Bluewater Rendezvous: The Eighth Novel in the Caribbean Mystery and Adventure Series (Bluewater Thrillers Book 8)

by Charles Dougherty

  "Damn it!" she said.

  "I'll get it," Liz said.

  "See who it is first," Dani said, wiping her hands on a rag.

  "Unknown caller," Liz said, and pressed the connect key. "Hello?" She listened for a few seconds and said, "For you," as she passed the phone to Dani.

  "Hello. This is Dani." She paused. "Rollie?"

  "Yeah. Hi!"

  "Hi! What's — "

  "I'm doing great with this rehab thing. I'm in a special program; it's really good. Where are you and Liz?""

  "Never mind where we are. Where are you?"

  "I'm, uh, not supposed to say. It's, like, part of this special program, see. It's not quite approved yet, so it's kind of secret. Are you guys in Antigua?"

  "You need to call Mother. She's — "

  "Yeah. I will, but first, there's something you can do for me. It would really help out the folks who're taking care of me, and it's not a big deal."

  Dani felt a surge of guilt. "What do you need?"

  "Well, one of the big investors, this Mr. Cappelletti, see, his daughter's missing in Antigua. I thought maybe you could ask around. Her name's — "

  "Rollie? Where are you? Are you okay?"

  "Yeah, sure. I'm here in, um ... sorry, Dani, but I've gotta go. It's time for one of my sessions, but if you could ... "

  Dani heard a click as the call was disconnected. She shook her head, gazing into the distance through the open companionway.

  "Your brother?" Liz asked.

  Dani turned and looked at her, nodding. "Yes. I think he's in trouble."

  "What did he say?"

  "Not a lot, but the people who're running this special rehab program he's in are looking for Angela." She clenched her teeth, feeling the muscles in her jaw bulge. "Those assholes. Now they've done it."

  "What, Dani?" Angela asked, coming below. "I just caught part of what you were saying. Your brother's in trouble of some kind? I didn't know you had a brother."

  "That's a story all by itself," Dani said. "He just disappeared from a drug rehab program up in New Jersey, and now he's helping your father look for you."

  "Oh, no. Do you think my father bought him off?"

  Dani shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe with dope; money means nothing to Rollie."

  "They may have kidnapped him, Dani. I hate to say it, but I know they're capable of that. I even got snatched once by one of his rivals when I was little."

  Dani studied Angela's face for a moment. "I'd guess somebody paid the ultimate price for that."

  "I don't know; I wouldn't bet on it. I was pretty shaken up, and so was my mother, but Papa told us to forget it. He said that it was just business — nothing personal."

  "Yeah, well, whoever this is just crossed that line with me."

  "What do you mean?" Angela asked.

  "It's personal with me, now."

  "Because he's your brother?"

  "Not particularly. He's no prize."

  "I don't understand, then."

  "When somebody pushes me, I hit back. Hard. I don't like people trying to manipulate me. I especially detest the kind of cowardly assholes that threaten innocent people to try to get what they want. I know he's your father, but he's on my shit list, now. If you want out of this, I understand. Just say the word."

  "I want out, all right, but I want us all out of it, Dani. I agree with you one hundred percent; I didn't choose my father. But you can't mean you're going to take him on! That's nuts; you have no idea what he's like. He never starts a fight he can't win."

  "There's a first time for everything; he should have stuck to pushing men around. He's in over his head this time. Like I said, if you don't want to watch him fall, now's the time for us to part company."

  "I'm with you, if you trust me."

  Dani stared at her for a full minute, and nodded. "Thanks, Angela."

  "What now?" Liz asked.

  "Let's clear out for the Virgins. We'll start there," Dani said.

  Chapter 23

  "Hang on a second, Franco. Tell me again, slow," Guido said.

  "She called the clinic and — "

  "She, who?" Guido asked.

  "Marie Stanwicke."

  "And she's the mother, right? Of this loser out by the pool?"

  "Right."

  "Okay, so she called the clinic. What did she say?"

  "She's been in touch with her lawyer, and they'll be filing a lawsuit against the clinic for letting him go."

  "That ain't goin' anywhere," Guido said. "Who took the call?"

