Bluewater Drone: The Eleventh Novel in the Caribbean Mystery and Adventure Series (Bluewater Thrillers Book 11)

by Charles Dougherty

  "So that's why Clarence put an agent aboard. Given that, if they caught her, she's probably dead."

  "That's what I think, too."

  "After they found her, they'd have to think somebody at least suspected there were nukes aboard, don't you think?"

  "Clarence isn't sure about that. She didn't know who she was working for; she was hired by a cutout that's not traceable to Clarence, so she couldn't give much away, assuming they questioned her. But Danilov runs all kinds of criminal enterprises from the yacht. She got word back to Clarence that there were ten women aboard who were doped up or something; she tried to engage two of them in conversation. That was her last message."

  "What's that mean?" Liz asked.

  "Danilov's into white slavery, according to Clarence. If they caught on to her because she was trying to talk to the women, they may not have connected her to the nukes."

  "I think you should stay as far away from Strong as possible, Dani. We'll find you another man to use as a lab rat for your training program."

  "Well, that was my reaction, too, but ... " Dani shook her head.

  "But what?"

  "Clarence has asked for our help, for a change."

  "How can we possibly turn him down, after ... no way! Dani, he's not asking you to — "

  "Not to go aboard Platinum Odyssey, no. He wants me to come up with a way to get Strong to take Marie LaCroix aboard instead of me."

  "Marie! Okay, so he wants to put her on Danilov's yacht. Better Marie than you, but how can you make that happen?"

  "I can't think of a way; I was hoping you could come up with something."

  Liz sat, frowning, for several seconds. She shook her head. "It's kind of late in the game to switch; Strong's already fixated on you. If we could go back a few days ... I don't know. Is there some reason you can come up with from the script why you might want to take Marie along with you? Does this Cassie character have a sidekick, or a best friend, or something?"

  Dani shook her head. "No. Cassie's kind of a loner."

  "I don't see a way, unless you could meet Strong ashore somewhere and arrange for Marie to charm the pants off him while you were in the ladies' room, or something."

  Dani shook her head. "He was pretty explicit; he wants me to come out to Platinum Odyssey so we can have a couple of days uninterrupted, to work through the script. He also says Danilov and a couple of his key people want to get to know me. If I take the role, I'll be critical to the success of their investment, and so on."

  "When do you owe him an answer?"

  "Who? Phillip? Or Strong?"

  "Either one," Liz said.

  "Strong's expecting me to call him tomorrow. I told Phillip I needed time to think about it and get your suggestions, but that I'd try to get back to him this evening, guests permitting."

  "Well, maybe we'll come up with something," Liz said.

  "There's a part of me that wants to say yes," Dani said, in a tentative voice.

  "What?" Liz asked. "You mean yes to being in the movie?"

  "Not so much the movie, or to Strong's advances. But this all sounds pretty exciting compared to sailing Blaine and Mindy around while they make videos."

  "Sometimes you sound crazy, Dani. Just for argument's sake, what's stopping you, if you're so bored with us?"

  "We've got a business to run; we're committed to this charter with Blaine and Mindy. I can't just walk away to play superspy."

  Liz didn't respond. She and Dani sat for several minutes, watching the rainbows in the spray from the bow wave as Vengeance plunged through the swells, making nine and a half knots on a beam reach. "Speaking of our guests," Liz finally said, standing up with one hand gripping the taut staysail sheet, "I suppose we should go back and keep them company."

  Dani looked up at her and nodded, following her back to the cockpit.

  ****

  "The Berger broad came back to Antigua a little while ago," Vinnie Albarino told the Don.

  "Good. She called Strong yet?"

  "He ain't called, so I don't think so. He's gonna let me know as soon as — "

  "Yeah, yeah. This don't feel good to me, Vinnie."

  "What part, Don Petrillo?"

  "This thing with Berger. I looked at the pictures you sent me. She's attractive enough; I can see Strong gettin' worked up over her."

  "So what's botherin' you?"

  "She's smart, got a master's degree, and she comes from money. The report said her family owns a bank. What the hell would a girl like that see in Strong?"

