by David Wood
“They’re almost here.” Corey, the fair-skinned, redheaded computer specialist said as he strode from the cabin. He sat down on the deck beside Bones, propped his elbows on his knees and his chin cupped in his hands, and frowned. “You guys know what this means.”
“I know,” Maddock groaned, “back to the docks.” They could not afford a delay. Business had been slow, and he had been counting on the Spanish galleon to change their fortunes. He had done his homework, researched it thoroughly, and was certain he had a line on it. But nothing remained secret for long in this business. His competitors would hear about the shootout and wonder what he was looking for out here.
“It should only be for a day,” Bones said hopefully. “It’s pretty obvious what these guys are. Or should I say were?” He twisted his mouth in a wry smile.
“It had better not be for long,” Maddock said. “We’ve got to get back to work.” He did not add, or we’re going to go under. Everyone knew that fact already. “If somebody finds that wreck before us…” His words trailed away as a Coast Guard cutter appeared on the horizon.
Chapter 2
Maddock and Bones were surveying the damage to the Sea Foam when the hollow sound of approaching footsteps drew their attention. Though they had returned to port, they remained on edge after the attack. Even Corey, who was not the least bit prone to violence, had armed himself with Matt’s spare .9 millimeter and was keeping an eye out for danger.
A young woman, perhaps in her mid-twenties, stood at the end of the dock. She was tall, with long, deeply tanned legs, which her khaki shorts displayed to good effect. A tight, white, sleeveless shirt clung to her trim, athletic body in all the right places. The intense Key West sun glistened on her long, white-blonde hair, which she wore pulled back, displaying a strong, yet attractive face that appeared untouched by the humidity. Her chin was a bit too small and her nose just a touch too big for her face, but that only added character to her appearance. She regarded Maddock with an intense, green-eyed stare that took his breath for an instant. She was a beauty.
“Holy crap,” Bones muttered. “I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for eating crackers.”
“Good afternoon,” the newcomer said, smiling broadly. If she had heard Bones’ comment, she didn’t let it show. “Permission to come aboard?” She asked the question as if it was a mere formality, which Maddock supposed it was. Beautiful women on the Sea Foam were few and far-between.
“Granted,” Bones replied quickly, shouldering Maddock aside. He offered his hand to help the young woman onto the deck. She did not need his assistance, though, vaulting the rail and landing on the balls of her feet with catlike agility. Bones stepped back and grinned in approval. “Not bad. What are you, anyway, one of those Romanian gymnast women or something?”
“Hardly.” She brushed some invisible dirt from her shorts. “Well then. I assume you would be Bonebrake and Maddock,” she said, nodding to each of them in turn.
“As if we had a choice,” Maddock replied, and immediately wondered if that sounded as dumb to her as it did to him. Bones was the clever one. ”And you would be?”
“I am Kaylin Maxwell.” She looked at him as if he ought to know her.
Maddock was certain that he’d remember that pair of legs, if not the name. “I’m sorry Miss Maxwell, have we met before?”
“Sure we have,” Bones interrupted, his smile shining brighter than white against his deeply tanned features. “You know, at that thing, at the place…” His voice trailed off under Kaylin’s bemused stare.
Kaylin folded her arms and looked down at the bullet holes riddling the side of the boat. “Termites?” she deadpanned.
“Cubans,” Maddock said. “It’s a long story.”
“But it’s a great story,” Bones interrupted. “We were heroes. How about I buy you a drink and tell you all about it?”
“I’ll take a beer if you have one handy,” she said. “But I know enough of your reputation to not let you buy me anything.”
Maddock waited for the woman to explain her presence here, but nothing was forthcoming. “You never told us where we know you from.”
“You don’t know me,” the blonde replied, “but you both knew my father quite well.”
Maddock paused for a moment and then took a step back. “Hold on! You’re Maxie’s daughter?” Commander Hartford Maxwell had led his and Bones’ unit during their service in the SEALS. Maddock had held the rank of Lieutenant Commander under Maxie. “I haven’t heard from him in years. How is he?”
Kaylin looked away, her bright eyes cloudy and her face crestfallen.
Maddock’s heart sank. Somehow, he already knew what she was going to say.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you,” she said, her voice husky with emotion, “that my father is dead.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “He died a week ago. That’s why I’m here.”
“Oh,” Maddock said, caught off guard by the surprise announcement. He did not know what to say, so he grimaced and looked down for a moment. He had seen his share of death, but he knew all too well that loved ones were different. The rest of the crew had joined them, and they offered their condolences to Kaylin, who nodded her thanks.
Willis, who had also served under Maxie, took the news like a gut punch. He sat down on the deck, bowed his head, and tuned the others out.
As usual, Bones tried to lighten the mood. “You’re in the will, Maddock.” He clapped Maddock on the shoulder. “Lord knows Maxie wouldn’t have left me anything.” The commander had appreciated Bones as a soldier. Unfortunately, Bones held his liquor about as well as any other Indian: not well at all. Maxie was constantly busting his subordinate for some shenanigan or another. Every time it had been when Bonebrake was drinking. It had taken years, but he’d finally learned his limits.
