"Yes," Julian said. "We have the name of only one person, a Mr. John Smith, but the maid says there have been four different men and two women using the villa. We don't know which one is Mr. Smith. Diane says they have four sets of keys."
"That's a crowd," Dani said. "Six people. It's a two-bedroom?"
"Yes, but the sofas in the lounge both make into big beds. But not all the people stay there every night. Sometimes two or three, sometimes just the one man who the maid says is always there."
"One man is always there?" Dani asked.
"Well, mos'ly. He comes and goes a little, but he stays there every night. The maid says he has a big computer and some telephones set up at the table in his room. She is not allowed to clean that room."
"Several telephones?" Dani asked. "Cell phones?"
"Four, maybe, or five. They are like cell phones, but bigger. Maybe satellite phones, from what she said."
Dani and Liz exchanged glances. "Thanks, Julian. You didn't have to do this, and we appreciate it."
"You are welcome. I am to say on behalf of the management, we don' like that these people have bothered you. You must let us know if that mon try to come on Vengeance again. We don't t'ink that he is really a DEA mon, and I am ver' sorry that I brought him out here."
"We accept the apology, but it's not necessary. You and the management couldn't have known, but thank you."
"You are valued customers, and besides, we all like you; you always ver' nice to all of us. We will keep a watch on these people now." Julian took a swallow of beer. "Thank you for your hospitality. It is almost the dinner hour, and I must leave you to your business."
"You don't have to rush, Julian," Liz said. "Let me get you another beer."
"Thanks, Liz, but no. I mus' go home. My wife, she will have my supper ready soon."
****
"Well, what do you think?" Dani asked, as Liz bustled around in the galley preparing a light dinner for the two of them.
"I don't know. Should we tell Gerald?"
"I'm not inclined to, not after the way he blew off the whole surveillance thing the other day. And there's surely no point in telling Nick," Dani said.
"Probably not," Liz agreed. "That guy's visit was connected to Rigo and Chen, somehow."
"Right. He said as much, but they worked for this bookie, Jackson. There must be some link, but what is it?" Dani asked.
Liz shook her head. "Could they all be working for Jackson?"
"It doesn't seem likely. You said it last night: this kind of surveillance is too expensive for a bookie."
"Even one trying to collect a quarter of a million dollars?"
"Yes. Think about it, Liz. Six people, a villa, hotel rooms, meals, travel — and these people are pretty good, really."
"You're right. I mean, the guy with his fake DEA credentials blew it, but only because we've seen how the DEA operates. He would have fooled most people."
"I guess they could be working for Bond. We don't really have any idea what Yates is looking for. Sunken treasure could be worth a lot of money," Dani mused. "But ... "
"But what?"
"These people seem too professional to be working for somebody who would have hired Nick Thompson."
Liz doubled over with laughter.
"Well, they do," Dani protested.
"Oh, I agree," Liz chuckled. "It's just that non-linear logic of yours that tickled me. Or is it woman's intuition?"
"Well, my non-linear logic is telling me we need someone else's perspective here."
Liz looked up from the tuna steaks that she was searing. "Paul?"
"I don't want to bother Connie and him; they've probably got their hands full with their first charter. Besides, I think this is more in Phillip's area of expertise."
"Really? Why?"
Dani shrugged. "Woman's intuition." She grinned at Liz.
"Touché," Liz said.
Dani used her Smartphone to scan the page that Julian had given them. She emailed it to Phillip Davis, her father's former business partner, with a brief explanation and asked him to call at his convenience. Phillip had been more than a business partner to J.-P. Berger; he was like an adopted son. When Dani was growing up, Phillip had filled the role of older brother, allowing her to tag along on the occasional adventure.
Even as a child, she had exhibited her father's quick temper and a propensity to get into physical confrontations. With Phillip's counsel, she had developed the skills to fend for herself among the less savory elements of society.
As an adult, she had maintained her relationship with him and had become a close friend of his wife's, as well. She and Liz never failed to visit with Phillip and Sandrine when they took Vengeance to Martinique, where Phillip had moved after he retired.
