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“What did you find?” Wade asked Rupert. He set his lantern on top of a barrel and crossed his arms. He wouldn’t look too anxious, but he also wasn’t going to waste time. If Rupert had discovered anything, Wade wanted every detail.
He had been chasing this treasure for so long that he had almost run out of leads, out of information, out of hope. Even the smallest detail, no matter how minute, could turn everything around for him.
What did Rupert know?
The first mate shift uneasily for a moment, then shook his head.
"Nothing," he said finally. "The lead was a mistake."
Wade stared at his first mate, the man he trusted more deeply than a brother, and knew that Rupert was lying. He just wasn't sure why. Rupert looked uncomfortable being alone. For the first time since he'd known him, Wade wondered what the man was thinking.
"Rupert?" Surely it was a mistake. Why would Rupert deceive him, especially about something concerning the treasure?
"I'm sorry," he said. Rupert's eyes look sad as he fumbled behind his back for a hasty second, then held up a small pistol. He pointed it at Wade. "I can't let you get to it first."
So this was how it was going to be. Wade "The Saucy Devil" Docherty was going to go down on his own ship, murdered in cold blood by his first mate. For a moment, he thought it seemed fitting. Wade had been a failure in so many ways, first as a child, then in marriage, now as a captain. He couldn't even find the treasure he'd been desperately searching for to end his pirate days. He couldn't even trust his first mate to help him with the task.
"What did he say?" Wade asked Rupert. He wasn't sure if he was trying to buy himself time or if he actually wanted to know. In the end, it wouldn’t matter. Wade was unarmed. Though he was an excellent fighter, Rupert would fire without hesitation if Wade darted near.
When Rupert hesitated, Wade added, "You're going to kill me. Might as well let me know what you've found. What harm can a dead man do?"
Rupert pondered this for just a moment before telling him, "Old man Lester didn't know much, but he had this." Rupert patted his pocket.
"What did he give you?" Wade asked, curious, and more than a little frustrated that his death was near. He had always imagined he would die in a firefight or in hand-to-hand combat. Part of him hoped he'd be killed by a sea monster or some other mythical creature. He never imagined that he'd be shot in cold blood. He was a smart man. At least, he considered himself to be, and this was not something he saw coming.
He felt betrayed in ways he could never put into words.
"A map," Rupert said. "A map of trade routes. The reason no one ain't been able to find The Cursed Hangman," Rupert said with a shady grin, obviously pleased with himself. "Is that the ship wasn't on her regular route."
"What do you mean?" Wade asked, momentarily forgetting about the gun, momentarily feeling shocked. He had spent years pouring over routes and following them. He had spent years talking to people who knew crew members, trying to figure out exactly where they had gone. When he wasn't seeking the treasure, he would plunder and pillage like any good pirate, but the treasure of The Cursed Hangman was what really held his interest.
And this information changed everything.
But now Wade was going to die.
Rupert cocked the pistol and Wade fought the urge to close his eyes. No, he wouldn't do it. He wouldn't give Rupert the satisfaction. If his best friend wanted to betray him, he would have to do it in cold blood. He would have to be a man and look Wade in the eyes as the blood poured out of his body and onto the store room floor.
"It doesn't have to be like this," Wade said, his one last plea. He thought of his dead parents, his dead wife, and his dead children. He thought of the people he himself had killed. He thought of all the bad things he had done in his life and a few of the good things. He thought of the woman at the bathhouse. He thought that it was a shame he wouldn't get to see her again.
"I'm sorry," Rupert said.
Rupert's finger moved slightly, as if he intended to pull the trigger, but he didn't. At that moment, a noise sounded from behind the man and Rupert turned to see what it was. Wade heard Rupert screech, then cough and sputter. Then the man stumbled backwards and fell, dropping the pistol. Wade looked at Rupert lying on the floor. Blood poured out of his back.
Then Wade looked up.
Standing at the back of the room holding a bloody dagger was the woman.
The woman from the bathhouse.
"Am I dreaming?" Wade asked.
"Please don't hang me," she said.
7
Julianne stared at the man on the floor, the man she had just killed. She had never killed anyone before, didn't intend to, and was surprised that she had managed the courage to do so. Julianne was many things, but brave was not one of them.
Blood poured out of the wound on his chest and his body trembled slightly as he died. She had stabbed him right in the heart, as Nelson had told her to, should she ever find the need to kill someone. When Wade looked up at her, Julianne's heart beat faster. She knew he recognized her from the bathhouse, knew he would quickly have to start acting like a captain and not a lover.
