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My heart stopped.
“Fuck yeah!” Dad fell to his knees.
Tyler’s shoulders slumped as he let out a massive breath. We both rushed to join Dad.
“I told ya. I fucking told ya.” Dad waggled a bundle of cash.
Inside the case were stacks on stacks of damp $100 bills, bound tight with strips of rubber bands.
The case was still beeping.
“Look, Indy.” Dad plunged into the moldy loot, pulling out a bundle that he fanned out like a peacock’s tail and the rubber band crumbled into several pieces.
“Holy hell!” Kneeling beside Dad, I reached for a stack. The bills felt real enough, and the Queen’s face was still clearly visible despite the dark spots and patches of growth covering the notes.
We rifled through the bundles, and salt crystals flicked into the air like miniature fireworks.
The corner of a plastic bag was wedged against the side of the case.
Squatting at my side, Tyler reached for the bag and pulled it out. Inside was a black plastic rectangular box with a cable running from it like a rat’s tail.
“Found what’s beeping.” Tyler held the corner of the plastic like the contents were a ticking bomb.
“What is it?” I eased back with a wad of notes in my hand.
“Looks like an external computer storage.”
Frowning, I pointed at the blinking red indicator light at the top that was flashing in time to the beeping.
Tyler’s deep frown confirmed he wasn’t sharing the same joy Dad was.
Dad’s laughter boomed, unrestrained, and all the years of worry lines etched into his face seemed to smooth out. “There must be a hundred grand here.”
He looked so alive and free of the shadows that usually clung to him that despite Tyler’s obvious dread, it was hard not to grin at Dad.
My heart was a wild drumbeat. “Yeah, Dad! This is insane!”
I flicked my gaze between the damp notes and Tyler’s worry lines.
A sense of dread haunted his eyes.
“We can fix Rhino now, Indy. Get the new engine we’ve been talking about.”
Tyler sucked air through his teeth and turned away.
“Where are you going?” I called over the top of Dad’s cheering.
“To check this out.” The beeping noise petered away as he marched up the stairs and strode toward the hut.
A knot tightened in my stomach. He really was worried. By the state of the decay on the body of that wreck, it had been about three months since that plane crashed and sank. If someone knew where the plane went down, then they would have recovered the metal case. Surely, they would have given up searching for it by now.
Dad’s hand on my shoulder brought me back. “I can’t believe it.”
“Me neither, Dad.”
“This is gonna change our lives.” His grin was so wide it showed the gap in his teeth where his tooth had been yanked out by the murderous bastards who raided our boat.
That memory added to the sense of dread creeping through me. As much as this was a lucky find, something was severely wrong with it, too.
