South Pacific Affair

by Drew Lindsay

  ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘I’m going for a dive,’ said Ben.

  ‘Don’t even think about going into that black hole,’ said the Tongan man.

  ‘I wouldn’t think of it,’ said Ben.

  ‘When will you bring the stuff back?’

  ‘Well you’re not open Sunday so it will have to be Monday.’

  ‘I open Sunday afternoon if there’s money in it. I don’t advertise that fact. Working on Sunday is frowned upon by the king and the government.’

  ‘Monday then unless I see your door open on Sunday afternoon,’ said Ben.

  ‘Do you want a depth gauge?’

  ‘Yep,’ said Ben. ‘I also need the largest tank you have.’

  ‘I’ve got a 15 litre Faber with a buoyancy control harness.’

  ‘What’s that in cubic feet?’ asked Ben.

  ‘125 cubic feet.’

  ‘Fill pressure?’

  ‘232 BAR,’ said the Tongan.

  Ben had always worked with PSI, but he knew he could work the calculations fairly quickly. ‘You could get bent on something that size.’

  ‘Then you’ll need a dive computer.’

  ‘No I won’t. What do I owe you?’

  ‘You look like police. Are you working with the police on something?’

  ‘Inspector Paul Lolohea and I are acquainted.’

  ‘I knew it! He made me lose two customers with all his damn questions about that Hunter guy.’

  ‘He obviously felt it was important,’ said Ben.

  ‘One hundred and fifty Tongan dollars. I won’t tell anyone you came here.’

  ‘I’m not on a secret mission,’ said Ben.

  ‘It’s still a hundred and fifty dollars.’

  Ben put the money on the counter. ‘Perhaps you could help me put the gear in the boot of my car.’

  The big Tongan man got to his feet and smiled. ‘Let’s get you fitted for a wetsuit and I’ll carry it to the car. You can carry the heavy stuff. You’re fit enough.’

  ‘You’re all heart,’ said Ben. ‘Did you learn that in church?’

  ‘We learn to help those who are weaker than us.’ The Tongan man looked at Ben for a moment. ‘I believe that you are a damn sight stronger than me if the truth be known.’ He picked up Ben’s PADI certification card from the desk and handed it back to him. ‘It’s going to be cold in that black hole Mr. Hood. Let’s get you fitted right.’

  ‘Who said I’m going diving in the underground pool?’

  ‘Just a guess. You had better know what you’re doing.’

  ‘I know what I’m doing,’ said Ben.

  “****”

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  Ben parked in front of a supermarket and went inside. Some of the shelves were empty. This wasn’t uncommon in Nuku’Alofa as supplies for the tiny supermarkets and even smaller village stores were brought to the island, in the main by boat from New Zealand and other international locations. Vegetables were always available in plenty from the main market but Ben wasn’t after vegetables. He walked to the hardware section and picked up two large balls of thick string. Each claimed on the packaging to be 100 metres in length. He walked to the checkout.

  Outside in the hire car he phoned Loa. ‘I didn’t think you would call,’ she said.

  ‘I need your help,’ said Ben.

  She was silent for a moment. ‘I am the one who needed your help. You don’t need mine.’

  ‘Do you know of the Anahulu cave?’

  She hesitated. ‘Why do you ask?’

  ‘Do you know it?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said.

  ‘I need you to take me there.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘When you finish work,’ said Ben.

  Once again she remained silent.

  ‘Can you take me there Loa?’ asked Ben.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I think Joseph hid the necklace in the deep freshwater pool in the cave. That’s why you felt he had showered in fresh water when he came to your hotel on that last night.’

  ‘I have to go home to my parents,’ said Loa.

  ‘You already asked me to spend time with you when you finished work,’ said Ben. ‘I want you to take me to the Anahula cave.’

  ‘You don’t know what you are asking. It’s going to be dark soon.’

  ‘I’m equipped for the dark,’ said Ben. ‘Don’t you want to help me?’

  ‘Spirits of the dead are there.’

  ‘In the cave?’

