LC 04 - Skeleton Crew (50 page)

"Gretchen just got back from the mainland," Mike told Lindsey,
with a hint of a smile. "The National Guard is here guarding that
big ship that washed ashore. Those guys, if my guess is right, are
treasure hunters."

"Yes. Lewis hired them as security guards, not knowing they
were in with Nate."

"Nate killed those people?" said Tessa.

"Yes," said Lindsay. "Apparently, pressure over his dissertation, if you can believe that."

There was a knock on the door again. "Can we come in? We
have an emergency."

They looked at one another, not knowing what to do. Lend
assistance, or possibly let Nate die. James Choi went to the door.

"What is the nature of your emergency?"

"We've had a man attacked by an alligator."

"I'll call the ranger station on Cumberland and get help. You
take him to the archaeologists' house. We are quarantined until the
CDC gets here. One of our tropical animals has come down with
flulike symptoms. It's probably nothing, so don't worry, but we
can't take chances. I'm very sorry."

"Oh, that's all right, you don't need to call the rangers. We can
take care of it. This was just the closest house."

Gretchen put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.
Lindsay heard them leave. She was still shaking.

"Can I use your phone?" Tessa nodded. Lindsay called John.
"John, the people in the Magdalena House may be in danger." She
told him what happened.

"What! Are you all right? I'll call the National Guard and tell
them to go to the house. I'll be right over. Stay where you are.
Don't do anything."

Lindsay hung up the phone. "The National Guard's going to
think we're all nuts." They laughed nervously.

"What happened to you?" asked Gretchen. "Did they beat you
up?"

"Nate tried to kill me at the cofferdam when the hurricane was
coming. He left me there. I got all this trying to get to shore."
Lindsay told them the entire story. They listened openmouthed.

There was more pounding on the front door. No one moved. It
reminded Lindsay of The Haunting of Hill House where the inhabitants huddled together and watched the door distort from the
pounding and malefactions of the evil presence.

"Mike, Tessa!"

Tessa let out a breath. "It's the rangers."

Mike went to the door and let them in.

Nate, as it turned out, was mangled, but more or less intact. He
was attended by one of the rangers. The other park rangers, with
the help of the Guard, had Tom and Robert in custody, waiting for
the FBI. The alligator, too, appeared to be okay.

Their plan, indicated by their statements to the rangers, was to
cast doubt on Lindsay's rationality. She, after all, had a concusEion
and had misinterpreted their intentions.

They were all in the lobby when Ramirez arrived with the paramedics. Harper stood in a robe, holding herself against the chill of
the night and the evil that had occurred while she slept.

"Are we going to have to hire her a keeper?" she whispered to
John, who stood with his arms wrapped around Lindsay.

"I reckon we are going to have to," he whispered back. Lindsay
leaned back against him and he tightened his arms around her

Lewis, Trey, Carolyn, and the others stood looking from one
person to the other, confused.

"We were only trying to help," said Robert and Tom. "She obviously was released from the hospital too soon."

"We saw you trying to help," said James and Mike.

"It was dark and confusing out there," said Tom, still look:.ng
friendly.

"I didn't hear a thing," said Dale Delosier. "No one came by -:he
front door."

Lindsay briefly gave Ramirez her rationale for Nate as the murderer.

"You can't prove it." His voice was hoarse.

"Yes I can. You thought I took Keith's notebooks. It was Lewis.
He was having the data keyed in. I'm sure examination will show
they are in Keith's handwriting."

"That proves nothing."

"Look at the poison ivy on your hands. Only you and Carolyn
have it."

Carolyn looked at her hands "You have it, too?" she asked
Nate, glaring at him.

"So?" said Nate, wincing from pain from the alligator attack as
the paramedics gave him an IV drip.

"The Chinese box is lacquered with sap from the Chinese lacquer tree as a main ingredient. It contains the same substance as
poison ivy-urushiol. It took me a while to remember that that is
one of the things archaeologists have to be careful of, working in certain tombs-Chinese lacquered objects. I'm sure the
Smithsonian advised Carolyn to handle it with care."

"Yes, they did," she said, still glaring at Nate.

"You were the one who broke into the warehouse and vandalized the chest. You recognized Valerian's crest. After Hardy
Denton confessed that Eva Jones had Valerian's coded letter, you
hoped that there would be a clue to the whereabouts of the treasure galleon tucked away in Valerian's belongings. You were so
desperate to show Lewis some results."

