Tides of Deception (Samantha Rite Mystery Series Book 3)

by Hope Callaghan

  The sun was hot and the air heavy with almost unbearable humidity as Lee hopped in the small Sea Ray. He turned the key and the engine roared to life. He looked over at Donovan and gave him the thumbs up as the boat slowly pulled away from the dock. This was their last chance to search for the treasure before he had to fly to Michigan and bring Sam back. This might even be their last chance to search for the treasure until next spring.

  Hurricane season was ending but that meant winter was right around the corner. Even though Florida had warm winter weather, the ocean waters were iffy at best and the seas could get really rough. They’d have to wait until spring and by then it might be too late. Someone else might get to the treasure before them.

  Lee quickly gunned the engine and headed in the direction of where he was sure was close to the sunken ship – and the treasure. He glanced around the open water, checking to make sure they weren’t being followed. No one was in sight. He breathed a sigh of relief. Sam’s foreboding feeling was firmly planted in the back of his mind. He almost wished she wasn’t that accurate in her premonition of bad things about to happen.

  The seas were choppy and the boat ride out to the spot was rough. It was a good thing both men had strong stomachs. For some, this would be a miserable trip and a good way to get a healthy dose of motion sickness.

  Half an hour later, they were close to the GPS coordinates Lee had carefully entered into the handheld device during their last dive. Lee slowed the motor as they half-coasted, half-bobbed their way over to the exact location.

  Donovan wasn’t diving this time. He would stay on the surface and keep a watchful eye for nearby boats.

  Lee cut the motor and stood up. He quickly pulled on his dive suit and hoisted the oxygen tank onto his back. Next, he checked to make sure he had everything he needed for the dive. He patted his outer pocket. The waterproof GPS was safely tucked away. He also packed a powerful dive light, a net and dive pole. The plan was for him to recover something from the sunken ship to bring back up so they could verify its authenticity.

  While Lee was suiting up, Donovan was working on the rope that would be tied to his partner as he descended into the deep, blue water. It was never a good idea to dive without a buddy but the two didn’t have much of a choice. They didn’t trust anyone enough to bring a third person with them and one of them had to stay on the surface.

  Time to go! Lee carefully adjusted the mask on his face. He nodded his head and gave Donovan the thumbs up just before he fell backward, out of the small boat and into the dark, fathomless ocean.

  He knew the exact direction he needed to take as he forced the fins on his feet to move below the choppy ocean surface. There was no time to waste. He needed to make good use of what precious time they had. Within a few hours, daylight would be fading and he wasn’t keen on being out in open water when night fell.

  Their chances of discovering the treasure were getting slimmer and slimmer every day that went by.

  After what seemed like hours but was only a few short minutes, Lee reached the spot he’d been looking for. The rock shelf was in sight. He was close now! The long, bumpy shelf went beyond what his limited vision could make out. He floated motionlessly as his eyes tried to focus. Through the murky darkness, he could only barely make out where it raised up in a jagged peak. Yes! This was it.

  He carefully inched his way along the shelf until he was on the high point. He sucked in a full gulp of the precious air. It was now or never. The moment of truth. His heart was racing as he pushed himself down the flat wall, inching his way toward the ocean bottom.

  He paused for just a brief second as he fumbled with his dive light. Finally, he was able to pull it from its protective pouch. He quickly turned it on. Now that the whole shelf was illuminated, he pointed it downward. Nothing.

  He nudged himself just a few inches lower. He couldn’t go too far down. Without the right gear, it was dangerous to have that much pressure on his body and the equipment. Plus, the rope wasn’t long enough to allow him to go down any further. To do that, he’d have to untie his precious lifeline to the surface. If he got lost or disoriented, he’d never make it back alive.

  Lee carefully studied the area now illuminated by the bright spotlight. At first, he saw only dark blue water. He moved his light around as he scanned the area thoroughly. Nothing.

  His heart sank. What a wasted trip! He was just about to give up when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Something shiny.

