Still reluctant to let them in the room, Camille quickly made the hotel manager realize how damaging a media blitz about the murder of a hotel guest would be. With her gentle art of persuasion, he let them in without further hesitation.
A few clothes were carelessly thrown on a chair but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"Did they ask for anything unusual? Ask for directions to somewhere?" Richard asked the manager.
"As I told you earlier, they mostly kept to themselves but nothing out of the ordinary." He thought for a moment. "Yesterday, though, he did ask about a cave. Apparently they were into exploring caves."
"And you didn't think that was worth mentioning this morning?" Richard huffed.
Camille stepped over, gently nudging Richard to let her take over. "Which cave were they interested in?"
"You know the legend of La grotte de Celeste Anise?"
She nodded, inwardly grinning knowing how annoyed Richard got when things were in French.
"Did you tell them where it is?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice.
He shrugged. "What could I tell them? The location has long since been forgotten but he had a look in his eyes that said he knew more than he was letting on. Maybe they found it. Anyway, that was where they wanted to go. I think they may have heard of the legend of the gold but I can't be sure of that."
"Merci. If you hear anything from his girlfriend, please let us know." She sensed Richard walk up behind her, indicating there was nothing more they could find in the room.
"What legend was he talking about?" he asked as they made their way through the lobby.
"It's one of the older ones on the island – the cave of Celeste Anise. Back in the early days of pirates she was sympathetic to their ways."
Richard held the door open for her as they stepped outside. "More pirates?" he groaned.
Camille smiled at him. "It's an island, Richard. Pirates liked islands, especially tropical ones."
Wiping his forehead, he muttered, "I have no idea why."
"As I was saying, Celeste Anise was sympathetic to the cause of the pirates so she provided a safe place for them to hide – a cave near the sea but hidden from view. Over time it became the cave where every pirate who ever landed on Saint-Marie stashed their treasures."
They stopped at the car.
"Which would mean that if there ever was treasure it was long since found," he pointed out.
Shaking her head, Camille grinned. "No. But people have been trying for centuries to find it. The exact location has long since been lost but that doesn't stop people for looking."
"Which I guess is what we're going to have to do."
"Yes. My mother may have a better idea where to start. She knows all the legends of the island."
"Camille, you know you shouldn't try to find it," her mother, Catherine, scolded. "Too many have died trying."
"Yes, maman, but this is for a case."
"It's still too dangerous. Too many curses…"
While amused, Richard couldn't stop the sigh. He immediately cringed realizing Catherine's wrath would now be turned on him.
"You do not believe in these curses, do you, Richard?"
"No. They are simply stories to keep people away. The old way of a security system."
"Science cannot explain everything," she retorted and stalked off.
"Don't wait for your milk," Camille said, looking at his hot tea. "You know her."
"Yes, though I find it very irritating that she can hold my enjoyment of tea hostage with her moods."
A small creamer was placed in front of him as he finished his sentence and both he and Camille shared a mortified look before glancing up at her mother.
"It is not a 'mood' as you say. I happen to care about my daughter a great deal and am not happy about her risking her life looking for a cave."
Richard, to his credit, opened his mouth to lamely apologize but she continued.
"I've also grown fond of you. If you insist on going, I will pack some sandwiches and water. You're going to need it."
After a stop by the station to pick up torches, evidence bags and other equipment, Camille insisted Richard change into something more practical for hiking through the jungle. He, of course, insisted a suit and tie were very reasonable since they were still on duty.
With the information they had received from her mother about the believed estimated location, Camille pulled up next to another small car parked along the side of the dirt road.
"Do you think that is their car?" she asked.
Richard was already on the phone when Camille joined him. "Fidel, I need you and Dwayne to check out a car we just found. Where are we? Um…"
Camille took the phone from him. "We're on the haunted dirt road." She listened for a second and laughed. "It's daylight, I don't think you'll run into a ghost." She hung up and handed the phone back to Richard. "They're on their way."
"Haunted? Is there anything scientific this island believes?"
She handed him a small pack with the torches, food and water then took one for herself as well as a sharp machete. "It's not really haunted, we all know that. It just got that reputation because it's dark and overgrown and no one ever comes up here." Closing the trunk, she turned to him, "Didn't you ever have that run down house in your town that was known as 'haunted' just because it looked spooky?"
"Camille, I'm from England, everything there is 'haunted'."
"It looks like they, or someone, has been here recently." She nodded towards the path that had recently been cut. He hesitated watching her chop a larger path through the jungle growth.
She turned and gave him a look, one of the many he'd learned to read by now.
"Right behind you." Picking up his pack, he pushed all thoughts of spiders, snakes and blood-sucking insects out of his mind. There was a murder to solve.
Dwayne stopped the bike behind the Defender. "Wonder how the chief is doing in the jungle."
"I'd be more concerned about how Camille is doing dealing with him in the jungle," Fidel responded.
"And she knows how to make it look like an accident," Dwayne added with a laugh.
Fidel put on gloves then got to work dusting for prints while Dwayne scoured the surrounding area for any possible evidence.
"Do you think these kids found it?" Dwayne asked, poking at some undergrowth.
"The cave?" Fidel closed the dust container then opened the driver's side door. "I guess it's possible."
"Do you believe the legend?"
Standing up, Fidel looked at Dwayne. "When I was a child I often dreamed of being the one to find it and prove the legend was real and be the richest kid in the world with all the treasure. Now? I want to but it's different when you're an adult. I understand the legends that were simply lies to keep kids in line."
Dwayne just looked at him. "So was that a yes or no?"
Laughing, Fidel returned his attention to the car.