Five minutes later I was on my own and feeling very lonely.
The following day I heard nothing. I found it very difficult to rest and relax knowing that a lot was going on in the western section of Northern Territory. Tony couldn't even phone me to give me an update as there was no mobile signal where they were, and the only place to call from was Port Keats Airport.
It was getting dark outside when my mobile rang. I didn't recognise the number as it wasn't in my contact list.
'Is that Vince Hamilton,' an unknown voice with an Australian twang asked me in a whisper.
'Yes it is; can you speak up I can hardly hear you.'
'It is Stuart Smith here and I have to whisper.'
I froze. This was the last thing I could have expected. I didn't even know that Stuart had my mobile number.
'Where are you?'
'I am on Tiwi Island. Sorry, have to go.'
My phone went dead.
I immediately telephoned the Inspector.
'Hi Vince; what's up,' he said when he answered.
'I have just had a call on my mobile from Stuart Smith.'
'I don't believe you; just out of the blue.'
'Yes. He is in a place called Tiwi Island.'
'Did he tell you how many people were with him?'
'No, that is all he said. He gave me his name and then told me he was on Tiwi Island.'
'I know where Tiwi Island is, and it is to the east of Darwin and not even close to where the guys are searching.'
'We need to get there as soon as possible,' I said.
'What do you mean "We", you can't go anywhere.'
'The doctor was talking to me today and I am being discharged from hospital tomorrow. Leaving tonight isn't going to stretch that too far.'
'No Vince, you are utterly mad; you can't go chasing off to Tiwi Island on your own in your condition.'
'I don't propose going on my own; I thought that you could come with me.'
'It's dark, and I don't know the area, it would be too risky to attempt to go out there in the dark.' The Inspector didn't sound too keen.
'Can you not grab hold of somebody from the local force who knows the area and who can guide us?' I pleaded.
'I don't want to alert the local police force before we have proven evidence that the plane and Stuart are there. I don't want to be made to look like a fool.'
'We must be able to find somebody who knows the area,' I suggested.
'Let me ask around and see if I can find someone. I'll call you back.'
Half-an-hour later my mobile rang.
'Success Vince, I have managed to obtain the services of a retired policeman and he has agreed to meet us at dawn at a location called Leaders Creek Fishing Base. From there he will take us out to the island.'
'Has he a boat to take us in?'
'He will bring a large inflatable with him with its fifty horsepower engine. He sounds as if he knows what he is doing.'
'So when do we leave?'
'Are you still insisting on travelling with me?' he asked.
'Even if I have to go in a motorized wheelchair I am going with you. My mission all along has been to rescue Stuart, and I am not giving up now; the illicit drugs are your responsibility and are of no interest to me.'
'I had better come and pick you up now and we will stay in a hotel for the night. I don't think the hospital would be too impressed if I came along to pick you up at five in the morning.'
'I'll tell them that I am checking out and get them to organize my medication and any papers that they want me to sign. When will you be here?'
'Give me forty minutes to an hour and I should be with you.'
I took a sharp intake of breath. What was I doing? I had been severely injured a few days ago and now here I was setting off on an excursion that would involve at least an hour being slammed around in an inflatable boat. I must have finally lost my marbles.
I walked down the corridor to the nurses' station and told them that I was checking myself out. They weren't too pleased and sent for the night Sister. She gave me all sorts of warnings but then said that she had no power to hold me if that is what I wanted. She told the nurses to issue me with five days of my medication.
By the time that the Inspector arrived I was ready to go. There was a high degree of urgency required now as Stuart could be dispensed with at any time. We had to get to him soon.
Chapter 21
The Inspector rang me on the house phone the following morning interrupting my one handed attempt to get dressed.
'Change of plan Vince. I have decided to hire a helicopter to take us out to the islands. I reckoned that you would never last in a boat and a hike across country. I asked my boss if I could rent a helicopter, I caught him on a good day, and he gave me permission to go ahead. I will come to your room at 6.00am and pick you up.'
'I'll be ready and waiting.'
'How are you feeling this morning Vince?'
'A bit sore, but that is to be expected. I'll be okay once the painkillers cut in.'
'I'll see you in half-an-hour.' He terminated the call.
We were sitting in his car ready to go at just after six o'clock.
It didn't take me long to realise that going along on this jaunt to Tiwi Island wasn't the best decision that I had ever taken. While I was pain-free lying in a hospital or hotel bed, sitting in a car, which was soon to be a helicopter, was another story.
'Are you going to be alright?' the Inspector asked me seeing my face contort to twinges of pain.
'I am a little uncomfortable, but I should be OK.' I was determined to help find Stuart even if I was going to be in some discomfort – it might be our last chance. I had brought along some extra strong painkillers to take if I was suffering too much.
'I am glad I decided to abandon the boat trip and hire the helicopter.' The Inspector broke the silence. 'The pilot will take us to exactly where we decide to go to, and there will be no bumpy car rides or long hikes for you to endure. If you want to call it a day at any stage, we can terminate our search and fly back.'
'Thanks, Inspector, I appreciate the thought you have put into the trip.'
There was very little traffic around so we made good progress to the Charles Darwin National Park where I was told the helicopter was based.
