Buccaneer (Dane Maddock Adventures) (15 page)

Boudreau
’
s face reddened, but she was undeterred.

“
In that case, I
’
m sure the museum will be interested in determining how it got here.
”

“
Oh, I think we all know how it got here,
”
Dane said.

“
We
’
re wasting our time with these
ignoramuses
,
”
Charlie said.
“
I
’
ll give my men their marching orders. Bones, you and Maddock tell your fellows to clear out until I take care of things.
”
He stalked away, muttering
,
“
W
hen I buy somebody, he stays bought.
”

Dane noticed that the man in the suit do a double-take a
t
the mention of Dane
’
s name. Now, he approached Da
ne and offered his hand.

“
Dillon Locke. I
’
m with the Bailyn Museum in New York.
”
The man had a strong grip and he looked Dane square in the eye as if he were trying to read Dane
’
s thoughts.

“
You
’
re a long way from home, Mister Locke.
”

Locke laughed.
“
I
’
m a bit of a vagabond. New York is home for now, but I fear I
’
ll never lose my accent.
”
His smile faded into an earnest look.
“
I
’
m sorry about this, mate. This was all arranged between the local authorities and someone at the museum with a higher pay grade than mine.
”
He shrugged.

“
You
’
re not buying this charade, are you?
”
Bones asked.

“
I
’
m just here to do my job.
”
Locke shrugged.
“
The arrowhead was absurd, I
’
ll grant you that, but I promise I
’
ve no interest in local politics. We
’
ll do our best to continue the good work you
’
ve done here.
”
His eyes fell on the drilling apparatus Charlie
’
s crew was already disassembling.
“
Looks like you
’
re on to something over here.
”

“
A dead end,
”
Dane lied.
“
We thought there might be something in this spot, but we were wrong.
”

“
A shame. Sorry if this is an insensitive question, but is there anything at all you can tell me that might guide our search?
”

“
Give up and go home. There
’
s nothing here but legends.
”
Dane hoped his words sounded sincere rather than spiteful. True, the museum wasn
’
t at fault, but he wasn
’
t going to give this Locke fellow a bit of help.

“
Too bad. Hopefully the museum won
’
t keep me on this wild goose chase for too long.
”
He
bade them good day
and left
.

“
If that guy
’
s an academic, I
’
m a ballerina.
”
Bones glowered at Locke’s receding form.

“
I don
’
t think you
’
re in danger of having to wear a leotard any time soon,
”
Dane said. There was definitely more to Locke than a simple museum employee.
“
Since we
’
ve got some free time on our hands, I think we should see what we can find out about the Bailyn Museum.
”

Dane stretched out on the sofa in the living area of his parents
’
cottage, feeling the bone-
wearying fatigue that had plagued him since the sheriff h
ad shut them down. He hated to think
they
’
d wasted their time, but what did they have to show for their work? One injured crew member and a chamber they hadn
’
t managed to penetrate. He despised failure.

He was tired, but sleep eluded him
. There was too much on his mind.

He opened his eyes and rolled over onto his side, and his gaze fell on
The Gold Bug.
He
’
d read a few pages, but not gotten very far. Might as well give it another go.

It was the story of a man who had to decipher a cryptogram in order to find a treasure buried by Captain Kidd. It wasn
’
t the best book he
’
d read, but it held his interest to the final page. And what he found there made his heart lurch.

Beneath the words
“
The End,
”
his father had written another personal message.

“
So, what do you say? Are you in?
”

After
the inscription, an arrow pointed to the edge of the page. The next page was blank, with another arrow, beneath the words

“
Keep going!
”

He flipped to the back page cover and was disappointed to find it blank. He was about to toss the book on the floor and try and get some sleep when he saw it. The dust jacket was taped to the cover, and peeking out from underneath it was a thin, wax paper envelope, with a yellowed sheet of paper inside.

