The Dead Sea

by Andrew Jackson

  "I don't know where he was, or what he did or didn't do, detective. You'll have to ask him yourself. We had an argument when we returned from the marine reserve and I left him outside Isaac's office. I haven't seen him since. He's not a friend as such...we just...know each other...sort of..."

  "Umm..."

  "Look, I came here to show you these photos I took of the damage illegal fishing ships are causing in the reserve and..."

  "Yes, I understand that, Miss Walsh, but I am investigating the murder of four men, and my only suspect is a friend of yours, last seen in your company and involved in a brawl, with you, at the harbour's fish market. I think that might take precedence over your complaint."

  Detective Inspector Portillo eyed Heather suspiciously. She was a plain looking woman, wearing no makeup and with her hair tied neatly back. Her suit was clean, but worn at the edges, and her eyes bore into Heather as if searching her very soul. Her face was heavily lined and her mouth turned down into a permanent frown.

  This was it. There was no avoiding what she must do. Dan had already prepared her. If she stood any chance of continuing her work, and staying out of prison, then she must lie. She must give Dan up to save herself. At the minute she was stalling, mumbling and looking like a fool.

  As if sensing her indecision, Detective Inspector Portillo changed her tone and switched her scowl to a smile.

  "Look, you're not in any trouble, at the moment, Miss Walsh. I only know of the incident at the Harbour and linked it to the murders because of your friend and his identifiable features."

  She tapped a finger to the side of her eye, indicating Dan's eye patch and continued.

  "At this time, I know you were in the company of a suspect in a multiple murder case, just before it happened. I am running forensics at the scene and making the relevant enquiries, of course, so if I find out you are lying to me or withholding information...well then you would be in very serious trouble indeed. So, let's start with who he is and then we'll look into your allegation about the fishing."

  "Allegation?"

  "At the moment it is an allegation, yes. In fact, an agent from Interpol has arrived from Rio this morning to speak with me about it. You contacted them also? So, you may get your wish after all. I will introduce you once we have concluded my business. Now, let's start with your friend's name."

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Andrei Sousa had waited long enough. He'd come to the police station to liaise with the local law enforcement, but he wasn't prepared to sit around all day when his star witness was also, by chance, in the same building.

  Earlier in the morning he'd found his designated liaison officer, Detective Inspector Portillo, to be a cold, uninviting host and Andrei was already growing suspicious of her loyalties. When they'd met to discuss the seizure of the ship La Mujer Codiciosa, and the raid on Antonio Correia's headquarters, she had openly laughed in his face.

  "Mr Sousa, please, what you are suggesting is a massive undertaking. Such a thing has never been done before. It would require a huge task force and we simply do not have the numbers required here in Fortaleza to mount an operation on that scale."

  "That is why Interpol have sent me here, Inspector Portillo. I will assemble and coordinate the resources. The coastguard, military, navy and police can all work together under the direction of Interpol. Everyone is on the same boat, if you pardon the expression. We all wish to see the same result - the end of worldwide crimes such as these. The Tercerio Commandos here in Fortaleza have a wider reach than you may suspect. The ship currently named La Mujer Codiciosa has been plundering the seas for decades under the flags of many different nations. Now it is operating here in these waters we have a good chance of catching her and her crew in the act."

  Portillo didn't seem convinced of Andrei's plan and he could tell her patience was wearing thin already.

  "And this witness, the whale woman, Heather Walsh, what do you know about her?"

  "Very little. She is working for the South Atlantic Sea Life Cooperative. They sent her here to investigate the decline in whale numbers in the area. She has photographed ships fishing inside the reserve during the course of her work. One of those ships is La Mujer Codiciosa, which, when the SASC sent me the report, I recognised from my own investigations as a vessel used all over the southern hemisphere to fish illegally. It is an international crime generating a small fortune for organised criminals and so Interpol have taken an interest, to assist and coordinate the relevant law enforcement organisations. Any crimes uncovered here in Fortaleza will be yours to investigate. Any credit due would of course be yours also."

  Inspector Portillo pursed her lips for a moment and looked at Andrei quizzically. She was about to reply, negatively he suspected, when her phone rang. She answered the call with a few short replies and hung up. Then she stood and made to leave.

  "It seems you are in luck, Mr Sousa. Heather Walsh has arrived here to see me. I need to speak with her in private first, to question her about the Tercerio Commando murders and this mysterious friend of hers, but I will send for you when I'm finished with her."

  Before he could protest, Inspector Portillo marched out the door and left him sitting alone in her office. As he sat deciding what to do next, a secretary arrived and escorted him to a small canteen, where he'd been waiting ever since.

  The police station was small and Andrei easily found his way back to her office. Angry at his treatment, he entered without knocking. Inspector Portillo was sitting with who he presumed to be Heather Walsh. They were facing each other on two comfortable looking chairs and Portillo was writing on a notepad. Both women looked up as he stormed into the room.

  Heather Walsh a beautiful woman. The contrast between her and Inspector Portillo could not have been more extreme. Walsh had a natural beauty. Her long red hair framed a delicate face, which led down to a slim, toned body. Portillo, on the other hand, looked plane and frumpy in comparison. Both women stood to greet him, Heather Walsh with a smile and Portillo with a frown.

