Death Beyond the Limit: Fiji Islands Mysteries 3

by B. M. Allsopp

  ‘No, you take nothing. Ship belong me!’ Captain Shen barked.

  ‘Captain, search warrants for Joy-13 are being processed as we speak. I remind you that you do not own Jimmy Inia’s things. His professional kit and his records belong to Fisheries, who contracted him as an observer on Joy-13 and supplied his equipment. I will take them to Jimmy’s supervisor, who can tell me if anything is missing.’

  He waited while Shaddock translated. The captain growled, staring at Horseman, who took this response as an admission of Horseman’s claim.

  ‘As for Jimmy’s personal possessions, I promised to return them to his family, who must come to terms with the ghastly reality that he is dead and most of his body will never be recovered. Do you really want to haggle over his bits of clothes and his ukulele? These things mean so much to his family.’

  Shaddock nodded his approval then translated. The captain folded his arms across his chest.

  ‘No, you take nothing.’

  Horseman got up and went out on the deck. He radioed Singh.

  ‘Any news on the warrants?’

  ‘The super’s had a word with the magistrate, explaining the pressure. He sent a constable to sit outside the magistrate’s door. I’ll let you know.’

  ‘I can’t spin things out here much longer. The captain’s getting angry and something more. Frightened, I think. I was relying on the search to intimidate him, but without the warrants…’

  ‘I’m sure they won’t be long, sir.’

  ‘Bird in the hand, Singh. I can’t rely on the captain, he’s volatile. He could take off with the ship and all of us. I wouldn’t put it past him. I’ll drag it out for another ten minutes, but if we’re still waiting for the warrants then, I’ll arrest him and send him back to you with the uniforms.’

  ‘Right, sir. I’m rustling up the interpreters we need. Three of the crew are from the Philippines, so they’ll probably speak good English.’

  ‘Vinaka. Keep in touch.’

  When five minutes had elapsed, Horseman radioed Musudroka. ‘Join me here on the deck, Tani. I’m going to arrest the captain. Bring two of the uniforms. They can drive him to the station.’

  He contacted Singh. ‘Any news?’

  ‘Sorry, sir.’

  ‘I’ll arrest Shen now. Be prepared to receive him. Station a constable inside the room and outside the door.’

  ‘Will do, sir.’

  Ten minutes was up. He returned to the bridge. Shaddock was there alone. ‘Where’s the captain?’

  ‘He said he was going to his cabin for a nap. That’s what he said. It’s hardly my role to stop him.’

  ‘True. Please take me to his cabin,’ Horseman said.

  Shaddock sighed. ‘This is difficult for me, but I don’t suppose I have any choice. It’s just through here.’

  Horseman followed the agent down a narrow companionway. Shaddock knocked on the first door and spoke loudly in Mandarin. Musudroka and the uniforms were forced to press back against the walls. Shen’s usual bark was muffled. Then the door opened and Shen emerged, rubbing his bristly hair.

  ‘Captain Shen, I arrest you for failing to report a fatal accident at sea, while in command of Joy-13.’

  After stating Shen’s rights, he nodded to Shaddock to translate. The captain frowned but displayed none of his previous hostility.

  ‘Who is second in command? I will inform him he is now responsible for the vessel until you return.’

  The captain muttered. ‘Engineer Santo.’

  ‘The constables will escort you to Central Suva Police Station. I’ll be along later to talk to you more about the disappearance of Jimmy Inia.’

  ‘May I go with him?’ Shaddock asked.

  ‘You can visit him later. I need your help for a little while.’

  Shaddock spoke quietly to Shen. To Horseman’s surprise, the captain offered no resistance as the constables led him away.

  ‘Mr Shaddock, is the engineer on board?’

  ‘I’ll check.’

  Horseman returned to the deck in time to see Shen bundled into the police car and driven off.

  Shaddock joined him soon enough with Alon Diego Santo in tow. Like most of the Joy-13 crew, he was short, wiry, weathered and strong. His crew cut hair was greying and he wore a gold cross around his neck.

  ‘I’ve explained things to Alon, Inspector. He’ll help you.’

