Read Online Matt Drake 11 - The Ghost Ships of Arizona by David Leadbeater - Free Book Online Page B

meeting point in just a few minutes.
    “How did you know which old guy to choose?” Drake asked.
    “I didn’t, of course. I just went for the oldest of them all.”
    “Oh. Well remember, we don’t want him to expire out in the desert.”
    “Then he shouldn’t be advertising his services.”
    Drake stayed quiet, making sure they made their rendezvous in good time. Far from a dingy bar, it turned out to be the lobby of one of the town’s classiest hotels and it was clear from the start that the man they met only wanted to fleece them, asking for money upfront within the first five minutes. Karin asked a few pointed questions and then they parted company, heading for rendezvous number two. The second man turned out to be almost as shameless, but when he found out they seriously meant business, he went quiet for several moments. Subsequently, the face he turned upon them was thoughtful.
    “All right. I can tell you’re not the usual fare we get through here. There’s a man,” he said. “There are two or three if I’m being totally truthful. No shit, I can point you the right way and I can see you’re havin’ no part of me. That’s fine. But you won’t find ole timers like him on the Web, Miss. That’s for amateurs. These ole guys are strictly word-o-mouth.”
    “And I imagine you want paying for pointing us in the right direction?” Drake asked.
    “Tell you what . . . I’ll trust you . Don’t matter to me either way. If you get what you need come find me—pay me what you think the information was worth.”
    Drake shrugged. “All right. But don’t even think about trying to lead us out into the desert and laying an ambush, old man.”
    “Never crossed my mind, friend. Trouble is though . . . Kelly . . . he’s the kinda guy finds you.”
    “Meaning?”
    The old man chuckled. “Meaning you head out into the desert, friend, and he’ll find you. I can arrange it tonight.”
    “Seriously? Do we look like we were born yesterday?”
    “Nope. Well, she does. You—not so much.”
    Drake wasn’t entirely sure he shouldn’t be offended. “Hey!”
    “I know. Long paper round. Old before your time. So, ya gonna meet my man or what? You won’t be getting a better offer today.”
    Drake stared into the watery eyes for a time, then turned to Karin. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this.”
    “He seems cool. And it’s the best chance we’ve got.”
    Drake bit his tongue. That may be true, but it was no way to move forward. His mind flicked over alternative choices and found them startlingly sparse. Without a local, first-rate guide they would be lost in the desert—quite plainly. On the other hand, Yuma, and these old men, hardly seemed likely to imperil his team. The risk was negligible. “Why should we hit the desert?”
    “The ghost ships are out there,” the old man said, nodding dreamily. “An’ I’m making no bones about it. Not blowing yer skirt up neither, excuse me, Miss.”
    “Don’t worry.” Karin almost smiled. “I’ve heard—and seen—worse.”
    “Then I’m mighty sorry about that. An’ as I said—those ships’re out there. Galleons. Longboats. A schooner. Set eyes on more’n one of ‘em meself.”
    “Have you?” Drake wondered how much more embellishment the tale could get. If the reports of Nicholas Bell’s actions out here in Arizona weren’t so reliable he’d have moved on to more important things by now.
    Then again, he’d once set eyes on his own set of fanciful longboats.
    Karin’s voice broke his musings. “How do these boats move around?”
    The old man’s eyes were speculative. “They don’t, of course, young lady. The geography moves around them. Dunes become valleys and hills turn into basins. No two storms leave the landscape untouched. And you never wanna get in the middle of a dust or sand storm out here, not a bad one. They whip up like wraiths, bad genies that wrap around you and take you down, deep into the desert. You get turned around,