Black Jack Point (10 page)

Claudia bit her lip.

‘If the journal’s right, the treasure might be worth several million now, on today’s market. The historical value alone would
be astonishing. Actual, provable buried pirate treasure. Think what the museums would offer, Claudia. The Smithsonian, for
instance. Millions. And there was supposedly a great emerald aboard
Santa Barbara
– a huge Colombian gem called the Devil’s Eye. It would be of … particular value.’

‘So you approached Stoney about helping you find this treasure? And Stoney stole this journal from you so he could locate
this treasure himself?’

‘Yes.’ He sounded completely serious, for a moment completely sane. If you ignored the words.

‘But Stoney has money. He doesn’t need a bunch of old gold that might not even exist.’

‘He has money that anyone else can have. But a treasure, that’s one of a kind. His ego can’t resist it. And I don’t think
it’s buried anymore. I think he’s got it.’

‘You think he dug it up?’

‘I don’t think he’s been waiting around with his thumb up his ass,’ Danny said. ‘He came to New Orleans, where I live, when
I was out of town, and he took the journal. He killed my cousin, who was house-sitting for me. A bullet to the brain. A cowardly
way to kill.’

‘I’m sorry your cousin was killed,’ she said. ‘Truly. But what happens to me if I help you? If I can get you this journal
? Or this treasure?’

‘Well, Claudia, I’ll let you go.’ Easy, like he was suggesting they grab an ice cream cone down at the beach.

Right. But she pretended to believe him. ‘What about Ben?’

‘Oh, I’ll let him go, too. I don’t have a quarrel with either of you. I have a sense of honor.’

‘Yes,’ she snapped. ‘Your sense of honor’s why I’m tied up and blindfolded with a broken toe.’

A silent minute passed. Then there was a gentle downward tug on the chamois blindfold. It slipped down to her shoulders, like
a scarf. The light in the cabin was dim, and she blinked, but now she saw Danny sitting across from her. His thick dark hair
was shot with salt, combed back from his temples, his eyes an earthy brown but feverish and bloodshot, a drunkard’s eyes.
Crazy-man eyes.

In his hand – aimed at her heart – he held an automatic pistol.

‘If we’re gonna help each other, I gotta trust you, you gotta trust me, right?’ he said.

‘That’s true. And I would like to trust you, which is hard for me if I think you’re going to kill me or Ben or even Stoney.
Even if he’s a killer and a thief.’

‘I’m not the monster Stoney is, Claudia. I won’t kill him. I just don’t want him to have the treasure. It’s mine. It belongs
to me, in every moral way.’ Heat colored his voice, his hand slapped down on the tabletop, emphasizing the last three words.
‘I’ll let him live if I get the treasure. I swear on my family’s name.’

Then that makes it all just fine, buddy.
‘You don’t know me. Why would you trust me?’

‘I don’t trust you. You don’t trust me either, I know. But I don’t want to have to kill you. I want the treasure, I want to
be shed of these two assholes now, and I don’t want to go to jail. You get me into Stoney’s house, you live. It’s your choice.’

She said nothing for a minute. The hunger in his eyes
made her skin crawl.
Fine. It’s his weakness. Use it against him to save you and Ben.

‘So we got us a deal?’ he asked.

Claudia nodded.

‘I’m begging you not to hurt my brother,’ Stoney Vaughn said over the speakerphone. ‘Please. Let me explain.’

‘We just called the banks. Ain’t no money streaming in,’ Redhead said. No giggle now. ‘Where’re those scissors?’

‘Jesus, Stoney, please,’ Ben yelled. ‘Give them what they want.’

Stoney’s throat cleared. ‘I can’t. The transfers couldn’t go through. The computer systems at my investment firm are down.
We got a virus. They aren’t going to be up until tomorrow.’

A moment’s silence. ‘Stoney, Jesus …’ Ben said, his voice barely above a whisper.

‘A virus, you know. Like that Anna Kournikova picture that got e-mailed around. It wasn’t a picture, it was a virus. Our servers
are down.’

Gar sprung up from the couch, pacing, angry little hums coming from him. ‘So move it via another bank.’

‘I can’t. This server’s got to work first. My accounts are all locked and accessed through here. Please, you got to give me
more time.’

‘Wrong answer,’ Redhead said.

