“Really.”

“In fact, he financed this dive, because he is the person who first found the map that pinpointed the location. Clearly there is a connection between his wife’s awareness of the recovery effort and her death.”

“There’s a connection, all right. She had the other scepter.”

“Excuse me?”

“I found it, hidden in her windmill.” It wasn’t how he’d wanted to tell Lucy, but all his plans seemed to implode the minute Lizzie forgave him his past.

“You’re serious?” Lucy said when he didn’t offer any more details. “You found it there?”

“Along with original documentation that supports Lizzie’s theory that Bettencourt tried to rob Aramis Dare, and in the process the scepters got separated.”

“Are you sure it’s authentic?”

“We can have it checked, but it looks real. And it explains a lot.”

“Like what?” Lucy asked.

“My guess is Jaeger Bettencourt didn’t know that one of his treasures had never made it to that ship, and that his ancestor had hidden it. Then, his estranged wife found it. And I don’t think she killed herself. Unless the police are complete morons, they are going to figure that out when they examine the body. I don’t know how long she was dead when we found her, but there was no one around, and no one passed us on the road down. I don’t know who could have been up there-”

“I do. The phone calls she made to the U.S. were to someone on El Falcone.”

“Who?”

“Sam Gorman.”

Sam… who had the other scepter. “How does he know Solange?”

“It’s not clear he did. But Charlotte Gorman did some conservator work for the Bettencourts’ art collection, and they may have stayed in touch. But there’s another connection that troubles me even more.”

“What’s that?”

“Recently, the Gormans donated a considerable amount of money to sponsor a diving expedition off the coast of Mexico.”

“Is that unusual?” Con asked.

“The expedition was run by Dylan Houser, the man who was with Malcolm Dare on his last fatal dive. So, what’s unusual is that the Gormans and Houser have at least a monetary connection. And the Bullet Catcher research database showed at least one other identity for Houser: a Douglas Haberstroh, who checks out as a freelance diver, mostly out of the country, where he allegedly is now. None of this proves anything, of course, but it all makes me uncomfortable-especially since Sam and Charlotte Gorman are on Corvo Island right now.”

“What?”

“They flew in directly and went through customs early today.”

“Then they couldn’t have killed Solange.” But the fact that they were there made him want to race to be sure Lizzie was safe.

“They still need to be brought in for questioning. I want you to find them and get them to the authorities, and arrange for them to be transported back to the States.”

“Will do.”

“And congratulations on getting both scepters,” Lucy added. “Judd will be thrilled. Great work.”

He was already checking his weapon and pulling a shirt over his head with one hand. “I’m not giving them to Judd Paxton, Lucy,” he said simply. “They belong to Lizzie Dare. The docs I found prove that. She’s keeping them.” End of discussion.

“The documentation has to be verified as authentic,” she said coolly. “And one was located during a dive sponsored and managed by Paxton Treasures.” She waited a beat. “Have you changed your mind about working for me?”

“I have had a change of heart, period. I’d very much like to work for you, but my position on this isn’t going to change.”

“That’s very noble, Con, but in this company, I call the shots. If you can’t work within those parameters, then you can’t work for me.”

“Fine.” The Bullet Catchers weren’t the only game in the world. Just the best.

He heard Lucy’s soft sigh of disappointment. “You told me you could do this. And I believed you wanted to dig deep and find the good man that lived inside a thief’s body.”

He laughed softly. “I did, Lucy. Only you weren’t the right woman to help me with that.” He hung up, and set off to finish the job-his way.

“You’re awake!” Lizzie peeked into the only patient room in the back of Corvo’s tiny clinic. “How do you feel?”

Her sister turned slowly, obviously still in pain. “Like I was shot at and blown into a gristmill.”

“Well, you were, sweetie.” Lizzie sighed with relief and love. Leaving the door open in case she needed a nurse, she approached the hospital bed, taking in Bree’s pale skin and heavily bandaged arm.

Bandaged and hurting, but alive. Once again, she closed her eyes and thanked Con.

“What’s that?” Bree asked, her gaze on the box.

Lizzie grinned and lifted it. “A little something to improve your mood.”

“Painkillers? Massive amounts. Street grade. Throw in a martini, and I’ll be happy.”

Lizzie laughed. “Okay, I’ll ask the nurse for meds.”

“Don’t worry, she just left to get them. What is it?”

“You will not believe what Con found.”

Even in her weakened condition, she managed a raised eyebrow. “Where did you find Con? That’s the question.”

“I told you, on the Gold Digger. And he’s not just another diver, Bree.”

“No shit. He’s a really hot diver.” “He’s a consultant for a security company. Like a high-end bodyguard and protection specialist.”

“Are you sleeping with him?”

She grinned enough to answer the question.

“So you got to go on the dive, find the most amazing treasure, and do some Greek god while I sifted through Daddy’s paperwork? That was fair.”

“Your sifting days are over. This is the real treasure.”

Bree tried to sit up and cringed in pain. “What is it?”

“Proof that everything Dad believed about Aramis Dare and El Falcone was absolutely true.”

She got up then, eyes widening, broken ribs forgotten. “What? How did you get it?”

“Con found it after he finished his interviews with the police.”

“Oh my God. Show it to me.”

“No, show it to us.”

Lizzie whipped around, shocked by the familiar voice as the door opened the rest of the way. “Sam! What are you doing here?”

Sam’s blue eyes twinkled as he stepped in, followed by a smiling but tearful Charlotte, who reached for Brianna. “Look at you! It’s even worse than they said.”

Lizzie stood, still trying to accept that they were there. “How did you ever find us?”

Sam nudged his wife. “Thank Miss Relentless here.”

Charlotte gave a gentle pat to Brianna, looking up at Lizzie. “Sam told me everything, and I was worried about you. After what happened to Alita and the whole dive going south, I just had a bad feeling. When he told me that you were planning to come here to fetch your sister, I just thought…” She angled her head, her eyes sympathetic. “You two have no parents. This is what your parents would do.”

Brianna gave her a strange look. “Did you even know my dad?”

“Not long enough,” she replied, ignoring the rude tone in Brianna’s voice.

Lizzie noticed it, though, and chalked it up to pain. And the fact that Charlotte and Sam hadn’t been married that long and Brianna might not have been on any of the dives they were on with Dad.

“You didn’t answer your door the next day, and this one had me on a flight in hours,” Sam said. He moved closer to the bed, glancing at the unopened strongbox. “You look pretty beat up, young lady. They told us you had an accident in a windmill.”

“Who told you?” Lizzie asked, still trying to figure out how they got there, and in so little time. It seemed impossible that they could have waited for her to leave.

“The men in customs,” Sam said. “As soon as we mentioned we were looking for two American women, they knew you’d been brought to this clinic.”

“It’s a very small island,” Charlotte said, sitting on the bed and stroking Brianna’s leg. “Everybody knows everybody’s business.”