Lost Witness

by Rebecca Forster

  "I don't think you can –" Armstrong began.

  "It's okay, Josie." The door was pulled wide as Billy put one hand on it and another on Josie's shoulder. He moved her away. "I'll talk to him."

  "As your lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don't until he tells me what he wants."

  "I appreciate that," Billy said, "but we don't have a lot of time. Let’s just hear him out."

  "Mr. Zuni." Detective Armstrong put out his hand. Billy declined to shake it. "I don't blame you. Heard you had a rough time of it yesterday."

  "You can see for yourself," Billy said knowing his cuts and bruises spoke volumes.

  "Tough break." Armstrong's courtesy was practiced and he wanted to get down to business. "I'm here because we're following up on your report of yesterday about what happened on the Faret Vild."

  "I didn't get a chance to make a report," Billy said. "Everyone I talked to thought I was a liar or a terrorist."

  "I don't think you're either," Armstrong said. "We have a body in a container that came off that ship. I'd like to talk to you about that."

  Billy cut his eyes toward Josie. She lowered her chin almost imperceptibly. It should have been enough for Billy, but he kept looking at her. Josie shifted her weight, uncomfortable with his scrutiny.

  "Josie?" He reached for her. Something was wrong and it had nothing to do with this conversation.

  "Mr. Zuni?" Armstrong said. Reluctantly Billy gave the detective his attention. "The body you say you saw on the ship? I'd like for you to describe it to me as specifically as you can just to see if we're on the same page."

  "Yeah, I can be specific." Armstrong had his notebook out, his pen was at the ready, but Billy was distracted. "Josie, you go back in and sit down."

  Josie hesitated a split second then pushed the screen door open. It was a less than enthusiastic invitation.

  "We'll all sit down," Josie said. "Come on, detective."

  Josie led the way. Armstrong followed, acknowledging Hannah and Sparkle who were now huddled in the kitchen. Billy brought up the rear.

  "Where's Archer?" Josie asked.

  "In the office on the phone," Hannah said, as they took their seats around the dining room table.

  Armstrong smiled at the two ladies. Josie made the introductions.

  "Hannah is my . . . my daughter," Josie said as she caught the girl's eye and smiled. Hannah smiled a little, too, knowing the explanation wasn't just expedient.

  "And this is Sparkle . . ." This time Josie truly was at a loss for words because she had no idea what the woman's last name was.

  "I'm a friend of the family."

  Sparkle leaned on the pass-through counter like she was getting ready to watch the home team take the field. Hannah came out of the kitchen and stood behind Billy, putting her hands on the back of his chair, keeping her eyes on Armstrong. They could all hear the whirring and clicking from the office as the fax machine worked, but no one gave it any mind.

  "So, you ready?" Billy asked the detective.

  "Whenever you are," the man answered.

  "Okay. The person I saw died in the anchor room," Billy said. "If the body got into a container then there are only three people who could make that happen. Me, and I didn't. Tala Reyes, and she didn't. That leaves Captain Bianchi."

  "I'm not looking at how the body got in to the container at the moment, I just want you to describe it," Armstrong said.

  "This dude was Filipino," Billy said. "Even without a face I could tell that. His hair was black, his skin color was right, and he had on one of those shirts that are like square on the bottom. It had embroidery down the front. It was a white shirt."

  "Anything else?"

  "Yeah, his head was smashing against the wall. His arm was caught in the anchor chain. He'd been stabbed. I don't know if that killed him or the way his head was banging against the side of the ship, but the dude was totally dead," Billy said. "So does it match? Is that the guy in the container?"

  Armstrong ran over Billy's question with one of his own.

  "And the anchor room where you say you saw him?"

  "Where I did see him." Billy corrected Armstrong.

  "Got it." Armstrong jotted a note. "So, this room. Is it big? Lots of light?"

  "Not that big. Not much light," he said.

  "But you know he was stabbed?" Armstrong said. "You said stabbed."

  "Yeah, his shirt was all bloody," Billy looked at Josie. "I mean, yeah. I guess. You don't get that much blood without —"

  "But in a room that was dimly lit, in the situation you describe, it seems odd that you had time to specifically examine his injuries."

