Nico strolled to the side of the fire where Mr. Pappas and Markos were seated. He nodded toward an empty space. “Mind if I join you?”
Markos motioned for Nico to sit down. “Thank you for arranging the funeral and for the good food. I appreciate all you did for Theo and me.”
“The food had already been planned for the celebration, but when I canceled the party, Zanna’s mother and grandmother asked if they could prepare it for the funeral dinner. I’m sure they would appreciate your thanks. I can take you to where they live if you want to go over there tomorrow.”
He offered a brief nod. “We’re still going out tomorrow, aren’t we?”
Nico’s mouth dropped open. Before Theo’s death, the boats had been scheduled to sail tomorrow, but Nico had planned to wait several more days to allow the men time to grieve and rest before making another trip. The men sitting closest to Mr. Pappas all leaned forward as if anticipating Nico’s response.
He shook his head. “No. I think we’ll wait a few more days yet.” He patted Markos on the shoulder. “It’s the least I can do right now. You need to rest and take time to mourn. You can’t do that out in the Gulf.”
“I don’t want to mourn, and I don’t need to rest. We all want to get back to work. What am I to do sitting around the camp? I am a man. I don’t plan to beat my chest and wail like a woman who has lost her child. I loved my brother, but crying for him won’t bring him back. Harvesting sponge is what I need to do.” Markos gestured toward the other men around him. “It’s what we all need to do.” Several of the men bobbed their heads in unison and murmured their agreement.
Mr. Pappas nudged Nico. “You should let the men go out if it’s what they want. After all, you won’t make any money with the men sitting in camp.”
Nico frowned at the older man. “Everything isn’t about making money. There are some things in life that are far more important.”
“Not many, my boy, not many. And as you grow older, you’ll discover I’m right.” Mr. Pappas glanced at the captain. “Am I right, Demetrius?”
The captain’s eyes darted between Mr. Pappas and Nico. The usually outspoken captain gave a shrug and nodded his agreement.
Nico exhaled a long breath. “If that’s what you want to do, then I’m not going to argue. We can set sail tomorrow.”
“We?” Markos cocked an eyebrow. “You mean all three boats?”
Nico gave a firm nod. “All three boats—and me. I’ll dive in Theo’s position.”
“No.” The strangled word escaped Markos’s lips, and he shook his head.
Nico jerked back. “What do you mean, no? Who else did you think would dive in that position?”
Markos nodded toward the crew members of the St. Nicolas. “They have two extra divers on the St. Nicolas. You could send one of them with us. You shouldn’t dive, Nico. If something happens to you, then what happens to all of us? It isn’t wise.”
“You may not think it is wise, but I am in charge. The additional divers on the St. Nicolas have little experience. They have worked mostly as line tenders. Until one of them is better trained, I’ll be the second diver on the Anastasi.” He shrugged. “I’d like to think I will bring good fortune to the boat. Besides, I may find some problem the rest of you have overlooked in the past. We’ll take a different route than the other two boats and see what we discover. Who knows? We may locate even finer sponge beds.”
“Dr. Penrose might disagree with you, Nico.” Mr. Pappas puffed on his cigar. “She may not want to take a chance on losing the man who is in charge of this crew. After all, she’s got a lot of money invested in you.”
Nico frowned. “Not in me—in the sponging business.”
The older man flicked ash from the cigar. “All the same thing, isn’t it? Don’t let pride cause you to make foolish decisions.”
“Pride? This isn’t about my pride. It’s about keeping these men safe.” He glared at Mr. Pappas. “The operation of this business is none of your concern, so it would be best if you kept your opinions to yourself.”
Mr. Pappas shrugged. “Just trying to help, Nico.”
Demetrius leaned forward. “I know you have the final say in this, Nico, but if something does happen to you, what will become of us?” He gestured toward the other men. “We need you to manage the business. To take such a risk—do you think it is wise?”
Had Zanna talked to the captain? His words echoed what she’d already said to him. Or was this a warning from God that he shouldn’t go out with the men? Nico couldn’t be sure, but he’d promised Zanna he would carefully weigh his decision about diving. Perhaps he needed to spend some time in thought and prayer before the boats set sail.
Adelfo breathed a sigh of relief when Nico stood and announced he needed time to think and departed for town. Once certain Nico was out of earshot, Adelfo nudged Markos. “We need to talk. Alone.”
“You’re right, we do.” Markos nodded and started walking to a spot on the far side of the camp.
From the tone of Markos’s voice, Adelfo feared he was going to have a disagreement on his hands. He’d need to strike the first blow in this verbal sparring match if he was going to gain the upper hand.
Before they’d come to a halt, Adelfo grasped Markos by the arm. “Don’t think you’re going to tell me what you will or won’t do, Markos. We’ve already had that discussion. The thing we need to talk about is Nico going out on that boat with your crew. We need to make sure he doesn’t go.”
“If you don’t want him coming along, why’d you antagonize him? You likely made him even more determined to sail with us. Why didn’t you just keep quiet until we had a chance to talk in private?”
