****
Big Jim was finishing lunch on his patio when Ozzie called.
"So our Danielle Berger just bought herself a million-dollar yacht." Big Jim summed up Ozzie's report.
"Yeah. You were right about the money, Big Jim. She's got another gal with her, too. The broker thinks they may be planning to run charters. They changed the name; it's called Vengeance now, with a hailing port of Dover, Delaware. Some corporation owns the yacht, and Berger's listed as the Managing Director. The broker didn't know where they were going, but customs did have Vengeance cleared outbound for Guadeloupe. French customs has no record of her under either name, but we all know what that means."
"Yeah," Big Jim said. "Okay, thanks Ozzie. Stay in touch."
After he hung up the phone, Big Jim sat gazing at his swimming pool and thinking. He was getting anxious about his situation with Camacho. The silence was wearing on his nerves. He knew that this was probably Camacho's intention; guilty people ran, so he had to stay visible and act cool until he was ready to disappear. Moving too quickly would draw retribution as surely as blood in the water drew sharks. He knew this, but sitting still was hard, especially with that psycho, José, camped out on his doorstep. He needed activity, a distraction of some sort.
To avoid trouble with Camacho, he needed to appear to be an innocent man with time on his hands. He thought that maybe it was time for a holiday. He could call Rita and fly her out from Miami. They could stay at one of the hotels in Bequia and chill out. Rita would keep him occupied, and Bequia was close by. He wouldn't be too far away from the action, once Ozzie found the Berger woman. There were enough other people on Bequia to hinder José if he decided to strike, but not so many that José would be able to stay out of Big Jim's sight. He picked up the phone and scrolled through the directory until he found Rita's number.
Chapter 17
Ozzie was frustrated. He knew that Vengeance left Antigua, and he was certain that a 60-foot yacht couldn’t have vanished. After calling everyone he could think of on the island of Guadeloupe, he had found no trace of her, but that was still the most likely place for the yacht to have gone. Guadeloupe was a large island with many places a yacht could anchor. Some were busy; others, secluded. That didn't even take into account that Vengeance could be in Marie Galante or Les Saintes, or even some of the smaller, less well-known islands that make up Guadeloupe. He assumed that the two women were island-hopping south from Guadeloupe, but he couldn't be certain of that.
They had told customs in Antigua that they were going to Guadeloupe, so they probably did, but there were numerous places they could go from there. His contact in Antigua would call him if they came back, and he had made an arrangement with the customs officer that he knew in Dominica to let him know if she cleared in there, but there were Statia, Saba, and the country of St. Kitts and Nevis to the west, as well, and he wasn't well connected in those islands.
Meanwhile, he worried that Zeke and James were too busy enjoying the liquor and women in Antigua, and wouldn't be in any shape to follow orders when he did find Vengeance. He shook his head in frustration.
****
It was early afternoon, and Dani and Liz were having a boisterous sail past Scott's Head on the southwestern corner of Dominica. They were in a famously rough spot of water, a couple of miles off the headland, where the winds were always gusty and unpredictable because of the nearby mountains, and the confluence of tidal currents produced confused, choppy seas. Vengeance was in her element, rail down with her lee deck awash, a steady 30 knots of wind gusting to 50, and the spray flying. They were holding speeds of just above 10 knots, and both women were enjoying putting Vengeance through her paces.
"If we were going to do this for long, I'd want to reduce sail, Dani; wouldn't you?"
"Yes. It's fun for a while, but it's exhausting to drive her like this. It's bound to settle down just past the point, so we might as well enjoy the ride."
****
Ozzie had just finished a late lunch at his desk when his phone rang. He didn't recognize the number, but the 767 area code told him that the call was from Dominica.
"Yes," he said, keeping his voice even.
"The yacht you ask about clear in yesterday, from Guadeloupe, with two people aboard."
"Why are you just now calling?" Ozzie was unable to keep the irritation from his tone.
"Jus' now back to office. I have toothache yesterday; wait all day for dentist in Roseau. Sorry, mon."
"Where is Vengeance?"
"Computer say Portsmouth."
"And how long are they cleared to stay?"
"Two weeks, unless they exten'."
"Thank you, Richard. Is your tooth better now?"
"Tooth gone. He pull yesterday."
