Death as a Fine Art

by Gwendolyn Southin

  Maggie, missing the last two steps, crashed into the table that was fixed to the floor. Regaining her feet, she sat down on the long bunk and nodded to Jenny to sit beside her. If only I could get this damned tape off.

  Alice had left the door to the cabin slightly open. “How far to this place?” they heard her ask.

  “Not far. It’s in a small cove and well hidden.”

  “Good.” They heard her laugh. “The stupid bastards will think we’ve left Galiano. And you’re sure he has a telephone?”

  “Yes. Here’s the entrance.” He cut the engine speed to a slow crawl. “Keep your eye out for hidden rocks.”

  “You’re sure he’s away?”

  “He only comes over on Fridays and leaves first thing Sunday mornings. Look out!” he yelled as the boat scraped against something solid. “I told you to watch for rocks!”

  “Don’t boss me around, Sheldon.”

  “Sorry.” A few seconds later and the boat bumped against a wooden dock. “You stay put while I make sure he’s gone.”

  “You’re bossing me again, Sheldon! Tie this thing up securely before you go.”

  The boat tipped as Sheldon jumped off onto the dock. Maggie was so intent on listening to the conversation going on above that the sudden tug on her wrist bindings made her jump. To her astonishment Jenny had somehow freed herself and torn the duct tape off her mouth.

  “He doesn’t do good Girl Guide knots,” the girl whispered and she began working at the rope binding Maggie’s wrists.

  Maggie felt rising panic as she divided her attention between trying to hear what was going on above them and willing Jenny to hurry up and untie her before Alice turned her attention back to her prisoners.

  “They’re tighter than mine,” Jenny whispered.

  “Take the tape off my mouth,” Maggie tried to mumble, but Jenny was too engrossed in trying to undo the rope to understand what she was trying to say.

  “How far is this damned house?” Alice yelled.

  Maggie couldn’t make out Sheldon’s answer, and she realized that he was already on his way to “the damned house.”

  “Be quick about it. I’ll just take a peek at our guests to make sure they’re comfortable.”

  Maggie moved her tied hands to get Jenny’s attention.

  “What . . . ?”

  Maggie nodded her head toward the steps and then to the discarded tape.

  “The tape!” Jenny grabbed it and tried to stick it back on her mouth.

  Then Maggie nodded her head to the pile of rope hoping that the child would understand.

  “The rope!” Jenny picked it up and had just pushed it behind one of the back cushions and placed her own hands behind her back when Alice wrenched the door open to peer down at them.

  Too late, Maggie realized that the tape covering the child’s mouth was obviously becoming unstuck. Perhaps Alice won’t notice.

  “You’ve been chewing on that tape,” Alice growled at Jenny. “Cut it out or I’ll put a bigger and much tighter piece across your face.”

  “Alice!” Sheldon’s voice came from far away.

  “Don’t go away,” Alice ordered, and she disappeared from sight.

  “The coast’s clear.” Sheldon’s voice sounded closer to the dock now.

  Alice’s face appeared again above the cabin staircase. “I’ve got to make an urgent phone call to your mother, little girl. Let’s hope she thinks you’re worth $25,000. As for you, Mrs. Spencer,” she laughed scornfully, “I don’t think your boyfriend can lay his hands on $75 let alone $25,000. But perhaps Doctor Sloan will chip in some extra for you. I’ll be back to let you know the verdict.”

  Jenny pressed closer to Maggie but remained silent until they felt the boat rock again, indicating that the woman had gone ashore. “What are we going to do?” she whispered.

  Maggie could feel the little girl shaking with fear. “I’m thinking,” she mumbled through her taped mouth.

  “Sorry, I forgot the tape.” Reaching over, Jenny picked at the edge of the tape then gave it a yank. “Sorry,” she said again when Maggie stifled a yelp of pain. “My mother always says it’s better to do it quickly.”

  “Never mind. Just undo the rope!”

  From outside they suddenly heard Alice shrieking in anger, “What are you following me for? I told you to stay on the dock and keep your eyes peeled in case that detective manages to find a boat and come looking for his girlfriend!”

  “I was just coming up to show you where the telephone is,” Sheldon whined.

