Deep Blue (28 page)

A few minutes later, Conn stepped up on deck holding the Maiden.

“You found it,” Hope said, throwing her arms around his neck.

“We sure did, baby. She’s beautiful, isn’t she? Almost as gorgeous as you.” He leaned down and kissed her, a deep, sexy kiss that ended far too quickly.

She was breathing hard when she broke away, Conn’s hungry blue gaze fixed on her face. There was promise in those eyes and a warning that seemed to say,
You’ve been sleeping in my bed. Tonight I’m going to have you.

Unconsciously, she trembled, wanting him, too.

They set the statue on the green plastic cloth they used to display their finds, and for the first time she noticed the emeralds embedded in the gold. The gems were a precious commodity often found aboard the galleons. Fisher had found three thousand on the
Atocha,
one of the reasons the treasure had been valued so high.

These glorious stones formed the eyes of the Maiden, beautiful gems that winked and glittered in the lantern light, almost as much as the gold. A huge stone glittered in the Maiden’s navel, two served as her nipples, and another sparkled at the juncture of her legs.

Joe grinned. “These guys knew where the real treasure was.”

Glory laughed and playfully slugged him. “Joe!”

Conn was looking at Hope again, his eyes hot and dark. Too many days of sleeping next to each other without touching. Too many nights yearning for each other. It wouldn’t happen tonight. His gaze said that was certain.

After everyone had the chance to see the statue and Tommy had taken dozens of photos, Conn took the Maiden below. Since the piece was too big to fit in the boat’s small safe, it was placed beneath the tarp that covered the treasure in the hold.

“We’ll be flying the statue to the bank in the morning,” he announced a little later. “I’ve made arrangements with Eddie to use the plane.”

“You’re taking it there yourself?”

“Joe and I are both going. The professor is meeting us at the dock. He’s over the top about this, as you can imagine.”

He and Joe could handle the security, Hope knew, relieved that the incredibly rare artifact would be transported to a safe location.

“I thought you might like to go with us,” Conn said, running a finger down her cheek.

Her heart squeezed. She would love to go with him. Their time together was coming to an end. She expected to receive a call at any moment. “I’d love to go,” she said softly, wanting these last few days for herself, wishing she was strong enough to stay.

Conn glanced at the crew still milling the deck. “We’ve still got tonight to worry about. Ron, you’ll be taking the first watch, just like before. Then Joe, Wally, then me.”

“Sounds good, boss,” Ron agreed.

“It’s been a long day. Let’s get some sleep.”

But the heat in his eyes when he looked at Hope said neither of them would be sleeping anytime soon.

It was late when Conn stirred. He checked the clock on the nightstand. Not yet time for his shift to begin. Still, something bothered him, nagged at the edge of his mind. He’d always had a sixth sense for trouble and that sixth sense was gnawing at him now.

He slipped out of bed, pulled on a pair of khaki shorts, reached into a compartment under his bunk, and pulled out his 9mm Glock. He hadn’t fired the weapon in years, but he always kept it close. He tucked it into the back of his shorts and quietly left the cabin.

On deck, his gaze searched for Wally.
He’s probably walking the deck,
Conn told himself, hoping the man hadn’t fallen asleep. He started toward the stern, then stopped as the unfamiliar smell hit him. The acrid sting of smoke slammed his senses into alert. Adrenaline rushed through him and every muscle went tense.

Not sure where the smoke was coming from, he started for the engine room; then a blaze of orange erupted behind him. Conn spun and started running, heading toward the ladder leading down to the galley. There were propane tanks in there. If the flames reached them—

“Fire!” he shouted. “Fire in the galley!” Careening down the ladder, he jerked a fire extinguisher off the wall and started spraying the flames. Orange and red tendrils ate into the cabinetry, blazed up the tiny curtains over the portholes. The dinette was burning, and flames licked at the floor.

Joe got there first, grabbed a dishtowel, and started beating away. Ron appeared, followed by Andy and King, who carried a second extinguisher. At the sight of his domain being destroyed, King swore foully.

“Everyt’ing was turned off when I left,” the big cook said defensively, madly shooting a spray of white foam at the fire.

