Patricia Cornwell - Isle of Dogs

"Those old cannons and jewels should be shared, " Regina said as two sets of sneakers accompanied by slippered feet sounded behind them.

"What?" the governor posed his usual question as he caught the tail end of Regina and Mrs. Crimm's conversation. "Go ahead and keep walking, " he said to Trip, who was already going ahead and didn't need to be told.

"Papa, I think he does better if you use fewer words, " Regina tried to help.

"Okay, " the governor considered, and the word okay released Trip from any commands and he came to a standstill near the First Lady's black-lacquered, mother-of-pearl-inlaid desk. "I didn't tell you to stop, but that's what I wanted you to do, " the governor chatted on to his minihorse and fondly rubbed his soft nose. "I think he understands far more than you might imagine, Regina. "

"He might, " she replied, "but what he understands and what you want him to do may be two different things. "

"I see. What's this about cannons and jewels that should be shared?" the governor inquired as he dipped into a robe pocket for his magnifying glass, because no matter how much help the guide horse might prove to be, it could not assist Crimm with reading.

Regina paraphrased Trooper Truth's essay and again offered her opinion that the treasure should not be squandered by whoever finds it, but should be shared with the public.

"As long as certain pieces would come to the mansion, " the First Lady was quick to add.

"Maybe a cannon or two in the garden and out front, " the governor considered, and his spleen was acting up a bit at the thought of that damnable state of North Carolina. "As awful as that pirate Wheland was, he's part of Virginia history, and I'll be damned if those watermen are going to get the treasure first and sell it to some antique dealer or, worse, to North Carolina. "

"Oh, Bedford, " Mrs. Crimm pleaded, "you must do something right away, before it's too late! Can't you send in an aircraft carrier or something, so those Tangier people don't haul all of the treasure away? They have no right to it!"

"No, they don't, " Regina agreed, and it was the first time she had not been in concert with what Trooper Truth had to say. "How weird, " she added. "Whose side is Trooper Truth on, anyway? He's always made sense in the past and been on the side of truth and justice. "

"He could very well be in collusion with Tangier Island and is trying to influence me to let them have the treasure, " said the governor, who was seeing matters far more clearly since he had stopped listening to Trader and eating his sweets. "I'll issue a press release immediately that warns all treasure hunters to stay clear of that crab pot with the yellow buoy, " the governor declared. "Let those fishermen just try to go near that sunken ship and think they're going to"-he patted Trip's neck-"load up. Right, little fella?"

Trip pulled away from his owner and headed toward the elevator and then took a right.

"Right!" Regina said, proud of her father's power and decisiveness, while Trip made another right and stopped before his reflection in a gilt Chippendale mirror.

"How far down do you think it is?" the First Lady pondered as she imagined chests of gold, family silver, and jewelry fit for a queen.

"Down?" Regina puzzled. "How far down what is?" she asked as Trip lay down in front of the mirror and continued to stare at himself, a bit puzzled.

"Based on the location in this Trooper Truth propaganda, " the governor replied, "I'd say the treasure's down pretty deep, because it's in the crab sanctuary, which is in a trough of the bay, if I'm not mistaken. "

"Well, that's good, " the First Lady said with relief. "The deeper the better, because it will make it all that much more difficult to find. I doubt those Tangier people have the proper gear to dive down and bring a big cannon to the surface. Why, it would sink one of their little boats. "

Within the hour, news of the Tory Treasure screamed over the wire and blared over televisions and radios throughout Virginia, the U. S., and in particular, bombarded North Carolina. Commentators speculated that the people of Tangier would be excited into a furious frenzy because of the governor's order that any waterman seen within five miles of the crab pot with its yellow buoy would be arrested by the Coast Guard, which had rushed to patrol that area of the bay. Treasure hunters and their vessels were on notice that they would be seized, the airspace between the Virginia coast and Tangier was restricted to all except authorized aircraft, and Naval vessels were preparing to form a blockade around the island.

Fonny Boy and Dr. Faux heard the news over the car radio after posting bond and leaving Richmond as quickly as possible. They sped toward Reedville, where the dentist intended to hop on the mailboat and bribe the captain to help them find the crab pot Fonny Boy had dropped in the water.

"The Coast Guard won't be suspicious of the mailboat, " the dentist reasoned as Fonny Boy stared tensely out the window, watching telephone poles fly by.

"That's poor! It ain't fittin'! The treasure, it's mine!" Fonny Boy said every other minute.

"We'll split it fifty-fifty, " Dr. Faux reminded him. "You owe me for bond and whatever I end up paying the mail-boat captain. We'll need gear, too, which will be expensive. There's a bait and tackle shop near where the mailboat docks, but we've got to hurry, and for God's sake, don't do anything to cause trouble, Fonny Boy. If the police know we've left Richmond, we'll be arrested again for jumping bail, and then the judge is really going to throw the book at us. "

"They wouldn't do nothing to us!" Fonny Boy's backward talk meant that if they got caught while finding the treasure, they were really in trouble this time.

"And if the mailboat gets seized, who cares?" Dr. Faux replied. "It doesn't belong to us. If questioned, we'll just blame everything on the captain and say that we boarded the boat to mail a few letters and dental bills back to the island, and next thing we knew, the boat was speeding toward the treasure before we had a chance to get off. "

"No!" Fonny Boy excitedly meant the opposite.

Major Trader and his cellmates learned the news, too, because one of the guards had a habit of wearing a Walkman with the sound turned up so loud prisoners could hear every tune, advertisement, and news release that leaked from his headset.

"Now listen here, " Trader said. "Instead of wasting all your time trying to drown me in the toilet, let's band together. If we can figure a way out of here, we can find that treasure first. "

"You think so?" Slim Jim asked with nagging doubt. "I mean, even if we could get outta here, how we gonna find that crab pot and then haul all the treasure outta the bottom of the bay?"

"I can't swim, " Snitch added.

"Uh uh, I never could swim, " Stick confessed.

"You don't have to swim, you idiots!" Trader impatiently replied.

He had traded beds with the Mexican boy because if there was one thing Trader understood, it was office psychology. His maxim was fairly simple. If you wanted to feign friendship and sympathy, you sat the person you wished to manipulate in a nice living area with nothing between the two of you but a coffee table. If the objective was to intimidate, you sat at your desk, which became an imposing barrier between you and the individual you intended to terrorize. If you wished to confuse and humiliate, which had always been his preferred tactic with the governor, you poisoned the person with Ex-Lax and then insisted on having important discussions while walking through buildings or driving.

The Mexican boy's steel bed, as it turned out in the light of morning, was in the center of the cell. By appropriating it while he was using the toilet, Trader had gained the leadership role he wanted, although the other cellmates weren't sure why they suddenly viewed him with a bit more respect. Realizing the power of violent gastric attacks, Trader directed that when the guard was strolling past, on cue Reverend Justice would double over in agony and make loud moans and shrieks while the other cellmates gathered around him in a panic and screamed for help and shouted for everyone to give him air.