  "Star-struck, maybe?" Vinnie suggested.

  "She doesn't seem like the type; she ain't a ditzy broad, Vinnie."

  "With respect, boss, just because she's smart and rich don't mean she ain't a ditz."

  "No, but a ditz wouldn't be runnin' a successful business on her own."

  "Maybe her family set her up. We don't — "

  "That's not what the report says; she did it all by herself, and before that, she was workin' on some other yacht as crew. Besides, she's tough as nails. She's out of Strong's league."

  "Tough as nails?" Vinnie frowned.

  "You know that guy she kicked the shit out of the other day?" Don Petrillo asked.

  "Yeah, boss. I told you about it, remember?"

  "I remember, Vinnie. But you never told me who he was."

  "I got my people in Antigua workin' on it. I'll --- "

  "Don't waste any more time on it, Vinnie. His name was Chernov."

  "Chernov?" Vinnie asked, feeling the beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "How'd you find — "

  "I got my own sources in Antigua. From a long time ago, when I was runnin' the casinos. The name Chernov mean anything to you?"

  Vinnie shook his head and swallowed hard. "It sounds like maybe a Russian name."

  "Good for you, Vinnie. At least you got a little of the old man's brains." Don Petrillo smiled, reminding Vinnie of a picture of an iguana he'd seen on a website about Antigua. "He's Russian, all right."

  "He might be connected to Danilov," Vinnie said, guessing.

  "You're a fuckin' genius, Vinnie. He's been Danilov's in-house hit man for as long as anybody can remember."

  "Hit man?" Vinnie said. "B-but that broad, she — "

  "She took him down without even breakin' a sweat, didn't she, Vinnie? What does that tell you about her?"

  "She was lucky?"

  "Now you're startin' to sound like your mother. I never could figure out what made our father go for retarded broads. Guess they were easy to keep in line, huh? Your ma ever tell you why he kept her around?"

  Vinnie shook his head. "I don't — "

  "Come on, Vinnie. The Berger broad kicked the shit out of Danilov's best muscle. She ain't lucky, so what do you think about her? You think she mighta had some training?"

  "But the background info we got on her didn't say nothin' like that."

  "No, you're right. It didn't. In fact, it really didn't give us a clue as to who the hell she is or where she came from. Nothin' older than a couple of years back, except that her family's in banking. Does it sound like we got handed a cover story, maybe?"

  "You think she's — "

  "I think she's some kinda undercover Fed, is what I think. Why else would Danilov's hit man go after her? Danilov musta sniffed her out, somehow."

  "But wait, Don Petrillo. Strong's planning to invite her out to Danilov's yacht. Why would Danilov let him do that, if he thought she was a Fed?"

  Don Petrillo raised his eyebrows. "Now that's a damned good question. You got an idea?"

  "Suppose this Chernov suspected her, but he hadn't told Danilov yet."

  "I'm listenin' Vinnie. You're soundin' like our old man again, now."

  "So she snuffs Chernov," Vinnie said, "to keep him from blowin' her cover."

  "She snuffed him? I thought she just knocked him out, and the cops dragged him away."

  Vinnie shrugged. "I don't know for sure. I'm just sayin', ya know?"

  "Yeah, okay. I'll check m
y sources in Antigua, see if the cops are holdin' Chernov. You figure out how to find out from Strong if he knows whether he's still alive, okay?"

  "I can't do that, Don Petrillo — "

  "Why the hell not? We own his sorry ass."

  "Yeah, that's so, but Strong doesn't know that we know about her kickin' Chernov's ass. Remember?"

  "Shit, that's right! I forgot that he kept that from us." Don Petrillo said, nodding. "Now, think about what Strong's up to, Vinnie."

  "What about him?"

  "He sees Berger take out Chernov, but he doesn't tell us. You think he said anything to Danilov about it?"

  "That would be a normal thing to do," Vinnie said.

  "Yeah, it would, but so would tellin' you, unless Strong was in cahoots with the woman."

  "You think he's talkin' to the Feds? Is that what you're sayin'?"

