Hidden Agemda (Kate Diamond Adventure)

by Leighann Dobbs

  “Hold on there,” Gideon said. “Blue Crow isn’t some tropical beach island. It’s mostly volcanic rubble and dense undergrowth. It will be rough going … and I think the volcano is still active.”

  “Maybe we can make some educated guesses as to the most likely places he would hide the ruby and check those first,” Kate suggested.

  “I can look at satellite photos of the island,” Gideon said. “In the meantime, I have some gear that will be perfect for the terrain. I’ll send down enough for several people. I assume your parents will be accompanying you.”

  “Naturally,” Kate said. “They are coming over on one of their friends’ boats … actually they should be calling any second now.”

  “Well, you’re not going to head over tonight in the dark, I hope,” Gideon said. “It will be most dangerous in the dark and I won’t be able to send the gear down until tomorrow.”

  Kate frowned. She was impatient to get there right away, but Gideon did have a point. It would be easier to find the ruby in daylight. And she did have the little problem of Ace Mason, who most likely had someone watching her right now.

  “Yeah, you’re right,” Kate said. “I’ll wait until tomorrow and that will give you some time to pull everything together and get some satellite photos of the island. Also, I’m going to need a good disguise to slip past Ace Mason and his posse. I’m pretty sure he’ll have someone watching outside my hotel.”

  “I’ve got just the thing,” Gideon said. “I’ll send it down with the gear on the first museum freight flight to that area tomorrow and arrange for courier delivery to your hotel room.”

  “Perfect.” Kate smiled and gave Gideon the thumbs up. “This time tomorrow we could be kicking back and celebrating the recovery of the Millennia Ruby … and Ace Mason will be standing outside my hotel wondering what happened.”

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Gideon was true to his word and a courier showed up at ten the next morning with a package. Kate’s parents had arrived in the evening with a crew of reinforcements from Golden Capers and their small yacht was docked a few miles away.

  They’d wanted to meet for supper, but Kate had declined. If Ace discovered her parents were here in a boat, he’d have someone watching the boat and then he’d follow them to Blue Crow Island and try to get the ruby first.

  Kate figured it was better to stay at the hotel all night and then sneak out in the morning—leaving the tracking device in the hotel room, of course.

  She ripped open the box. Inside were special vests, shoes and gloves that were designed for use in the type of rocky, volcanic terrain found on Blue Crow Island. There was also a satellite communication device that looked pretty much like a tricked out wristwatch, which she could use to communicate with Gideon since there were no cell phone towers in range. Gideon had thoughtfully packed enough for the entire crew and included a duffel bag. Kate packed the gear into the bag before changing into a light summer outfit of lavender plaid shorts and a lavender tank top.

  There was one more thing in the box—the disguise. It was one of Kate’s favorites.

  A smile curled on her lips as she tucked her hair up under the long dark red wig. Ace Mason and his cohorts would never recognize her. She’d be able to sneak right past them and all the time, he’d be thinking she was in her room.

  Taking out the contact lens case, she made her way to the bathroom, then plopped the sapphire blue lenses into her eyes. She painted her lips with extra deep red, put on a generous amount of lavender eye shadow and plastered mascara on her naturally long lashes. Blinking at her own reflection, Kate had to admit she barely even recognized herself.

  Slipping into a pair of lavender cork wedge-heel sandals, she emptied her purse into the duffel bag, which she slung over her shoulder. Heading for the door she shoved a pair of oversized sunglasses on her face, then glanced back once at the empty purse—with the tracking device still intact—opened the door and slipped out into the warm Bermuda sunshine.

  She was sure someone from the FBI was watching, but she had no idea who. She kept her head forward—she didn’t want to give herself away by looking like she was looking for someone looking for her. Her eyes though, hidden behind the sunglasses, darted wildly from side to side trying to spot the tail but no one stood out.

  The taxi she’d called for pulled up to the curb and she got in, giving the driver the address to the marina where her parent’s boat was in. She didn’t relax until they were a mile away and her constant backward glances satisfied her that she wasn’t being followed.

