Buccaneer

Chapter 11

Dane stretched out on the sofa in the living area of his parents’ cottage, feeling the bone-wearying fatigue that had plagued him since the sheriff had shut them down. He hated to think they’d wasted their time, but what did they have to show for their work? One injured crew member and a chamber they hadn’t managed to penetrate. He despised failure.

He was tired, but sleep eluded him. There was too much on his mind.

He opened his eyes and rolled over onto his side, and his gaze fell on The Gold Bug. He’d read a few pages, but not gotten very far. Might as well give it another go.

It was the story of a man who had to decipher a cryptogram in order to find a treasure buried by Captain Kidd. It wasn’t the best book he’d read, but it held his interest to the final page. And what he found there made his heart lurch.

Beneath the words “The End,” his father had written another personal message.

After the inscription, an arrow pointed to the edge of the page. The next page was blank, with another arrow, beneath the words

He flipped to the back page cover and was disappointed to find it blank. He was about to toss the book on the floor and try and get some sleep when he saw it. The dust jacket was taped to the cover, and peeking out from underneath it was a thin, wax paper envelope, with a yellowed sheet of paper inside.

“Bones!” he shouted, springing to his feet. “Get out here now!”

Seconds later, Bones burst through his bedroom door wearing only a pair of boxer briefs and holding his Glock. Moments later, a bleary-eyed Avery came stumbling out of the bedroom Dane had given over to her, while Angel, not wearing much more than Bones, scrambled down the stairs that led to the loft where she was bunking.

“What’s wrong?” Bones had needed only a glance at Dane to realize they weren’t in danger, and had lowered his pistol.

“What’s wrong is, I’m an idiot. Look!” He held out the book for Bones to see what he’d found.

Bones whistled.

“What is it?” Angel was pressed up against him, one hand resting lightly on his shoulder. Dane’s eyes drifted to her taut stomach that her tank top didn’t quite cover, and quickly tore his gaze away, cursing himself for ogling his best friend’s sister. He glanced up to see if Bones had noticed, but Bones was checking Avery out, and making little effort to hide it.

“I think it’s whatever was hidden inside the sea chest. My dad left a note in this book inviting me to help him search for a treasure.” Under any other circumstance, he would have felt a lump in his throat and found it difficult to continue, but excitement and a measure of discomfort at Angel’s closeness, served to distract him. “It was supposed to be a Christmas gift, but he never got the chance to give it to me.”

“He wanted you to help him find the treasure?” Avery’s voice held an odd note he couldn’t quite define.

“I’m his son, and treasure hunting is what I do.” He shrugged. “Anyway, everybody grab a chair and let’s check this thing out.”

“I’m just glad you woke me for a good reason,” Bones said. “I was dreaming about a Victoria’s Secret model.”

“Which one?” Avery asked.

“I don’t know. They all look alike to me.”

With the utmost care, Dane worked the envelope free of the tape that bound it to the book cover, and removed its contents. There were two items inside: a sheet of stationery covered in symbols, and another sheet, folded, yellowed with age.

“Want me to do that?” Avery spoke in hushed, reverential tones. “I have experience with old documents.”

“Sure,” Dane slid it over to her.

“Give me a moment.” She hurried into her room and returned with a pair of latex gloves. “I was going to color my hair,” she explained. Dane didn’t miss the way her eyes flitted toward Bones and her cheeks reddened a touch. “This is more important.”

A silence borne of anticipation fell as they watched Avery go about her delicate task. When the sheet was finally spread out before them, they all broke out in grins.

“It’s the island,” Bones said.

It was an aged map of Oak Island, rendered in exquisite detail. It alone would have been an exciting find, but there was more.

“X marks the spot.” Angel gave Dane’s arm a squeeze. “That’s the place you and Matt found, isn’t it?”

“Looks like it,” Dane said. “We can’t say for sure, since it’s probably not to perfect scale, but I think it’s the same place.”

“And check this out! There’s a way in.” Bones indicated a dotted line leading from a different location on the island to the chamber.

“It starts on land, so it’s unlikely to be an underwater channel,” Dane mused. “Unless it’s become flooded over the years. That’s a possibility.”

“I know where this is!” Avery exclaimed. “I can lead you right to it. If the sheriff will let us back on the island, that is.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Dane said. “He said he’s going to arrest anyone who wasn’t gone by the end of the day. No way he lets us come back.”

“What are we going to do?” Avery was on her feet, fists clenched. “We have to get to that secret passage before Locke drills into the chamber. That won’t be long!”

“Chill,” Angel said. “You forget who we’ve got on our side.”

“She’s right.” Bones rocked back in his chair, hands folded behind his head. “Maddock and I are experts getting into places we’re not invited.”

“Only because you were never invited to any parties in high school,” Angel jibed.

Bones’ obscene gesture was half-hearted at best. He loved the adrenaline rush of anything dangerous, and was clearly focused on finding a way onto the island. “You’ve got to figure he’ll have deputies guarding the road that leads to the island, and, maybe, a boat patrolling the coast, though I doubt it. He thinks he’s beaten us, so he’ll probably be lax.”

“Don’t count on it. His ego is huge, but he doesn’t miss a detail. We’d better plan on two boats, and a patrol on the island as well.” Avery cupped her chin and narrowed her eye as she stared at the map. “We’ll have to go in at night without lights or a motor. Kayaks?”

“You’ve got a good head for this sort of thing,” Bones said. He gave Avery an admiring smile and she blushed.

“I love kayaking!” Angel exclaimed. “Let’s rock this!”

“Hold on.” Dane held up his hands. “Avery’s right about going in at night, but any kind of boat is too risky. Besides, I want to do this tonight. Bones and I will swim it.”

“No!” Avery shouted and sprang to her feet. “You can’t do that.”

“We’re pros,” Bones said. “We’ve done the same thing hundreds of times, and trust me, the stakes were much higher. Worst that can happen here is we get arrested and Charlie bails us out.”

“I need to go too.” Avery clenched her fists until her knuckles were white. “I have to show you the way in.”

“I’m sure you can tell us all we need to know ahead of time,” Dane said. “Show us on the satellite images.”

“It’s cool, Avery. We’ve got this.” Bones reached out to take her hand but she snatched it away.

“This is my project. I’m the expert. Besides, I’ve done plenty of diving. I can handle it.”

“You wouldn’t be able to keep up if we ran into trouble.” Dane said. “Look, I’ve been on plenty of treasure hunts and I know how you’re feeling.” Avery shook her head and, too late, Dane remembered that you should never tell a woman that you know how she feels. “If the circumstances were different, I’d have you right there with us, but this is just one of those times when it needs to be me and Bones. Only me and Bones.” He said this last to Angel, who made a pouting face that sent a shiver down his spine. He looked back at Avery, trying to ignore how warm he suddenly felt. “I’m sorry, but this is the way it has to be.”

“Besides,” Angel said to Avery, “this is Maddock’s treasure hunt. His father left it for him.”

“You don’t understand.” Avery whispered as a solitary tear trickled down her face. “He was my father too.”