  "I'm just thinkin' out loud, Vinnie. He could be, you know. Then he sneaks this broad right into the middle of everything and busts Danilov wide open. If Danilov goes down, it puts the screws to our scam, too."

  "We need to find out about Chernov," Vinnie said.

  "You're right, Vinnie. If Chernov's alive, then you gotta figure Danilov wants to get the broad aboard to find out what she knows."

  "Or to do away with her," Vinnie said.

  "Yeah, but he'd have other ways to do that," the Don said. "On the other hand, if Chernov's dead, there's a good chance the broad and Strong are both workin' for the Feds and Danilov's in the dark about it."

  "Should we be talkin' to Danilov?" Vinnie asked.

  "Maybe. I gotta think that through. We ain't on the friendliest terms, but we got some common interests, here. The problem is, Danilov doesn't know that. I can't just call the son of a bitch up and tell him; he'd know we were up to something."

  "That's right," Vinnie said, shaking his head. "How could we get word to him without him knowin' where it's coming from?"

  "Good question. If we knew for sure Strong wasn't talkin' to the Feds, we could clue him in about the broad, set him up to make some points with Danilov. Let's focus on what we can find out about Chernov from Antigua. We gotta find out if he's dead or alive. You get your people to check. Maybe they could ask at the restaurant, see if anybody knows, or if anybody recognized the cops that took him away. That would help me when I ask my contacts, if we had a couple of names in the police. Whatever they do though, they gotta keep an eye on Berger. We need to know one way or the other on her. If she busts Danilov, it'll screw up our scam."

  ****

  "So," Dani asked, as they lingered over the last of the wine that Liz had served with dinner, "you did a good job of sailing Vengeance today. How did you like handling her on your own?"

  "It's magic, like Liz said," Mindy responded.

  "I was surprised you weren't shooting video," Dani said.

  "We wanted to really learn our way around the boat first," Blaine said. "The next time out, we'll be taping, for sure, but we want to get some shots of ourselves sailing her. That has a different kind of appeal than shots of the two of you taking us for a ride."

  "I can see that," Dani said.

  "Liz is a good teacher," Mindy said, "but she told us she learned everything she knows from you."

  "She was just being modest," Dani said, with a smile. "She's been at this as long as I have."

  "She said you had more sea-time," Blaine said. "She said you crewed on your father's yachts from the time you were about 12."

  "That may be, but scrubbing the deck and cleaning up after paying guests doesn't teach you much about sailing."

  "Oh," Mindy said. "I thought you probably had it easy — owner's child kind of thing."

  "He wanted me to have the full experience," Dani said. "It was okay; I learned a lot. Some of it was even related to sailing, later on."

  "Are you enjoying the script for Kev Strong's latest?" Mindy asked, as Liz divided the last of the wine among their glasses.

  Dani shrugged. "It was interesting. I can see that the story might make a good movie, but scripts have never been my thing. I can read a book and visualize everything, but seeing all those peripheral notations ruins it for me. I keep trying to picture how things are supposed to happen on the stage, or wherever, instead of following the storyline."

  "Are you going to try auditioning for him?" Blaine asked. "Liz said he wanted you as his co-star."

  "I think he wants something a little more personal, actually," Dani said. "It might be fun, but I've got a charter business to keep up with. I can't go running off to play at being a movie star."

  "Oh, you should," Mindy said, trading glances with Blaine. "It's an experience that most people would die for. Besides, with your looks and brains, you might help poor Kev pull off a winner, for a change."

  "It's kind of you to say so, but I ... "

  "Really, Dani," Blaine said, "I'm with Mindy. You should go for it. We're happy to sail Vengeance with Liz. It'll be fun to be part of the crew."

  "I don't know," Liz interjected. "You two were great out there today, but when things turn nasty, managing Vengeance can be a challenge, even for a well-practiced crew. She's a powerful beast when a squall blows through with some real wind." She gave Dani a hard look and shook her head slightly.

  "Liz is right. You never know what Mother Nature's going to throw at you this time of year. If you had a few months of experience, it could be different. I know you did well out there today, but what if Liz got a crack on the head? It happens, and more frequently in bad weather. It's tempting, but ... "

  "It's nice of you to offer," Liz said, 'but she's right."

