Were looking into the death of Brady Laurie, Will said.
Sad affair, that drowning, Simonton murmured.
This is your company? Kat asked him.
Simonton nodded. My fathers company, really. He wants to retire. Ive been handling the business for about a year.
And what is your business, exactly? Will asked.
Simonton looked confused. Um, salvage.
Will had the grace to laugh. No, Im sorry, what type of salvage? What are you working on now?
Oh! Simonton said. Were conducting two recovery missions. A Florida boater underestimated the power of the lake and sank a sixty-foot sailboat, and were also working on recovering the cargo from the hold of the Mystic Susanshes a merchant vessel that went down with crates of high-fashion clothing, Simonton explained.
That does sound like work. Not terribly exciting, Kat said sympathetically.
Simonton gave a nonchalant shrug. It pays the bills, and quite nicely, too. Oh, and Mrs. Ciskelshes the wife of the Florida boateris furious because she had a lot of jewelry aboard when their boat went down. Id like to find that cache myself. To return to her, of course. Shes promised a massive bonus if we get back all her jewels. He frowned. Now, whats this all about?
We were wondering if youd ever had any plans to explore and salvage the Jerry McGuen, Will said.
We were invited to the reception put on by the Egyptian Sand Diggers.
Kat glanced at Will. The Egyptian Sand Diggers? he repeated. Who are they?
Simonton waved one hand in the air. Theyre a local service cluband theyre just a little nutty, you know? In love with all things ancient Egyptian. Some of them are true scholars, while the rest are more what youd call armchair historians. They held a reception about six months ago, and they shared all sorts of current information on expeditions into the Valley of the Kings, the closing of the Great Pyramids for maintenance, stuff like that. And they had an exhibit on Gregory Hudsonhes the guy who discovered the Amun Mopat tomb way backand the Jerry McGuen. They were trying to encourage local salvage companies to search for her. Unfortunately, I dont have the time or money to go on a wild-goose chase, although I wish I had gone on that goose chase. I suppose the location is pretty well-known by now and anyone might have found her after she shifted on the seabed. See, it was wide open. The State of Illinois gets everything recovered in this area of Lake Michigan, but the salvage company that finds it does get certain rights. The original company went bust soon after the sinking of the Jerry McGuen and the passengers families were paid off with what was left, so any descendants arent really a factor. Now, as far as the salvage goes, the State of Illinois would probably return most of it to the Egyptians.
Do you know of anyone else who was planning to go after the ship? Kat asked.
Landry, he said. He and my dad were always competitive. Maybe he wanted to find it just to rub in my dads faceor my face now. He was at the reception, by the way.
How many boats do you have, Mr. Simonton? Will asked.
I have a little Mako for my own pleasure, Simonton said. You can go see her if you want. Shes sitting right outside.
This looks like a good operation. Kat smiled. And obviously a successful one.
Im all about paying the bills, Simonton said. He tapped a pencil on his desk. Can I do anything else for you? Im sorry, but Im kind of busy andwell, honestly, Im not really sure what youre after.
We think someone helped Brady Laurie drown, Will said bluntly.
Simonton gaped at him. Wow. Well, I cant see how that could have happened. I mean, his own people were right behind him and theyre the ones who found him. He sat back, staring at them, still not threatened, just surprised. Um, youre welcome to search anything we own or, uh, whatever.
Thanks. If we need to search, well get back to you, Kat said. What we could use is information on the Egyptian Sand Diggers.
Oh, sure! He started rummaging through his desk. That invitation is in here somewhere. They used nice stationery and calligraphy on it.
He gave up with a sigh and stood, heading out to the receptionists desk. Gina, can you find me that invitation from the Egyptian Sand Diggers?
Simonton stood by the door as Gina searched for the invitation. Kat leaned over and whispered to Will. Why dont you just call the Tribune and announce that were looking for a murderer? Were not even sure of it ourselves!
He shrugged. What? You think people will believe the FBI is involved because we want to dive a wreck?
She gritted her teeth again, but before she could respond, Simonton returned with the invitation. Here you go. Their address is right there, where it says RSVP.
Thank you, Kat said, accepting it. She smiled. You were really helpful. I hope we can count on you in the future, if we need to.
