Pirate

Twelve

Sam and Remi sat across from each other in the cabin of their jet, both enjoying the relative solitude of each other’s company. Remi was refreshing her memory about the history of Oak Island and the hunt for treasure in the so-called Money Pit while he read the report on Charles Avery that Selma had put together and forwarded.

After a while, Sam sat back, then looked up at Remi. “I thought this guy’s name seemed familiar. I remembered reading about him in Forbes,” he said. “Made his millions raiding corporations. When he’s not buying cash-strapped companies, he fancies himself an expert in maritime salvaging.”

“How is it we’ve never heard of him beyond that?”

“We don’t run in the same circles. And judging from the number of people he’s put out of business, I wouldn’t want to.”

Remi smiled as Bree wandered in, looking somewhat more refreshed from having had a nap. “Feeling better?” Remi asked her.

“Much.”

Sam nodded at a light dinner laid out on the sideboard. “Help yourself. Selma’s made arrangements for you to fly home tomorrow afternoon.”

“Thank you.” She looked over the paperwork Remi had spread all over the table. “Oak Island? You really think that’s what Larayne was talking about?”

“It’s a logical assumption based on the information given. And the map found in the endpaper certainly resembles the island. Do you know anything about it?”

“The basics. The constant hunt for a seemingly nonexistent treasure after a couple of teenagers dug up some stones and oak logs in the late seventeen hundreds.”

“Seventeen ninety-five,” Remi said. “In fact, starting right around the time Pyrates and Privateers hit the market.”

“Coincidence?” Bree asked.

Sam glanced up from what he was reading to answer. “My opinion? Yes. Personally, I’ve never believed there was any treasure on Oak Island. And the various reports from scientists and engineers who’ve studied it over the years seem to confirm that.”

Bree picked up one of the printouts on the island. “Then why would Avery’s men be headed there? Assuming Charles Avery is behind this.”

“Judging from this,” Sam replied, holding up the papers Selma had sent, “I think we can safely assume he is behind it. As for why they’d go there in search of treasure? Not everyone believes the evidence.”

Remi searched through the many photos on her tablet downloaded from the Pyrates book. When she found the illustration of the map hidden behind the endpaper, she held up the screen for Bree to see, then showed her the actual map of Oak Island. “My opinion, which is not based on any scientific background whatsoever, is that they believe this map in the book bears a strong resemblance to Oak Island.” She glanced at Sam. “You have to admit, this particular map does look like it.”

“It also looks like a lot of other small islands dotting the Atlantic. It would be nice if they had satellite photos back then.”

Remi wasn’t about to be dissuaded. “What about that mysterious cipher stone found in the pit at Oak Island declaring that two million pounds were buried forty feet below?”

“You mean the mysterious stone supposedly found in the pit? One that’s never been seen — never mind the message on it is thought to have been a hoax.”

Remi knew Sam’s dim opinion of any treasure being on Oak Island. “Be that as it may,” she said, “our kidnappers seem to think there’s some reason to head in that direction and so we should brush up on the lore of the island. And if that’s not enough to pique your curiosity, there are several known shipwrecks in the area. The one we’re looking for could very well be there.”

Bree eyed all the papers scattered about on the table, telling Remi, “I’d be glad to help.”

“And we’re glad to accept. Aren’t we Sam?”

“We are.” He smiled at Bree. “Remi’s right. It doesn’t matter what she or I believe. If they’re heading there, there has to be a reason. And considering what they’ve recently put us all through — you especially — I’m making a point to find out what that is.”

Of course, by the time they landed in Nova Scotia, they were no closer to discovering whatever secrets the island held. All they knew for certain was that millions of dollars had been sunk into the Money Pit by numerous groups over the last couple of centuries in the belief that a treasure was buried there. Remi hoped they’d learn something more by actually visiting the island.

The following morning, Bree remained with the crew, insisting that she felt much safer there, while Remi and Sam rented a car and drove the hour from Halifax down to the western shore of Mahone Bay and across the causeway to Oak Island. Selma managed to reserve two spots for them on the tour of the famous Money Pit.

Remi looked over at Sam as they got out of the car. “Do you think this is a good idea with all the tourists?”