  "I didn't specifically examine him. I mean, I saw all the blood and his shirt was torn," Billy said.

  "Which could have happened in other ways given how you say he was wrapped in that chain. I'm not saying you are wrong –"

  "I'm not wrong. I know what I saw. He was stabbed and he was all wrapped up in that frigging chain so that he was just torn apart."

  "I believe you, Mr. Zuni," Armstrong said. "But you can see why I'm a little confused. That much blood and all. I imagine even the coroner didn't see the actual stab wounds until he undressed the body and —"

  "You can imagine anything you want," Billy snapped. "I'm telling you the way it is. If you don't like it then just take your little pad of paper and get the—“

  Josie stood up so quickly she startled Hannah, but no one else blinked. Hannah put both hands on Billy's shoulder as Josie crossed the room, picked up the knife nestled in the towel, and put it in front of the detective.

  "Billy took this knife from Tala Reyes. It is logical for him to assume the victim was stabbed. Tala Reyes is the mate who served with him on the Faret Vild. She is still on that ship. She is hurt. Billy found her with the victim, and until you get her off that ship you aren't going to know what really happened."

  Armstrong pulled the towel closer. He gave the knife a cursory inspection and was careful not to touch it.

  "There is nothing to officially indicate that they were crew," Josie continued. "However, my husband is a private investigator, and he is running it down from the back end. It may take a while because he's working with the Philippine Maritime Association. Now you know what we know. I will allow you to ask Billy questions within certain parameters. To prove to you that he was on the Faret Vild, feel free to ask him about the ship in detail. You'll be satisfied that he knows that vessel intimately. The only thing we can assume is that the ship's manifest was altered."

  Armstrong listened, but he wasn't about to let Josie Bates give him orders.

  "This looks pretty clean." He cut his eyes toward Billy as if Josie hadn't spoken. "Did you wipe it?"

  "No." Billy clasped his hands on the table.

  "But you say this is the knife used on the dead man. He was a mess, but this isn't."

  "It was used in defense," Billy said. "Tala was defending herself."

  "Is that what this woman told you?" Armstrong asked.

  Billy opened his mouth, ready to lie, but it would do no one any good.

  "No, but I know Tala. I know this was one bad dude. Otherwise he wouldn't be hiding, would he? We would have seen him around the ship, wouldn't we?"

  Billy knew he wasn't going to be believed, but he was powerless to stop himself from trying to convince this man of the truth.

  "I don't know if Tala caught him doing something, or he was just after her 'cause she was the only woman on the ship. Whatever it was she must have fought back, and you can't blame her for that. And if she's alive then she's still hurt, and I don't know why you're just sitting here like we're having friggin’ tea."

  "Billy," Josie warned.

  "No. No, Josie," Billy wagged a finger at her, tired of the roadblocks, denials, and the time slipping away. "Everyone's trying to cover their own butts, they're trying to make it about that man when it's Tala who needs our help. If she dies then it's his fault," he pointed at Armstrong. "And Andreeve's and everybo
dy else who even set eyes on that ship." Billy swung his head back to Armstrong. "All of you are going to get her killed."

  Billy's chest heaved. Everyone in the room cringed at his tirade except Charles Armstrong. He simply wrapped the towel around the knife and continued.

  "Mr. Andreeve said that you arrived through the front gate at his pier. Ms. Bates was with you. The ship had barely begun off-loading. There was no indication that you passed through security coming off the Faret Vild. So how did you get to shore, Mr. Zuni?"

  "I fail to see how that is relevant, detective." Josie said. "Let's stick to the specifics of what he saw in the anchor room."

  "Alright," Armstrong said. "But you can't fault me for being curious."

  "Nor can I see what difference it would make. He brought me to the dock to advocate for Ms. Reyes."

  "You're right," Armstrong said. "It would be odd for him to do that if he was somehow involved in this man's death. Then again—"

  "If you have questions about the anchor room and the body, ask them," Josie said. "Otherwise, we're done."

  Armstrong picked up his pen and let it hover over his notepad.

  "Could you tell me if you touched the body, Mr. Zuni? Or is it Zogaj?"