“Because I didn’t know if there’d be a chance.” Adelfo poked his finger against Markos’s chest. “Listen to me. If he sails on the Anastasi and acts as the second diver, the easiest thing to do is let him die out there in the Gulf.”
Markos gasped. “You want me to commit murder?” He shook his head until his hair whipped back and forth against his forehead. “No! I won’t do it.”
“It can be an accident. You can take over for the line tender and make sure he doesn’t get enough air. It will be easy.”
“Easy?” Markos’s voice trembled. “Killing someone would never be easy, and I won’t do it. Even if I agreed—and I never would—there’s no way I could take over for the line tender and not raise suspicion. You know nothing about being out on the boats, so don’t try to tell me how I can cause someone to die out there.” He looked toward the water. “This has gone too far. The other men and I just want to go back to sponging and forget we ever found that sunken ship.”
“Here’s the thing, Markos. You can do as I say or I’ll go to Nico. I can make this bad for all of you. I can even tell him that you intentionally killed your own brother because he didn’t want to go along with the rest of you to try to find the ship.”
“There’s more of us who would tell him the truth. He’d believe us. I know he would.”
Adelfo shrugged. “Even if he did believe you, would he ever trust you after this? Your crew disobeyed orders and began treasure hunting before I ever got involved. He can look at the logs and see when the harvest shortages began. After that, you’ll never find work on another sponge boat.”
Lines of defeat etched the young diver’s face as he leaned against the trunk of a palmetto tree. “Give me a chance to see if I can convince Nico to remain in Tarpon Springs. But if he decides to sail with us, don’t expect anything to happen to him. To have an accident so soon after Theo’s death would raise too many questions. Besides, Felix will soon be able to dive again.”
Adelfo took a step closer and looked Markos in the eyes. “Three sailings and then you need to have Felix back out there with you, or Nico needs to spend eternity in a watery grave.” He went to leave, then turned and glared at Markos over his shoulder. “Do not discuss this with the other men until I tell you.”
He stalked off before Markos could respond. His hands
trembled as he removed a cigar from his jacket. His reasoning with Markos hadn’t been as strong as he’d wanted. Still, Markos obviously feared having the wrongdoing of the crew exposed to Nico. No man wanted to jeopardize his livelihood, otherwise he would have walked away. At least, that was what Adelfo wanted to believe.
After leaving Nico at the warehouse earlier in the day, Zanna returned to her law office. Though her work for the sponge company consumed most of her time, she’d continued to see occasional clients. Of late, her work had fallen behind schedule, and she’d taken the remainder of the afternoon to review a detailed and lengthy railroad contract Mr. Burnside had sent to her. He wanted her opinion and had asked that she also cite the legal precedent to support her decision. She’d returned to the office after supper, hoping to complete her research. Then she could begin writing her opinion tomorrow morning and send it off to Mr. Burnside. She wouldn’t meet his requested deadline, but she’d be only a few days late.
She glanced up when the bell above the front door jangled and Nico stepped inside. “What a nice surprise. What brings you back to town this evening?” She glanced at the clock that sat on a wooden filing cabinet. “By now, you and the other men have usually returned to camp for the night. Did you have some work to complete that I didn’t know about?”
He sat down across from her and shook his head. “Not work, but I need to make a decision and thought if I took a walk, it might help.”
“And did it?” She tilted her head and looked into his coffee-brown eyes.
“No.” He shrugged. “So I continued walking, and when I saw you were here, I thought you could help.” His forehead creased with wrinkles, and he pointed to her desk. “What is all of this? You’re having to take care of your legal work at nighttime? Why didn’t you tell me? This is not good.”
“It’s nothing I can’t handle. A bit of research I need to complete. Besides, it’s quiet in the evening and there are no interruptions.”
“At least if I would stay away.”
She leaned back in her leather chair. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been reading too long and my eyes are tired.” She smoothed a wrinkle from the skirt of her green-and-gold plaid dress. “What is it you want to discuss?”
“You remember we talked about moving the sailing schedule so the men could have some extra days to rest and mourn?”
“Of course. What of it?”
He detailed the conversation he’d had with Markos and the other crew members, but made no mention of Mr. Pappas. “Since they want to remain on the old schedule, I agreed.”
She jerked back. “I thought one of the reasons you were waiting to sail was so that Felix could return to the Anastasi and dive.”
“I never said that.” He frowned and shook his head. “I don’t think Felix will be ready for several more weeks, if then. I’m not sure we can count on using him as a diver in the future. I pray he will recover enough to dive, or at least be able to work in another position on one of the boats, but his future remains uncertain. Only God knows for sure.”
Her mind reeled as she tried to sift through what he told her. “But if you’ve already told the men they can sail, who’s going to take the position as second diver on the Anastasi?”
He clasped his hands together and rested them in his lap. “That’s the decision I must make. I think I should be the second diver. The men have expressed concern about my decision and—”
“And I have some concern, as well. I don’t want you to go with them, Nico. I’ve already told you I don’t want you to dive.”
