The Solomon Curse Read Online Free PDF Page A

town. For her part, she doted on the dog like the child she’d never had, coddling him at every opportunity and spoiling him worse than rotten.
    Sam hung up and examined the battery indicator. Plenty of charge.He returned to Remi and plopped down next to her. “Selma’s on the hunt,” he reported.
    â€œGood. No offense to Leonid, but a couple of questionable wet suits and a rowboat’s probably not the right way to handle this,” Remi said.
    â€œTrue, but I can see his logic. Why call in the cavalry before he knows whether he’s found anything? For all he knows, it could have been a downed plane or a sunken landing craft. Don’t forget that Guadalcanal was hotly contested during the war. A lot of junk’s strewn around the islands.”
    She nodded. “Some of it still explosive even after all these years.”
    â€œJust like you.”
    Remi ignored him and glanced at the dive boat. “What do you think this is?”
    â€œMan-made structure at eighty feet? You got me.” He stretched his arms over his head and eyed Remi. “But we’ll know soon enough.”
    Remi ran her fingers through her hair and was about to reply when the stillness was shattered by a bloodcurdling scream.

CHAPTER 4
    Sam leapt to his feet, followed closely by Remi, and they raced to the grove of trees by the water, where the screams were now shrieks of pain. Sam stopped her with an outstretched arm as they neared the thicket and pointed to a long green reptilian tail thrashing out of the brush.
    A gurgle and several wet thwacks sounded from the grove. The tail stiffened and lay still. Leonid’s boots thumped on the sand behind them as he arrived with other islanders, two of whom were carrying machetes and one a fire axe.
    Another agonized scream split the air. Sam stepped through the vegetation and moved next to the massive body of a male saltwater crocodile, now dead from three grisly axe wounds to the head. On the ground in front of it was one of the locals, clutching the mangled remains of his right leg. Five feet away, another islander stood with an ancient axe in his trembling hand, his eyes wide with shock and fear.
    A bright stream of arterial blood sprayed from the victim’s shredded thigh. Sam pulled his belt free as he knelt next to the victim. Remi closed the distance as he wound the makeshift tourniquet around the man’s upper leg and pulled it tight.
    The injured man moaned and lost consciousness.
    â€œHe’s not going to make it unless he reaches a hospital fast,” Sam said, his voice tight.
    Remi looked up at Leonid. “Let’s get him onto one of the trucks. Seconds count,” she said.
    Leonid was staring at the dead crocodile with saucered eyes, frozen in place, all the color drained from his face.
    â€œLeonid. Come on,” Remi snapped, her tone hard.
    The Russian spun around to the islanders, who were standing in a group several feet behind him, and ordered them to carry their unfortunate companion to the Land Rover. Nobody moved. Sam shook his head and slipped his arm under the bleeding man. “Get out of my way,” he said, and lifted the victim upright. Remi rushed to help him, and together they carried him to a vehicle parked near the trail that led from the main road.
    They loaded him into the backseat in seconds, and Sam turned to Leonid, who was arguing with one of the locals near the water’s edge. “Who’s the best driver?” he demanded, but the men shook their heads.
    Remi and Sam exchanged a glance, and Sam held out his hand. “Fine. Give me the keys. I don’t know what’s wrong with you people, but your friend here is dying and needs help. Who can show me where the nearest hospital is?”
    Leonid fumbled in his pockets as the islanders muttered among themselves, and then a youth in his late teens stepped forward. “I’ll go. That’s my uncle Benji,” he said, his English thick