“I’ve got a feeling someone came in here after you left.” Conn handed his extinguisher to Ron, who shot a stream of foam on the area burning around the dinette. While the men slowly brought the flames under control, Conn climbed the ladder to the deck, then pulled the gun from his waistband to check the load.

He punched out the clip, saw it was full, and shoved it back in, then spotted Hope racing toward the galley, her red hair sleep-mussed and her face pale.

“It’s all right. They’ve got things pretty well in hand down there. I need you to help me find Wally.”

She spotted the gun in his hand and her face went even paler. “This was Wally’s shift?”

“Yeah.”

She trembled at his worried expression. “I’ll start on the top deck,” she said, bringing herself back under control.

Conn just nodded. He returned the pistol to the back of his pants and began making a sweep of the boat, jogging off toward the bow, checking the port side, and finally the stern. No sign of Wally.

He made his way below, his worry building. Still finding no sign of the diver, he headed for the hold, certain now what he would find.

Or wouldn’t find.

Tossing back the tarp that covered the treasure, he saw exactly what he had feared. The Maiden was gone. The gold disks were gone as well, but amazingly, the gold and silver bars and clumps of coins scheduled to be flown out with the statue in the morning remained.

“You knew what you were after, didn’t you?” Conn said aloud. “And you were in a damned big hurry.” They had taken only the Maiden and two gold disks they could easily handle but nothing that might slow them down.

Tossing the tarp back over the remaining pieces of treasure, he hurried back up on deck, more worried about Wally than he had been before.

“Conn! He’s over here!”

The fear in Hope’s voice sent a chill down his spine. He raced toward the bow of the boat, saw Hope kneeling next to Wally’s unconscious body.

“He’s badly hurt,” she said, her voice shaking.

“Looks like someone hit him over the head.”

“They dropped a tarp over him and covered it with rope. Everything’s usually kept so neat…” She broke off, took a shuddering breath. “I can’t get him to wake up.”

Crouching beside the stocky diver, Conn examined the gash on his head. “Wally, it’s Conn. Can you hear me?” The man didn’t move. The cut over his eye trickled a faint trail of blood, and there was a huge lump on the back of his head. “Wally, you need to wake up now.”

The diver groaned and moved a little. When his eyes slowly opened, Conn felt a rush of relief.

“What…happened?”

“Somebody wanted you out of the way.” Conn turned to Hope. “He’s probably got a concussion. We need to get him some medical attention.”

“I’ll go get Andy, get him to radio the island.”

“We can take him in the Whaler if we have to, but the Sea Ray would make him more comfortable.”

Joe and Ron walked up just then.

“What the hell’s going on?” Joe asked, spotting Wally sprawled on the deck.

“We had visitors. They clobbered Wally and helped themselves to the Maiden.”

Joe’s jaw clenched. “Son of a bitch.”

“I think they must have heard me moving around below. I figure that’s why they set the fire. Create a diversion—give themselves time to get away.”

“Well, it sure as hell worked.”

Glory came running up just then. “Wally!” Kneeling beside him, she reached down and caught hold of the diver’s hand, her eyes going to Joe.

“Looks like he’s got a concussion,” Joe explained. “Whoever hit him was after the Maiden.”

“Did they get it?”

Conn grunted. “Unfortunately, they did.”

“How many people knew we had it?” Joe asked.

“Everyone aboard. And of course, Talbot and Markham.”

Joe shook his head. “God only knows who those idiots might have told.”

“One thing’s clear. This has been in the planning stages for some time. I’ll take a look around, see what I can find, but my guess is they got the call telling them that we’d found the statue and they were ready. I figure they came by sea, but left the boat a ways away and rowed over in a dinghy of some kind.”

“How many do you think?” Joe asked.

“Two, maybe three. They knew what they were doing.”

“Ex-military?”

“Probably.”

“Talbot. He’s got four or five of those guys on his payroll.”

“Maybe. But I’ve got a hunch these may have been the same guys who shot me. They were sniffing around, maybe trying to find the Maiden even then. That happened before Talbot arrived.”

Joe looked off toward Pleasure Island. A few distant lights winked in the darkness from the tiny village on the south end of the shore. “Maybe it was Markham.”

“Could be. I hate to say it, but it could be that someone on the
Conquest
was behind this. We can check the phone records, see what calls were made after the Maiden was found, but that’ll take time and if somebody called from here, he could have used a radio.”

