“It’s about a Cold War Russian nuclear submarine, Braden. Now do you get it? Now do you understand why I shut down her article? The world was supposed to believe it was lost and never found.”
“And these coordinates?” He spilled them out to her.
“Not the sub. The missingVanguardthat was on a CIA-funded covert mission to salvage the nukes and anything else that could be taken from that submarine—but it was all lost at sea.”
“Obviously it isn’t lost. Someone knows where to find it. And theVanguard? What does that have to do with theSpecter’s Bounty?”
“It’s complicated. Do you really want me to tell you everything now?”
“No.” Braden stood at the door to the marina. “Anything else before I end this call and go find your daughter?”
“You go out there, you might not come back, Braden. You know that, right?”
He ended the call. No more time to waste. He rushed inside to find both Mavis and Kit working hard, seeing to customers. He forced his way to the front of the line. “We have an emergency. I need a boat. Cressida has been taken.”
Kit paused while packaging an item, her eyes wide. “What?”
“No time to explain. I need a boat.”
“I got nothing for you. Maybe see if one of the people at the bash can help.”
He paced and rubbed his jaw.God, I need your help. Cressida needs your help.
“What about the pirates? You could get one of them to help.” She gestured toward the liveaboards, who had moved their boats in for the bash. “Diggins, maybe.”
Braden struggled to keep his expression neutral. Diggins was nowhere to be found. He had assumed that Diggins had taken Cressida, then he’d seen theMariner’s Gambit—Malloy already on his list to be questioned—leaving the bay.
At that moment, Diggins himself stepped into the chandlery, surprising Braden. “Detective.” He nodded. “What’s going on? I thought I would find Ms. Dane with you.”
And I thought you’d found her and taken her.Clearly Braden was wrong. “I can’t be sure, but I’m concerned that Malloy has her on theMariner’s Gambit. It’s heading out of the bay. I can’t know. All I know is someone took her. I’ve got my deputy calling in resources.”
“Did he get theKrakenon it? The USCG cutter?”
“I hope so,” Braden said. “I can’t wait for resources. Cressida might not have that time.”
“Let’s go.” Diggins led Braden out of the shop, and they rushed toward a skiff at the very end of the pier.
His old trawler, the Sea Reaper, was floating not too far out in the crowded bay. Either it had just arrived, or Braden and Cressida had missed it before. They hopped in without a second to waste and Diggins ramped up the motor and sped across the chop to his vessel.
They climbed aboard. Braden took in the older boat. Clearly Diggins had worked hard to repair it, but he hadmuch work left to do. “Are you sure this is going to make it?”
“Oh, she’s good for it. But a bigger question is where are we going? I don’t see Malloy.”
“I think I know,” Braden said. “Just get us out of the bay, then I’ll tell you.”
Diggins was at the helm, slowly maneuvering out of the marina, and then he steered out of the bay, well away from other boaters, before picking up speed. Braden peered through binoculars, searching the horizon for theMariner’s Gambit.
He didn’t get it. If Malloy had wanted Cressida, he had her to begin with. Then again, Cressida didn’t have the information then. How did Malloy know that she finallyknewthe location? Had Derek Harlan worked that out somehow and told Malloy? Had Malloy killed Derek, or had it been someone else?
“What are you after, Diggins? You wanted the truth from Evelyn. What are you looking for? Cressida said you knew why her father was killed. Tell me everything I need to know and tell me now. Cressida got what you needed, and that got her into trouble. Into this mess. You owe her. You owe me.”
Diggins handled his vessel with skill and experience as he grumbled under his breath, nodding and grimacing.
“TheSpecter’s Bounty, akaEndeavor Spirit, went out in search of the lostVanguard. The crew was a few treasure hunters.”
That wasn’t exactly the story told at the museum. “Treasure. What treasure were they hunting?”
“Black-market stuff.”