Ben felt the tickle of scissors moving along his jaw, his throat, downward along his chest. ‘Stoney, please, they’re gonna
kill us! Give them what they want.’

‘Stoney,’ Gar said quietly. ‘You understand our position. It’s not negotiable.’

‘Let me talk to Danny,’ Stoney said. ‘Let me suggest an alternative.’

‘He’s not here right now,’ Redhead said. ‘You can talk to us. We’re all partners.’

‘Oh. Well. I don’t have this journal or this emerald he’s talking about, okay? That whole idea, that’s just fucking crazy,
man. I don’t have it. I’ll give you the money. But you got to give me time.’ He paused. ‘As a sign of good faith, I raise
the pot.’

‘We’re listening,’ Redhead said. The scissors stopped their wandering, poised above Ben’s stomach.

‘Get Danny to forget about this imaginary jewel he’s asking for. Eliminate it as a condition. Let my brother and his friend
go. I’ll pay you an extra half million.’

‘Wait a minute,’ Redhead said. He jabbed the speaker-phone’s mute button. ‘What do you think?’

Ben heard Gar let out a long breath. ‘I’ll take a half mil in cash over bullshit. But he still ait’ wired no money yet. So
that could be a fucking lie, too.’

Redhead jabbed the button again. ‘How do you get us the extra money?’

‘Is Danny there?’

‘No,’ Redhead said.

‘I’ve got a half mil in a separate account.’ A pause. ‘But you get rid of Danny. You can have the money. But not him.’

‘We can’t access the accounts without him,’ Gar said.

‘That’s your problem. I’ll send it when he’s done and gone, you understand? And then the rest.’

‘Stoney, what the hell are you doing?’ Ben said. ‘Holy shit—’

‘I’m saving your ass,’ Stoney said. ‘Now just hush, Ben.’

‘And you just take our word we’ve gotten rid of him?’ Redhead said after a moment’s hesitation.

‘No. You bring him to me. At my dock at my house at Copano Flats. I’ll give you the money as cash when you turn over his body
and my brother. His girlfriend, whatever. She’s a cop. Do whatever you think is best.’

‘Fuck,’ Gar said.

‘Stoney, for God’s sake!’ Ben screamed.

‘Shut up, Ben,’ Stoney said.

‘Leave Claudia alone. Don’t you dare fucking hurt her,’ Ben said in a low voice. ‘Please …’

‘You could have the place swarming with cops,’ Gar said.

‘But I won’t,’ Stoney said, ‘because I’ve just asked you to kill Danny for me. I have no reason to invite the cops to our
meeting. Take the money and forget you ever heard of Danny, okay?’

‘We’ll call you back in five,’ Redhead said. ‘Be there.’ He clicked off the phone. ‘Interesting turn of events.’

‘She a cop?’ Gar grabbed Ben’s arms, brought him off the couch.

‘Fuck you,’ Ben said.

‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ Gar said.

‘This could be a delaying tactic. I don’t buy that about the computers being down,’ Redhead said.

‘But he wants Danny dead,’ Gar said. ‘And we get a half million as a bonus for what we’re gonna have to do anyway.’

‘Play it this way. Get rid of the woman. Don’t take the risk she’s a cop,’ Redhead said. His voice was cool and firm. ‘I’ll
set up new overseas accounts for us. Then let Stoney hear Danny die. Strangle him, you’re strong enough. Make Stoney move
the money then. Then we just see about whether or not he gets his brother back. Little brother might be mad about girlfriend
getting offed and might talk to cops. Huh? You gonna talk, little brother?’

Ben made no answer.

‘I’ll take care of the girlfriend,’ Gar said. ‘Have a little fun first, though. I always wanted to fuck a cop.’

‘No, you’re not,’ Redhead said. His tone went peevish, hurt.

‘Don’t worry. You’re my favorite. Stay here. Just watch him.’

Ben heard Gar move heavily up the steps. ‘Claudia!’ Ben yelled. ‘Claudia, Christ, no!’

A gun barrel jabbed hard into his testicles. ‘One more word,’ Redhead said, ‘and I shoot them off.’

‘You—’ Ben started but he didn’t finish.

‘There, Christ, you happy?’ Stoney’s hands shook as he set down the phone.

