Treasured Lies (17 page)

‘Let's go back to the treasure.' Jimmy smiled like a man who'd just inherited a million.

‘
Bene
.' Alessandro guided the mouse in his hand as everyone waited in silence. ‘None of this has ever been confirmed, however the
Awa Maru
was reportedly carrying forty tons of gold, twelve tons of platinum, 150,000 carats of diamonds and other less important materials.'

‘That's enough.' Jimmy laughed and Ginger giggled beside him. Rosalina watched as Archer eased further forward on his chair, the look on his face, darkened eyes, pursed lips and gathered brows, was nothing short of intense concentration.

Archer pressed his fingers together until the knuckles bulged white. ‘But they know where the boat sank, so surely there would've been salvage attempts.'

‘
Precisamente
,' Alessandro said again. ‘In 1980 China made the biggest salvage effort in history on a single ship. They consequently found the wreck, but it took them five years to declare that it contained no treasure.'

Jimmy slapped his palm on the table and Rosalina jumped. ‘So where the hell did it go?'

It was only because everyone was completely silent that Rosalina noticed Helen walk into the room. She stood up to assist her to a chair.

Archer raced to his mother's side as well and helped her to sit down. ‘Hey, Mum, did you have a good sleep?'

His mother blinked several times at Archer. Her eyes were clouded over with confusion and her mouth fell open as if she were about to say something. But then slowly, as Helen looked around the room, she seemed to be actually taking everything in. Rosalina thought she was clawing back from whatever haven she was tempted to crawl into. It occurred to Rosalina that going through these boxes in front of her wasn't the right thing to do.

‘Maybe we should finish up for today,' Rosalina said.

‘No.' It was Helen who spoke. Rosalina's eyes darted to her.

Archer crouched at his mother's side. ‘We're going through Dad's boxes, Mum.'

‘I can see that.'

Rosalina was surprised at the assertiveness in her voice. Helen appeared angry that Archer had pointed out the obvious.

Archer frowned at Rosalina, and unsure what to do, Rosalina just shrugged. She hoped Archer didn't bring up the pearl necklace. That was a moment he should share with her in private.

‘Are you okay with that, Mum?'

‘Yes.' Her voice was still a brittle whisper, as if it hurt to talk.

Rosalina watched Archer baulk at his next move.

‘Hey, Helen, have you ever heard of the
Awa Maru
?' Ginger broke the silence and Rosalina glared at her. Ginger's eyes turned to her and then bulged as she mouthed ‘what?' Clearly Ginger had no idea how sensitive Helen was.

‘Yes, Wade, don't you remember?' Helen gave Archer a cocky grin and the crooked smile on Archer's face showed his distress at his mother's mental slip. Helen's progress was slow, with two steps forward and one step back, and Rosalina could see the anguish Archer was experiencing.

Archer placed his hand over Helen's frail fingers. ‘What do you remember,
Mum
?' He emphasized the word.

‘Japanese war ship.'

Rosalina noticed the gold flecks dazzle around Archer's dark irises.

‘That's right, Mum. It sank during World War Two.'

‘Yes.'

‘What else do you remember?'

Helen frowned and blinked as if forcing her memory to the surface. ‘Treasure,' she finally said.

‘That's right. Apparently when she sunk she was carrying tons of treasure.'

‘No.' She shook her head.

Archer blinked several times. ‘No, she wasn't carrying treasure?'

‘Yes.'

Archer looked at the ceiling and let out a sigh. Rosalina noticed him squeeze his mother's hand. ‘Mum, do you know if the
Awa Maru
was carrying treasure?'

‘Yes, but not when she sunk.'

Now everyone in the room sat forward.

Jimmy slammed his hand on the table and everyone jumped. ‘They offloaded the loot. That's why the
Awa Maru
wasn't on her reported route.'

‘Correct.' When Helen said this, her eyes darted around the room as if she were proud of them for working out the answer. ‘That's why there was no treasure on the wreck.' Ever so slowly, the dark shadows that had marred Helen's complexion vanished and a smile lit up her face.