  ***

  The High Jinx was a small fifty-foot Viking convertible yacht owned by Gertie. Kate had sailed on it many times and she recognized the sleek profile as soon as she got out of the cab. The occupants of the yacht, however, did not recognize her, which delighted her to no end. Kate loved it when her disguises did their job, and if she weren’t in such a hurry to get to Blue Crow Island, she would have had her fun with them and played an elaborate charade pretending to be someone else.

  But, as it was, she whipped off the wig and sunglasses amidst the shocked look of Sal, Benny, Gertie and Frankie. Her mother and father claimed to have known it was her all along.

  “Gideon sent down some equipment to help us navigate the terrain on the island.” Kate lifted the bag off her shoulder and swung it onto the bench seat on the back of the boat. Gertie and Frankie went through the motions of untying the boat and pulling it away from the dock.

  “Let’s go into the salon and take a look.” Vic picked up the bag and headed inside. The salon wasn’t terribly huge. It had a kitchenette, ‘L’ shaped leather sofa and a separate dinette. The walls were shiny teak and windows lined three sides, giving Kate a breathtaking view of Bermuda as they sped away into the Atlantic.

  Vic tossed the bag on the tan leather couch, then unzipped it, leaned over and took the items out one at a time, lining them up across the sectional.

  “These are great. That Gideon really knows how to come through,” Vic said sitting down and trying on one of the shoes. “He called me to see what shoe sizes we would need.”

  “Oh.” Kate hadn’t thought about that … good thing she had Gideon to back her up.

  Vic continued. “And he gave me the coordinates for this island. Gertie has them programmed in.”

  “Anyone want a sandwich?” Carlotta had come in and was standing in front of the open fridge.

  “Umm … Maybe we should come up with a plan.” Kate looked out the window. They were going pretty fast and would be at the island soon, a plan of action was critical.

  “Oh, yeah. We already discussed it. Gideon said the best place to land was the east side of the island. Gertie picked this spot here.” Vic walked over to the dinette and pointed to a spot on the map that lay on the table. “We’ll split up and search in different directions to cover the most ground, then rendezvous back in two hours and reassess.”

  “Okay. That sounds good,” Kate said feeling a little left out. Wasn’t this her mission? She should have come up with the plan but, truth be told, she couldn’t think of a better one.

  “Just what are we looking for, Kate?” Sal had come down from the bridge and was looking in the fridge with Carlotta.

  “I guess any sort of hiding place or anything that looks suspicious,” Kate said. “A building maybe, or a cave …”

  “But why would he hide the ruby on this deserted island?” Carlotta bit into a turkey on rye. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

  “I know, but Benedetti hired Summers to steal the ruby and Benedetti’s trail leads here. So I figure either the ruby is here, or some sort of clue is on the island.” Kate shrugged and picked a pickle chip off Carlotta’s plate. “We should look for anything out of place; which, I guess on this island, is anything that isn’t bird poop, volcanic rock or feathers.”

  “Land ahoy!” Gertie called down from the bridge and Kate glanced out the window to see a large island up ahead. It was lush with tropical plants and she could see
the cone of a volcano sticking up in the middle.

  “Okay, There’s no dock so we’ll take the inflatable ashore,” Vic said. “Gertie will drop anchor as close as she can, then we’ll inflate the boat and drop it into the water. I brought the trolling motor so we can motor ashore.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Kate said as she sat on the sectional, ready to change into the special mountain climbing shoes Gideon had sent. Vic lifted the bench on the leather covered banquette and Kate’s eyes went wide when she saw what was stored in there—an arsenal of guns. “You don’t think we’re going to need guns, do you?”

  Vic shrugged and Kate looked out the window again.

  “There’s no one on the island,” Kate pointed out. Or was there? If Benedetti’s boat wasn’t at the marina, then where was he? Would they round the island to find his boat moored somewhere?

  The boat slowed to a crawl. They had rounded the island and were on the east side. No other boats were in sight.

