by Laura Pender
“Aye, it might be at that, but there’ll be enough to pay for your lawyer and a couple months’ lodging, I’ll wager,” he said. “Now, if you dive straight down, I’ll guide you as best as I can.”
“Here goes,” Tess said. She slipped the goggles down over her eyes and took one deep breath, held it a moment and let it out. Then she took another lung-ful of air and flipped in the water, diving straight down.
She continued toward the bottom, her eyes on the shimmering panorama of brown and green. And as she swam, she felt Gabriel’s hands gently on her back and the weight of his body slowly increasing, helping push her to the ocean floor. With his help, she was kneeling on the bottom in no time.
Gabriel remained nestled against her back, keeping her anchored while she dug past the water plants and through the loose sand and rocks. Even with his assistance, however, she found nothing. When she ran out of air, she pushed herself toward the wavering sunlight above them. Gabriel helped propel her.
“Nothing!” Tess exclaimed after she broke the surface and gulped in fresh air. “Is that the right place?”
“Yes, I’m sure of it,” Gabriel said, floating at her side. “It’s there, girl, I know it. It may be deeper or spread a bit thin, but it’s there.”
“All right.” She dived again, Gabriel at her side, then once more dug into the bottom of the gulf.
Tess’s fingers scraped across something hard and smooth, and she pulled it eagerly out of the sand, but it was only half of a clamshell, and she was forced to return to the surface empty-handed once again.
Her third dive was no more successful than the first two, and she was becoming winded from her exertions despite Gabriel’s help. “One more time,” she said, “then I take a little rest.”
She dived again and shifted her search a foot down the slope from her previous efforts. This time, a couple of inches beneath the surface, she touched something rough and vaguely disk-shaped. She snatched it up quickly without even looking at it, but as the sand swirled away from her rising hand, she saw another dark object with roughly the same shape and texture. Tess grabbed this object, too, and pushed toward the surface.
She broke into the sunshine about ten feet from her anchored boat and swam strongly to it. After pulling herself up and in, she tossed her goggles aside and peered at the objects in her hand.
“What did you find, lass?” Gabriel asked.
“I think this is it,” she told him excitedly.
At first glance, it appeared that she held nothing more than two rocks. They were both rough and black and nearly twice the size of silver dollars. Looking closer, however, she could see that the surface was rough, like a crust that had grown upon something rather than natural rock. She’d seen a documentary about sunken treasure on PBS, and this was exactly what coins looked like after centuries under salt water.
She tried scraping one of the objects against the side of the skiff without success. What could she use to crack the crust away?
“We should have thought to bring a hammer,” she said. “I want to give these things a good whack.”
“Bring up the anchor,” Gabriel suggested. “It ought to carry the weight you need.”
“Yes, that’ll do it! Wait, won’t we drift?” she asked worriedly. “I don’t want to lose our position.”
“Give me your shoe,” Gabriel said.
“What?”
“I’ll plant your shoe in the sand to mark the spot where you were digging,” he explained. “And I’ll keep an eye on the drift. Don’t worry. We’ll find it again.”
“I hate to...” But it was foolish to worry about one soggy sneaker, wasn’t it? “Okay, here.”
Tess gave him her shoe and then hurried to the bow of the small boat and brought up the anchor. A moment later, she had the anchor in the boat, and as Gabriel looked on, she lifted and dropped it on one of the dark objects.
The anchor bounced away with a dull thud. A scattering of chips broke away from the object, leaving a black disk. Tess quickly grabbed the anchor again and used it like a hammer this time, hitting the black rock again and again.
She finally put her makeshift hammer aside to examine the find more closely. The fact that the object hadn’t broken in two seemed to confirm her opinion, and when she brought it up to the light, she had all the proof she needed.
The crust of minerals had broken away from one side, revealing a flat surface that glowed with a dull sheen. A coat of arms was clearly stamped into it with something written below in what appeared to be Spanish.