  ‘Pleased to meet you, Mr Santo. I’m here to collect the possessions of Jimmy Inia and return them to his family. I’ll take his professional equipment too and return it to Fisheries as soon as possible.’

  ‘Thank you, Inspector. Jimmy was a good man.’ He crossed himself. ‘Come this way.’

  ‘Vinaka vakalevu, Mr Shaddock. You’ve been helpful.’

  Shaddock winced. ‘I’ll go to the station and see what I can do for Shen. His bark is worse than his bite, you know.’

  ‘Let’s hope so. Do you understand his appalling negligence as captain?’

  ‘I don’t, but I’ll try to talk to him about it. I think it’s as he said. He sees his duty as running a successful voyage for the owners.’

  ‘Then he misunderstands the duties of a ship’s commander.’

  Horseman followed Santo down companionways and along corridors to Jimmy’s cabin.

  Two narrow bunks, two steel lockers, two plywood desktops fixed to the wall.

  ‘I put Jimmy’s things in his bag. It’s ready for you. Please take it to his family.’

  The familiar Fiji Rugby sports bag, black with the white coconut palm logo, tugged his heart. He pulled gloves from his pocket and unzipped the bag, lifting items carefully. All seemed normal.

  ‘If you packed his bag, you’ll need to come to the station to be fingerprinted. Your prints will be on some of these items.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘Where’s Jimmy’s computer?’

  ‘Oh, maybe in his locker.’ He reached to open the steel locker but Horseman intervened.

  ‘Allow me, please.’ He turned the handle. A bulky laptop bag lay on a shelf below the hanging space. ‘Did you pack this, Mr Santo?’

  ‘No, I guess that’s the way Jimmy left it.’

  ‘You packed everything else. Why didn’t you pack this too?’

  Santo shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Probably I thought it was safer in the locker. I can’t remember.’ His voice quavered.

  Horseman checked under the mattresses, bunks and behind the locker.

  ‘Did Jimmy share this cabin?’

  ‘Not at first. There was a reshuffle, and he shared with another Filipino, my friend Filipo. He liked Jimmy. They could speak English to each other.’

  ‘Are there any more of Jimmy’s things on the ship?’

  ‘I don’t think so. I can’t be sure.’

  ‘I appreciate your cooperation, Mr Santo.’

  ‘When will the captain return?’

  ‘I don’t know. You’re the master of this vessel until then.’

  ‘Mr Shaddock may find another captain to replace me.’

  ‘Oh, does Mr Shaddock supply crew to the vessels he manages?’

  Santo nodded. ‘Him or someone else in TTF. Their Manila branch posted me to Joy-13 three years ago.’

  Tuna Traders of Formosa was like an octopus, its elastic tentacles reaching into every niche.

  ‘Have you got a mobile phone, Mr Santo? I’ll be in touch.’

  He noted the number. Santo shouldered Jimmy’s sports bag, Horseman grabbed the laptop case and followed the new master of Joy-13 back to the gangway. The police car was waiting below on the wharf.

  31

  Singh calculated that if she booked all three available interview rooms, she would need two Mandarin interpreters. Eleven of the eighteen seamen spoke that language. She got a few blank interview room schedules from the duty sergeant downstairs and played around with the permutations. It was already half past three. They needed information from the crew who shouldn’t be kept waiting for hours. Singh wanted them in a mood to c
ooperate.

  She preferred the three-room plan, but who was to conduct the interviews? She agreed with the boss that Musudroka wasn’t ready to lead, mainly because he had no experience working with interpreters. She explained the situation to the super.

  ‘Sir, would you be able to allocate an experienced detective to help us? Perhaps yourself?’ She smiled brightly, so he could choose to construe her second question as a joke if he wished.

  ‘I can get you someone to assist, yes, but not to lead. Not even me. If an interviewer doesn’t know the case in detail, the risk of missing something important is too great.’

  Singh felt the wind behind her drop, her sails left flapping.

  ‘Only you and Joe can lead these interviews, Detective Sergeant. So, two interview rooms and it takes as long as it takes. From the little I know of seamen in port, don’t expect a hundred per cent attendance this afternoon. You may need to haul a few out of their bunks tomorrow morning.’

  ‘Yes, sir. Thanks for the advice.’

