South Pacific Affair

by Drew Lindsay

  ‘It’s either that or you have to work with a Virgin flight direct from Sydney that gets you into Tonga at 2am,’ said Ben. ‘They’ve got rocks in their heads with a flight schedule like that.’

  ‘Tell me one airline that hasn’t got rocks in their heads?’ asked Sophia.

  ‘Emirates.’ Ben said.

  ‘They don’t fly to Tonga and never will,’ said Ann. She rose from the table. ‘I cleared the dishes last night. It’s Sophia’s turn tonight.’

  ‘I thought you were my bloody assistant!’

  ‘There are lines in the sand,’ said Ann, glancing at Ben. ‘Let’s not cross them.’

  ‘You have my mobile number,’ said Ben. ‘Give me a call when you get home.’

  ‘Please.’

  ‘Please,’ said Ben.

  ‘I’m only 20 minutes away at Clovelly. I’ll be fine.’

  ‘Look for anything or anyone that doesn’t fit into the situation,’ said Ben.

  ‘Like the girl last night walking around in the street?’ asked Ann.

  ‘Especially like her.’

  ‘Well you seemed to have her completely under control.’

  ‘I didn’t have her under control for one second,’ said Ben. ‘I just caught her out. She is working for someone who wants that bloody necklace.’

  ‘Well they won’t get it or any information from me,’ said Ann as she walked towards the door leading to the hall.

  ‘They also didn’t get it from Joseph Hunter,’ said Ben, glancing at Sophia.’

  ‘I’m just an employee,’ said Ann. She closed the front door rather forcefully.’

  ‘So it’s just us tonight,’ said Sophia.

  Ben dabbed his mouth with the napkin. ‘Where does she live?’

  ‘Clovelly, like she said.’

  ‘I need the exact address,’ said Ben.

  ‘Why? Is she like Milba Berry? Do you want to spend time with her?’

  Ben ignored the remark, pushed back his chair and stood. ‘Street and number.’

  ‘You’re supposed to be protecting me!’

  ‘Gut feeling,’ he said. ‘Someone will go for Ann.’

  ‘She doesn’t know anything,’ said Sophia.

  ‘Street and number,’ said Ben slowly.

  ‘Sophia stood. ‘I’ll have to consult my address book. I don’t memorise that kind of information. I could take you there myself. I know how to get to her flat or whatever you call those things.’

  ‘Better if you stay here,’ said Ben. ‘The cameras are working and you have my number if there’s a problem.’

  ‘At least you will be here a lot faster than the police.’

  ‘You can count on that,’ said Ben. Leave clearing the table. I’ll clear it tonight when I get back.’

  ‘I’m not a bloody cripple.’

  ‘That is quite obvious,’ said Ben, trying desperately to keep his eyes focused on hers. He had long since learned, with a fair degree of embarrassment, that women had an uncanny way of knowing when a man was taking more notice of their body than their face.

  ‘Try not to make a complete fool of yourself,’ she said.’

  ‘I’ll do my best,’ said Ben.

  Clovelly is an old Sydney suburb facing the Tasman Sea. It’s most easterly point is named “Shark Point” for obvious reasons. Waverley Cemetery occupies a huge parcel of land on its northern boundaries. Ann Flynn’s second floor unit in Boundary Street had a stunning view over the cemetery as well as the ocean to the right of her balcony.

  She locked her car in an allocated space enclosed with wire and brick walls underneath the units and walked towards the stairwell leading up to her unit. He came out of the darkness, wrapping a strong arm around her neck and pulling her back towards a brick wall. ‘You like to live missy?’

  Ann nodded. She was having difficulty in breathing.

  ‘You Abbo girls like it rough I’m told. I’ve never had an Abbo girl.’

  ‘I don’t have any money,’ said Ann in a whisper.

  ‘I don’t want your money.’ His voice was rough and quiet. ‘I have a knife close to your throat and I may kill you if you don’t tell me what I want to know.’

  ‘I don’t know anything about anything.’

  ‘I’m going to rape you. Would you like that? Abbo’s like being raped, don’t they?’

  ‘No.’eH

  ‘Let’s start with what you think you don’t know.’

  ‘I don’t know anything.’