  “I guess no one else is here,” Sal said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

  “We should each take a gun to be on the safe side,” Vic said. “It might come in handy if you scare up some kind of animal. It looks pretty dense out there and who knows what kind of creatures lurk in the jungle.”

  Kate felt a shiver run up her spine. “Gideon said it was full of crows.”

  “It sure is.” Gertie came in wiping something from her arm with Frances right behind her. “Damn things are flying all around up there and pooping all over the boat.” She eyed the guns. “Good, I’m gonna go shoot ‘em.”

  “Hold on, there,” Carlotta said. “Let’s check out the island first. Then you can shoot the crows.”

  They each put on the gear, picked out a gun and headed to the back of the yacht. Vic dragged the inflatable out of its storage spot in one of the specially made lockers on the side of the boat next to the live well, then dropped it over the edge and pulled the chord to inflate it.

  The small yacht was shallow so they were able to moor it close to shore. They could have paddled the inflatable in, but Vic set up the trolling motor anyway. The back of the yacht sat low in the water. It was only two feet off the surface, so they only had to sit on the back and swing their legs over to get into the raft.

  As they motored over to the sandy beach, Sal took off his shoes and rolled up his khaki green cargo pants, then once they raft was bumping up against the sand, he jumped out of the front. Splashing in ankle-deep water, he pulled the raft up onto the beach so the rest of them could get out without getting their feet wet.

  “Thanks Sal.” Kate patted him on the back as she jumped out of the raft.

  “Don’t mention it.” Sal sat on the front of the raft and put his shoes and socks back on.

  “We should split up to cover more ground. Katie, you, Carlotta, and Sal go to the north. Gertie, Frankie, and I will go to the south,” Vic said, looking at his watch. “We’ll meet back at the raft in two hours. Then we’ll decide what to do next.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Sal said and they all held out their fists for a group fist bump.

  Vic, Gertie and Frankie disappeared into the lush vegetation on the right. “Well, I guess we’d better get started,” Carlotta said as she walked toward the giant ferns on the north side of the beach.

  “Yep,” Kate said. “Oh, wait. I should use this communication gizmo to make sure I can raise Gideon.” Kate pressed a button on the watch-like instrument that sat on her wrist, shrugging her shoulders when all she heard was static.

  “Is it broken?” Sal asked.

  “I’m not sure.” Kate pressed the button again. “Gideon? Are you there?”

  More static, then “… ate … er … me.”

  “Gideon?”

  “Hey Kate … o hear me?”

  “Yes, there’s some static … I think something is interfering with the transmission—let me go to an open area on the beach.” Kate walked over by the water, pressing the button again, this time with less static. “Can you hear me?”

  “Yes, much better.” Gideon’s voice came through clear. “Are you on the island?”

  “Yes.”

  “Any surprises?

  “Not so far. We just got here.”

  “Okay, watch out for the rocky slopes,” Gideon said, then added. “And the crows; I hear they can be quite vicious.”

  Kate looked up as a crow flew overhead. “Will do.”

  “Okay, I’m looking at more satellite photos. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

  “Okay, over and out,” Kate said.

  “Right.” Gideon’s chuckle mixed with static as Kate walked back over to the edge of the trees. “You don’t have to say over and out … you can just say bye.”

  “Okay, bye,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  Carlotta raised a brow and held a giant fern out of the way for Kate and Sal to precede her. “Well then, I guess we’re going in.”

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Blue Crow Island was hot, humid and hard to navigate. Even with special shoes that helped them cling to the rocky terrain, it was hard to keep from stumbling. Mosquitoes buzzed in Kate’s ear as she wiped the sweat out of her eyes. The lush undergrowth made it impossible to see more than five feet in any direction.

  “I don’t see how we’re going to find a ruby in here—you can’t see anything,” Sal complained.

  “I think if we get above the vegetation line, we’ll be able to look down and then any hiding places might be evident,” Carlotta said.

  “Caw!”

