The Seventh Secret (Order of the Black Sun Book 11)

by P. W. Child

  “You know, I was wondering the same thing. The guy practically had his kilt on fire to see the wreck last night, and this morning,” Cheryl mentioned, to Mieke’s amusement. The blonde was having a good laugh at the kilt remark, but suddenly her smile disappeared.

  “Oh, Christ, not now. I am so not in the mood,” she moaned quietly, provoking Cheryl’s curiosity.

  “What? What?” she asked Mieke, who instantly plastered a fake smile on her face.

  “Dr. Malgas! Would you like a drink too?” she asked cheerfully at the arrival of the reserved academic in his oversized Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts. He looked very much out of place in the baggy clothing with his slight build and utterly clean cut face. Cheryl turned and smiled, "Oh yes, have a drink with us, Dr. Malgas. After all, if it weren't for you, none of us would be here. We all owe you a load of gratitude for the opportunity to be involved in such a historical enterprise.”

  “Jesus, lay it on thick, won’t you,” Mieke snapped under her breath, evoking a spiteful glare from her opponent.

  “Are you jealous because you don’t understand what I just said?” Cheryl retorted in a girly voice that mocked Mieke’s bimbo looks.

  “Hey,” Mieke whispered, "remember who makes your drinks, junkie." And with that, she blew a kiss at the suddenly worried-looking hooker.

  "Hello ladies," Dr. Malgas smiled warmly. "So good to see both my assistants here with me today. At least, I know I'm in good organizational hands, hey?"

  "Of course, you are," Mieke smiled. Billy Malgas looked at her urgently when Cheryl turned away. He needed to know what her plan was once the wreck was identified. Sooner or later Dr. Gould was going to figure out that it was not the Admiral Graf Spee they were exploring. So many times the night before he had hoped to get Sam Cleave alone so that he could figure out what repercussions might await him should the ship turn out to be nothing special, but Sam was always in company. Mieke shook her head, and her expression told him not to worry.

  Suddenly Sam resurfaced. Nina and Purdue jumped up as Crystal came up soon after.

  “And?” Purdue asked eagerly.

  Crystal smiled. “It’s real. It is the Graf Spee!”

  Chapt er 20 – Cracks in the Hull

  Upon scrutinizing the relic Crystal had found in the wreck, even Nina had to agree that the plaque the diver had recovered was indeed the emblem of the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee. It was regrettably all Nina had to go on for now, but the insignia was unmistakable.

  “Glad Crystal was down there with me. I filmed the bloody thing and had no idea it could be a clue,” Sam flattered the German salvor, who rested her hand affectionately on his upper back with a gentle smile. Nina stiffened. Purdue noticed her reaction and quickly took the historian’s hand, “Now tell us, Nina. If you look at the footage, is this going to help you identify the ship beyond doubt? We have to be very sure.”

  Nina nodded, slightly distracted by Purdue’s hand over hers. “I would have to see the vessel for myself to determine if it was a German cruiser and not one of the many ships of the allied forces that were sunk in this area. South Africa did fight on the side of the Allied Forces, but they did not have their own navy as far as I know," she said.

  Billy Malgas looked decisively worried about the recent developments. Sam picked up on it but said nothing. He planned on having a word with the archeologist as soon as he got the chance. Mieke and Cheryl looked happy with the item Crystal had found, both for different reasons, of course, and Purdue was ecstatic.

  “I cannot wait to start looking at the footage! Sam, did you get some dimensions for me?” he asked the journalist who had all female eyes on him when he peeled the top of his suit down to his waist to reveal his chiseled physique.

  “Aye, but it was a bit of a bitch to get, I tell ya,” he replied. His wet black hair was tousled, and his skin glistened in the sun. Crystal could not take her eyes off Sam. She zipped down her suit to reveal the valley between her breasts, pressed toward the middle in ample mounds and untied her hair to fall over her shoulders. She slid her arm around his waist and spoke in her husky voice, “I’m sure you got everything, Sam. After all, you certainly know your equipment. No worries there.”