  “I’m not stupid! I can recognize a telephone when I see one! I’ll be back as soon as I’ve phoned that woman. I’m going to put the fear of God in her.”

  • • •

  “I’VE DONE IT!” Jenny whispered.

  Maggie felt the ropes drop away. Thank God for one very bright little girl! She rose quickly from the bench and, after giving the child a hug, risked a peek out of the small side window of the launch.

  Alice had negotiated the ramp leading from the dock and was now teetering on her high heels up a path strewn with crushed oyster shells. Maggie flexed her wrists and hands to bring life back into them before she climbed the three steps to the cabin door. When she carefully cracked the door open, she could see Sheldon leaning on the rail on the other side of the dock, peering despondently down into the glassy, calm depths.

  Maggie backed down into the cabin. “Somehow, we’ve got to untie the mooring lines on the dock.” She moved forward and peeked out at the bow. “No, it’s all right. We can do this.” What she saw was a rope that had been pulled through a metal ring to form a loop that had then been slipped over a cleat on the bow. And on this windless afternoon the line leading from the bow hung slackly to another cleat on the dock.

  Maggie beckoned Jenny to come forward. “See. All you need to do is loosen that loop of rope and slip it off the cleat.”

  “He’ll see me,” Jenny replied fearfully.

  • • •

  CADBURY REACHED THE top of the track first and waited impatiently for Nat, the dog, and George to catch up.

  “Come on, you two. I’ve got to get on to the Coast Guard before that boat disappears onto one of the other islands. There’s a thousand places where they can hide. Give me your car keys, Nat. I’ll have it turned around and ready to go by the time you get there.”

  “Nice to be young, gung-ho, and fit,” Nat gasped as he and George ran down the hill to where the Chevy was waiting. They piled in, and Nat cringed as Cadbury mangled the gears.

  The general store was open. Cadbury threw himself out of the vehicle and rushed inside. Nat and George were just in time to hear his one-sided exchange as he alerted the Coast Guard on Vancouver Island to the kidnapping.

  “Vancouver Island!” Nat gasped. “It will take ages for them to get here, and that boat could be holed up anywhere by then. We’ll never be able to find them.”

  “They can’t have gone that far,” George said hopefully.

  Nat hoped George was right, but when he thought of the time that had elapsed and of all the hidden bays, coves, and inlets around the Gulf Islands, he knew that even if they were close by, they could stay hidden forever. “We can’t wait for the Coast Guard to get here,” he burst out. “We need a boat.” He turned to the startled storeowner. “Where can we find a boat?”

  “What’s going on? Who are you people?”

  “Police officers.” He didn’t bother to explain that he was ex-police. “A woman and child have been kidnapped and we need a boat—urgently.”

  “I’ve got one. But I’ll have to come with you as she’s a bit temperamental.”

  “That’s great.” As the storekeeper headed into the back to grab a coat and the keys to his boat, Nat rushed over to Cadbury, who was in the act of replacing the telephone receiver. “We’ve got a boat. Come on.”

  “I think we should wait for the Coast Guard.” Cadbury grabbed Nat’s arm. “We shouldn’t take things into our own hands.”

&nb
sp; “That’s okay, if you want to stay behind,” Nat answered curtly. “But I’m not waiting.”

  “Now you wait a second and listen to me,” Cadbury insisted. “Alice Standish has just called the girl’s mother and demanded a ransom of $25,000 for her safe return.”

  “Where would Doctor Sloan get that kind of money?”

  “Standish claims her husband gave it to the doctor and it’s rightfully hers. She’s given her twelve hours to come up with it.”

  “What about Maggie?”

  “She’s being held hostage, too.”

  “That settles it. That means they’re not far away and we need to be out on the water searching for that cruiser.”

  “The telephone company is trying to get a fix on the call.”

  “I’m not waiting. You coming, George?”

  “Yes. Anything’s better than waiting around here.”

  “Okay, we’ll give it a try.” Cadbury turned to the owner of the store. “Mr. . . . ?”

  “Charlie Wilkes. Follow me.”

