Treasured Lies (8 page)

‘We're coming up to a rock on your left.' Ginger pointed the mound out. It was barely visible beneath the surface, but hitting it would have them sinking to the bottom in seconds, especially with what they had on board. Rosalina adjusted the steering to avoid the rock. Once they were past the line of rocks that formed a natural marina for the secluded beach, Rosalina headed straight for the shore.

Ginger jumped off as the boat crunched on the coarse sand and pulled on a rope in an attempt to drag the boat further ashore. Rosalina climbed over the side too, and even with both of them pulling, they were unable to move the boat any further forward.

Once Rosalina was certain the boat was secured, she set about putting up the beach umbrella and laid a few towels beneath it, while Ginger reapplied sunscreen to her face and hands.

‘Think we could have a look at what they found?' Ginger grinned while rubbing a good dose of cream on her nose.

Rosalina glanced at her watch, forty minutes to go. ‘I don't see why not, as long as we keep them under cover.'

Ginger rubbed her hands together in a move Rosalina had seen Alessandro do dozens of times. It was funny to see her copying his mannerisms. Since Ginger and Alessandro met, they'd become inseparable. With Alessandro being an old flame, a very old flame to be exact, Rosalina had thought it would be awkward watching their attraction blossom, but she was honestly pleased for him. He was a good man who deserved to find love and she'd never seen him as smitten as he was with Ginger.

Rosalina followed Ginger back to the boat and together they peeked under the tarpaulin. The items were jumbled together as if they'd been tossed aboard with little care. It wasn't the right thing to do and they all knew it. But at the moment, speed was more important than fastidiousness. Once these pieces were aboard
Evangeline
, Alessandro would quickly have them photographed, catalogued and secured in a more deserving facility.

Ginger reached for a chest with a concave lid and by the way she struggled, Rosalina could tell it was heavy.

‘Hang on.' Rosalina moved around the boat to help Ginger lift it out. She placed her hand beneath the chest and noticed the coldness of the metal. Together they crab walked with the chest between them up the beach to the waiting umbrella.

‘Can't wait to see what's in here.' Ginger chuckled like a teenage girl.

‘Me neither.' The little heart-shaped box Rosalina had found with the pearls turned out to belong to Maria Maridonna Verdelanda, the wife of a rich nobleman. Alessandro was able to establish that she'd died during the plague of 1348, as did her husband and four children. Rosalina wondered if any family members survived the plague, maybe her parents or siblings. It was hard to imagine entire families being wiped out by such a relentless disease.

The thought tugged at her heart. She missed her Nonna terribly and made a mental note to ring her grandmother before dinner tonight. Just the thought of talking to the woman who'd raised her made her smile, even though Nonna would probably be mad that Rosalina hadn't made contact in over a week. She'd already lost five years with Nonna when she was in Australia and it wasn't until she returned that she realised just how frail her grandmother had become. Rosalina felt the guilt curl in her chest. Nonna was getting old and now was the time she should be with her. Especially now that Filippo was giving her such a hard time. The title of ‘black sheep of the family' really rang true with her youngest brother. Since he turned twenty-one, his already fiery personality hit a whole new level, and with alcohol in his system he was even worse. It was stress Nonna didn't need.

Hopefully, now that time was against them, this treasure hunt would be over quickly and Rosalina would be back home very soon.

She adjusted her stance so she could lower the chest carefully onto the towels. The chest was the size and shape of a shoebox, except for the curved lid. Each side was decorated in intricate carvings etched into the metal and surprisingly, like most of the pieces discovered so far, only small bubbles of corrosion were evident. She sat down on the towel and tucked her feet up to her side.

If Rosalina had to guess she'd say the box was made of silver. There were a couple of belt-like loops secured in rows over the entire box and she struggled to work out what they were. The idea hit her and she clicked her fingers.

‘I bet these once contained leather straps, or something similar, that held the box together.'

‘Oh yeah.' Ginger ran her fingers over them.

The leather would have long ago disintegrated in the salt water. Without them the box should be simple to open. Rosalina placed her hands on the lid and tried to raise it upward. But it refused to budge. Ginger jumped to her feet to help Rosalina tug the lid off.

