“What will you do with it?” Katie asked.
“Do with it?” Vanessa said blankly. “Well, I don’t actually see it as mine. I was on a trial run for the film when I happened upon it. I don’t know—it should be in a museum, I guess. It’s confusing, though. It should really belong to Sean and David, I think. Isn’t that the way it works when you’re working for someone? Like Mel Fisher had all kinds of divers, but the finds were his—right?”
Sean laughed. “After he fought the state for a decade,” he said. “But he won. Nowadays, in territorial waters, it’s twenty-five percent to the state. The rest is yours. Jaden was beside herself with excitement when she called me. She says that it’s stunning. I haven’t had a chance to get over and see it in person yet. All I have is the picture she sent to my phone. She and Ted had a party tonight, so she locked it up tight. We’ll go and see it in person in the morning.”
“Wonderful,” Vanessa said. She wasn’t sure it was wonderful at all. She wished that she hadn’t found it. She could only imagine the terror of the woman who had worn it. By legend, Dona Isabella hadn’t died on the ship—she had been murdered with the others on Haunt Island, probably by Kitty Cutlass. In the movie script, she’d written in a spectacular scene of the beauty floating in the water. It was unlikely that had been the case—Dona Isabella’s bones were somewhere beneath the sands of Haunt Island.
Kitty Cutlass had most probably perished in the storm.
“Yes, that sounds fine,” Vanessa said.
“Oh my God!” Katie said. “You don’t sound excited. Vanessa, that’s a real historical find. It’s amazing. I’ve been on those reefs all my life. I found an old boot and a high school ring from Miami High, class of ’75. Hey, this is…treasure!”
Vanessa smiled and nodded. “I’ve got to get to work,” Katie said. She rolled her eyes.
“I’m going to go to Sean’s and see what Jay has done with the footage we took this morning,” David said. “Katie…do you mind? I’ll be back before you close.”
Katie laughed and touched David’s face tenderly. “I worked here long before you came back, my love. But, hey, I do appreciate walking home together, so thanks.”
She went off to introduce her show; a blonde girl was waiting impatiently to sing.
“So let’s head down to my house,” Sean said.
“Well, I’m off to shower and change,” Vanessa said, slipping from her stool. She paused. “Thank you, Sean, the Irish coffee was delicious.”
“Glad you enjoyed it,” Sean said, standing, as well. “Don’t you want to see the footage? I put some together from the dive, as well.”
“Sure, but…” She grimaced, indicating what she was wearing. “I really need to shower and change.”
“That’s easy enough. We’ll walk by your place, and I’ll wait for you.”
“No, no, that’s all right. It will take me a few minutes.”
“Not a problem,” David assured her.
“Sure—we haven’t looked in the T-shirt shop windows for a while,” Sean said, but he was smiling. “Actually, Irish Kevin’s has a great band. We can hang out and listen, and when you’re ready, head to my place.”
“You’re forgetting something,” she told him.
“What?”
“Your car.”
“It’s fine here. I’ll get it in the morning. There won’t be anyplace to park on lower Duval. I’ve left it before—it will be fine.”
Duval was crazy at night, with many people dressed up. Open containers were legal in Key West, and many a pirate and his dame walked about with their grog in a leather-bound drinking vessel of some kind or another. Some looked great and truly played the part.
“Hey, we wouldn’t be hard put to find extras, if we were filming a smashing pirate scene,” Sean said dryly.
“It’s happened every year for about a decade,” Vanessa said. “No surprise there.”
“One of the parties is happening,” David said. “I think it’s down on Mallory Square, but I’m not sure. It won’t be in full swing for a while.”
“And hopefully, we’ll be out of here by then,” Sean said, grinning.
“Hey, I think it’s great. They do reenactments and all kinds of cool historical stuff. Kids can come to it, and face it, Key West isn’t always kid-friendly,” Vanessa said.
“Excuse me—I was a kid here, and I came out just fine,” Sean said.
“I grew up here, too. So we stayed off Duval growing up,” David said. “We had the water. Boats, the sea, diving. What more could you ask?”
They reached Vanessa’s place. When Vanessa ran up to shower and change, Sean and David walked across the street to Irish Kevin’s. She would find them there when she was ready.