  Sam caught his breath when she pressed up against him in the feigned hug. He felt his blood rush at her obvious double entendre, and it excited him that she even bothered to employ it in the first place. Nina tried not to care since a few days ago she had decided not to. Purdue was a far better catch, she made herself believe. Like a schoolboy Sam was too easy to whip, Nina decided, and he deserved to be with a woman who treated him like a subordinate. It was Crystal's way to treat men with indifference and condescension unless she needed them or needed their attention to reinforce her status of Queen Bee, especially in the presence of other women.

  Naturally Sam did not even notice what he had just been part of, as it had always been a man’s prerogative not to detect the complex psychological manipulation of competing females, so he gave her a peck on the cheek. In Sam’s mind he was being friendly with a stunning woman, while Crystal had just rubbed her power over the hottest man there in the faces of all females present.

  “Sam!” Nina broke the spell between them. Sam waited for a snide remark or a catty insinuation, but to his amazement, she did not scold him. "Can you please download your footage onto my laptop as soon as possible? I think you realize, as Crystal stated before, that she has a salvage tug on the way, and we are a bit short on time. Would you be a dear and just do that for me?” she asked sweetly, with absolutely no trace of her true feelings coming through.

  "Uh…aye, of course! As soon as we get to the beach house I'll get to it," he smiled, naively happy to assist her. Crystal noticed but did not reveal her annoyance with the equally calculating historian. Having underestimated the petite historian, she was taken aback by Nina’s resourcefulness. It was a welcome challenge since it didn’t matter to Crystal if she could secure the affection of either Sam Cleave or Dave Purdue, both of whom Nina was very proprietary about.

  Back at the beach house, Cheryl made sure that she stayed in the company of Dr. Malgas and even Mieke, just in case she had gotten Zain so mad that he would abandon his zeal for the treasures of the sunken vessel and seek revenge for her well-placed insults. Dr. Malgas was appreciative of her company, since as much as he wished to speak to Sam, the journalist was preoccupied with the footage he had gathered. Purdue was watching the recording with him while Nina and Crystal were in the kitchen with Zain and Sibu.

  “I’m starving,” Sibu whined, looking through the fridge. “Who is in charge of buying food anyway? We are dying of hunger but that guy doesn’t seem give a shit.”

  Crystal gave him a stern look. “Usually that guy paying for everything feeds and houses the crew. But seeing as all members of this excursion already received an advance for their services, Dave Purdue provides accommodation and meals.”

  Nina added on to Crystal’s statement as if the two had rehearsed their loyalty speech, “And since we already have our meals provided, any gluttony or emotional eating should be the responsibility of the whiner.”

  Sibu looked annoyed. Zain scoffed and chuckled on his way out to the patio at the disciplinary double-teaming his partner just received from the two women.

  “Aow! Good one, Dr. Gould,” Crystal smiled and lifted her hand in the air.

  "Not too bad yourself, Frau Meyer," Nina winked with a mouthful of shrimp and high-fived the lawyer.

  ***

  "Right, the salvage crew will be here in less than 18 hours. I just spoke to their skipper, Ali," Crystal announced as she hung up the phone. "So Nina, do you have the footage to confirm the find? I mean, we have the plaque, but I would feel better if you and Dr. Malgas could prove beyond any doubt that this is the Graf Spee.”

  “I agree. Yet I can’t just confirm that it is the Graf Spee by one relic. Another ship could have carried it… like a keepsake maybe one captain gave another, you know. Pretty much anyth
ing,” Nina affirmed.

  "I am pretty sure it is authentic," Dr. Malgas said. "We have seen it before and as an archeologist, I can assure you that with my knowledge of historical items I deem this wreck genuine.” His tone was confident, yet his profusely sweating face and the hesitation in his choice of words betrayed to any sharp-minded person that something was amiss. And in this case, unfortunately for Dr. Malgas, that person happened to be Nina Gould.

  “With all due respect to your illustrious career in Archeology, Dr. Malgas, your historical knowledge in this context is perhaps more of a superficial nature. This is why there are people like me who specialize in particular eras,” Nina clarified. The feisty historian proposed to put the faltering archeologist in his place for his half-assed approach to a field, which she held in such high esteem.

