Saving Sindia (Samantha Jamison Mystery Book 10)

by Peggy A. Edelheit

  This was what made all those treasure hunters salivate. A small rumor, a possible recovery made by a pair of divers, who perished bringing up who knows what... kept peoples’ interest alive. More rumors.

  The Sindia was a fickle mystery that ebbed and waned like the tides. One minute those rumors felt real and the next they drifted with the tides, never to be quite pinpointed as to their accuracy. Until now. A message left by two people that found something. Or so they indicated to their daughter, Sindi.

  Why did Edling show up here twice?

  Did he think Sindi’s parents buried that treasure, here?

  Was I grabbing at straws? This mystery was gnawing, like a thorn in my side. Evan and Sindi had a more personal investment. It involved their parents and their integrity as professional divers, not some amateurs prone to mistakes.

  I took out my phone and looked at the photograph of their note again, hoping the words would somehow speak to me from beyond.

  Chapter 47

  Giving It Another Go

  Originally, Pete Edling tried to steal the note right after Sindi’s parents died, but it already had been mailed to Sindi. So why show up here twice when Sindi already had the note?

  ...Wait. Had he spotted Sindi’s parents leaving here?

  Sindi,

  Warning: he covets this golden opportunity

  Overheard myth was true

  Evil has no boundaries

  Hastily buried east side of perimeter

  Cobbled first in the pattern

  Placed as corner stone

  A brief respite to save it

  Facing same direction as her bow

  But it’s at the stern, beneath the sand by hand

  Potential target? Sindia

  Saving her vital

  Last resort? Yours to make...

  I decided to break up the note into individual lines.

  Warning: he covets this golden opportunity

  They were warning it involved a man. Edling? A golden opportunity, as in a chance to be successful, or was that a reference that the prize was golden, such as in real gold.

  Overheard myth was true

  If it was gold then that might mean that golden Buddha.

  Evil has no boundaries

  Whoever it was, would do anything to get it, even kill.

  Hastily buried east side of perimeter

  What perimeter? I glanced out several of my windows and froze. My eyes honed in on my iron fence. I grew excited and flew down the stairs. First, I checked the backyard along the boardwalk. No fence, just the elevated boardwalk railing. Now, what was fully encased?

  The fenced-in courtyard qualified as a perimeter...

  Within a few minutes I was standing in the center of it. The electric gates were closed, which gave me a better feel. I pivoted in place, taking it all in, while reading the note on my phone, then faced east toward the ocean and my house.

  To my right were the gates and ramp leading up to the boardwalk. My street was 16th Street, which was where the Sindia spanned all the way to 17th Street to the south.

  I began to perspire. I felt I was onto something.

  Cobbled first in the pattern

  I looked down. I was standing on cobblestone pavers that were resting in paving sand, laid by hand, which was done in a pattern! But where was it buried here?

  Placed as cornerstone

  Which might mean literally a corner stone. I spun more quickly in a circle. But which corner could it be buried in? My palm began to itch. I now felt certain I was onto the note’s clues.

  A brief respite to save it

  So it was meant to be buried temporarily until Sindi could find it to save it from an evil doer: the thief, Pete?

  Facing same direction as her bow

  I tried to think nautically. Bow. The Sindia flipped around from the direction it was sailing and sank. Its stern facing the south, which meant the bow was the forward part of the hull. The Sindia bow was closer to 17th Street, south of me.

  But it’s at the stern, beneath the sand by hand

  So if I stood in the center of the courtyard the stern would be near 16th Street, the ramp side of my courtyard, beneath the sand, buried by hand. There was no cement here at all, just sand! I spied the exact cobblestone. Bingo!

  Potential target? Sindia

  Sindia, their daughter, would be a target if she found it?

  Saving her vital

  Jake and Evan had the correct instincts: protect Sindi. Because Sindi possessed the note with the instructions!

  Last resort? Yours to make...

  Not sure of that last line, I let it go for now.

  I felt I’d hit pay dirt. I called Sindi. “It’s the courtyard!” Rather than be more explicit on the phone, I said I had a breakthrough, for everyone to be at my place first thing in the morning, to bring a shovel and potted plants from the nursery. It was almost dark and I was afraid if we began digging, our flashlights would draw the attention of anyone passing by on the ramp and boardwalk. If we did it during daylight, we could pretend we were planting. The potted plants would act as a decoy for us to be out there with a shovel. It would obscure exactly what we were doing if we clustered together, blocking our efforts.

  Both exhausted and excited, I decided to call it a night.

  Chapter 48

  Too Keyed Up, I Hit The Keys

  Exhausted, but too keyed up to sleep, I transferred my latest thoughts, and the entire contents of my journal, onto my laptop. After several hours of typing, and several snacks later, I sat back and excitedly considered what I had in front of me.

  Historical intrigue.

  This was a great mystery for my next book. Sandra, my literary agent and friend, would love this. I glanced at my clock and chuckled. It was two in the morning. She would kill me with her bare hands if I called at this hour. I’d wait until after we dug outside to see if my theory was spot-on.