  ‘Musudroka and Kau will benefit from this experience. However, if you need them for other duties before you finish the interviews, I’ll be happy to step in to assist.’

  *

  Singh reviewed her notes from the first four interviews. She wouldn’t need to check the transcript from the interpreter service when it came through.

  Language: Mandarin

  Joy-13: 3 years, deckhand

  Jimmy: denies that FO was on board, concedes may be mistaken

  MOB: did not witness or hear about MOB

  Language: Mandarin

  Joy-13: 7 months, deckhand

  Jimmy: knew FO was on board, never spoke to him

  MOB: did not witness or hear about MOB

  Language: Mandarin

  Joy-13: 20 months, deckhand

  Jimmy: denies that FO was on board, concedes may be mistaken

  MOB: did not witness or hear about MOB

  Language: Mandarin

  Joy-13: 2.5 years, deckhand

  Jimmy: knew FO slightly, played ukulele on deck occ. Can’t remember last sighting

  MOB: did not witness MOB, heard later, unaware of search effort

  If the quality of information didn’t improve, the interviews would be over before dinner-time. She conferred with the interpreter, a young Eurasian teacher of Mandarin at Suva International Grammar.

  ‘Sam, it’s inconceivable to me that in a crew of twenty men, some could be unaware of the presence of a fishing observer.’

  ‘Yeah, they’d all know Jimmy was on board. For sure.’

  ‘Do you think they’ve been instructed in what to say, maybe by the captain?’

  Sam shrugged. ‘I don’t know. They might have decided among themselves.’

  ‘Any cultural insights to help me read the situation?’ Singh persisted.

  ‘I dunno. The two who deny there was an observer onboard are from the People’s Republic of China. Maybe they’re more scared of authority. The two who admitted he was there are both from Taiwan. But I don’t know. I’m straying into political opinion here, which I shouldn’t do.’

  ‘If it’s relevant, I don’t see why not. This is off the record.’

  ‘Well, if I’m pushed I’d say that fishermen, or seamen generally, have a reputation for being reticent, a bit dour. I suppose it’s always noisy: engines, wind and sea. But I’m straying into speculation again.’

  ‘Any ideas, Tani?’

  ‘No, ma’am. But these four have put me off going to sea if they were to be my companions. Maybe they’re resentful or scared—I don’t know any more than you two.’

  ‘We’ll take a short break and hope we strike a talkative witness afterwards,’ Singh said.

  *

  After speaking to three more deckhands whose range of response was identical to those of the first four, Singh was impatient. The final Mandarin speaker could not be found so she let Sam go. Musudroka offered to get snacks for all of them. She wondered what he’d choose. She hoped it was chocolate.

  Singh thought about the interviews. The necessary translating process distanced the witness from her. The pressure she generated by varying her voice and timing was out the window. Her questions were more formal and less effective. The witness could easily evade her pressure by looking at the interpreter and using the time gap to compose an answer. What could she do? There must be professional studies looking into these questions. She’d hunt them down as soon as she could. Not now.

  Maybe the boss was having a more fruitful time next door. She hoped so. She checked the list at reception and saw Horseman had just signed in a Filipino deckhand, Filipo Moreno, to his interview room.

  *

  Filipo Moreno smiled at Horseman. His teeth were chipped and stained with brown-red streaks. Did he manage to chew betel nut with lime at sea? He must take a good supply with him, or else confine his habit to tropical ports.

  A constable brought in a tray with biscuits, Moreno’s coffee and mugs of tea for Kau and himself.

  ‘Mr Moreno, take a few moments to start on your coffee and biscuits before we begin.’

  ‘God bless you, sir. You are kind. Please call me Filipo.’

  When Moreno began to relax, Kau started the recorder and identified the participants. Horseman signalled him to start.

  ‘Mr Moreno, how long have you been a crew member of the Joy-13?’

  ‘Sir, four years now. Joy-13 is a new ship, I join her on her first voyage.’

  ‘Tell me about your job onboard.’

  ‘I’m senior deckhand. I oversee baiting and setting longline, hauling it in, sorting and processing fish, maintaining fishing gear.’

  ‘Wow, that sounds like a big job.’ Kau was impressed.

