Leeward

by D. Edward Bradley

  “Thank God it’s not broken,” shouted the Judge as he located a bandage and antibiotic cream. “We’ll have to conceal the wound or the Antigua immigration officer will start asking questions. Rodney can lend you his bush jacket.”

  The noise of the helicopter precluded any discussion of the tragic turn of events. With Trilby’s arm bandaged, the Judge remembered that they had to dump the rifles overboard into the sea before reaching their destination. That done, he slumped into a seat, and felt all his energy drain away. It was more than half an hour before the lights of St. John’s were slipping past below as they approached the airport.

  Tuesday, September 25, Antigua

  The arrival was awful. With the immigration and customs officers watching over them, they couldn’t say a word about what had happened. The children had been told not to talk but were still shaking. Bobbie was gulping back tears.

  “Are they sick?” asked the immigration officer as their passports were checked.

  Judge Winchester came to the rescue. “A touch of the sun, and all the excitement of the trip, I expect.”

  Before leaving Antigua, Trilby had filled a few overnight bags so that those who had come from Leeward had some luggage to carry. He fervently hoped they wouldn’t be opened by a customs officer, as the contents weren’t exactly what one might expect. But it was getting late for the man’s dinner, and he waved them all through.

  Jon and Josie looked worried as they stood under the pale street light outside the airport entrance.

  “Where’s Peter?” asked Jon.

  “They shot him.” Meg’s voice was hard. “He’s dead. They shot him in the back.”

  Jon gasped. “Oh, Christ! Oh, God!” He choked back tears, then ran to Meg and held her.

  “We’d better move out,” said the Judge.

  Bobbie had already been told her father was dead, but had been so very brave. Now that she knew she could cry, she wailed loudly and deeply as Josie lifted her into the minibus.

  When they arrived at the Horseshoe Bay Hotel, they went straight to their rooms, numb with shock and fatigue.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Tuesday, September 25, Near Pineapple Farm, St. Barbe’s

  After ditching the pickup at Syke’s Hotel, Hans hid at a prearranged spot near the beach at Coral Bay until Joshua arrived on his motor bike to pick him up. They rode back toward Leeward until they reached a point opposite the entrance to Pineapple Farm where Joshua had cleared a small area of sugar canes a few yards from the road. Hans was still pumped up with adrenaline, so they squatted on the ground in the darkness and passed a flask of rum back and forth while he described his adventures.

  “I sideswiped a tree getting away from the Leeward car park, and took off as fast as I could, but no guards followed like they were supposed to. That meant I had to stop until they got their act together and began the chase. At first there was only a jeep with about four of them in it instead of a truckload. At that point, I didn’t know if Peter’s idea for getting more guards away from the hotel would work, but I couldn’t hang around to find out. Anyway, it was quite a ride. Knowing the roads better than I did gave the guards an edge, even though the jeep wasn’t as fast as the pickup. In an effort to lose them, I turned down a narrow road toward the west end of Coral Bay, and they missed the trick. After waiting for a few minutes, I went back to the highway and on to Syke’s Hotel.”

  “So it all worked out bloody good!” exclaimed Joshua with a laugh.

  They chatted on for a while, then lay on a plastic tarpaulin from Joshua’s boat. It wasn’t at all comfortable.

  Wednesday, September 26, Near Pineapple Farm, St. Barbe’s

  At 5:30 am it was just light enough to see. Joshua and Hans left the motor cycle where it had been hidden in the canes, and walked down the narrow dirt road that passed the buildings of Pineapple Farm on its way to the sea. Joshua had pulled his boat ashore, and it was difficult getting it back into the water. However, by the time the sun rose, they were a mile and a half out on a flat calm sea, and three quarters of an hour early for the 7:30 am rendezvous with the helicopter. Joshua set several fishing lines in case a patrol boat appeared, but none did. As the time approached, they looked into the morning mists to the east, and sure enough, exactly on time, the aircraft appeared. It was well out to sea just skimming the waves.

  “Now for your trapeze act,” said Joshua. “He’s seen us.”