  He narrowed his eyes and squinted into the mask as he peered towards the ocean floor. Yes, there was definitely something directly below him.

  With his free hand, he pulled the collapsible pole out of the storage pouch that was attached to his buoyancy controller. He grappled with the lever as he struggled to open it in the deep waters. Finally, the long pole was ready to go.

  Lowering it in the direction of the shiny area, he began poking around with the tip of the narrow stick, careful not to stir up too much sediment or else he wouldn’t be able to see anything. He methodically probed the area inch-by-inch. After three or four jabs, the stick hit on something hard. He slowly slid it sideways. There were more shiny objects! Something was down there!

  He pulled the stick back up and carefully hooked a small, tightly-meshed net onto the end. Once more, he pushed the stick down towards the murky bottom. He cautiously moved the net to the shiniest spot, which was directly below him. Ever-so-gently, he scraped the net on the uneven ocean floor, gingerly scooping up one of the shiny objects.

  He took a deep breath as he slowly pulled the net back up for a closer inspection. Crap! He was so nervous, his heavy breathing was fogging up his mask! There was just one small clear spot left so he wiggled the mask around to get the best close-up view possible. Holding the net in one hand, he pointed his flashlight directly on the small object as he peered at it from the edge of his mask.

  He wedged the flashlight under his arm. He carefully flipped the net over and dropped the small object into his free hand. He rubbed a gloved thumb over the surface, scraping away the sediment that had clung to its surface for centuries. His eyes grew wide when he saw what he’d been searching for. What he’d lain awake in bed dreaming about for more nights than he could count. It appeared to be a Spanish cob coin with a cross etched on the center. It was worn and faded but it was definitely there!

  Lee’s mind was racing. They found it – they finally found it!!! His palms began to sweat as he fumbled with the diving stick. After folding the stick together, he carefully placed that and the coin inside the zippered compartment and securely shut it.

  He couldn’t wait to get back to the top and show Donovan what he’d found!

  As he started his ascent back to the surface, it suddenly dawned on him. What an idiot! This was the most important part of the dive! He reached into another pouch on the other side of his buoyancy controller and pulled out his underwater GPS. With the location coordinates safely stored inside, Lee continued his slow ascent to the top where Donovan was anxiously waiting.

  Donovan peered over the edge of the boat into the murky water below. The heat from the sun was almost unbearable as it relentlessly beat down on him. He wasn’t sure if it was the scorching heat or if he was just nervous, but sweat was pouring down his face. Lee had been down there a long time – longer than he should be.

  Donovan rubbed the front of his shirt across his drenched brow. His sharp eyes trained on the rough waters, scanning the surface for tiny air bubbles, a telltale sign that Lee was finally coming up. He tried to swallow but his throat was parched. He was just about to grab a cold bottle of ice water when suddenly; he felt something hard hit the side of the boat! He grabbed the edge to steady himself as he looked up to see what caused the commotion. He was so focused on figuring out if Lee was alright that he didn’t notice another boat approaching. Pulled up alongside him was a much larger fishing boat and there were two tall, lanky guys onboard.

  “What the heck??” He quickly jumped to his
feet. In a split second decision, he made a mad dash for the front of the boat where his loaded gun was tucked away in the storage compartment.

  He was only about halfway there when one of the intruders hopped out of the other boat and rushed towards Donovan.

  There was no time to react – it was all happening so quickly! The stranger was mere feet from Donovan. He stopped dead in his tracks. The stranger had a gun in his hand and it was pointed right at Donovan’s chest. “Don’t move!”

  Just then, he noticed bubbles rising up from the water next to the boat. It was terrible timing. Lee was surfacing! The gunman noticed, too.

  Seconds later, Lee popped up out of the water. He was so excited, he spit his mouthpiece out and practically shouted at Donovan. “I found it, I mean WE found it! We found the treasure!”

  Just then. Lee noticed the man standing next to Donovan, holding a gun. The dark, lanky gunman was grinning from ear-to-ear. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day!”