  ‘Perhaps in the cave. There is a huge cemetery at the entrance to the cave, near the beach.’

  ‘Are you listening to yourself Loa?’ asked Ben. ‘You’re not making sense. There are no spirits of the dead who will interfere with what I’m doing.’

  ‘Alright.’ Her voice sounded defeated. ‘Pick me up outside the chemist shop in half an hour.’

  The setting sun streamed golden rays from a huge bank of puffy white clouds as they drove to the Eastern side of Tongatapu. Toa had changed into tight fitting blue jeans, a white t shirt and black leather boots. Her long hair tumbled over her shoulders in thick black curls. She was behind the wheel of the car, at Ben’s suggestion.

  ‘There is a deep freshwater pool in the cave,’ said Ben.

  ‘Yes,’ said Loa. ‘Some people believe it has magic powers.’

  ‘Did you ever tell Joseph Hunter about the pool?’

  ‘Once…when we first met.’

  ‘Did you ever visit the pool together?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Loa. ‘I took him to the pool and also to the blowholes not far away.’

  The road had become quite narrow and potholed. Loa slowed the speed of the car and carefully avoided the larger of the holes. The dense jungle grew right to the side of the road on both sides with the occasional cleared paddock filled with taro growing in various stages. Loa turned on the headlights as a few of the local people were walking along the road. They drove through a tiny village and onto a deserted stretch of roadway through the jungle. Ten minutes later Loa turned right onto a dirt track which terminated about a kilometre in. It was now quite dark although the sky in the west was still glowing in the aftermath of the setting sun. She turned off the engine. They were surrounded by jungle on all sides but Ben could hear the ocean pounding in the distance. There was a rough hand painted sign to their right which welcomed them to Anahulu Cave and spelt out the various costs for parking and guided tours. The place was deserted.

  ‘Do you think he came here to hide the necklace?’ asked Loa as she turned off the headlights.

  ‘He was SCUBA diving in fresh water just before he turned up for his last night with you,’ said Ben. ‘This sounds like a good hiding place to me.’

  ‘The pool is very deep. No one dives down there. People occasionally swim in the pool.’

  ‘I need you to hold a string line so that I won’t get lost down there. Can you do that?’

  ‘Perhaps we should just go back. I’m afraid of the caves at night.’

  Ben laughed. ‘What’s the difference? It’s always dark in the caves.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Loa. ‘I suppose it is.’

  Ben glanced at the silhouette of her face in the dim light. She turned to face him. He noticed the troubled look on her face. ‘You’ve got me this far,’ he said. ‘I’ve got to try.’

  Loa nodded. ‘Alright.’ She reached out and touched the side of his face. ‘Please forgive me.’

  ‘What’s to forgive?’ asked Ben.

  ‘My fear.’

  Ben slipped into the wet suit, buckled on the heavy aqualung tank and BCD and lastly the weight belt. He handed Loa the three balls of heavy string and a tiny but powerful key ring LED torch. ‘You can lead the way with the small torch,’ he said. ‘I’ll need to save the underwater torch for inside the pool.’

  The wire fence had long since fallen down. Loa stepped over a jumble of tangled and rusting wire. Ben picked up his fins and mask and followed her along a track through a field of grass. He s
topped where the branch of a tree had fallen beside the path and snapped off a small piece of the dead branch. The ocean roar became louder. Ben could now make out the elevated shapes of graves carved from huge blocks of coral to his left. The ocean waves rolled in against pure white sand beyond the graves. Loa turned right and Ben followed her down a concrete path into a gaping hole in the rocks and mountain to their right. The concrete path led down into a maze of stalagmites and stalactites. Small black shapes darted about making loud clicking noises.

  ‘Bats?’ asked Ben.

  ‘Birds,’ said Loa.

  The path through the cave descended deeper and the roof was so high that the bright torchlight didn’t reach the top. There was a rope handrail in sections of the concrete path which took them up over limestone ridges and down concrete steps leading deeper into the cave. Ben felt the strain on his legs as he negotiated the path in heavy diving gear.

