Bluewater Target: The 15th Novel in the Caribbean Mystery and Adventure Series (Bluewater Thrillers)

by Charles Dougherty

  "Better?" she asked, putting a hand on Marie's shoulder.

  "Yes. But the main and the Yankee are still luffing."

  "Right," Dani said, moving back behind the helm. "Now that the rudder's got some purchase, I'll fall off a little. Can you ease the staysail?"

  Marie nodded and moved to the staysail sheet winch, waiting for Dani's signal.

  Dani's eyes alternated between the sails and the compass for several seconds as Vengeance fell off the wind, which had dropped into the high 20-knot range.

  "Good," she said. "Ease the staysail just a bit more and then trim the main and the Yankee."

  When she had done as Dani asked, Marie looked back at her. "Okay?"

  "Perfect," Dani said. "You're off watch. Why don't you go get dry?"

  "It stopped raining?" Marie asked, with a frown.

  Dani laughed. "It only rained for about a minute. It stopped before we got Vengeance back on her feet."

  "It seemed much longer."

  Dani laughed again. "Go get dried off, Marie."

  "But what about you? You have a full watch yet to go."

  "I'll be all right. Once you're dry, if you'll take her for a few minutes, I'll change and get another cup of coffee. I lost the one I had."

  "I'll put on the water while I change clothes," Marie said. "I'd like a cup of tea, myself."

  In a couple of minutes, Marie came back. "Your turn," she said. "The water should be hot by the time you're dressed."

  Dani went below and stripped, toweling herself dry. She put on a fresh T-shirt and a pair of shorts, taking her foul weather jacket from the hanging locker by the companionway ladder. She mounted the lowest step of the ladder and reached out, stuffing her jacket into the footwell of the cockpit.

  "Ready for the next squall?" Marie asked.

  "Yes. I'll make your tea. Do you want it up there?"

  "Please," Marie said. "I am too agitated to sleep just now."

  Dani smiled. "I'll be right up."

  She made her coffee and Marie's tea and took them both up into the cockpit. She handed Marie her tea and slid behind the helm again as Marie shifted sideways.

  "So that is a storm at sea?" Marie asked.

  "No," Dani said. "Just a little squall. We would have handled a storm differently. Or even a bigger squall."

  "How did you know it was little? To me it looked big."

  "You learn to judge the size. I could see both edges of that one, to begin with. I knew it was pretty close because I could see the change in the sea surface where the rain from the squall was flattening it out. I guessed at the speed by how quickly the size appeared to change."

  "Okay. So it is a matter of understanding the perspective, I think."

  "Yes. The more detail you can make out, the closer it is. If there's no detail and it blocks out most of the horizon, it's big. If you can see a lot of detail at the leading edge and you can see both edges, or sides, it's not too big."

  "And if it is moving fast, that means it has strong winds?" Marie asked.

  "Probably. It's not a precise science, though. Sometimes they fool you."

  "Was that one strong? Or average?"

  Dani shrugged. "There was some serious wind in it. But 30-to-50-knot winds aren't that unusual. You can get a feel for the wind strength from whether the edges are vertical or slanted. That one surprised me a bit."

  "How so?" Marie asked.

  "It was moving almost directly toward us," Dani said. "That distorted the perspective. If it had been moving across our path, I would have seen that the edges were slanted at a steep angle, most likely."

  "Because of the strength of the wind in the squall?" Marie asked.

  "Yes. That's right. You're getting it."

  "And why did you not reduce sail?"

  "The size, mostly. I knew it wouldn't last long. And it would have hit us while we were reefing, anyway. So I just opted to cast off the sheets to ease the pressure. Once we go rail down like we did, she's spilling most of the wind; Vengeance takes good care of herself most of the time."

  "Then if it had been bigger, you would have reduced sail?"

  "Yes. Even if it hit us while we were reducing sail, if it had been big enough to sustain that much wind for more than a few minutes, I would have still reefed. As it was, I could see that by the time we reduced sail, it would be over. So we just eased the sheets."