“I don’t think anyone on the boat would do something like that,” Glory said firmly, still holding onto Wally’s hand.

“I hope you’re right. For now, the most important thing is to get Wally ashore so he can get the proper care.”

Hope hurried up just then. “Chalko’s on his way.”

Conn nodded. “This is getting to be a habit and I don’t like it.”

Neither did Hope, he could see by the concerned look on her face, but the island was a sovereignty all its own. There was no police force to call, just the small group of security guards who worked for Eddie, not much more than rent-a-cops, no one they could really turn to for help.

They would have to help themselves, Conn thought, and that was exactly what he meant to do.

A freak storm rolled in. There was just enough time to get Wally ashore before the unexpected squall hit the island.

Aboard the
Conquest,
the galley was a blackened shambles, the walls badly scorched, the floor burned clear through in one spot, the stove out of commission, plates broken, pots and pans melted and ruined. Already badly disheartened by the attack on their friend, the crew grumbled over their missed morning meal.

When Captain Bob informed them the
Conquest
would be heading back to Jamaica for repairs, the men practically cheered.

Unfortunately, the winds were still blowing up a gale, the rain dropping in sheets. The captain decided to wait until the storm blew itself out before setting off on the ninety-five-mile trip back to Jamaica. In the meantime, Conn quietly did his best to solve the mystery of who had stolen the Maiden.

Though he hated to do it, he searched the crew’s quarters and even the captain’s, but came up empty-handed. It was a relief to find nothing. He knew these men. Most of them had become good friends. He didn’t want to believe any of them would steal from him.

Still, there was no way to know for sure.

And it worried Conn that the intruders had picked Wally’s watch to commit the theft, not his or Joe’s. How had they known which man would give them the least amount of trouble?

Conn figured if any of the crew were involved, it might be Pete Crowley. He had never trusted Pete, though he wasn’t quite sure why.

It was still early in the morning. Conn found Hope standing in front of the windows in the chart room, staring out through a haze of rain at the turbulent sea. She looked more fragile than she usually did and his chest tightened. She had come to mean so much to him. It worried him to see her this way.

“You okay?”

She nodded, managed a smile, though it looked a little wobbly. “I’m fine. How’s Wally?”

“Ron’s got him resting in one of the villas while they wait for the storm to break so the plane can fly out. The weather’s got everything shut down. The good news is there was a doctor vacationing in one of the units. He took a look at Wally, said he definitely has a concussion, but he thinks he’ll be all right.”

Hope’s eyes slid closed. “Thank God.” She stared back out the window, her gaze fixed on the gray sea.

Conn studied her petite, womanly figure. She had so much strength. It was amazing that she didn’t seem to know. “As soon as the storm breaks,” he said gently, “the
Conquest
will be heading back to port.”

She turned and looked up at him, and he thought he could drown in those lovely green eyes. They had made love two times last night but already he wanted her again.

“What about the Maiden?” she asked.

“I spoke to Talbot, told him what happened. He’s royally pissed, as you can imagine.”

“Then you don’t think he’s behind the theft?”

“It was never the money for Talbot. It was always the publicity. The statue would have given him even more of what he wanted. Which is not to say Jack Feldman or one of his men couldn’t have been the ones who stole it.”

“I take it Feldman and his crew will be guarding the site while the
Conquest
is away.”

He nodded. “We don’t have any other choice. Feldman’s going to anchor over the site until I can make arrangements to get another salvage boat out here and a couple more divers. Joe and Ron can come back with the other boat.”

“You could certainly use the help.”

“We’ve already brought up the stuff that wound up on top of the ballast pile when the ship went down. Whatever else is down there is going to be harder to find.”

“What about the treasure that’s still aboard?”

“After what’s happened, I don’t want to send it back on the boat. I talked to Eddie. I told him we need to fly the stuff back to Jamaica and get it in the bank. I told him I’d be bringing it in personally. We can stay in one of the villas until the plane leaves.”

“What about finding the Maiden?”

A muscle tightened in his jaw. “That’s the question, isn’t it? Once we’re ashore, I plan to do a little looking around. The men who took the statue may have come from the island. With the storm keeping everything grounded, they may not have been able to get it off.”

