Love's Paradise (3 page)

Sheri moved to the next photo. It was a close-up and a much clearer shot. There was a large hole, half filled with dirty water with something protruding out of it. “It looks like the bottom edge of an old bucket with the letters
e-n-t
on the side.” She clicked to the next photo, which was an even better close-up of the hole. “I still don't get it.”

“Keep going, look at the next one,” Genie insisted.

There was less water in the hole and what she thought was a bucket was actually thicker, rounder and more defined. She tilted her head then turned the phone upside down. The image looked different. There were also more letters,
c-e-n-t.
“Wait, what? That's not a bucket.” She quickly forwarded to the next photo. It was a picture of Genie and her boyfriend waving and smiling at the beach. She went back to the last photo. She studied it again. Half smiling, she couldn't believe her eyes. She looked up at Genie, who was standing next to her
the whole time. “It looks like the outline of a bell, a ship's bell. Wait, this can't be what I think it is?”

Genie nodded gleefully. “The
Crescent
bell,” she squealed excitedly, and then started giggling wildly. Sheri clicked back to the first few photos and stopped at the one with the close-up of the side of the bell. “Oh, my God, I can't believe it,” she said. “My boyfriend actually found the wreckage of the
Crescent
ship? I can't wait to tell everybody I know. I'm going on Facebook and Twitter right now. We're gonna be famous.”

“Genie, Genie, calm down. At this point, we don't know what was found. You can't tell anyone about this until it's been confirmed one way or the other. Anything else would be irresponsible.”

“But this is it. I just know it,” Genie said, emphatically.

“What's that beside the bottle?” Sheri asked, noting the size and shape in comparison to the bottle. “It looks a little like a bugler's mouthpiece,” she said.

“They think it's an old golf tee. But if it is what you say it is then it's much better, right?”

“A golf tee?” Sheri said, surprised.

“Yes, see that's why we gotta go. Come on,” Genie said, and motioned. “I'll tell you the rest on the way.”

Sheri went back to the table, closed the books, grabbed her notebook and laptop and followed
Genie down the hallway then down the steps. “Okay, so how did all this happen?” Sheri asked.

“So, remember all the rain we've been having lately and the really heavy downpour we had last night?” she began, nearly tripping down the steps as she talked.

“Yes, what about it?”

“Well, apparently it eroded the side of this mound of dirt they were beginning to level and flooded a hole that had been dug out a few weeks ago. The work crew started pumping the water out of the hole this morning and they found the bottle floating on top. Jamie took pictures. They just tossed it aside, but my boyfriend remembered seeing something like the bottle here at the museum.” Genie's cell phone beeped. Sheri gave the phone back to her, and she immediately began text messaging.

“Granted, it doesn't have to be the
Crescent
or even a ship's bell. An out-of-focus image on a cell phone doesn't prove anything.”

“But it could be, right? It could be?” Genie said, as she frantically texted.

Sheri knew exactly what she meant. The discovery, if it was the
Crescent,
would be huge. But she didn't want to speculate. She didn't want to think about the possibility that it could be the legendary ship. “No. There's still not nearly enough evidence to jump to that conclusion,” she said as she
shook her head. “We need more than an artifact half-covered in mud with letters on it.”

Genie looked almost crushed.

“We don't do maybes or what ifs. We need cold, hard, indisputable evidence.”

Genie nodded. They continued in silence, knowing what they needed was a miracle. Just then Genie's phone beeped again. There was another text message and downloaded image. She opened it to see what her boyfriend had sent. She smiled and handed her phone to Sheri. “I think we just got cold, hard, indisputable evidence.”

Sheri nodded. “Yeah, we need to get to the site right now.”

“Definitely,” Genie said, racing down the stairs.

“Wait,” Sheri said as she trailed Genie. “I need to go back to my office and get my backpack and camera.”

“Okay, I'll get my Jeep and meet you out front.”

