“Jesus, lay it on thick, won’t you,” Mieke snapped under her breath, evoking a spiteful glare from her opponent.
“Are you jealous because you don’t understand what I just said?” Cheryl retorted in a girly voice that mocked Mieke’s bimbo looks.
“Hey,” Mieke whispered, "remember who makes your drinks, junkie." And with that, she blew a kiss at the suddenly worried-looking hooker.
"Hello ladies," Dr. Malgas smiled warmly. "So good to see both my assistants here with me today. At least, I know I'm in good organizational hands, hey?"
"Of course, you are," Mieke smiled. Billy Malgas looked at her urgently when Cheryl turned away. He needed to know what her plan was once the wreck was identified. Sooner or later Dr. Gould was going to figure out that it was not the Admiral Graf Spee they were exploring. So many times the night before he had hoped to get Sam Cleave alone so that he could figure out what repercussions might await him should the ship turn out to be nothing special, but Sam was always in company. Mieke shook her head, and her expression told him not to worry.
Suddenly Sam resurfaced. Nina and Purdue jumped up as Crystal came up soon after.
“And?” Purdue asked eagerly.
Crystal smiled. “It’s real. It is the Graf Spee!”
Chapter 20 — Cracks in the Hull
Upon scrutinizing the relic Crystal had found in the wreck, even Nina had to agree that the plaque the diver had recovered was indeed the emblem of the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee. It was regrettably all Nina had to go on for now, but the insignia was unmistakable.
“Glad Crystal was down there with me. I filmed the bloody thing and had no idea it could be a clue,” Sam flattered the German salvor, who rested her hand affectionately on his upper back with a gentle smile. Nina stiffened. Purdue noticed her reaction and quickly took the historian’s hand, “Now tell us, Nina. If you look at the footage, is this going to help you identify the ship beyond doubt? We have to be very sure.”
Nina nodded, slightly distracted by Purdue’s hand over hers. “I would have to see the vessel for myself to determine if it was a German cruiser and not one of the many ships of the allied forces that were sunk in this area. South Africa did fight on the side of the Allied Forces, but they did not have their own navy as far as I know," she said.
Billy Malgas looked decisively worried about the recent developments. Sam picked up on it but said nothing. He planned on having a word with the archeologist as soon as he got the chance. Mieke and Cheryl looked happy with the item Crystal had found, both for different reasons, of course, and Purdue was ecstatic.
“I cannot wait to start looking at the footage! Sam, did you get some dimensions for me?” he asked the journalist who had all female eyes on him when he peeled the top of his suit down to his waist to reveal his chiseled physique.
“Aye, but it was a bit of a bitch to get, I tell ya,” he replied. His wet black hair was tousled, and his skin glistened in the sun. Crystal could not take her eyes off Sam. She zipped down her suit to reveal the valley between her breasts, pressed toward the middle in ample mounds and untied her hair to fall over her shoulders. She slid her arm around his waist and spoke in her husky voice, “I’m sure you got everything, Sam. After all, you certainly know your equipment. No worries there.”
Sam caught his breath when she pressed up against him in the feigned hug. He felt his blood rush at her obvious double entendre, and it excited him that she even bothered to employ it in the first place. Nina tried not to care since a few days ago she had decided not to. Purdue was a far better catch, she made herself believe. Like a schoolboy Sam was too easy to whip, Nina decided, and he deserved to be with a woman who treated him like a subordinate. It was Crystal's way to treat men with indifference and condescension unless she needed them or needed their attention to reinforce her status of Queen Bee, especially in the presence of other women.
Naturally Sam did not even notice what he had just been part of, as it had always been a man’s prerogative not to detect the complex psychological manipulation of competing females, so he gave her a peck on the cheek. In Sam’s mind he was being friendly with a stunning woman, while Crystal had just rubbed her power over the hottest man there in the faces of all females present.
“Sam!” Nina broke the spell between them. Sam waited for a snide remark or a catty insinuation, but to his amazement, she did not scold him. "Can you please download your footage onto my laptop as soon as possible? I think you realize, as Crystal stated before, that she has a salvage tug on the way, and we are a bit short on time. Would you be a dear and just do that for me?” she asked sweetly, with absolutely no trace of her true feelings coming through.
"Uh… aye, of course! As soon as we get to the beach house I'll get to it," he smiled, naively happy to assist her. Crystal noticed but did not reveal her annoyance with the equally calculating historian. Having underestimated the petite historian, she was taken aback by Nina’s resourcefulness. It was a welcome challenge since it didn’t matter to Crystal if she could secure the affection of either Sam Cleave or Dave Purdue, both of whom Nina was very proprietary about.
Back at the beach house, Cheryl made sure that she stayed in the company of Dr. Malgas and even Mieke, just in case she had gotten Zain so mad that he would abandon his zeal for the treasures of the sunken vessel and seek revenge for her well-placed insults. Dr. Malgas was appreciative of her company, since as much as he wished to speak to Sam, the journalist was preoccupied with the footage he had gathered. Purdue was watching the recording with him while Nina and Crystal were in the kitchen with Zain and Sibu.
“I’m starving,” Sibu whined, looking through the fridge. “Who is in charge of buying food anyway? We are dying of hunger but that guy doesn’t seem give a shit.”
Crystal gave him a stern look. “Usually that guy paying for everything feeds and houses the crew. But seeing as all members of this excursion already received an advance for their services, Dave Purdue provides accommodation and meals.”
Nina added on to Crystal’s statement as if the two had rehearsed their loyalty speech, “And since we already have our meals provided, any gluttony or emotional eating should be the responsibility of the whiner.”
Sibu looked annoyed. Zain scoffed and chuckled on his way out to the patio at the disciplinary double-teaming his partner just received from the two women.
“Aow! Good one, Dr. Gould,” Crystal smiled and lifted her hand in the air.
"Not too bad yourself, Frau Meyer," Nina winked with a mouthful of shrimp and high-fived the lawyer.
"Right, the salvage crew will be here in less than 18 hours. I just spoke to their skipper, Ali," Crystal announced as she hung up the phone. "So Nina, do you have the footage to confirm the find? I mean, we have the plaque, but I would feel better if you and Dr. Malgas could prove beyond any doubt that this is the Graf Spee.”
“I agree. Yet I can’t just confirm that it is the Graf Spee by one relic. Another ship could have carried it… like a keepsake maybe one captain gave another, you know. Pretty much anything,” Nina affirmed.
"I am pretty sure it is authentic," Dr. Malgas said. "We have seen it before and as an archeologist, I can assure you that with my knowledge of historical items I deem this wreck genuine.” His tone was confident, yet his profusely sweating face and the hesitation in his choice of words betrayed to any sharp-minded person that something was amiss. And in this case, unfortunately for Dr. Malgas, that person happened to be Nina Gould.