Dragon's Triangle (The Shipwreck Adventures Book 2) (58 page)

“Okay. After you recounted what he’d said just before he died, and I passed that on to the folks who handled the
Surcouf
decrypts, I was permitted access to certain files. What your grandfather told you was true. Harold Oswald Riley was stationed at CAST Station Corregidor in the fall of 1941. Andrew Ketcham, whom he knew from Yale, was the one who broke the Japanese naval code. He knew what the Japanese were planning a couple of days in advance of Pearl Harbor. We can assume your grandfather did, too.”

She reached across her body and slipped her hand under her dress onto the skin of her injured shoulder. Her fingers massaged the skin and she felt the familiar sharp flashes of pain.

“We know that Ozzie Riley left Corregidor in January on a Dutch ship. There is a record of that ship meeting a French submarine in the North Atlantic, so it appears that Ozzie was the one who passed the
diplomatic pouch to the
Surcouf
in an attempt to get those message decrypts about the attack on Pearl Harbor back to the Patriarchs.”

“So the secrets my father fought to protect involved the misdeeds of his own father.”

“Right. And given how many Bonesmen have been involved in all branches of the intelligence community, it’s a good bet that in spite of the top-secret designation, your father knew about what your grandfather had done.”

“Since he named all his boats
Bonefish
, I expect that’s the case.” Riley looked across the harbor and watched a containership steaming out of the harbor. The early evening was clear and she could see the smoky blue outline of the island of Corregidor peeking over the breakwater. “I wonder if Ozzie really did change there at the end of his life, or if he was just using us to get the gold.”

“I don’t suppose you’ll ever know for sure.”

She turned to watch his face when she asked the next question. “Do you think it’s possible to have evil in your blood? Like, does it get passed from one generation to another?”

Cole reached over and picked up her hand. “I think you’ll find the answer to that question in your memories of your brother Michael.”

She leaned in and put her head on his shoulder again. “And that’s why I think I’m going to keep you around for a while.”

They sat together in each other’s arms, not speaking for several minutes.

Then Cole slipped away from her and pulled off his jacket. He fanned himself. “I think I’m getting overheated. Maybe we’d better stay home. Forget the party. We could stay here, turn on the AC, put on some nice music. We could make our own little happy new year.” He poured himself a glass of wine and refilled hers.

Riley clinked her glass against his. “That is a tempting suggestion.”

“I think I hear a
but
coming.”

Riley sat up straight. Resting on the table next to the ice bucket was the embossed invitation to the night’s shindig. She picked it up and read aloud. “‘You are cordially invited to attend a New Year’s Eve Party at the National Museum of the Filipino People and the Grand Opening of the Dragon’s Triangle Exhibit sponsored by the Full Fathom Five Maritime Foundation.’ That’s you, remember?”

“Yeah, I know. I just hate parties.”

From behind her, she heard a female voice call out. “Knock, knock. Permission to come aboard, captain?”

When Riley turned to look at the finger pier next to her boat, she saw Greg and Theo standing arm in arm.

“Permission granted,” Riley said. “You both look fabulous.”

“Thanks,” Greg said as she stepped aboard. She was wearing a bright red silk sheath dress that accentuated her curves. It was the first time Riley had seen her wear her hair down. She was stunning.

Riley noticed Theo had stayed on the dock. “Aren’t you going to join us, Theo?”

“No, I want to get to the museum to check over the preparations. But Greg has something she wants to give to you first.”

Greg sat down on the cockpit seat, her eyes alight with joy. She was holding a white envelope on her lap. “I came right over because I thought you’d want to know and it’s just not the kind of thing to discuss at some big party.”

“What are you talking about?” Riley asked.

“When you first told me the story that Ozzie told you, I figured the old man had lied about everything else, so why should I believe him about that. But it bothered me, and I decided I needed to know for sure. So before we buried him, I asked the pathologist to take a DNA sample. I got the test results back this morning.” She handed Riley the envelope. “He was my grandfather.” She opened her arms and said, “Welcome to the family.”