  ‘It is a big job, sir, but I’m still only a deckhand. I work like a donkey but I get blame from captain when things go wrong. I’m in charge, so I should earn more. I want to complain about conditions on board that vessel.’

  Kau looked at Horseman, his eyes pleading.

  ‘How about telling your agent, Mr Shaddock at TTF?’ Horseman suggested.

  ‘It’s very difficult for me.’ He looked from one detective to the other.

  ‘Why?’ Horseman asked.

  ‘I need my job. I grow up in a fishing village on a small Philippines island. Since primary school, I work on my father’s boat. Hard work, but it is our own small business. Then Cyclone Horace destroy our boat and most of our village so we have nothing. I join longliners to save money and go home, help my father repair an old boat we can buy cheap. Already I’m thirty-five and I still can’t afford to support a wife and children. I can’t risk my job, even though my pay is miserable.’

  He was only a few years older than Horseman, but he looked middle-aged.

  ‘I sympathise, Filipo. Fiji gets destructive cyclones, too. They smash up people’s livelihoods, not just buildings.’

  ‘Jimmy is a good man. I talk to him about my worries. He say he will try to help me get more money.’

  ‘How did he plan to do that?’ Horseman asked.

  ‘He say he will help me become a fishing observer. I tell him I don’t have education, but he say there are ways for experienced fisherman. He say I can do training at a fishing school in Philippines. He say he can help me with money for that.’

  ‘Really? He was a good friend, then.’

  ‘Sure, because we can talk to each other in English. I share his cabin for some time, too.’

  ‘Did Jimmy like his job as a fishing observer?’

  ‘Yes, he likes his work. He likes sea, stars, nature. He likes helping scientists know about fish. He likes good money, too.’ Moreno smiled, remembering.

  Horseman nodded to Kau to take over.

  ‘When did you last see Jimmy Inia?’ Kau asked.

  ‘I saw him Friday 8th September. We finish hauling and he stand there watching, counting the fish. When he finish writing in his clipboard, he wave to me and go away. I think he is going back to his cabin to do his paperwork
and put the data in his computer. I never see him again.’ He touched the pewter crucifix which hung from a leather thong around his neck.

  ‘What time was it when Jimmy left the fishing deck?’

  ‘I’m not sure. Maybe three o’clock. Weather is fine, sea is calm, little breeze. How can he fall overboard?’ Tears flooded Moreno’s eyes. Kau turned to Horseman again.

  ‘When did you realise he wasn’t on board?’ Horseman asked.

  ‘Not for a long time. After Jimmy leave, we work for several more hours gutting and cleaning, sorting tuna for chill hold and preparing rest for deep freeze hold. Tough work. Careful work, too—bruised tuna fetch lower price. Then we clean all gear, deck, everything. Captain came to look and make us clean some more. Everything got to be perfect.’ He shook his head.

  ‘How did Jimmy and the captain get on?’ Horseman asked.

  Moreno shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I hear them talk sometimes. Captain shouts but he always shouts. Other times I see Jimmy show him his records—all forms he fills in for scientist.’

  ‘Can you estimate the time when the crew noticed Jimmy was missing?’

  ‘Our meal is late because of the haul work, maybe six o’clock. It is light. Jimmy isn’t there but that isn’t strange. I think he probably eat earlier. Sometimes in calm weather he take his dinner out on deck and listen to music through his earplugs.’

  ‘Did he wear his life jacket when he did that?’ Horseman asked.

  ‘Always. He obey all safety rules. Strict, he is. He isn’t our boss, but he tell any crewmen to do the right thing if they forget. He mime his order—he is funny. “Make people laugh and they don’t mind an order,” he say to me.’

  Horseman needed a time to compare with the captain’s statement. He’d try another angle. ‘Who raised the alarm, Filipo?’

  ‘I suppose it is me. When it’s dark I go back to our cabin. I am off shift and hoping to sleep for eight hours. Jimmy isn’t there—unusual. I go around decks but he isn’t there, even look into the mess room. When I return to cabin he still isn’t there. I notice his life jacket and PLB in there so I tell Alon Santo, the engineer. Alon report to captain.’