The Golden Gates

by C. R. Kliewer

  Believing he could best support those on board by providing world class sustenance and fresh French-pressed coffee, he saw no reason to withdraw any part of his breakfast offerings, including presentation. A detail which the ignorant may think is in distaste, but to those who know what it is to suffer loss, a source of surprising comfort. And his efforts were not wasted, if not fully noted or appreciated at the time.

  Interestingly enough, Beltran, the most endowed of the bunch was the only one who refused to eat entirely, but considering his loss, no one faulted him. Una had protested at the beginning, but was not long in being persuaded by her husband to take something for her nourishment. O’Connell brought Anna a plate which she accepted, and though her stomach was empty and the buttery smell of the eggs lust inducing, the morsels were like grains of sand in her mouth. She looked toward Forster, who had been asked by O’Connell to join the rest party for breakfast. He sat sullen in the corner, scraping the eggs around his plate, mechanically eating one bite at a time. He did not look at her. He didn’t look at anyone. He just sat there, staring into the void that was occupied by his plate.

  With their voices like mournful jazz cornets muted by cups, those present began to relive the events of the previous day. After the row with Beltran at lunch, Eva had retreated to their cabin and locked the door. According to Marian, who had spoken to Anna yesterday during their lunch at the park, this was part of a regular routine: He bellowed. She retreated. After several hours of the silent treatment, he sought her out and apologized. She sent him away to spend a few more remorseful hours by himself before emerging to torture him a bit more using his jealousy and guilt as iron prongs. Before the end of the night, they would make up, and in the morning, everything would be as it should. But last night she had not returned to their stateroom for the final act. He had waited for her in their cabin and had fallen asleep, oblivious to the changes made to the script.

  He woke up the next morning only to realize that she had not come back to the stateroom the night before. His first thought was one of anxiety; the next, of rage. He flew to Daniels’s door and practically rammed it in. Daniels, roused by the banging, casually opened the door and invited him in. Beltran pushed passed him, quickly filling the cabin with his hulking form, leaving none too much room for Daniels. It being immediately obvious that Eva could not possibly be inside without being in plain view, Beltran left in a huff and began to scour the rest of the yacht. The more he looked, the more anxious he became. It was now becoming evident that something was wrong. The actress not only veered from the script, but had disappeared from the set entirely.

  “Did the coast guard say when they would be here?”

  Daniels looked to O’Connell who had voiced the question. “Due to a wreck off shore last night it will be a few hours. When I described the circumstances, they said they would come as soon as they could, but in the meantime they would notify SFPD. Apparently there is an inspector who will wish to be a part of the case.”

  “Did they say who?” asked Toni.

  “No.”

  Hess looked up from his plate. “I bet they think it has to do with that Raven fellow.”

  Daniels looked at him. “Why do you say that?”

  “Did you not see her? She had no eyes! That’s his thing.”

  “But she wasn’t burned.” Anna said, remembering the story Hess had told at the dinner table two nights ago.

  “Maybe he didn’t have time.”

  “But that would mean he’s here on board,” said Marian.

  “Not necessarily,” Hess replied, “Maybe he was among one of your runners, Daniels.”

  Daniels looked at him in disbelief and then at O’Connell. “Is it possible? They did come last night to drop off a shipment of wine.”

  “It would be a stretch, but I’d rather believe that than what is more likely.”

  “And what is that?” asked Anna.

  “That one of us is the killer.”

  Eyes immediately whipped around the room from one face to the next, accusing others, defending themselves. Anna’s eyes went to Forster, who was still staring at his plate, and then to Hess, who was now looking at Smith who was currently looking at Stuart. Una and Stuart were looking at Toni and Marian who were looking back at them. O’Connell, she noticed, was looking at Beltran, who was the only one besides Forster who was not looking at anybody, but at the floor. Daniels was looking at her.

  After a brief, but rather dramatic pause, O’Connell continued. “But that’s what the police will have to figure out. In the meantime, there are few things that we’ll need to do before they get here.”

  “Like what?” asked Stu.

  Daniels took this one. “Dumping the liquor for one. We can’t have the stuff on board when they come aboard. We’re inside the bay. If they find it, we’ll all be in trouble. Beltran, I’m afraid you’ll have to lose your case of Bordeaux.”

  “My what? Oh, yes, of course. It doesn’t matter anyway. It was Eva’s. I don’t touch the stuff.” He said sullenly.

  “What about my . . .” Hess interjected.

  “I’m sorry; we have to dump all of it, including your port.”

  “Aren’t there several places on board to hide it? Surely, we could-“

  “At risk to losing the Allura, as well as getting all of us arrested?” Daniels said hotly. “Absolutely not! The SFPD are good enough to overlook our little parties as long as we don’t bring anything into the bay, and there are a few who don’t even mind that so long as we don’t have any when we get boarded. But they won’t think twice about seizing her if they discover what we’ve been up to.”

  “Discover what?” Marian turned to her husband, “What’s he talking about?”

  “Don’t you know? This boat’s a rumrunner. Where do you think we get the Scotch whiskey you like so much? From Daniels here.” smiled Ocello.

