"We're fine," Shellie said.
"We thought Ashley and Bert had you," Dani said.
"We dropped them off a few minutes ago," Liz said. "They were bleeding all over the place, making a mess."
"Should we pick them up?" Dani asked.
"No need. They took a little chain with them," Liz said.
"What happened? Chain?" Rick asked.
"They died, Rick. We buried them at sea," Shellie said.
"What happened?" Rick asked again, frowning.
"They tied us up below deck. They were going to kill us and sink Vengeance," Shellie said. "Bert told us right before he died."
"How did you get free?"
"Liz broke the cable ties on her wrists and cut us free. Then she tricked Bert into coming below deck. She stabbed him and took his gun. Then she shot Ashley."
"And you just threw them overboard?" Rick asked.
"Well, threw isn't the right word," Liz said. "We hoisted them with the main halyard and lowered them gently. They were too heavy for us to lift, what with the chain around their ankles."
"But what about … shouldn't we call the police, or something?" Rick asked.
"We were in international waters," Liz said. "No police around when you need them. Let's get underway, Shellie. We'll finish this conversation on the mooring, in, say about an hour?"
"See you there," Dani said, as Sharktooth pulled away.
35
"Where's Marie?" Liz asked, as Sharktooth snugged Lightning Bolt up against the fenders she and Shellie had hung along Vengeance's port side.
"We dropped her off at the beach bar. Gerald's going to take her up to the cave. She needs to talk with her troops," Dani said, scrambling over the lifelines.
"They're still in the cave?" Liz asked.
"Yes. Things didn't quite work the way Marie thought they would. Her guys couldn't swing using the chopper to access the crevice. They climbed the cliff instead."
"I wondered how that was going to work," Liz said.
"And it's too exposed to view from that restaurant, too. They're going to wait until after closing time. Then they'll drop lines from the cave entrance out and down the cliff face and bring a big RIB up to that reef at the base of the cliff. The RIB's en route. Once Marie debriefs her people, she'll come by and fill us in."
"Hey, Dani?" Sharktooth asked.
"Yes?" She paused, halfway down the companionway ladder.
"I'm gon' borrow your dinghy for a little while, okay?"
"Sure," Dani said. When they dropped Marie at the beach bar, they had taken the dinghy in tow. It was bobbing behind Lightning Bolt as they spoke. "Where are you going?"
"The bakery in Soufrière got some of the bes' fried chicken in the islan's. Need a little snack. I bring back a bucket full. Anybody want anyt'ing else?"
They all shook their heads, and Sharktooth climbed in the dinghy and motored away toward town.
"It doesn't look bloody down here," Dani called, from the base of the ladder.
"I cleaned it up while Shellie sailed us back in. It wasn't too bad; I stuck him in the kidney. Most of his bleeding was internal. The varnish could probably stand to be refreshed, though. I had to use scouring powder," Liz said.
"What about the woman?" Dani asked.
"She was coming out from behind the helm when I shot her. She made a mess, but we were able to hose it down with seawater before it soaked into the deck."
"Not a nice clean head shot, huh?" Dani asked.
"No. Bert had a MAC-11, and I didn't have much time. She must have heard me scuffling with him. I snatched his weapon, whirled, and she was almost at the top of the ladder. I pulled the trigger. That's when I discovered it was set for full auto. Not only that, but it was loaded with hollow points. Her upper torso looked like hamburger."
Rick was scowling, looking off into the distance. He shook his head. "I'm having trouble with this," he said.
Shellie sat down next to him. "Rick, it was them or us, honey. Thank goodness for Liz, or we wouldn't be here."
"But they're dead, Shellie."
"They put us in the position we were in. Our only other choice was to die in their place, Rick," Liz said.
"How can you be so clinical about this, Liz? You and Dani both. You just … "
"I chose to live, Rick," Liz said. "I'm not thrilled about the price I paid, but as Shellie said, I didn't put myself in that position. I'm sorry you're upset by it, but what would you have me do? Or say?"
