Chapter One
The two scuba divers passed serenely through the water, the bubbles from their regulators making the only sounds. The two women sought neither adventure, as they had encountered more than enough of it in the past, nor did they seek any treasure, though there was something potentially valuable on dry land that interested them. They simply wanted to enjoy the underwater sights that the Bahamas were famous for before they went on to their intended task, just the two of them alone in the water and counting fish.
Except they were not alone. They saw two women snorkeling a bit closer to the shore of the cay. One was black, the other white. The white woman waved to the two scuba divers, who waved back. The scuba divers went back to inspecting the coral, and when they looked up again, they were once again alone.
The duo eventually returned to the surface and climbed into their rented runabout and shed their gear. Doctor Denise Stuart, professor of archeology at the University of Virginia and Ashley Ferrel, who was an assistant editor of the Virginia Archaeological Journal and taught a few courses in archeology at the College of Caroline County had become friends during the latter's time as a graduate assistant at UVA. The two were getting in a little pleasure diving before they got down the business at hand. They changed from wet swimsuits to dry clothes in the open but, but did it so quickly, and at such a distance from any observers they would not be noticed.
What brought the two women to the Bahamas was a story that dated back more than two and a quarter centuries. In the early days of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress approved a plan to convert six merchant vessels into a small squadron to serve as a Naval force for the Thirteen Colonies. After the ship were outfitted, armed, and manned, and having been icebound in Philadelphia the early months of 1776, they were dispatched to Nassau, where it was hoped they could seize the supplies of cannon and gunpowder there.
The commander of the expedition – who owed his position to the fact his brother was a member of the Continental Congress - made two critical errors. Number one was allowing his force to be seen, and number two was failing to seal off the harbor, allowing the British governor to ship most of the gunpowder to safety. These were facts that could be gleaned from any library with books on the Naval aspect of the Revolutionary War, but the two were looking into a forgotten aspect of the raid. They same delay that allowed the island's authorities to remove the gunpowder also allowed the citizens to move their valuables and the payroll for the island garrison inland and bury it. The problem, according to the reports, was the burial party supposedly forgot where they buried the stuff.
True or not, the story was enough to get Denise and Ashley interested in the search for the treasure. A pair of high-tech metal detectors were among the equipment back at their hotel. At least it would be a break from the humdrum classroom work and lectures they had been doing over the last two years since they became well-known in archaeological circles for their role in the discovery of the Scrolls of Ramses, an ancient Egyptian military text. Because the scrolls were alleged to have contained the key to ultimate power, it required a series of harrowing adventures for Denise, Ashley, and their friends to obtain them. Fortunately, all went well and the two archaeologists were able to put the incident behind them.
The boat was returned to the rental agency and after an early lunch they returned to their hotel to find a commotion. "What's wrong?" Demise asked the desk clerk.
"One of the hotel maids was found bound and gagged in a storeroom," was the reply. "Her pass card for the rooms was missing."
"We'd better check to see if anything of ours is missing," Ashley said.
She and Denise hurried to their room. Like many modern hotels, the lock was activated by a coded card with a magnetic strip that was slid through a slot, not unlike the ones found machines that approved credit cards. On opening the door, they found a woman in a maid's uniform going through their belongings.
The woman tried to throw a punch at Denise, but the latter side stepped the blow. While the woman was off balance, she was shoved by Ashley and crashed to the floor. Quickly, Ashley and Denise were on top of the intruder and they pinned her to the floor.
With the woman face down on the floor and her arms pinned by Ashley, Denise looked for something to bind the intruder. The best she could do was to take the belts from their bathrobes, but they would do until the police arrive. They tied the woman's wrists with one of the belts and used the excess to secure her arms, while the second was wrapped mainly around her lower legs. When she was certain the woman was secure, Denise phoned the front desk and the clerk immediately brought in the police.
Since the hotel's security detail was already searching for whoever had tied up the maid, the wait was a short one. The bathrobe belt was exchanged for handcuffs and the woman was taken out of the room. "I've seen her before," the inspector remarked. "A small time thief, and strictly a local character. No connections with hotels."
"Until now," Ashley observed.
"If the maid recognizes her, then this women should spend a bit of time in prison."
"Nothing seems to be missing," Denise observed.
"Perhaps she had just started," the inspector said. "Quite odd though. This is a rather modest hotel, of the kind where the guests aren't likely to bring valuable with them."
"Perhaps these were what she was after, sir," an officer suggested as he hefted one of the metal detectors.