"Goodbye," Ozzie said, forcing civility into his tone as best he could.
He called Zeke and James, who were already into their afternoon's drinking, and dispatched them to Dominica on a flight that would arrive in the late afternoon. He admonished them to sober up on the plane.
****
Sharktooth was sitting on his usual beer crate in the shade of the porch at the Indian River Guides' headquarters, sharing in the evening conversation. One of his compatriots was describing an encounter with two strangers who had shown up while most of the guides were still out with their clients.
"They lookin' fo' that Vengeance boat yo' frien' sailin', Tooth."
"Yeah? They say what they want?" Sharktooth asked.
"No. They don' 'splain nothin', jus' want to know where the yacht, like they know it here already."
"What you tell they, Lucas?"
"They not from here, Tooth. I say I never see this yacht. One look like he mebbe gon' get rough, but the other kindly settle he down, an' ax where a good place to eat. They stayin' wit' Aunt Jenny and Aunt Roseanne. I t'ink mebbe they here some days befo' look fo' that Sinclair fella. 'Member?"
"Mm-hmm. I 'member. Where you sent they to eat?"
"Over to the beach."
"Thanks, Lucas. I t'ink mebbe I go see what they do now." Sharktooth rose to his feet and put his empty beer bottle in the case he had been sitting on. Everything got recycled on Dominica. He untied his water taxi and idled across the harbor toward the restaurant on the beach, where he found the two strangers at the bar. As he walked in from the dock, the giant behind the bar handed him a tall glass of rum punch, dripping with condensate.
"These two gentlemen buyin' rum punch for the house, Tooth," he explained, jerking his head toward the strangers.
Sharktooth could have been the bartender's twin except for their different haircuts. The bartender's shaved head gleamed in the waning light as Sharktooth took the glass from him. Sharktooth winked at the bartender and walked over to settle his bulk on the stool next to the strangers, his dreadlocks brushing his waist.
"Thanks for the drink," he said, as the men turned toward him. "I am Sharktooth. I run the bes' water taxi in Dominica. Prob'ly in all the islan'. You need to go somewhere; I the man can make it happen. I ready when you ready."
"Zeke," the man closest to him said, holding out his fist for a bump, "The quiet one, he my brother, James." James looked at Sharktooth and nodded.
"You fellas not from here. What bring you to Portsmouth?"
"Lookin' fo' a yacht," Zeke said.
"Lots o' yachts here," Sharktooth observed. "They come, they go. Nobody know why."
"We lookin' fo' a particular yacht," Zeke said.
Sharktooth held his gaze, not saying anything.
"Name Vengeance," Zeke offered, after a few seconds.
Sharktooth shook his head, still saying nothing.
"You see this Vengeance, Sharktooth?"
Sharktooth shook his head again, frowning as if searching his memory. "Why you lookin' fo' Vengeance, Zeke?"
"My boss, he mebbe want to buy this yacht. He pay me to take care of he boats, see. He tell me to come see this Vengeance in Portsmouth, see if he should mebbe buy."
"Soun'
like you got some good job, Zeke. Who yo' boss?"
"Oh, I don' t'ink you know he, Sharktooth. He grow the sugarcane on St. Vincent. He ver' rich man."
"Mm-hmm," Sharktooth murmured. "Don' know nobody like that. If he so rich, you mebbe pay somebody tell you where this Vengeance?" Sharktooth raised his eyebrows, waiting.
"Mebbe $100 E.C., somebody tell us where we find the yacht."
Sharktooth turned away from Zeke and put both massive forearms on the bar, settling in to nurse his rum punch.
Zeke, reading his body language, said, "Mebbe even $100 U. S. Boss want that yacht bad."
Sharktooth picked up his drink and turned back to face Zeke. Zeke reached into his pocket and took out some folded bills, held together with a paper clip. He peeled out a hundred-dollar bill and put the rest back in his pocket. He smoothed the bill on the surface of the bar, anchoring it with his left hand.
"Yacht come here today from the Saintes. Bareboat, wit' four young American men. They lookin' fo' ladies." Sharktooth took a sip of his drink and winked at Zeke. Zeke nodded.
