‘Good God, what a reach! Will he fall for this shit’? Her anxious thoughts hounded her as she spoke.
“That is marvelous, Cheryl!” he cried, elated to hear the good news. He came back into the living room with two mugs of coffee, mostly for him to sober up at the same time. “How many? Eight months?” She nodded. “My God, that is fantastic! To be honest, the last time I saw you, I really thought you’d be dead within a month the way you were going on.”
"I know, but I got stronger and decided to kick the habit," she chirped all the while clenching her fists. It was way past her last fix, and it was beginning to be unbearable. She needed a hit, and she needed one soon. Oh, the irony! She thought as she bit her lip at the smell of the java brew.
“So, tell me about your work,” he smiled, truly interested in Cheryl’s recovery.
"After I got out of rehab," she lied, "I got a job as an assistant in the acquisitions department of a research facility off the coast of Madagascar." He nodded intently, listening to her new credentials thinking of perhaps procuring her services to help with his hoax.
“And what did you do there?” he asked. “Madagascar. I had no idea they had a research branch in any line of historical or archeological avenues?”
“Oh, they have since closed down. They were owned by a Swedish professor,” she said quickly. Her heart pounded as she jumped from lie to lie, careful to leave untraceable facts hidden under undetectable names far from his academic and social reach.
“The Swedes, interested in marine finds off Madagascar,” he pondered out loud, trying to make sense of it while trying to recall any Swedish acquaintances he had in the field. But Cheryl knew his facial expressions, and the face he pulled right now was a dangerous one. It was the countenance of contest.
"Well, one of them was from Sweden, I remember. But I worked mostly with local people on the filing and administration side so that I could be mistaken," she rambled on rapidly. Quickly she changed the subject before he could exercise another thought, "And how about you, Billy? I have been wondering what exciting stuff you are busy with."
It worked.
He snapped out of his relentless train of thought and at once he looked both weary and coy at the prospect of telling her. The desperate lecturer explained that he had discovered a sunken Nazi vessel and that he was certain it contained valuable details of a Nazi faction clandestinely integrated within the Allied Forces in Simonstad, just as Mieke had prepared the false narrative.
Chapter 8 — Sam Arrives at Wrichtishousis
Nina and Crystal were sitting on the study balcony, having tea, and while Crystal chose to enjoy the view from the third story of the house, Nina was scribbling seemingly nonsensical notes on her writing pad. She had been researching South African maritime history involving the Second World War though it was few and far between on the websites she had perused. Sam was due for their meeting today, and Purdue had gone to the airstrip to pick him up. They engaged in a bit of small talk, but in secret Nina was extremely curious about Crystal's real involvement in the project. Being a very direct person, usually, the historian would have simply come out and asked, but for some reason she did not want to appear as if she was prying. Finally, she could not hold back any longer.
“Crystal, tell me, what exactly is this expedition about?”
“Dave didn’t tell you?” she asked Nina. Crystal was genuinely surprised.
“He did, but you know him. He told me about Sam’s old acquaintance and how he apparently discovered a historical wreck off the coast of Africa. And he gave me the job to consult on the find and so on and so on… but, what I want to know, is…” she hesitated, but Crystal was sharper than she had thought she was.
“—what am I doing here?” she smiled charismatically at Nina, who nodded with a sheepish shrug and grin. “Well, I am more than just a lawyer. In fact, Dave is using me on this expedition for anything but my legal prowess.”
“Sounds vaguely sinister,” Nina sniggered.
“It really does, doesn’t it?” Crystal answered amicably. One thing Nina had to grant her was that she had a great sense of humor and was not an ounce as snobbish as she came across at first glance. “But earnestly, I am a professional salvor. I specialize in the salvage of historical wrecks, both marine and aircraft. My diving school is in Tönning, in Germany, where I live.”
Nina was impressed. Now Crystal’s presence made far more sense.
“That is fascinating!” she replied, chewing on the back of her pen. “I have been on a few dives, but I am far from a professional.”
“You really should take one of my courses, Nina. You have the body of a good swimmer. I bet you would be a stellar diver once you got into it,” Crystal nodded, looking quite impressed.
“Aye, I love water, but I have to admit that the times I had to dive always kind of put me off. Let’s just say…” she thought of her past exploits in dangerous situations, “…it always merits great care and vigilance.”
“Then this one should be no different,” her companion sobered her.
“What do you mean?” Nina frowned. “I will not be wreck diving. That is what Purdue pays the crew for, the engineers and you, doesn’t he?”
Crystal shook her head, “My darling, you will have to come down with us to ascertain the significance of the insignia and the like. From what I have heard so far, the ship lies too deep to take particularly good pictures.”
Nina was suddenly distraught and twisted the pen between her fingers while she pondered on the nasty currents and the cold blue depths she had had to brave before. She hoped that Crystal was joking, or, at least, uninformed what Nina’s role within the expedition team was going to be.
“How much do you know about this find?” she asked the elegant lawyer who poured more Earl Grey from the porcelain pot.
“Actually, I am pretty much still in the dark about it. And I mean that quite literally. Before I have a team out on a survey ship to give me a sonar map of the wreck and its surroundings, I have absolutely no clue. I feel blind, literally, to the project and the vessel itself. Hopefully, the meeting will clear everything up," she explained.
“Shit, I hope Purdue knows what he is getting into here. He has never been one to sweep up ventures he has not seen himself,” Nina said with a tone of concern.
“Don’t fret. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing,” Crystal consoled nonchalantly. Nina gave her a suspicious look, “You sound like you know him quite well.”
“I do, indeed,” Crystal smiled, still, attending to her tea without affording Nina even a glance. Her manner annoyed the historian, just like the first time Nina saw her talking on the phone. Frustrated by the way in which Crystal implied that she was close to Purdue, who had once been Nina’s lover, Nina felt a sickening turn in her stomach.
‘Christ, how I’d love to slap that smirk off her face’! Nina thought as she broke the edge of the pen with her molars. If there was one thing she could not stand, or trust for that matter, it was people with perpetual smiles on their faces. The condescension and the underlying confidence usually meant that they were up to no good and had the means not to care about it.
“Ah, there they are!” Crystal exclaimed suddenly, breaking Nina’s sinister stare. She stood up and pointed to the tall gates, where the luxury car waited for the security guard to open. At once, Nina felt relieved. Sam would be more forthcoming toward her. She would not feel so dull next to the posh wench who apparently knew Purdue so well, she thought. With Sam in the mix she, Nina, was bound to feel more adequate.