JAKrentz - The Pirate, The Adventurer, & The Cowboy (29 page)
"That doesn't mean the map is genuine or even that it was ever meant to lead anyone to the Flowers. It could have been drawn for any number of reasons."
"It's the real thing."
Gideon's head came up, his eyes brilliant. "You sound very sure of that."
"I am. I have a feeling about it."
And I've also got a feeling about you, Gideon Trace, but we'll get to that eventually
.
"Even if it's genuine, what makes you think you'll be the Fleetwood to find it?"
"I've got a—"
"A feeling. Right. Do you get these feelings often, Ms. Fleetwood?"
"Often enough to know I should pay attention when one hits." There was a soft meow from the floor. Sarah looked down as Ellora jumped lightly into her lap and proceeded to curl up.
"I think I should point out that I don't do the kind of consulting work you're looking for," Gideon stated, his gaze on Sarah's hand as she stroked his cat.
"I know you're in the business of publishing
Cache
, but I thought you might be interested in this project. Right up your alley. It's such a fascinating legend. Think what a great article it would make for your magazine."
"I've heard plenty of other tales just as fascinating, if not more so. Few of them ever lead to a real find. The most anyone ever actually uncovers is an old bit of rusted metal or a button or a stray rifle ball. Treasure hunting is just a hobby for most people. No one gets rich. Believe me, there's more money in publishing
Cache
than there is in actually hunting for the goodies."
"Well, I'm going to give this a whirl and I really think you should consider coming along with me, Gideon."
He blinked. "Me? Why?" Then he quickly held up a palm to forestall her answer. "Wait, don't tell me. You've got a feeling, right?"
"Right," she said, delighted he understood. "Now, how soon can we leave? I've got enough stuff packed in my car to last for a couple of weeks. I figure if you're not particularly busy on an issue of the magazine, we could take off tomorrow morning."
He stared at her. "Just like that? Are you out of your mind? You don't even know me. I could be a mass murderer, as far as you're concerned."
"Don't be ridiculous. I feel like I've known you for months. Ever since I got your first letter, in fact."
Gideon looked slightly stunned. "You're either incredibly naive of amazingly foolish. You shouldn't be allowed out except on a leash."
"I promise you, I'm neither particularly naive nor foolish. I know what I'm doing. I usually do."
"You're serious about this, aren't you? You materialize out of thin air on my doorstep, wave an old map in my face and expect me to immediately sign on for the duration of your idiotic expedition?"
"I like to think of it as a quest. All quests need a knight-errant. You're elected."
"Who are you? The beautiful princess or something?" He slapped the envelope with the map down on the table.
Sarah grinned. "What you see is what you get. I left my tiara at home. How about it, Mr. Trace? Are you available for hire?"
"No, I'm not available," he muttered as the kettle began to whistle. "I write about lost treasure. I don't waste my time looking for it."
"But you won't be wasting your time. I'll pay you."
"Look, lady, treasure hunting costs money. A lot of money. People have poured millions into projects aimed at locating sunken ships and lost gold mines." He picked up her tea bag and dropped it into a cup. Then he poured boiling water over it. When he was finished he poured water over the instant coffee in his own cup. Every movement was economical and controlled. It was the kind of motion that indicated underlying strength and power.
"I'm not suggesting we attempt a major expedition to find a sunken treasure ship. I'm only after Emelina Fleetwood's Flowers. And I've got a map. What could be simpler?"
Gideon shook his head in disgust as he carried the cups over to the table and sat down across from her. "Listen carefully, Ms. Fleetwood, while I spell out a few facts of life. Treasure hunting is almost never successful. At least not today. A hundred, two hundred years ago it was still possible for an amateur to stumble across something like the temple caves of Ellora or a forgotten pharaoh's tomb. Today, the only people who get that kind of thrill are professional archaeologists and even for them, the thrills are few and far between."
"I'm only trying to find a few pairs of earrings, not a lost civilization."
"Then that puts you in the ranks of the hobbyists. You'd be better off buying yourself a metal detector and heading for the beach to hunt for lost change."
"You're really determined to be difficult about this, aren't you?"
"I'm attempting to give you a realistic picture of what you're contemplating."
"Where's your spirit of adventure? You must have a genuine interest in treasure hunting or you would never have started a publication like
Cache
. Don't you feel the lure of the lost treasure? The excitement of the search? The lust for a dazzling fortune in lost gems?"
Gideon's eyes glittered briefly behind harrowed lids. "I try to focus my lust on more accessible objects."
Sarah blinked and then smiled. "Are you trying to frighten me, by any chance?"
He sighed. "I get the feeling that would be difficult."
"Impossible," she said crisply.
He watched apprehensively as she yanked the tea bag out of her cup, squeezed it quickly between thumb and forefinger and glanced around for a place to toss it. When she showed signs of hurling it across the room into the sink, Gideon moved.
"Here, I'll take that." Gideon plucked the tea bag from her fingers and got to his feet. He went over to the sink, opened a cupboard door underneath and carefully dropped the dripping tea bag into a trash bin. Then he came back to the table and sat down again.
"Everybody's afraid of something, Ms. Fleetwood."
"True. And I'm no exception to the rule. But I'm not afraid of you."
"Because you've got a feeling about me?"
"Right."
"You know something, Ms. Fleetwood?"
"Call me Sarah. What?"
"You're one very bizarre female."
"Yes, I know," Sarah admitted humbly. "My friends have often told me that."
"Wise friends. Have they attempted to diagnose your condition?"