He put his arm around her, giving her a reassuring hug. “Those men who came after Bree and Larayne were careful to make sure there were no witnesses. Think about it. If they’re here on this tour — something I find unlikely — I seriously doubt they’ll do anything with so many others around. Safety in numbers.”

And there were certainly a lot of potential witnesses here. Remi knew the island was popular, but she never expected the number of people on the two-hour walking tour. The weather was perfect, the sky blue and cloudless, a soft breeze rustled the evergreens on the outskirts of the parking lot near the tourist center.

Men, women, and children gathered round as one of the guides, a young man in his twenties, called out to get everyone’s attention. Remi and Sam moved to the back of the crowd, Remi searching to see if Avery’s men had joined the group of about thirty tourists. “Quite the popular attraction,” she said.

“No kidding. See any familiar faces?”

“No. So what is it we’re looking for?”

“That’s the question.”

They pretended interest as the guide detailed the island’s history, moving them in the southerly direction of the famed pit, the depression in the earth near the sole oak tree. “If history is to be believed,” their guide said, “the two boys who found and first dug into the pit discovered layers of non-indigenous rock as well as oak logs every ten feet. They finally gave up after digging through about thirty feet. And there it remained, untouched, until one of them remembered it early in the nineteenth century.” He stopped to face the crowd. “Neither boy could have foretold the man-hours and the amount of money poured into the aptly named Money Pit in search of whatever secrets it might reveal. Templar treasure? Burial crypt of a long-forgotten high priest?” He took a dramatic pause. “No one knows. But the new owners of Oak Island intend to find out, and we’ll let you make up your own mind. So if you’ll follow me this way…”

He led them inland toward the pit, relating more history as they walked. There seemed to be nothing that stood out beyond the known history: the pit, the rocks with symbols carved on them, the reported tunnels that flooded the pit every time someone dug deep enough.

In fact, it was beginning to look as though they’d wasted two hours. After being led to the outer shore where another cryptic formation of carved rock supposedly pointed to the Money Pit — thereby strengthening the legend — Sam said, “Hear that?”

The loud revving of a motorboat out on the water.

“Over there,” he said. He nodded toward the small island just east of them, where Remi saw two men motoring toward it in a boat.

“Is it them?” she asked as he lifted his binoculars for a better view.

“Sure looks like it,” he said and handed the glasses to her.

She adjusted the focus and watched as the boat maneuvered into the cove at the south shore of the island. One of the men got out, waded toward the shore with a shovel and a backpack, searching for something on the rocks. She recognized one of the two from the warehouse and their hotel in San Francisco. “Our book robber and one of the faux cops.”

“Clearly, they know something we don’t.”

After several minutes, Sam drew Remi from the crowd, not heading toward the pit but toward the outer bank through a stand of trees. He continued watching the men on the other island.

“They found something,” he said. “They’re digging behind that boulder.”

“Excuse me,” came a voice from behind them. “You’re not supposed to be over here.”

They turned and saw one of the tour guides standing a few feet away, his arms crossed.

“Sorry,” Sam said. “We didn’t realize…”

“You’ll need to rejoin the others.”

She and Sam followed the man back to the group.

Sam caught up with the guide. “That island back there?” he asked. “What’s the name of it?”

“That?” he said, glancing behind him. “Frog Island.”

Sam nodded, and Remi asked, “Is it part of the Oak Island mystery?”

“Find me something around here that isn’t.”

“Anything specific?”

He glanced over at her and she gave him her most charming smile. “Actually,” he said, “there were some claims that at one time there was some sort of connection between Frog Island to Oak Island. An underwater tunnel, though how anyone could have built one without it flooding is beyond me. Probably someone was digging there for treasure and a new rumor started.” He stopped and pointed toward the shoreline. “See that little cove where the boat is? By all accounts, that’s where the tunnel was built.”

Remi and Sam watched as the two men on shore waded back to the boat, tossing in their shovels and packs. “Do you think there’s any truth to the legends?” she asked.

He laughed. “I certainly hope so. I’d hate to think how many people have spent millions of dollars digging a hole in the same spot looking for something that isn’t there.”

“Good point,” she said as he left them to join the group again. Through the trees, she saw the boat speeding away, and she looked over at Sam. “What now?”

“Come back tonight and figure out what they found so interesting on that other island.”