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Without hesitation, Remi said, “Round, copper, about the size of a fifty-shilling piece. It’s badly pitted. We haven’t been able to make anything of it.”
“Do you have it with you?”
“No,” said Sam.
“And you say you are not hunting for any shipwrecks or specific treasure?”
“That’s correct.”
“Where are you staying on Zanzibar?”
Sam saw no point in lying. They would double-check the answer. “A bungalow on Kendwa Beach.”
The captain handed back their papers, then tipped his cap to them. “Good day.”
And then he was back over the rail and inside the Yulin’s cabin. The gunboat’s engines rumbled, the sailors pushed off, and the gunboat came about and steered west toward the channel. Sam took two long strides, ducked into the cabin, and reemerged with a pair of binoculars. He lifted them to his eyes and trained them on the Yulin. After twenty seconds, he lowered the binoculars.
“What?” Remi asked.
“There was someone in the cabin giving orders.”
“The knock on the window?” Remi said. “Did you get a look at him?”
Sam nodded. “Not black and not in uniform. He looked Hispanic—maybe Mediterranean. Thin, hawk nose, thick eyebrows.”
“What kind of non-Tanzanian civilian would have the power to order about a coast guard gunboat and her crew?”
“Someone with deep pockets.” As much as they loved Tanzania and Zanzibar and their people, there was no arguing that corruption was common. The majority of Tanzanians made a few dollars a day; military personnel, only slightly more. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though. Right now we don’t know anything. Just curious, Remi: Why’d you lie about the coin?”
“Gut reaction,” Remi replied. “You think I should have—”
“No. I had the same instinct. The Tanzanian coast guard has two Yulin gunboats to cover the central coast, the main channel, and Zanzibar. I got the impression they were specifically looking for us.”
“Me too.”
“And as safety checks go, that one was worthless. Didn’t ask about life preservers, the radio, or our dive gear.”
“And when was the last time we met a Tanzanian official that wasn’t all smiles and geniality?”
“Never,” Sam replied. “About the Adelise coin—”
Remi unzipped the side pocket of her dive shorts, withdrew the coin, and held it up with a smile.
“That’s my girl,” Sam said.
“You think they’ll search the bungalow?”
Sam shrugged.
“So, put it all together and what’s it mean?” Remi pondered.
“No idea, but we’re going to watch our step from here on out.”
CHAPTER 5
ZANZIBAR
FOR THE NEXT HOUR THEY SAT ON THE AFTERDECK , SIPPING ICE-COLD water and enjoying the gentle rocking of the Andreyale and listening to the waves lapping at the hull. Within the first thirty