  "I see. Thank you for explaining. Next time, I will not be so nervous. I have more of an idea what to expect, now."

  "I'm sure of it. It's like anything else; once you're dealing with the situation, you forget about the fear. But the first time you experience anything that violent, it can be alarming."

  "Yes. I think I will sleep now. Do you need anything?"

  "No, thanks. I'll be fine. Sleep well. See you in a few hours."

  "What happened to our trade winds?" Marie asked. She had just come on watch. "We had a whole day of good sailing after those squalls two days ago. Now we are having to beat to the west?"

  "Yes," Liz said. "The low is settling in over the northern Bahamas. They're having a tough time up there. Glad we came this way."

  Vengeance was close-hauled on the port tack, the north coast of Cuba in view a few miles to the south.

  Marie slid in behind the helm, sitting next to Liz. She studied the instruments for a few seconds. "We have slowed down, Liz. We have an opposing current?"

  "Yes. Two or three knots, sometimes. A lot of it's because of the northwest wind."

  "I didn't look at the last plot. Where are we?"

  "Maybe ten miles southeast of Cayo Lobos. We're entering the Old Bahama Channel proper, but it's slow going."

  "The wind is strong against us," Marie said.

  "Gusting over thirty," Liz said. "It should clock during the evening. There will be some offshore breeze from Cuba later as it cools down ashore."

  "You and Dani reefed the main?"

  "Yes. Not long after you went off watch. We didn't give up much speed through the water, and we thought it would be best to do it early. They were forecasting that the low would come farther south, but it seems to have stalled in the last few hours."

  "This is good?" Marie asked. "That it is stalled?"

  "For us, yes. Not for the people in the Bahamas."

  "We are only making two or three knots over the ground since I came up," Marie said, looking at the instrument cluster again. "It will be a long hundred miles, yes?"

  "Yes," Liz said. "But if we get the offshore breeze later, the port tack will be favored. That will mean we can spend more time close to the Cuban coast. There's a bit of a counter-current there, which will help, too."

  "This slows us down on our schedule. Perhaps more than you and Dani thought, yes?"

  "Maybe. A lot depends on what happens once we round the corner at the Cay Sal Bank into the Santaren Channel. And we'll make up some time in the Gulf Stream. You've never said where you want to go once we hit the Chesapeake."

  "I have not decided. The target's estate is about 30 miles southwest of Washington, but I think I will not choose to attack him there. I have not ruled it out, but I would prefer to lure him away from there."

  "Do you have any ideas on how you'll do that?"

  "How she'll do what?" Dani asked, climbing into the cockpit.

  "Lure Delaney away from his lair," Liz said. "Guess it must be time for me to cook dinner, since we're all awake."

  "I have been reviewing my notes from the interrogation of the Montalbas," Marie said. "I think money is the bait I should use. After what we heard from Connie, I think Delaney is asking about cartels as a source of cash. He wishes to offer his money-laundering skill to the people trying to pick up Montalba's business."

  "Makes sense," Dani said. "Have you thought about where you want to base Vengeance?"

  "Liz just asked me the same thing. I don't know yet. I have been studying the maps of the area. The closest we could get to his estate is probably Washington, but I haven't looked yet to see if the
Potomac would work."

  "There's a nice marina complex called National Harbor," Liz said. "It's on the Potomac just a few miles south of the city."

  "That would put Marie close, all right, and there are a lot of ground transportation options from that area," Dani said. "The downside is that we'd be trapped on the Potomac. It's a hundred miles down the river to the Bay. The mouth of the Potomac's a couple of hours from D.C. by car. I don't know what you have in mind, but that would limit our freedom of movement."

  "Yes, I can see that," Marie said. "Perhaps it would be all right for reconnaissance, but I think I would prefer that we were closer to open water before taking any action."

  "You said you were reviewing the notes from your interrogation of the Montalbas," Dani said.

  "Yes. That is where I got this idea of using money as bait to lure the target into an ambush. Montalba heard Connie was the boss of a rival cartel. He had SpecCorp spying on her. That was when they stole Vengeance."