"And what about those two we left in the cave?" he asked. "Shouldn't we get them to a hospital? Dani? How will you feel if they die?"
"Alive, Rick. I'll feel alive. They tried to blow us up. You heard what Leila said. You think she'd feel bad if she'd succeeded? What is it that you don't understand about that?"
"I've just never … I'm … "
"You'll just have to deal with it, Rick," Liz said. "It'll take some time. I'm not over the shock, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over this, and you shouldn't either. Sometimes bad things happen. You just have to put it behind you."
"I'm working on it."
"Here comes Marie, I'll bet," Dani said, as a gray, 10-meter-long RIB with three big outboards approached.
The RIB coasted to a stop, its bow almost touching Vengeance. Marie stepped on the bow tube and vaulted over Vengeance's lifelines, landing like a cat on the side deck. She waved at the man behind the helm of the RIB, and it backed away, headed out to sea.
"They didn't make it, those two people in the cave," she said. "Our medic did his best, but they were too far gone. The man never recovered consciousness. The woman, though, she was lucid until the end."
"Did you learn anything from her?" Dani asked.
"They were Iranian agents," Marie said. "Part of Iran's special forces. Their mission was to kill the four of you and destroy whatever's in the cave."
"Why would Iran care about any of this?" Liz asked.
"She thought it was because the Saudis are behind this whole expedition. There are supposed to be documents in the cave. She said they would prove the Sunnis are right."
"The Sunnis?" Dani asked.
"That's all we got before she was gone," Marie said. "The Shiites are running Iran. The Saudis are Sunni Muslims. I'm not sure anybody can really understand that conflict. Anyway, that's what we know."
"I'm surprised she talked, the way she acted with Dani," Rick said.
"She was heavily medicated," Marie said. "She didn't know what was happening."
"Do you believe what she said?" he asked.
"I'm in no position to judge whether she was right, but from experience, I think she told us what she believed to be true."
"Has anybody been down to look at the things in that vertical shaft?" Rick asked.
"Not since my people arrived," Marie said. "But, Dani, you asked us to question Gerald."
"Yes. Did he have anything interesting to say?"
"I will let you all decide. This is what he told us: about two, maybe three months ago, some men came on a large motor yacht. They stayed on one of the moorings on the other side of Petit Piton for a week, perhaps. They went into the cave several times, and they left all of those things down in the bottom of that shaft. Always, they came and went in the darkness, he said."
"They left those things?" Rick said. "You mean they planted them?"
"Gerald said that none of the things were there before. He has known this cave since his childhood. There was never anything in that shaft before the men came."
"I see," Rick said. "that's something of a disappointment."
Marie shrugged.
"Will you want to go back into the cave, Rick?" Dani asked.
"Yes, I suppose I should," Rick said. "Tomorrow?"
"We will be finished tonight," Marie said. "We will leave it as it was before the Iranian agents disturbed you. We found a rock-climbing harness and a block and tackle. Are those yours?"
"Yes," Dani said, "and one hundred-fifty feet of line."
> "As I thought," Marie said. "We will leave those as we found them. So, tomorrow, it is all yours."
"I think rum punch is in order," Liz said. "I see Sharktooth coming with his bucket of chicken. Let me get to work."
"I must get to work, as well, Liz," Marie said. "Thank you, but I will pass on the refreshments. I may not see you before I leave, so good luck to everyone."
"Thanks, Marie," Dani said. "Liz and I will see you in Martinique soon, I'm sure."
"Yes, I hope so. Keep well, all of you." Marie spoke into a small radio transceiver and the RIB appeared, rounding the point to their north. She stood on the side deck, and within a minute, she was in the RIB, headed back toward the beach bar's dock.
"Are you going to the cave with Rick in the morning?" Liz asked. She and Dani were in their berths, but neither was sleepy. Liz had served a light supper and everyone had retired early, exhausted from the stress of the day.
"I can't, Liz. I almost died in there this morning."