  I began yawning, but kept on typing to get it all down. My fingers paused. Had I become a target because my house might be involved? Could Edling have seen Sindi at my door several times and suspected I might know what was in that note too? With that thought hovering over me, I checked all my doors and windows to make sure they were locked. Sindi was currently well-protected by Jake and Evan. But what about the ship Sindia, and her secret?

  I had to protect that Sindia too.

  Alone.

  The golden opportunity referred to in the note might be the golden Buddha rumored to have been aboard the Sindia amongst her cargo. If that were true and we did indeed dig it up, then Sindi and Evan had hard choices to make. Would they hand it over and donate it to the local Ocean City Museum to add to their Sindia collections of artifacts, or keep it for themselves to sell at market value, which could bring them wealth. But somehow I didn’t think that was foremost on either of their minds. They were more concerned with their parents’ reputation, which had been left in question as professional divers.

  What were Sindi’s parents referring to in that last line?

  Last resort? Yours to make...

  Were her parents leaving it up to Sindi to decide the golden Buddha’s fate? It was a thought worth considering.

  I yawned again as I hit the save key and then backed it all up with my flash drive, secured it in a safe place then shut down my laptop. If I didn’t get to bed soon, I’d be no good to anyone tomorrow, trying to explain my wild theory.

  I could be wrong, but instinct told me I was right.

  I hit my desk light and headed for bed.

  Chapter 49

  A Nightmare Scenario

  The constant, thrashing surf and cool sea breezes roused me and my eyes drifted open from a deep sleep. Instead of my room reflected in the hues of the amber light from the boardwalk, all I saw in front of me was black.

  What was I doing wearing an eye mask?

  But it couldn’t be that. I never used one. That didn’t stop me from reaching up to take it off though. Then something rock-solid abruptly t
rapped my arms and body from further movement, holding me in place, which didn’t make sense.

  I tried to sit, but the effort was impossible. Something unyielding had me pinned in an extremely dangerous and vulnerable, horizontal position and wasn’t letting up.

  Disturbing, sinister implications hit me hard.

  What would happen next?

  I was immobilized, restrained, helpless.

  ...And all alone in the house.

  Don’t panic, Samantha.

  Alarmed, my breaths quickened and I began sweating.

  Before my second round of physical rehab, the doctor requested an MRI for my lower back. Five weeks in a wheelchair, after one of my former mysteries, had done its damage. But this felt different. Instead of an MRI closing in on me, causing claustrophobia, something was pinning me down, bordering on suffocation.

  Don’t freak out. Think. Could this be a nightmare?

  If it was a nightmare, why couldn’t I wake up and shake it off? The much dreaded alternative, that it wasn’t, was unimaginable, as cold reality sank in fast.

  This wasn’t a nightmare...

  My pulse rate was off the charts as my heart thumped wildly in my chest, while I desperately fought for air from this oppressive weight pressing down on me. I had to stop whatever this was. Now, before it was too late, nightmare or no nightmare.

  My hands formed into fists as I struggled to free myself, twisting against whatever was crushing me. Despite the constant flow of chilly sea air, I was sweating and gasping for air. I couldn’t breathe. About to give up, both mentally and physically, I shoved hard, broke free, and shot upright, breathless, panting, and somewhat dazed.

  I glanced at the clock on my night table. 3AM. Cool breezes prickled my skin. I turned to my balcony door. It was still open, the curtains fluttering and the boardwalk lights were now filtering into the room like they should.

  It was nothing but a horribly, too realistic, nightmare.

  I raked my fingers through my hair, blew out a sigh of relief, smiled, then flopped back to my pillow heavily and closed my eyes, resting easy.

  But then my eyes shot wide open as my breath caught.

  ...Wait.

  Hadn't I locked that sliding glass door earlier?

  I shakily fumbled for my phone on the nightstand, but a hand abruptly clamped hard over mine, and then another covered my mouth, while a knee restrained my other arm. I now caught sight of the frightening, dark-clad, hooded figure roughly pinning me. I struggled to extricate myself, but I couldn’t get free. I couldn’t scream because of the hand painfully crushing my mouth. I was helpless.

  What were their intentions? Robbery or much worse...?

  This was a real live nightmare.

  My retreat to the beach wasn’t turning out as I had planned.

  *****

  Who was this?

  Chapter 50

  It’s Me...

  “It’s me,” said an unsuspected, but shockingly familiar voice. “Don’t scream or I’ll kill you right now.”

  My mind and emotions were in overdrive, but I tried my best to focus of what he was saying. Yes, it was a he, like in Sindi’s parents’ note. But it wasn’t who I had expected.

  I nodded, trying to gasp air, realizing he had nothing to lose, only gain: that buried treasure.

  “You didn’t see me watching you out in the courtyard tonight, did you?” Andy snarled angrily.

  I shook my head no, feeling like an idiot because I had been too excited to notice him while I’d been trying to solve that riddle.

  “Good girl. So far, you’re playing along. And as long as you play along, you might live.”

  I nodded, breathing through my nostrils...barely.

  How do I deal with someone who was crazed by an obsession: the Sindia myth?

  “You know exactly what I am looking for, right?”

  He sounded desperate. I nodded automatically again.