We pulled up beside a hanger with Coolibah Air painted on the side of it.
'This is it Vince and our pilot should be waiting for us.'
A man approached us dressed in the gear that you would expect a pilot to be wearing… He was about forty years of age, highly sun tanned, not too tall but had an air of authority about him.
'Good morning guys; my name is Larry Lawrenson.' He shook our hands. 'I will be your pilot today on your trip to the Tiwi Islands. Are you ready to go?'
'Yes you can take off when you want,' the Inspector replied.
'Is the ex-policeman not coming with us?' I asked.
'No, I didn't think that we needed him, and there is not much room in the helicopter if you want to spread out a bit.'
'Will we not need him to show us around the island?
'The pilot has all the knowledge we will require. By the way I was told that it is not Tiwi Island it is Tiwi Islands, there are more than one. There is also another large Island in the area called Bathurst Island.'
The pilot started the engine and talking after that became impossible. Not only was there a high noise level but there was also an extensive throbbing vibration that was transferred into my left shoulder. What followed was an hour of torture.
The Inspector, who was seated in the front beside the pilot, had a set of headphones on, and he was able to communicate with the pilot. I was incommunicado in the back.
We flew in over, what I took to be Bathurst Island, from the West, and then did a circuit of the Airport. I presumed that they were checking whether the Beechcraft was here. Finally, the helicopter landed close to where there was a shed. The engine was switched off, and there was blissful peace. A
ll you could hear now was the wind slightly rocking the small craft.
'Are you still feeling OK Vince?' the Inspector turned around and asked me before we descended to the tarmac.'
'I can't say that it was too comfortable coming out here, but I am still alive and raring to go.'
'What exactly are you looking for?' Larry asked us.
'We are trying to locate a Beechcraft King Air 250 with the registration marks VH-MTC.' The Inspector supplied him with the information.
'I'll see if there are any pilots around and ask them,' Larry suggested. 'Unfortunately this airport is only used by tourist planes that come out here to see the Aboriginal colony and design centre. I don't imagine I will get any useful information.'
'I'll have a chat to anybody I can find around the terminal buildings,' the Inspector said.
'I'll check out the buildings where Stuart may have been held,' I said.
We all went our separate ways and reported back to the helicopter about an hour later.
We had all drawn a blank. They definitely hadn't been to this specific Airport on Bathurst Island.
'Where do you suggest that we go next?' the Inspector asked Larry.
'Well, there are two other airfields on the close by Tiwi Islands. They rather grandly call them "Airports". I will take you to Snake Bay Airport next,' Larry suggested.
'That sounds good,' the Inspector added as he climbed into the helicopter. 'Are you able to put us down close-by? I don't want to alert anybody hiding there letting them know that we are in the vicinity.'
'That shouldn't be a problem,' the pilot replied.
Half-an-hour later we were landing beside a small hotel called Melville Island Lodge.
When the engines had died down the pilot spoke to us.
'I landed here as it is not unusual for a helicopter to fly guests in. It, therefore, won't be seen as suspicious. It's only a one-kilometre walk from the hotel to the airfield.'
'Thanks, Larry; that sounds perfect.' The Inspector seemed very pleased. 'Let's go into the Hotel and see if they can rustle us up some coffee.'
It turned out to be a very elegant Fishing Lodge. At this time of day all the residents were out fishing, so we had the place to ourselves.
We had our late breakfast accompanied by a panoramic view of Snake Bay.
'What an incredible place,' I said as I savoured the view.
'There are three lodges on the Tiwi Islands exactly like this,' Larry commented. 'They are all geared to fisherman and there is really nothing else to do.'
'If you don't like fishing it might be a bit remote,' I suggested.
When we had finished our breakfast the Inspector, and I walked up the track to the airfield while Larry said that he would ask around to see if anybody had seen the Beechcraft.
Disappointedly there was no trace of the plane or Stuart.
'Are you sure Vince that first of all it was Stuart who rang you on your mobile, and secondly that he said Tiwi Island?' the Inspector said as were returning to the helicopter. The Inspector sounded just as frustrated as I felt.
'I am absolutely confident that the answer to both your questions is "Yes".'
'Well, so far we have not seen any trace of the plane or Stuart and I am starting to wonder if you heard right,'
I was beginning to wonder myself. Perhaps I had heard the words I wanted to hear; however, I couldn't have invented the Tiwi Islands bit as it was such a strange name.
'Any luck Larry,' the Inspector asked the pilot.
'Absolutely nothing. Nobody has seen anything uspicious,' Larry replied.
We boarded the helicopter and took off for our final destination; Garden Point Airport.
To our utter consternation, we again found no trace of what we were searching for. Our pilot landed the helicopter at the Munipi Wilderness Lodge, and we walked the four hundred meters or so to the airstrip.
'This is the last airstrip, long enough to accommodate the Beechcraft that I am aware of on the Tiwi Islands,' Larry announced to us.
'Well either you heard wrong or there is another airfield that we don't know about.' The Inspector summarised our feelings. 'Let's return to the Lodge and have some lunch and also have a council of war.'