  Ann felt the point of a very sharp knife against her throat. He ripped her shirt open and slid the blade of the knife between her breasts, cutting the bra away. ‘Would you be so kind as to tell me where the necklace has been hidden?’

  Ann felt the smooth skin of his face against her face. She smelt garlic and herbs and a strange scent from his skin. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she said.

  ‘Then I’ll just rape you and kill you. I think you have around 20 seconds to make a decision.’

  ‘I know there is a missing necklace,’ said Ann, ‘but I don’t know where it is. Joseph Hunter knew all about that.’

  ‘He’s dead,’ said the low menacing voice.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘He was too stupid to talk,’ said the male. He pushed the knife harder into the side of Ann’s neck. ‘Take off your pants.’

  ‘You’re going to kill me anyway so you will have to strip me. I think I have a disease anyway,’ said Ann. ‘Quite a lot of Aboriginal women have sexual diseases.’

  ‘You’re high class. You don’t have anything.’

  Luke Darby didn’t hear a sound but he suddenly felt a very strong hand grip his hand holding the knife. At the same time he felt a muscular arm around his throat. ‘I’d let her go if I were you, shit for brains.’

  Darby let go his grip on Ann. She dropped onto her knees. Darby struggled violently but it was of little use. The muscular arm shut off his airway. ‘Drop the knife.’

  ‘She’s mine first mate. You can have her later,’ Darby whispered through strangled vocal chords.

  ‘Who sent you looking for a necklace?’ asked Ben.

  ‘Darby struggled harder but he couldn’t get breath and that was now a serious issue. ‘No one!’ he squeaked. He summonsed all the strength he had and tried to bring the knife into contact with the man behind him.

  Ben hit him hard with a single knuckle pointed punch to the side of the head. The knife clattered to the concrete floor and Darby went totally limp. Ben let him fall to the concrete and pushed the body away with his foot. Ann leaned back on her knees and turned to face Ben. She burst into tears and flung herself against him. He wrapped his arms around her. ‘You want to make us coffee and then pack?’ he asked calmly.

  Her sobbing eventually subsided and she gripped the front of Ben’s shirt, glancing at the body lying on its back beside them. ‘Is he dead?’

  ‘Probably,’ said Ben.

  ‘I thought I was dead,’ said Ann, looking down at her exposed breasts.

  ‘I told you to stay with us the night.’

  ‘I won’t disobey you again,’ said Ann.

  ‘It’s not about disobeying,’ said Ben. ‘You are your own woman. In this particular situation however, you have to take advice.’

  ‘So do we call the police or whatever?’

  Ben took his arms from around Ann and walked over to the body. He felt for a neck pulse. ‘He should be dead but he’s not. I’m losing my touch.’

  ‘I don’t understand people like you,’ said Ann.

  ‘Do you understand people like him?’

  ‘He’s nothing but an animal. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for you. I understand that very clearly.’

  ‘Do you know him?’ asked Ben.

  ‘No.’

  Ben took out his mobile phone and took a photo of Darby’s face. A trickle of blood ran from the left side of Darby’s mouth and his breathing was shallow. Ben took a photo of the knife lying on the concrete floor. Then he dialled 000 and asked for Ambulance a
nd Police to attend the scene.

  ‘Go to your flat, make us coffee and pack. We’ll have to attend the local police station but then we’ll head back to Sophia’s place. Give her a quick call and tell her what’s happened.’

  Ann glanced at the man lying on his back and then ran up the concrete stairs.

  Ben ignored the knife and went through the unconscious man’s pockets. There was no form of identification. Sirens were approaching and Ben walked out into the street.

  ‘Oh my God!’ Sophia yelled into the phone. ‘Thank God he went after you!’

  ‘We’re coming back to your place later,’ said Ann, her hands still shaking.

  ‘Are you hurt in any way darling?’

  ‘I need a damn drink, that’s for sure. He’s told me to make bloody coffee!’

  ‘Can you put Ben on?’

  ‘The ambos have arrived. He’s downstairs dealing with that.’

  ‘Get him to call me later. This is just damn dreadful!’

  ‘Keep your doors locked and the lights on,’ said Ann.

  ‘Well the bloke who went after you won’t be coming here,’ said Sophia.

