by Fred Galvin
Unable to move his arm holding his gun still pointed down to the deck, Gillian had no doubts Roje meant business. Roje slowly let his arm loose. He was worried if he held on any longer or tried to take the gun, the idiot may start shooting.
With shaking hands Gillian picked up his phone and called Vernon. “Vernon, it’s me. Put the phone on speaker and put her on … That’s right. Put her on the phone now.” He put his phone on speaker and placed it on the small table.
Ronnie’s voice came through the phone. “Roje, you there?”
“Yes, Ronika, I’m here. Are you okay? Has he hurt you in any way? Is he providing for you?”
“Yes, Roje, I’m fine. Don’t worry. Just do what you have to do.” She was tempted to ask in some coded fashion if he was able to pass on her message to Dan that she was being held at the Day-O but couldn’t think of how to do it. Roje took care of that temptation for her.
“Did you manage to eat some bananas to get your potassium levels up?”
That was all she needed to hear. “Yes, Vernon found some bananas for me.”
“And tarantulas? See any more? They can be very deadly. Be careful.”
“No. Vernon has let me stay in the daylight. I guess they only come around at night.”
“Good. This will be over soon. Stay strong.”
“I will. You do the same.”
Gillian did his best to regain his composure and dignity but that was hard while Roje was glaring at him. Isn’t he afraid of my gun? He tried leveling the gun at Roje with shaking hands. Roje ignored the threat, silently hoping the trigger wasn’t so sensitive as to discharge due to Gillian’s trembling.
Gillian said to his phone, “Okay, that’s it. Vernon, disconnect the call.” Roje backed away. He had proven his point that he would not be intimidated.
“Roje, Rico will be back here any second. He can’t see that …”
“Save your breath.” Roje moved closer again to Gillian. “Look, the way I see this your mobster friends have you by the balls just the way you think you have me by the balls by holding my sister. This goon Rico is our common enemy. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?” Gillian looked blankly at him. Roje just shook his head. “Never mind. Once I have the coordinates for our destination I can decide if we need more fuel and we can be off. Just stay out of my way and let me operate my boat. It’s much heavier now with the cargo and that big idiot with us. The trip won’t be a smooth one.”
Rico returned and handed Roje a piece of paper. “The boss says to give ya this paper. It’s the numbers for where we have to go.”
Roje looked at this big dunce and wondered if he managed on his own to remember to eat or had to be told. He just shook his head and keyed the coordinates into the GPS. “Rio Bueno. It’s on Jamaica’s north shore about thirty miles east of MoBay.” He looked at the fuel gauge and did some calculations. “Tell your boss we need fifty more gallons.”
Rico obediently went back up the dock to report. Ten minutes later a pickup truck pulling a portable fuel tank pulled up to the dock. Two goons ran a hose out to the Nymph and refueled. When done, Roje yelled to the hosers, “Fine. Get off my vessel. We’re good to go. It’ll be eight or nine hours.” Pointing at Gillian and Rico, “You two, go cast off the lines.”
Gillian and Rico both stood looking at Roje dumbly. “The lines! Those ropes at the front and back that tether us to the dock! Untie them from the dock and toss them onto the boat so we can be on our way.” Idiots!
Both men knew by his tone that he was captain of this vessel and his orders had to be followed. Gillian was motivated by the promise of an eighty-five thousand dollar payday and Rico by knowledge that his boss would not be happy with him if he failed to see to it that the cargo was delivered and the boss could be very mean when he was unhappy. Very mean.
They both awkwardly undid the knots on the dock, Vernon at the bow and Rico at the stern, and tossed them onto the deck. Roje noticed that Rico seemed very uncomfortable on the boat, unsteady on his feet, and they weren’t even moving yet. Good information to stow away for possible later use.
He started the engine and pushed the throttle full forward leaving T-Bone, his body guard-goons, and Gun Bay Beach in his wake, literally. He purposely turned the Nymph sharply, listing it at least twenty degrees causing Gillian and Rico to scramble for handholds. Rico fell on his back and grabbed the fighting chair. Roje laughed to himself and thought, amateurs. He called to them, “This could be a rough ride. You two go below into the cabin and just stay out of my way.” Predictably they obeyed immediately and clambered down the stairs into the cabin.