****
Dani and Liz had finished dinner and were relaxing in the main saloon, reading, when the satellite phone rang.
"It's Phillip," Liz said, glancing at the caller i.d. as she passed the phone across the table to Dani.
Dani answered on the speakerphone. "Hi, Phillip. Thanks for calling back so quickly. I've got you on the speaker; Liz and I are both here."
"Good evening. Sandrine says hello."
"Good evening to both of you," Liz said. "Sandrine?"
"She's in the other room. She brought some work home. I can interrupt her after we're done, if you like."
"No, that's okay," Liz said. "I just wanted to say hello. I thought maybe she was sitting there with you."
"I'll tell her. What have you two gotten yourselves into this time?"
"We were hoping you could help us figure that out," Dani said.
"I'll try, but it looks pretty heavy. You ever heard of Bright Star Ventures, Dani?"
"Not before I got that copy of the ledger from the rental office. Should I have?"
"Not necessarily, but I wouldn't have been surprised. Back when you were working with me, they were in the game, occasionally."
"Really? On which side?"
"That's never a sure thing. They were always on their own side, but they did some contract work for different people."
"What kind of contract work?" Liz asked. "I'm lost."
"Espionage, counterespionage. Dirty work of all sorts for the people who paid them."
"So who are they?" Dani asked.
"Bright Star Ventures, LLC, was rumored to be a CIA front company that was used when the government wanted an extra layer of isolation."
"You mean, 'plausible deniability,' like they say in the spy thrillers?" Liz said.
"That's right, Liz," Phillip said. "Nobody ever knew for sure who was setting their agenda. There were a few ex-spooks, supposedly 'ex,' anyway, running the business, and they recruited all kinds of talent to carry out their missions."
"You were right, Liz," Dani said.
"How's that?" Phillip asked.
"The more we learn, the scarier it gets," Dani said.
"You said there were half a dozen people or so that your local friends had spotted. Have you seen any of them well enough to give me a description?"
"Yes," Dani said. "Two of them. There was a woman about my size with curly blond hair. She had broad shoulders and narrow hips; at first, we mistook her for a man in the dark. She broke into Vengeance while we were out to dinner a couple of nights ago. We surprised her when we came back, but she got away. She left the country the next day, along with her male accomplice, according to the hotel desk clerk. We didn't see the man."
"Okay, that doesn't mean much to me, but you never know. Tell me about the other one."
"I'll send you a picture. He's the one that was impersonating a DEA agent. Julian got a cell phone picture of him."
"Good old Julian. Can you send it while we talk?"
"It's on its way," Dani said. "I should have thought of it earlier."
"No matter. Now, tell me about this bookie you mentioned."
Dani gave Phillip a summary of what they knew of Marc Jackson from Yates. Liz added details as Dani
recounted their run-in with Rigo and Chen.
"Okay," Phillip said. "Yates owed him a quarter of a million?"
"That's right," Dani agreed.
"The surveillance operation has probably already cost more than that." Phillip said. "I doubt Jackson's got anything to do with it."
"That's where we came out," Dani agreed.
"I just got the picture you sent. I've seen that guy somewhere, years ago. He hasn't aged much. He may have been CIA, or a contractor, but that's all I can tell you about him without a little research. So now let's talk about this treasure hunter."
"Merrill Bond," Dani said. She told Phillip all that they knew about Bond, including the fact that Thompson had once worked for him.
"Don't forget the investor with the inside information on the sunken treasure ship," Liz said.
"Right. Go ahead and tell him."
Liz told Phillip what they had learned from Elaine.
"So is there any link between Bond's treasure ship and Yates's search for Phaedra besides Thompson?" Phillip asked.
"None that comes to mind," Dani said. "Liz?"
"Not that I can think of."
"Okay. Let me think about this and maybe make a few phone calls. I'll get back to you tomorrow night unless I get something hot. Call me or email if you get anything new, and be careful. These people are dangerous, whoever they're working for."