  "Sam."

  "Okay. He can keep that under control. What's the big problem?"

  "She called back and talked to the receptionist."

  "The receptionist? So what? What did this Stanwicke woman say to her?"

  "She told her there was a million bucks reward money for anybody at the clinic who could tell her about the son's disappearance."

  "Oh, shit. That might be a problem. Who did the receptionist tell besides Sam?"

  "She told everybody, I guess. Sam's secretary told him."

  Guido sat for a moment, staring out the glass wall of his study, watching Rollie and the nurse cavorting in the pool. Franco fidgeted, adjusting the knickknacks on the edge of Guido's desk.

  "Okay. Tell Sam to call the people together. He can give 'em some bullshit story about how they could go to prison for 20 years for violating patient confidentiality. Tell 'em it's a federal crime, under HIPAA."

  "Hippo? What the fuck's that?"

  "Federal law on patient privacy."

  "No shit. They could go to prison?"

  "It's bullshit, Franco. I just made it up. Sam will know."

  "You just made up this hippo thing?"

  "No, damn it. It's H-I-P-A-A. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The idiots in congress made it up. I just made up the prison part, okay?"

  "Yeah, okay. I get it. I'll tell him to scare the shit out of them about taking the reward. He'll know about this HIPAA thing?"

  "Yeah. He told me about it. You gotta know shit like that to run a clinic. That's why we hired him. You got anything else?"

  "Yeah. Not sure it matters, but Suzie's been pumpin' Rollie about the Berger woman."

  "She get anything?"

  "Rumor is Berger's father's some kinda big-shot arms dealer, a mercenary, or some shit like that. Lives in Paris, but he's got family and friends all over the islands. And this sister's a real ball-buster, according to Rollie."

  "Hmph," Guido said. "A fuckin' low-life gun-runner. No wonder the Stanwicke broad dumped him."

  "He said the Berger guy's a dangerous man."

  Guido laughed. "We heard that shit before, ain't we?"

  "Yeah, boss. Just thought you should know."

  "Okay. So now I know." Guido swiveled his chair to stare out the window again.

  Franco rose from his seat. "Okay, good. I'll — "

  "Hold on, Franco. I ain't through with you yet."

  "Sorry, boss." Franco sat down.

  "I think we need to crank up the pressure on the Stanwicke woman. This Berger broad didn't give a fuckin' inch when her brother talked to her, did she?"

  "No," Franco agreed. He had played a recording of Rollie's conversation with Dani for Guido earlier. "No, she's pretty damn shrewd. Never told him where they were, never let on that she knew shit about any of this."

  "Yeah. She knows somethin's goin' on," Guido said. "You catch that she tried to get him to tell her where he is?"

  "Shit, yeah. I was pokin' him in the ribs and shakin' my head that whole time. I think the dumb fucker woulda told her if I hadn't cut him off."

  "Okay. It's time to turn up the heat. He got any rings or an engraved watch or anything his mother would recognize?"

  "Yeah. He's got a signet ring."

  "Perfect. You know what to do. And get him outta here afterwards. Move him to the warehouse on the river. We're done with bein' nice to him."

  "Well, should I give him to — "

&nbs
p; "No, not yet. Keep him alive. We may need a few more bits and pieces from him before we're through. Tell the Stanwicke woman the finger's just the beginning. She'll get a reminder every so often until this Dani Berger tells us where Angela is."

  "Got it, boss."

  "Good. Make it happen."

  ****

  Mario Espinosa and Sharktooth were enjoying coffee and cigars after their lunch. They were in a quiet corner at one of Mario's favorite restaurants on Calle Ocho in Little Havana. Mario felt his cellphone vibrating.

  "Excuse me," he said, extracting the phone from his pocket. He looked at the screen and said, "It's Dani's satellite phone."

  Touching the connect icon, he said, "Hello, Vengeance."

  "Buenos tardes, Mario. Cómo está?"

  "Estoy bien, gracias, Dani. Sharktooth and I were just wondering about you."

  "He's with you?"

  "Yes. We just finished a late lunch. Where are you?"