“I’m sorry, but I fear there’s no inheritance,” Kaylin said, smiling sadly.
“Yeah, I guess that wasn’t very compassionate of me,” Bones said, looking a bit abashed. “I gotta tell you, I’m not very good with the whole sympathy thing.”
“No problem,” Kaylin said. “As I said before, I’ve already heard a little bit about you, so I was prepared.” She offered a sad smile to show there were no hard feelings, but then her face grew serious. She frowned and looked around uncomfortably. “Is there somewhere the three of us can talk?”
“Oh, sorry. Of course.” Maddock said. The others suddenly busied themselves with odd tasks while he and Bones ushered her into the main cabin.
They sat down at a small table that was covered in charts and various books and papers. Maddock hurried to clean up the clutter while Bones rummaged through the small refrigerator and retrieved three bottles of Dos Equis.
“You two make an odd pair,” Kaylin observed.
Maddock had heard that before. With his fair skin, blue eyes and blond hair, he didn’t resemble Bones in any way.
“That’s true,” Bones said. “I’m tall and handsome. He’s short and ugly.” He added a squirt of juice from a cheap, plastic lime to each bottle of beer, and handed them around.
Maddock grinned. He stood a hair under six feet tall, but next to the six foot five Bones, he didn’t exactly look strapping.
They made small talk, catching up on the years since Maddock had fallen out of touch with Maxie. Kaylin had graduated from college, traveled in Europe for a year, and finally settled in Charleston, South Carolina where she worked as an Art History professor and painted on the side.
They finally lapsed into a tense silence. Kaylin took a long, slow drink and sat in quiet contemplation for a moment before launching into her explanation.
“My father was murdered,” she began. “The police say he interrupted a burglary in progress.”
Maddock took a long pull from his beer. It was sharp and tangy, just the way he liked it and so cold that it stung his throat on the way down. Just what the doctor ordered on a hot day.
“But you think differently,” Maddock prompted. He had listened to what
Kaylin had not said, and that was what he responded to.
“I know it wasn’t a burglary,” she replied, meeting his gaze with a level stare. “Not long before he died, my father gave me a package and told me to keep it safe. He said it was something he was working on, and that people were after it. He planned to get it back from me when he felt that things had cooled off, whatever that meant.”
“I don’t get it,” Bones interrupted, his beer forgotten as he concentrated on the issue at hand. “Maxie was good. If he knew somebody was after him, he should have been on his guard. How could someone have gotten to him?”
“That’s another reason that I know it wasn’t a burglary,” Kaylin replied. “As you said, Dad was good. Whoever got him must have been better.” She paused and cleared her throat, her eyes beginning to mist. She accepted the napkin Maddock offered with a nod of thanks and dabbed at her eyes.
“What was the condition of the house when the police got there?” He felt strange continuing the discussion when she was obviously upset, but he sensed that it would be better to give her something to talk about, rather than sitting in gloomy silence.
“It looked like a burglary,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. This was obviously difficult for her to talk about. “Drawers had been rummaged through or dumped on the floor. His DVD player was missing, and what little bit of jewelry he owned. Things like that.”
“Let me play the devil’s advocate here,” said Bones, raising a long finger. “How can you be certain that it wasn’t a burglary? You know, Occam’s Razor and all that.”
“For one, it was too clean,” Kaylin said. If she minded the question, she did not show it. “They left no fingerprints. Zero. No signs of forced entry, no alarm from the security system, and I know for a fact that Dad never went anywhere without locking up and arming the system.”
“He never missed a detail,” Maddock agreed. Maxie was the most professional officer he had ever known. “I can’t imagine Maxie forgetting anything.”
“Also, the hard drive on his computer was erased, save a few mundane files. All of his research was wiped clean. That isn’t the sort of thing a burglar would do. The biggest reason, though, is what they didn’t mess with.” She paused. “Dad’s study looked untouched: his desk, his filing cabinet, his books.”
“Why would burglars mess with his books?” Bones asked. “Is there a big black market for old James Micheners?”
“People will sometimes hide money in their books,” Maddock explained. “Or they’ll get those fake books that are hollow on the inside and put their valuables in there.”
Bones raised his eyebrows in surprise. “No wonder I made such a crappy burglar when I was a kid,” he said. “Of course, I was mostly looking for beer and porn.” He took a drink, gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling. “Rummaging through the desk, I get. A burglar would be looking for checks, credit card numbers, money, stuff like that.”
“You said the study looked untouched.” Maddock had caught the inflection in Kaylin’s voice. “If that’s the case, then what makes you so certain that someone had been in there?”
“The work Dad was doing,” Kaylin looked up at the ceiling, seeming uncertain how to answer, “was sort of a research project. He told me that along with his real work, he kept a fake journal. Some of it was accurate, but with key information altered or missing. He kept it in the safe in his study. If someone got hold of it, they’d think it was real because he’d gone to the trouble of locking it up.”
“The sneaky son of a…” Bones whispered. “Oh. Sorry. No disrespect or anything.” He stared out the window with a faint smile and a distant look in his eyes. “I don’t know if you remember him the way we do. It’s all good, though.”
