Pirate by Clive Cussler Page B

two women and stood. “I think I’ll get a glass of water.”
    She walked over to the cupboard, found a glass, then filled it, moving to Sam’s side. “What are you doing? You’re making them nervous.”
    He turned his back to the women, lowering his voice. “With only one gun, we’re easy targets out here in the middle of nowhere.”
    Lightning flashed so brilliant, it lit the kitchen, followed by the rumbling of thunder overhead that shook the windows. Bree’s hand flew to her chest. When the handset on the table rang right after that, the cousins stared at it in shock.
    Larayne finally reached for it, answering, “Hello? . . . Hello?” She disconnected and dropped it to the table. “Maybe it was a wrong number.”
    Remi and Sam looked at each other. Apparently he was thinking the same thing she was. The bad guys were calling to see if they’d returned to the house. Remi checked the back door to make sure it was locked.
    Sam drew his gun, then turned to Larayne and asked, “Do you have any other weapons in the house?”

Ten

    E very creak in the house seemed magnified. The rain lashed against the windows, the crack of thunder made Bree and Larayne jump.
    The police were just a few minutes away, but Sam wasn’t about to relax until they arrived. The odd phone call had rattled the two women, and while it could have been a coincidence, the timing set everyone’s nerves on edge.
    Armed with a rusty shotgun that belonged to Larayne’s late husband, Sam gave Remi his revolver, then had everyone sit in the front room while he stood where he could see out the window to the road beyond.
    Remi was doing a great job keeping their minds off the interminable wait by peppering them with questions about the map book. And when Larayne was ready to flee the house—an idea that Sam was against—Remi distracted her by asking, “Why is everyone after this book?”
    Larayne looked at Bree, saying, “I—I heard them talking about it. These—these people who showed up at my house. It was right before they brought Bree here. Before they forced her to call you about sending us the book.”
    â€œWhat exactly did they say?”
    â€œThat once they got this map from it, they’d have everything they needed to find the key. If it was there, they’d get their money and they’d let me go.”
    Bree nodded. “That’s what they told me, too. That they were going to let us go when they got the book and their money. But they were going to have to find the key somewhere. Honestly, my heart was beating so fast, I may have misunderstood.”
    â€œThe book,” Remi said to Larayne. “What made them think it was
the
book?”
    â€œBree knows more than I do about that.”
    Clearly, Sam thought, they were missing some important detail regarding this book’s history. And the one man who might know what that could be was now dead. “What did your uncle have to say about it?”
    â€œHe said more research needed to be done. He was in the midst of doing that when Larayne first approached him about selling the book to Charles Avery.”
    Charles Avery . . . The name seemed familiar to Sam, but he couldn’t place why. There were other factors that bothered him as well. The timing and location of this kidnapping. Why drag Bree all the way across the nation to get this book? Maybe it had more to do with the isolation of Larayne’s house, but that was another point that bothered him. “Larayne,” he said. “Is there any reason you can think of that you were singled out for this?”
    â€œOf course. My father owned the book.”
    â€œBeyond that, even. Did you speak with this Charles Avery personally?”
    â€œI’ve never met him. He sent someone here to the house.”
    â€œHas anyone else come to the house or contacted you about the book?”
    She