by Matt Lincoln
“Their deaths don’t wipe away their illegal actions, Xavier.” I felt the need to say this. “But that’s neither here nor there. Terro, the Cuban suspect, admitted to the armed robbery and battery charges and also gave up the names of all of his other associates involved.” I couldn’t help but smile over this. It was just so much fun and so satisfying to let someone else know what had happened in this case.
“That’s got to be good for Verity, then,” Jake chimed in.
“It absolutely is,” I continued on. “This Terro guy confessed to acting on information given to him by three of the employees at the Weir company, Weir himself included. The other two were already turning on each other and trying to implicate Verity and the buyer lady, Dallis. But it was all Weir, Emiko, and Arwa.” They probably weren’t following all the details of her case and situation, but the main part, and what I wanted them to take away from it, was that Verity was not directly implicated.
That is good news for her and her father then, Rosa agreed in between bites of her food. Are the charges being dropped?
“None were ever officially filed against her.” I was proud of that fact. “The FBI really wanted to get them to turn on one another, and they’d even offered deals to them. The three that folded or incriminated the others were the ones that were guilty, so, all’s well that ends well, right?”
Jake took all of this in with a reflective look on his face. “Where does that leave Verity, though? She’s out of a job, and I imagine she’s lost a lot of friends over this, and now she has to start fresh again.”
“Yes, but she will get the chance to,” I reminded him. “It will be difficult, sure, but doable.”
Xavier looked a little deflated, and I wondered why. When he noticed that I was watching him, he spoke up. “This Terro guy, if he’d known beforehand about what had happened to his associates, the MPD and the FBI would never have gotten the information they needed from him. That just feels so weird. I can’t explain it.”
“They already had the goods on him, Xavier,” Jake added for context. “George let me know this morning that his criminal record had been relayed to all the agencies involved. They were all going down, no matter what. Don’t beat yourself up over a bunch of people that murdered at will and, need I remind you, tried to kill all of us. More than once.”
“Yeah, I know, but…” Xavier started.
“Xavier,” I interjected as well, “they planned and enacted a scheme to board and steal from a crew, a ship, and US citizens in international waters.” I ticked these off on my fingers. “They hide and destroy evidence from various crimes, in various countries, for various other criminals. They willingly worked to defraud and steal from people to devalue and distribute counterfeit goods around the world.” I stopped because Xavier nodded and accepted my argument.
“Okay, alright,” he conceded. “I’m sold. Bad guys would have paid no matter what. Can we change the subject now?” Xavier took a long drink, and I joined him.
“Yes.” I turned to Jake and smiled. “So, now what?” I was really ready to dive into that huge can of worms.
“Not here, and not now.” He smiled at me guardedly, and we all finished our meal in fluffy conversation and talked about Doc’s condition. This was going to be a rough couple of days for all of us.
34
Jake
That Thursday morning, I found myself driving to the marina with a heavy heart and mind. Today was the day that Claude Speirs had chosen to hold the ceremony for his brother Declan and three of the crew members who had died on the Hester. I wanted to be there, even if I didn’t know the men. It was just a respect thing, but I wasn’t emotionally prepared for today.
So much had been going on with the team, the missions, the side cases, the personal lives… It was just overwhelming, and I really wanted a day to work through it all with no distractions. It probably wasn’t going to happen, but I was going to have to make time one way or another.
When I did finally pull into my marina’s parking lot, I saw several vehicles there already. There was also a medium-sized boat with a very flat and open design docked at the furthest bay. Rosa, Eve, George, and Verity, along with another woman I’d never seen before, were there and waiting by the office. I quickly got out of my Blazer and made my way over to the small group.
“Hey, glad you all could make it,” I said as I approached them. That was just a general statement, but it covered everyone.
George spoke first. “We were just contemplating on whether we should head to the dock or what we should be doing. Alas, now that you are here, I’m sure that you have a plan in mind for us.” George looked very thoughtful and dapper, and when I took a good look at this new, unknown woman, I could see a resemblance. They all caught me staring, and George remedied the awkward event. “Oh, do please forgive me! Jake Header, this is my eldest daughter, Mallory Yout.”
We both reached out to shake each other’s hands in greeting. She was a bit older than Verity, and she had light brown hair, cut short and close to her scalp. She did have the same blue eyes as her sister, though. That was the only resemblance that I could find between them.
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Header,” Mallory said with a hint of her Scottish accent still there.
“You as well,” I replied, looking around. “No Kippy here? I thought that she was coming down too.” I was actually relieved that she wasn’t. She was a headache I didn’t need today.
“No,” Verity was quick to answer, “the harpy was delayed. She wouldn’t hit here until tomorrow evening.”
Mallory chuckled at her sister, and George gave Verity an unamused warning glance.
“My sister is so dramatic,” Mallory grinned. “Please don’t think that I am anything like her. I actually enjoy not being a bitch.” Mallory smirked at the small crowd of us all getting more uncomfortable by the moment.
“Maybe we should go down and wait by the boat,” I offered to ease the tension.
