Donovans 03 - Pearl Cove

pink or all three in the same oyster. Members of the South Sea Consortium developed the technology. And they kept it to themselves. It has nothing to do with Pearl Cove.”
    “I’m not talking about the normal run of black pearls. I’m talking about the rainbows.”
    Stillness crept through Hannah’s blood like ice forming on an autumn pond. Though no one was supposed to know about the extraordinary pearls, word had inevitably leaked out. Rumors thrived like termites in the emptiness of Western Australia. Yet no one had actually seen those special pearls, except Len and herself. And his killer. Len had died because he knew the secret of producing extraordinary black pearls. People assumed she knew the secret, too. But she didn’t.
    Her husband had trusted no one. He always opened the “experimental” oysters himself. And he was careful to have ordinary oysters in among the special ones, just to have some pearly junk to show the curious. He never would have told her about the rainbows at all if he hadn’t needed her hyperacute color perception to find the best matches among the iridescent, seductively colorful black gems.
    Despite all Len’s care, despite his paranoia, in the past few years, some of the special black pearls had been stolen and found their way to the marketplace. Yet Len wouldn’t share the secret of producing the black rainbows.
    He had been killed for it. As soon as the murderer discovered that she knew nothing about producing them, her life would be worthless. She would be all that stood between the killer and ownership of Pearl Cove, home of the oysters that produced fabulous, unique black pearls.
    “Rainbows?” she asked through stiff lips. “We’ve had some lovely peacock blue—”
    “No,” Chang cut in. “They’re not the same.”
    “If your family is buying in to Pearl Cove for these so-called rainbows, you’ll be disappointed. I don’t have any for you.” That, at least, was the truth. Most of the special pearls had been destroyed as unworthy. The rest had been kept in the vault.
    And the vault lay like a cracked steel egg inside the ruined shed.
    Chang watched her with clear black eyes and formidable intelligence. “Think about our offer.”
    “You don’t believe me.”
    “I believe that the cyclone season is coming.”
    “Is that a threat?”
    “It’s a fact. Sell Pearl Cove to the Changs. We’re big enough to weather the coming storm. You aren’t. Don’t follow Len into the grave.”
    For a breath Hannah wished she owned all of Pearl Cove and could turn it over to the Changs. Then she would run. The Stone Age villages in the rain forests of Brazil had never looked so good to her. So safe.
    But that was cowardice whispering seductively in her ear. She couldn’t sell, had no money to run, and was damned if she would be again what she had been at nineteen—a runaway stranded in a strange city with night coming on and no assets to sell but her newly unvirginal body.
    “I can’t sell Pearl Cove,” she said evenly.
    “You mean you won’t.”
    “No. I mean I can’t.”
    “Why?”
    “Half of it belongs to Archer Donovan.”
    “What?” Chang demanded, too shocked to hide it.
    “Archer—Mr. Donovan—was Len’s silent partner.”
    “For how long?”
    “Seven years.”
    “Bloody hell. No wonder Len is dead. He finally buggered the wrong man.”
    “What are you saying?”
    Chang laughed curtly. “They don’t come any more ruthless than Archer Donovan.”
    “I didn’t think the Chang family would back up for anyone.”
    “A man who can tangle with the Red Phoenix Triad and come out on top deserves respect. Archer Donovan has it.” Chang turned away. “I’ve got to make a call. This changes everything.”
    The screen door swung shut behind Chang. Moments later, red dust boiled, then settled in the wake of his car.
    For a long time Hannah sat on the verandah in the hammock chair, unmoving but for the occasional prod of one foot against the floor. Back and forth. Back and forth.
    She didn’t doubt Chang’s appraisal of Archer Donovan; she had been in a position to see just how ruthless he could be. But not with Len. Never with Len. Despite ample provocation, Archer had never acted against Len McGarry. Quite the opposite. He had saved Len’s life, paid for his rehabilitation, and made him a partner in Pearl Cove. Then he did what Len had demanded: he got the hell out of Len’s life and stayed out.
    She didn’t know what the bond was between