‘It's moving,' Ginger squealed. ‘Pull harder.'

The lid flipped off and both Rosalina and Ginger were sent sprawling. The lid flung from their hands, but thankfully it landed on a towel. Rosalina retrieved it and sat up on her knees to take a look inside the box. Even the sound of the waves rolling into the shore evaporated as Rosalina was enticed by the precious contents.

It was in slow motion that she reached inside the chest and drew out the first item her fingers touched. It was the most beautiful piece of jewellery she'd ever seen. A gold bracelet, with large rectangular cut emerald stones. Each gemstone was edged in its own gold trim with scalloped edges and it was in immaculate condition. It was heavy, and she tried to imagine the woman who would have worn it. She must have been quite a big lady to wear such a large piece, and no doubt she would have had the perfect outfit to wear it with. A smile touched her lips as she recalled that her Nonna always had a unique set of jewellery to match every dress. It was one of the things she was fastidious about.

Ginger was holding her own piece now. Another bracelet. This one a series of miniature gold plaques, each one depicted its own image, as if the bracelet told a story. Rosalina recognised one of the symbols. It was an eagle on a bolt of cloth. This was the Arte di Calimala insignia used to represent the wealthy cloth finishers' guild.

‘Alessandro will love that piece.' Actually, he was excited about every piece. With the ancient diary as his guide, so far he'd been able to match the descriptions detailed in those lists with the real items. It was like putting the pieces of a puzzle together. A vast, valuable puzzle.

‘Don't you think it's weird having your ex-boyfriend around?'

Ginger's comment was loaded with distrust. Rosalina turned to her and caught the jealousy in her eyes. It had never occurred to Rosalina what anyone else thought about Alessandro joining them on this treasure hunt. The only person she'd been worried about was Archer. She never even contemplated that Ginger might see it as odd. ‘Well, to be honest,' she finally said, ‘Alessandro and I are just good friends.'

‘But you had sex with him.'

Her words were a slap to the face and Rosalina tugged her hair behind her ear as she tried to formulate a response. She let out a huge sigh. ‘Alessandro and I had one night together. It was a very long time ago. We were at university together. We were drunk and it was a mistake. We should never have done it.'

Ginger shrugged. ‘Yeah. That's what he told me too.' She said it so flippantly, like she was gossiping about someone else, Rosalina couldn't decide if her question was a test to assess if Alessandro had told her the truth or she didn't trust Rosalina with Alessandro. Either way, it was awkward.

‘I see the way he looks at you,' Ginger said. ‘I know there's still something there.'

For over a decade Rosalina had been trying to break her spell over Alessandro. His eyes for her always had a passionate yearning. And although it broke her heart to see him that way, she could never find a way to relinquish that hold on him. Until Ginger stepped into their lives. For the first time since that one fateful night, Alessandro's yearning had shifted. ‘To be honest, Ginger, I think his eyes are for you,' she finally said.

‘Really?' Her smile lit up her face. ‘Do you think so?'

‘Yes … Yes I do.'

Ginger continued smiling as she reached back into the jewel box. Rosalina assumed the conversation was over. She hoped so. Rosalina wasn't keen on any form of confrontation, conflict resolution was more her preference.

As they removed the pieces one by one, it was evident that whoever owned this jewellery was not only very wealthy, she also had impeccable taste. There were nine pieces in total: four bracelets, three brooches, and two necklaces. Each one unique, beautiful, well made and obviously incredibly valuable. Rosalina wondered if this belonged to one of the founding guild member's wives. They were the elite members of Florence, after all.

Rosalina checked her watch and couldn't believe forty minutes had past. ‘Oh wow, it's time to go.'

A familiar noise cast a steady beat over the water and raised the hairs on the back of Rosalina's neck. A helicopter.

‘Quick, get this on the boat.' She didn't mean to yell but couldn't help herself.

Ginger didn't question why. In a matter of seconds they had the chest back on the boat and hidden beneath the tarpaulin. But even as she glanced over the protective sheet, ensuring none of the valuable haul was visible, she knew it was pointless. It was obvious they were hiding something and if her hunch about who was in the helicopter was right, then he'd have no trouble figuring out what.