"Damn you, Nate," said Carolyn. "That scroll was completely
destroyed. The books are so damaged I don't know if I can salvage
them, and I think one is by Roger Bacon. You piece of turkey shit."

"You can't prove anything. You need proof." Nate moaned in
pain.

"There're the notebooks, the poison ivy, the fights with Keith,
and my testimony that you tried to kill me tonight. Mike and
James witnessed it and saved my life-despite the hard time we
archaeologists have given them since we got here."

"We didn't know about this," said Tom Bowers.

"You came to the door and told us it was Lindsay shooting a
gun on the island. She was with us when the shots were fired. The
other guy, Robert, told us not to call the rangers."

"It was a misunderstanding," said Tom. "It's all circumstantial."

"Well, all these circumstances are piling up to make a stinking
mess, and you guys are starting to smell," said Mike.

"It's your gun that's been fired," commented the ranger. "How
did you think this woman fired it?"

Tom said nothing.

"We need to get this man to the hospital," said the paramedics.

Nate went to the hospital; Tom and Robert were taken into custody by Ramirez and the rangers. Lindsay took a hot shower and
went back to bed.

"Tom and Robert are trying to weasel out. Nate's trying to make a
deal," said Lewis. He, Lindsay, John, and Harper sat in Lewis's
office, debriefing the latest. "Did I really push him into killing people? Do I push people?"

"You push," said Lindsay. "But you don't hound. There's a difference. Nate and Nate alone is to blame for his behavior. Neither
I, Harper, Trey, Carolyn, nor Steven went on a killing rampage."

"I agree," said Harper. "You jump to conclusions about who's
to blame about certain things, but you don't drive people to
murder."

"Thanks for your endorsement," Lewis said.

As they spoke, Lindsay eyed the papers on Lewis's desk.
"What's this?" She picked up a letter.

Lewis looked. "It's a letter from King-Smith-Falcon, the third
bidder. They're dropping their query into the bidding process for
the dam in view of recent events."

"And you didn't notice it? Neither you nor Trey?"

"What are you talking about? We read it," Lewis said.

"For archaeologists, I just don't know about the two of you,"
Lindsay said.

Harper looked over her shoulder and gasped, then a grin
spread across her face.

"What?" said Trey.

"I'm going to use your phone," said Lindsay. She picked up the
phone and dialed the number on the letterhead.

"May I speak with Mr. Beck, please? This is Dr. Lindsay
Chamberlain from the Archaeology Department at the University
of Georgia."

The receptionist put her through.

"Dr. Chamberlain. We sent a letter dropping our query."

"I know. This is not related to the query. Can you tell me a little
about the history of your company?"

"What? Sure. We are one of the oldest companies in the Unil ed
States, founded in the middle 1700s by Nathaniel Smith and his
family. They built bridges and were one of the first companies to
work underwater. We have some literature on it. May I ask why
you're asking?" Lindsay told him.

The next day Jerome Beck, president and CEO of King-SmithFalcon, and Lenton King, vice president in charge of design,
arrived at St. Magdalena. After complimenting John on his cofferdam design, they were escorted by Lindsay, Francisco Lewis, Trey
Marcus, and John West down to the conservation laboratory where
Carolyn, Harper, Bobbie, and Korey were laying out the artifacts.

Eva Jones had been forced to turn over the diving bell to them. It was six feet in height, part wood, part encrusted metal, half of it
missing. But the crest stood out in relief. The chest was sitting on
the floor soaking in brine, the carved crest on the lid showing
beautifully.

"May I?" asked Jerome Beck. Carolyn nodded and he put his
hand in the water and stroked the wooden relief of the falcon sitting in the middle of a V holding a scroll in his beak.

"And we didn't notice your logo on the letterhead," said Trey.
"I can't believe it."

Jerome stood up. "Our company obviously has roots farther
back than the mid-1700s." Carolyn showed them the other artifacts
that were in the trunk.

"If you can provide the proper environment," Lewis offered,
"we can give you the artifacts on long-term loan to display."

"We would like that," Lenton King said, obviously moved.

"Now, we have something to show you," said Beck. "It has
been handed down from Nathaniel Smith. It was a family heirloom as far as we could determine." Beck put his briefcase on the
desk and took out a small box. He opened it and took out the contents and handed it to Lindsay, his eyes twinkling. It was a gold
ring. She caressed it, then slipped it on her finger. It was much too
large, but she was wearing the ring with Valerian's crestValerian's ring. He had survived the wreck and had apparently
done quite well.