"Thanks, Phillip. Give Sandrine my love," Dani said.
"Mine, too," Liz added.
"Will do. Stay safe." Phillip disconnected the call.
Chapter 19
"What did he have to say?" Liz asked. Dani had spent a few minutes on the phone with Samuel after they talked with Phillip.
"Our friend with the fake badge searched Marilyn's room this morning, right after Gerald picked her up."
They thought about that for a moment. Liz broke the silence. "Let's see. Whoever had Gerald and Nick under surveillance could have decided to check her out, based on her relationship with Gerald."
"Yes, but that means our notion of a jealous husband isn't the answer, right?"
"Well, it doesn't rule it out, but I agree, it seems unlikely. Whoever it is probably doesn't know much about her, or why search her room? Did Samuel have anything else?"
"Yes. The same guy followed two men into the bar at the Admiral's Inn this evening. It was the same two who were in there last night wearing polo shirts with Pisces of Atë embroidered on them."
"Hmm," Liz said. "If he's following Bond's crew, that means he's not working for Bond, either."
"Right, but who does that leave?"
"There's still this Jackson character," Liz said, after a moment's thought.
"We sort of ruled him out just now with Phillip. Why would he spend the money for such heavy-duty surveillance?" Dani asked.
"Maybe there's something Yates didn't tell us about Jackson."
"That could be, but Yates was pretty shaken up after Rigo and Chen hijacked us," Dani said. "I don't think he was holding back anything."
"How about Yates himself?" Liz ventured.
"Well, Yates might want to have Marilyn checked out, I guess, but why search Vengeance?"
Liz frowned, thinking. "He wanted to know what Nick keeps in that briefcase?"
"That's a stretch. Wish you had let me open it when we had the chance."
Liz shook her head. "You're incorrigible."
"We still don't know if Nick's connected with Bond, though," Dani said.
"What if he is? He'd be double-crossing Gerald, big time."
Dani shook her head. "Nothing fits the facts. We've got somebody spying on Yates, Nick, and Bond. The same someone."
"And Marilyn. Don't forget her," Liz added.
"Why would he want to question us about Rigo and Chen?" Dani asked.
"Um, Rigo and Chen were unexpected? They couldn't explain them?"
"Do you suppose they saw them force us to turn around?"
"Could be. There's a good chance they did, I guess. Why?"
"They'd probably wonder what happened to them, especially if they saw Rigo waving his pistol around. If they saw us leave, they would have seen us come back."
"Without Rigo and Chen," Dani added.
"I'm still worried about that," Liz said.
"Because?" Dani prompted.
"Yates saw us do them in; what if he tells someone?"
"You think he's going to turn us in?" Dani chuckled.
"No, but ... he's ... " Liz shook her head.
"His reaction bothers you?"
"Yes. That's it. Not his reaction — his lack of reaction."
"When we talked it over with him and worked out the story, he became a part of it, Liz. He's implicated; his interest in keeping it quiet is the same as ours."
"But he told Nick."
"He kind of had to tell Nick; Nick was there — he was part of it."
"Yes, but ... "
"Those guys are hiding their own secrets, Liz. Yates got right into the spirit of putting together that story. 'I make up plausible stories for a living,' remember? That's what he said."
"But what if he has pangs of conscience?"
"No sign of that, is there? Nick doesn't seem in the least troubled, either."
"No, you're right. But he's not looking at me the same way now."
"Of course not. He's got some respect for you now; you don't look like a potential quickie any more. Get over it."
"I know you're right, but their behavior still bothers me."
"Yes. Well, don't forget, if I'm wrong and Yates decides to turn on us, it's his word against ours, and we've got the 'helpless female' card to play. He made us help him toss them over the side and threatened us into silence. We're just two scared little girls, in over our heads. Nick was unconscious; he can't testify to anything."
"You're right. I'm just nervous," Liz said.
"I'd better send Phillip an email and let him know the latest on our bogus DEA agent," Dani said, reaching for the laptop.