Hope made no reply. He knew she understood how much he wanted to find the statue.

So far, he didn’t have much of an idea where to look.

There was a break in the storm late in the afternoon, a brief hole in the weather that allowed the Sea Ray to come out and pick them up, along with the treasure, and ferry them back to shore. Hope said good-bye to Captain Bob and Andy, Tommy Tyler, Joe, and the crew, feeling a sense of loss so strong it made her heart ache.

The call from
Midday News
had come through less than an hour ago. Artie Green had phoned personally. Her job was waiting, he said. It was time to go home.

Hope fought not to cry.

She would be leaving the Caribbean, leaving Pleasure Island. Leaving Conn before she weakened and agreed to stay with him.

She couldn’t afford to do that. She didn’t have that kind of courage. Each day she fell more deeply in love with him. If something went wrong, if things didn’t work out, she simply could not bear it.

Glory approached her last. Blinking back tears, Hope gave her a good-bye hug, uncertain if she would ever see her friend again.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Glory said softly, her blond ponytail streaming in the wind. “I can see it in your face.”

Hope took a shaky breath, let it out slowly. “My boss called a little while ago. My last article for
Adventure
has been completed. If the weather is good enough for the plane to fly out, I’ll be leaving in the morning.”

Glory’s dark eyes misted. “Have you told Conn yet?”

Hope shook her head, fighting tears. “I knew the call was going to come, just not exactly when. I’ve been meaning to tell him, but then they found the Maiden and things got so mixed up. I’ll have to tell him tonight.”

Glory reached over and caught her hand. “Are you sure about this, Hope? Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?”

“I’m not like you, Glory. If I stayed with Conn, I’d be afraid all the time, afraid of loving him more and more and then losing him.”

“Conn isn’t like that. I think if he really loved a woman, it would be forever.”

“But you can’t know that for sure, can you, Glory? And I’m not willing to take the risk.”

“You can’t know anything for sure, Hope. And Conn is worth the risk.”

Hope said nothing more. The two women hugged again and Hope left to join Conn. She tried not to think of what Glory had said, but the words haunted her, dared her to set aside her fears and take a chance on loving again.

Hope steeled herself. She wasn’t ready yet, wasn’t sure she ever would be.

With fresh resolve, she picked up her bag, pasted on a smile, and walked to where Conn stood waiting at the rail.

“Ready?”

She nodded.

His eyes remained on her face, searching out her feelings, trying to read her troubled thoughts.

“Are you all right?”

She forced her lips to curve. “So much has happened. I’m just tired, is all.”

He eyed her a moment more. “The treasure’s all been loaded. Let’s go.”

She felt his hand at her waist, strong and sure as he guided her to the loading platform and into the sleek white Sea Ray.

Chalko smiled and nodded a greeting, which both of them returned. As soon as they were safely aboard, the black man shoved the throttle into reverse and backed away from the
Conquest;
then the speedboat leapt ahead.

The swells were still high, the troughs frighteningly deep. Gray clouds were closing back in and she could see the dark haze of rain beginning to sweep over the south end of the island. As the Sea Ray roared away, she took a last look at the big salvage boat rolling in the heavy seas, feeling homesick for a place that shouldn’t seem like home but did, a place that held memories she would never forget.

Tonight she would have to tell Conn she was leaving. Her eyes filled with tears. It was going to be the hardest thing she had ever had to do.

The drenching rains resumed as if they had never stopped. The Island Jeep waited at the dock, its clear plastic windows rolled closed to keep out the worst of the downpour.

A second Jeep held two security guards, who jumped out in the rain as they saw the speedboat approach. They waited at the dock until the Sea Ray’s lines were secure, then jumped in to help unload the treasure.

It didn’t take long to transfer the valuable artifacts into the waiting Jeep. Conn helped Hope into the Jeep Chalko drove, then climbed into the back. With each of his movements, he could feel the bulge of the 9mm Glock riding in the waistband of his pants. It had been a while since he’d fired the weapon. Still, it was amazing how familiar the pistol felt in his hands.

Following the Jeep that carried the treasure, Chalko drove along the paved road leading from the dock back to the main office of The Villas. The island’s private airport sat off to the right. As the Jeep rolled past, Conn noticed The Villas’ twin-engine Beech, its wings securely tied down. Another, smaller aircraft, a Cessna Turbo 210, rested on the tarmac a few feet away.