"They tellin' me all about this yacht, Vengeance. They see in the Saintes. Got two young, hot gals sailin' all alone. Pretty gals, they say. Mebbe French. Speak good French, anyway, not islan' French."
Sharktooth reached toward the bill on the bar, and Zeke jerked it away. Then he felt his left arm go numb. Sharktooth's massive right hand was clamped around Zeke's elbow, and he couldn't move. Sharktooth smiled and Zeke felt fire shoot all the way up from his elbow to the top of his head. He cast a panicked glance at James. The giant bartender was casually holding both of James's arms on the bar with one big paw, wiping the nearby surface with a damp towel, and humming a gospel tune. Zeke looked back at Sharktooth and nodded. Sharktooth nodded back, his smile still in place, and released Zeke's elbow. "You and James, you go to the Saintes in the morning. Mebbe you find Vengeance there. You don' need to ax here no mo'." He picked up the hundred and nodded at the bartender.
James and Zeke stood up. Zeke put a fifty on the bar to cover the drinks, and they headed for the door.
"G'night, gentlemen," the giant bartender rumbled in a bass voice that rattled the glassware. "Thanks for visiting. Sorry we won't be seein' you again." He smiled at Sharktooth.
Chapter 18
"What do you mean, Zeke? Vengeance can't be in the Saintes. My customs man in Dominica told me she cleared into Portsmouth the day before yesterday and was staying for two weeks." Ozzie clenched his teeth.
"The only man know anyt'ing 'bout Vengeance, he say she in the Saintes. Nobody else see the yacht in Portsmouth, an' she don' be in the harbor. We look; she not here." Zeke and James were at the airport, waiting for instructions. "You want we go to the Saintes, or come back to St. Vincent?"
"You wait at the airport until I call you back, and don't start drinking. I'm paying you and James good money. I expect you to stay sober while you're working. Got it?"
"Yes, Ozzie. Jus' as you say."
Ozzie disconnected the call and drummed his fingers on his desk. He heard the squeaking sound of his teeth grinding, and forced his jaws apart. He called his inside man in Dominica.
"My men can't find Vengeance in Portsmouth, Richard."
"Ah, then it is possible that the yacht is not there."
Ozzie's jaw muscles cried out. He forced his teeth apart. "Of course the yacht is not there. If the yacht were there, my men would have found it. You told me they were staying for two weeks."
"I see. We have some misunderstanding of customs regulation. Tha's why you confused."
"I'm not confused. Did they clear out?"
"Yes, of course. I look at the file on my computer as we speak."
"Well, come on, man, answer my question, damn it!"
"You mus' ask firs'. The yacht clear in, an' then it clear out. What else you wish to know?"
"When did it clear out?"
"The day befo' yesterday."
"But, you told me they cleared in the day before yesterday."
"Tha's correct."
"But that makes no sense. If they cleared in and out on the same day, why did you tell me yesterday that they were staying for two weeks, Richard?"
"Because it say this on the declaration."
"Why would they clear in and out on the same day if they were staying for two weeks? I don't understand."
"It is for convenience of visiting pleasure craft. It is done this way mos' often, so that the captain does not have to come back to customs befo' leaving if they depart within two weeks of the date when they check in, you see."
"Do they have to list their next port of call when they do this?"
"Certainly. That is absolute requirement; otherwise, we would not grant clearance."
"So, what did they list as their next port of call, Richard?"
"St. Pierre, Martinique, but they may change they plan and not tell us."
"Thank you, Richard. This has been most enlightening. May I ask why you didn't tell me this yesterday?"
"Of course, you may."
"Well…," Ozzie waited, feeling his blood pressure rising.
"Well, wha', Mr. Johnston?"
"Why didn't you tell me this yesterday?"
"You don' ask, Mr. Johnston. Sorry, but I mus' go now. They people wait for clearance."
Ozzie threw the telephone against the wall and smashed a fist into the top of his desk. As he struggled to regain control, he wondered if Richard had been educated by Jesuits. Recovering his composure somewhat, he first felt envy, and then pity, for the dentist who had extracted Richard's tooth yesterday. If extracting the tooth was as difficult as extracting information from the man, the dentist surely had earned his fee.
