Treasured Lies (16 page)

Under Alessandro's expert guidance, Ginger placed a sticker on each one of the journals and labelled them according to Alessandro's directive. The first two boxes required a full hour to catalogue.

‘This's going to take a friggin' week to get through.' Jimmy said what everybody had to be thinking.

‘You're not kidding.' Archer rolled his head from side to side. ‘What's in your box, Rosa?'

Rosalina tore off the tape and folded back the lid to reveal newspapers. Some of them were complete editions but most were just a single page folded in a manner that left no obvious article being highlighted. She examined one of the papers, front and back, but couldn't work out why Wade had bothered to save it. It turned out many of them were like that and Rosalina mulled over the idea that maybe most of the items in these boxes were just a clever diversion from the real, important things.

Earlier this year Wade's cryptic clues had helped them discover the Calimala treasure. Wade had practically charted its course from its origins in Florence to its final resting place in the Greek Islands. But now, looking at the dozens of items removed from just two boxes, Rosalina was already daunted by the prospect of having to analyse everything. She entertained the thought that they may never find the rest. Alessandro on the other hand, obviously didn't share her concern. He was jittery with childish glee. After spending most of his life doing research in universities and museums, this was probably the type of day he'd only ever dreamed about.

Ever since Helen mentioned the storage shed and what it contained, Rosalina believed it was simply a matter of putting the clues together to find the rest of the treasure. But now that she'd seen the lengths Wade went to in order to disguise his findings, they may not be any closer to discovering anything. Not anytime soon anyway. And it was time she didn't want to waste. The niggling feeling that Nonna needed her just wouldn't go away.

Wade's success as a treasure hunter was undoubted. During the course of his short life he'd discovered three significant hoards of missing treasure. And countless smaller ones. Some said he was just lucky. But dragging his wife and son all over the world chasing the elusive gold and jewels couldn't have been an easy decision. Her eyes darted to Archer as an abrupt realisation hit her like a blow to the chest; her future may be exactly the same. Could she really spend the rest of her life chasing the elusive gold? It was a question she'd never considered. The Archer she'd fallen in love with was a businessman, running his exclusive yacht charter for rich clients with mountains of cash. Treasure hunting had been a hobby. Now, treasure hunting had become his obsession.

She studied him now, and as he flicked through the pages of a leather journal, she couldn't quite read his expression. There was a touch of excitement there with the half-smile on his lips, but a frown also rippled his forehead. One thing was certain, he was completely engrossed in finding the hidden clues in the books that lay before him.

Archer tossed the notebook to the floor. ‘You know Dad didn't just follow one treasure. There's probably clues to dozens of missing treasures here.'

Rosalina jostled for comprehension. Looking for the clues to one treasure was hard enough but compiling the clues to more than one would be a mammoth challenge.

‘Why couldn't he have just written GPS co-ordinates?' Jimmy's bushy eyebrows dragged together.

‘I told you,' Archer said, ‘he was paranoid about his research getting into the hands of the wrong people.'

‘I have to admit, I have some trepidation about our situation.' Alessandro rolled his chair back from his laptop. ‘More than one helicopter has been watching us since … The Incident. Maybe it would be timely to move away from here for a while, before other people find out what we have on board.'

Rosalina was pleased to hear she wasn't the only one desperate to leave this location.

‘I hear ya, Alex.' Jimmy's frown deepened even further. ‘If I see another one of those damn news helicopters hoverin' around I just may shoot it down myself. Pesky bloody reporters.' He made a pistol shape with his fingers and pointed towards the sky.

‘There's not much chance of getting away from them. Not when the crazy priest is still missing and not while we're still in Greek waters.' Archer shook his head.

‘Maybe it's time to move on then.' Jimmy shrugged and tore the tape off the box nearest him. ‘Ha, no wonder this box was so light. It's only got one thing in it.' He lifted a globe from the cardboard, placed it on the table and flicked it with his thumb.

As it spun around Rosalina noticed a ray of sunlight catching on something on the globe. ‘What's that?' She rose up and walked towards Jimmy. This time she spun the globe slowly in her hands until she pinpointed the source of the reflection. A small star, no bigger than a peppercorn was stuck on the M of the words Solomon Islands. ‘Hey, Archer, have you ever been to the Solomon Islands?'