  Chapter 5

  Sam spent Sunday night flitting from one dream to another. Eventually, the small, restless parade of dreams turned into one very real nightmare. She was being chased through a dense jungle by two masked men. She ran as fast as she could through the thick bushes and tangled vines, pushing her way past them as she tried frantically to escape the men just steps behind her. She could hear their feet as they pounded the hard, uneven jungle floor. No matter how fast she ran, they kept getting closer and closer.

  Lee was with her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him running parallel to her as he desperately tried to lose the menacing strangers. Sam’s heart was beating frantically in her chest, her long hair flying behind her as she raced to escape them.

  Suddenly, a long arm reached out and grasped the back of Sam’s shirt, jerking her backwards. Sam lost her balance and landed on the ground with a jarring thud. She opened her eyes and stared straight up. From where she was lying, she could see a small speck of blue sky peeking through the tall, thick palm trees directly overhead.

  Sam didn’t have long to wonder what happened to the masked man that was chasing her as a shadowing figure leaned menacingly over her still body. From close up, she could see that the mask completely covered his face, except for two small slits for his eyes. Two cold, hard, lifeless eyes.

  He had a long, serrated knife in his hand. Sam watched in horror as he lowered the sharp, glinting knife towards her neck. Sam could smell her own fear as she watched the knife inch closer and closer to her throat.

  She felt her throat closing. Her eyes opened wide with fear as she started to gag. Just as the cold piece of sharp metal was pressed against her skin, Sam woke with a start. She bolted upright in bed, drenched in sweat, her heart pounding wildly.

  She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she fought to calm herself. The vision of the shadowy figure reappeared, as if etched in her mind. Her hand unconsciously went to her throat, as if reassuring herself that it really was just a nightmare. She quickly opened them and glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. It was 5:30 in the morning.

  It took several minutes for Sam to get the vivid image out of her mind. It seemed so real.

  She quietly crept out of bed and tiptoed to the kitchen to get a glass of water. As she made her way back to bed, she had a sudden, irresistible urge to call Lee and beg him not to go on the dive today. She had such a bad feeling and the nightmare did not help!

  She shook her head as if to clear it. He would probably think she was being melodramatic. The last thing she wanted was for him to think he was in love with a crazy woman!

  Instead, she put it in God’s hands as she prayed for protection for Lee and Donovan. She grabbed her Bible on the nightstand and turned to one of her favorite Psalms:

  The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. Psalms 121:8 KJV

  She meditated on the verse for several minutes as she closed her eyes and continued to pray. Soon, she felt God’s presence and an overwhelming sense of peace filled her. Instead of trying to control every situation, she needed to leave it in God’s hands.

  She knew that was an area of weakness for her. Trying to do everything herself and not trusting God as she should, even though he’d proven time and time again he was much better at taking care of her than she was herself.

  With that, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. There were no more dreams of masked men chasing her or Lee.

  Sam woke with a start. Sunlight was streaming into her room through a gap in the curtain. She looked over at the bedside clock. It was 11:00 in the morning! She never slept that late! She grabbed her robe from the end of the bed and threw it on as she shuffled to the kitchen.

  Her sister was standing at the sink washing dishes.

  Sam grabbed a cup from the cupboard and poured herself a healthy dose of leftover coffee. She lifted the cup to her lips, stopping to take a huge whiff. Michigan Cherry – her absolute favorite. Sam took a sip of the still hot caffeine. “Why didn’t you wake me up? I feel like a bum!”

  Deb stopped working for a minute as she smiled over her shoulder. “I heard you creeping around in the middle of the night and figured you could use a little extra sleep this morning.”

  Sam grinned as she reached over and gave her sister a one-armed hug. “Thanks. I had a rough night. My fickle sense of foreboding kicked into high gear. I was dreaming of masked men chasing Lee and me through the jungle.” Sam shook her head as she tried to shrug it off.