  "I'm not quite finished here, Agent Sousa."

  "I'm sure you have enough to be getting on with after all this time together. You can finish your investigations later, Inspector Portillo. I have sat around long enough today. I have some pressing questions of my own which need answered."

  Andrei reached out his hand and Heather Walsh shook it firmly.

  "Hello, Miss Walsh, I am Agent Sousa. I work for Interpol. I received your report from the SASC."

  Walsh's smile broadened

  "Excellent. When do we start?"

  "Right now I hope. Shall we go somewhere more...neutral?"

  Heather Walsh walked out of the office without so much as a backward glance or a word to Inspector Portillo, who stood furious, notebook still in hand. She called out before they could leave.

  "I'll be in touch! I haven't finished with you, Miss Walsh!"

  She said nothing to Andrei. But she did cast an especially angry glare, as he swung the door closed behind him and left her standing alone in her office.

  # # #

  From the terrace of the cafe, Dan had a good view along the street to the police station. As he waited, he programmed Heather's number into the new phone he had bought - the only number he could think of that he would need.

  The night before had been like a dream come true for him and he was still thinking about it, floating on cloud nine, when he saw Heather on the far side of the street. At first he didn't notice that she was in company and he just sat there, drinking in her beauty before he realised she was talking with someone. The two of them were deep in conversation. The man had the look of police about him - his hair was cut short, back and sides, he had a solid build and was smartly dressed.

  As they approached the cafe, Heather made no move to cross the road and didn't even look over in his direction.

  Dan called her up on the phone.

  "Everything OK?"

  "Hi, Mum. Yes everything is fine. How are you?"

  "Who's he
?"

  "Good, yes, I'm working right now. I'm with an agent from Interpol. You know, about the whales? It's very interesting, yes."

  "Where are you going?"

  "I'm heading home right now, I'll be there soon. Call you later, OK?"

  "OK."

  Dan hung up. The appearance of Interpol was a good thing for Heather, but most certainly not for him. He let them walk on for a bit, until they were almost out of sight, before leaving the cafe to follow from a safe distance.

  # # #

  Heather had been deep in conversation with Agent Sousa from the moment they met. His intervention during her interrogation by Detective Inspector Portillo had been like a godsend and his knowledge and interest in the illegal fishing ships was second to none. Unbelievably, he had wanted to take her for lunch at the cafe where Dan was waiting and all she could think of to put him off, even though she really wanted to hear all he had to say, was to pretend that she wasn't hungry, and could he walk her home instead. Thankfully he had agreed and the journey flew in as they exchanged ideas on what could be done about the illegal fishing. He had disclosed to her the high level of organised criminals involved and the need for absolute discretion and good personal security.

  "You see, Interpol collates the information on a world-wide scale. We have very few actual powers on the ground though and it's up to the local police and government bodies to take over juristiction. All we do is present the evidence and try to liaise and coordinate the relevant people. Sometimes that can mean across different countries and even different continents. In this case I hope it will only require the local Fortaleza police and perhaps the coastguard - in the beginning at least."

  "Ahh, the lovely Inspector Portillo? She wasn't so keen to hear what I had to say about the fishing."

  "Yes, I spoke with her at length about that. The murders she is investigating are those of four Tercerio Commando soldiers. Men under the orders of Antonio Correia, the man I believe to be behind the illegal fishing scam. Her other witness, Isaac Garcia, believes they were there to kill you because of what you have been doing. But instead it seems they happened upon a friend of yours?"

  Sousa raised his eyebrows in question but Heather skipped past it as best she could.

  "Yes, I've told Inspector Portillo everything I know."

  They walked on for a moment in silence before Sousa continued.

  "So you are aware then that your life is in jeopardy? With this development I must insist that you come into protective custody. I can arrange it instead of Inspector Portillo, if you like?"

  They had reached the door to her apartment block and Heather stopped outside, searching for her keys.

  "Do you really think that is necessary? It's a big city Agent Sousa and..."

  Over Sousa's shoulder Heather could see five men round the corner and enter the alley. They spread out to cover the breadth of it and advanced towards them. They were maybe twenty metres away before she recognised the man in the middle of the group. He was holding a knife in his hand, just the way he had the first time she'd seen him.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The sound of smashing glass echoed through the hall and Andrei raced up the stairs as fast as he could as thousands of shards spilled onto the floor behind him. Heather was waiting at one of two doorways at the top of the stairs and waved him inside as the first of the strangers climbed through the broken entrance behind them.

  "Hurry!"

  Andrei stepped in and Heather bolted the door. Within seconds, a heavy thud sounded against it as the men tried to force their way through. Andrei pulled out his phone and redialled the last call he'd made.

  "Inspector Portillo?"

  "Yes. Who is this?"

  "It's Agent Sousa! We're being attacked. Send a squad car to..."

  Realising he had no idea where he was, Andrei passed the phone to Heather.

  "Tell her!"

