Chapter 17 #2
Hunter took a deep breath then said on exhale, “Because there are many other islands spread out over a hundred square miles. It takes time to find someone. It’s only been two weeks.
If you didn’t know where you were, and she could have drifted farther in the opposite direction before someone picked her up…
” He pressed his lips to my head for a long minute.
And I tried not to think what this meant.
He was a caring person. This was what they did.
They kissed on foreheads and into wet hair.
“Bambi is looking for you, but just in the wrong place. She’ll find you soon. ”
I understood he said that to make me feel better, but I wanted to believe him.
He held me for a long time, allowing me to calm my heart down.
Today was about Hunter’s triumph uncovering the Treasure of Lima, and not about me feeling sorry about my tragic sailing trip.
I pulled away from his warmth. “I’m ready to go back,” I said.
Armed with the prybar, we returned to the water.
Keeping my breath in and my panic at bay—it was just a collection of bones—I examined the frozen-in-time skeleton.
A trunk pinned its lower half, the remnants of his clothing long gone, only a leather belt with its corroded buckle looped around its waist. The flashlight I dropped earlier emitted a bleak light from the split in the seabed.
I swam closer to retrieve it but was too afraid to immerse my hand into it.
Something toothy or poisonous could be hiding there, and in any case, it appeared like it would be out of reach even if I tried to get it.
I came up for air and then went down again.
Hunter took hold of a padlock on the top case, and it broke off without a fight.
He passed it to me, then placed the prybar where the top and bottom had fused by time and algae.
With one push, he pried it open, sand and green muck slid off the lid, and sediment stirred up, clouding the water around us.
Bubbles rushed up around my face as I briefly squealed with delight.
My mind ran over the treasure list in Edward’s diary.
Gold coins. Gemstones. Candelabras in gold and silver.
Probably not the 780 solid gold statue of the Virgin Mary with Baby Jesus, unless they’d cut it into chunks, which would be a pity if they had.
Hunter took my hand, and we finned up to the surface again.
“Oh my God, Hunter. We found it.” I looped my arms around his neck, my mask hitting his, our bodies sinking for a split second. His hand circled my waist, his chest pressing into mine. Our legs knocked at each other occasionally as we kicked them to keep afloat.
I peeled myself away from him just enough to look at his handsome (masked) face.
For a moment we stared at each other, breathing hard.
The moment called for a celebratory kiss but with bulky objects on our faces that would be beyond clumsy and awkward.
Yet, if Hunter were to grab and yank me to him, I wouldn’t fight it.
“Do you think they’re full of gold coins?”
He grinned. “I hope so.”
“Should we go see now?”
Hunter pulled the mask over his head and smoothed his face with his hand. “Give it another minute for the sand to settle.”
We grinned at each other, our chest heaving from excitement and not hard work treading waters.
“Thank you,” Hunter said, looking at me intently.
“For what?”
“For believing me and not letting me search alone.”
“I’m having a good time,” I said. And it was the truth.
“Me too.” He lowered his mask. “Ready?”
Taking several deep breaths, we went under.
As the sand settled, so did the disappointment that sank into the pit of my stomach.
The first case had a collection of embossed leather books that contained a muck of emptiness; the second held the same; the third one had fragments of fabric, perhaps silk, that disintegrated as soon as I touched it; and the fourth held gunk and filth.
“This couldn’t be it,” I said, as we withdrew in defeat and slumped on the rocky beach. “The riddle describes this place. So, what the hell?”
Hunter tossed his mask on the sand and pulled water bottles out of the bag. He gave me one. I drank half of it, some freshwater drops escaping my lips, mixing with saltwater, and running down my neck.
“That was not the treasure. Maybe import documents, government secrets,” Hunter finally spoke.
“They must have made a mistake and confused chests. This is the only explanation I can come up with. They meant to hide something else here. Something that wouldn’t turn into soot.
” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Fuck.”
I swallowed hard. “Sorry.” I wasn’t sure what else I could say to comfort him.
It really sucked. I barely slept last night, anticipation keeping me up and constantly checking if it was dawn.
If anger and disappointment had crushed me down like a heavy boulder, what Hunter felt must have been ten times worse.
I’d searched for treasure for a few days, whereas he’d spent years roaming the ocean looking for it.
Hunter shook his head, and lay on his back. “It’s fine,” he said, staring up at the skies through the opening in the ceiling above us. “I don’t think I told you that my grandfather and Edward weren’t the only two obsessed with treasure hunting.”
I tore my eyes from his toned body, where abdominal muscle flexed with each breath he took, and looked at his face. “They weren’t?”
“No. Unfortunately, two of Edward’s brothers met their tragic demise while also searching for this godforsaken treasure. The older brother, Kevin, died after a grey reef shark attacked him during a dive in the unexplored territory between this island and Bora Bora.”
I sucked in a breath. “Fuck, that’s horrible.”
“The younger brother, Joseph and two of his friends, ventured for a two-month-long expedition before his thirtieth birthday. Their fates remain a mystery to this day. My aunt blames Holden’s family curse, like we’re some kind of Kennedy family of the oceans.
” He rubbed his face, muffling a groan. “When Edward and Annie took full custody of me, she made him give his word that he would never drag me into this bloody treasure-hunting mess that put my grandfather into a madhouse and took so many away from the Holden family. She made him stop searching for it too. When I left for college, Edward left to live here, and Annie divorced him because she wasn’t going to be the widow of a crazy man. ”
I reached out and squeezed his forearm. “Now you have proof they weren’t madmen.”
“Sort of.” Hunter eyes cut to me, mouth lifting at one corner. “What we found is dust.”
“Yes, but we found proof that the riddles are real. And now we know that treasure is real and somewhere hidden on Teaku. We have three more chances to find the rest. Hopefully, it will be in solid form.”