"So Alani," he said. "If you're a local, then you'll know your way around here pretty well."
"Of course I do," she scoffed.
"Do you know much about the forest around Coconut Cove?"
She placed her glass on the bar and swiveled on her stool to face him.
"What about it?"
"I wanted to go there and have a look around. Just wondering the best way to get there."
Casey stopped sweeping and stared at Ryan. After a beat he moved towards us, placed his forearm on the countertop, and leaned his weight forward, never once breaking eye contact with Ryan.
"What are you doing here?" he asked him.
"I'm just here for a little look around. Is that a crime?"
"I don't believe that for a second." Casey's electric blue eyes looked sharp and focused as he glared at Ryan.
"Can I 'ave that drink yet?" Ryan's shoulders were relaxed, his smile freely playing on his lips, seemingly enjoying himself.
Casey's jaw started to grind.
"I'll get you your drink, but then you get out of my bar." His eyes bored into Ryan, and I knew that I for one would have done exactly as asked.
Ryan threw his head back and laughed. "Same ole Casey I used to know."
Really? That wasn't the Casey I'd grown to love. The Casey I knew was chilled, happy, and always smiling. His eyes sparkled when he spoke to you. They weren't hard like they were now.
Casey scowled before sweeping up the broken glass, then headed off to make Ryan's drink.
"You two must have some interesting history," I commented to Ryan. Alani was silent. I knew her well enough to know that she was considering what was going on here just as much as I was.
"I'm guessing Casey never mentioned me then?"
I shook my head as Ryan stared after him, his look distant, seemingly lost in a memory.
"What brings you to Aloha Lagoon?" Alani asked him.
"Hmm…oh, work," Ryan added, turning his full attention back to us.
"What sort of work do you do?"
"I used to be a barman, but a few years ago I got into admin, I guess you could say."
"That's a big career change," I commented.
"Well the opportunity fell into my lap, and you got to take opportunity while it's knocking, right?"
"I suppose."
"What is it you want to do around Coconut Cove?" Alani asked.
"Ah, well, I was hoping to have a hike in the forest."
"There are a lot of hiking trails in that area, but some areas are off limits. Make sure you stick to the ones that are marked."
"What if where I need to go isn't on the trails?"
"Then you can't go there without permission."
"Why do you need to go to an area that isn't on the marked trails?" I asked, curious.
Ryan looked thoughtful. "How do I get permission?" he then asked, ignoring my question altogether.
Casey moved back towards us, putting Ryan's drink in front of him, holding out his hand for payment.
Alani looked to Ryan. "Depends on whose land it is, but I'd suggest you start by talking to the owner."
Ryan considered her response as he slapped a few notes into Casey's hand.
"Have you ever heard of a petrified tree?" he asked her. "From what I know of it, I'd guess it's not on the tourist trails."
Casey closed his fingers around the money but otherwise didn't move.
"Yes, I know it. And you're right—it's not on a trail. My family owns that area of Coconut Cove. Sorry, but it's off limits to tourists."
Ryan raised his eyebrows as he studied Alani.
"Your family owns that land?"
Alani nodded. "That's what I said."
"What if I'm not a tourist? What if I ask your permission to go there?"
"Why do you need to go there?" I asked again.
"What's going on, Ryan?" Casey asked, his tone hard.
"Nothin' that you should worry about."
"You're here treasure hunting, aren't you?" Casey stated.
Ryan lifted his drink, his eyes only leaving Casey's as the scotch touched his lips. The ice tinkled against the glass, and Casey's shoulders relaxed as a smile played on his lips.
Slowly placing the glass back down, Ryan replied, "That's none of your business."
Casey laughed, breaking the tension that had been building between the two. Shaking his head, he looked at Ryan like he was an idiot. Which he quite possibly was.
"There's no treasure here, Ryan."
"It's real, Casey. And it's here, near Aloha Lagoon," Ryan replied, his voice barely above a whisper.
"It is not here. It's not real. None of it's real." Casey spoke slowly, his gaze holding Ryan's. It was only as Owen moved towards us, carrying a bucket of ice and an ice pick and looking slightly frazzled, that Casey broke eye contact.