Archer scrunched up his face. ‘Not that I know of.'

‘I bet them damn helicopters won't go chasing us there.' Jimmy eyeballed the globe.

‘If it's true that only one third of the treasure is here, then maybe our time here is over anyway,' Archer said. ‘And it makes sense to forget about the Calimala treasure for a while. At least until all the hype cools down.'

Rosalina sat in stunned silence. Did she hear that right? Could he really forget this treasure for a while? She chewed on the inside of her lip, waiting for the conversation to unfold.

‘But before we jump to any rash decisions,' Archer continued, ‘let's keep going through these things and see if we can piece a plan together.'

‘Sure thing, boss.' Jimmy stood up and strode from the room. His heavy footfalls were a clear indication that being holed up in the lounge room was making him antsy. He preferred the outdoors. His weather-hardened skin was a testament to that.

Rosalina understood Jimmy's impatience. She rolled her shoulders and tilted her head from side to side, trying to loosen the muscles in her neck as she watched Ginger tear the tape off another box. Ginger reached in and the item she removed made Rosalina freeze. The parcel was exactly as Archer had described it. The box was no bigger than Ginger's palm and wrapped in gold decorated paper and a white ribbon. Ginger went to tug on the ribbon.

‘Wait!' Rosalina had said it much louder than she intended and everyone looked at her. But she turned to Archer and when his eyes fell on the box, and he looked like he was about to implode, she knew her assumption was correct.

‘What's wrong?' The startled look on Ginger's face was as though she was in trouble.

Archer looked petrified to move and Rosalina knew she had to do something.

‘Can I have that, Ginger?' She held out her hand and Ginger handed it over like it was a grenade.

‘Archer was just telling me about this the other day,' Rosalina said. ‘It was meant to be a present for his mum, but … unfortunately Wade never had the chance to give it to her.' Rosalina deliberately kept an upbeat tone in her voice as she placed it on the table and tried not to look at Archer.

‘What else is in there, Ginger?'

Ginger blinked at Rosalina a few times, as if suspicious of her reasoning, and Rosalina silently begged her to carry on. Thankfully Ginger leant back into the box and as she removed the items one by one, Rosalina hoped the little present would be forgotten. Except by Archer, that is. She hoped Archer would give the necklace to his mother and tell the story of how Wade had bought it for her. Although it was incredibly tragic that he hadn't given it to her, the amount of effort Wade went to in selecting the necklace showed just how much he loved her. A moment like that should never be kept secret. And Archer should have learnt his lesson about keeping secrets. His refusal to share his secrets was the reason they broke up last time.

By mid-afternoon they'd opened and catalogued about three quarters of the boxes. It was obvious everyone was becoming more disheartened with each box opening. As it had turned out, the first three boxes were probably the most organised of the lot. Most of the other boxes were a jumble of random things. Everything from chopsticks to a silver Gigliato coin.

Alessandro was studying the coin now. ‘Did you know, this coin was most likely made from pure silver?' He cleared his throat. ‘It dates back to the thirteenth century and Charles II of Anjou Naples is depicted on the face. See here.' He pointed to the coin. ‘I am
certo
this will be a piece from the Calimala treasure.' He nodded with confidence as he flipped it over in his fingers.

Rosalina rolled Alessandro's information around in her mind as she scanned the eclectic collection spread out across the floor. Her eyes snagged on the chopsticks. While the coin was an exciting find, they certainly were not. Why on earth anyone would go to the trouble of keeping chopsticks was beyond reasoning. Rosalina collected one off the floor to look at the writing on the side. It didn't look professional; in fact, if she hadn't seen the engraver removed from one of the other boxes she wouldn't have been the least bit curious. She squinted as she tried to make out the lettering. An idea hit her. ‘Hey, I don't suppose anyone can read Japanese?'

Ginger shot her hand up and Rosalina smothered an urge to laugh.

‘I can speak and read Japanese.'