****
After Gerald left, Marilyn reached under the edge of the bed and pulled her camera case out. She set it up on the bed and opened it. She took the memory card out of the camera she had carried aboard Vengeance and replaced it with an unused one, putting the camera in its fitted compartment. When she put the case back under the bed, she shifted her hand to the right, feeling for her laptop computer case. When she didn't find it, she felt a momentary rush of panic. She dropped to her knees and lifted the edge of the bedspread, looking under the bed. She relaxed when she spotted the laptop case on the left-hand side of the camera case. She reasoned that the maid must have moved them when she dusted the hardwood floor.
She put the laptop case on the bed and reached for the zipper. Being left handed, she normally zipped the case in a counterclockwise direction, leaving the zipper pulls on the right side. Because the zipper pulls were on the left, she knew someone else had opened and re-zipped the case. Nothing seemed to be missing. The camera equipment would have been a tempting target for any thief; it was worth an easy $10,000. She left the laptop case on the bed and checked the dresser drawers. Everything was there, including her jewelry, but nothing was quite as she had left it. She felt a chill, knowing that someone had searched her room.
****
Gerald Yates lounged on the couch in the villa's great room, gazing out at the moonlit harbor as he nursed a nightcap of neat rum. He had been dejected during the taxi ride from the Admiral's Inn to the villa; Marilyn had declined his invitation to spend another day aboard Vengeance tomorrow. He was still surprised at that. She had been so obvious in expressing her earlier wish to go sailing.
He didn't sense any cooling of her feelings for him; maybe she had been disappointed by the sail itself. That didn't seem to be the case, though, because she had talked all evening about how dazzling the sights had been and how eager she was to get a look at her photographs. He shrugged; she had said that she had other plans. He would ask her again the next day; maybe she was j
ust tired.
He forgot about Marilyn when he remembered the email he'd found in his inbox a few minutes ago. From an anonymous address, it had read, "He's running true to form; you were right. Watch yourself." His suspicions of Thompson were vindicated by this communication from a mutual friend. For the last several days, Gerald had seen no evidence that Nick was anything other than trustworthy, but now it was clear that his childhood friend hadn't changed. His assumption was that Nick was feeding information to his former employer, Merrill Bond, but it could be someone else. He was in a quandary; he needed Nick's skills to find and salvage Phaedra, but he couldn't trust him.
He was glad he hadn't shared the location of Phaedra's wreck with Nick; as it stood, they had found over two dozen potential wrecks. Without Gerald's information, Thompson's data files wouldn't be worth much. Thankful that he had acceded to the man's suggestion that they survey the area methodically, he decided to continue their effort.
They would eventually cross the area where Gerald knew the wreck to be, but as long as he kept his own counsel, the data would only add confusion to what Thompson was already passing on. Once they were well beyond the actual site, he would confront Thompson for betraying him and confiscate the data. It should be simple enough to hire local talent to handle the salvage, and it should be quick. He could retrieve the gold and disappear before Thompson and his crony could take up the search.
Chapter 20
Marilyn sat in the shade on the balcony of her suite, admiring the way the morning light played on the shoreline across the harbor. Tempted to go inside for her camera, she decided against it. She'd be better served by using her time alone to analyze the scattered bits of information she'd picked up from Gerald over the last few days.
She smiled, thinking about him. She realized that she was growing fond of him. She'd never allowed herself the luxury of enjoying a man's company for the pure pleasure of being with him. Until she'd married Harry, she'd been far too focused on securing her future. Their marriage had not been based on love, nor had she even been fond of the cranky old bastard. Then there had been the anxiety while the police investigation had dragged on.
His damned children, old enough to be her parents, had been disinherited. They had been none too fond of Marilyn even before they learned that, and they had insisted that foul play had been involved in Harry's demise. They told the police that she had connived with his lawyer to change the will at the last minute. Though they stopped short of publicly accusing her of switching his medication, their implication had been clear.
Bluewater Bullion: The Seventh Novel in the Caribbean Mystery and Adventure Series (Bluewater Thrillers Book 7) Page 12