  The concrete path stopped abruptly and a huge crystal clear underground lake lay before them. The ocean sound was now almost gone and replaced by the constant dripping of water. Limestone laden fresh water was dripping from thousands of stalactites in the huge lofty cavern above. Many of these beautiful structures had been slowly evolving for perhaps thousands of years. Immediately below the drips of limestone water were the stalagmites reaching upwards. They gleamed in the bright LED beam as if smothered with diamonds.

  Ben tied the end of one of the balls of twine to his weight belt. He pushed the stick through the centre of the ball and handed it to Loa. He looked back into the deep dark pool. ‘I’ll be moving slowly around the walls as I descend,’ he said. ‘Just let the string unwind. When you get near the end of this ball, pull on the string twice. It’s quite long so let’s hope I find what I’m looking for before it runs out.’

  Loa nodded.

  ‘If I have to move deeper and need more string, tie the end to the other ball. When you have attached the second ball of string, pull on it twice again.’

  ‘I understand,’ said Loa. ‘How long will this little torch last?’

  ‘I’ve set it to three quarter power and that should keep it going for over two hours. Just leave it on. I don’t have enough air to stay down for even one hour depending on how deep this cave goes.’

  Ben sat on the end of the concrete path, pulled on his fins and fitted his mask. He unclipped his underwater torch and turned it on. Brilliant white light flooded the pool down to a boulder strewn bottom probably 8 metres beneath him.

  ‘May God protect you,’ said Loa.’

  Ben pushed himself off the concrete path and sank into the depths.

  Loa allowed the string to unwind as she walked backwards carefully along the concrete path towards the entrance to the cave.

  “****”

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  The wall of the underwater cave was solid limestone. Ben sank down to around the five metre mark and adjusted his buoyancy vest to keep him suspended in water so clear that it seemed as if he was floating in outer space. He moved around the edge of the pool and eventually made it across to the side opposite the concrete path. Then he moved lower, searching the walls for a cave or crevice…searching for a place where something small could be hidden and secure. He glanced at his watch and air gauge. He was only 15 minutes into the dive. He slowed his breathing to conserve air. The string line became tight. Ben waited until it became loose again and he moved deeper, searching the walls. He reached the floor of the main pool and checked the depth gauge. He was eight metres down. The lava tube hole gaped before him underneath the limestone rock face he had just descended. He shone his torch into it. Long dead stalagmites and stalactites filled each side of the main passageway. He moved down into the huge hole slowly. The string line played out behind him. Ben found himself thinking about Claudia and the way she moved on him and underneath him. He pushed the memory away. He had something more important to concentrate on. Then again perhaps not.

  He would have missed it other than for the fact that a thin strip of what appeared to be leather was wrapped tightly around one of the grey stalagmites which rose about a metre from the floor of the cave. Ben moved cautiously into the labyrinth of stalagmites. He reached the one with the strap wrapped around its base. He held the torch in front of him and peered around the stalagmite. A small leather bag dangled off the strap.

  Ben maintained slow breathing although his heart was racing. The bag had a flap which was buckled with a leather strap against two brass rings. He untied the strap, lifted up the flap and shone the torch into the bag. The necklace lay coiled up in the bottom of the bag. Ben touched it gently with his free hand, just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. It was solid and very real. This object was the cause of so much death and pain. This object was the cause of so much pride and prestige.

  He looped the leather strap back through the brass rings and untied the bag from the stalagmite. A glance at his watch told him that he had been underwater for almost 45 minutes with a maximum depth not exceeding 40 metres. He hadn’t felt Loa pull on the line again and it went slack as he began to swim out of the lava tube towards the main pool. He made a very slow ascent. The leather bag was tucked firmly under his right arm. Emotion gave way to elation. He had found the prize that had eluded so many. Perhaps the spirits of the cave had lent a hand. Joseph Hunter and those responsible for the theft of the necklace and the precious royal crown diamond had been defeated.

  Ben saw the small torchlight flickering above as he swam to the surface. He could see the outline of Loa’s body standing on the edge of the concrete step.