His lips curved in a playful smile. “I know, I know. You don’t want to lose me. I’m too important to you.”
“To the business, Nico. There isn’t a man in that crew who could take over for you, and you know that’s true. If I agreed you should go with the men and something happened, I’d never forgive myself.”
He chuckled. “Of that I am sure. I may be the only one who can help you with the business, but I’m also the only man who would marry a woman like you.”
Heat scalded her cheeks. “What does that mean—a woman like me?”
“That means I am a man who wouldn’t object to having his wife work alongside him in his business. Of course, I am also a man who wants his wife to give him beautiful babies, too, so maybe you couldn’t handle all of that, after all.” His eyes, though weary, twinkled when he spoke.
“You talk out of both sides of your mouth. Not so long ago you told me you wanted a wife who would stay home, cook, and have babies.”
He shrugged. “We are all allowed to change our mind sometimes.”
Every nerve in her body tingled when he leaned forward and rested his forearms on the desk. She could no longer deny the rush of emotion she felt in his presence, yet she needed to guard her feelings.
Nico was a man who one day said he wanted a wife who would remain at home and tend babies, and another day said he would not object to his wife working alongside him. Which was it? Would he say one thing before he married and another afterward? Of course, he’d not even come close to actually asking her to marry him. Truth be told, he’d never even kissed her—though recently he seemed as though he’d wanted to—so what was she to think of these comments? Was he using them as a ploy to change the topic now that she’d voiced opposition to his plan? She’d told him before she didn’t want him to dive, so why would he think she’d change her mind now? Was that why he made that final comment about being allowed to change one’s mind sometimes?
She forced her practical side to the forefront and sighed. “I think we need to use our time deciding who is going to dive when the boats sail. Even though you told the men they could sail tomorrow, I think you should tell them you’ve changed your mind. Blame it on me. Tell them I need you here to help with problems in the warehouse or to oversee at Friday’s sale. You know the buyers don’t like to talk to me.”
Nico shook his head. “I won’t lie to the men.”
She placed her palms on the desk. “Nothing I’ve said is a lie. I do need you here. The workers in the warehouse don’t think I know anything about cleaning and packing the sponges.”
“And you don’t. You should spend more time back there. This would be a good opportunity for you to learn more.” He flashed that smile of his—the one that made her heart flutter, even though now it also made her angry.
“And what about the sale on Friday? Are you willing to take a chance that all will go well with that if you aren’t here talking to the buyers before they place their bids? We need every penny we can get on sale days.”
“We are doing fine. I studied the ledgers you showed me like I promised.”
“Yes, but if we’re to keep Lucy happy, we need to continue showing growth and profit. The only way to do that is to continue selling at high prices and, Nico, the buyers like you. They want you here to answer their questions.”
He shrugged. “They like me, but it usually ends up with Adelfo Pappas gaining the highest bid for his New York clients. Most of the other buyers can’t compete with what he offers. Still, Pappas agrees with you. He doesn’t want me to dive.”
She straightened her shoulders and lifted her nose high in the air. “You confided in Mr. Pappas? You asked his opinion before you came to me?” She paused and drew a deep breath. “Why would you seek his advice?”
“You are taking offense when there’s no reason to do so. I didn’t seek his advice. He came to the campsite tonight—uninvited, as far as I could tell. No one asked for his opinion, but he voiced it just the same. And not in a particularly considerate way.”
“What do you mean? Was he surly or forceful?”
“I would say a little of both. It wasn’t what he said so much as his tone and attitude. I may have misunderstood his intent, but some of his statements sounded almost like threats.” Nico’s smile appeared as if forced. “What reason could he have to threaten me or care whether I dive or not? It makes no sense. I must have misunderstood.”
Zanna weighed
his words. She was pleased the older man agreed that Nico should remain behind, yet she wondered if this had anything to do with his desire to own the sponging company. If so, she couldn’t imagine what it could be.
She stifled a yawn with her hand. “Pardon me.”
Nico stood and held out his hand. “You’re tired. Let me walk you home.”
Glancing at her paper-littered desk, she considered his offer. She really should stay and finish her work, but perhaps she could persuade him not to dive on the way to her house.
She placed her hand in his and allowed him to pull her to her feet. After locking her office, they walked along the deserted boardwalk.
Nico cleared his throat. “How would you have gotten home if I had not come?”
“I’d have walked, just as I’m doing now.”
“Unescorted?”
“I’ve done so many times. Other times, my brother comes to fetch me.” When Nico grew quiet, she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t like to think of you putting yourself in danger.”
She pulled him to a stop near some palm fronds. Beyond them, a light was flickering inside her home. “Now you know how I feel about you diving.”
“Ah, but you said it was because you don’t want the business to suffer.” He grasped both of her hands. “Is it more, Zanna? Will you tell me now or will you, like my men, hold the truth from me?”
Truth.
The Lady of Tarpon Springs Page 23