  Hans held out his hand. “Joshua, my friend, we make a very fine team. One day you will come to Germany and see grape vines instead of sugar canes, and drink wine instead of rum. That I promise.”

  The noise of the helicopter was clearly audible by this time, and Hans stood in the boat.

  “And you watch your backside Mr. Wetzlar, sir,” Joshua replied, grinning from ear to ear. “Don’t forget to contact Norton and I if you can, and tell that brother of mine I’ll keep an eye on his house.”

  In less than a minute, the helicopter was hovering overhead and making a lot of noise. Further conversation was impossible.

  Hans had never attempted anything like this before, and the pickup was extremely tense. There he was, dangling in a harness several hundred feet above the sea, with a smiling black face watching his discomfort from above. Trilby, whom Hans hadn’t even met, was operating the chopper’s winch, gradually reeling in the harness and its occupant. Eventually, Hans found himself being helped aboard. Trilby had to use his good arm for this operation, even though his wound had turned out to be relatively superficial. Both men donned headsets, and Trilby told Hans about the rescue mission.

  “That is most terrible,” said Hans when he learned of Peter’s death. “He was a good and brave man. And his family, such a tragedy for them. What are they going to do? Do you know?”

  Trilby shook his head. “They’re still shocked. All of them. As for us, the pilot will be refueling at Miami, which is where we get off. You can call Anna from there.”

  “How is she?”

  “Judge Winchester phoned the hospital last night. She’s still being treated for shock, and they’re rerunning some tests. If the results show no signs of brain damage, she may be released in a couple of days.”

  “Hell, I should be with her.”

  “Relax, just be glad you’re out of there.”

  Trilby reached for the pilot’s thermos, and poured Hans a cup of coffee.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Wednesday, September 26, Antigua

  Meg’s sedative wore off in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Tears rolled silently onto the pillow as she looked at Bobbie, who was still sleeping soundly beside her. A table lamp had been left on, and Meg stared at the floral patterns of the lampshade, her mind reliving the horrors of the previous day. But sorrow soon changed to anger when she realized that she wouldn’t even be able to give Peter a proper burial. She couldn’t imagine what Stoker would do with his poor broken body. This monstrous act must be avenged. Hopefully, the family would soon return to St. Barbe’s where she would somehow put her life back together and fight the regime that had caused her husband’s death.

  Awake now, she considered the curious way in which Crick and Stoker had come to power in the government. They weren’t even natives of St. Barbe’s, and yet they rose to dominant positions so easily, so quickly, and now they governed the island by means of a thinly disguised dictatorship. Did they have a motive other than the satisfaction of their egotistic need to control people? Meg would talk to Anna about this. She was supposed to be an expert in such matters.

  That day, neither Meg, Bobbie, nor the Barkers emerged from their rooms. Jon was too prostrated by shock and exhaustion to even get out of bed, despite Josie’s coaxing. She went to her father’s room around breakfast time, only to find that he’d gone for a walk. Each spent the day alone, thinking.

  Later that evening, Anna, who was still at the hospital, was contacted by Hans from his Miami hotel room.

  “The doctor’s verdict is that I’ll live,” she said. “An
d thank God you’re safe, my darling. I feel terrible about passing out and leaving you all with so much to do. And of course Peter’s death is an awful tragedy.”

  “I was planning on calling Meg this evening.” Hans sounded relieved. “But perhaps that isn’t such a good idea.”

  “Why don’t you leave it to me? I’ll talk to her tomorrow. You know, I have a feeling there’s much more to this than we think, and it’s not merely a question of local politics. Judge Winchester’s experiences attest to that. I’m thinking of returning to Stockholm shortly. I can work better from there, and have the use of Thibald and Sörnsen’s facilities as well. As soon as the doctors let me out of here, I’ll go back to Horseshoe Bay for a short visit, and see if I can help them work out their plans for the immediate future.”

  “How soon will that be?”

  “Maybe tomorrow afternoon. I’ll stay on at the hotel for a couple of nights, then leave for Europe on Saturday.”