  He turned his torch power to half and laid it on the top of the step. He put the leather bag next to the torch. His mask and flippers came off and were tossed at Loa’s feet. Her face was hidden in shadows. ‘I believe we are now in the possession of a very valuable necklace,’ he said.

  Loa stepped back a couple of paces.

  ‘How enterprising of you Mr. Hood.’ The voice was deep, masculine and up to Ben’s right amongst the limestone formations. He recognised it immediately.

  Ben looked at Loa. She stopped rolling up the ball of string and dropped it onto the cavern floor. Ben heard the click of a revolver hammer being cocked.

  ‘You can drop back into the water if you like. Either way, you’re dead,’ said Sergeant James Amasio.

  Ben looked up at Loa again. Her face remained expressionless.

  ‘She had no choice,’ said Amasio as he moved slowly down some rough hewn stairs cut in the limestone to Ben’s right. ‘If you ever discovered the necklace and it wasn’t returned to me, her parents would have been killed. She thought I sent the other idiot to kill her parents. The pretty girl lives in a world of fear. How pathetic. She had no choice but to call me when you were onto something.’

  ‘It’s okay Loa,’ said Ben.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered. ‘Please forgive me.’

  Ben was now searching desperately for a way to survive. The odds weren’t good. The odds were dreadful.

  ‘How about you swim back into the middle of the pool,’ said Amasio. ‘I’d like to have a look at my prize and I don’t want you anywhere near me while I do that.’

  Ben’s mind was racing. He could dive for the bottom of the pool but Amasio would be waiting for him when he ran out of air. He couldn’t get out of the pool to attack Amasio bearing the weight of diving equipment and he had no weapon.

  ‘For your information Mr. Hood, it’s a 38 Smith and Wesson with 110 grain load hollow points. I only need one shot.’

  ‘I suppose you intend to kill us both?’ asked Ben.

  ‘Her usefulness is finished.’

  ‘Quite a few people know where we are,’ said Ben.

  ‘No they don’t’ said Amasio. As he spoke, he realised that a tiny red laser beam had focused on his chest. Another focused slightly underneath the first. Ben saw it. His heart raced.

  Amasio moved his revolver in the direction he felt was the origin of the laser beams. Two deafening gunshots ra
ng out. Amasio’s revolver fired and the bullet smashed into the limestone ceiling way above. Blood spurted from his chest as he tumbled down the wet rock face and into the blackness of the pool.

  Two huge men moved into the torchlight with rifles in their hands. Detective Inspector Paul Lolohea stepped between them. He glanced at Loa and walked past her to where Ben was holding onto the edge of the concrete step. He extended a hand and pulled Ben out onto the step. ‘You totally ruined a damn good date you know.’

  ‘You picked her up from the island hours ago.’

  ‘I work slowly. It’s traditional.’

  ‘How did you know where to find me?’ asked Ben.

  Paul Lolohea turned back to face Loa. ‘You’ll have to ask her that.’

  Ben picked up the leather bag and handed it to Lolohea. ‘I hear that when there is a celebration of any kind in Tonga, they kill pigs and cook them with spices in an underground oven.’

  Lolohea unclipped the leather flap and pulled out the necklace. He sat down beside Ben on the wet concrete path. ‘How many pigs do you want?’

  ‘Do you have lamb? I put on weight with pork.’

  The recently furbished Central Police Station in Nuku’Alofa reeked of paint. Its exterior walls had been faded yellow many years ago. Now it was bright yellow and the painters hadn’t finished. Ben sat alone in an interview room which hadn’t been painted in a very long time. The door opened and someone approached him from behind. He was too tired to turn and look.

  ‘You buggered up my date.’ Ann walked around the desk and sat opposite him. ‘First decent man I’ve had in ages and you go and screw it up.’

  ‘He picked you up in a police launch,’ said Ben.

  ‘We had barely made it back to the mainland and he gets a phone call and dumps me in this crappy joint.’

  ‘We’ll be out of here soon,’ said Ben.

  ‘I need to be laid if you know what I mean.’

  Ben started to laugh.