He gave her a warm smile in return. Oh, you bet!
You did a lovely job. Maybe I should let you do all the talking, Will muttered as they left the office.
What?
He turned to her. Mr. Simonton was quitetaken with you. Thats good. Hell help us.
Agent Chan, that is hardly
Professional? Sorry. But you were being all nicey-nice, and in this case, it seemed to work. I say we go with it.
I say its better than you offending M.E.s and cops!
McFarland needed to know that hed make a fool of himself if he crossed Laurie off as an accidental death. Now he knows, and he wont do it. And I was perfectly polite with the cops. I dont blame them. This is a tough town, and when they can close the books on a situation, they have to do it. I honestly dont think it occurred to most people working the drowning that it might have been an assisted drowningor murder. Now, theyll think about.
Are we going out to talk to Landry or the Egyptian Sand Diggers? Kat asked. She decided to let his previous remarksa backhanded compliment if ever there was oneslide.
Lets check out Landry first, Will said.
Kat agreed, getting out her phone.
Will glanced over at her. Are you getting someone to look up the Sand Diggers?
She nodded.
Good idea.
After a brief conversation, Logan promised that hed learn whatever he could about the avid amateur Egyptologists. By the time shed finished, they were pulling into a lot by the glass-and-chrome offices of Landry Salvage.
They seem to be doing a bit better here, dont you think? he asked Kat.
Either that, or theyre more impressed with appearances.
Where the offices of Simontons Sea Search had seemed like an old-fashioned sea shanty, Landrys was almost sterile. The floors were bare, the white walls adorned with single black strokes of paint. The reception desk was sparse, and the woman who greeted them was young, very pretty and very blank. It seemed to take her several minutes to figure out who they were, and then several more to understand what they wanted. The little sign on her desk identified her as Sherry Bertelli.
Oh, oh, oh! she said at last. Oh! Youre here about the professor or the Egyptologist or thewhatever he was who died so tragically! She pushed a button on the single piece of office equipment before her. Mr. Landry, the FBI is here to see you.
They heard an impatient reply. The FBI? Whatever for?
Kat leaned over the desk. Agents Katya Sokolov and Will Chan, Mr. Landry. Wed like to speak with you. Were hoping you can help us.
There was a moment of dead silence, and then Landry said, Of course. Come on in. Ms. Bertelli will escort you.
Sherry Bertelli rose quickly. This way, please.
It was hard to tell where glass walls and doors met. They went down a long hallway. Eventually Sherry Bertelli pushed on a glass panel, and they were ushered into another state-of-the-art ultramodern office where Landry was standing behind a black chrome desk.
How do you do, how do you do? he asked, stepping around to shake their hands. Im Stewart Landry. Have a seat, please, have a seat. Would you like coffee or anything?
No, no, thank you, were fine, Kat assured him. Will held one of the chairs for her, then took his own. Stewart Landry sat back at his desk. Sherry Bertelli just stood there.
Thats all, Sherry, thank you, Landry said.
Without a word she turned and marched out of the office. Landry cleared his throat. Sherrys, uh, very popular with our clientele, he said, as if excusing his receptionists undeniable limitations.
Landry was somewhere between fifty and sixty years old. His suit was designer label, his nails were clean and buffed and his silver hair was well groomed. Kat had to wonder if there wasnt something more intimate going on between him and Sherry than the typical employee-boss relationship.
Now, how can I help you? Landry asked.
Frankly, Will said, were trying to find out if youd considered diving the site of the Jerry McGuen. We understand that a group called the Egyptian Sand Diggers was encouraging local interest and, as Im sure youve read or seen on the news, a diver died at the site.
Landry frowned. Yes, I saw the news, and I knew Brady Laurie. He was quite angry at that reception and behaved rather badly. He wasnt a member of the group, made very clear that kind of thing was beneath a true historian such as himself. He argued with the members that he was already on the case, and that he and his colleagues needed to find the treasure, not any of us money-grubbing bastards. Dont get me wrongthe death of any young person is lamentable. But Dr. Laurie was out of line. The Egyptian Sand Diggers invited us all to that soiree, and I think it was because they didnt believe Laurie was right in his calculations. He was, of course. Thats obvious now.