"It's too big for her to hide on her person. Are the two of you treasure hunters by any chance?"
"Archaeologists," Denise corrected. She then had a lengthy discussion as to why she and Ashley had come.
"I thought that was a strictly local legend," the inspector said. "Even if word reached the States, there would be no evidence such as a treasure map, as the very people who buried the valuables left nothing to help them find the lost items."
"That's why we're using these metal detectors," Ashley said as she pointed to one of the devices. "They don't just have earphones, but a computer chip as inside as well."
"Interesting."
The thief was taken from the room while Denise and Ashley were left to ponder what had happened.
"How could somebody know what we're looking for?" Ashley wondered. "It's not like we've advertised."
"True, but as the inspector said it's a well-known local story," Denise said. "And since the that thing with the Scrolls of Ramses, I haven't exactly been another face in the crowd."
"Do you think we should call Kate?"
"Why not? It's still early afternoon, so we should be able to catch somebody at her office."
"Would we be able to call to Washington?"
"We'll soon see."
Denise soon found it was indeed possible to call Washington, though the charges would be tacked onto the bill. After a few minutes, she was able to get through to the Georgetown Detective Agency. "Sorry, but Kate is on an out of town case right now," the secretary said. "I can put you through to another of our detectives."
"Thank you, but I've worked with Kate before, " Denise said before she hung up.
Ashley figured it out by the tone of Denise's voice. "Looks like we're on our own."
They spent the rest of the afternoon by the hotel pool discussing their plans. It seemed at first to be too public a place to do such a thing, but Ashley realized somebody would have to be right next them to hear their conversation without it being lost in the sound of a dozen other conversations, the sounds of children at play, and the occasional splash in the pool.
"There's not much inland," Denise said. "Though for some reason, during the colonial period, the British loved to put what they called Government House on a hill overlooking the colony's main city."
"Not much of a hill, but there is one," Ashley said. "Can you believe they actually call it Mount Fitzwilliam? There are bigger around Charlottesville, and they're not much compared with the Rockies. You think the stuff might have been buried near there?"
"It's always good to have two reference points, and Government House is as good as one as any, and an obvious one."
"So obvious that a careless person might not use a second?"
"It's a possibility."
Early the next morning, Denise and Ashley rented a jeep, into which they packer the metal detectors, camping gear, and enough food and clothes to last them a week. They drove out to a site near Mount Fitzwilliam, where Government House stood in the Eighteenth Century. Though the island of New Providence was inhabited mostly along the shore, it was a small island no more than three miles wide at it's widest point, and water could be seen from the high point near the center of the island.
For whatever reason, this site had first been abandoned as the home of the Bahamas' colonial governors and later as a residence. Most likely, after the British Empire abolished slavery, its usefulness as a plantation was severely limited and its owner turned to the merchant trade in Nassau.
The two adventuresses set up their camp and began to sweep the area with their metal detectors. The gold and silver buried would have been enough to set off the detectors, but had any valuables first been placed in a box with metal hinges and fastened with an iron lock, it would make such a noise as to remove all doubt as to it's existence. They ignored the faint pings that came through the earphones, which were probably the results of abandoned nails or some such iron objects. What they hoped to hear was the steady hum that accompanied a large amount of metal.
As they went along, Denise and Ashley were at two distinct disadvantages. First off all, their eyes were focused on the ground rather than their surroundings, and second, the earphones kept them from hearing faint sounds around them, such as footsteps. It wasn't until she was seized from behind and a hand was clamped over her mouth that Ashley realized there was any danger.
Denise happened to look up and see Ashley struggling with somebody. She set down the metal detector, her impulse to aid her colleague tempered by the need to look for other dangers, which made it easier for a second attacker to seize her. If the woman who had gone through their hotel room the day before was a small time thief, then this one was an outright thug. He knocked Denise to the ground and pinned her there, where he was able to stuff a bit of canvas cloth into her mouth, then tie her wrists. The other attacker had done the same with Ashley, but only after she lashed out unsuccessfully with the metal detector.
Once the two were pulled to their feet, the cloth packed into their mouths was reinforced with strips of cloth securing the packing. As a finish, they were made to sit down and their ankles bound. They looked at their attackers, who were an unlikely pair. One was short and on the portly side, and the other quite taller with no hair. Like the woman who was caught in their hotel, they were probably local talent.
"You two look tired," said the bald man with a toothy grin. "Why don't you two sit down and take a rest while we take over?"
Bahama Drama
Chapter Two
Bahama Drama
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