Pirate

They drove to the address given for the McGregor property. Other than the sign out front listing the estate for sale, there was nothing to indicate that there was anything unusual about the place. It was Remi who pointed out that the property lines could’ve changed over the centuries. “Who knows if the Herbert or McGregor ancestors parceled any of this out, way back when. The entrance might be on someone else’s property by now. Never mind that there’s no ivy here. Percy mentioned something about ivy.”

Sam let his foot off the gas as he looked at the McGregor property.

“Now what?” she asked.

“Drive around and see if we can’t find some ivy.” He glanced in his rearview mirror and saw a car pull onto the street behind.

“There!” Remi pointed to the right of the McGregor estate. “A lot of ivy in that park.”

Not quite a park, it was a greenbelt running between the two homes with a graveled footpath. Right now, though, Sam was more worried about the car behind him — until he saw it pull into the drive at the corner and caught a glimpse of the woman driving and the young boy sitting in the front passenger seat.

He continued past the greenbelt, when Aldridge called. “Bit of a problem,” he said after Remi put him on speakerphone. “I just got off the phone with Swift’s wife. He’s just returned from meeting with someone about the caves. I’m assuming these are the men you’re worried about.”

There was no doubt in Sam’s mind who Swift met with, which meant Fisk and company were probably on their way to the caves. “Thanks for the update.”

Remi shifted in her seat to get a better look as Sam continued down the street. “I don’t see any other ivy in the area. Maybe that’s really the entrance.”

“It certainly looks like it. Right now, I’d like to find a place to park without being seen.”

“You think it’s really there?”

“The treasure?” Sam said. “Wouldn’t Percy have found it in all his wanderings? Or someone else during the last eight hundred years?”

“I was thinking more of a clue.” She gave a faint smile. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

Sam drove a bit farther, making a U-turn as the rain started up again. “A lot of other treasures out there waiting to be found. If we don’t find this one, it isn’t the end of the world.”

Remi picked up her phone. “Slow down. I’ll take a few pictures on our way out.”

He let his foot off the gas while Remi took a few photos of the ivy vines cascading down the stone wall. Now that he had a better look at it, he realized the crumbling, ivy-covered wall against the side of that low hill didn’t really seem to belong to anything — maybe left over from some other time before the current houses had been built in the area.

That had to be it, he thought, when he saw a blue BMW turn the corner up ahead. He threw the car in reverse and backed into the drive across from the park.

“What’s wrong?” Remi asked.

“Company.”

Fifty-two

Rain splattered down on the windshield, blurring their vision, but Sam wasn’t about to turn the wipers on and risk being seen. Not after seeing the BMW pull up to the park. Ivan and Alexandra were in the front, Jak and Nigel in the back. Ivan got out of the driver’s seat, opened the back door, pulling Nigel out by his arm. Jak and Alexandra followed close behind, the four walking into the park.

A moment later, Fisk’s black Mercedes pulled up behind the BMW. He and two stocky, dark-haired men got out. Sam saw the bulk of handguns beneath their matching brown leather coats. “Fisk’s brought reinforcements.”

Sam and Remi watched as they entered the park, walking toward the wall of ivy. Apparently Alexandra was left to guard Nigel while Jak and Ivan picked up a couple of sticks, poking them into the thick ivy vines, searching for the entrance. Ivan turned toward Nigel, saying something, and Nigel nodded at the ivy as though he had some knowledge of the location. Jak moved to the opposite end, poking his stick in and out of the vines.

“We have to do something, Sam. We can’t let them take Nigel down there.”

“I wasn’t expecting so many men. We rush in now, we might as well be stepping into a viper’s nest.”

“At least they’re not golden lancehead vipers.”

Fisk said something to Alexandra, who moved closer to Nigel as he and his new henchmen started exploring the greenbelt. Right now, the odds of a rescue didn’t look good. They’d be seen the moment they left the car and started walking down the drive to the park.

“So what’s the plan?” Remi asked.

“You mean, miracle?” Trying to rescue Nigel while avoiding five armed men and possibly one armed woman — with very little cover other than a few hedges — was going to be a lot harder than they’d anticipated.

“There’s always Bree,” Remi said.

Sam glanced over at her. “What about her?”

“She’s passed on information to her cousin before. Why not now? Why not make them think they’re in the wrong location? They leave, we follow, and find a better place to get to Nigel.”