  "Well, think about it, anyway," Mindy said. "You should at least go spend a little time with Strong. Run through a few scenes with him. A day or two won't matter; we can stick close to home, or something. I feel bad, depriving you of an opportunity like this."

  "I'll think about it. I have to call him tomorrow, anyway, and I know he's going to pressure me to come out to Platinum Odyssey. He's already said the investors want to meet me. I'm afraid he won't accept defeat graciously."

  "He doesn't have any other option, Dani," Liz said, her green eyes flashing a warning to her friend.

  "I'm thinking about going out there for a few hours and really messing up the audition; given my extensive experience on stage, that should be easy enough." Dani grinned.

  "Well, just talk to him and see what he says," Blaine said. "Mindy and I will cope if you decide to give it a whirl."

  Chapter 21

  "Even if she goes, Blaine, it's not going to give us access to Platinum Odyssey," Mindy whispered. They lay on the berth in their stateroom, rehashing their dinner-table conversation with Liz and Dani. "We can't turn her into our spy without coming clean with them. Besides, that would put her in some serious danger."

  "From what I saw at that restaurant the other day, she can take care of herself. But you're right about the other. What's the downside to coming clean with them? They seem like they're trustworthy."

  "You can't know that, Blaine. They're obviously connected to somebody down here who has a lot of access to the authorities. We don't know who this guy, Phillip, is, and she talks to him often. That could mean they're corrupt, or if they aren't, some of their contacts may be. I'm not comfortable with telling them what we're doing."

  "Well, why were you pushing her to visit Strong, then?" Blaine asked.

  "She might see something just in passing that would help. Those women who were out by the pool — she might find out something about them."

  "Yeah, but I feel like we're wasting a golden opportunity," Blaine said.

  "Well, look at it this way. If she goes aboard Danilov's yacht, it gives us a perfect reason for Vengeance to hover around in sight of them, doesn't it?"

  "Yeah, but what good's that going to do? We already got some shots of Platinum Odyssey."

  "We can't know what we might see, Blaine. You know that. Besides, even if we told Dani and Liz what we're doing, she still won't be able t
o do more than just look around casually while she's aboard. We can't ask her to risk making pictures, or trying to snoop around. Think of what would happen if they caught her."

  "Like I said, I think she can take care of herself."

  "Not when she's in the enemy's fortress, Blaine. She'll be completely cut off, and if they catch her, the next step for them would be to come after Vengeance."

  "You don't think we could ask her to make some pictures with her phone, at least? I mean, that's the kind of thing a star-struck girl would do anyway, right?"

  "Maybe. She doesn't exactly seem star-struck to me," Mindy said.

  "Why else would she even consider going aboard Platinum Odyssey?" Blaine asked. "She's gotta either want to be in the movies or she's got the hots for Strong, or both."

  "That's what I keep asking myself," Mindy said.

  "What?"

  "Why she might be doing this," Mindy said. "I mean, we don't really know either of them very well, but this seems totally out of character for her. Liz, on the other hand, now, I could see her deciding to have a fling with Kev Strong just for the hell of it. Dani? Not so much."

  "I don't understand women at all, I guess," Blaine said.

  "Of course not, silly. That's my job. Trust me, there's something we aren't getting. We can't trust our mission to these two. We'll just have to see how it plays out. At least if Dani goes aboard Danilov's boat for a couple of days, it can't hurt us any, and she might pick up something that we can use."

  "Yes ma'am. Whatever you say. Let's go to sleep; sailing really takes it out of me."

  "Me, too. I could definitely get hooked on this kind of life."

  ****

  "Dani?" Liz spoke in a soft voice.

  "Yes?"

  "Are you really thinking about saying yes to Strong?"

  "No, not Strong."

  "Well, that's a relief," Liz said.

  "It's Clarence that I'm having a hard time with."

  "What?" Liz asked, struggling to keep her voice down. "Clarence?"

  "How many times has he bailed us out, Liz? I've lost count. And he's never asked for anything."

  "True," Liz said, "but isn't that because of his ties to your father and Phillip?"