  “Not only that,” Daniels said with a hint of pride, “the Allura herself is a floating winery.”

  “What? How is that possible?” asked Hess.

  “You know that little side trip we were going to take up the river to Napa? We were going to pick up the grapes there. It was planned that the women would help in a grape crush. After the juice was extracted, we would start the fermentation process in our specialized water tank.” He gave O’Connell a wink. “Once that was started we would head out to sea for a few days until the initial fermentation was done. We wouldn’t want to announce to the world that we’re making wine. The smell is a dead giveaway. After that, it’s just a matter of keeping an eye on it.”

  “And it works? You’ve done this before?” asked Stu.

  “Technically no. It’s a brand new system. We did a few trial runs of the distiller before installing her in the portside of our new water tank,” O’Connell explained. “Water on one side, wine on the other. That’s why it’s so big.”

  “Impressive. I would never have known.”

  “Fortunately we don’t have anything fermenting in there now. It’s not something we can just dump, and it couldn’t be easily concealed if we had just come back from Napa. All the other stuff will have to go though.”

  “We could go back out past the limit.” Hess asked hopefully. “It’s possible she may have been swept out to sea. We could look for her body out there.”

  “Are you serious?” asked Marian.

  “Hey, it’s possible. Anyway, it would be a shame to lose such precious cargo. That’s vintage stuff.”

  He received more than one look of disgust from those in the room.

  Daniels responded with less cordiality than usual, “I’m afraid that’s not possible. The coast guard has given us implicit instructions to stay where we are until they arrive. In any case, I don’t expect there will be any celebrating tonight.”

  27

  Mr. O’Connell Misses His Mark

  * * *

  Anna gazed at the cloudy miasma before her. The fog had persisted through the morning, keeping the sun and its warmth at bay.
Somewhere ahead of her, the Golden Gate opened to the Pacific beyond, but it was now shrouded from her view. The water was eerily still, and the air heavy with cold. She tried not to imagine Eva’s body being caught up in the current and swept out to sea. She did come out here to think, but not of that. Was Forster right? Was the Raven here? Or had the murder just been the result of marital troubles as O’Connell seemed to believe? Could it have even been someone else on the yacht? One of the crew? Someone who had taken his or her cue from the Raven murders. Anyone at the table who heard Hess’s gory account of them could have done it, taking out the eyes in order to cover their tracks in case the body was found after being dumped. She shivered at the thought and hoped that Hess was somehow right, that the killer had come among the runners in the night and left with them as well.

  At least the mystery of the boat motors she heard in the middle of the night had been explained. It was runners in their speeders coming to drop off one shipment and pick up another. She wondered how Daniels and O’Connell got involved in the racket; what drew them into it in the first place. Was it the element of danger? The sheer profit? There was definitely money in it. But they didn’t seem like the kind of guys that would be in it just for the money. Look how excited they got over that little invention of theirs.

  Men, she sighed. She would never fully understand them. I mean, look at Forster. I’ve been trying to figure him out since the beginning of all this. You’d think by now I would know something about what makes him tick. She looked up to see him leaning against the rails not more than thirty feet away. Speak of the devil. He hadn’t been there before. She was sure of it. He wasn’t looking her direction, probably didn’t even know she was there. He was too far to call out to. Not that she wanted to speak to him right now anyway. She looked back out into the obscured bay and became lost again in thoughts of Eva’s murder. What was it that I missed? What exactly did she say?

  “Hey,” said a low voice behind her.

  Anna jumped so high it was fortunate that the railings were not any lower. O’Connell had to suppress a grin as he grabbed hold of her to keep her from falling. Recovering herself as quickly as she could, she turned and looked at him, once again quite aware of the power that this man wielded in those massive arms.

  “Mr. O’Connell! You just about scared me overboard.”

  “That would make you the third person today. And me the fourth when forced to jump in after you. Please call me Shamus. You looked as if you were deep in thought just now. Thinking about Eva?”

  “Do you think it’s possible what Hess said? That it was one of your runners?” Her tone was sober as she looked up at him. The mists that surrounded them only increased the mystic quality of her eyes. Sure it was her legs that enticed him first, but it was her eyes that had held his interest. There was mystery there and a wit that did not escape him. Something Daniels couldn’t appreciate. He felt himself being drawn in, as if those eyes could physically pull his body closer. He lifted a hand to her face as if to smooth away the worry that now haunted her features. She shivered. He took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.

  “Unfortunately, no. Daniels and I were there the whole time that the runners were here. And anyway, the runners are guys we know. Friends. I can’t see any one of them killing pulling a stunt like that. No, I think whatever happened, happened after they left.”

  “What time was that?”

  “2:30.”

  An image of Forster in red-stained clothes flashed in her mind. Was it possible?

  “What about the other thing he said. That her death has something to do with the Raven?”

  “What would he want with Eva? Anyway, he would have to be among those already on board, and to tell you the truth, I don’t think any of them have the brains for that kind of operation; do you? No, I think whoever did it was listening to Hess’s stories.”

  “What about you? Aren’t you worried about what Raven might think of your little operation here?”