  He took up position against the door, bracing it against the heavy strikes on the other side. He could hear the men arguing in between their efforts, as they organised themselves. The door was not especially strong and Andrei knew that very shortly it would be breached.

  Heather tapped him on the shoulder and handed the mobile back.

  "She didn't seem especially moved, but a car's on its way - or so she says."

  The beating stopped and the men fell silent. Andrei backed away from the door.

  "Maybe they've gone? Who are they?"

  "I only recognised one of them. I think he's a crewman on La Mujer Codiciosa. He was the one who attacked me at the fish market and stole my camera."

  Andrei relaxed for a second as the silence lengthened and he thought about what she was saying.

  "That would make sense. But they know where you live now, so we need to get you..."

  Behind him, the door flew open with an almighty crash. It hit Andrei on the back and sent him flying forward. In through the door stepped a thin, lean man with a knife poised menacingly in his hand. He was followed by a large, heavily-muscled man who carried a sledgehammer which looked small in his massive hands.

  It was at times like these that Andrei wished he carried a gun. Interpol didn't routinely arm its agents. They didn't feel the need to. Interpol was not supposed to be actively involved with criminals. It was simply an intelligence database to assist others. Andrei, however, did not always work for Interpol. At the beginning of his career he worked as a cop on the tough streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city. After several years working the streets, he made detective and moved on to serious and organised crime. It was then that he realised the police would always be one step behind the determined and well-organised criminal gangs, of not just Brazil, but the world in general. When an opening came to work with Interpol, Andrei jumped at the chance. Since then he'd travelled the world with his current employer, and now, in his last years of service, he'd taken up a position in his home country of Brazil to settle down and prepare for retirement. Things just weren't working out that way.

  Andrei scrambled to his feet and he and Heather backed away from the pair into the corner of the small living space. He watched as the eyes of the smaller man flicked between him and Heather. He was clearly confused as to what to do, and indecision was taking hold. The men must not have been expecting to find him here and Andrei needed to play on that fact.

  "I am Agent Sousa from Interpol! The police are on their way!"

  The men hesitated for a second, weighing up this new information, but as Heather backed away a little further, she knocked over a lamp sitting on a small table behind her and the noise seemed to jolt the men into action.

  The smaller of the two leaped forward with his knife held high. Andrei rushed in to greet him and grabbed hold of his wrist. The two of them wrestled for control of the weapon as Heather let out a loud scream when the larger man made a lunge for her. She dodged his grasp and bolted for the bathroom, locking the door behind her. The huge man hefted the sledgehammer and readied himself to swing at the door.

  The knife man was fast, and much stronger than his slight frame belied. He punched Andrei several times in the ribs with his free hand and launched a crippling strike with his knee into Andrei's groin before Andrei crumpled to the floor, barely able to hold off the point of the knife as the man fell on top of him and pushed with all his might to ram the evil looking blade into his chest.

  It was the sound of gunfire from the hall outside that distracted the knife man and gave Andrei the chance he needed to swing the fight in his favour. Instead of resisting, Andrei gave in to the pressure and directed the point of the knife away from his body and into the floor beside him. At the same time, he shifted his weight to one side and allowed the knife man's momentum to throw him off balance. It was then that he put in a strike of his own, catching his opponent on the side of the head with a punch that knocked him out cold.

  Back on his feet, Andrei kicked the knife away from the stunned knife man's hand and turned to face the door, where a commotion was now ongo
ing just outside of it. Several more shots rang out before a figure staggered backwards into the room. He held a long thick machete in one hand.

  Tripping on a piece of the shattered door, which lay on the floor at his feet, the figure spun around. Andrei could see his other hand was clutching his chest and blood flowed freely between his fingers. For a second, he stared in amazement at Andrei and then at the bloody wound to his chest, before crumpling face first onto the floor.

  Smoking pistol in hand and now pointed directly at Andrei, the gunman stepped cautiously into the room.

  # # #

  Following from a safe distance behind Heather and the Interpol Agent, Dan was able to watch events unfold before him and react with relative speed.

  Deep in conversation, Heather had not noticed the two suspicious vehicles parked up across the street from her apartment block, and had her back turned when five burly men climbed out of them to follow her. He was already in full sprint, gun in hand, when he heard the smashing of glass and turned the corner to see the last of the men enter the building.

  As he skidded to a halt at the entrance and began climbing through what was left of the door, Dan was struck with a blow to the back of his head that knocked him to the ground. The gun fell from his hand and slid across the slippery tiled hall floor that was awash with glistening glass. Out from the shadow of the stairwell stepped his attacker.

  Rising to his feet, Dan got a quick look at the man who had struck him as he stood at the foot of the stairs, and at the top, at the entrance to Heather's apartment, the other four were taking turns to batter on her door.

  His attacker called out as he advanced again on Dan and one of the men at the top of the stairs stopped what he was doing and raced down towards them. Dan could tell by the look on their faces that they recognised him and he was in no doubt that they were here to finish off what they had attempted in the office of Isaac Garcia. The men battering on the door renewed their efforts and Dan could hear the wood give way as the man before him closed the space to reached out and wrap him in a bear hug.