Pirate

As we approached the pier, we heard voices coming from a building I guessed to be a makeshift bar along the main street. There were two or three buildings large enough to house a business, though none were marked. Mason and I stayed clear of the bar, went around the back of the harbormaster’s shack, and stood on the end of the pier where we had an unobstructed view of the harbor. There were several large boats at anchor and a dozen or so fishing boats, often tied three deep against the pier.

“I don’t see the frigate,” I said.

“No, but there’s a few boats here that I would take care to avoid,” he said.

“I’ve seen enough. Let’s get back to the ship and make a plan to spring Red.” I turned to walk away but stopped, as I heard voices nearby. “Quick, behind the building.”

We reached the back of the building just as two men entered the office, and light spilled from the window as a lantern was lit. I slid over to the side of the open window, anxious for news.

“You’re the agent for Warner and Mountain?”

“Name’s Greene. Colonel P.C. Green, at your service. And you represent Simonton and Whitehead?” I recognized the gruff tone of the harbormaster.

“That’s right. Seems they’re interested in how you came to be running this spit of land, as your bosses only own twenty-five percent.”

I could smell the tobacco as the harbormaster lit his pipe. “Seems you’re a bit misinformed. I’ve been here since before the Spanish. Just keeping order and collecting rents is all.”

“Well, Simonton and Whitehead will be looking for an accounting,” the stranger said.

“I’ve got it here. Let me just open the safe.”

The room was silent for a moment until the stranger spoke. “You haven’t seen or heard of any of Gasparilla’s lot, have you?”

“Why do you ask?” the harbormaster replied.

I chanced a look in the window and saw him rise from the safe with a large ledger, his hand holding something underneath it.

“Seems there was couple of longboats and empty chests that floated out of the Caloosahatchee River. The lot of it just floated into the bay after the last storm.”

I had a moment of panic and turned away from the scene in the room. The two longboats and empty chests we had left under the brush by the river had been a long way from the water level, but a storm the size of what we had experienced in the river of grass could easily have raised the water level enough to float the boats out of the depression. I cursed under my breath for not scuttling them, but was interrupted by a gunshot, and turned back toward the window.

The stranger was prone on the floor, blood pooling around him, the harbormaster standing over him with his pipe in his mouth and a pistol in his hand. Mason grabbed my arm and pulled me into the shadows as the door opened, and we watched the harbormaster haul the body to the edge of the dock and push it in the water. The light extinguished and we could hear the sound of the safe closing. He emerged a few minutes later, closed the door, and walked down the pier, where he turned inland onto the street leading to the brig.

I left the cover of the building with Mason behind me. We made sure the harbormaster was out of sight before we took off at a run on the trail that lead toward the shack. The brush cut us, and we both tripped several times as we fought our way to the beach where we had left the boat, uncovered it, and hauled it to the water. We didn’t speak until we were half way to our ship.

“It’s gotta be tonight. That bastard Greene is on his way to get what he can out of Red,” I said.

He looked at me as if I spoke a different language.

“Well, you knew we were pirates. Those were our boats and chests the stranger was talking about.”

43

“Gather the guns and swords. We could use some powder as well,” I yelled to the startled crew as my feet hit the deck. “We need to get Red, now.” I went to the group who were gathered around the companionway. “Somehow, the boats and chests that we stashed along the river floated free in the storm and made their way to the Gulf. We overheard someone in the harbormaster’s office tell him about it.”

They looked at each other, knowing that if Red talked, our treasure was in jeopardy. We had the option to pull anchor and retrieve the treasure, but I determined the best course of action was to rescue Red before he told them about us or the treasure. It fit my plans to remain anonymous and put our pirate reputation behind us.

“You heard him.” Rhames broke the spell, a large grin on his face.

The men dispersed, leaving Rory and Mason staring at me.

“I thought you were through with pirating and murder?” Rory said.