“He didn’t get to Faneuil Hall, though.”
“The Paul Revere House is on the Trail.” Bones pointed out its location in North Square, one block south of Hanover Street.
“Right,” Dane added. “And he’s already been there to find the knife.”
“But there’s no X. Neither is there an X on the Old North Church, Copps, Constitution or the Bunker Hill Monument. There’s a whole mess of unsearched places here.”
“At least he eliminated a few.” Jillian sounded affronted.
“No written records?” Dane asked.
Jillian shook her head. “He’s been busy, though. Yesterday, he went to the Old State House.”
“Where the first lantern is,” Bones said.
“He came home, dropped off the map, and went out to meet someone. Remillard, I guess.”
“You’re sure it’s okay with you that we take up the search on his behalf?” Dane asked.
“I’d be grateful.” She gave him a tired smile. “Where do you think we should begin?”
“Remillard gave us a clue — the wreckage of Somerset. We thought we’d see if we can’t find the wreckage.”
Just then, a shiny, black sedan pulled up to the curb. The passenger door opened, and a man dressed in jeans, an Oxford cloth shirt, and wraparound sunglasses stepped out. He looked around for a moment, and then his eyes locked on Dane and the others.
“I’ve seen him before” Jillian whispered. “He came by the house asking for Dad just a few days ago.”
“Do you have a car nearby?” Dane asked, not turning his head. He kept his eyes on the newcomer. Another door opened, and another, similarly-garbed man exited.
“Yeah.” Her voice trembled as she spoke.
“Bones, give her the book and the map. Let’s get out of here. Jillian, you lead the way.”
Bones and Jillian moved a split second before Dane saw the newcomer reach behind his back.
“Gun!” Dane shouted and took off after his friends.
“Hey, stop!” The newcomer’s yells chased them around Faneuil Hall toward Quincy Market.
“Hurry, you two!”
“I better not twist an ankle and spend the rest of my leave laid up,” Bones barked.
“You’ll spend the rest of our leave in the freaking cemetery if you don’t shut up and haul ass right this second, Bones.”
The trio ran hard as a bullet buzzed past them and smacked into the hard granite of the old market building. Dane hadn’t heard the gunshot. They must be using a silencer.
“Faster!”
Another bullet buzzed past them, ricocheting off the cobblestones near Dane’s feet. As long as they kept moving, a shot with a handgun at this distance would be difficult even for a talented marksman. Still, neither bullet had missed by much.
They turned the corner as a third shot barely missed Bones’ heel.
“This is it.” Jillian pointed to a shiny, new BMW parked in the shadow of the Central Artery.
“Give me the keys,” Dane demanded as Jillian opened the driver’s side door.
“I don’t think so,” she countered. “I know the city better than you.”
Dane snatched the keys from her, vowing to apologize later, if they got out of this mess.
“Get in.”
Jillian shot him a dirty look and reluctantly climbed into the back seat, as Bones had already wedged his lanky frame into the passenger side. Dane got in, closed the door, and quickly started the car. He slammed the accelerator to the floorboard and peeled away from the curb.
“If you scratch my father’s car, you’re toast.”
“I think we’ve got bigger fish to fry right now.”
They shot through a yellow light, narrowly avoiding a taxi cab turning left. Gunning the engine, they left the blaring horn behind them.
“Hopefully they won’t have time to regroup and come back.” Dane’s hands were tight on the wheel and adrenaline coursed through him. “The first one had to have been in the middle of the mall by the time we pulled away, and the second one wasn’t too far behind.”
Jillian squealed in fright as Dane made a hard right, barely touching the brakes.
“Don’t worry. I’ll try not to scratch the paint while I’m busy saving our lives.”
“What I’m worried about is walking away from the pile-up you’re about to cause.”
Dane’s cheek twitched.
Bones lowered the passenger visor and angled it to look out the rear window. “I don’t see them back there. Bummer. I was ready for a chase.”
“Maybe next time.”
“So, where are we going?” Bones asked.
“We’ll take Jillian somewhere safe, and then you and I have an appointment to keep this evening.”
CHAPTER 7
The last rays of the setting sun caromed off the tall buildings of downtown Boston as Dane and Bones made their way to the old Charlestown Navy Yard on the shore of the Charles River. They’d set Jillian up at a local motel while they saw to their task.
They crossed the Charlestown Bridge and turned onto Constitution Drive, pausing to pay their respects to Old Ironsides along the way. Its mast lights shone down on the white pine mainmast and black and white hull.
“So, what’s your big plan?” Bones asked as they continued on.
“An old friend of my dad’s lives here in town, and he owns a dive boat. He’s going to hook us up with the gear we need and take us out. There it is right there.”
“Whoa,” Bones gasped. “Check that out. When you said dive boat, I pictured something smaller.”
The live-aboard craft measured a good eighty feet from bow to stern with a twenty-five foot beam and second-deck bridge. Dane admired its sleek lines and thought he would love to own a boat just like this when he left the service.
“Dane Maddock, you swarmy son of a sea dog!” A rough voice called out.
Marco Cosenza, an old Navy pal of Dane’s father, Hunter Maddock, was a dark complected, meaty slab of a man with close cropped hair. His appearance and manner reminded Dane of Vince Lombardi. He lumbered down the gangplank and caught Dane up in a rough embrace. Dane clapped man on the back and pushed away before his ribs caved in.
“How the hell are you, son?”
“I’m doing well, coach.” Cosenza had been his Little League coach when the two families had been stationed in the same city in Florida decades ago. “I really appreciate you helping us out.”
“Glad to do it.” He turned to Bones. “I guess Dane isn’t going to introduce us. I’m Marco Cosenza.” They shook hands and Cosenza looked Bones up and down. “Anybody ever tell you you’re the biggest Indian they’ve ever seen?”
“Nope. You’re the first. I’m Bones. Good to meet you. I just hope you have a dive suit to fit me.”
“I think we can find something.” Cosenza turned back to Dane. “You told me where you want to dive, but not what you’re looking for.”
“How about we go aboard and I tell you all about it?” He followed Cosenza to the gangplank and stopped at the bottom. “Permission to come aboard Sea Foam, sir?”
“Granted.” Cosenza chuckled and waved them aboard.
“I like your boat.” Bones looked it over with an approving smile. “Ever think about renting it out for parties? I’ll bet I could get a band and fifty Hooters girls on here easy.”
Cosenza threw back his head and laughed. “My wife would love that!”
“That’s why I’m never getting married. Too much Bones to go around. I can’t deprive the lovely ladies of all this.”
“I like your friend. Where did you find him?”