He smiled to himself. Not a whole brain between them. He made sure the ride was anything but smooth to ensure they stayed down below. Feeling he was safe from prying eyes, he reached around the fire extinguisher for his sat phone, sent a quick text, then deleted it. At any time the two stooges in the cabin may stumble across the phone and try to take it away from him. He could not let that happen.
Chapter 27: Skype call
As I was about to lay out my plan to Delyse and Gabi, Delyse’s phone chirped. She snatched it up from the table the instant it signaled she had an incoming text message. ROJE displayed on the screen over the text which read:
+1, CARGO GUNS. DEST RIO BUENO ETA 8-9 HRS, RONIKA STILL OK, DNR
“Roje is still able to use his phone? How is that possible?”
“I suspect Gillian Whyte is more of an amateur than a professional and has not thought through all the details of their plan. Roje most likely has distracted him enough to keep him from thinking to take his sat phone away. Either that or somehow he’s convinced Gillian that he needs it. So, what does Roje’s text say?”
Delyse showed Gabi and me the screen. Gabi was eager to show her abilities to me and I was impressed with her. Delyse was clearly excited. “Roje’s on his way back. The cargo is a load of firearms and the destination is Rio Bueno. It’s east of here, maybe thirty or thirty-five miles, on the north shore of the island.”
“Are you familiar with it, Gabi?”
“Yes I am. It’s a small upscale resort spot with condos and quite a few secluded beaches. We had a case a while back that led us there. A tourist gentleman had reported his wife missing. We found her in a condo there with one of the officers from their cruise ship. It wasn’t pretty.”
“You say there are a number of secluded beaches? Any that could be used as a rendezvous for off-loading whatever cargo Roje is transporting?”
“Several come to mind. What do you think ‘+1’ means in his text?”
“I believe it must mean that he and Gillian have another passenger aboard the Sea Nymph, probably an agent of the individual behind this mission to pick up and deliver the goods, most likely drugs or guns or both. He could be on the boat to ensure all goes smoothly.”
Gabi said, “Or, could it be possible that this ‘+1’ person is additional cargo? Maybe their mission is to pick up and smuggle guns and a person into Jamaica?”
I thought about that for a minute. “That’s possible, but seems unlikely to me. But we should keep your idea in mind.”
Gabi looked again at Roje’s text. “DNR, Do Not Reply. Roje doesn’t want to take any chances of an incoming text alerting Gillian.” She grinned, “My man has spy potential.”
~~~
I knew the time was at hand for us to finalize our plans and act decisively. I suspected Delyse and Gabi felt the same as they looked to me for guidance for our next moves. “Okay, we’ve got eight hours or so before Roje and Gillian arrive at Rio Bueno. Our first priority is Ronnie. If we can free her and neutralize Vernon, then we will have leverage to deal with Gillian.”
I could tell Delyse was relieved that we would be going after her daughter first. She put her hand on my arm and squeezed. I took her hand and did the same, reassuring her as best I could.
“Delyse, I remember a little about the Day-O. It looked to me like it was off the main road and there was only one way in and out of the place.
Is that right?”
She nodded. “Yes, that’s right. It’s surrounded by mangroves.”
“Good. Here’s my idea. Delyse, you call Amelia Campbell’s cell and renew your relationship with her. How you do that is up to you.” I added with a wink, “I know you can be very proficient in solidifying relationships.” She was slightly embarrassed at that, but only slightly, and Gabi looked to each of us in a knowing manner and smiled. “Gain Amelia’s trust and confidence and ask her for help. Then pass her to me and let me speak with her.”
Amelia Campbell was all too happy that Delyse had called her. “I actually had been thinking about you last week. I overheard a couple at the Day-O talking about going to listen to music at the Flip Flop Lounge and you came to mind. We business ladies have to stick together, don’t we?”
“Indeed we do, Amelia. However today I’m reaching out to you for help of a more personal nature. Are you willing to listen? I know you’re on vacation but this is quite urgent.”
“Of course. What can I do to help you?”
Delyse very directly explained that we have reason to believe that her daughter had been kidnapped and was being held at the Day-O.
