Page 113 of Hard Luck (Blackstone House)

“No one would ever find lost gold in that jungle.”

“Exactly.” Cole smoothed Bella’s hair. Earlier, she’d rinsed the salt out of it with a bucket of water from the well. “Although the pirates probably took most of it years ago.”

“The buccaneers let them get away with that?”

“Not by choice. The buccaneers captured the pirates’ flagship, so the story goes, and brought it to Skeleton Cay. But it was a Trojan Horse. Instead of treasure in the chests, there were more pirates.”

“And they turned the tables on the buccaneers?”

“They did. The Dreadhaven pirates had been spending more money than they made, and they saw a way to rebuild their fortunes. But it didn’t work out the way they planned.”

“The buccaneers slaughtered them?”

“Why so bloodthirsty, sweetheart? No, the pirates stole the treasure and sailed off into the night, never to be seen again.”

“What do you mean?”

“They vanished into thin air. Never made it toDreadhaven. Some say the pirates on board theSpanish Dancerdouble-crossed their friends and fled to Europe, but others say the ship sank.”

Acracksounded from nearby, a stick breaking, and Bella knifed up.

“I think it’s just a deer,” Cole said. “Want me to check?”

“No, it’s not that. What did you say the ship was called?”

“The pirate ship? TheSpanish Dancer.”

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“Don’t worry; the pirates have been dead for centuries.”

“How did I not know this? How did I not think of this?”

“Well, nobody puts the story in the tourist brochures. You saw what happened to Treasure Atoll.”

“No, you don’t get it. Those assholes who stole your boat aren’t looking for conchs. They’re looking for treasure.”

“TheCrosswindisn’t equipped for that.”

“I think they already found it. Soon after the trip started, I saw a journal by the big map. It said…it said…” Bella screwed her eyes shut as if she was trying to remember. “Today was the first day since the hurricane that I returned. The conchs at the breeding ground were fewer in number, but the winds brought a new gift—the Spanish Dancer. She was shallower than I would have expected, and I caught just a brief glimpse of her, but there was no doubting her beauty.There was something about a turtle too, but that’s all I saw before Witt walked in and snatched the journal away. I figured they were talking about the sea slugs—you know, the frilly ones—but now it’s obvious. Whoever wrote the journal found the ship.”

“You’re sure that’s what it said?TheSpanish Dancer, notaSpanish Dancer?”

“Yes.” Bella lay back down and groaned. “And I just remembered something else. Witt said Clint and Jonplanned the western part of the trip. Jon thehistorian. It tickled my brain at the time, but I didn’t realise the significance.”

It sounded too crazy to be true. And yet…and yet Dr. Blaylock had told Cole that it was Clint who’d pushed for the extension to the survey. It was Clint who’d specifically wanted to visit this area. The journal entry had talked about a conch breeding ground. Like the one the boys had found at Windjammer Bank? If that was the case, Cole knew where his boat was. He just couldn’t get there.

“When you rode in the submersible with Dr. Blaylock, did you see anything that could be a shipwreck?”

Cole thought back to their time at Windjammer Bank as well. Before Clint gave up his seat on theTide Pod—an admittedly out-of-character decision for him—Bella had talked about diving with Cole that day. Whatever was lurking in the shallows, Clint hadn’t wanted them to see it.

“There was something dark in the distance. Visibility was poor in that spot, and I assumed it was a rock formation. In hindsight, it’s clear the boys stirred up the sand to stop me from seeing theSpanish Dancer. She’s lying shallow to the north.”

“Dr. Blaylock would never have gone along with this.”

“I know.”

“Do you…?” Cole swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. “Do you think they killed him the way they tried to kill us?”

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