  “Indeed,” he attempted to joust with an insuperable opponent. “Which makes my expertise invaluable and indisputable.”

  Sam cringed. Purdue held his breath. Mieke and Cheryl wagered silently. Nina leaned forward with her elbows resting firmly on her thighs. “The only thing undisputable here, my dear colleague, is your lack of interest in determining if your find is indeed of historical significance, perhaps born from a lack of knowledge on the subject of modern German history, specifically World War II and the armament of that period.”

  Dr. Malgas was insulted. He looked to Sam for support, but Sam knew better than to come between Nina and her quarry. He simply shrugged and played dumb to Billy Malgas’ plea, implying that he would be of no use in such an argument, which in part was true. Sam certainly did not know which navy let alone which class the vessel belonged to.

  “Now, if you are so convinced that this is the Graf Spee, I assume you won’t have to join me in reviewing the footage?” Nina asked evenly.

  “I respectfully decline, yes,” he muttered. “Sam, I cannot believe you brought someone with you, who second-guesses my findings and on top of that tries to disprove everything I assert.”

  Sam was taken aback. “How can you blame this on me? Purdue always employs Dr. Gould to…”

  “Yes, I can guess why,” Malgas remarked suggestively as his eyes examined Nina’s body. She went ashen. Nina was livid, and knowing that she was no stranger to taking things to a physical level, Sam took a stance between her and Dr. Malgas to finish his sentence.

  “No, because she is the best, when it comes to German WWII history, Billy,” Sam asserted forcefully. “And if you feel threatened by the idea of your find being investigated by internationally revered professionals, it makes me feel that there might be something you’re keeping from us.” Nina had no desire to confront the archeologist anymore, who was highly unprofessional in her eyes. For once she felt completely vindicated. Mieke shifted uncomfortably. Dr. Malgas was stunned to silence from the words that had hit way too close to home. His eyes stared past Sam's impressive body at his assistant, but she only looked on in suspended shock.

  “Apparently you think I am out of my depth here,” Dr. Malgas finally said and rose to his feet. “Such a pity you had to come all the way down here, Sam. Had I known where your loyalty lies, I would have asked another journalist to get the exclusive on my find. Unfortunately, as things stand now, we would have to work together to conclude this salvage.”

  “Precisely. So we should try to all get along, right?” Crystal suggested light-heartedly, clasping her hands together in nervous anticipation.

  “I agree with that,” Mieke nodded. “We might be on the brink of something amazing that would benefit us all, so let’s not screw it all up, hey?”

  Billy Malgas cleared his throat, waiting for Sam to step aside. The archeologist disappeared into his room and closed the door. Sam relaxed and sank down next to Nina, exhaling hard in relief.

  “What a prick,” he said softly. “If we hadn’t gone through all this trouble already, I’d say let’s pack up and leave him to find his own sponsor and team; see how far he gets on his contacts and bankruptcy.”

  Purdue looked up. “Bankruptcy?”

  Sam regretted his comment the moment he uttered it. Mieke bit her lip anxiously, praying that their plan would not fall apart. Hoping that their secret would not be discovered, she thought of a way to keep things even and calm for the rest of the excursion. A lot of things needed to be patched. Otherwise, the plan would sink too. Too many things were threatening the success of the project and in her opinion, there were too many people involved.

  Sam Cleave knew too much about Dr. Malgas’ situation and she feared that he could very well steal the project’s glory from her boss. Still, she dared not say anything and retired for the evening although she knew very well that she would not get any sleep while the meticulous Nina Gould’s eyes were studying their hoax.

  Chap ter 21 – The First Secret

  In the morning, Nina called a secret meeting with Dave Purdue and Crystal Meyer regarding the wreck's salvage. Just after 3 am she had finished checking the shape, the deck arms and other features of the design of the alleged World War II Panzerschiff. Sam had fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room where she had worked because he had been worried about Dr. Malgas possible retaliation after Nina had made an utter fool of him. Even more so, if Sam’s completely random thought that Billy could possibly have been harboring a secret happened to be true, he had figured the man may have well been desperate enough to do something reckless and target the very person who had called his bluff – Nina.