“
Bones!
”
he shouted, springing to his feet.
“
Get out here now!
”

Seconds later, Bones burst through his bedroom door wearing only a pair of boxer briefs and holding his Glock. Moments later, a bleary-eyed Avery came stumbling out of the bedroom Dane had given over to her, while Angel, not wearing much more than Bones,
scrambled
down the stairs that led to the loft where she was bunking.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
Bones had needed only a glance at Dane to realize they weren
’
t in danger, and had lowered his pistol.

“
What
’
s wrong is, I
’
m an idiot. Look!
”
He held out the book for Bones to see what he
’
d found.

Bones whistled.

“
What is it?
”
Angel was pressed up against him, one hand resting lightly on his shoulder. Dane
’
s eyes drifted to her taut stomach that her tank top didn
’
t quite cover
, and quickly
tore his gaze away, cursing himself for ogling his best friend
’
s sister. He glanced up to see if Bones had noticed, but Bones
was
checking Avery out, and making little effort to hide it.

“
I think it
’
s whatever was hidden inside the sea chest. My dad left a note in this book inviting me to help him search for a treasure.
”
Under any other circumstance, he would have felt a lump in his throat and found it difficult to continue, but excitement and a measure of discomfort at Angel
’
s closeness, served to distract him.
“
It was supposed to be a Christmas gift, but he never got the chance to give it to me.
”

“
He wanted
you
to help him find the treasure?
”
Avery
’
s voice held an odd note he couldn
’
t quite define.

“
I
’
m his son, and treasure hunting is what I do.
”
He shrugged.
“
Anyway, everybody grab a chair and let
’
s check this thing out.
”

“
I
’
m just glad you woke me for a good reason,
”
Bones said.
“
I was dreaming about a Victoria
’
s Secret model.
”

“
Which one?
”
Avery asked.

“
I don
’
t know. They all look alike to me.
”

With the utmost care, Dane worked the envelope free of the tape that bound it to the book cover, and removed its contents. There were two items inside: a sheet of stationery covered in symbols, and another sheet, folded, yellowed with age.

“
Want me to do that?
”
Avery spoke in hushed, reverential tones.
“
I have experience with old documents.
”

“
Sure,
”
Dane
slid it over to
her.

“
Give me a moment.
”
She hurried into her room and returned with a pair of latex gloves.
“
I was going to color my hair,
”
she explained. Dane didn
’
t miss the way her eyes flitted toward Bones and her cheeks reddened a touch.
“
This is more important.
”

A silence borne of anticipation fell as they watched Avery go about her delicate task. When the sheet was finally spread out before them, they all broke out in grins.

“
It
’
s the island,
”
Bones said.

It was an aged map of Oak Island, rendered in exquisite detail. It alone would have been an exciting find, but there was more.

“
X marks the spot.
”
Angel gave Dane
’
s arm a squeeze.
“
That
’
s the place you and Matt found, isn
’
t it?
”

“
Looks like it,
”
Dane said.
“
We can
’
t say for sure, since it
’
s
probably
not to perfect scale, but I think it
’
s the same place.
”

“
And check this out! There
’
s a way in.
”
Bones indicated a dotted line leading from a different location on the island to the chamber.

“
It starts on land, so it
’
s unlikely to be an underwater channel,
”
Dane mused.
“
Unless it
’
s become flooded over the years. That
’
s a possibility.
”

“
I know where this is!
”
Avery exclaimed.
“
I can lead you right to it. If the sheriff will let us back on the island, that is.
”

“
That
’
s not going to happen,” Dane said.
“
He said he
’
s going to arrest anyone who wasn
’
t gone by the end of the day. No way he lets us come back
.”

“
What are we going to do?
”
Avery was on her feet, fists clenched.
“
We have to get to that secret passage before Locke drills into the chamber. That won
’
t be long!
”

“
Chill,
”
Angel said.
“
You forget who we
’
ve got on our side.
”