  “In that case I’ll go on ahead of you and visit with Aunt Hedi in Stockholm. If she hears the whole story, she might be able to find out why Larsen prevented any attempt to organize help. I shall also tell her about us.”

  “Hans, I’ve missed you terribly and worried all the time. What you did was unbelievably brave. Promise you will come and stay with me as soon as I get back?”

  “Of course. Call me when you’ve booked your flight, and I’ll meet you. I can’t wait to see you again.”

  Thursday, September 27, Antigua

  When she awoke in the morning, Meg realized she had to face up to what had happened. Her first concern was Bobbie, who understandably enough had refused all food and was wandering around disconsolately. Eventually she was persuaded to eat something in their room, but refused to accompany her mother to a secluded area in the hotel gardens where their friends had assembled to make some plans. Their primary concern was to get away from Antigua, which was dangerously close to St. Barbe’s. Everyone wanted to stay in the Caribbean, and after a little discussion it was agreed that they would rent a house in Jamaica. It would have to be large enough to accommodate Meg, Bobbie and Rodney’s family as well as Jon, Josie and the Judge. The Judge also pointed out that they should get all their money out of St. Barbe’s. He thought that his accountant in Boston could do this in such a way that the St. Barbe’s Government wouldn’t find out until it was too late.

  “With their computer hookups, they should have no problem,” he continued.

  At the mention of computers, Jon interrupted. “Oh no! I’ve just remembered!” His voice was full of excitement. “Hans gave me the diskette he found on Umbrella Mountain. It’s in my bag right here!”

  “What diskette?” asked the Judge.

  “It was lying on the ground in the cave where he encountered the monster,” Meg replied. “I’m sure I told you about that. Piecing together what the children overheard in the maze, we decided that the creature was the animal Stoker and Green called The Guard.”

  “It was probably defending the cave,” Jon continued.

  “Anyway, Hans gave the diskette to Jon for safe keeping.”

  “And I forgot about it,” said Jon. “What an idiot.”

  The Judge got up. “This is a fair-sized hotel. I should think the computer they use for bookings and so on would be adequate for our needs. At least we can take a look at the disk.”

  It turned out that there were two computers in the hotel, one at the front desk, and one used by the manager’s secretary in a small office off the reception hall. It was to this room that the Judge, Josie and Jon were directed by the desk clerk.

  “Help yourself,” he said. “The Manager and his secretary have gone to St. John’s, so there’s no hurry. If you want the Letterperfect word processor, type LP, and there are empty diskettes in the drawer.”

  Josie was the computer expert among the group, so Jon handed the diskette to her. She straightened the monitor. “I’m going to make a couple of copies first. We’ll put two in the hotel safe, and mail the original to our bank in Boston.”

  The Judge looked at Jon and smiled. “Hey, she’d make quite a secret agent, wouldn’t she? Very thorough, Josie.”

  Josie made the copies, and leaving the original in the drive, typed the command for its directory. The monitor showed “File not found A:*.* 0 bytes in 0 file(s) 1,457,664 bytes free.”

  “Shit!” said Jon. “It’s just a blank disk.”

  The Judge looked glum.

  Josie was puzzled. “There are no hidden files or the disk wouldn’t be empty.” She considered other options. “Maybe it’s been formatted. With the up-to-date operating system on this computer, we should be able to unformat it and recover any files.”

  While Jon and the Judge hovered behind her, Josie completed the key strokes. It worked. There were twenty-four files, designated A1 to A24. Next, she switched to the word processor and tried to access each one, but they all required a password.

  “It’s no use,” Josie concluded. “Without a password we’re stuck until we can find some sophisticated software to override it.”

  “That means all we’ve found out is how many files there are,” said Jon.

  “I wonder whether Marshall Thompson can help,” mused the Judge. “I think I’ll phone him right now, and if he can’t come up with anything, we’ll just have to wait for Anna. Surely she can locate what we need. I won’t be long.”

  Back in his room, the Judge put through a call to the Police Superintendent’s office.

