“Now,” Nick continued, dismissing Troy’s story and getting to the subject he had been thinking about for almost an hour, “we have an important issue to discuss. We have brought back something from the ocean that could conceivably be worth a lot of money. If nobody else can prove conclusively that it is theirs, then it will belong to the finders.” Nick looked first at Carol and then at Troy. “Even though I’m captain and owner of this boat and I carried the thing up from the ocean floor, I’m prepared to offer that we split the proceeds in thirds. Does that sound fair enough to the two of you?”
There was a moderately long silence before Troy answered. “Sure, Nick, that sounds fine to me.” Nick smiled and reached across to shake Troy’s hand. He then extended his hand to Carol.
“Just a minute,” she said quietly, looking directly at Nick and not taking his hand. “Since you’ve decided to start this conversation, there are several more items that must be discussed. It’s not simply a question of money for this object. There’s also the issue of possession. Who keeps the golden trident? Who determines when we’ve been offered a fair price? What do we agree to say, or not to say, to others? And what if other objects are found down there by one or more of us? Do we all share? There’s an entire agreement that must be worked out before we dock.”
Nick frowned. “Now I understand why you’ve been so quiet these last few minutes. You’ve been thinking about your share. I misjudged you. I thought you might decide not to create any more trouble—”
“Who said anything about trouble?” Carol interrupted him abruptly, her voice rising slightly. “If you must know, I’m not that interested in the damn money. I will gladly take my one-third if any dollars are forthcoming from the trident there, for I certainly deserve it. But if any more such treasures are down there and you and Troy can find them without me, then be my guest. I want something else.”
Both men were now listening intently. “First and foremost, I want exclusive rights to this story, and that means absolute secrecy about what we have found, when and where we found it, and anything else associated with it—at least until we’re certain there’s nothing more to learn. Second, I want immediate possession of the object for forty-eight hours, before anyone else knows that it exists. After that you can have it to take to the authorities for evaluation.”
Uh oh, Carol thought to herself as she saw the searching looks she had elicited from Nick and Troy. I overdid it. They suspect something. Better back off just a bit. “Of course,” she smiled disarmingly, “I’ve just given my initial position. I expect that some negotiations may be necessary.”
“Wow, angel,” Troy said with a laugh, “that was some speech. For just a minute there, I thought that maybe there was a whole other game going on here and you were the only one playing. Of course the professor and I will be delighted to discuss an agreement with you, won’t we, Nick?”
Nick nodded. But he had also been alerted by the careful organization and unmistakable intensity of Carol’s response. It seemed out of proportion to the journalistic value of their find. Is she trying to make this some kind of a contest between us? he thought to himself. Or am I missing something altogether?
They had worked out a compromise agreement by the time the Florida Queen reached the dock in Key West. Nick would take the golden trident (both of the men liked Carol’s name for the object) with him on Friday morning. There was an elderly woman in Key West who was a compendium of treasure knowledge and she would be able to assess its value and to give its probable place and date of origin. The woman would also be a witness to their find in case the trident were ever misplaced. On Friday afternoon, the three of them would meet on the boat or in the marina parking lot at four o’clock. Nick would give the object to Carol and she would keep it over the weekend. After she returned it to Nick on Monday morning, he would be responsible for its care and eventual sale. The three of them had joint ownership of the trident, but Carol waived any interest in future discoveries. Carol wrote the terms of the simple agreement on the back of a restaurant menu from her purse, they all signed it, and she promised to bring copies back the next day.
Troy was quiet and subdued while he was loading all Carol’s equipment back into the footlocker. He lifted the locker onto the cart and then pulled the cart along the jetty. Carol walked beside him. It was about nine o’clock and very quiet at the marina. The tall fluorescent lights created a strange reflection on the wooden jetties. “Well, angel,” Troy said as Carol and he approached the marina headquarters, “it’s been quite a day. I’ve really enjoyed your company.” He stopped and turned to look at her. Her black hair had dried unevenly and looked a bit disheveled, but her face was beautiful in the reflected light.
Troy looked away, out at the water and the boats. “You know, it’s a shame sometimes the way life works. You meet somebody by chance, you strike up a friendship, and then poof, they’re gone. It’s all so… so transient.”
Carol came over beside him and stretched to kiss his cheek. “And you know I like you, too,” she said, lightening up the conversation with a grin and making certain that Troy understood what kind of a friendship they could have. “But cheer up. All is not lost. You’ll see me tomorrow for a while and then maybe when I return the golden thing on Monday.”
She hooked her arm through his as they momentarily walked back down the Jetty, away from the loaded cart. “And who knows,” Carol laughed, “I’m down in the Keys from time to time. We could have a drink together and you could tell me some more stories. “They could just barely make out the spotlight above the canopy on the Florida Queen some hundred yards in the distance. “I see your friend the professor is still at work. He’s not strong on good-byes. Or any other area of manners as far as I can tell.”
She turned, switching locked arms, and they walked back to the loaded cart. They moved through the apparently deserted headquarters without speaking. When the footlocker had been replaced in the station wagon, Carol gave Troy a hug. “You’re a good man, Troy Jefferson,” she said. “I wish you well.”
Nick was almost ready to leave by the time Troy returned to the boat. He was packing a small exercise bag. “Looks innocent enough, doesn’t it, Troy? Nobody will ever suspect that one of the great treasures of the ocean is in here.” He paused a moment and changed the subject. “You put her safely in her car? Good. She’s a strange one, isn’t she, all feisty and aggressive but still pretty at the same time. I wonder what makes her tick.”
Nick zipped up the bag and walked around to the side of the canopy. “Just finish up with the diving gear tonight. Don’t worry about the rest of the boat—we’ll fix it up tomorrow. I’m going to go home and dream of riches.”
“Speaking of riches, Professor,” Troy said with a smile, “how about that hundred-dollar loan I asked you for on Tuesday. You never answered me and just said we’ll see.”
Nick walked deliberately over to Troy and stood right in front of him. He spoke very slowly. “I should have made my Polonius speech to both of us when you asked me for a loan the first time. But here we are now, borrower and lender, and I don’t like it. I will lend you a hundred dollars but, Mister Troy Jefferson, this is positively the last time. Please don’t ever ask me again. These loans for your so-called inventions are making it hard for me to work with you.”
Troy was a little surprised by the unexpected harshness in Nick’s tone. But he was also angered by the connotation of the last sentence. “Are you suggesting,” Troy said softly, suppressing his temper, “that I’m not telling the truth, that the money is not being spent on electronics? Or are you telling that you don’t believe an uneducated black man could possibly invent anything worth having?”