Free Seizure by Kathy Reichs Page B

others, including Calico Jack.”
    Chris grinned at his wife. “In the end, only Bonny and Read stood their ground against Barnet’s crew. Though they fought like hellcats, everyone was captured. Eventually, the whole crew was hanged.”
    “But not Anne.” I remembered Rodney Brincefield’s story. “She may have escaped.”
    “So you do know a little.” Chris looked impressed. “Back in Port Royal there was a trial, sensational because two of the accused were women. Read and Bonny were reviled for rejecting polite society and defying traditional female conventions.”
    “Polite society?” Sallie scoffed. “More like uptight prigs.”
    “When found guilty of piracy,” Chris continued, “the ladies played their trump card.”
    “Which was?” I asked.
    “They pled their bellies.”
    “Come again?” Hi said.
    “Each claimed to be pregnant,” Sallie clarified. “English law forbade the hanging of a woman with child, so Anne and Mary couldn’t be executed. While the others swung, they were spared.”
    “Calico Jack was hanged, then disemboweled,” Shelton said. “The governor propped his body in a cage at the port’s entrance, where every ship could see. Nasty.”
    That stopped conversation for a moment.
    “And?” Ben’s first words since entering the building.
    “That’s the mystery,” Chris said. “Mary Read succumbed to a fever in prison. No one knows what happened to Bonny.”
    “Some say she died in jail. Some say she was hanged after giving birth the following year.” Sallie shrugged. “Others insist her father paid a ransom and brought her back home to Charles Town. Still others argue that Bonny escaped altogether, and went on pirating. No one knows for sure.”
    “One crackpot book claimed that Bonny became a nun,” Shelton said. “Another swore she got back with her husband. It’s all bunk. Straight-up guessing.”
    I glanced at Bonny. The fine clothes. The jewels. The braided hair.
    What happened to you? I wondered. Was yours a happy end, or a terrible one? “So where’s her loot?” Hi blurted out. “Bonny was a badass, kick-you-in-the-mouth boat jacker. What happened to all that cheddar?”
    Chris grinned. “I figured you’d get around to that.”
    “Buried. Somewhere. If it ever really existed.” Sallie smoothed her hair with both hands. “For years, everyone thought her treasure was on Seabrook Island, but that was a hoax. Then the popular choice became Johns Island, because certain features match up with the map.”
    “Map?” I said, innocent.
    “Yes, map.” Chris checked his watch, then strode to a dark wooden bureau on the far side of the room. “Over here.”
    I tried not to sprint.
    “We’ve got only a few minutes, but you have to see it.” Chris tugged keys from his pocket. “It’s amazing.”
    Behind the heavy doors were rows of drawers. Chris worked a second lock, then pulled the bottom one out as far as it would go.
    Jackpot.

CHAPTER 14
    T he document looked ancient.
    A glass barrier covered the cabinet drawer, making it hard to read details. But what I could see piqued my imagination. And then some.
    The map was sketched on a square foot of crinkly brown paper, now pinned at the corners to a cloth backboard. Squiggly lines formed a central image that appeared to be an island.
    Script ran across the top of the page, but in the dim light I couldn’t read the words. The bottom left-hand corner had an odd illustration of some kind. A skull and crossbones adorned the bottom right.
    No problem interpreting that one. Danger. Stay away.
    “This is made of hemp.” Shelton was reading the brass placard affixed to the case. “The whole map is pure dope.”
    “You guys are storing illegal drugs in here?” Hi shook his head. “It’s my civic duty to turn you in.”
    “Too true,” Chris said. “But you may want to call Washington. The Declaration of Independence is written on the same stuff.”
    I ignored the banter. Though tantalizingly close, the map