It was a very depressed three travellers who sat down for lunch. Each was lost in their own thoughts. Conversation was at a minimum.
'Excuse me guys for a minute I want to speak to the Manager of the hotel,' Larry got up and set off for the reception desk.
He was back in a few minutes with a happier looking face than he had left with.
'I think that I may have found a possible fourth airfield. The Manager told me that the Bathurst Island Lodge, which is not too far from here, has re-opened, and there is another airstrip about one kilometre away from it. He also told me that people who don’t know the area often get Tiwi Island, and Bathurst Island confused.'
'So can we go and have a look at this place on Bathurst Island?' I asked.
'Yes, I have just about enough fuel to get there and then back to Bathurst Island Airport to get filled up there. So it's a goer.'
'What are we waiting for; let's go.' The Inspector had also cheered up. Perhaps there was light at the end of our particular tunnel.
We took off and flew South-West to Bathurst Island Lodge landing there forty minutes later. The pilot explained that it had taken longer because it was into a headwind. In fact, we circled around the airfield before landing, making sure that we weren't going to disturb the smugglers in the middle of their operation.
To our deep disappointment, we didn't see the Beechcraft or any sign of the smugglers.
The pilot asked the Inspector if he still wanted to land and was told to put it down near a shed that occupied the south-eastern corner.
'I am going down to the hotel to see if anybody there has seen them,’ the Inspector instructed. ‘Vince, will you have a look at the shed and see if there is any evidence that Stuart has been held there.'
While I investigated the shed, Larry inspected the airstrip and the apron to see if he could detect, from the tire tracks, whether a substantial aircraft had been there.
The door to the shed was unlocked. A large open padlock had been left hanging on the door with the key still in it. I was surprised that the bolt and the lock seemed to be very new. They weren't rusty and were in full working order.
There were no windows in the shed, so it was dark inside, and I couldn't see any detail.
'Larry, do you have a torch on board?' I shouted across to him.
'Yes, hold on and I will bring it across to you.'
He rummaged in the helicopter and then produced a large torch.
He joined me in exploring the inside of the shed. It was evident that it had recently been inhabited as there was a smell of urine and other signs of habitation. I illuminated the walls with the beam from the torch. There appeared to be something freshly scratched on one of the wooden panels.
'Can you make out what that is Larry?'
'Bring the torch a bit closer.'
I shone the full light of the torch on the scratched marks.
'That looks like a P,' I said.
'And the next letter is an E,' Larry added. 'And the next two are P's.'
No matter how hard we looked, we couldn't find any more letters.
'So we must assume that Stuart Smith was here, and he attempted to leave us a message by scratching PEPP on the wall.'
'Do you know what PEPP refers to?' Larry asked me, scratching the back of his head and looking puzzled.
'Presumably it must refer to another airport or a town in the Northern Territory or, perhaps, Indonesia, but I haven't a clue which one.' I was confused to say the least.
'Let me go and talk to my base on the radio. They might be able to come up with a possible location that starts PEPP,' Larry suggested.
He went over to the helicopter and connected to his base. It wasn't long before he was back with me looking pleased with himself.
'There is a
n airport named Peppimenarti, which is situated in the western part of the Northern Territory,' Larry said.
'That must be it then. It is in the right area and just the sort of place they have been using for their operation.'
The Inspector came into sight approaching from the hotel.
'Any luck guys?' he asked us as he got close.
'Stuart was definitely here and he left us a message of sorts scratched on the walls of the shed. He wrote PEPP which we think refers to an airfield called Peppimenarti,' I explained.
'Is it in the right part of Northern Australia Vince?'
'Yes, from what Larry tells me it's absolutely perfect and exactly where we assumed it would be.'
'I also got some useful information at the hotel,' the Inspector continued. 'There was a Beechcraft parked here for a few days and it only left this morning. The Manager was also able to tell me that there were three Italian gentlemen staying at the hotel while the plane was here. Another interesting snippet of information was that they asked for food that they could take away for a picnic, and they did this more than once.'
'So they must have flown here when we surprised them in Lekunik Airport in Indonesia,' I said. 'Stuart must have been locked away in this shed,' I pointed to the one we had been inspecting. 'They must have fed him with the food they took out of the hotel in the form of picnics.'
'This is all unreal,’ Larry said. 'How could this all be going on and nobody reports it?'
'Very simply, they are very careful and keep on the move. They are one step ahead of us, all the time,' the Inspector summarised.
'We had better get hold of Rod and the team and get them to Peppimenarti as soon as possible,' I suggested. I could see the smugglers getting away again, and if we lost them once more, we might never find them again. We also still needed to rescue Stuart before they killed him.
'This friend of yours, the pilot, must be in a dreadful state by now,' Larry said with feeling. 'They haven't exactly been looking after him very well.'
'Yes, and I am also sure that they haven't told him that his family have been set free and are no longer in captivity so he will be worried sick about them.'
'Let's get going,' Larry ordered. 'We will go and fill up with fuel and then head for Darwin. Inspector, there is a mobile signal at Bathurst Island Airport so you can phone the rest of your team from there while I am filling up.'
Danger Down Under: Another Vince Hamilton Investigation Page 17