"You mean from the bomb?"
"That too," Dani said. "But that's not it."
"No?"
"No. I was having a panic attack when that phone rang."
"Phone? You and Rick never told us what happened, exactly."
"They'd set an explosive charge in the roof of that tunnel and rigged it to a cellphone," Dani said.
"And the phone rang, but it didn't blow?"
"That's right. Gerald watched them go in the cave last night, and after they left, he went in and found it."
"It? The explosive charge?"
"Right. He didn't know what it was, but he took the cellphones out of the fertilizer mix. They'd used two, one for backup. With improvised detonators wired to the phones. I guess he wanted the cellphones, maybe. I don't know."
"So he pulled them out and left the explosives?"
"Yes. He broke the detonator wires to one of the phones, but the other one was still connected. He had them both in that cloth pouch he wears, and he was behind me in the tunnel. Rick had already gone through, and we'd rigged a line to anchor the block and tackle."
"Rick went first, then you, and then Gerald? In the tunnel?"
"We didn't know Gerald was even there. He didn't show up when we were on our way up the trail. He sneaked into the cave after we were already in the tunnel."
"Okay. Then one of the phones rang?"
"The one he'd pulled the detonator loose from."
"And you say you were having a panic attack then?"
"Liz, I tried to make myself do that, get through that tight spot, but I … " Dani gulped and shook her head.
"This is where Shellie said it was like ducking under an arch, or something? This tight spot?"
"It's no arch. The ceiling of that tunnel comes down so close to the floor that you have to turn your head sideways and put one cheek on the floor and then scooch your way along on your belly for a couple of feet. I could feel the roof of the tunnel pressing down on my back, across my shoulder blades, Liz."
There was a tremor in Dani's voice. She took several deep breaths. Liz waited, saying nothing.
"It … it was narrow, too. My arms were straight out in front of me; I was pushing my backpack, and I couldn't breathe. Then the phone rang in the tunnel. Behind me. I didn't even know Gerald was back there." Dani paused again, panting.
After almost a minute, Liz said, "What happened then?"
"I don't know. The next thing I remember, I was out in the entrance cavern and Rick was shining a light in my eyes. They said I hit my head when the phone startled me, but I don't think so. I think I just blacked out, scared out of my wits. Liz, I'm so disgusted with myself. All evening, I've been having this raging argument in my head. I need to go back in there, to beat that stupid irrational fear. But I can't, Liz. I can't do it." Dani groaned through her clenched teeth, pounding her fist on her thigh.
Liz got up and moved across the narrow space between their berths. Sitting on the edge of Dani's mattress, she put a hand on her friend's shoulder, patting her, massaging the knots of tense muscle.
"Easy, Dani," she said. "It's okay. You don't have to go back in there. Rick and Gerald can handle it. Don't be so hard on yourself."
"I'm a coward, Liz," Dani said.
"Leila and Ed might disagree."
"What?"
"You're not a coward, Dani. And that's not an irrational fear. It's a normal reaction to a confined space. You always manage to do the things that you have to do. Squeezing through a crack in the rock underground isn't one of them, not then, and for sure not right now."
"But Rick went through there. So did Shellie. Why can't I?"
"Everybody's different. For whatever reason, they're not wired the same way you are. Leila would have killed you and Rick if you hadn't stopped her. Rick owes you his life. You're no coward. Now ease up on yourself."
"But I can't deal with a close space like that."
"You don't have to, Dani. Stop it, now."
"But what if I did have to? Like it was the only way out?"
"Then you'd do it. Your determination to survive would overcome your fear; you're the bravest person I know."
"You think I could? If I had to?"
"You and I both know that you would, if you had to. Don't test yourself unnecessarily. That's pointless."
"What do I tell them?"
"Tell who? Rick and Shellie?"
"Yes. How do I explain that I'm too scared to go back in that tunnel?"
"Just tell them you need to take it easy for a day or two. They'll be okay with that."
"You think?"
