Read Pearl Cove for Free Online
Authors: Elizabeth Lowell
Triad and come out on top deserves respect.
Archer Donovan has it. Chang turned away. Ive got to make a call. This changes everything.
The screen door swung shut behind Chang. Moments later, red dust boiled, then settled in
the wake of his car.
For a long time Hannah sat on the verandah in the hammock chair, unmoving but for the
occasional prod of one foot against the floor. Back and forth. Back and forth.
She didnt doubt Changs appraisal of Archer Donovan; she had been in a position to see just
how ruthless he could be. But not with Len. Never with Len. Despite ample provocation,
Archer had never acted against Len McGarry. Quite the opposite. He had saved Lens life,
paid for his rehabilitation, and made him a partner in Pearl Cove. Then he did what Len
had demanded: he got the hell out of Lens life and stayed out.
She didnt know what the bond was between the two men. She only knew that it existed.
Perhaps it extended beyond the grave. Perhaps Archer Donovan would care enough to do what
no one else would find Lens murderer.
If revenge wasnt enough to move Archer, there was always money. Even the most ruthless man
might be persuaded to search for Pearl Coves vanished treasure if he was promised half of
something that was worth three million dollars wholesale.
The Black Trinity.
Donovans 3 - Pearl Cove
Three
With reflexes left over from the years he couldnt leave behind, Archer came from deep
sleep to full wakefulness. Lean fingers snatched the phone from its cradle before he even
looked at the clock.
Two a.m.
Visions of all that could have gone wrong with the family sleeted through his brain. Faith
was first in his mind. The man she had just broken up with had knocked around his first
wife and at least one of his girlfriends. The Donovan brothers had told Tony what to
expect if he laid a hand on Faith, but Tonys memory wasnt reliable when he started
drinking.
Archer looked at the display on the phone that gave incoming numbers. It was blank. That
left out the family, and let in Uncle Sam.
Shit.
What, he said. It was a statement, not a question. Is this Archer Donovan? Yes. This is-
Hannah McGarry, he interrupted, wondering if he was still asleep. That smoky voice of hers
had haunted too many of his dreams.
How did you know? I have a good memory. Whats wrong, Hannah? Lens dead.
Archer didnt try to sort out the boil of emotions those two words brought him: disbelief,
relief, guilt, anger, sadness for all that might have been. He didnt say anything about
his own feelings. The tension in Hannahs voice told him that she had more to say, none of
it good.
When? he asked.
Just... days.
Old habits were hard to break. Especially when he could all but taste the fear in Hannahs
desperately level voice. The quality of the connection told him that she was using a
cellular phone, open to anyone who cared enough to eavesdrop. So he didnt ask her where or
how or why Len had died.
Im sorry, Archer said softly. Thats not adequate, but in the face of death, no words are.
Ill be there no later than noon tomorrow, your time, earlier if at all possible.
Hannahs fingers loosened a bit on the thin, vaguely oblong plastic body of the cellular
phone. All she could think of was that Archer understood everything she hadnt said. I...
thank you.
Archer knew he shouldnt ask, but the words were out before he could stop them. Are you all
right? She shivered, remembering Lens stripped, battered body and sightless eyes, and
Changs warning:
Cyclone season is coming. Dont follow Len into the grave.
Hannah?
Hurry, Archer. Im getting... sleepy.
The quality of the sound changed, telling him that she had disconnected. He didnt bother
cursing the empty line. If someone had a lock on her cellular, she was safer not talking
at all.
He punched in one of Donovan Internationals unlisted numbers, the one Donovan executives
called when things started
Archer Donovan has it. Chang turned away. Ive got to make a call. This changes everything.
The screen door swung shut behind Chang. Moments later, red dust boiled, then settled in
the wake of his car.
For a long time Hannah sat on the verandah in the hammock chair, unmoving but for the
occasional prod of one foot against the floor. Back and forth. Back and forth.
She didnt doubt Changs appraisal of Archer Donovan; she had been in a position to see just
how ruthless he could be. But not with Len. Never with Len. Despite ample provocation,
Archer had never acted against Len McGarry. Quite the opposite. He had saved Lens life,
paid for his rehabilitation, and made him a partner in Pearl Cove. Then he did what Len
had demanded: he got the hell out of Lens life and stayed out.
She didnt know what the bond was between the two men. She only knew that it existed.
Perhaps it extended beyond the grave. Perhaps Archer Donovan would care enough to do what
no one else would find Lens murderer.
If revenge wasnt enough to move Archer, there was always money. Even the most ruthless man
might be persuaded to search for Pearl Coves vanished treasure if he was promised half of
something that was worth three million dollars wholesale.
The Black Trinity.
Donovans 3 - Pearl Cove
Three
With reflexes left over from the years he couldnt leave behind, Archer came from deep
sleep to full wakefulness. Lean fingers snatched the phone from its cradle before he even
looked at the clock.
Two a.m.
Visions of all that could have gone wrong with the family sleeted through his brain. Faith
was first in his mind. The man she had just broken up with had knocked around his first
wife and at least one of his girlfriends. The Donovan brothers had told Tony what to
expect if he laid a hand on Faith, but Tonys memory wasnt reliable when he started
drinking.
Archer looked at the display on the phone that gave incoming numbers. It was blank. That
left out the family, and let in Uncle Sam.
Shit.
What, he said. It was a statement, not a question. Is this Archer Donovan? Yes. This is-
Hannah McGarry, he interrupted, wondering if he was still asleep. That smoky voice of hers
had haunted too many of his dreams.
How did you know? I have a good memory. Whats wrong, Hannah? Lens dead.
Archer didnt try to sort out the boil of emotions those two words brought him: disbelief,
relief, guilt, anger, sadness for all that might have been. He didnt say anything about
his own feelings. The tension in Hannahs voice told him that she had more to say, none of
it good.
When? he asked.
Just... days.
Old habits were hard to break. Especially when he could all but taste the fear in Hannahs
desperately level voice. The quality of the connection told him that she was using a
cellular phone, open to anyone who cared enough to eavesdrop. So he didnt ask her where or
how or why Len had died.
Im sorry, Archer said softly. Thats not adequate, but in the face of death, no words are.
Ill be there no later than noon tomorrow, your time, earlier if at all possible.
Hannahs fingers loosened a bit on the thin, vaguely oblong plastic body of the cellular
phone. All she could think of was that Archer understood everything she hadnt said. I...
thank you.
Archer knew he shouldnt ask, but the words were out before he could stop them. Are you all
right? She shivered, remembering Lens stripped, battered body and sightless eyes, and
Changs warning:
Cyclone season is coming. Dont follow Len into the grave.
Hannah?
Hurry, Archer. Im getting... sleepy.
The quality of the sound changed, telling him that she had disconnected. He didnt bother
cursing the empty line. If someone had a lock on her cellular, she was safer not talking
at all.
He punched in one of Donovan Internationals unlisted numbers, the one Donovan executives
called when things started