  "We're underway, about ten miles southeast of Montserrat."

  "We thought you'd be heading south from Les Saintes. Sharktooth was going to call you about stopping in Dominica tomorrow or the next day."

  "He's finished there?"

  "Yes. Hold on — he's reaching for the phone."

  "Good afternoon, Dani. Mebbe you change course now? I could be home by morning. You come see me and Maureen? We show your guest all the bes' t'ings 'bout Dominica."

  "I was calling Mario to find out if he knew how I could reach you. We'll have to visit Dominica later. If you're finished with whatever you and Mario were doing, I could use your help in the Virgins in a day or so. What's your schedule?"

  "No schedule. Mario an' I, we jus' finish up. I can meet you, no problem. Easy to get to St. Thomas any time."

  "Yes. This is perfect. Can you do a little snooping for me in Miami before you leave?"

  "No problem. What do you need?"

  "I think a guy named Guido Cappelletti has kidnapped my brother, and I — "

  "You got a bruddah? I don' know this."

  "A half-brother, from my mother's second marriage. Mario can tell you about that and this Cappelletti mess. Anyway, I know Cappelletti's got a house on Star Island, but I'd guess he wouldn't hold my brother there. Maybe you can get in touch with Luke; he might have some ideas on where to look."

  "Luke Pantene?" Sharktooth asked.

  "Right. Phillip's helping, too. He and Mario and Luke know the whole story, except that now Cappelletti's trying to lure us into a trap at Caneel Bay. That's why we're headed for the Virgins; you and I are going to turn the trap around on them."

  "Okay. I bettah get to work. I call you soon."

  "If you need any specific information on the Star Island place, Cappelletti's daughter is with me. Just call; she's what this was all about, until Cappelletti pissed me off. Now it's all about him. But he doesn't know that, yet."

  "He 'bout to find out, I betcha," Sharktooth said, with a rumbling laugh. "Okay, I go now. Gotta talk to Mario and Luke."

  "Dani?" Angela asked, after Dani put the phone away. She'd been sitting beside Dani, listening.

  "Yes?"

  "I'm confused about why you didn't just get this Luke Pantene involved in looking for Rollie. And what are we going to do in the Virgins?"

  "Your father's good at covering himself; it's a safe bet that the cops wouldn't be able to do us much good. Technically, we don't even know if Rollie's been kidnapped. He could be —- "

  "Oh, come on, Dani. We know," Angela protested.

  "But there's nothing for the cops to work with," Dani said. "They can't do much until there's some evidence that he didn't sign himself out of rehab voluntarily."

  "So how can this Sharktooth help, then?"

  "He makes his own rules, like your father does. He can do things the cops can't do."

  "But Papa's house on Star Island is like an armed camp. If they catch him snooping around there, they'll ... " She shook her head.

  "That's Sharktooth's specialty," Liz said. "If they're lucky, they'll never know he was there."

  Angela frowned for a moment. "Well, I guess we'll see. But what about the Virgins?"

  "You said Joe Bones and Willy and Fats were most likely hanging out at your father's villa in St. Thomas," Dani said. "I've got in mind that Sharktooth and I will pay them a visit."

  "A visit? But it's just like Star Island; they'll kill you and there won't be a trace left."

  "I had in mind a different outcome; I want to see if they know where Rollie is. And who knows? One of them might want to talk to the police — go into witness protection, or something."

  "They'd die before they'd testify," Angela said.

  "That's an option they'll have, if they're lucky."

  "If they're lucky?" Angela asked. "And if they're not lucky?"

  "Then they won't have the choice of testifying."

  ****

  Dani stood on the cockpit seat beside the helm, her left hand braced against the boom to steady her as she scanned the horizon. Seeing no other vessels, she sat down and switched off the autopilot. She grasped the helm with a light touch and enjoyed the feeling of being one with her vessel.

  Vengeance was slicing through the pitch-black water at nine knots on an easy broad reach with about 15 knots of apparent wind. With no moon, her wake was barely visible in the soft light from the myriad of stars. It was a creamy path more noticeable for its texture than for the little bit of ambient light that it reflected. The night was clear, and there was a two-meter-high, long-period swell running. The boat's motion was gentle, repetitive, and Dani knew that Liz and Angela would be sleeping soundly below.