“Oh Delyse! I’m so sorry. She’s at the Day-O? Do you want me to call the police?”
“Please, no. The kidnappers made it very clear that Ronika would be at risk if we brought in the authorities. Actually, I have two people here with me who are handling the situation. May I put them on the phone with you? The first is my close personal friend Dan Deckler. He’s a former detective from New York City. He and Ronika were partners on the New York Police Department for many years. I also have here Gabrielle Dixon. She is an officer with the Montego Bay police and she and my son Roje are together.”
“I’m confused. I thought you said no police.”
“I did. Gabi and my son Roje are together and she is here in an unofficial and personal capacity assisting us. You see, the kidnappers have commandeered Roje’s boat for an illegal smuggling mission and are holding Ronika hostage as leverage. May I put Dan on the call?”
“Yes, of course.”
Delyse handed me the phone. “Thank you, Mrs. Campbell. Would it make it easier if we had this discussion via Skype, face-to-face so to speak?”
“Yes, that would be good, and please call me Amelia.”
We activated Skype on both ends and I positioned Delyse’s phone so that Amelia could see all three of us. Sometimes I get wowed by technology. This was one of those times.
During the interval Gabi had an excellent idea. She pulled up a mug shot of Vernon Whyte from the MBPD database. I held it up to Delyse’s phone for Amelia to see.
“Amelia, do you recognize this man?” I could see her squinting into her phone to see the image.
“Yes, that looks like Malcolm Marshall, one of my employees at the Day-O. Why are you showing me his picture? Is Malcolm in some kind of trouble?”
I nodded to Gabi to continue. “Amelia, this man’s real name is Vernon Whyte. He and his brother Gillian are petty criminals in Montego Bay.” She paused. “Vernon is the man holding Delyse’s daughter Ronika hostage at the Day-O and his brother Gillian has commandeered Roje’s boat for the smuggling operation.”
Amelia frowned. “Oh my! I’m so sorry. What can I do to help you? I’ll do whatever I can.”
I took the phone. “Thank you, Amelia. Here’s what we’d like you to do.”
Amelia Campbell readily agreed to my plan to call Malcolm/Vernon to tell him they are coming back from vacation early and ask him to meet her and her husband at the Day-O to prep for reopening for the lunch trade the next day. I had asked her to wait for a call from me in about fifteen minutes before making the call. That would give Delyse, Gabi, and me enough time to drive to the Day-O and be in position.
Chapter 28: Things are going to start happening!
Back at the Day-O, Ronnie had to control her elation. Roje had made it very clear again during the call that he had understood her coded message. He mentioned potassium and tarantulas. She was sure he knew she was being held at the Day-O. He sounded confident when he said that the ordeal would be over soon. He must have found a way to get the message to Dan.
Vernon had just brought her a sandwich, a bottle of water, and yes, another banana, “to keep your potassium levels up,” when his cell chirped. He looked at the caller ID and frowned. “Amelia Campbell? What the hell does she want?” He swiped the screen rejecting the call and sending it to voice mail. “Shit!”
Ronnie thought this may be something important. “Who was that? Why didn’t you answer? A girlfriend? Don’t want her to know you’re with another woman?” Perhaps a light-hearted tease would help keep their relationship less stressful while she was still his captive, a condition she expected to end soon.
“Girlfriend? That’s a laugh. That was Mrs. Campbell, the owner of this place. The reason I didn’t answer is obvious. I don’t need you screaming into my phone. She’s probably just checking …” His phone dinged indicating he had a voicemail. “Shit! Why doesn’t she just leave me alone, I don’t need this now!”
“Is that a message? You’d better check it, don’t you think?” Her instinct told her this call could be part of Dan’s move, a Deckler special in motion.
Vernon made a face not unlike a child who was just told to do an unsavory chore. He took his phone, queued up his voice mail, and listened to the message. As he listened his eyes began to widen and he looked up at Ronnie. She thought, Yes! This is it. Things are going to start happening! Vernon slammed down the phone on the table. It bounced off the table and onto the cement floor. “Shit! SHIT!”
Ronnie acted startled. “Vernon! What is it? What’s wrong?”