‘Wasn’t so hard, now, was it?’ Alex sat on the corner of the desk. Pissed as hell when he got here, but then he’d calmed when
Stoney explained. It made Stoney nervous.

‘My brother—’

‘We’ll worry about him later. First we got to make sure Danny can’t tell what all he knows. You see that now. He put two and
two together, he can’t live to testify.’

‘You screwed up,’ Stoney said. ‘Goddamn it. You should have killed him.’

‘Our paths didn’t cross in New Orleans,’ Alex said. ‘Is that my fault?’

‘But my brother …’ Stoney’s voice faded.

‘Hey, man, you could have done what they said. Sent the money flying along the cables. You didn’t. Don’t lay this on me.’
Alex stood, looked out over the bay. ‘They ought to be here soon, assuming they call back and all’s well.’

Stoney leaned over and vomited into a wastebasket.

‘That’s nasty. Yuck.’ Alex handed Stoney a tissue. ‘Now. Problem number two. The emerald that’s in the storage unit’s a fucking
fake, Stoney. Can you explain that to me?’

*

‘So we gonna kill them,’ Danny whispered.

‘No killing anybody,’ Claudia said. ‘Not if we don’t have to.’

‘If you’re gonna chicken out if push comes to shove, I need to know right now.’

She raised one eyebrow. ‘Don’t worry about me.’

‘Fine, then. I got a plan.’

‘Let’s hear it,’ she said. He had loosened the rope on her wrists a little and her hands prickled with returning sensation.

‘I got chloroform on the boat, thought we might need it to subdue Stoney,’ he said. ‘When one of ‘em comes back over here,
you distract him, mouth off to him, and I slap ’im with the chloroform cloth.’

‘Maybe something simpler,’ Claudia said. ‘Maybe you putting your gun at the back of his head and making him drop his gun.’

‘What if he don’t surrender? What if he shoots you or me?’

‘He’s not likely to do that with a gun at the base of his skull. And if you’re behind him he can’t shoot you.’

‘He might shoot you,’ Danny said.

‘Then you need to press that gun hard against him so he knows you mean business.’

‘If I shoot one, the other will hear.’

‘You got a fire extinguisher here in the galley?’ she asked. Danny nodded toward the cabinet under the sink. ‘You put the
gun on him, get him to freeze, I’ll belt him in the head with the extinguisher. Knock him out.’

‘That means you got to be untied.’

‘Yes.’

Danny chewed his lip. Now that she could see his face clearly, study it, she didn’t like the flat shine in his eyes. Not clever
but cagey.

‘You begged me to trust you, you got to trust me,’ Claudia said. ‘I can’t be much help to you tied up.’

‘You punched me,’ he said. ‘You’re the toughest little cookie in the jar. You might try to take the gun from me.’

‘Well, I won’t,’ Claudia said. ‘You can trust me. It’s your call.’

He put his gun down and loosened the ropes from around her hands. She kept her hands very still. ‘If I take the ropes off
all the way he’ll notice.’

‘I’ll tuck my hands under the table.’

‘What about your blindfold?’ he asked. ‘He’ll be suspicious if it’s off you.’

‘Leave it off,’ she said. ‘If we lose, he’ll kill me anyway.’

Danny took his Sig and got up from the galley booth.

‘Do you have any other guns?’ Claudia asked.

‘No,’ Danny said. ‘I’m for gun control, actually.’

‘Then give me the gun.’

‘You’ll shoot me,’ Danny said.

Yes, I will,
she decided then.
But later and in the leg.
‘This is ridiculous. I’m not going to shoot you.’

He still seemed to think, working the inside of his cheek.

She played a cautious card. ‘Yes, you’re just like your hero, Laffite. Heart of a warrior. You can’t make the simplest decision.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘You don’t understand. I’m this close … after what all I’ve lost … I can’t lose the Devil’s Eye. Or the
journal. It’s what I’ve lived for, honey.’

His stare and his sad confession made her queasy. ‘You gonna trust me or Gar and the redhead more?’

‘I got a plan. You get down in the stateroom, lay down on the bed like you’re sleeping. He comes down there to
check on you, he’s got to go down those narrow stairs. I put the gun behind his ear then, make him drop his.’

‘In a stateroom there’s not much cover,’ she said. ‘You’re nice and safe behind him and I’m not.’

‘It’s just a variant on your original idea.’ He sounded peeved.