Rosa walked briskly to the visiting ship, obviously anxious to get away too, and we all followed along. I tried to get close enough to Eve to speak to her privately, but that was going to be a laborious task.
The closer we all got to the boat, the more we could see what was taking place.
Lael was sensitively loading the urns of the deceased up and onto a small, beautifully decorated pedestal. Mr. Speirs was arranging a few chairs for those of us coming on board, and I rushed forward to help him out. Now I felt bad about not getting here earlier.
“Here, Mr. Speirs, let me help you.” I hated for him to have to take care of all of this by himself, but it was good to know that Lael had been available. I had expected Claude to bring aides or assistants along, if nothing else. “Do you not have anyone else here to help you with this?”
“Oh, no!” He replied in a very upbeat tone, odd for a memorial service. “There’s the captain doing all the driving, but I wanted to honor them in my own way today.” He took a glimpse over at the urns that Lael was working on. “And as you can see, that strapping young man, even with his one arm, is more than enough help for this.” Claude nodded appreciatively at Lael. “A good man, that. He kept me from tumbling off into the water before you arrived. These urns are a bit heavier than I would have thought. Oh and thank you for having young Mr. Xavier deliver my statues the other morning. It was good to have them in my home.”
“You’re welcome,” I nodded.
Knowing that Claude had things well in hand, I left him to find Lael.
“Hey, Lael,” I said as I approached him.
Lael shook his head at me and tried not to smile.
“It wasn’t anything major,” he said, having obviously overheard Claude’s comment. “He just got unbalanced and kind of toppled a little. Nothing to worry about.”
Funny how we all saw things so differently.
Before too long, Xavier joined us, as did Doc and little Zaid. That seemed to be everyone we were waiting for, and so Mr. Spiers gave the order to the captain to
set off. This boat was an interesting configuration of barge, ferry, and sightseeing vessel.
“Where did this thing come from?” I asked as I’d never seen anything like it before. The answer came from Xavier, naturally.
“It’s from a private company here in Miami,” he commented. “They do some filming ventures and the occasional photoshoot, but they do this more than anything. Transport for burials at sea. Very simple, scaled-down events.”
“I had no idea this sort of thing even existed.” I didn’t think that I would be alone in that, either.
“I set it up for him,” Xavier informed me. “Claude was having a hard time deciding how best to facilitate the ceremony, so I, well, I helped him out. And Lael,” Xavier gestured over at the man standing off alone and looking out at the water, “he was here first thing this morning, making sure things were going to run smoothly. He and Claude talked for a long time before you all arrived.” Xavier winked at me mischievously. “You might need to find a new foreman for the marina. I think there was a job offer somewhere in the conversation.”
One more thing to add to my heaping, unappetizing plate for today. “Well, if he wants to, I’ll not stand in his way. I’m still not sure about…” I stopped myself when I saw Eve watching me. I didn’t want to get into this here. But she and I needed that private talk today if she was willing. “Anyway, enough of that. This is about them.” I motioned to the pedestal with the four urns, hoping that would curb all other discussions.
“Too true,” George announced and walked forward to speak with Claude and offer his condolences. Mallory and Eve joined him while Rosa was off to hang out with Doc and Zaid. Xavier excused himself, and that left Verity and me alone to talk.
“Well, now that you’ve been cleared and are able to move on from that, what are your plans?” I cared enough for her to want her to be happy and successful in whatever it was that she was going to do.
“Everyone has been asking me that,” Verity said as if it were becoming a chore to answer. “I’m going abroad. Probably back to Southern Europe for a while. Maybe look into a teaching position at a private institution. Something with more structure than I’ve found here in America.”
I courteously nodded at this remark. “Yeah, Miami isn’t for everyone. And I guess all of this was a personal blow, in a way. Maybe some distance will help you find the clarity you need. You never know.”
“One thing is for sure,” Verity’s tone was off-putting and more than a little antagonistic, “I won’t have to be around for the harpy’s extended stay. My sister, Mallory, had always gotten on better with her, anyway. They can take care of my father for a while. And I can do what I really want for a change.” I wasn’t sure if she’d meant for it to come off as blatantly hostile and self-indulgent as she had, but I got the impression that Verity was a very changed person after all of this.
This alteration in her attitude wasn’t meshing with my mood today, but I didn’t want to misjudge her again, so I politely tried to excuse myself from the entire conversation.
“I wish you the best of luck, Verity,” I offered.
I got a very curt nod from Verity, and then I walked away and went to find Eve. I couldn’t avoid her forever, nor the consequences of everything that had happened between us. I found her standing next to Lael, and the two of them weren’t saying much. Eve met my eyes as I approached and smiled.
“Do you have a minute?” I asked her, nodding at Lael in acknowledgment. He returned the nod.
“Always,” Eve replied, and together we found a somewhat secluded place to talk.
“I booked my flight for tomorrow morning,” she informed me as soon as we’d stopped walking. “I just wanted to be here for my client and to say goodbye to a few people before I left.” She wasn’t messing around. “Since most of us will already be sad and a little down, I figured today was better for all of that than tomorrow.” Eve looked at me and smiled. There wasn’t any peace or warmth in it, though, not like there usually was.
