The Reef

my brother. The Lassiters.”
    “Yes, of course.” Ray slapped a hand on his knee. “I’ve read about you. Your father was Big Matt Lassiter. Found the El Diablo off Conch Key in ’sixty-four.”
    “ ’Sixty-three,” Buck corrected, with a grin. “Found it, and the fortune she held. The kind of gold a man dreams of, jewels, ingots of silver. I held in my hand a gold chain with a figure of a dragon. A fucking gold dragon,” he said, then stopped, flushed. “Beg pardon, ma’am.”
    “No need.” Fascinated with the image, Marla urged another sandwich on him. “What was it like?”
    “Like nothing you can imagine.” At ease again, Buck chomped into ham. “There were rubies for its eyes, emeralds in its tail.” Bitterly, he looked down at his hands now and found them empty. “It was worth five fortunes.”
    Caught up in the wonder, Ray stared. “Yes. I’ve seen pictures of it. Diablo’s Dragon. You brought it up. Extraordinary.”
    “The state closed in,” Buck continued. “Kept us in court for years. Claimed the three-mile limit started at the end of the reef, not at shore. Bastards bled us dry before it was done. In the end they took, and we lost. No better than pirates,” he said and finished off his drink.
    “How terrible for you,” Marla murmured. “To have done all that, discovered all that, only to have it taken.”
    “Broke the old man’s heart. Never did dive again.” Buck moved his shoulders. “Well, there are other wrecks. Other treasures.” Buck judged his man, and gambled. “Like the Santa Marguerite, the Isabella. ”
    “Yes, they’re here.” Ray met Buck’s eye steadily. “I’m sure of it.”
    “Could be.” Matthew picked up the sword, turned it over in his hands. “Or it could be that both of them were swept out to sea. There’s no record of survivors. Only two ships crashed on the reef.”
    Ray lifted a finger. “Ah, but witnesses of the day claim they saw the Isabella and the Santa Marguerite go down. Survivors from the other ships saw the waves rise and scuttle them.”
    Matthew lifted his gaze to Ray’s, nodded. “Maybe.”
    “Matthew’s a cynic,” Buck commented. “Keeps me level. I’m going to tell you something, Ray.” He leaned forward, pale blue eyes keen. “I’ve been doing research of my own. Five years on and off. Three years ago, the boy and I spent better than six months combing these waters—mostly the two-mile stretch between St. Kitts and Nevis and the peninsula area. We found this, we found that, but we didn’t find those two ships. But I know they’re here.”
    “Well, now.” Ray tugged on his bottom lip, a gesture that Tate knew meant he was considering. “I think youwere looking in the wrong spot, Buck. Not that I want to say I’d know more about it. The ships took off from Nevis, but from what I’ve been able to piece together, the two lost wrecks made it farther north, just past the tip of Saint Kitts before they broke.”
    Buck’s lips curved. “I figure the same. It’s a big sea, Ray.” He flicked a glance toward Matthew and was rewarded with a careless shrug. “I’ve got forty years experience, and the boy’s been diving since he could walk. What I don’t have is financial backing.”
    As a man who had worked his way up to CEO of a top brokerage firm before his early retirement, Ray knew a deal when it was placed on the table. “You’re looking for a partnership, Buck. We’d have to talk about that. Discuss terms, percentages.” Rising, Ray flashed a smile. “Why don’t we step into my office?”
    “Well, then.” Marla smiled as her husband and Buck stepped into the deckhouse. “I think I’m going to sit in the shade and nap over my book. You children entertain yourselves.” She moved off under a striped awning and settled down with her iced tea and a paperback novel.
    “I guess I’ll go over and clean up my booty.” Matthew reached for a large plastic bag. “Mind if I borrow this?” Without waiting for a response, he loaded his gear into it, then hefted his tanks. “Want to give me a hand?”
    “No.”
    He only lifted a brow. “I figured you might want to see how this cleans up.” He gestured with the sword, waited to see if her curiosity would overpower her irritation. He didn’t wait long.
    With a mutter, she snatched the plastic bag and took it down the ladder to the swim step and over the side with her.
    The Sea Devil looked worse close up. Tate judged its sway in the current