  "We know about that," Dani said, grimacing. "He thought we were working with her. That was why he wired Vengeance, right?"

  "Yes," Marie said. "But that was before he knew who you were."

  "Who we were?" Liz asked. "You just said he thought we were in league with Connie."

  "Yes. He did think that. But then Delaney told him who Dani was, specifically."

  "I don't follow you," Dani said.

  "Delaney found out you are J.-P.'s daughter. That didn't mean anything to Montalba until Delaney told him about J.-P."

  "Well, it makes sense that a guy like Delaney would know who J.-P. was," Dani said. "Why did that matter to Montalba, though?"

  Marie laughed. "He and Delaney, and that senator, they put the pieces together. They were having trouble accepting that a woman could run a cartel, but they had no other explanation until J.-P.'s name came up."

  "You're saying they thought Papa was running this imaginary cartel?" Dani asked.

  "Yes," Marie said. "Not only that, but they concluded that there was a connection to the Unione Corse because J.-P. is French. Montalba thought J.-P. might help him move drugs into the E.U."

  "Papa would never get involved with running drugs," Dani said.

  "They must have realized they were mistaken when Connie set them up and they got arrested," Liz said.

  "That is what I thought, too," Marie said. "Not Montalba, though, because he had heard that this was Connie's standard ploy. J.-P. used her to do this, Montalba said. She had set up several large-scale operators for arrest, always making them think she was in the same business they were. Montalba was sure that this was a strategic ploy that Connie was using to eliminate J.-P.'s competitors."

  "Which is exactly the story that Connie told some of them, isn't it?" Dani said.

  "Is this true?" Marie asked. "That she told them this, I mean."

  "Yes," Liz said. "She stumbled onto that idea the second time she tangled with that Alfano guy that we told you about. He was so sure she was part of some west-coast mob that she used his misconception against him in their second encounter."

  "And the part about J.-P.?" Marie asked. "Did she use that, as well?"

  "No," Dani said. "That must be all Montalba's own theory, but it fits well enough. It's an enhancement, in a sense. It plays to the whole macho bias all those jerks have; it would encourage them to underestimate her. Of course there had to be a man behind her; a woman couldn't possibly run a cartel. Assholes."

  Marie laughed. "Does J.-P. know about this?"

  "You mean about Montalba's notion that J.-P. is running a cartel?" Dani asked.

  "Yes, that. Does he know?"

  "Not unless it got back to him through you or Clarence." Dani frowned. "Why?"

  "I have an idea," Marie said. "Delaney told Montalba that your father was the biggest arms merchant in the world."

  "He may be," Dani said. "I wouldn't know. He never wanted me involved in that."

  Marie raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

  "Really."

  "But what about all the times in Central America when you were working with Phillip and Sharktooth?"

  "He didn't know; I was sneaky when I was a teenager."

  "When you were a teenager?" Liz said, shaking her head. "You're still sneaky."

  Marie laughed. "Does he still not know? After all the things you've done in the last few years, he must suspect."

  "Possibly, but don't tell him. He'd just be upset, and I survived it all. Besides, that was all boots-on-the-ground stuff. I didn't know who we were working for, even, let alone the financial aspects."

  "Oh, I will not tell him about your childhood adventures. It is just amusing. Your father is no fool, Dani. I think he must have guessed. He knows how well you can handle yourself in tough situations. I have heard him tell people about some of the things you've done."

  "Oh, sure. He knows that stuff. I've sailed with him all my life. Some of my earliest memories are of cleaning out waterfront bars with him. I could swing a mean barstool by the time I was ten. That's not why he didn't want me in the business."

  "Why, then?"

  "The world is a different place than it was when he built the business. The arms trade and the market for private armies is becoming more and more fragmented. He thinks the arms business has no future. It's being ruined by zealots, in his view."

  "Yes, I think maybe he is right."

  "What does all this have to do with your mission?" Liz asked.

  "Thank you, Liz. I was distracted by Dani's comment about J.-P. keeping her out of the business. I am thinking that maybe I will use J.-P. to draw Delaney into my trap."

