Island of Thieves Read Online Free PDF Page B

his head. “Half-half.”
    â€œSeventy-thirty.”
    â€œHalf-half.”
    â€œSixty-forty.”
    â€œHalf-half.”
    â€œLet me get one thing straight. For that price, you’ll supply whatever we need? Equipment, men, boats, cars—everything?”
    â€œEverything,” said Otto.
    Uncle Harvey thought for a moment, considering his options. Then he nodded. “It’s always a pleasure doing business with you, Otto. You’ve got yourself a deal.”

5
    Suddenly everyone was smiling. Otto rubbed his hands together. “Let’s have a drink! What do you want, Harvey? A whiskey?”
    â€œThat’s very kind of you, Otto, but I can’t possibly drink at this time of the morning. I haven’t even had breakfast.”
    â€œThat’s no problem! Have a whiskey for breakfast!”
    â€œIf you don’t mind, I’d rather have a hot shower and a decent cup of coffee. Would that be possible?”
    â€œSure, no problem—we got showers, we got coffee, we got whatever you want. Maria will show you to a room.”
    Maria was the maid, a skinny girl in a black dress. Otto issued an order to her in Spanish. He must have been telling her which rooms to put us in.
    â€œYou should have a shower too,” my uncle said to me.
    I said I was fine, but my uncle insisted. I guess I must have smelled.
    Maria led us down the corridor. I had a bunch of questions for my uncle. I wanted to know what was going to happen to me. Was I staying here or going with him? Plus, what if we couldn’t find the treasure? What if it had already been found by someone else? If the island had been turned into a resort and a huge hotel had been built on the exact spot where the treasure was hidden, would he still owe Otto a hundred thousand dollars? But I didn’t get a chance to ask any of these questions. As soon as I started talking, my uncle put his finger to his lips and nodded at the maid.
    She showed us to our rooms. I went into mine and shut the door. It was massive—three times the size of my room at home, if not bigger. And there I have to share the bathroom with Mom, Dad, Grace, and Jack, whereas here I had my own private bathroom with an enormous bath and gold taps and a thick, fluffy white robe hanging on the back of the door.
    I stood by the window, looking at the view of the ocean, and wondered what to do next. I was in a whole heap of trouble, that much was obvious. Had I made a huge mistake coming here? Should I have stayed in New York?
    Stop worrying, I told myself. Trust Uncle Harvey. He knows what he’s doing. Have a shower, like he told you, and see what happens next.
    My bag was on the bed. It must have been put there by one of the maids. I pulled off my sweater and slipped off my shoes. I was just about to step out of my jeans when the door opened. It was my uncle.
    â€œYou could knock,” I said.
    He closed the door before answering.
    â€œGet your stuff together,” he said in a whisper. “We’re leaving.”
    â€œNow?”
    â€œShhh!” He put his finger to his lips. “We’ve got to get out of here. Come on.”
    â€œWhere are we going?”
    â€œAnywhere. Just not here. As you’ve probably realized already, Otto Gonzalez is one of the biggest crooks in South America. I’ll tell you the gory details later, but now we’ve got to hurry. Didn’t I tell you to put your shoes on?”
    â€œWait a minute,” I said. “You’ve just made a deal with the biggest crook in South America and now you’re going to double-cross him? Are you crazy?”
    â€œWe don’t have any choice. If we stick around, Otto will kill us.”
    â€œThen why did you—”
    My uncle interrupted me: “I’m leaving. You can stay here if you want to. Your choice.”
    I pulled on my sneakers, put my sweater back on, and grabbed my bag. Uncle Harvey opened the door and tiptoed into the