"Treasure hunting?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.
"Ryan fancies himself a treasure hunter," said Casey, beaming. "If my memory serves me right, Ryan thinks there's treasure buried on Kauai."
"I don't fancy myself as one. I am one," stated Ryan, now glaring at Casey.
"Is there treasure around here?" I asked.
Alani scoffed. "It's a myth," she said, shaking her head.
"You're wrong. It's not a myth," Ryan spat.
Alani sighed. "Do you have any idea how many times I've heard this?"
"What treasure?" I asked, curiosity spiking.
"Ryan has spent years wasting his time researching long-lost treasures," said Casey, shaking his head dismissively.
"I'm not wasting my time. I've seen the proof, Casey. I've seen the journal that shows where the treasure is." Ryan's eyes were bright, his smile luminous.
"Then it too is fake!" said Casey.
"No it's not. I have it. I can show it to you," Ryan said, his voice low.
Casey threw his head back and laughed, turning his attention to Owen, who'd been patiently waiting nearby.
"Hey, Casey," Owen called, dumping the bucket of ice into the ice bin. "I went to get some more ice, but the machine's not working. I've chipped some of the block ice, but do you want me to break it all up?" Owen had only worked two shifts and still wasn't completely comfortable in his surroundings.
"The ice machine's not working?" Casey asked, frowning as he looked around the still crowded bar, his attention now back in work mode.
"Nope. Sorry, man."
Casey sighed. "You stay and serve. I'll go and see what's happening with it."
Owen shrugged. "No problem."
With that, Owen turned to serve, and Casey left through a swinging door to the back room.
"Is there really treasure around here?" I asked once Casey had left.
"Only if you believe the rumors," said Alani.
I raised my eyebrows, encouraging her to give me more details.
"The story goes," started Alani, "that in the early 1800s, a ship carrying stolen Indian gems was caught in a storm and was blown off its course to San Francisco. It wrecked offshore. The captain had his men unload what they could of the gems and take them to a spot on shore where they were to bury them so that once they were all rescued, he could come back at a later date and collect them. He then killed the remaining survivors so no one would know the location but him. But like I said, it's a myth."
"What was a ship carrying stolen gems from India doing all the way over here at that point in history?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
Ryan's eyes were bright, his enthusiasm for the subject evident.
"For a brief time in the late 1700s to early 1800s," he explained, "US trade wiv India far exceeded all trade wiv Europe. Mostly it was cloth, but they also traded spices, sugar, and some drugs. The trade was carried out by independent businessmen, so a lot of the documentary evidence is missing or lost," he added, as Alani looked like she was about to argue with him. "But it was a lucrative trade while it lasted."
I knew my Australian history, and it was a well-known fac
t that Captain James Cook not only discovered the east coast of Australia, but he also discovered Hawaii, so I knew the Europeans were floating around this way, but US and India trade history was all new to me. I shrugged in an apologetic way.
"The ship that got into trouble was on its way to the US carrying textiles," he explained to me before turning to Alani. "Anyway, the story you told isn't quite right. We now believe that the captain, James Carnavon III, didn't kill all of the men. One escaped, taking the captain's journal wiv him. We don't know what happened after that, as nothing has ever been found documenting it. Of course there's loads of theories about it." He stopped, looking thoughtful. "The journal surfaced a while ago, and it showed the captain was taking the gems to sell to an unnamed buyer," continued Ryan, giving me a small smile.
"How much is this alleged treasure worth?"
"In today's market, about $100 million," said Ryan.
"Geez, that's a lot of money," I said, doing my best to whistle. It wasn't great. It actually sounded more like a dying canary.
"It is a lot of money," said Alani. "But you're not the first person to come here looking for it."
He wasn't? Why had I not heard of it? You'd think the Tourist Information Center would be advertising something like that.
"Half of Aloha Lagoon knows about the myth," she continued. "It doesn't make it true."
"Yeah, maybe so, but I bet I'm the first who knows the exact location of it," said Ryan, a smug smile playing on his lips.
LETHAL TIDE
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Aloha Lagoon Mysteries Boxed Set Volume III (Books 7-9) Page 61