“This is it,” she sighed. “It’s really an honest-to-God pirate treasure!”
“Did you think I was having sport with you, then?” Gabriel asked. “Of course that’s what it is!”
“Yes, but, well, I never really expected to find it,” Tess said. “I mean, people spend millions of dollars looking for something like this! I didn’t expect just to dive down and pick it up!”
She stared at her companion in joy and wonder, wanting to hug him but knowing it would look very strange to anyone on shore.
“Well,” Gabriel said, “I suppose there is quite a penny spent on such expeditions. But then those people don’t have the owner to show them where it lies, do they now?”
“No, they don’t at that,” she said, staring at the coin. “This is quite a rush!”
“A thrill you mean?” He grinned at her. “Well, if you think this is a thrill, wait until I take you to the remains of the Maria Louisa. She was loaded with riches when I left her, and I suspect that she still is.”
Tess threw her arms around him then, heedless of how strange it might look to anyone on shore. So what if they thought she was insane? She could afford to look a little crazy now.
Then Tess started the engine and followed Gabriel’s directions back to the original spot from which they’d drifted and dropped anchor again. She jumped eagerly into the water and dived once more to the spot where her tennis shoe was jammed into the sand on the bottom.
She brought up six more coins on that dive and one more on the next. Then her discoveries compounded themselves when she found the remains of the leather satchel.
The leather was spongy and it stretched with the weight of its contents when she tried to pull it from the sand of the ocean bed. She dug quickly around it, managing to just get the tips of her fingers beneath it and pull it free.
It was heavy and nearly destroyed by time and salt water, but she managed to clasp it to her chest and push herself toward the surface, her lungs aching for air.
“Damn! This is heavy!” Tess exclaimed as she broke the surface near the skiff. “I—I can’t lift it into the boat.”
As she tried to maneuver the remains of the bag over the edge of the boat, she could feel a coin slip free and bounce along her leg into the depths.
“Oh, no, I’m losing it!”
“Here, I’ll boost you,” Gabriel said. “Hang on tightly.”
Tess clutched the bag to her with both hands, leaning one shoulder against the boat as she kicked to stay afloat. Then she felt Gabriel’s hands on her bottom. She was suddenly thrust from the water and into the boat, as the rotting leather gave way and spilled its centuries-old load.
Tess pulled herself up and swung her legs into the skiff. She panted and stared down at the treasure around her. These coins were not as badly encrusted with minerals as the first ones had been. Many still shone dully in the hot sun. And there were necklaces and other jewelry, too. Rubies and emeralds gleamed among the darker coins.
“How much did you have?” she asked Gabriel when he returned with her soggy shoe.
“More than that, but not so much,” he said. “I would venture to say you’ve gotten the bulk of it.”
“Good,” she sighed. “I’m beat. It’s an awfully long way down there.”
“You’d best get to shore, then,” he suggested, “and rest yourself.”
“We’ve got to find your amulet first,” Tess said.
“That can wait,” h
e said. “It’s not going anywhere.”
“Doesn’t matter. I want to recover it now while I’m out here. Don’t you want it?”
“Yes, but what if it doesn’t work? The disappointment might kill me for good.”
“I don’t think so,” she said, laughing. “But I know that not knowing will kill me. Come on, Gabriel.”
“Well, then, we follow the coast north till we’re abreast of that small spit of land that comes down to the water there.” He pointed along the shore to an outcropping of rock, one just past the rocks where Tess had stopped walking the other night. “There,” he said simply.
Tess pulled up the anchor and started the engine, taking them north along the coastline.
“Now WHERE’S SHE GOING?” the driver of the police car said.
“Out for a cruise,” the other cop replied. “What else has she got to do? She’s unemployed.”
“Yeah, must be hard on her, losing her job on top of everything else.”
“My heart bleeds for her. She made mulch out of her husband with a steak knife, and you’re worried about her job.”