  He cleared his throat a little before answering. “You could say we have an understanding.”

  “An understanding?”

  “He asks for a percentage of our profits, and in return, he leaves us alone.”

  “You’ve met him?”

  “No. No one ever meets the Raven.”

  She shuddered again. Mistaking it for the cold, O’Connell pulled her closer to him and rubbed her arms, trying to give her some of his warmth. “In any case, I want you to be careful. Don’t go off by yourself. Stay where I can see you or where others can see you, and by that, I mean a crowd of others. You gave me a scare just now; no one knew where you were.”

  “You were looking for me?”

  “Yeah. I expected to find you with everyone else in the cigar room, where it’s warm. When you weren’t there, I asked and no one seemed to know where you’d run off to.”

  “I needed some air.”

  “I see that. But it’s not really safe to be by yourself right now.”

  “But I’m not . . . anymore.” Her eyes held his for a moment. They were soft and very appealing. He had the sudden urge to kiss those lips that were turned towards his, hovering just inches away. She was bewitching, but he did not have the luxury to fall in love at the exact moment. So wisely, he looked away, distancing himself before the urge became irresistible. Both now leaned against the rails, looking west in silence.

  After a few minutes she broke the stillness. “Do you have any idea who it could be, Shamus?”

  ”I have my suspicions.”

  “You do?” Her eyes turned on him again with one brow cocked in inquiry.

  “Beltran is the obvious choice. Eva’s affair with Daniels would give him reason enough. It’s not the first time she’s had a fling on the side, but most men can only take so much before they break. And he is the just the type of man a woman like that could drive off the tracks.”

  “Hmm.” murmured Anna, her brows knitting while she tossed the possibility around in her mind. A picture of Beltran grabbing hold of Eva’s wrist flashed in her mind, his wrath flaring from his nostrils like a bull. She also remembered the command Eva had displayed during dinner and of the look on his face when she dismissed him on deck just a half an hour later when he had glanced their way. “But do you really think he would take her eyes like that? Stab her maybe, but . . . .” Another shiver.

  Wanting to pull Anna’s mind away from visions of the dead Eva, Shamus changed the subject. “Do you know they’re planning on building a bridge that spans The Gate? Longest suspension bridge in the world.” He nodded in the general direction of the strait.

  Anna looked across the dark waters into the fog where she imagined the land parted, opening the bay to the ocean. “Longest one in the world?” she sighed, making an effort to be diverted.

  Happy that he was at least somewhat successful, he continued. “Plans are already drawn. They just have to start building. It has been in the works for a while. Was approved several years ago, but the funds weren’t there. Now some big bank hot shot says he’ll buy up the bonds just to get it done.”

  “Hmm. Big bank hot shot?” The derision in her voice was plain. “I thought banks didn’t have any money these days.”

  “Apparently some still do.” He smiled at her temper. “Anyway, they are set to begin building it next year. I hear they’re going to paint it orange when it’s all done.”

  “Orange? Who would paint a bridge orange? Sounds hideous!”

  Laughing, “What color should it be?”

  “I don’t know. I am not saying that it has to be black or gray. I can see a blue, maybe green. Something that doesn’t detract from the natural beauty of this place. But, orange? It will stick out like a pig in a synagogue. Shamus, you should do something about it.”

  “Me? It’s not as if I run the place.”

  “Don’t you?” She looked at him matter-of-factly.

  He looked back at her, “Well, not yet . . . but if that’s you wish, I’ll try.“
r />   “I knew you would.” She smiled, holding him again with her eyes. He felt the danger mounting again, but this time she was the one who looked away before he could succumb to any peril.

  “It’s a shame if you think about it. That view will be obstructed by a bridge. I kind of like looking through the channel to the open waters just beyond the bay, when you can see it that is. What must it have been like to sail through them a hundred, two hundred years ago . . . I guess it is very much like a gate, a gate to the Pacific and the lands beyond.”

  “A gate to the world,” he smiled as continued to look at her. “I feel that way every time I leave the bay. People always think the name Golden Gate is a reference to the Gates of Paradise. That it is a gate you want to enter to get to the wealth of California, or more specifically San Francisco. That you are entering a place akin to the Garden of Eden and the reason that it is golden is because of the gold that was discovered here, but in truth it was always the other way around. Decades before that, it was considered a gate going out to Asia and other parts of the world. It opened up the possibility of trade with the East. That’s why it was golden. It was, is a gate of opportunity.”

  She turned to face him again, her eyes focusing on his.

  It was the way her curls played against her girlish features in the breeze. How her freckles dotted her nose adding to the look of innocence, and the lips that could curve in such a way to offset that innocence. But mostly, it was the eyes that did him in. Those devilish green eyes. He looked at her now with unrestrained admiration. The wind brought color to her cheeks. Or was that a blush he saw?

  Hell with it. The moment and the girl were too charming. His hands grabbed the collar of the coat he had slipped around her shoulders with a firm grip and pulled her in. The sudden force of movement caught her off guard, making her gasp. Now with her lips again just inches away from his, he slowly leaned in for the pleasure of pressing those lips against his.