  “But I’m feeling better now,” she simply said.

  She glanced at the clock on the wall. “I was going to try to call Lee before he left on his dive but I’m sure he’s long gone by now.”

  Her sister knew bits and pieces of the story about the treasure map and abductions. Sam hadn’t gone into great detail but Deb was well-aware of her sister’s gift of forewarning. It was nothing to take lightly.

  Deb glanced sideways out of the corner of her eye, a look of sisterly-concern on her face. It was time to take Sam’s mind off her troubles. At least for a little while. “Since this is your last day, why don’t we make the most of it? We can run down to the Old Town Mill for lunch.”

  Sam smiled as she set the empty coffee cup on the counter and tightened the belt on her robe. “That’s a great idea. I’ll go get ready.”

  She headed down the hall to look in on Brianna. As usual, the blankets were pulled completely over her head. She was sound asleep. No sense in waking her just to have lunch. Sam quietly closed the door and headed to the bathroom.

  Half an hour later, the two sisters were ready to go. The unique, one-of-a-kind restaurant was a locals’ favorite. It was an old flour mill that had been converted into a rustic, charming restaurant overlooking a river. Some of the original structure and equipment was still visible after more than 150 years. The view of the rushing river was spectacular this time of year. The leaves were almost completely off the trees and there was an unobstructed view of the water from almost every seat.

  The menu was extensive and the girls were having a hard time deciding what to order, when suddenly the tantalizing aroma of roasting turkey reached their noses. They easily agreed on splitting one of the enormous ham and turkey sandwiches loaded onto two slices of freshly baked bread. The waitress set the tempting sandwich before the girls. It was piled high with layers of thinly sliced turkey and baked ham. The thick slice of aged Swiss cheese was already melting down the sides of the layers of meat. Sam’s mouth was watering as she took a big bite of her food. She closed her eyes in pure contentment. The sandwich was heavenly! Sam ate every single morsel of the sandwich along with the heaping pile of homemade potato chips that came along with it.

  Since she had no idea when she would get another chance to enjoy one of her all-time favorite restaurants again, the girls also splurged on their famous mile high lemon pie. A thick, gooey layer of meringue coated the top of the golden lemon pie. Sam dug into the pie with relish. The flaky crust
almost melted in her mouth. She tried to pace herself and savor every single bite but all too soon she popped the last tangy morsel into her mouth.

  After they finished eating, the girls made their way over to the bank of the river. They plopped down on a nearby bench and stared quietly at the water for several moments.

  Deb suddenly reached over and hugged her sister. “I’m going to miss you.”

  Tears sprang up in Sam’s eyes. It was too hard to speak. “Me too,” she whispered.

  There was nothing left to say. With that, they got up and slowly walked back to the car.

  Chapter 6

  The gunman aimed his weapon at Lee. “Get in.”

  Donovan swallowed hard as he reached down to help pull his friend back into the boat. As soon as he was standing upright, the gunman took a menacing step to where Lee was now standing. “So you found the treasure?”

  Lee tried to backtrack. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  This only made the gunman angry. “I’m not stupid – and neither are you.” He waved the gun towards the man still standing in the other boat. “You found the treasure and we want it.”

  Lee was starting to get ticked off. “Well if you’re so sure there’s a treasure, then YOU go find it.”

  For some reason, the gunman found that funny. He looked back at the other man as he started laughing. “You hear that Carlos?”

  Apparently, Carlos thought that was funny, too, as he chuckled. “Yeah, we have a real comedian here.”

  The gunman’s tone changed in an instant. He looked up at the darkening sky. Thunderstorms were rumbling in the distance. “We’re going to have a little camp out tonight and then tomorrow morning, we’re coming back and YOU’RE going to go get the treasure, comprende?” Based on the current turn of events, it looked like Donovan and Lee wouldn’t have much of a choice.

  The gunman motioned for the two of them to climb into the other boat. After they were seated in the back, the second man tied their boat behind them and they slowly made their way back to shore.