  She had had no idea why Sam camped out there, but she had assumed that he had fallen asleep watching endless episodes of X-Files on cable TV. After she had completed compiling her report, she had quietly withdrawn to her bedroom upstairs with her laptop under her arm. Only when she had woken up at 6 am she had decided to request the opinions of financiers of the operation.

  In her bedroom, Purdue and Crystal joined her with morning coffee behind a locked door.

  “After studying every nook and cranny of this ship, I have to concede that it is a pocket battleship from the thirties,” she declared.

  “Excellent,” Purdue raved.

  “But…”

  “Oh my God,” he said. “I should have known.”

  Nina pursed her lips, waiting for him to finish his lamenting. “But I have no conclusive proof that it is the Admiral Graf Spee. The reason for my doubt is that I have checked virtually every account on record about this damn ship. They all say the same thing,” she sighed. “And this is what has me repudiate the possibility that the vessel we’ve been looking at is the Graf Spee.”

  “And what is that?” Purdue asked.

  "I'll make it as short as I can, considering we don’t have much time,” Nina said. “The records say that the Admiral Graf Spee had been operating in the Southern Atlantic, not in the Indian Ocean, for one.”

  “Alright, but you mentioned before that it had sailed along the eastern coast here toward the Cape of Good Hope,” Crystal interrupted respectfully, to make sure she remembered correctly.

  “That is correct, Crystal,” Nina affirmed, “but it wasn’t scuttled here. You see, its last operation was the Battle of the River Plate, on December 13, 1939. In a nutshell, during this skirmish the Graf Spee encountered the HMS Exeter and two Leander-class cruisers – British ships.”

  “Okay, got it so far,” Purdue nodded.

  “But the Graf Spee did not flee. The British commander of the Exeter had the other ships spread out, obviously to increase the targets the German ship would have to deal with. The Graf Spee shot at the Exeter with her main battery, using her secondary armament for the others, and then the British ships fired back,” she recounted. “However… apparently the Exeter was hit by seven 11 inch shells and several near misses caused significant splinter damage. Sixty-one of her crew were killed and another twenty-three wounded. All three 8-inch turrets were put out of action, and her speed was reduced significantly, so it was forced to withdraw; therefore the other ships moved in to divert the brunt of the attack from the Exeter,” Nina e
xplained briefly

  “So the Graf Spee won then,” Crystal said.

  “No, it retreated and fled, but after another exchange of fire later on with quite a solid success, the Graf Spee retreated into the River Plate estuary. There was a stalemate, because the British ships stayed their position to keep the Graf Spee from sneaking out to the open sea again, see?” she continued excitedly. “Bear with me, I have a point on this.”

  Purdue’s coffee had gone cold and after a valiant attempt at the bitter beverage, he winced and just put it down. Crystal sighed with boredom. She found history interesting, but she could not care less about Nina's stories.

  “In the course of the engagement, the Graf Spee had been hit approximately 70 times; 36 men had been killed and 60 wounded, including her captain. Eventually, all her ammo had run out, and the bow was in such a bad state that she would never have been able to sail back to Germany. On top of that, the Brits bluffed, conveying the impression, that more of their ships had arrived, just waiting for the Graf Spee to try her luck,” Nina smiled. “To avoid the ship being interned for the remainder of the war under the regulations of the Hague convention, the captain eventually ordered the ship to be scuttled right there… on December 17, 1939, in Uruguay. Not Bluewater Bay, not Simonstad – Uruguay – with an audience of 20,000 people watching the fireworks. Fourteen different accounts that I followed up with say the same.”

  “Could it have been fourteen versions of the same account? I really want this to be the Graf Spee,” Crystal admitted. “I’ll play Devil’s Advocate until I’m blue in the face.”

  “I doubt you will, honey,” Nina smiled. “Today – and you can check Google Maps if you don’t believe me – pieces of the Graf Spee are lying at a depth of a mere 11m, clearly visible," Nina bragged with her well-researched back-up.