Free Pearl Cove by Elizabeth Lowell Page B

work.
    Everyone who works for Pearl Cove will be paid, Archer said, understanding the question
     Nakamori was too circumspect to ask outright. Tell your men.
    Nakamoris black eyes scanned Archer with shrewd intelligence. Flynn say Pearl Cove ffft
     no good. Banks not build again.
    If you work, you get paid, Archer repeated.
    How? Nakamoris voice was polite but insistent.
    By a check drawn on a Hong Kong bank.
    Mr. Donovan, Hannah said quickly, is a partner in Pearl Cove. He is underwriting what
     needs to be done.
    Surprise flicked like a whip over Nakamoris face, followed by no expression at all. Pearl
     Cove okay?
    Pearl Cove is a mess, Archer said, but youll be paid for every hour you work. Okay. I
     tell. Nakamori bowed slightly and went out into the yellow violence of the sun. I dont
     want to leave you alone while I dive, Archer said. Are you comfortable diving? Is an ama?
     she asked, smiling slightly, thinking of the famous female pearl divers of Japan. A smile
     split the darkness of Archers beard. An ama? Do you wear what the amas wear, too? White
     blouse and trousers? No.
    They only wear that for the shows put on by the big Japanese pearl growers for tourists
     and government officials, he said. The amas of old wore nothing but a G-string. They
     wanted to slide like fish through the water while they dove for shell.
    Must have been chilly.
    In Japanese waters, it was damned cold, Archer agreed. But they worked hour after hour
     anyway. They kept up their energy by taking breaks to grill and eat whatever they found on
     the sea floor during their dives. And they gave a haunting, whistling cry when they
     surfaced after a long dive....
    Though he spoke to Hannah, his eyes were on Tom Nakamori, who was walking down the path to
     the pearling sheds. One more name to give Kyle to run through his computer. The Japanese
     man might be nearly sixty, with joints that screamed each one of his years as a diver, but
     he was plenty strong enough to slam an oyster shell between Lens ribs. Especially if he
     whacked him over the head with a board first.
    Any other players I should know about?
    Archer asked, turning back to Hannah.
    What do you mean?
    Flynn and Nakamori both have the strength and the access to murder Len. Who else benefited?
    She closed her eyes and fought a sharp battle with her stomach. I dont see how either
     Christian or Tom benefited from Lens death. If Pearl Cove goes under, they both lose their
     jobs.
    Jobs arent hard to find along this coast, especially for experienced pearl men. And unless
     he was badly mistaken, the young Aussie had more than one job in any case. Archer turned
     away from the verandah and watched Hannah with eyes that showed only a ghost of green and
     no blue at all. Who else?
    Ian Chang wants to buy Pearl Cove. Or seventy-five percent of it, anyway. He wasnt here
     during the cyclone, so he can hardly be a suspect, but he does know about the special
     pearls. I dont know how. Maybe Len told him.
    Secrets are hard to keep, especially one like that. Even Len couldnt have done it year
     after year after year, Archer added absently. He was running through his mental file
     marked Chang. Nothing that came back was good news. Maybe Ian belonged to a different
     branch of the Changs. Maybe... but somehow Archer didnt think he would be lucky on this
     one. Not the good kind of lucky.
    This past year was the worst, Hannah said. Len told me he was certain someone had stolen
     some of the experimental oysters just before we started harvesting.
    Archer shrugged. If Len hadnt been so damned clever playing off one group against another,
     he would have been stolen blind years ago. Ian Chang, for instance. Would that be Sam
     Changs Number One Son? The Changs of Chang Enterprises International? The Changs who own a
     hefty slice of the Pacific Rim pearl trade and are looking to acquire more?
    She looked at Archer warily, sensing the intensity beneath his neutral