“Who’s that other plane belong to?” Conn asked Chalko.

“One of Eddie’s guests. I think his name is St. Giles.”

“When did he get here?”

“His plane landed just before the storm hit. He is scheduled to fly out in the morning, if the weather is good.”

Conn sat back as Chalko drove along the road, fidgeting a little as he followed the other Jeep, forced to go more slowly than he liked.

St. Giles.
The name rolled around in Conn’s head. He knew that name, though he couldn’t quite remember where he’d heard it. Something told him it was important that he remember.

When they reached the main building, another uniformed guard waited in the lobby. He helped the other two men carry the gold and silver bars, silver coins, and a box containing gold-and-emerald jewelry into the building, on its way to the safe in Eddie’s office.

Conn smiled darkly, figuring the treasure would be safe. If Eddie were behind the theft, he could have taken the stuff last night. Of course, if the rumors were true, the Maiden was far more valuable than all the other pieces put together.

If the thieves could find a buyer for it.

Chalko stopped in front of the luxurious villa Conn and Hope had stayed in the night of the party, got out, and carried in Hope’s luggage.

“I put the rest of your things in the bedroom,” the black man said, referring to the articles she had left for safekeeping instead of taking them on the boat.

“Thank you, Chalko. I appreciate all you’ve done.”

There was something in the way she said it, something that made Conn uneasy. It was time they talked. Tonight he would make certain they did.

In the meantime, he had pressing responsibilities, and a single name kept nagging him. “You ever heard of a guy named St. Giles? Seems like I know the name, but I can’t remember where I heard it.”

“Isn’t he the guy who found the emerald cross, the first piece of treasure off the
Rosa?
I think he’s that friend of the professor’s.”

In an instant, the pieces all slid together.
Julian St. Giles.
He had found the gold-and-emerald cross with the initials on the back that the professor had tracked to the
Rosa
passenger list. “That’s the guy. He’s a collector in Jamaica. I think he’s also a dealer. Damn, I need to use the phone.”

Striding toward the bedside table, Conn lifted the telephone receiver and dialed the office, then asked the receptionist to place a satellite call to Professor Marlin and rattled off the number of Marlin’s cell. Earlier, Conn had phoned him with the news that the Maiden had been stolen and his partner had been devastated by the theft.

He wasn’t going to like Conn’s suspicions any better.

“Doc? It’s Conn. I need to know the name of that collector friend of yours.”

“Why, his name is St. Giles. Julian St. Giles.”

“That’s what I thought. Any chance he’d be interested in buying the Maiden?”

“You must be joking. Of course the man would be interested. Any collector who’s ever heard of it would be interested in such a fantastic piece.”

“What I need to know is whether St. Giles is capable of raising that kind of money. Would he or one of his clients have the roughly ten million it would take to buy the Maiden?”

“I don’t believe ten million would be nearly enough, my boy, but yes. Julian is well known in the art world. His reputation is spotless. He deals with only the most discriminating buyers.”

“Thanks, Doc. That’s all I needed to know.”

“But what does Julian—”

“Gotta run, Doc. I’ll let you know if anything turns up.”

Conn hung up the phone, hoping none of Markham’s people had been listening in on the call.

“What’s going on, Conn?” Hope walked toward him across the bedroom. She had just stepped out of the shower and was wearing one of The Villas’ thick white terry cloth robes. Covered from neck to foot, she was still the sexiest woman he’d ever seen.

Conn reined in his thoughts, telling himself he could make love to her later. “I’ve got a hunch Eddie Markham may be involved in the theft of the Maiden. As soon as it’s dark—which won’t be much longer—I’m going over to his house and see what I can find.”

“What makes you think it’s Markham?”

“That was St. Giles’s plane we passed at the airport. Eddie must know St. Giles is on the island and that he’d be someone with an interest in the Maiden, but he never mentioned it. I think St. Giles is here to buy the statue. He was probably planning to fly it out tonight, but the storm’s got him boxed in.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Stake out Markham’s house, see who shows up. Maybe I’ll get lucky.”

“If you’re going to Markham’s, I’m going with you.”

Conn shook his head. “No way. You’re going to stay right here, out of danger.”