“She could be innocent. She sure doesn’t act guilty.”
“Innocent? I doubt it. She’s just cruising around building up evidence for an insanity plea. She’ll probably say she was treasure hunting.”
“I suppose so. Come on, let’s take a break. I’ve got to get out and walk around.”
They drove off, leaving Tess and Gabriel to conclude their search without official scrutiny. The surveillance continued, however, for Charles Dumont had found a parking spot where he could see between the houses lining the shore. The rocky point where Tess was now diving had interfered with the shoreline and reduced the property value of that lot. Earlier, Charles had parked at the curb and walked down to sit near the rocks and watch. Now, with Tess approaching his vantage point, he scrambled back to his car to continue his vigil. He was seated directly opposite the spot where her boat was anchored.
“It’s straight down from here,” Gabriel told her once she was in the water. “I don’t know what things will be like at the bottom. It could be difficult.”
“I thought I would find, you know, bones or something,” Tess said, grimacing at the thought.
“My bones are inside me, thank you.” Gabriel laughed. “I’m no spirit, lass, though no man, neither.”
“Oh, you’re a man, all right,” Tess affirmed, smiling. “And if I’m right about this amulet thing, we can make you even more of one.”
“I’d like that,” he said. “And then you and I will sample that barkeep’s wares.”
“It’s a date. Well, here goes!”
Slipping her goggles firmly in place, Tess dived beneath the waves and descended with Gabriel’s weight to help take her down.
The bottom was rockier here and it dropped off more quickly into a wavering field of undersea plants. After so many dives, Tess’s head hurt from the pressure of the water above her, as well.
It was less likely for the amulet to be buried in this rocky terrain. Nevertheless, the multitude of shapes and colors hampered her search so that she was left to fumble around on the bottom while scanning farther afield for any sign of something auspicious.
She found nothing by hand in that initial search, and her lungs felt as though they would explode. But as she was about to push herself back toward the surface, she thought she saw a dull reddish glow farther down the slope. Had she really seen light reflecting from a polished surface?
Yes. It flashed again. Sunlight filtered down through the rippling surface of the ocean and bounced off something on the rocky bed. It was not a very bright red light. It could have been a trick of the refraction of the sunlight or an illusion created by Tess’s oxygen-hungry brain. Tess moved toward it by grasping the swaying plants and pulling herself along.
Her lungs burned, and her limbs were tired and heavy, but she had to reach it now because she didn’t want to dive again. When she got to the place, she found a black object with a fragment of rotten leather thong. There was no gem capable of making the reflection she’d seen, but she instinctively knew this was what she was after.
Tess grabbed the object — it was hot!—and she dropped it immediately. It fell, slithering farther down the slope as though actively trying to get away from her. Heat or no, she grabbed it again and pushed up as the ocean seemed to darken around her and her lungs ached to inhale something—even seawater.
She broke the surface with a convulsive gasp and used the last of her strength to swim to the side of the boat. She threw the object inside. Then she hung on to the boat, breathing deeply to gather the strength she would need to get back inside.
“Oh, God, I hope I’m done diving,” she said. “I’m getting a headache, and my arms feel like rubber.”
“Come on, into the boat,” Gabriel said. “I’ll help you in, lass, and you can rest proper.”
“Is that it?” Tess asked as she let him push her up and then pulled herself the rest of the way into the boat. “There’s a scrap of leather on it A thong or strap, I think.”
“Yes, that’s the amulet,” Gabriel said quietly.
He knelt beside it while Tess leaned her elbows on her knees and picked it up again.
It still felt hot, though not as hot as it had beneath the water, and Tess turned it over eagerly.
