The Seventh Secret

Chapter 8 — Sam Arrives at Wrichtishousis

Nina and Crystal were sitting on the study balcony, having tea, and while Crystal chose to enjoy the view from the third story of the house, Nina was scribbling seemingly nonsensical notes on her writing pad. She had been researching South African maritime history involving the Second World War though it was few and far between on the websites she had perused. Sam was due for their meeting today, and Purdue had gone to the airstrip to pick him up. They engaged in a bit of small talk, but in secret Nina was extremely curious about Crystal's real involvement in the project. Being a very direct person, usually, the historian would have simply come out and asked, but for some reason she did not want to appear as if she was prying. Finally, she could not hold back any longer.

“Crystal, tell me, what exactly is this expedition about?”

“Dave didn’t tell you?” she asked Nina. Crystal was genuinely surprised.

“He did, but you know him. He told me about Sam’s old acquaintance and how he apparently discovered a historical wreck off the coast of Africa. And he gave me the job to consult on the find and so on and so on… but, what I want to know, is…” she hesitated, but Crystal was sharper than she had thought she was.

“—what am I doing here?” she smiled charismatically at Nina, who nodded with a sheepish shrug and grin. “Well, I am more than just a lawyer. In fact, Dave is using me on this expedition for anything but my legal prowess.”

“Sounds vaguely sinister,” Nina sniggered.

“It really does, doesn’t it?” Crystal answered amicably. One thing Nina had to grant her was that she had a great sense of humor and was not an ounce as snobbish as she came across at first glance. “But earnestly, I am a professional salvor. I specialize in the salvage of historical wrecks, both marine and aircraft. My diving school is in Tönning, in Germany, where I live.”

Nina was impressed. Now Crystal’s presence made far more sense.

“That is fascinating!” she replied, chewing on the back of her pen. “I have been on a few dives, but I am far from a professional.”

“You really should take one of my courses, Nina. You have the body of a good swimmer. I bet you would be a stellar diver once you got into it,” Crystal nodded, looking quite impressed.

“Aye, I love water, but I have to admit that the times I had to dive always kind of put me off. Let’s just say…” she thought of her past exploits in dangerous situations, “…it always merits great care and vigilance.”

“Then this one should be no different,” her companion sobered her.

“What do you mean?” Nina frowned. “I will not be wreck diving. That is what Purdue pays the crew for, the engineers and you, doesn’t he?”

Crystal shook her head, “My darling, you will have to come down with us to ascertain the significance of the insignia and the like. From what I have heard so far, the ship lies too deep to take particularly good pictures.”

Nina was suddenly distraught and twisted the pen between her fingers while she pondered on the nasty currents and the cold blue depths she had had to brave before. She hoped that Crystal was joking, or, at least, uninformed what Nina’s role within the expedition team was going to be.

“How much do you know about this find?” she asked the elegant lawyer who poured more Earl Grey from the porcelain pot.

“Actually, I am pretty much still in the dark about it. And I mean that quite literally. Before I have a team out on a survey ship to give me a sonar map of the wreck and its surroundings, I have absolutely no clue. I feel blind, literally, to the project and the vessel itself. Hopefully, the meeting will clear everything up," she explained.

“Shit, I hope Purdue knows what he is getting into here. He has never been one to sweep up ventures he has not seen himself,” Nina said with a tone of concern.

“Don’t fret. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing,” Crystal consoled nonchalantly. Nina gave her a suspicious look, “You sound like you know him quite well.”

“I do, indeed,” Crystal smiled, still, attending to her tea without affording Nina even a glance. Her manner annoyed the historian, just like the first time Nina saw her talking on the phone. Frustrated by the way in which Crystal implied that she was close to Purdue, who had once been Nina’s lover, Nina felt a sickening turn in her stomach.

‘Christ, how I’d love to slap that smirk off her face’! Nina thought as she broke the edge of the pen with her molars. If there was one thing she could not stand, or trust for that matter, it was people with perpetual smiles on their faces. The condescension and the underlying confidence usually meant that they were up to no good and had the means not to care about it.

“Ah, there they are!” Crystal exclaimed suddenly, breaking Nina’s sinister stare. She stood up and pointed to the tall gates, where the luxury car waited for the security guard to open. At once, Nina felt relieved. Sam would be more forthcoming toward her. She would not feel so dull next to the posh wench who apparently knew Purdue so well, she thought. With Sam in the mix she, Nina, was bound to feel more adequate.

“Have you met Sam before?” she asked Crystal, hoping to all things holy that she was not in for another sobering clout.

“No. No, never met him before,” Crystal smiled. “Do you know him well?”

Nina could not believe the incredibly well-placed question she childishly answered, "I do, indeed." She knew she was acting like a juvenile, but sometimes adults indulged in the smallest of infantile pleasures to feel better about themselves — even professional ones.

