Treasure Island SEAL: Pirate SEAL Rescues his Mermaid (Sunset SEALs Book 3)

by Sharon Hamilton

  She told Iris she had to make a phone call, brought her jambalaya to one of the tables in the corner and dialed Monty first.

  “Where the hell have you been?”

  “I told you three days, Monty. I was gone for three days. I’m here now. Got here before Iris.”

  “Thank God. It was a mess last night. I had to bring in one of Jones’ boys severance, and stayed until closing, and even then we didn’t finish everything.”

  “I noticed. I’ve taken care of the tables and the glasses. Anything else?”

  “The beer bottles—”

  “Are already done.”

  “You have a nice vacation?”

  She smiled to herself. “You could say that.”

  “You had some visitors in here last night asking about you and Noonan.”

  “Oh?” Madison’s pulse quickened.

  “Yeah, a couple. She said she went to school with you.”

  “Who were they? What did they look like?”

  “To be honest, it was dark and we were kind of busy. She acted like she was a friend. Your mother was here, so I told them to go speak to her.”

  “You did what?”

  “Just a friendly chat.”

  “What happened to my mom?”

  “Nothing. They just chatted. Your mom finished her dinner and left. She was in a fine mood. I think she was looking for Noonan.”

  “Where did the couple go?”

  “They’d already gone by the time your mom left. I think they’re coming over tonight, or so she said.”

  Madison could hardly breathe. The next person she called was her mother, but she didn’t get an answer.

  She dialed Ned.

  “We’re in the interview room. I’ll have to call you back.”

  “No, hear me out. Some people came in here last night looking for us, and Monty had them talk to my mother. Now she doesn’t answer, Ned. I’m worried.”

  “You stay there.”

  “Not on your life. I’m going to check on her.”

  “Not alone, Madison.” She heard him excuse himself and then he continued, “We’re going to be here for an hour or more. Then I’ll come get you.”

  “I need to make sure she’s okay.”

  “You stay safe. Don’t go anywhere.”

  “But—”

  “I’ll break away and come get you soon. Madison, I have to know you’re safe.”

  She didn’t want to promise Ned, but in the end, she did. During the next half hour, she tried to call her mother six times, never getting an answer. Madison wondered if she was going through one of her inspirational moods where she switched off everything electronic except her coffee maker.

  Then her mother called.

  “Oh my God, Mom. I tried calling you like twenty times.”

  “Maddie, can you come over?”

  She sounded like she’d been crying.

  “Mom? Are you okay?”

  “Just come over.”

  The call disconnected.

  Madison tried to call back but her mother didn’t pick up. Then she dialed Ned, but his phone went right to voicemail. She also tried Noonan, with the same result.

  She called the Treasure Island Police Department and got a recorded line with a promise of a returned call within thirty minutes. The recording went into, “If this is an emergency, hang up and dial 9-1-1.”

  She knew she shouldn’t do it, but her mother needed her. Maddie had promised. Her mother wouldn’t ask unless it was important.

  She threw down her towel, grabbed her purse and headed to her car.

  Chapter 21

  “We’ve already told you several times. Look, we have a few items we brought up from the dive. Gary was supposed to contact a couple of reputable crews to see about going forward,” Noonan boomed.

  The interview room was hot. Ned knew they’d be separated soon if they really suspected Noonan being complicit in the murder of his friend. He’d get his hour or two, and Noonan would probably wind up being here the whole day. He checked his phone and saw several calls from Madison, and that worried him.

  “You wanna tell us why you’re checking your phone so much?” asked one of the detectives. “As a matter of fact, can I please look at your phone for a minute?”

  Ned had nothing at all to hide. But he hadn’t played the Navy SEAL card yet, either.

  “Sorry, but I got classified numbers on here. I’m an active duty Navy SEAL, and I can give you my credentials, if you like, since you didn’t ask for them.”

  He reached into his back pocket and provided his California Driver’s license and his military I.D. It seemed to give him some space. The detective’s eyebrows rose.

  “What brings you out to Florida? You do treasure hunting too in your spare time?”

  “As he’s told you, Noonan got a contract to do this dive. My dad and Noonan served in the Navy together. And he’s just passed. I came out here to see Dad’s old friend here, and visit some of my dad’s haunts.”

  The detective checked with his partner, who nodded. He returned his cards. “Thank you for your service, son.”

  “I’m lucky to do it, sir.” Ned added, “And as to your question about my phone calls, my girlfriend is worried about her mother, who apparently had a conversation with individuals last night asking for Noonan. She’s not been able to speak to her since.”

  “Oh shit,” Noonan whispered, covering his face.

  “When did you find out about this?” the larger detective asked him.

  “Just now. She called me. Now she’s calling me back and I gotta take these calls.”

  “Mr. Silver, you can step outside and make your calls. Noonan, I’m going to ask you to stay behind just for a few more minutes.”

  Ned was shown to the lobby by one of the detectives, who identified himself as Wade Corrigan. “Listen, I’ve known Noonan since I was a kid, and I don’t suspect him of anything. And everyone knows around here that he’s just a good old guy. We have a new police chief, hired from outside our state, and I just need to make sure there are no holes or I’ll get my ass chewed. Make your calls, and then I need to talk to you about something.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Ned rang Madison. It rang and then went to voicemail. “Shit.”