Chapter 19

Nox woke to a bright light shining right into his eyes and piercing through his already throbbing brain. Excruciating pain radiated from his hand up to his elbow. He blinked his eyes open, pushed up from the cold floor and crawled backwards so he could lean against the wall. It was several long, agonising breaths before he'd conjured up the courage to take a look at his right hand.

What he saw made his stomach wrench. His hand was barely recognisable, swollen to twice its size. Most of his skin had turned a ghastly purple and the rusted rod, with its corrugated surface and sharp point, threaded through the middle of his palm like a giant nail. As he fought a wave of dizziness, he swallowed back the urge to throw up. Nox couldn't believe he'd been speared. Again.

With each movement, every muscle screamed. Just lifting his hand took great effort. While he stared unblinking at a small weed that had found its way through a crack in the floor, his fingers explored the lump at the back of his skull. It was the size of an egg and he winced each time he touched it. But he couldn't resist. As he examined from one injury to the next, he kept returning to the lump, trying to come to grips with just how big it was.

He looked up towards the top of the tower. The dark blue sky was still dotted with the odd star. It was only now that he realised how far he had fallen, at least two storeys. Ironically, bouncing off the stairs and being pinned to the wall had actually broken his fall. If he'd fallen straight from the top, he'd probably be dead. From what he could tell, other than the trauma to his hand, and the lump on his head, he was fairly unscathed. Given the distance he'd plummeted, it was a miracle he could move at all.

With the sun's morning rays piercing the cracks in the building like laser beams and lumps of shattered concrete plastering the moss-covered concrete floor, it would be easy to believe he'd woken up on a strange planet. Right now, he'd be happier with that. Anything but this island, with the weird twins and no avenue for escape. The island was as foreign as any strange planet would be. He rose to his feet and, with his arm across his chest and holding his hand upwards in an attempt to ease the throbbing, he stepped from this alien world and walked towards another.

Chapter 20

Archer glanced at the clock and wasn't surprised to see it was just two o'clock in the morning. Thankfully, it wasn't a nightmare that woke him. For decades, visions of his father's shark attack had hijacked his dreams. It dawned on him that he hadn't had his recurring nightmare since they found the treasure. His thoughts bounced to the therapist he'd visited in his early twenties about the nightmares. She was right after all. She'd told him that all he needed to do was find the key. It was almost comical that the key had been around his neck all along. He reached for the pendant and ran his thumb along the raised letters. The true irony was that the necklace both started and ended all that horror.

Rosalina rolled away from him and he took the opportunity to slip out of bed. He pulled on his favourite pair of track pants and made his way to the galley. He switched on the lights and, squinting against the glare, headed straight for the coffee machine. After a minute or so of staring into the fridge, he reached for the last piece of Rosalina's homemade apple pie and then lavished it with a good dollop of custard. With coffee and food in his hands, he wandered to the lounge area.

The room looked like it'd ridden out a tornado. Almost every inch of the carpet was scattered with items removed from the cardboard boxes. He chuckled. Because the way he was seeing the room now, covered in his father's paraphernalia, was exactly the chaos he'd remembered on his Dad's boat.

Archer took a mouthful of apple pie and reached for one of his father's notebooks. After a quick flick through, he decided to start at the beginning and study it more thoroughly. The cover was devoid of any notations whatsoever. In fact, they were all like that; put the thirty or so books together and they were practically identical. It was just the curled corners and general wear and tear that differentiated them in any way.

He flipped open to the first page. The inside cover had four countries listed: Brazil, Guam, Singapore and Egypt. Archer reached for another book, it had four completely different countries listed. Unsure if it meant anything, he checked the inside covers of several other books and discovered two more with Singapore listed as the third country. He set his coffee mug aside as his mind began to race with the notion that he may have stumbled upon something.

He cleared the table except for the three books with the matching country. Now, with them laid out side by side, he turned the pages in sequence. Page by page he turned, scrutinising every note, picture, scribble and otherwise random mark, but nothing else stood out. Finally, at the middle of the book, where the staples that keep the book together were exposed, there was something. All three books had a number with a circle around it. The numbers in these books were 7, 11 and 24.