‘With all due respect, I don’t think you have the nerve for this.’ She kept her voice calm. ‘I was in the army right out of
school. Give me the gun and let me handle him.’

‘I’m not giving you the advantage, Claudia. If I were you I’d shoot me – maybe not kill me, because you seem like a real nice
lady – then get on the radio and call for help.’

‘Where’s your radio?’

‘Up on the bridge.’

‘It doesn’t make sense for me to shoot you and then try to call for help. Your buddies might spot me up on the deck and open
fire.’

He didn’t say anything, rubbing his thumb along the Sig’s handle.

‘But they won’t think anything of you being up there, Danny. Can you go up there, call the coast guard on Channel 16?’ Sixteen
was the regular monitoring channel, on which boats hailed each other in short order before moving their communications to
another channel. A lifeline connecting all sorts of boats on the water, Channel 16 was monitored by the coast guard. ‘Call
a Mayday, tell them it’s a kidnapping situation, request help.’

‘And then I get arrested. No way.’

‘You’re going to get caught anyway. My plan’s the only safe way out for you. I promise.’

Danny stared at her. ‘But Gar’ll have
Jupiter
’s
radio tuned to 16. They’ll hear us. Or they’ll see me using the radio and they’ll go nuts.’

‘Then call on 22A. That’s the coasties’ liaison channel. Go up there, crouch down low, and get us some help.’

He shook his head. ‘If they see me, they’ll kill me.’

‘They’re going to kill you anyway and you’re a moron if you don’t see that.’

He suddenly – but gently – pressed the barrel underneath her chin. ‘Listen. You’re not the boss here.’

‘If you kill me, Stoney won’t give you what you want.’ She felt calmer than she could have imagined with a gun held to her
head by a clearly unstable man. But his finger wasn’t on the trigger. He was playing with her and the idea of death, and she
stared back at him.

‘Get down to the stateroom.’ Danny pulled her to her feet, gave her a little push. ‘Lay down like you’re sleeping or crying.
My plan’ll work.’

She didn’t argue. The stateroom on
Miss Catherine
was tiny, the bedspread worn, smelling of Cheetos and beer, like a cheap motel room. On a side table was a stack of books.
All about Jean Laffite and early Texas history, little bits of neon-colored paper sticking out from the pages like bright
plumage. Clothes lay in an untidy heap on the floor. Danny prodded her with the gun, grazing the back of her head, and she
clambered onto the bed, her foot throbbing.

‘At least untie me so I can fight him if I have to,’ she said.

He hesitated.

‘So am I help or just bait?’ she snapped.

‘I’m deciding,’ he said.

‘I thought you were a gentleman. You’re just an asshole.’

‘Shut up.’

‘No,’ she said. ‘I won’t. You want my help, you better start helping me. Untie me. Or you’re going to have to
shoot me, because I’m not cooperating with you anymore.’

He made a sigh of exasperation. ‘This is why they didn’t have women on ships of old.’

‘You told me before I picked my friends badly. You picked yours worse. You get to pick again, at least for now.’

‘Danny!’ Gar’s voice rumbled from the deck.

Danny shoved her onto the bed. ‘Pretend. We don’t got time for your plan.’ And he hurried back up the stairs. She heard the
galley door smack open, heard Gar demand in a low voice,
Where’s she at?,
heard Danny answer in a mumble that Claudia was scared, downstairs, he’d let her try to take a nap, keep her out of the way.

She tried to wriggle her hands free from the rest of the rope. The rope gouged her skin. She heard Danny saying, ‘I don’t
think so.’

Claudia yanked her right hand free. Screw being bait. She jumped up from the bed, huddled in the closet. Wire hangers jangled
above her head, tangled in her hair. She needed a weapon; she clawed the hangers free from her head.

The hanger. Make it into a loop of wire, a garrote, grab him from behind, choke the air out of him.

She grabbed one, twisted it hard, unraveling the spiral of wire at the top. Another twist. Another. Heavy footsteps pounding
on the stairs, Danny screaming to wait a goddamned minute. Fists hitting flesh, hard, the unmistakable pop of knuckle against
jaw.

Not enough time. She dropped the hanger, looped her hand around the length of rope hanging down from her wrist. Maybe not
long enough. Nothing, she had nothing.