Vacation Deadly by Kat Simons

Author:Kat Simons
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: T&D Publishing

Digging the small chest out of the loose dirt took some time and effort. Hauling the thing free of the earth took both of them. The box was a lot heavier than she’d been expecting, even if it contained the fabled golden statue that was the supposed source of all the trouble.

The outside of the box, the chest itself, was treasure enough. Encased almost entirely in gold, which likely had preserved the wood beneath, the box was roughly two feet by one foot. The gold was decorated with images of animals and markings that reminded her vaguely of the sort of pictographic writing used by the…Inca, maybe? Not her specialty, but they had time to figure it out.

There was a clip on the box, holding the lid closed, but no apparent locks or seals.

“Should we open it?” she asked.

Jake looked around. “It’s too big to sneak easily around with. I’d rather open it in a more secured place, but…”

“But what if its empty?”

He shrugged. “Even if its empty, the box itself is worth a small fortune.”

“What if there’s something living in here?” she said. Not that she figured there was much on the island that could have gotten into the chest without leaving some evidence of its existence on the outside. Still. She’d had enough surprises for one day.

Jake opened his mouth to say something when sounds in the trees had them both ducking and going silent.

Moving back-to-back, they hunted the surrounding jungle. Voices carried to them, from a distance, but getting closer.

“We should go back and check for the bodies,” a male voice said. “If they weren’t on that boat, what if they got away?”

“They were on the boat and they died,” a deeper male voice said. The man with the deeper voice had a very slight Australian accent.

“We don’t even know who they were,” the first man said.

“Doesn’t matter. They stole my yacht. We know there were two of them based on the dive gear. You saw those piles in lifeboat. That was them. No one could have escaped that explosion.”

“You’re the boss. But given how jumpy Amud is, we shouldn’t take any chances.”

“Amud got his guns. And we got paid. He’s got no reason to worry now.”

The first man, who also sounded Australian, snorted. “He always worries. That’s the problem doing business with him. Jumpy bastard.”

“Enough. We’re done here. Let’s get off the cursed atoll.”

Marta barely breathed as the men walked close enough to where she and Jake crouched among the ferns, she was certain they’d turn their heads and spot them at any moment.

When they were past, and the sounds of them tromping through the undergrowth quieted, she finally let out a breath.

She gave Jake a wide eye look, blew out a relived breath, started to smile…

Then heard a voice with a very distinct Australian accent say, “What’ve got here now?”

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