Sheri headed to her office with no idea what she was getting herself into. A sense of trepidation suddenly seized her, quelling some of the excitement. Finding an old medicine bottle and what looked like a ship's bell was promising. But the possibility of unearthing what looked like the ribbed, wooden frame of the ship's hull was definitely an important find. Her heart began to race as she stuffed her laptop in her backpack, grabbed her camera, her jacket and then headed out.

She locked her office door, hurried downstairs through the museum and quickly caught up with Genie just as she drove up to the front entrance. She sidestepped a puddle then looked down at her outfit. She hadn't expected to be outside, away from the museum that day, so she certainly hadn't dressed to dig around a construction site. Four-inch stilettos and a business suit would have to do. As soon as she climbed into the passenger seat, Genie took off. She glanced into the backseat. Genie had brought just about everything from her office. “Okay, Hamilton Development is at Crescent Point. It's on the other side of the island.”

“How long has your boyfriend worked for them?” Sheri asked.

“Only a few weeks, he doesn't know much about them, just that he hates working there. He said that Jordan Hamilton is a coldhearted workaholic. And believe me, that's putting it nicely. Apparently Jordan and his foreman complain about everything Jamie does. The thing is Jamie had worked for his father's construction company just about all his life before it went bankrupt. So he thinks he can do the same things he used to. At his father's company, he didn't really do anything. He'd go in late and sleep all day in the trailer. He can't do that here. He actually has to do work and he hates it. Anyway, he said Jordan is the worst of the three brothers.”

“There are three brothers?” Sheri asked.

“Sheri, seriously, you must have had your head in the sand these past months.”

“Actually running the museum without a curator on a shoestring budget, keeping the building from falling in on our heads, organizing the historical records and putting them in a database has kept me more than a little busy. So yeah, I guess I haven't had time to pay attention to all the new real estate developments and construction on the island.”

“Yeah, I guess you're right,” said Genie. “So anyway the company is owned by three brothers. All are rich and too gorgeous. Their main office is in Northern Virginia somewhere near D.C., I think. Two of the brothers are single, but one of them just got married.”

“Which one?” she asked quickly, hoping not to sound like she had way too much interest for her own good.

“I don't know,” Genie said. “So, anyway they're rich. I saw a picture of all three of them at this formal thing in D.C. Ohmygod! They are too gorgeous. They're tall, dark and handsome and built like you wouldn't believe.”

Sheri wasn't at all surprised by Genie's wealth of information about their looks and dating habits. When it came to men, she was information central. “Didn't you meet one of them before?” Genie asked.

Sheri took a deep breath. Thinking about their
meeting wasn't something she liked doing. “It was a while ago and it was very brief,” she said truthfully.

“Who was it? What was he like?” Genie asked.

“I don't remember,” she lied.

“Well, if it was Jordan Hamilton you would have definitely remembered. Jamie said he was the worst of the three. And since they apparently all take turns being on-site, he should know. I'd love to meet him. But it's Monday and he never comes in on Monday.”

Sheri purposely didn't respond. Thinking about him would mean remembering their encounter.

“I think Jordan's the bad boy of the three brothers,” Genie continued. “You know, the hard-ass who's oh-so-hot.” She smiled then stopped at a traffic light and glanced at her cell phone. “Okay, my boyfriend just texted me and said half the water's already out. There's more wood from the hull of the ship showing. Can you believe it? The wooden planks of the hull—it's sounding more and more like a ship to me.”

Sheri felt a twinge of excitement begin to creep inside her. There were endless possibilities as to what it actually could be, but the remote chance that it was a hull was just too good to be true. “Okay, we can't get too excited. We're scientists—scholars,” Sheri said firmly. “Let's not jump the gun here. We
need to examine the site first before we draw any conclusions.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know all that. But, can you believe it? It's so exciting. Just imagine. We're right here at the start of something this amazing. I can't wait to excavate.”

“We'll have to wait and see. It may not even come to that,” Sheri said, dashing Genie's hopes again. She hated doing it, but she needed Genie to be calm and rational.