  "You mean lead him to think Papa is behind this cartel that Delaney thinks Connie's involved with?" Dani asked.

  "Yes, perhaps. He already may think this, and he knows J.-P. has plenty of money."

  "How would you work a scam like that?" Liz said. "It's worthy of Connie herself."

  Dani and Marie laughed at that.

  "I am still thinking about that," Marie said.

  "I should go below and get dinner started," Liz said.

  "I will come help," Marie said. "I am going to learn all your secrets. When I retire, I will open a small restaurant, perhaps."

  "Are you planning to retire?" Dani asked, eyes wide.

  "No, but it is best to have options, yes? A 'Plan B,' like they call it."

  Marie followed Liz below, leaving Dani behind the helm shaking her head.

  9

  Delaney was occupied with his thoughts when the phone on his desk rang. He glanced at the caller ID display and took in the South Florida area code. Curious, but annoyed by the interruption, he snatched the handset from its cradle and barked, "Yeah?"

  "To whom am I speaking?" the caller asked. The voice was male, deep and smooth.

  "You placed the call, asshole. Who were you trying to reach?"

  "I wish to speak with Clayton Delaney, please." The caller's enunciation was clear, the tone calm. "Is he available?"

  "Depends," Delaney said. "Who the hell wants to know?"

  "My name wouldn't mean anything to Mr. Delaney, but I have a message for him from someone he knows well."

  "Give me the message, then. I'll see if I can get it to Mr. Delaney."

  "I'm sorry, sir, but I'm under orders from my client to deliver it to Mr. Delaney in person."

  "From your client, huh?"

  "Yes, sir. That's correct."

  "Who is your client?"

  "I'm not at liberty to disclose anything further except in a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Delaney."

  "I'll see if I can find him and have him call you back. Give me your number."

  "Let Mr. Delaney know this could be a matter of life or death — his own. Do you understand?"

  "Yeah. Give me your phone number."

  "If I don't hear from him within the hour, tell him he missed his chance."

  "Give me the number."

  "It's on your caller ID." The caller disconnected.

  Delaney
jotted the number down and made an internal call.

  "Yes, Mr. Delaney?" the man in charge of his security detail answered.

  "Find out everything you can about this phone number and get back to me ASAP."

  In five minutes, Delaney's phone rang.

  "Delaney," he answered.

  "Mr. Delaney, the number you asked about — it's a prepaid cellphone, if that helps. I wanted to let you know that much right away. I've started the inquiry process to find out where it was purchased, but that will take time. We won't have anything for at least a day, maybe two."

  "Okay. Thanks. Let me know."

  "Yes, sir. Anything else?"

  "No, thanks."

  Delaney scrolled to the number on his caller ID and hit the return call key.

  "Yes, Mr. Delaney," the same deep, smooth voice answered. "Thank you for returning my call."

  "The message said you wanted to meet with me. Where are you?"

  "In a rental car on the shoulder of the road, about a quarter of a mile from your gate."

  "Pull up to the gate and wait. I'll have somebody meet you and bring you to me. You'll need to hand over the phone you're talking on. They will search you, check you for weapons and electronics. If you've got any of that shit, get rid of it before you get here, or this may be your last stop ever, you understand?"

  "Yes. You won't regret this." There was a click as the man disconnected.

  Delaney called his security supervisor and made the arrangements.

  "Any special instructions?" the man asked.

  "I'll meet him on the front lawn. We'll talk while we walk. If I give the signal, tell your sniper to take him out. Oh, and take the prepaid phone away from him. Don't give it back. And when he leaves, I want him followed. Find out everything there is to know about this asshole."

  "Got it. I see the car pulling into the driveway now. We can have him with you in two or three minutes, unless you want to make him wait."

  "Just bring him straight to me." Delaney hung up and went downstairs to his front door.

  By the time he let himself out and closed the door, two men in black uniforms were frog-marching a large man in a business suit across the front lawn. They stopped a few feet in front of Delaney.