Page 154 of In the Pursuit of Haven
Brecker gave a reluctant smile. “Or that.” His eyes slanted to me and he sobered immediately. “We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry. No one’s going to die.”
I didn’t believe anyone right now. Whatever traps were hidden underground could’ve been eroded by time. Everything inside could be malfunctioning and set to go off no matter what we did. Newton—or whoever the mastermind was behind this puzzle—might care very little for Jessie’s life, but to me he was everything!
Brecker took the boat past Little Misery—its waters hid countless shipwrecks, including a few steamship graveyards. We glided past the coast of the Great Misery, skipping Wild Cove to reach the North Cove facing Manchester Bay. I gave directions, since according to both Luther family legendandour genius Lightmaker, the treasure would be at the pond near the ruins of the pump house.
As soon as we turned the bend, the boats that Hunter and his friends had abandoned on the sandy shore were another good sign we were at the right place.
The waves lapped up against the remains of the salt water swimming pool as we sailed to the beach. We hopped out of the dinghy—even in the coldness of winter, the sand was soft under our feet. We worked our way to the rocky embankment. Shoe prints showed me exactly where everyone had gone. Immediately, I recognized Jessie’s in the mass exodus. He was wearing the boots he always took fishing.
Oh, Jessie! Please be okay.
The discolored gray stones of the pump house reminded me of the top of a castle parapet—time had since ravaged the stones with the wear and tear of the ocean, making them seem like Mayan ruins covered in green-and-orange moss.
The murky, avocado depths of a massive pond lay beyond that. I wasn’t sure how much of it was manmade, but some of it must be natural for Crabb and his compatriots to choose this site to hide his treasure.
I could scarcely believe that the centuries of searching had finally come to an end here. Corwin’s family—no, mine—had supposedly leased the place for a home when the treasure was hidden. As nasty as they were… they were my ancestors. Such a strange thought that the descendants of Crabb’s compatriots were all going for the treasure after all these years, for our various reasons, almost like this was destiny.
And I didn’t want to think that way. Get Jessie out and go!
The footprints disappeared in the rocks surrounding the pump house with no sign of where they went. Where had they gone in that pond and how far down? Unlike Crabb, I wasn’t much of a diver myself… but I doubted Abby was either.
Swinging around to Brecker, I noticed his lips had firmed, and he was tracking the group, picking his way through the gravel and around the trees. These normally useless skills must come naturally for those in the treasure hunting biz. We made our way to the other end of the trees. He pointed. “This is where they went in.”
I teetered at the edge of the freezing water, not sure where to go from here. Should I take off my shoes before going in? There was no sign that anyone else had done that.
Caitlyn cleared her throat. “How do we uh…?”
Exactly my sentiments.Brecker tilted his head at her. “Let me go first and see what we’re dealing with.”
Without waiting for an answer, he peeled off his coat and throwing it on the sand, he dove in at an angle. His white shirt molded to his broad shoulders as I watched him move through the water like an agile eel until he disappeared.
In about two minutes, he popped back up. The water in his blonde hair dripped down his jaw and neck. “They left the entrance propped open—it just goes into a cavern that goes dry as soon as you move above the level of the water. C’mon, follow me. It’ll be easy.”
Caitlyn was already shaking her head. Apparently, she wasn’t much of an adventurer. It made me wonder how she’d gotten involved with him in the first place. “I’ll just stay behind and guard our uh… stuff.”
Brecker reached out of the water and found her wrist, his thumb caressing her skin. “Is that what you really want to do?”
She nodded, pushing her red hair behind her ear. “Just… be careful, okay?”
“If Bette Ann shows up,” he said, “you can show her where we went.”
I couldn’t exactly imagine Haven’s best friend diving in after us, but I had no idea who she was bringing, either. Brecker seemed to know she had some powerful connections.
“I’m going,” I said before he could dive in without me. I threw my coat next to his and plunged into the cold water.Yeah, this is really freezing!I gasped for air.
I didn’t care how awful this was—Jessie didn’t stand a chance in there without me, and if my sister-in-law could do this dive, I definitely had it in me to get through this too.
Meeting Brecker’s eyes, I steeled myself. “You first,” I said.
Chapter Forty-Two
Wriggling through the rocks underwater was the worst part, but in the next instant, I felt Brecker’s hand on mine and he tugged me up. My head cleared the frigid surface, and I found myself in absolute darkness.
I let out a cry of panic.
“Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay.” Brecker’s hand left mine and in the next moment, a light appeared. The bright beam of his waterproof flashlight glistened over the still waters of an underground lake, exploring the nooks and crannies of this strange world we’d entered of drooping stalactites and twisting domes.
It wasn’t too long before the light rested on the pile of wet coats where the group before us had stashed their belongings… a little late, in my opinion, but Luther must be calling the shots.