Archer reached for another book and opened it to the middle. It too had a number in a circle. This was number 19. With his mind skipping into overdrive, he reached for book after book. It seemed like hours before he had all thirty-four books laid out in sequence. Eight books were missing. As he rubbed his hands together he admired his handiwork. But his elation over the discovery quickly dissipated as it became apparent he had no idea what the numbers meant.

‘Hey, babe.'

Rosalina was tying her silk robe around her waist as she sidled up to him. He wrapped his arms around her and from this height he was able to kiss the swell of her breasts. It was a lovely morning delight. Rosalina giggled, cupped his cheeks and kissed the top of his head.

‘What time did you wake up?' She slipped into the chair beside him and scanned the books laid out on the table.

‘About two, but I promise it wasn't a nightmare. I just couldn't sleep.'

She reached for his coffee mug and took a sip. ‘Eewww. It's cold.' She pulled a face and plonked the mug down. ‘I'll make us a fresh pot. So what have you been doing all morning?'

As she walked from him, he watched her luscious curves beneath the silk and felt an immediate stirring in his loins as he pictured her beautiful body beneath the fine fabric. But there was no point acting on that desire, Rosalina had seen what he'd been doing and now she wouldn't let up until he filled her in. She was like a fisherman with a hooked line when she thought he was keeping secrets. And rightly so. He'd never keep a secret from her again.

Maybe if he could summarise this quickly he could entice her back to the bedroom. ‘I've found a pattern to Dad's scrapbooks.'

‘Really. What?' She took her eyes from the coffee machine and looked over at him.

‘For starters, each of the books has four countries listed in the front. I'm not quite sure what it means. But then I found every one of the notebooks had a number written in the centre pages, right between the staples.' As she walked back holding two steaming mugs, her robe slinked slightly lower on her breasts with each step. If she'd had a few more steps to take, he was certain her nipple would've been revealed. The throbbing in his groin became a full-blown jackhammer.

She placed the coffee before him and he smelt both the bitter coffee aroma and the delicious citrus and vanilla scent lingering on her skin. Archer couldn't hold back any longer. He stood up, leant over, scooped her into his arms, and without any real plan he headed for the upper deck.

She grinned up at him. ‘Where are we going?'

Her breast was exposed now and Archer watched as her nipple peaked. ‘I think it's time we explored the upper deck again.'

A smile curled at her lips and she whispered a throaty, ‘Okay.'

He climbed the stairs and stepped into the early dawn. It was still at least two hours until the sun came up, but the sundeck wasn't shrouded in complete darkness. Just a hint of glow from the full moon glistened off the fine drops of overnight dew. He lowered her onto one of the sun lounges, and to his pleasure her gown glided sideways. Her breast, buxom and exquisite, was completely exposed. Archer fell to his knees and savoured her nipple. Sucking the delicate bud into his mouth he slowly ran his tongue around and around. Her fingers combed through his hair driving tingling sensations across his scalp.

He undid the bow at her waist and the lilac-coloured silk fell away to reveal all of her. Her skin was heavenly in this light and her white underpants with the sheer lace scantly hid the small dark patch of hair. She looked so damn sexy. His penis, already hardening, throbbed with its own erotic beat. He turned his attention to her lips. They were slightly apart and when she glided her tongue along her bottom lip it sent him into overdrive. Archer stood up and undid the knot on his track pants so rapidly he nearly pulled the drawstring all the way out. He slipped them off and stood before Rosalina, his erection proud and complete. Rosalina wrapped her fingers around him and as he planted his feet and tilted his head back, he experienced her incredible hands as they threaded up and down.

Rosalina rose to her knees, and with her hands still working their magic she ran her tongue over his nipples. First one, then the other. Archer clasped the back of her neck as she took him from one intense sensation to another. Before he slipped into the place of no return he eased back and opened his eyes. ‘Your turn, madam.'

He lowered her back on the chair and helped her wriggle out of her lace underwear. Naked now, he guided her legs apart and devoured her with his eyes. She seemed quite happy to let him relish her like that. Just looking at her gorgeous body had his blood running riot. The swell of her breasts rose up and down with every breath she took. Archer knelt down and bent over to kiss her. Their lips met, their tongues danced and he tasted toothpaste and coffee as he glided his fingers over her firm stomach and down through her pubic hair.