  Nat rushed back to the car and collected the dog. Oh, Maggie. Why didn’t I insist we stay together? “Don’t worry, Oscar, we’ll find her. I promise.”

  • • •

  “YOU JUST HAVE to slip the loop on the end of that rope over that little cleat on the bow,” Maggie whispered as she slid the window open on the far side of the cabin. She was about to boost the child up so that she could climb through the window when she glanced back toward the dock. “No, wait!” She grabbed the child’s arm and together they ducked down below window height. Sheldon had turned to lean back on the rail while he fished for a cigarette and matches from his jacket pocket. She raised her head and watched him light up before he turned back to flick the match into the water. “Okay! Go . . . and don’t make a sound!” She could feel Jenny trembling with fear as she boosted her through the window, and she watched her crawl forward on hands and knees along the narrow strip between the cabin and the gunwale.

  Jenny had reached the bow and had her hands on the rope when there was a cry from the path leading down to the dock.

  “Stop them! Sheldon, you stupid idiot! Stop them!” Alice, hampered by her high heels, was running down the crushed oyster shell path.

  “Flip it off, Jenny! Quick! Flip it over the cleat!”

  Then suddenly the bow was free and swinging outward, and Jenny was slithering backward across the bow toward the safety of the cabin. But the boat was still tethered by the stern and it was Maggie’s job to deal with that line. She had just exited the cabin and was reaching for the stern line when there was a fresh outcry from Alice.

  “Help me, you stupid idiot! Help me!” The heel of her boot had caught in the slats at the top of the ramp, and she had gone sprawling headlong down it.

  Sheldon didn’t know which way to go. For a moment he dithered, and then, unwilling to risk Alice’s further fury, he rushed to help her up.

  It took Maggie only a few seconds to leap from the boat, unwind the stern line from the cleat on the dock, and give the boat a mighty push as she leapt back on board.

  “Get them, you fool! Don’t let them get away!”

  Sheldon was in a quandary. Should he leave Alice struggling to get to her feet or rescue his boat?

  “Go after them, you fool!”

  Sheldon ran back down the ramp and onto the dock and made a flying leap, but Maggie, oar in hand, was ready for him and she joyfully hit him in midriff.

  “Oo-o-o-f-f!” There was a huge splash as he landed in the water.

  “Come back or I’ll shoot!”

  Maggie, knowing that Alice meant what she said, dashed up the stairs to the controls. The keys were still in the ignition. “I’m sure driving a boat can’t be any harder than driving a car,” she muttered to herself. She turned on the ignition and looked for the gearshift. She gave it an experimental push and instantly realized her mistake. They were going backward. “Oh my God!” Quickly she pushed it the other way and they surged rapidly ahead. “Jenny,” she yelled, “get down into the cabin.” Another shot rang out. “That’s close!” But at least she was getting the hang of the steering. It was a bit wobbly, which in the long run, spoiled Alice’s aim. “I just hope to God I miss those rocks,” she muttered.

  • • •

  “IS THAT IT?” Cadbury looked in disbelief at the old wooden boat. “Does it leak?”

  “Not much. And there’s a bucket.”

  “Oh, for chrissake, let’s get going.” Nat picked Oscar up in his arms. “Where do you want us to sit?” he asked, looking dubiously at the meagre seating. Apart from a bench seat in the prow, there were only two small seats on either side facing the stern.

  Charlie looked him up and down. “You and him,” he nodded at Nat and George, “are a bit on the big side. Better if you sit in those two seats. You,” he added to Cadbury, “get up in the prow to balance her.” The boat rocked precariously as each of the men stepped into it and sat down. “Okay, here we go. Which way?” Charlie stood in the stern and pulled the starter on the ancient Evinrude two-stroke outboard. Three pulls later and the motor roared into life, then spluttered and quit.

  “What’s wrong with it?” Cadbury yelled.

  “Told you it’s a bit on the temperamental side.” The three men watched impatiently while he fiddled with the motor. “Got a bit flooded, I guess. Have to wait a few minutes while it dries out.” He reached over the stern, unfastened the cover on the motor, and lifted it off.

  “Bloody hell!” Nat started to get to his feet. “We need to get going.”