  She savored the solitude for a few minutes, basking in the peace unique to being on deck alone at night and far from the troubles of shore. The loom from the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis barely broke the line of the horizon off the starboard bow. She sighted through a gap in the shadowy rigging, watching as the dim glow crept aft, marking Vengeance's progress. She poured a cup of coffee from the thermos that Liz had fixed for her earlier. Sipping the coffee, she sighed and turned her thoughts to planning what she would do in St. Thomas.

  She had at first intended to ask Sharktooth to meet her in Coral Bay, on the east side of St. John. She could have left Angela there in a resort with Liz for company and protection. Then she and Sharktooth could have taken Vengeance around to Caneel Bay on the western side of the island. They could have ambushed the thugs who were planning to board the boat. Expecting three helpless females, Guido's soldiers would have been easy pickings for the two of them.

  Two things had caused her to drop that plan. Angela had objected to being left in Coral Bay; she wanted to participate. Dani admired her for that. But she wasn't willing to take an inexperienced person into what was likely to be a vicious, bloody confrontation. She knew that she could have worked around that, somehow, but Dani wanted more than a simple victory over hired help. She wanted to strike a more decisive blow against Cappelletti.

  She was angry; not with the flash of temper that led to a barroom brawl, but with a deep, smoldering heat that burned like a coal in her chest. She had little use for people like Guido Cappelletti even when they weren't bothering her. When one of them invaded her life, though, she was compelled to defend herself. To her, that meant obliterating the offender.

  Her reaction to the Cappelletti situation was complicated by her conflicting feelings for Rollie. She understood that. He was her brother, but he had chosen his own path. His weakness saddened her, but it didn't evoke a need to take care of him.

  Earlier in her life, she had felt that, but not recently. She had recognized that by bailing him out, she was teaching him to depend on her rather than to deal with his demons. Her mother never grasped that; this was one more difference that had led Dani to sever her relationship with the two of them.

  She had spent the time since they left Les Saintes trying to understand the source of her fury with Cappelletti. She decided that it wasn't because he had kidnapped
Rollie as a means to manipulate her. It was because the bastard thought he had the option to manipulate her at all. She intended to put a shot across his bow by attacking his men in St. Thomas. If nothing else, it would throw him off balance. Besides, there was a fair chance that Joe Bones knew where Rollie was being held. Bones was the heir apparent; he must know more than the others. If she could extract that information, she could develop the next phase of her plan.

  She knew that the conflict wouldn't end in St. Thomas, no matter how devastating her attack might be. There was only one way to deal with people like Guido Cappelletti. For now, she had to content herself with crippling his organization in the islands. As long as he was in the States under surveillance by who knew how many government agencies, a personal attack on him had too many risks. But she'd find a way.

  If she could hand him over to Luke Pantene with proof that he'd committed a felony, that would at least keep him out of circulation for a while. Angela had said that his health was in decline, so a while might be long enough.

  Chapter 24

  Guido was finishing his breakfast when Franco appeared at the table on his veranda.

  "Good morning, Franco. Have a seat. You want some breakfast?"

  "G'morning, Don Guido. We got a problem." Franco remained standing, clenching and relaxing his fists.

  Guido saw the tension in him. "Yeah? What problem?"

  "Joey DeLuca — you know Joey?"

  Guido shook his head. "I don't think so."

  "You'd know if you saw him. He's one of the guys who watches the dock here at night."

  "Okay. What about him?"

  "When Sonny went down to the dock this morning to relieve him, he found Joey hogtied, in the boat. It was still on the lift."

  "So what happened?" Don Guido asked, a worried frown on his face.

  "No idea. We haven't — "

  "Bullshit, Franco. What did he say?"

  "Who, boss?"

  "Joey, you dumbass."

  "No, boss, Joey's dead. Broken neck."

  "Shit. How long?"

  "Not too. Body's still not stone cold. I figure probably early this mornin'."

  Guido was tense as he picked up his coffee. "He still got his phone? Maybe somebody wanted — "