The very idea horrified her. To confront Gwen, to see if she shared the same grief as Ari. ‘No. How could I? What would I say? But, Jason…’ Why stop now? she thought. ‘Jason, I saw him. Or something that looks like him. Simon’s ghost or…Ankou, that’s what Rafael called it…’
He looked dubious, but kind. ‘When?’
‘The night of the dinner at the manor on the cliffs. And at thefest noz.There’s more. There’s so much more. I can’t even begin to tell you all of it. But there are things happening here, dark and ancient, dangerous things. I know I sound crazy, but…Rafael saw him too.’
‘Oh, Rafael did, did he? And that’s why he was back here when we got home, was it? To comfort you? He didn’t waste a moment the second time he had the chance.’
‘Don’t…’ she whispered. Because even though it hurt, she didn’t want Jason to say that. Maybe she was stupid, but she didn’t like the implications.
He put the picture and the letter aside. ‘And all this?’ He gestured to the rest of the papers.
‘You didn’t look at it when you packed it away?’
He shrugged. ‘I didn’t pack it away. I don’t know who did. It was just there.’ He sifted through some of the photocopies and then picked up the notebook, flicking through it. ‘Jesus…he had it all in here. That’s how you knew. What’s this?Le chemin de l’eau?’
‘At the mouth of the sea cave. There’s evidence of a road or a plaza. And there was a rip tide. Inside, the carvings… If I’d remembered the camera, I could show you. I’m sorry, Jason.’
He turned back to the letter. ‘These are the coordinates, on the bottom, the place where we found the mask, where you found the cave. Ari? This doesn’t make sense. Why would Simon give you the coordinates and send you the pendant if he never wanted to see you again?’
She didn’t know. She didn’t know anything. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. She just couldn’t find the words. He’d written those numbers of the edge of the page. Had he even known he was doing that or had something made him do it? The mask, perhaps, reaching out to be found again. Or had it just been a mistake? An idle doodle. He used to do that, she recalled.
Tears welled in her eyes again, burning.
‘Here.’ Jason hugged her, ruffled her hair like he had always done. ‘It’s OK, squirt. We’ll work it out. You have a rest and then we’ll go exploring, OK? Always loved a cave. Endless wonder. All those secrets. Buried treasure is almost as good as sunken treasure. The sooner, the better. I’ll get the gear we need and we’ll head off.’
The gear. Just like that.
But gear for exploring caves was completely different. And if Rafael really had cancelled the funding…
‘But what if we don’t have the money anymore?’
‘Nico will know where to get it. I’ll ask him. Come on.’
But Nico wasn’t there when they went downstairs. Jason’s car was gone.
Jason fished out his phone and rang, but there was no answer. ‘Where’ve you gone, mate? Call me back.’
As they headed to the kitchen, they heard a car engine outside and Jason turned, relieved, but his expression darkened as he saw not his aged truck, but a familiar sleek black Mercedes.
Rafael.
‘Shit,’ Ari said, but Jason was already out the door, striding across the dirt yard, a man on a mission, a man outraged, with his sister’s honour at stake.
Damn it. She ran after him, knowing exactly how this would go down.
‘Jason, no!’
This wasn’t going to help. It wasn’t going to solve anything. And if she thought it would, she would bloody well do it herself.
Rafael got out of the car, spotted her and in his achingly handsome face she saw…relief? ‘Ari, why did you—?’
That was when Jason reached him, drew back his fist and aimed a punch right at his nose.
Ari grabbed her brother’s arm and, at the same moment, Rafael sidestepped, avoiding them both.
‘Stop it!’ she growled at Jason. ‘Stop it now. It won’t help.’
‘I’ll feel better.’