  “I’m afraid he’s not here,” his secretary replied. “He hasn’t been seen in several days and no one knows where he is. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.”

  The Judge had only just hung up the phone when it rang.

  “Judge Winchester?” There was no mistaking the Swedish accent.

  “Hello, Anna. How are you? When are you being discharged from the hospital?”

  “They let me out a couple of hours ago, and I’m here at the hotel. I’ve made some plans, but before we all get together, I would like to talk with Meg if possible. I feel very bad about Peter’s death. It was a terrible blow. I will be returning to Sweden soon, but first I’m going to stay here for a couple of nights to get my strength back. How are you all? When can I see you?”

  “Everyone else is in the garden, but it looks like there’s going to be a shower. Why don’t we meet inside. There’s a small lounge off the reception area. You can’t miss it.”

  “Perfect,” replied Anna. “I’ll see you in a few minutes. Oh, by the way, I have Trilby with me. He’s just arrived from Miami.”

  When they were all assembled, Anna explained that Trilby had been fired for his handling of the kidnapping attempt.

  “Personally I think he did a good job,” she said, looking at Trilby who was grinning. “At least I’m still alive. Anyhow, I’ve decided he’d make an excellent Caribbean agent to replace the Seakers, and Hedi’s setting it up.”

  Trilby picked up the story. “My base will be in or near Kingston, and I can melt into that city so no one will notice me. Needless to say I won’t be running the Seakers’ old restaurant, so we’ll have to come up with some other kind of cover.”

  “That’s great,” the Judge answered. “It so happens that we’re all thinking of going to Jamaica for a while.” He went on to explain what they intended to do.

  “I think it’s a wise move.” Anna handed Trilby a plastic card. “This is a company credit card. Go to the bank and get some cash, then book a flight to Kingston for tomorrow. Your first job will be to find temporary accommodation for everyone at an out-of-town hotel.” She turned to the Judge. “I wouldn’t stay on here much later than Sunday. Stoker and Green might be able to trace you.”

  “We thought of that,” the Judge replied. “And the house we rent will have to be well away from Kingston for the same reason.”

  “The north coast would be suitable,” said Trilby. “I’ll see if I can find a good real estate agent.”

  Anna was still a bit unste
ady when she stood. “The doctors told me to take it easy, so I’d better rest for an hour. Why don’t we all meet for cocktails?”

  “That would be good,” said the Judge. “We’ll see you later then.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Tuesday, October 2, Bonnie Beach, Jamaica

  It only took a couple of days for the group to find a temporary home on Jamaica’s north coast. They viewed several large houses and villas in the Bonnie Beach area, but when they arrived at the last one on the list, they knew it was perfect. It was located about a mile inland from the sea. The house was a gorgeous, rambling, Spanish-style villa with two stories in the center, and single-level wings. It was situated in beautiful gardens at the end of a driveway lined with poinsettia and hibiscus. The Judge thought about how much it would cost, but only for a moment. He was, after all, a very rich man.

  Next morning, the lease agreement was signed and they checked out of their hotel in Port Antonio. As soon as they arrived at the villa, the first thing they did was decide who should have which bedroom. While this was going on, Trilby went to the phone in the kitchen and reported in to Hedi Wetzlar in Stockholm.

  “Ah, Mr. Trilby,” she answered. “I’ve filled out all the forms regarding your employment with us. I shall be sending them in the diplomatic bag to the Swedish Consulate in Kingston. They should arrive the day after tomorrow. Please also look for an additional message in that package. By the way, I had a call from my nephew, Hans. He speaks very highly of you.”

  “I’m afraid our acquaintance was far too short, and the circumstances weren’t conducive to anything more than essential conversation. It was kind of him to mention me, and please pass on my good wishes.”

  “I will, Mr. Trilby. Goodbye, and good luck.”

  Trilby hung up, and was wondering about the additional message when Meg came in.

  “Mrs. Calluna, I was just talking with Hedi Wetzlar in Stockholm. She says Hans has arrived safely, but Anna must be still en route.”