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around.”
    â€œWell, if you want to waste your time, suit yourself. Sounds like I have to learn how to scuba dive in the next three days.”

CHAPTER 8
    La Jolla, California
    Selma looked up from her computer screen at the sound of the front door opening. Her assistants, Pete and Wendy, were at lunch, and Zoltán bristled at her feet at the intrusion. She reassured him with a stroke of her hand and then relaxed when she saw it was only Lazlo.
    The bedraggled English academic had taken to stopping by regularly, she strongly suspected, because he had nothing better to do with his time now that his Laos expedition was formally over with and no treasure discovered. He’d been dejected by the outcome but had recovered when he’d gotten wind of a recently surfaced document that was purported to be written in the notorious pirate Captain Kidd’s hand—in code.
    â€œSelma, my dear woman, may I say you look breathtaking this fine day,” Lazlo announced to her amused gaze. “And Zoltán, you handsome beast, what a fine specimen of canine corpulence you are.”
    â€œHe’s not even close to being fat,” Selma said, defending the dog’shonor. Zoltán tilted his head as he regarded Lazlo and then lay back down and closed his eyes, dismissing the visitor with the disdain only a purebred can master.
    â€œMerely a term of endearment. I adore the bloodthirsty killer.” He looked at her screen. “And what are we working on?”
    She pressed the power button and the monitor blinked off. “Nothing of interest to you, I’m sure.”
    â€œOne never knows. I suspect that if you’re involved, I could muster some enthusiasm.”
    Lazlo had been increasingly flirtatious since returning from his trek, which amused Selma.
    â€œWell, at your age, I suppose enthusiasm’s all one could hope for.” She paused. “What brings you by, Lazlo?”
    â€œI was hoping I might help you. Do you have anything I could be of assistance with? Perhaps an unbreakable cipher? A riddle that’s baffled the brightest minds of our time?”
    â€œStill haven’t decided whether you’re going to chase down the Captain Kidd thing, have you?” she said knowingly.
    â€œI’m looking into it. The owner of the letter believes it’s somehow related to his lost pirate treasure, but I think that’s overly optimistic.”
    â€œAnd of course those trying to convince others to buy obscure documents have been known to exaggerate the importance of the contents,” Selma observed.
    â€œWhich is why I’m not willing to trust and need to verify. Right now I’m hopeful, but cautiously so, absent any further substantiation. However, if it turns out to be what the owner purports it to be, it could be a magnificent opportunity—and a profitable one, to be sure.”
    Selma shook her head. “Don’t quit your day job.”
    â€œYes, well, this rather is my day job.” He glanced away. “And how are our benefactors, the Fargos, faring? What are they up to now?”
    Selma filled him in on the Solomons find. “I’m researching the area for them. Volcanoes, earthquakes, a history of tidal waves—you nameit. I haven’t heard from them since they were going to dive the site and confirm whether there’s anything to the accounts.”
    â€œHmm. Most intriguing. There aren’t many areas of the world that haven’t been thoroughly explored. But I’d venture a guess that’s one of them.”
    â€œTrue. And with all the social unrest, it’s likely to remain that way. There was a civil war in the early millennium, and then widespread rioting in 2006, and then again in 2014. The poverty’s off the scale, and the Australians have basically had to station a small occupation force there to keep the peace. Not really an area conducive to exploration.”
    â€œLeave it to the Fargos to find