She scanned the horizon and spotted the helicopter low over the water, heading straight towards them. The size and shape of the chopper left no doubt it was Ignatius Montpellier. How did he find them?

A horrifying scenario raced through her mind. Alessandro! Helen!

She jumped into the boat. ‘Leave the umbrella. Push us off. Quick.' Rosalina couldn't risk waiting another second. She had to get the divers up and get back to
Evangeline
now. What if that bastard had hurt Alessandro or Helen to find out where they were? She wouldn't put it past him. Rosalina resisted the urge to voice her thoughts, knowing Ginger would become hysterical with the idea of anything happening to Alessandro again.

As they pushed off from the beach, the helicopter slowed down. Within a few thumping beats it hovered directly above. The downward draft kicked up the water and pelted them with bullet-like spray. She snapped off the engine and crumbled into a ball, desperate to get away from the painful onslaught. With the chopper this close, the water spray was as hard at ice cubes. Her back took the full brunt of every pellet.

When the assault eased, she assumed he'd either moved higher or drifted away and Rosalina turned her face and managed to look up into the cockpit. Ignatius grinned at her with a smugness that made her hate him even more. He tilted the helicopter and scooted away as quickly as he came.

Anger flushed up in her like a heatwave. She was so mad at herself, despite common sense telling her there was nothing she could do to stop what just happened. Right now, they needed to get back to the yacht and make sure Alessandro and Helen were alright.

‘Are you okay, Ginger?'

‘Yeah. But shit that hurt. What an arsehole!'

‘Sure is.'

Rosalina kicked the engine into gear and headed towards the diver-below marker buoy. She wondered if Iggy had seen it. Maybe he hadn't. The way in which he came, hugging the shoreline, meant he was a good fifty metres away from the flagged marker. With a bit of luck he missed it. She saw the divers on the surface and accelerated towards them.

‘Did you see him?' Ginger yelled as soon as the men were within earshot.

‘Who?' Archer clutched onto the side of the boat as it pulled up alongside him.

‘Iggy. He just belted us with his helicopter spray.'

Archer's eyes shot to Rosalina and she blinked back tears. She felt like a failure.

‘Are you okay?' The concern in his eyes made her chin dimple. Unable to speak, she simply nodded.

‘Tell me exactly what happened.' Archer hooked his net bag, loaded full with riches, onto the side of the boat and then he helped Jimmy do the same.

Ginger dropped the ladder over the back of the boat, and as Jimmy climbed aboard she told them what Iggy did.

‘Do you think he saw us?' Jimmy clenched his jaw.

‘I don't know.' Rosalina explained what direction the helicopter came in from. ‘There's a possibility he missed you.'

‘How did he find us?' Ginger asked the question.

‘Oh Jesus! Sit down.' Archer slammed the boat into gear.

‘What? What's wrong?' Ginger's eyes bulged with panic.

‘Mum and Alessandro.' It was all Archer said, and from the look on Ginger's face, it was enough.

They each clung onto the side of the boat as Archer punched it to maximum speed and headed towards
Evangeline
. Rosalina's heart was in her throat as she imagined what horrible things Iggy could have done to them. Their plan was completely foolish.

To have left them alone on the yacht was a disaster just waiting to happen.

Chapter 10

Alessandro sat on the floor with his legs splayed out like an old rag doll. He stared at a splatter of blood that lined the floor before him. A few spots dotted his ankle and the urge to wipe it away was unrelenting, but just the thought of moving made his head pound. He blinked several times, trying to cast the fog from his brain, and the excruciating thud behind his eyes made it nearly impossible to think about anything but the constant thump, thump, thump. He attempted to stand but his legs wobbled and failed to co-operate. Alessandro collapsed back against the wall and panted like a man who'd just run a marathon. There was nothing else to do now but wait. Wait for the psychotic Ignatius Montpellier to come back and finish him off. Wait for Archer and the others to return.

His mind shifted from one question to another and not one of them was pleasant. But the possibility that Ignatius was still on board, hiding and waiting to attack everyone else, cast fear across any rational thoughts. He tried to stand once more, but nausea and head spins dominated and he crumbled to the floor again.