  “Good. You know exactly what I expect from you.”

  I was stunned by his unexpected rage and strength.

  “You’re playing this smart. Just like I knew you would.”

  I nodded, like the pushover he thought I’d be.

  “Good,” he said.

  Would he take his weight and hand from my mouth?

  He remained silent, probably thinking what to do next.

  “If I take my hand off of your mouth and climb down off of you, will you keep quiet? I want you to remember that I have a gun, which will be aimed directly at you.”

  I nodded again submissively, considering my options. Anything was better than suffocating under his surprising weight and strength.

  After hesitating, he shifted off of me and my bed and ripped off his hood, confirming his identity.

  I sucked in a deep breath of air, still gasping. I was also calculating my odds for a possible escape, because after letting me see his identity, I knew I had no chance of walking out of there alive. There was no way he would consider leaving me to identify him afterward.

  I had to get away. Somehow.

  “Sit up,” he commanded. “No sudden moves.”

  Staring down the barrel of his gun in the shadows, I did exactly what he said, while still considering my escape and a possible object to hit him with within reach.

  Nothing!

  “Where is it?” he asked, raising the gun to my head.

  A clanging noise caught our attention.

  The courtyard.

  “I left the bedroom courtyard window open,” I said.

  “Someone’s already down there,” spat Andy angrily.

  “Put that down!” someone outside yelled.

  Edling?

  “No!” countered a struggling female voice.

  Sindi?

  “It’s mine, not theirs!” said Andy, as he raced off.

  I followed on his heels, taunting him on purpose.

  “Edling beat you to it, Andy.”

  If he got angry enough, he’d go after Edling not Sindia.

  Refocusing Andy’s anger might give me time to prevent an independent and stubborn Sindi from being shot.

  Chapter 51

  Confusion & Chaos

  By the time I reached the courtyard, Andy and Edling were fighting on the ground. Sindi was clutching a cloth-wrapped parcel to her chest and slowly backing away from the two distracted men who were throwing punches at each other.

  The air, filled with salty sea spray, hit us both as it whipped around us. The ugly storm that had been predicted earlier had worked its way inland.

  “You shouldn’t have risked it!” I said, brushing my windswept hair from my face.

  Her eyes veered to me. “I figured it out once I got here.”

  “That was too risky. Didn’t you think you might be followed?”

  “It was worth it! It’s the golden Buddha!” she shouted.

  Amazed, I stared at the bundle Sindi held tightly.

  “Then it was buried exactly where I estimated,” I said.

  “My parents finally hit their pot of gold,” she exclaimed.

  “Sindi, you better run...now!” I ordered, shoving her.

  She took off, yelling back, “I now know what to do.”

  As she raced up the ramp, I called after her, “Do what?”

  I heard silence behind me and turned. Edling and Andy had heard our whole exchange. I had to protect Sindi at all costs. As they fought off each other to gain the advantage, I reacted quicker and took off for the ramp before they did.

  It was after 3AM, but the boardwalk lights spotlighted Sindi running south on the deserted boardwalk. I raced after her. Loud footsteps in pursuit meant Edling and Andy were right behind me, obviously, with deadly intentions. They were determined to get that golden Buddha: a rumor that wasn’t just myth now, but an actual priceless antiquity.

  Having run track in school, I had speed on my side and was well ahead of them, but still a distance from Sindi, who had a head start. I heard cursing and scuffling behind me, stopped
, and glanced back to see what was going on. Andy and Edling were being tackled by Jake and Evan directly under one of the boardwalk spotlights.

  I heard Evan yell to me, “Sam, tell Sindi, don’t do it!”

  I turned back grinning, now having lost my pursuers. I could concentrate on catching up to Sindi. But I stiffened in place. The boardwalk was empty. Not a soul was on it.

  Where was Sindi? I had lost her, turning back to look at my pursuers.

  Then Evan’s words sunk in. ‘Tell Sindi, don’t do it!’

  I’d already reached the Sindia gazebo and looked around anxiously.

  What happened to Sindi? What shouldn’t she do?

  Then off to my left I caught a moving shadow on the beach that led from the ramp adjacent to the gazebo.

  What was Sindi doing on the beach? Oh, no...

  I took the ramp, giving chase on the sand to tell her it was safe to stop running. I barely saw her in the distance. Then the moon emerged, reflecting off the water, making it easier to spot her running on the hard-packed wet sand at the water’s edge. My stomach sank. The waves were particularly high that weekend. There had been many warnings from the lifeguards to stay out of the surf because of the oncoming storm.

  In the distance, I saw that Sindi was kicking off her shoes. A moment later she appeared to be entering the rough surf.

  Was she crazy? What was she planning to do?

  Lightning flashed then a distant rumble. That storm...

  “Sindi, don’t! Evan caught them,” I screamed.

  But incoming gusts and the loud surf snatched my plea.

  Chapter 52

  Doing The Unthinkable

  By the time I reached the water’s edge, Sindi was neck deep in the surf. I kicked off my shoes as fast as I could, gripping onto the lifeguard stand for balance. The red flag was madly flapping: a riptide warning.