  “Well, keep trying. I’m sorry about all this. You want me to run you over to her mom’s?”

  “That’s just it, I don’t have the address. Never been there.”

  “And Noonan?”

  “Oh yeah, he knows. He’d have to come with us. Can we make this happen?”

  “Let’s go do it, son.”

  Even though the big detective was only about ten years older than Ned, he placed his hand on his shoulder and showed him the way back to the hallway and knocked on the door.

  “Hey there, we’re gonna let him go, aren’t we?” he asked the other detective.

  “I’m thinking yes. I’ve got to go over to the crime scene again.”

  “Listen, I’m gonna give Mr. Silver an escort to the mother’s house. I need Noonan to give me the address.”

  “No, I want to come,” yelled Noonan. “I need to be there.”

  Ned had to say something. “Fellas, time’s wasting. Send him over in a patrol car if you have to, but let’s get some speed on this mission.”

  “Very well. We can do that. You ride with Corrigan. I’ll get a patrol unit out front. He can get us there faster.”

  “I’ll call you,” Corrigan motioned to his partner.

  “Thanks, fellas,” said Noonan, shaking hands.

  Seconds later, Ned was seated next to Detective Corrigan, speeding behind the flashing patrol car headed North. At this rate, it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes for them to arrive.

  “You know this Travis Hicks kid very well?” Corrigan asked him.

  “Noonan used to use him on dives. I didn’t know him at all. But we think he’s the one who had the connection to the folks who were involved with the murder. And now that someone’s
come to the Salty Dog, I’m sure of it.”

  “He’s been in and out of juvie since he was ten. Not supposed to tell you that. We found him out at the dock. Apparently he slept on the Bones.”

  “Is he okay?”

  “Not exactly. He also had an encounter with a knife while shaving.”

  Ned felt bad about the kid, even though he had put everyone in danger. “That’s too bad. I think Noonan was way too trusting. Lived in kind of a fantasy.”

  “That’s the thing out here. We’re supposed to make it look like paradise all the time, but bad things happen. We’re supposed to keep the bad guys away from the senior citizens, who sometimes haven’t a clue what kind of danger they’re in.”

  Ned felt the same way about his job.

  “I get it. We do the same thing on the Teams. We go out there doing things so everyone can go crazy batshit over-spending, going to coffee, playing on the beach, and living it up. We both make it safe for their families. Neither one of us can talk about what we see, either.”

  “Absolutely. Wish I could stop the dreams, though.”

  “Me too, brother. Me too.”

  The patrol car took the turn toward the beach a little too quickly and sent up a huge dust cloud, but he managed to keep the car on the road. He left his lights on but turned off the siren.

  The tiny house with bright flowered vines all along the front porch looked innocuous enough. But since Madison’s car was there and she wasn’t answering her cell, Ned’s operator brain kicked in, and he was looking for options. One dark SUV was parked around the corner in the alleyway the police cars had just blocked off. It appeared to be vacant.

  “I’m going to make my way around the side and see if I can look inside any of the windows.”

  “Look, we gotta do this the right way. I can’t have you involved.”

  “But I’m trained—”

  “No can do. You know the rules. We have to attempt to contact the occupants first.”

  “Who’s going to do that?”

  “He is,” detective Corrigan said, nodding toward the red-headed patrolman, who was leading outside his patrol car, his weapon raised. Noonan was instructed to stay in the car when he tried to open his door. “He’s the one with the bullet-proof vest.”

  Ned heard the scratchy instructions coming from the young policeman’s shoulder microphone.

  “You stay here,” Corrigan whispered and drew his weapon holding it with both hands, aimed at the ground, following well behind the young officer.

  Ned heard the young policeman yell, “This is the Treasure Island Police. Please exit the domicile with your hands up.”

  There was no answer. Ned’s blood pressure soared.

  “Anyone home?” the young policemen shouted. When he got no answer, he knocked on the front door with his fist. “We need you to come out with your hands up. This is Treasure Island Police. We need your cooperation.”

  His demand was met with a blast coming from inside the home, piercing the wooden front door and hitting the young officer in the chest.

  Chapter 22

  Madison arrived at her mother’s place, opening the front door without knocking. She walked into a living room full of people. Her mother was one of the five, the only one with her hands tied in front of her. Her clip had come out of her hair, and her large house dress was slung over one shoulder, like she’d been shoved down onto the couch and made to sit.

  She was startled at first, but seeing her mother’s eyes and the tears streaming down her face broke her heart.

  “I’m so sorry, Maddie. They made me call you,” she said as she shook her head.

  Madison scanned the four strangers and didn’t recognize any of them. They were young, hard-looking kids, the kind she wouldn’t have wanted to serve at the Dog. The woman motioned to the young man next to her and he grabbed Madison by the forearm and plunked her down onto the couch next to her mother. He pulled a thick zip tie from his back pocket and secured her hands together.