  ‘I don’t think he’s going to make it,’ said Ann.

  ‘I’ll have a drink waiting babe.’

  ‘We have to re-assess this Hood guy, right?’

  ‘Perhaps you need to. From now on I’ll do whatever he wants,’ said Ann.

  “****”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Detective Sergeant Fred Hannam sat on the edge of the desk and flipped through papers recently emailed to him. Ben sat on a plastic chair against a wall facing the desk. They were at the Waverley Police Station, close to Ann’s block of flats. ‘He’s still alive.’

  Ben shrugged.

  ‘You can’t go around doing this to people.’

  ‘I didn’t go looking for him. I was saving the life of my client’s personal assistant.’

  ‘So you have said in your statement.’

  ‘Who is he?’ asked Ben.

  ‘It’s probably best if you don’t know,’ said Hannam. ‘Hired muscle is all you need to know.’

  ‘He wasn’t all that strong,’ said Ben.

  ‘He was strong enough to take down Ms. Flynn.’

  ‘She’s a tiny thing,’ said Ben, recalling for a moment her bare breasts and muscular upper frame, ‘but she’s very fit.’

  Hannam closed the file and placed it on the desk behind him. ‘This guy isn’t known for bodily contact. He’s known for silent action. Hit and run.’

  ‘You’ve interviewed Ann. I don’t know what he said to her.’

  ‘You must have questioned her,’ said Hannam.

  ‘She wasn’t in a fit state to be questioned after I dispatched Prince Charming.’

  Hannam put his hands on his knees and leaned forward. ‘This is the second time you’ve done this.’

  ‘This week you mean,’ said Ben.

  ‘Your methods of dealing with criminals will not be tolerated any further.’

  ‘Do you think I could have talked his hand and knife away from her throat?’

  ‘Excessive force will not be tolerated for God sake!’

  ‘He had physically restrained her, cut off her bra, threatened to rape and kill her. Do you condone that kind of behaviour? Wouldn’t you call that rather excessive force?’

  Hannam was silent.

  ‘We’ve been through this kind of thing before,’ said Ben. ‘Violent criminals understand one kind of law. Jungle law. They live by it and they damn well should die by it.’

  ‘The media are trying to get all over this,’ said Hannam.

  ‘I don’t speak to the media,’ said Ben. ‘You know how to handle them.’

  ‘The smarter of them sense that something is going down. Your name is being whispered in trusted circles.’

  ‘They can’t publish whispers,’ said Ben.

  ‘The hell they can’t!’

  Ben was silent.

  ‘Your commercial tickets to Tonga via Auckland have been cancelled,’ said Hannam. ‘You and your clients will fly direct to Nuku’Alofa by charted jet, courtesy of the king of Tonga.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘Tomorrow. 6 am. I’ve arranged transport to the airport.’

  ‘I’ve booked accommodation in Tonga,’ said Ben.

  ‘We know what you’ve booked. There will be some minor changes to your bookings but they will remain basically intact. The powers that be feel that you should be allowed to do your own thing.’ Hannam smiled. ‘All this was against my advice I should add.’

  ‘You obviously have no confidence in my ability,’ said Ben.

  ‘My view is that you don’t have a bloody clue what you’re doing,’ said Hannam.

  Ben got to his feet. ‘You could be right.’

  The Hawker 900XP will carry 8 passengers comfortably with two pilots to ensure maximum safety. There is only one luxury padded seat per window with a wide aisle running the length of the private jet. Cruising speed at 31,000 feet is just over 800 km/h, depending on wind speed and direction and the range of the jet is just under 5,500 km (2,300nm) Sydney to Tongatapu is 3,583 kms and just after takeoff the Captain had explained that estimated flying time to Tonga was just over 5 hours with smooth conditions expected. Sophia sat across the aisle from Ann. Ben faced Sophia across a table which had been set up for him to use his computer, with internet access. A young female flight attendant named Vivien had been assigned to serve snacks and meals and ensure their flight was comfortable.

  ‘He’s going to get a dreadful shock when he realises I don’t know where the bloody necklace is,’ said Sophia, looking out at the tops of the puffy white clouds slowly falling away as the jet rose rapidly higher.

  Ben glanced over the top of the computer screen at her.