Riley sat there frozen for a moment, overwhelmed. Then she stood up and grinned. “Thanks, cuz,” she said, and she threw her arms around Greg. She could tell from the young woman’s grip on her that Greg was just as rocked by the moment as she was.

“Okay, Greg,” Theo said gently, at last. “Come on, let’s go. There are going to be dozens of dignitaries at this shindig and I have to make sure everything comes off as planned.” Riley and Greg stepped away from each other, backhanding their tears from their cheeks and laughing sheepishly about the display. Theo rolled on: “Seriously, the vice president of the United States is going to be there. Not to mention the president of the Philippines. A princess from Thailand. A deputy prime minister from Vietnam.”

“Yes, Theo,” Cole said. “We know.”

“Well, obviously you’re not going to help. I’ll bet you’ve been trying to talk Riley into staying home.”

“Right again, Theo,” Riley said.

“Cole, this was all your idea,” Greg pointed out. “You’re the one who said the only way you could prevent the Philippines from hiding all the treasure away in their government coffers was to convince them of the great international relations coup it presented. We’ll make half the countries in Southeast Asia permanently in our debt tonight by returning all the identifiable gold, works of art, books, manuscripts, jewels to the countries from which it was originally taken. It’s a brilliant idea and I’m going to be very proud to be a Filipina tonight.” Greg kissed Riley on the cheek, and then jumped back onto the dock. “Of course, if you really don’t want to go, Theo is going to be there, and you could just let him take all the credit.”

“Okay, already. I know I have to go. Can’t you just let me whine about it a little longer?”

Greg laughed as she and Theo started up the dock. Theo called out over his shoulder, “I guess that’s up to Riley.”

When they were gone Cole turned to Riley with an expectant look.

“What you’ve done here is a good thing, Cole Thatcher,” she said. “I’m proud of you. Let’s go. I have my old friend Pedro waiting with his
kalesa
out in the parking lot.”

“Not just yet.” Cole lifted his jacket, reached into the pocket, and drew out a long box. “I have a little present for you. It will go great with that dress.” He opened the box and lifted out a gold chain necklace. Hanging from the chain was a golden dragon, and in its mouth was a very large diamond.

“Cole, it’s stunning, but a diamond like this must have cost a fortune.”

“Not necessarily,” he said as he brushed aside her hair and hooked the clasp behind her neck. “Not if you happen to pick up an uncut diamond while sightseeing in the Philippines.”

“But—”

“Shhh. Don’t worry. They know. You don’t think I struck this deal and got
nothing
out of it, do you? I’m going to need a lot of fuel.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, I’ve been reading up on the Knights of Malta. Did you know that the Sovereign Order of Malta has its own constitution, passports, stamps, and public institutions, but it’s not a real country? There are those who believe—”

“So I take it you’re going to the Mediterranean.”

“
We’re
going to the Med. We can take the
Bonhomme Richard
and have the
Bonefish
sent aboard a ship.”

“Why is it you always want to have my boat delivered?”

“Well, there are those Somali pirates between here and the Med.”

“And you don’t think I can handle them?”

I would like to thank the following people: Terry Goodman, David Downing, Anh Schluep, Keith MacKay, Brian Homan, Rob Schwab, Tom Bennett, Cindy Gray, Bruce Amlicke, Kevin Foster, Jan Helge, Sharon Potts, Neil Plakcy, Christine Jackson, Miriam Auerbach, Kristy Montee, Mike Jastrzebski, Wayne Hodgins, and Tim Kling.

Photo copyright by Tim Kling

Christine Kling has spent more than thirty years messing about with boats. It was her sailing experience that led her to write her first four-book suspense series about Florida female tug and salvage captain Seychelle Sullivan. Christine earned an MFA in creative writing from Florida International University and her articles, essays, and short stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. The first novel in the Shipwreck series,
Circle of Bones
, was released in 2013, and
Dragon’s Triangle
continues the adventures of Riley and Cole. Having retired from her job as an English professor at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Christine sails the waters of the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Caribbean with her pup Barney, the Yorkshire Terror, and she goes wherever the wind and good Wi-Fi may take her.

Visit Christine at
http://www.christinekling.com