  “We were hoping that would work out this way,” said the woman, who sat across from them in an overstuffed chair. “So far so good.”

  “What do you want?” demanded Madison. “We don’t have any money. Take whatever you like, but you can see, my house looks just like this one. We don’t own anything of value. Why are you doing this?”

  “Oh, don’t play dumb with me. We’re here for cooperation. We understand you’re quite the looker. Oliver and Carlos here might want a little more private cooperation, nothing harmful, of course. We understand you’ve seen some treasure, and we want our fair share.”

  “What’s your fair share?” Madison sneered.

  “All of it.”

  When Madison scoffed, the woman continued. “You’d better consider this. Isn’t it worth less than your lives? How about the life of your mother?”

  One of the men tugged on her mother’s hair, pulling her head back and placing a knife below her chin. Her mother cried out and Madison attempted to lunge for the woman but was yanked back by one of the other men. Both women were pushed back together onto the couch.

  A tall, pockmarked youth who appeared not to be older than a teen ducked his head and examined the action on the beach outside. He paced the room holding a rifle, sneering down at her.

  “Oh God, Maddie, forgive me,” her mother whispered.

  “Shh!” said the woman. “What I want to know is where Mr. Noonan LaFontaine is. And I understand he has your boyfriend with him?”

  Madison had to think quickly. She wasn’t sure what to say. Her mother arched back at the word boyfriend.

  “They went to the survey office, I think. Then they were going out today to do more exploring.”

  “Yes, that’s what we’re interested in. So where is the stuff you already brought up?” she asked.

  That confirmed Travis had been the one who had given out the information. He was the only one, other than the dead man, who would know.

  “He has them.”

  “Who?”

  “Noonan. He has them in his dive pack.”

  “And what else did you find?”

  “N-nothing. There were several rocks, about seven, eight rocks we brought up to have tested. Nothing conclusive.”

  “Then why go to the survey office?”

  “To expand their claim. They have a permit to dive.”

  “Travis said you found a statue. Where is that statue?”

  Madison was stumped at first. “In the back of Noonan’s truck, last time I saw.”

  “So you were going to meet up with them later on today?”

  “Y-yes.” She was delighted that apparently the woman didn’t know the police had gotten involved.

  “And what about the mermaid?”

  “The what?” Madison asked.

  “The necklace.”

  Madison exchanged a look with her mother and saw recognition in her eyes that her mother knew about the necklace.

  “It’s a copy. A fake. But it looks real.”

  “Give me a look at it.”

  Madison lowered her head, reached behind her neck, and unclasped the pendant. She was about to hand it over to the woman when her mother tried to touch it with her bound hands. “It’s just an old trinket, something we got in St. Pete at one of the dive shops. Looks real, though.” She could tell her mother was in shock.

  “Here. If this is what you’re looking for, knock yourself out. Go buy ice cream for your crew with the proceeds.”

  The woman grabbed the necklace and, with her other hand, slapped Madison across her cheek. Her mother reacted in protest.

  Both women watched as the team ogled over the naked mermaid as if she’d been violated by unclean hands. Madison knew it meant something to her mother, but whatever it was, it wasn’t worth her life to try to get it back. Time was on her side. She decided to get into conversation.

  “I’m not sure what you think is going on, but this dive is not a treasure dive. They’re actually looking for a dog collar. I
’m not sure what Travis told you, but we found the barge. Just a big box of a thing. Sunk over two hundred years ago. The dog collar was a necklace the barge’s cook owned. It was a fake. The setting was platinum, but the stones were glass. There’s a family in North Carolina who want it for sentimental reasons. Travis knew all that.”

  Madison could see she’d gotten the attention of one of the men, who frowned. “That little shit.”

  “She’s lying, Oliver.”

  “Well, you can see for yourself. The permit says we’re looking for a dog collar. It was just a funded three-day dive for wages. Not for loot.”

  “What about the old ship?” the woman asked.

  Madison was getting into it now. Lying was getting easier. She was mimicking all the things she’d seen Noonan and his friends exaggerating about while they drank in the Dog. She’d heard the tales for years.

  She wrinkled her nose. “There was no ship. Come on. Travis knows the difference between a barge and an old ship. The thing was square. It was carrying things from Cuba to some place along the Florida coast. Mostly molasses and stuff. We found broken pots and piles of old tools that had turned to red pudding. The statue was probably someone sending a sculpture for a garden. Who knows? But as far as treasure, I hope you didn’t spend too much money on Travis. He took you for a ride.”

  “Yes, well, we took care of that.”

  Madison wanted to not show fear, but Ned had informed them already that Travis probably wasn’t among the living. She tried one more tactic.

  “Look, if you let my mom go, I’ll stay with you guys, and I’ll take you there myself.”

  “You know how to find it?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  The woman stood. “We don’t need her then,” she said, pointing at Madison’s mother.

  Just then, they heard a siren close and then silence. A second later, someone shouted from outside, “Treasure Island Police. Open Up.”

  In slow motion, Madison grabbed for the knife above her mother’s head and watched the shooter raise his rifle and blast through the front door.