It was an egg-shaped piece with a face carved into either side. It was made of exceptionally hard wood or dark stone, which didn’t seem to have been harmed at all by its time underwater. The features were cut broadly so that they blended into the zigzagging pattern that bordered it. In the center of the figure’s forehead was set a dark red gemstone, much darker than any ruby Tess had ever seen. It, too, seemed untouched by time and it sparkled in the sun as she turned the amulet in her hand. Despite its size, the piece was quite light. It could be easily worn as a necklace.
“You were wearing this when they threw you off the ship?” Tess asked. She pulled at the scrap of leather caught in the hole at the top of the charm and it crumbled in her fingers.
“That I was,” Gabriel said.
“You say the man who gave it to you was ill? Was he wounded?”
“I couldn’t say,” Gabriel told her. “It seemed that he was in the grip of a fever. I thought it was delirium that prompted him to want to part with so valuable an item. Now I see he was very clearheaded indeed.”
“He was dying,” Tess said. “He didn’t want to linger after death.”
“And so he gave it away to save himself.”
“It sure looks that way.”
The sea seemed terribly quiet then, and only the slight rocking of the boat broke the mood that overcame Tess as she looked at the charm in her hand. It was as though the world was put on hold while waiting for a decision to be made.
It was obvious to Tess that the previous owner had been afraid to die while in possession of the carved fetish. He’d given it to the first person willing to take it. It was also obvious that the natives who had taken the man had been unwilling to accept the gift.
But they knew the fate of its owner, didn’t they? To live forever in a state of nonbeing was surely the worst thing to ever endure. Or could it be worse yet to take it back after death? Could there be more dire consequences?
“Give it to me,” Gabriel said, making the decision for them. “I’ll see if I can hold it.”
Tess held it out to him in the palm of her hand. He reached over, and when his fingers touched the black wood, she felt the pressure of his touch. Smiling, Gabriel grasped the carving and held it tightly in his fist.
“It’s hot,” he whispered. “Oh, yes, I can feel the heat. And I can feel the boat beneath me, as well!” he exclaimed.
To emphasize the point, he struck his fist against the side of the boat with a hollow thump.
“I’m here,” he said, “wholly here! Lord love it, I’m here once more! I—” His joyous expression changed suddenly to pain and horror and he stared at his fist. Smoke began
to rise from between his fingers. “Oh, no!” he cried out.
As Tess watched in shock, the amulet seemed to burn through Gabriel’s hand. Vainly, he tried to drop it. He held his hand open and shook it, but the amulet stuck to his flesh. His body glowed, and then flashed with a sudden flame that gave off no heat.
For a moment after the flash, Tess saw his skeleton blackened as if by fire, and then that was gone. The amulet dropped to the bottom of the boat.
“Gabriel!” she shouted. “Gabriel!”
But Tess was alone.
Chapter Fifteen
Tess was horror-struck. She sat staring at the space where Gabriel had been a moment before. “Gabriel,” she whispered. There was no response.
“Gabriel Dyer!” she cried out.
Nothing.
And then she found herself weeping as though she’d always been crying. Great racking sobs shook her body as tears flooded over her cheeks. She brought her trembling hands to her face, wiping at the tears, but more flowed down in her sudden grief.
All she’d wanted to do was bring him fully to life, to make him as real as everyone else. She wanted to love him. She wanted to go out together in public and introduce him to her friends and simply have him at her side. Instead, she’d apparently brought on his final death. By reuniting him with the amulet that had originally kept his spirit alive, she had killed him as surely as if she’d shot him with a gun.
Had she been greedy? Was she asking for more than she could have by wanting him to be a live-andflesh-and-blood man at her side? Was she destined to come that close and no closer to love? What had she done to be tortured so by fate?
Now she was all by herself, and having known Gabriel, she felt truly alone for the first time. The lack of his presence was a palpable hole within her now, something that she knew she would feel for the rest of her life.
Gabriel, what have I done to you?
She felt as though she might never stop crying, never stop grieving for the love that had almost come to life at her side. Now it didn’t really matter if she were convicted of Darrell’s murder or not, for she surely had nothing to live for.