‘Really?' Now that was a surprise. Not for the first time, Rosalina wondered if there was much more to Ginger than she was letting on. Ginger's ditsy personality did a good job of covering many layers of an intriguing woman. She'd been living on the yacht with her for a few months yet Rosalina barely knew anything about her.

Ginger seemed a little nervous as she knotted her hair around her hand. ‘When I was growing up, my family housed Japanese students. We needed the money.' She shrugged. ‘So after years and years of sitting at the table with a Japanese boy or girl who I couldn't understand, I decided to learn the language.'

Rosalina noticed Alessandro puff his chest. ‘Fabulous, do you think you can read this?' She handed over the wooden chopstick.

‘It looks like
Awa Maru
.'

‘Bless you.' Jimmy laughed at his own joke.

Ginger curled her lip up at Jimmy. ‘Very funny, Jimmy. I bet I'm right. Look up
Awa Maru
please, Alessandro.'

Alessandro's fingers danced over the keyboard and seconds later his eyebrows shot up. ‘According to Google, the
Awa Maru
was a Japanese ocean liner built between 1941 and 1943.'

‘There you go. I told you I knew Japanese.' Ginger and Alessandro exchanged a glance that made Rosalina smile.

‘What else does it say, Alex?' Archer leant forward.

Alessandro's eyes travelled to the laptop screen again and it was a long moment before he finally spoke. ‘This is very interesting.'

‘What?' Jimmy barked.

‘The ship was built for passenger service, but was requisitioned by the Japanese Navy during the war. In 1945 she was employed as a Red Cross relief ship and carried supplies for the American and Allied POWs held in Japanese custody.'

‘Here we go with the detailed history lessons,' Jimmy grumbled and Rosalina shot him a warning glance.

Alessandro cocked his head. ‘Would you like me to continue?'

Jimmy was as impatient as Alessandro was fastidious and they were each as childish as the other when it came to being annoying.

Jimmy rolled his eyes. ‘Of course.'

‘You will enjoy this history lesson. I promise. Once the
Awa Maru
delivered the supplies at Singapore she took on hundreds of stranded merchant marines, military personnel, diplomats and civilians. In addition to this, she reportedly carried billions of dollars' worth of treasure.'

Jimmy let out a long slow whistle. ‘Now that's what I'm talkin' about.'

‘Here we go. So what happened?' Archer winked at Rosalina and she noticed the familiar glint in his eye. Archer was born into treasure hunting and it was times like this, and she'd seen a few, that made her aware of just how important it was to him. When he was like this, it was impossible not to get caught up in the excitement.

‘Hold onto your ponies. There's more. And it is really
interessante
!' Alessandro's eyes twinkled. ‘Through the years it had been rumoured that the ship carried the fossil remains of Peking Man.'

‘Who's a peeking man?' Jimmy screwed his face into a question.

Alessandro huffed. ‘Peking Man … as in China's Peking Man. It's considered to be one of the oldest known fossils. Around 500,000 years old. They were found in a cave in 1927. They're priceless.'

‘That's bizarre.' Rosalina cocked her head to the side. ‘How or why would those fossils be on a Japanese war ship?'

‘Apparently they were packed up to be sent to America for safekeeping until the end of the war. But they vanished en route to Northern China, the theory is, as the bones went missing at the same time the
Awa Maru
sank, then the skulls could have been on board.'

‘The
Awa Maru
sank?' Rosalina shook her head in confusion.

‘Oh yes, it was very tragic. She left Singapore on March 28, 1945. But three days later, an American submarine captain thought she was a destroyer and torpedoed her. Interestingly, of the two thousand and four people on board, there was only one survivor. He was the captain's steward and that was the third time the poor man had been the sole survivor of a torpedoed ship.'

Jimmy huffed. ‘That's one lucky bastard.'

‘So, hang on a minute,' Rosalina said. ‘Surely a Red Cross ship would have notified the Americans of where they were going?'

‘
Precisamente
, but according to the captain of the submarine, the
Awa Maru
was some distance from her designated route.' Alessandro ran his hand through his thick hair. ‘In spite of all this, the captain was still court marshalled.'