"They say my problem is that I tend to think sideways. As I said, what do they know? Now, about our project."
"Already it's
our
project?"
"I've been thinking of it as our project right from the moment the idea occurred to me."
"When was that fateful moment?"
"I believe I was in the shower at the time. I get many of my best ideas in the shower, you know."
"No, I didn't know." Gideon looked unwillingly fascinated.
"At any rate, I suddenly knew that it was time to look for the Fleetwood earrings and that I was the one to search for them. I got out of the shower, put on a robe and walked out into the living room. Your latest letter with the research data on salvage operations that I needed for
Glitter Quest
was on my desk. I glanced at it and immediately knew I wanted you to help me in my search."
"This is amazing."
"Isn't it, though? I expect it will be a lot of fun, too. And very educational?"
"Educational?"
"Sure. The material you sent me on treasure hunting for
Glitter Quest
was extremely interesting, but rather academic, if you know what I mean. This way I'll have a chance to learn about the process of a real-life treasure hunt from the ground up, so to speak."
Gideon sipped his instant coffee. "What if I tell you I'm not free at the moment to take off for two weeks?"
"Well, I could come back at a later date, I suppose."
"How much later?"
"Tomorrow?"
"Or the next day, maybe? Never mind. It's obvious you're not going to go away for good."
"I really could postpone this for a while if it was absolutely necessary. After all, those earrings have been lost for a long time. But I sort of thought this was the right moment to start the search. And something tells me you have to be involved in the hunt. I really can't explain it, but I sense it's inevitable. I trust my intuition."
"You do realize that financing this little expedition is going to be a major project in itself? Two weeks in the mountains including meals, lodging and gas are not going to come cheap. Can you afford it?"
"I've budgeted for it. I'm a reasonably successful writer, Gideon, and I assure you I can handle the tab for this venture. I'll consider it my annual vacation."
"You want to spend your annual vacation digging around in the dirt for something that probably doesn't even exist?"
"You have to learn to think positive, Gideon," she said earnestly. "The earrings exist and we'll find them."
"Tell me, Sarah, do you usually have to strong-arm some man into accompanying you on your annual vacations?"
"Now, don't be sarcastic. To tell you the truth, I've never met one who was worth the effort before. And it does appear to be an effort, doesn't it? I didn't realize it would be quite this difficult."
Gideon fixed her with a strangely baffled look. "I'm worth the effort because I can show you how to read that map or something?"
"Sarah pursed her lips and scratched behind Ellora's ears. "Not exactly. Maybe. You've certainly had more experience with treasure maps than I've had. But I'm not sure if that's why I need you along. It's hard to explain. I just know I want you with me. Somehow the Flowers and the map and you are all linked together."
He frowned suspiciously. "You're not under the impression you're psychic or something, are you?"
"Of course not."
"Are you sure?"
"You're teasing me, aren't you? Don't worry, I'm not weird or anything. Just sort of intuitive. The minute we started corresponding, for example, I knew I was going to like you very much. I certainly hope you feel the same way about me."
"I'll be blunt, Sarah Fleetwood. I can't even begin to figure out how I feel about you."
"Well, you don't need to make up your mind this instant."
"I don't? What a relief."
She smiled sunnily and dove into her oversized bag for a piece of paper and a pen. "Here's the name of the place where I'm staying tonight. It's a tiny little motel a couple miles down the road." She jotted down the name. "Know it?"
He scowled at the slip of paper. "Sure, I know it. We don't have that many motels around here. What about it?"
"I suggest you pick me up for dinner around six o'clock. The motel clerk said there was a nice little restaurant nearby. You'll probably be more relaxed if we settle the details of our association over dinner."
"Dinner."
"You do eat dinner, don't you?" Sarah gently lifted Ellora from her lap and set her on the floor. The cat purred more loudly than ever.
"Yeah, I eat dinner. That's not the point. The point is…"
"Don't worry, I'm buying." Sarah picked up her bag. "Please, Gideon? This is very important to me and I feel certain that once you've had a chance to think about it all, you're going to want to accompany me on my search for the Flowers. Have you got anything else you have to do tonight?"
"What if I said I had a date?"
Sarah was thunderstruck. "Good grief, I never even considered that. Have you got a date?"
Gideon groaned. "No."
"Wonderful. Then it's all settled. See you at six." Sarah whipped around and headed toward the front door, digging the car keys out of her pocket. "Just give me a chance, Gideon," she called back over her shoulder. "I know I can talk you into this. And you won't lose by it, I promise. I'm prepared to pay you a very decent wage. You can apply it toward the heating bill for this house."
She waved from the doorway at Gideon, who was still sitting at the kitchen table, and then she turned to lope down the porch steps.
"It's okay, beast. I know what I'm doing. I'll take good care of him." Sarah grinned at the cat and went down the walk to get into her car.
Inside the house Gideon sat unmoving until the cheerful hum of the compact's small engine had faded into the distance. Then he looked down at Ellora.
"You know something? She reminds me of you. She moved right in on us the same way you moved in on me and old Machu a year ago. What the hell am I supposed to do now?"
He got up slowly and carried the cups over to the sink. He had long ago discovered that if he didn't pick up the dishes, they never got picked up. He was willing to bet that Sarah Fleetwood's apartment would be littered with old tea mugs that needed washing.
"The Flowers. Why in hell did it have to be the Flowers? And why her?" Gideon stalked into the living room and paused for a moment beside the unfinished chess game. He had carved the pieces himself. They weren't great art, but they were functional. He picked up the queen and turned it over and over in his hand, examining it from all angles.