“I know, but still, can you imagine…?”

Sheri didn't have to imagine, she was already there. Finding the wreckage of the
Crescent
would be extraordinary. No, it would be monumental. It would also validate the research she'd been working on for years.

Genie continued chattering as they drove across the island toward Crescent Point. Sheri was quiet throughout much of the ride. Too many things were on her mind. Fifteen minutes later they pulled into the parking lot. Sheri looked up at the large sign, Hamilton Development Corporation. She shivered. Immediately the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

They got out, grabbed their gear and headed to the front gate. A security guard watched them approach. He met them halfway shaking his head and pointing behind them. “I'm sorry, girls, this is a construction site. You gotta leave.”

“We'd like to speak to whoever is in charge, please.”

“Regarding?” the guard asked.

“We're from the Crescent Island Museum,” Sheri began as she showed her ID. “We'd like to speak with someone about items found on this property.”

“You're mistaken, there were no items found here.”

“I believe there were, so please call whomever you need. We'd like to speak to them,” she insisted.

He chuckled while looking deadly serious. “Look, this isn't the place you want to be. So why don't you girls turn your little Jeep around and get your selves back to the museum. Because you're not getting on this property, that's just not going to happen,” he said.

Sheri raised her chin and glared at him. She had no intention of leaving and the man's condescending tone and the fact that he insisted on calling them girls irked her. But what really made her angry was the fact that he was standing in the way of uncovering something of huge historical significance. “Don't patronize us. And we're not girls, so I suggest you get someone down here now!” she said. The tone of her voice was unmistakable. She meant business. He nodded and smiled again as he pulled out his cell phone and made a call. Moments later a woman approached dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, a lightweight jacket with a company logo and carry
ing a hard hat with her cell phone to her ear. She hung up as soon as she neared them.

“Hi, I'm Tamika Smith, the development's operations assistant. How can I help you?” she said, friendly enough.

“Yes, hi, I hope so. My name is Sheri Summers and this is my assistant, Genie Hopkins.” They shook hands. “We're with the Crescent Island Museum and Smithsonian Institution. I believe you found some items this morning that may be of significant historical value.”

“Historical value? Here? No, you must be mistaken,” she said, self-assuredly.

“I don't think so,” Sheri said firmly.

“We're in the process of finalizing this development site. If something had been uncovered, we would have certainly found it months ago and contacted the proper authorities.”

“I believe this was found in a new location.”

“The secondary site?” she asked with added interest. “Did someone from the site contact you?” Tamika asked.

“In a manner of speaking, yes. Photos were sent to the museum.”

“Okay, hold on. Let me check with our on-site manager,” she called someone and repeated what Sheri had just told her. She stepped away out of earshot and continued her conversation.

Genie leaned over to Sheri. “I had no idea this
place was so big. It's huge and it looks like they're almost done.”

Sheri nodded as she looked around. Genie was right. The site was a lot larger than she'd expected. Of course she knew about the huge construction project. Everybody on the island knew. For a while Hamilton's real estate development had created a huge rift in the community. After a few minutes the woman turned back around to face them.

“Okay, Ian Parker, the on-site manager, will meet you at the office trailers. He's tied up at the moment, but you can wait for him. Follow me.”

“Thank you,” Sheri said as she and Genie followed her through the entrance to the construction site. Teetering on her high heels, she meandered her way through the puddles and mud around the largest building being constructed on the site, and continued until they reached a paved open space. They were headed toward what looked like oversize trailers parked at the opposite end of the site. As they walked, Sheri looked across at the main building. To her surprise the development was a lot further along than she'd expected. The roof had been completed and the windows had been framed in place. Bricklayers were perched upon scaffolding beside the concrete that formed the outside walls. It appeared that work had begun on the interior, with flooring piled high in front of the building. Tamika led them to a large trailer. As they climbed the steps
to the entrance, Tamika knocked and opened the door, ushering them inside.