"I do." Liz patted her shoulder again, feeling Dani's muscles relax. "Are you going to be able to sleep now?"
"Mm-hmm. Thanks, Liz." Soon, her breathing fell into a deep, smooth rhythm.
Liz went back to her own berth, but she couldn't sleep at first. She was too tense from the terror that Dani's description of her ordeal had evoked. When she heard Dani start snoring softly, she dropped off to sleep herself, hypnotized by the sound.
"You were awfully quiet this evening," Shellie said, her head on Rick's shoulder. They had turned off the light several minutes earlier, but she knew he was too worked up to sleep. "Still upset?"
"Upset?"
"About the four people who died," she said.
"Oh. No … well, yes, I guess so. But I'm coping with that. I know all of you are right; there wasn't any other option. I'm still struggling with the idea of just dumping the bodies at sea, but I'll get over that. I can't fault the logic or the ethics, but on some emotional level, it just seems wrong."
"I understand that," she said. "Something else bothering you?"
"Yes. What's really bugging me is that they played me for a fool."
"They?"
"The Saudis, it seems," he said.
"You mean because that stuff was put there for you to find?"
"Exactly. I've been going over the whole thing in my mind ever since Marie told us what Gerald said."
"And?"
"And I think the Saudis were using me. The foundation's got to be a front of some kind. That's why I never heard of it before they called me."
"What do you suppose they intended?"
"I'm not sure. There's the obvious propaganda angle, if they managed to make a case that the Moors beat Columbus. But there's that whole Sunni versus Shiite thing, too."
"What are you going to do?"
"I want to see what's in that cave, before I decide. At least get a look at what's in the box — and grid the whole stash off and make some good photographs. Then I'll go from there."
"That makes sense. I'd like to go with you, but I don't think my ankle can stand it."
"That's okay. Dani and Gerald can help me. Let's try to go to sleep. I'm exhausted."
"Me, too," she said, as he gave her shoulder a squeeze.
36
"Anybody need anything else?" Liz asked, as she brought a thermal carafe of fresh coffee up into the cockpit.
"Everyt'i
ng good," Sharktooth said. "Sit down an' eat, Liz, befo' the eggs get cold."
"I need some of that coffee," Marie said, reaching for the carafe. "I didn't sleep much last night."
"I'm surprised to see you this morning," Shellie said. "I thought you were leaving last night."
"That was what I thought, as well. But we had to wait until the restaurant closed to lower the bodies, and then it was very late. I'll go back with Sharktooth, the way I came. You were a big help last night, Sharktooth. Thank you again."
"My pleasure." Sharktooth grinned and took a bite of his salt-fish patty.
"Did you go into the cave?" Dani asked.
"Uh-uh. Not me. No way," Sharktooth said. "Big mon like me, I don' do so good in little places. Make me too nervous. Gotta have plenty room to breathe."
"I know what you mean," Dani said, trading glances with Liz, who smiled and gave her a wink.
"I wondered where you went after we all went to bed, Sharktooth. I heard the dinghy in the middle of the night," Liz said.
"I decided to help Marie and her folks get that boat, Aquila, ready."
"What about that?" Shellie asked. "I wondered what was going to happen to it. Is somebody going to return it to the charter company?"
"You do not hear, last night?" Marie asked.
"Hear what?" Rick asked.
"Aquila," Sharktooth said. "She 'splode las' night. Wit' the dead people on her."
"She exploded?" Shellie asked.
"Cookin' gas, mos' likely. Cookin' gas leak into bilge sometime. Ver' dangerous."
"I guess Petit Piton is a pretty good acoustic barrier," Liz said. "I didn't hear anything."
"Neither did I," Dani said. She took a sip of coffee. "The explosion was a good idea. I was worried about how four people could just disappear. Now there's an explanation."
"But only two bodies," Rick said. "Won't the authorities notice?"
"Hard to know how many bodies in a 'splosion like that. Not much lef'," Sharktooth said. "Pass the salt-fish, please."
Bluewater Quest Page 25