He began pacing, scratching his head. “She said something has come up and she and her husband have to cut their vacation short and they’re going to reopen the Day-O. They want to meet me here in two hours to help them get the place ready to reopen tomorrow.” Then he laughed mockingly. His voice rose an octave. “She said she’s sorry for the imposition and they’ll pay me double-time to help out. Sorry for the imposition??” He looked down at his damaged phone on the floor and yelled, “Lady, you have no fucking idea!”
He paced more quickly and Ronnie began to worry he was about to crack. She quickly tried to piece this together. Her mind raced. This development reeked of Dan Deckler. Roje had somehow gotten the message to Dan that she was being held at the Day-O and he’d worked out a plan to shake Vernon loose, to make him expose himself, and her along with him. Somehow he had to make Vernon move them to another location, thus giving Dan an opportunity to confront them and shake her loose.
“I’ve gotta call Gillian.” Vernon reached for his phone, picked it up off the floor, and looked at it incredulously. “SHIT! SHIT!” Ronnie could see that the the phone’s screen was cracked in several places and a piece of the glass screen were missing. Vernon was desperately trying to make it work but it was no use. He threw it down violently and it broke into several pieces. He turned to Ronnie. “Where’s your phone?”
“My phone? Gillian took it with him, remember?”
“Shit!” More pacing. Then he yanked her up. “Come on, we’re going.” He had grabbed Ronnie harshly by the wrist. He was quite strong. She thought his adrenalin levels must be through the roof.
“Going where? Ouch! Vernon, you’re hurting me.” He wasn’t really hurting her but she knew things would be happening fast and she needed to gain whatever small levels of control that she could. He was beginning to panic and that wasn’t good. “Vernon, please, you don’t have to yank me around like a rag doll. Calm down and think this through. I won’t resist you.” (Yeah, right. Sure, I won’t resist you. I’ll just disable you the first opportunity I get, maybe a kick to the old jewels. But I have to time it right. I’ll only get one chance.)
~~~
Gabi was parked behind me near the road leading into, and out of sight of, the Day-O. She had joined Delyse and me in my car. When Amelia finis
hed leaving the voicemail for Malcolm/Vernon she called me back. Eagerly I asked, “How’d it go?”
“Well, it didn’t exactly go. He didn’t answer. Instead it went to voicemail. It only rang twice so I believe he saw it was me calling and sent it to voicemail rather than it just forwarding there after so many rings.”
“Yes, that’s good. I agree it means he saw your name on his caller ID and swiped to send it to voicemail. I’d bet a quarter, and I usually only bet a dime, that he’s listening to your message right now and beginning to panic.” I thanked her and promised I’d personally let her know the outcome. Then I turned to Gabi and Delyse, my cop mode in high gear. “Okay. If I’m right we should be seeing them any minute. Gabi, get back in your car and be ready to go. ”
Chapter 29: Caribbean Carry-Out
Gabi’s car was positioned in such a way that she could observe the small lane that led into and out of the Day-O’s gravel parking lot a hundred yards or so away. Vernon could not leave without her seeing him yet it was unlikely he would see her. Her cell was connected to Delyse’s, both on speaker so we had constant communication. We also had our phones’ locations turned on so that we could each see exactly where the other was if we lost line of sight, which was always possible in a tailing operation. I was positioned at the nearest intersection about a quarter mile east, the most likely direction Vernon would be taking as he exited the Day-O.
I had reviewed with her the basics of tailing a suspect and was pleased to find that she was familiar with the standard techniques. She had been assigned to several cases to accompany more senior officers on tails. I doubted Vernon would pose much of a challenge, at least not to the extent of some of the suspects Ronnie and I had tailed in New York. Most of those were paranoid enough to believe they were being followed constantly and just happened to be right when we actually were on their tails. They had some pretty good shake-the-fuzz-from-my-ass moves that I was sure Vernon didn’t possess. If Gabi kept her distance and stayed inconspicuous she would be fine. Her five year old Toyota was a nondescript gray and it’s color and size were common on the island. She did not need to be reminded that Vernon would have Ronnie with him and if he thought he was being tailed she could be at risk.