  “Keep your socks on.” Charlie turned his attention back to the motor, fiddled a bit, then carefully replaced the cover. To Nat’s amazement, he patted it gently and whispered, “Come on, old girl. You can do it.” And with the next pull the thing flared into life.

  • • •

  “YOU CAN COME up here now,” Maggie called to Jenny over the noise of the engine.

  “Has she stopped shooting?” Jenny asked tremulously as she peered around the door.

  “Yes. See if you can find us some lifejackets, will you, dear?”

  “Why? Are we going to sink?”

  “No, of course not.” Maggie tried to put some confidence in her voice. “But we have to get out of this narrow channel and there are a lot of rocks around.”

  “But you can miss them, can’t you?”

  “Yes. Just go and find yourself a jacket, okay?”

  Jenny disappeared into the cabin and a few minutes later climbed back to the upper deck with a lifejacket in her hand. “I could only find one.”

  “Fine. Do you think you can put it on yourself?” The mouth of the cove was tantalizingly close but Maggie’s steering was still a bit erratic. “All I have to do is stay away from those slimy looking rocks,” she muttered.

  • • •

  “WHAT’S WITH THE dog?” Charlie Wilkes yelled over the noisy engine. Oscar, ears flying in the wind, was sitting on Nat’s lap and peering out to sea.

  “He belongs to Maggie—the woman who’s been kidnapped,” Nat yelled back.

  “Oh! Any idea what we’re looking for?” Wilkes yelled again.

  Nat leaned toward the man as he steered from the stern of the boat. “It’s a twenty-foot launch and it’s holed up somewhere quite close—probably in a small inlet or cove.”

  “There are several along here leading to private docks. Do you want to go into each of them?”

  “Just far enough to see if the launch is there.”

  “I didn’t realize there were so many private docks on the island,” George yelled after they had negotiated five small coves without success.

  “There’s another one coming up.” Cadbury stood up in his seat to point over the bow. “And look! There’s a boat coming out of it.”

  “It’s them,” Nat yelled. “Careful! That woman knows how to use a gun.” They ducked down as they watched the launch shoot out of the inlet.

  “Gun? You didn’t say anything about being shot at
,” Charlie yelled back. He cut the engine to a crawl. “What do we do now?”

  “Get ready to chase it,” Cadbury yelled at him.

  “Chase it? That’s a powerful boat.”

  At that moment Oscar wriggled out of Nat’s arms and began barking ecstatically.

  “What is it, Oscar?” He stood to look more closely at the launch. “It’s Maggie!” he yelled and began waving frantically, making the boat tip ominously. “She’s steering it! What a girl! Maggie! Maggie!”

  Oscar continued to bark furiously, racing round and over all the men in the boat.

  “It’s Nat!” Tears cascading down her face, Maggie turned to Jenny. “We’re all right now. Everything’s okay. It’s Nat.” She throttled the engine down until the boat slowed and came to a halt, rocking gently in the waves. “We’re safe now.” She put her arms around the little girl and held her tight.

  “I want my mommy!” Jenny cried.

  “Of course you do. And I promise you will be with her very soon. And I am going to tell her what a brave and clever girl you are.”

  • • •

  CHARLIE WILKES, AFTER he had been assured the woman steering the boat wasn’t toting a gun, manoeuvred close to the launch. Oscar didn’t wait but leapt from one boat to the other and in no time was jumping up and down, trying to lick Maggie’s face. Nat wanted to follow, but as Cadbury pointed out, his bulk was a bit of a deterrent for safe boarding and, he added, Nat was likely to fall into the drink.

  “I’ll pilot it back,” Cadbury announced firmly as he prepared to climb over to join Maggie and Jenny. “We’ll see you back at Mr. Wilkes’ dock.”

  Nat had to be satisfied. At least his Maggie was safe and sound.

  • • •

  THE COAST GUARD was waiting for them when they docked and Cadbury quickly apprised them of the situation. “We haven’t much time,” he said as he jumped aboard. “The owner of that place is bound to have another boat of some kind moored nearby and they could get away. I’ll show you where the place is.”

  Maggie, her arm around Jenny, stood on the wooden dock and watched the powerful launch speed away.