“You don’t have to leave, Eve.” I took her hand, hoping that we could be sincere and mature about what had gone on.
“Do you want me to stay?” She asked, and I wasn’t really ready for something so blunt from her today.
“It’s not my place to tell or ask you to stay or go, Eve. This is all your choice.” I wanted to be honest with her. And she with me.
“But I’d like it to be your place, or at least hear what you’d like me to do if you have any feelings on it.” She lowered her gaze and shook her head. “I don’t mean it like… I know you have feelings for me, Jake. I do. But if you don’t want to… I don’t know.” She looked up and met my eyes. “Do you, right here and right now, want me to stay in Miami? And don’t say anything about ‘if it’s what you want.’ I just want to hear what you want. Please. Let me know.”
I leaned in and kissed Eve on the lips before I answered her. “I don’t know.” That was the truth.
Eve took a deep breath in and slowly released my hand from hers. “Okay.” She sighed heavily and continued. “Well, I’m sorry that things didn’t work out for us, Jake. But I do wish you the best of luck with your team and the things that you are doing here. Please take care of yourself.”
She moved off with a gentle smile at me, and I was glad that this would be the last image of her that I would have. I just stood there for a moment or two, thinking about all that we’d been through together. And I felt I was at peace with it. Or I would be, in time.
Before long, we reached the place where Claude Speirs asked all of us to gather around and say our goodbyes. The group stood close together, all trying to keep respectful distances and upwind of the pedestal. It was admittedly uncomfortable, as no one here on this boat had ever met any of the four people we were memorializing today. But this was being done out of honor and respect, a concept everyone here understood and tried to uphold.
I noticed that Lael stood awfully close to Claude as the older man took one urn into his hands at a time. Then, in a calm yet emotion-filled voice, Claude began to speak.
“Captain Ulee Farrars,” he announced. “You were a fine gentleman, a man of the sea, and a fervent soul with a taste for aged Saki and French Opera. La mer vous réclame maintenant!” As he said this, Claude poured out the ashen contents of the urn into the ocean.
“Odd,” Verity remarked, but George was there to shush her. “The sea now reclaims you? That’s just weird.”
Lael took the empty urn, placed it back in its spot, and then handed Claude the next one.
Mallory whispered, “Why is he doing all of them here? Were they all friends?”
“No,” I whispered back. “But only one of the families came to claim them. So, Claude took it upon himself to see them honored.”
“James Mondragon.” Claude had prepared for the next man. “A truly talented man. Devoted to his love of mechanisms and the sailor’s life. A lifetime aficionado of the Denver Broncos and the sport of football. May you be 16 and 0 in your next season.”
There was a rash of murmurs and a few stifled giggles at this, but no one lost it completely.
Claude continued to announce the next honoree. “Bernard Brown. The kind of man that many wish to be, few can strive to become, and one we all hope to know in our lifetimes. Faamanuiaga i lau malaga e sosoo ai!” I recognized that as a farewell in Samoan. Claude accidentally stepped too close to the edge of the boat and almost fell into the water, along with the remains.
Lael was quick to act, and he lunged forward, grabbing Claude around the middle and keeping him on the deck. There was a moment of panic and worry, but Doc rushed over to check on the elderly man.
“No, no, I’m well, thank you,” Claude insisted. “Just overcome for a moment.” He looked up to Lael and smiled in gratitude. “Thank you, young man. Thank you so much!”
Lael cleared his throat and tried to play it off as nothing serious. “Don’t mention it.”
Doc offered him a chair to sit in, but Claude declined. “
Would you mind…?” Claude motioned to the last of the urns and smiled hopefully at Lael.
Lael turned a little red but nodded abruptly. “Yeah, sure.” He stepped forward and took up the last urn, containing Declan Speirs’ remains.
Doc returned to his grandson’s side as we all waited for the final respects to be paid. Claude, of course, would say the words, but it was Lael that opened the urn and let the ashes float into the ocean.
“Declan Speirs.” Claude had to steady himself in that instant. “My brother and my best friend. I will miss you.” He choked up a bit, but we could all see that he wanted to continue and finish his tribute. “The sea was always your home. And I am glad to lay you where you belong for this, your final rest. Isteach san fharraige, geallaim duit ceann a dhaor.”
With the last of the men honored and venerated, and with a little Irish blessing added on, the boat plotted a course back to my marina. I stayed close to my team on the way back. I figured this was easier than trying to engage any of the other guests currently cruising along with us. I’d had my fill of that today.
Doc must have noticed the change in my actions and behavior, so he questioned it. “Not in the mood to be the social butterfly just now?”
“Ha. So funny I almost forgot to laugh there.” I turned to look out at the water, figuring that it was a safe, neutral location to focus on.
Xavier cleared his throat and ventured a comment that he’d probably been dying to say for a while now. “I saw you chatting with Eve earlier. How did that go, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“I do mind, but I know there’ll be no peace until I tell you.” My back was still to them all. “She’s not staying in Miami.” I let that hang in the air as I didn’t know how I felt about it completely.