Second Nature

Chapter 46

46 

 Cade and Jimi stared at the navigational chart spread over half the kitchen table. To the northwest of the mouth of Cool Bay, the coquina reef called Devil's Backbone stretched along the sandy seafloor like a knobby dragon's spine. Samson Seaborne had pinpointed the wreck site of the San Pedro and several other salvage jobs on the chart, but nothing indicated the Civil War ironclad, Emancipator.  

Cade carefully traced his finger over the reef a third time. "Okay. Where the hell is it?" 

"It's a long reef, man," Jimi said. 

"But supposedly they were diving here, on the San Pedro when they drowned." He tapped the wreck site of the Mexican freighter. "My dad owned exclusive salvage rights. I figure they were using it as a cover operation, while they explored the ironclad-so I expected the ironclad to be very close. But it isn't marked. It's nowhere on the chart." 

Jimi peered at the drawings and notes on the map paper. Arrows ran from the names of sunken ships to the reef. Next to most names, Samson had listed coordinates of latitude, longitude, and sea depth at high and low tides, and the date and time of discovery. He'd labeled several sites "unidentified" and next to one, he'd written "possible Spanish galleon." 

"Spanish galleon?" 

Cade grinned. "I checked it out. Turned out to be an oyster skiff. Most of the wrecks on the reef are pretty worthless. Nickel and dime stuff. The San Pedro was a major exception; he really made some money on that cargo." 

"What's this wreck, here?" Jimi pointed to the outline of a hull penciled in next to the San Pedro. 

Cade read his father's neat handwriting. "Eleutherios. Greek freighter, I think. We've got a couple of them. There's also a German sailing yacht and a Korean trawler down there. This reef sinks ships from all over the world." 

"Hmm...I wonder. Did your dad know any Greek?" 

"Well, yeah, some. My granddad, Moses-he was an educated minister-taught my dad a bit of New Testament Greek." 

Jimi looked up at him. "Eleutherios. The word means 'liberator.'" 

"Liberator?" Then Cade's eyes lit up. "Emancipator." And for the second time that day, he said, "Bingo." He stretched out a hand to Jimi. "You still with me on this, 'bro?" 

Jimi shook his hand. "Like a weld." 

"Good, because we're going to head out to the reef right now." 

"Now? It'll be dark in a few hours." 

"I've got a big tree of dive lights, brighter than a rock n' roll show." Cade refolded the chart. "Lana and Haven are packing. They're going to catch the last ferry, then drive a while and find a motel, maybe up in Georgia." 

"Let's go tell them good-bye." 

"Right. Then we're off to change history."