“Do you think it’s some sort of secret code?” Elvira asked.
“No. Transporting the chest from the ship to the shore may have caused them.” He gave the padlock a firm tug. “It’s a sturdy lock.”
Carlita crept closer. “I’m surprised you haven’t opened it yet.”
“She’s been letting the anticipation build,” Dernice explained. “She spent half of last night sitting here, staring at it.”
“I have a plan.”
“Uh-oh,” Carlita chuckled. “And it involves Pete?”
“If this chest is full of treasure, I’m prepared to hire you and your crew to do some targeted exploration of the area’s coastline and the Savannah River.”
Pete arched a brow. “You’re that confident about the contents of this chest?”
“I am.”
“So, I’m going to do all the work and you’ll reap the rewards.”
“I’ll pay you for your time, every second of it, if there’s treasure in here.”
“Let me get this straight.” Pete rubbed the stubble on his chin. “You think I might have an inkling of the general vicinity of a sunken pirate ship or ships, which would save you time and money. You could hire someone else, some other crew to dive specific sites, but it could take years, perhaps even a lifetime, to locate the general vicinity.”
“He’s onto you, Elvira,” Dernice smirked. “I warned you that you wouldn’t be able to pull a fast one over on Pete.”
“I want a cut, a partnership,” he said bluntly.
“Even if I paid you handsomely?” Elvira, who was still on her knees, clasped her hands. “I’ve invested countless hours, not to mention cold, hard cash into shoring this area up so I could get to this chest.”
“And I would invest my crew and ship for what may be a wild-goose chase.” Pete paused. “Let’s say that there is a map in here. You could hire another captain and crew.”
“But they don’t know the area like you do.”
“Besides, she’s already tried that route,” Dernice said. “She couldn’t find any takers. They all want a substantial deposit.”
“Big mouth.” Elvira shot her sister a death look.
“Which means I’m your last resort.”
Elvira ignored the comment. “So, will you do it?”
“I want an agreement in writing,” Pete bargained.
“I think you’ve met your match, Elvira,” Carlita teased.
“Clipboard please.” Elvira snapped her fingers.
Dernice handed her sister the clipboard. “I’m prepared to sign a joint venture agreement with you. This outlines the terms and conditions.”
Carlita peered over Pete’s shoulder and scanned the single-page document. The first few items contained standard verbiage, something she was sure Elvira had pulled off the internet. She had filled in a few of the blanks regarding the ship’s usage, distance, and timeframe.
It also spelled out the terms of the agreement – a split of 60 / 40 in Elvira’s favor.
“This isn’t 50/50.”
“It’s my expedition, my map, my time.”
“What about my time, my ship, my crew?”
Carlita recognized the look in Pete’s eyes. He wasn’t going to budge. Elvira would have to agree to an even split or he was going to walk.
“Fifty-five, forty-five?” she asked hopefully.
“Fifty-fifty or nothing.”
“Fine.” Elvira blew air through thinned lips. “You drive a hard bargain.” She scratched out the split and jotted down the agreed change. They both initialed and signed, and then Dernice and Carlita witnessed their signatures.
With the contract signing out of the way, they turned their attention to the chest.
“Bolt cutters won’t work on this,” Pete said.
“Neither will picking the lock. I already tried.”
“The only thing left is a hammer and some muscle.”
Dernice ran upstairs to grab some tools. When she returned, she handed them to Pete, who began hammering away at the padlock. Chunks of rust fell off, but the lock refused to budge.
“You might have to pry it open,” Dernice suggested.
Elvira shook her head. “If this box is as old as I think it is, it might be worth some money.”
“Then leave the contents untouched,” Pete shrugged. “All I know is this lock isn’t opening without a key.”
Elvira pursed her lips, weighing her options. “Do what you have to do. I need to find out what’s inside.”
Pete lifted the hammer, giving the box a solid whack. The lid splintered. He hit it again, and then again. With each blow, more pieces flew off. “We’re finally getting somewhere.”
Using the claw end of the hammer, he began prying it off.
Eager to find out what was inside, the women gathered around, watching as he removed the last few pieces of wood. A layer of red velvet material was clearly visible.
“This chest bears a strong resemblance to an old pirate's chest,” Pete said. “They lined them with fabric to protect the gems and other booty for transportation.” He began removing a corner of the fabric.
“Be careful,” Elvira said. “Maybe we can save the fabric.”
“I’ll try.”
Carlita pressed a hand to her chest, watching as Pete carefully removed the front panel. He peeled back a second section before reaching inside.
Snap. The lock opened. Using his free hand, Pete easily removed it.
“You popped the lock.” Elvira’s jaw dropped. “That was cool.”
“I’m almost certain this is an old treasure chest. The inside mechanism, a lever, is a safety feature. If the captain or one of his crew was imprisoned inside the chest, the pirate had a way to unlock it.”
“Similar to the safety latches inside a car’s trunk,” Carlita said. “Very clever.”
With the padlock off, Pete lifted what was left of the lid, revealing the contents of the chest.
Chapter 12
At first glance, Carlita thought the chest was empty.
“It’s not full of treasure.” Elvira’s shoulders slumped.
“All is not lost.” Pete plucked out a piece of parchment paper.
“I’ll take that.” Elvira snatched it out of his hand. She turned her back as she unrolled it. “I can’t make heads or tails of this thing.”