  A crow flew over them and something splattered on a giant leaf beside Kate. The ground was dotted with white splotches of crow poop and there seemed to be more and more birds the higher they climbed. No wonder Benedetti’s shoes had been encrusted with the stuff, Kate thought as she struggled up the hilly terrain.

  “Damn birds.” Kate looked up. She could swear the bird was looking down at her. Watching her. Tracking her every movement. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she got that creeped-out feeling that she was being watched. But that was ridiculous, the island was deserted and the crows certainly didn’t care what she was doing.

  Finally, the plants started to thin and they stopped to rest, sipping from the bottled waters they’d brought in their vests.

  “I can see a good part of the island from up here.” Carlotta had scurried ahead and was standing on a large boulder that stuck out from the side of the hill. She held her hand up to shade her eyes. “There’s nothing but trees, ferns and crows. Are you sure the ruby is here?”

  “Well, I’m not exactly sure. But it’s all I had to go on.” Doubt started to take hold of Kate. What if she was wrong and there was nothing but crow poop here? If she was, she’d just made an awfully expensive trip for nothing.

  “We can’t possibly search this whole island. It’s too dense.” Sal had joined Carlotta on the boulder.

  “Isn’t there someplace obvious that stands out?” Kate asked hopefully, as she climbed up on the boulder. They were right, it would be impossible to search every inch of the island. She’d hoped once they were here, the hiding place would stick out like a sore thumb.

  From her vantage point, she could see the blue waters of the Atlantic and the green vegetation of the island below. Above her, the brown rock top of the volcano loomed toward the sky. Crows circled overhead. She didn’t see any place where one would hide a ruby and was wondering why she’d even thought Benedetti would bring it here … but his shoes proved that he’d been here and they were the only clue to the ruby that she had.

  Just then, her wrist communicator cracked. “… ate … gency … now!”

  Kate screwed up her face “Was that Gideon? What did he say?”

  Carlotta and Sal shrugged.

  Kate stabbed at the button. “Gideon? Come in.”

  More static. Then “… alk … right away!”

  Kate’s stomach clenched. The few snippets of voice she’d heard sounded tense. Was Gi
deon in trouble? Or, more likely Gideon had discovered something about the island that he needed her to know.

  “I think Gideon needs to tell us something, but the reception is bad up here.” Kate shook the watch, then tapped on it. “Gideon?”

  Nothing but static came out.

  “It sounded urgent,” Carlotta said uncertainly.

  “Maybe we should head back down. There’s not much to see up here, anyway,” Kate said.

  “And it’s almost time to meet up with the others.” Sal jumped down from the boulder, surprisingly fit for an older man and the three of them started back down the thin path they’d made on the way up.

  Going down was a lot easier than climbing up and they made it to the beach quickly. Kate could feel the crows watching her the whole time. It made her jittery and even more nervous about Gideon’s message. She tried the communication watch again on the beach, but once again, there was nothing but static.

  “Oh crap. Gertie’s gonna be on the warpath.” Kate followed Carlotta’s gaze to the bridge of the boat where several crows were perched on the railing preening their bluish black feathers. She grimaced at the white splotches marring the once perfectly polished chrome.

  “Jeez, we better go scare them off.” Sal motioned for them to hop into the boat.

  “Yeah, and I can use the satellite communication to call Gideon,” Kate said as she hopped over the inflated edge.

  “And I could use dessert,” Carlotta added as she joined Kate in the boat.

  They motored to the yacht. Sal tied the inflatable off and they all jumped out.

  Sal looked at his watch. “The others won’t be here for another half-hour so we can keep an eye out for them and come back to pick them up when we see them on the beach.”

  “Good idea,” Kate said as she headed for the salon where there was a computer she could use. The yacht was equipped with satellite access so she could call Gideon on Skype and see what was so urgent.

  Sal headed up to the bridge to scare away the crows and Carlotta followed Kate, making a beeline for the fridge while Kate slid into the buttery leather sectional. Pulling the laptop in front of her, she flipped up the screen and looked for Skype.