He took an encrypted satellite phone from his desk drawer, intending to go for a walk in his garden and think a bit before calling Big Jim with this latest piece of news. Then he remembered Zeke and James. He made a quick call and gave them orders to come home. There was no way he wanted them on the loose in Martinique. Aside from the opportunity for them to get into trouble, Martinique was like Guadeloupe, in that it would be impossible to search all of the possible anchorages and marinas. By the time he walked out onto the porch overlooking the garden, he had calmed down.
****
Vengeance had spent last night at anchor in St. Pierre, Martinique. Dani was eager for Liz to meet Phillip and Sandrine, and she couldn't wait to show Phillip the new yacht, so they made a dawn departure and arrived in Cul-de-Sac Marin before lunch. They managed to find a spot to anchor among all of the yachts anchored off the marina, and went ashore to clear customs.
"Good morning, Sandrine," Dani said as she entered the office, paperwork in hand.
Sandrine glanced up quickly from her computer screen. "Dani! And this is your partner in the new yacht, I think, isn't it?" Sandrine came out from behind the counter and gave Dani an air-kiss, and Dani introduced her two friends.
"It is almost the time of lunch, for the office to be closing. We will call Phillip to come, and have the lunch in the restaurant just here. I am bringing your paperwork back and make the clearance later, is no problem, okay?"
Dani and Liz agreed, and while Sandrine closed the customs office, the two of them got a table in the restaurant overlooking the marina. When Sandrine joined them, she reported that Phillip was en route. While they waited for him, Sandrine and Liz got acquainted. Sandrine, ever determined to learn colloquial American English, refused to speak French. This proved amusing and confusing to Liz, with her British boarding school English. Dani was quietly entertained, speaking only when she was asked to interpret the American vernacular.
"Hello, ladies," Phillip interrupted. "Thanks for waiting for me." He gave Dani a hug and shook hands with Liz, kissing his fiancée on the cheek as he took the empty chair at the table for four. "Have you had a good trip south? How's Vengeance sail?"
Dani and Liz gave a full report on the wonders of Vengeance. As they finished, Dani asked, "So when is the wedding, you two?"
As Sandrine and Phillip looked at one another, deciding who would answer, Phillip's phone rang. Annoyed, he looked at the caller i.d. screen. "Sharktooth," he said. "Should I take it?"
All three of his companions nodded eagerly, so Phillip put the phone in the center of the table and switched it to speakerphone mode.
"Good afternoon, Sharktooth. Be careful what you say. I'm on the speaker, and I've got witnesses."
"Hello, Sandrine," he said, making a lucky guess. Sharktooth's bass voice sounded odd coming from the small device. "You keep he on the straight an' narrow, or you need some help?"
"Hi, Sharktooth," Dani said.
"Dani? You in Marin so soon? Fas' boat, that Vengeance. Hello to Liz."
"Good afternoon, Sharktooth," Liz said.
"So, Phillip, I got some news 'bout the people been ax all the question. Mebbe you need to take off the speaker?"
Phillip picked up the phone. "What do you have, Sharktooth?"
"The two men, they come back to Dominica. I meet they las' night; ax they a few question. They work for a man in St. Vincent. He grow the sugarcane, they say. Rich, so he prob'ly grow the other stuff, too. They lookin' fo' Vengeance. Say they boss, he mebbe wan' to buy the yacht. They s'pose to check it out."
"Did anybody tell them anything, you think?"
"No, mon. They not from Dominica. Nobody tell they anyt'ing. Instead, tell me the men lookin' fo' my frien's on Vengeance. I tell these men that I hear Vengeance up in the Saintes, say they mus' go there to find."
"Good thinking, Sharktooth. You think they believed you?"
"Prob'ly not, Phillip, but I try."
"That's good, Sharktooth. Thanks. I'd better hang up and tell Dani and Liz."
"No, wait, Phillip. You know my cousin, he work in the customs at Roseau?"
"Yes, I remember."
"He hear a man at the office talkin' on the phone 'bout Vengeance this morning. This man, he do favors for a man in St. Vincent, sometime. My cousin ax he, but he won't say no mo' 'bout it but a frien' lookin' fo' the yacht. Now you tell Dani. Tell her be careful, she go roun' St. Vincent."
Bluewater Vengeance: Mystery and Adventure in the Caribbean (Bluewater Thrillers Book 2) Page 10