  ‘What do I call him anyway?’ she asked. ‘Your Royal Highness?’

  ‘Your Majesty would be best,’ said Ben. ‘Royal Highness is a title for heirs, not the king.’

  ‘I’m going to call him George,’ said Ann.

  ‘The hell you will,’ said Ben. ‘If you don’t want to use his official title then you can call him “sir” and that should be alright.’

  ‘But his name is George, isn’t it?’

  Ben glanced at her. ‘His name is Aho’eitu ‘Unuaki’otonga Tuku’aho.’

  Ann shook her head. ‘I like George better.’

  ‘We’re walking on political egg shells here,’ said Ben. ‘This is not a visit to the local night club.’

  ‘So I see,’ said Ann, waving two hands towards each side of the luxury aircraft. ‘So we get into Tonga early afternoon and then what?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Ben. ‘My schedule was altered. We were supposed to be catching a boat to Fa Fa Island but that may have been cancelled as well.’

  ‘If we are going to have a meeting with the king as soon as we land,’ said Sophia, ‘it’s going to be a damn short one. I know what he wants but I don’t know where the bloody thing is.’

  ‘We play the cards as they are laid,’ said Ben. ‘We smile and are polite and respectful and we tell the truth.’

  ‘Do you still think I’m lying about the whereabouts of the necklace?’ asked Sophia.

  Ben sat back in the plush chair facing her. ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘You don’t trust anyone, do you?’

  ‘No.’

  Sophia looked across at Ann and back to Ben. ‘Both of us owe you our lives. That means something you know.’

  Ben remained silent.

  ‘We’re not going to lie to you. We both owe you more than we can ever repay. Why do you think I agreed to this trip to the middle of the God damn South Pacific?’

  ‘I love the South Pacific,’ said Ben.

  ‘If they had more Sheraton Hotels and less things that want to bite you, so would I,’ said Sophia.

  ‘Tonga resists big international corporations,’ said Ben, ‘and I’m not sure I blame them.’

  ‘I had trouble sleeping
on Fa Fa Island,’ said Sophia, crossing her long legs. ‘Something was chewing at the side of our fale and the birds kick up such a row at the most inconvenient hour of the morning. That wouldn’t happen at a Sheraton Hotel.’

  ‘To each his own,’ said Ben. ‘This is not a damn holiday. We’re following a trail that may just lead to something extremely important.’

  ‘What if the king throws us into prison for not giving back his necklace?’ asked Sophia. ‘Their prisons could be worse than the ones in Bali and they are crap from what I’ve seen on the TV. You wouldn’t send your dog there.’

  ‘He’s not going to throw us into prison,’ said Ben.

  ‘How the hell would you know? It’s his fucking country!’

  Ben was about to answer when Vivian walked towards them from the forward compartment of the jet. ‘I’m serving snacks in a few minutes,’ she said with a heart warming smile. Can I take your order for a beverage?’

  ‘I’ll have vodka and orange juice straight up,’ said Sophia.

  ‘Same,’ said Ann. ‘Please.’

  ‘No they won’t,’ said Ben. ‘Coffee and milk for both with no sugar. I’ll have the same with one sugar.’

  Sophia uncrossed her legs and sat back with her arms folded. ‘Just one drink for God’s sake! Ann and I are up tight and we’re in a luxury jet and neither of us has to drive at the other end. Anyway, the invitation was specifically addressed to me so I can choose what I want to drink on this bloody private jet and I’m having vodka and orange juice!’

  Vivian was now looking somewhat uncomfortable. She looked at Ben.

  ‘Coffee with one sugar for me,’ he said. ‘The ladies may have what they wish.’

  ‘Are you enjoying your flight?’ asked Vivian.

  ‘No,’ said Sophia. ‘I hate planes.’

  ‘We’re having a lovely flight thank you,’ said Ben. ‘Don’t mind her. She’s a grump.’

  ‘I am not!’

  ‘Then give us a smile.’

  Sophia forced a smile that didn’t quite work. Vivian walked to the forward galley with a very genuine smile on her face.

  ‘I like to know exactly what is going to happen and when it is going to happen,’ said Sophia, staring at Ben. ‘You have taken me out of my comfort zone.’