes Adam rushed in, his hand clutching the medallion still beneath his shirt. Seeing Beth’s interest in the necklace, the clerk revealed yet another tray of them. “You liking other colors, miss?”
Adam pulled out his coin and fitted it next to one of the gift shop version. It fit perfectly. The raised pattern now made a completed set of crossed bones forming a perfect X. Over the X was a grinning skull, unrecognizable before with the jagged cutting.
The clerk, interested in what they were doing, looked at the two pieces put together. “Ah, how pretty! I never seen another side but dis.”
Adam tried to control his features and voice. “You wouldn’t happen to know the history of this necklace, would you?”
She laughed and waved them away, “Ah, what history? We be selling dis necklace many year now. Many a saga boy likes them. Usually wears more ‘n one. You know, fancy boy.” She looked Lance over with a grin.
“We saw one like it in a jewelry store in town. The taxi driver mentioned
some local legend,” Adam prompted.
“Well, I know nothing of dat. If you want to know anyt’ing about dis island, go to Mooma. She runs book store. If it be known, Mooma knows it. Fuh true.”
Lance gave her a couple of dollars for a gold version of the necklace. They would have to wait until tomorrow to find out what Mooma really knows.
Dressed in a bright orange cotton shirt and pink shorts, Mooma sat behind her counter, slowly fanning herself with a woven palm leaf fan. She watched the three visitors enter her little book store. Only a superficial look at the books, she noticed, as the three perused the shelves with no apparent interest. Soon enough they would ask what they wanted.
Adam smiled politely and wondered how best to come to the point. “Are you Mooma?”
Unsmiling, she nodded sagely, her eyes half closed. “And you be interested in tales from the past,” she muttered in a low, creaky voice. Adam’s eyebrows shot up and his hand went to the medallion. Not being able to keep a straight face, she chuckled. “My cousin, Missy, she works at da hotel. Said you would be coming. You thought maybe I was a jumbie?” She was rewarded with a blank expression. “You know, spirit!” She chuckled again.
Adam realized he was in for a long haul. “Well, Missy says you know everything about Tobago.”
“Is true, is true.”
He pulled the cheap necklace out of his pocket and laid it on the counter in front of her. “We were wondering if you could tell us about this.”
Sometimes Dead Men DO Tell Tales! Page 30