Did you plan to dive the site at all? Kat asked, returning to the original question.
He shrugged. Honestly? It was an intriguing thought. But as to planning any operationno. Our big ship is out in Lake Huron working on a ferry that went down. We have some smaller vessels working more shallow waters, but as to the Jerry McGuen If Laurie hadnt found her, we mightve made an attempt to see what our sonar could identify in the area. Thing is, no one really knew exactly where she went down, other than that she was supposedly near Chicago. You might not realize it, but the lake is huge. Searching it is almost like searching the North Atlantic. When youre just looking at the lake, it seems to stretch out forever. And when youre boating on it alone, you can feel as if youre the last man on earth.
But the treasure in the Jerry McGuen is of inestimable worth, Will commented.
Landry nodded. He smiled suddenly. But searching for that kind of treasureneedle in a haystack. I can tell you that Brady Laurie was obsessed with it. I wasnt shocked when I heard about his death. He was threatened by all of usno, no, that came out wrong. No one ever threatened him, butcheck with the Egyptian Sand Diggers. They were pointing out the historic value of the find, which we already knew, and he got furious. Their president is a fellow named Dirk Manning, and what they call their guardianan old fellow whos been involved in it since he was twenty-oneis a man named Austin Miller. Talk to one of them about Brady Laurie. In my opinion, he had no real interest in joining the group, but he probably spoke to those gentlemen more than anyone else. Me? I believe Laurie was so obsessed with the ship that he signed his own death warrant.
Will stood up and shook hands with Landry. Kat stood, too. If theres anything I can do, please let me know, Landry said.
Thank you. Kat smiledthen remembered Wills earlier remark about her niceness.
Ill have Ms. Bertelli show you out, Landry offered.
We can find our way, Will told him, but thanks.
When they passed Sherry Bertelli, she was sitting behind her desk, flipping through the pages of a fashion magazine. She looked up long enough to smile vaguely at them and wave. Ta-ta!
Yep, ta-ta, Kat responded.
She didnt realize Will was laughing until they were in the car again. Ta-ta?
I simply returned the courtesy, she said primly.
I get the feeling they didnt hire her for her math skills.
Kat shook her head and turned to him. This is just about impossible, she said. No one, not even the first responders, really knows if anyone else was near the site when Brady diedor was killed. It sounds like he could be extremely hostile about anything concerning the Jerry McGuen. He did dive aloneand went down almost a hundred feet in cold water. This wasnt a pleasure dive to a warm-water reef.
Will glanced at her, then looked at the road again. But you saw his body.
Yes. I saw his body. And seeing his body made me believe this is worth investigating. But what we saw doesnt guarantee that Brady Laurie was murdered. There are other explanations for the bruises. Its possible that he might have gotten into an altercation with someone. He was furious with the Egyptian Sand Diggers and apparently everyone knew it.
So you think one of the Sand Diggers was out on a boat, slipped into the water while pretending to fish and killed Laurie? Will asked. Why? The Sand Diggers supposedly wanted someone to find the treasure.
I dont know, Kat said. Well have to ask them. Logan should be getting back to me with some information pretty soon. We can check them out tomorrow.
Tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow morning we dive the site.
Kat turned to him. You sound excited about it.
I am. A shipwreck like the Jerry McGuen? Come on, you have to be somewhat excited!
Thrilled to pieces, she muttered. Maybe one day, shed tell him about the experiences shed already enjoyed because of Amun Mopat!
You dont believe in a curse, do you? he asked, grinning.
No. I do, however, believe that people can go a little crazy because of them.
I agree, he said. I spent a lot of time in the Caribbean. Islanders can be very superstitious. Ive seen men who felt convinced they were possessed, and women who managed incredible feats of contortion in a ceremonial dance. The mind is a powerful influence on the body.
Kat nodded.
You think someone would sabotage the mission to keep Amun Mopat from being brought back to the surface? he asked. Thats an idea.
Crazy people can latch onto anything, butat this point, I dont know what I think or feel, Kat told him. Except that its been a really, really long day!
And itll be an early morning, he said.