“That’s all right, he was sneaky.” Kaylin laughed and reached out to pat Bones’ shoulder. “He figured that if whoever was after him ever got hold of it, it would protect us, and also keep them from finding what he was looking for.” She shook her head in admiration.
“I assume the false journal was missing,” Maddock said, finding himself drawn into the puzzle despite his surprise at the news of Maxie’s death.
Kaylin nodded. “The safe was locked. All his other papers appeared to be undisturbed, but the journal was gone.”
Maddock folded his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. He just could not believe Maxie was gone. The man had always seemed indestructible. Maddock’s parents had died in an auto accident while he was in the service, and Maxie had stepped in to fill the void left by their loss, serving as a guide and role model. The two stayed in touch for a short while after Maddock left the military, but life had gotten in the way. Now, he regretted not having put more effort into the friendship.
“I truly am sorry to surprise the two of you with all this,” Kaylin said. “Someone comes out of the blue and drops a bomb on you. It isn’t the best way to deliver news. In any case, Mr. Maddock…”
“Please, call me Dane. Or just Maddock. That’s what my friends call me.”
“Like he has any friends,” Bones jibed. “Except for me, and I only put up with him because he signs my paychecks.”
Kaylin smiled. “All right, Maddock it is.” The way she said it reminded him of how Melissa used to try a new flavor of lipstick: pursed lips and sort of a withholding judgment expression on her face. “I know this all comes as a surprise, and not a pleasant one at that, but I need your help.” She reached across the table and laid her hand on his arm. Her touch was both soft and urgent.
“Wait, what?” Maddock was momentarily taken aback. What could he do to help with a murder investigation? He fixed the woman with a questioning gaze, but let her hand remain where it was. “I mean, you barely know me, yet you came all this way to ask for my help? I don’t get it. Heck, how did you even track me down, for that matter?”
“Dad told me how to find the two of you.” Her eyes darted to Bones and back to Maddock. “He said that if anything happened to him, I should come to you.” She let that statement hang in the ensuing moment of stunned silence.
“Hold on a minute,” Bones finally said. “Maxie wanted you to come to me?” His look of exaggerated shock would have been comical had Maddock not been so completely caught off-guard by Kaylin’s revelation.
“He knew the two of you were working together. He told me that you,” she gestured at Bones with her beer bottle, “were a character, but as trustworthy as they come. He’s definitely right about the first part. As to the second part, that remains to be seen.” She stood and looked down at the two of them. “The two of you have a very specific skill set that I’d like to take advantage of. Dad said you were the best.”
“But we’re treasure hunters, not private investigators,” Maddock protested. What had Maxie been thinking? “We dive on wrecks and look for treasure. How can we help you?”
“Treasure hunters are precisely what I need,” Kaylin said. She bit her lip and looked from Maddock to Bones and back to Maddock. It seemed as if she was uncertain whether to say any more. Finally, she continued. “I need you two to help me find a shipwreck.”
Chapter 3
In my lifetime, I have had many joys and few regrets. The greatest of those things I regret, however, is the loss of my beloved treasures that January night. I was the first to rediscover the wonders and riches of those historic cities. I should have been the one to bring their secrets to light. But without that most precious of artifacts, no one would listen to me. I was scoffed at by my peers, ridiculed in scholarly circles, condemned from on high. I had no choice but to hold the truth close to my breast.
It is strange to think that I boarded the Dourado with the belief that I would return home a hero. The truths I had to share would have shaken the foundations of mankind. But alas, the fates have denied me the renown that I so richly deserve. Because I do not wish to hold myself up to the mockery of future generations, I will not record my findings in this journal. I will say only that truly, there is none like it.
M
addock closed the translated copy of Rienzi’s journal. He ran his fingers across the smooth cover. Maxie had bound his translation in a simple, three-ring binder, and had printed “Journal” in his precise hand.
“So Maxie was looking for whatever this guy, Rienzi, lost. Do we have any idea what it was?”
Kaylin stood with her back to him, not answering, staring over the balcony and down at the Ashley River’s slow moving waters where the river flowed into Charleston Harbor. Content to wait until she was ready to talk, Maddock left his seat at the bar that separated the kitchen from the living area of her small apartment, and joined her outside. Propping his forearms on the rail, he took in the peaceful view. A few sailing vessels plied the calm, gray harbor waters, their white sails glistening against the blue sky. He had always had an affinity for the water. If he could not be on the water, he wanted to at least be near it. He wondered if perhaps he had found a kindred spirit in Kaylin.
He and Bones had arrived late the night before, three days after their initial meeting. Despite their reservations, it had not taken much coaxing from Kaylin to convince them to sign on for her project. Their latest expedition was a complete bust, and although the Coast Guard investigation had cleared them of all wrongdoing, it would be a while before the Sea Foam was ready to ply the waters again. The compensation Kaylin offered was more than enough to repair the damage to their craft. More, in fact, than he thought an art professor should be able to afford. When he had pressed her on the point, she explained that her father had provided well for her. That, Maddock did believe. Maxie was the kind of man who took care of his own. He and Bones admired the man greatly. But more than that, they wanted to see his last wish carried out.