The Bentley pulled into the driveway in front of the main doors of the mansion while the two ladies descended the stairs to meet Purdue and Sam in the foyer. Nina still had her pad and the ravaged pen in her hand. When the door opened, and the two men came in, she felt a rush of intrigue of unknown origin overcome her. It was a curious sensation, that of seeing an old friend at a school camp, but at the same time she could not deny feeling an impression of apprehension surrounding Sam’s presence.

He looked dashing, she thought, in a wild way. The last time he had sported this look had been when the two of them had shared the adventure with the motorcycle gang that guarded Valhalla. Nina could not help but notice before she even greeted him. With arms outstretched she said, “Shall we get you some rum and a tricorn hat, eh, Laddie?” Sam wrapped his strong arms around her and whispered, “Aye, don’t make me throw you in my brig, wench. I tend to do my worst.”

“Great to see you again, Nina,” he said out loud as he let go of her. His eyes fell on the beautiful woman next to her, and he looked spellbound. "And you must be the priceless gem Purdue told me about, Miss Meyer,” he charmed her. Nina bit her lip at the sight of Crystal’s perfectly groomed fingers mingling with Sam’s big, strong hand. Irately she made for the dining room to get a whisky without a word and in passing caught Purdue’s stare. He looked sympathetic to her obvious disgruntlement, but he did not follow her.

In Nina’s opinion, it was time for a stiff drink. Her last hope of being the “meat of choice” had squibbed at Sam’s obvious attraction to the tall lawyer. Suddenly the morose feeling in her chest grew stronger than ever, and she felt that something about the whole expedition was amiss, but, of course, she could not make such a ludicrous claim until she knew more about it.

Purdue silently kept his eye on Nina. He could see the hurt Sam’s attention toward Crystal had inflicted. In his own selfish way, it amused him because this would present the perfect opportunity to win Nina back from Sam, no matter how adamant both were in denying their obvious love. If Sam kept flirting or even engaged with the admittedly beautiful, promiscuous lawyer, it was bound to send Nina straight into the arms of the playboy who had lost her once and vowed never to stop trying to reverse the unfortunate turn. If not, Purdue still had Crystal to own. With their past and his exuberant lifestyle, she would be easy to annex like an uncharted island for the taking.

Crystal was instantly taken with Sam. The fact that he was an investigative journalist, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and pretty renowned author turned her on. After all, she spent her spare time in perilous seas, capturing the treasures of the past from the claws of oblivion, storms, and ruthless treasure hunters.

His black hair fell on his collar and tousled strands fell into his handsome face. Evidence of at least two days of shaving tardiness colored his jaw and chin with a coarse shadow that starkly contrasted his big, gentle dark eyes.

"Where did you get the tan, Sam?" Nina asked, tumbler in hand while her eyes rivaled the fire in the hearth.

“A week in Malta and two days after that chasing a tale for a client in Milan. Do you like the bronze?” he winked.

“Looks like sunburn,” she remarked flatly, evoking a chuckle from Purdue, who had just entered the room with a few folders in hand. That tone and look were all too familiar, and Sam knew right away that once again he had done something wrong. What it was would probably transpire as soon as they were in trouble again, Nina’s favorite time to disclose her feelings.

“Right, people, have a seat. Let’s arrange this excursion in the correct manner to make everything run smoothly. We don’t have much time on this one, not until we get it into international waters undetected,” he revealed. Nina and Crystal exchanged glances of equal confusion.

“It is an illegal salvage?” Nina asked.

Purdue and Sam looked at each other, acutely aware of the sense of right and wrong both women possessed.

“Look, it’s not the first time we’ll do something a little south of proper," Purdue explained. "This find is of tremendous significance; we just can’t pass this one up.”

“How much do you know about this wreck, Dave?” Crystal asked. “Nina was barely able to find anything about it, apart from two, maybe three lines somewhere in a historical article about the naval town of Simonstad that mentioned something about a vessel, but not more.”

Nina nodded in agreement.

“My client, my… an old friend has assured me that he has seen the wreck and that he is fairly certain that it is the Admiral Graf Spee,” Sam said. “I trust his judgment. As archeologist and anthropologist, he knows what he is talking about. Billy Malgas is no fool.”

Nina shifted forward to lean her elbows on the table, “The article says that the Admiral Graf Spee was a Nazi pocket battleship that passed the Cape of Good Hope toward the east and sank several Allied ships without getting hit at all. It says that not one single shot was fired at it, but that’s all it says about it. There is no mention of where it sank, or even if it did.”

“Well, now we have reason to investigate. And since Crystal is both a salvor and a lawyer, she is indispensable as legal advisor on Maritime Law and as a master diver,” Purdue clarified.

Sam looked at Crystal with admiration, “Then she’ll know how we can get the vessel out of territorial waters first.”

“She does not. That is Dave’s side of things,” Crystal corrected Sam.

That meant only one thing — it was going to be a clandestine project, utilizing only the best and slightly less legally sound personnel. It had to be kept a secret.