  "Irrelevant to this discussion," Josie said, but Armstrong and Billy were in a place that didn't include her.

  "Call me whatever you want." Billy put both hands to his face for an instant and when he dropped them he looked toward the ceiling. "No, I don't think I touched the body. I looked close enough to see he was dead, but I was worried about Tala. I touched Tala."

  "You handled the knife or did you wrap it up and bring it with you . . ." Armstrong paused for effect. "When you left the ship. However, it was that you left the ship, of course."

  "Yeah, I handled the knife. How do you think it got here?"

  "Did you pick it up from the floor near the body?"

  "No."

  "Was the victim holding it? Did you take it out of his hands?"

  Billy shook his head.

  "So this woman had the knife but you believe that it was the victim who attacked her, is that what you're saying?"

  "Yes," Billy said. "That's what I'm saying. That's what happened."

  "And did you have a personal relationship with this woman?"

  Billy's eyes never left Detective Armstrong's, but he was speaking to Hannah when he said:

  "Yes."

  "Maybe you were a little more involved in this thing?" Armstrong said. "If, for instance, you happened upon the two of them—"

  "You watch your mouth," Billy said.

  "Who has access to the containers?"

  The cadence of the detective's questions changed: the tempo had quickened; there was no common thread, the expression on his face closed by a degree.

  "I told you. Tala and me and the —"

  "So if I were to tell you we found your fingerprints on —"

  "Whatever," Billy threw up his hands. "I touched half those containers —"

  "On the inside of the one where we found the victim?" Armstrong pressed.

  "Where are you going with this, detective?" Josie interrupted, not liking the man's sudden intensity.

  "Nowhere in particular," he said. He smiled. "I'm just saying that we have a dead man. Now we have a knife and Mr. Zuni has a personal relatio—"

  “You want me to say I killed this guy."

  Billy launched out of his chair, sending it toppling. His hands slapped down on the table and he got in Armstrong's face.

  "Nobody believed me about the dead guy, and now you've got a body. Why would I tell anybody about the body if I did it? I could have just jumped ship and —"

  "Is that what you did?" Armstrong swung his head Billy's way. "You jumped ship? You fled?"

  "Josie," Billy said. "Do you see what he's doing?"

  "I don't make any judgments, Mr. Zuni. I simply gather information," Detective Armstrong said. "Right now I have a body, I have a knife, and I have you. What I don't have is any proof that you or Tala Reyes were on that ship."

  "You do now."

  All eyes turned toward Archer as he came out of the office, papers in hand.

  "This is my husband," Josie said. Archer nodded as he handed out Xeroxes. The first went to Detective Armstrong.

  "This is from the Philippines Maritime Association. Tala Reyes signed on to the Faret Vild when Billy said she did. I'm still waiting for confirmation that Billy was also registered as a seaman on the Faret Vild in Manila. Since he isn't affiliated with this union it will be harder to get information, but as far as Tala Reyes is concerned . . ."

  He gave a copy to Josie.

  "I imagine if we dig deep enough . . ."

  He handed another copy to Hannah. Sparkle came out of the kitchen to look over her shoulder.

  " . . . And we get a little help from the ports in L.A. and Manila, we can find a reporting body that will have a copy of the captain's original manifest . . ."

  Archer gave a copy to Billy.

  "She's pretty," Hannah said.

  "The captain will be hard pressed to say Tala Reyes did not sail on his ship now," Josie said.

  Billy sat down heavily. He kept his eyes on the paper and shook his head.

  "I don't know what's going on, but that's not Tala Reyes."

  TALA REYES

  MANILA, PHILIPPINES

  ONE YEAR EARLIER

  * * *

  "Tala! Tala, come on. Let's get out of here and have some fun."

  Tala smiled at the people crammed into the doorway of her small room at the Maritime Academy: Rupert, Jesus, Ernesto, Julio, and Angel. The six of them had been her friends almost from the moment Tala presented her papers to the college. Initially she had wanted nothing to do with any human being after what happened in Santa Cruz. She had lain in the hospital for three days and stared at the ceiling. She didn't eat. She didn't drink. She didn't close her eyes for fear of dreaming of what had happened in that house, fearing that man who laughed while he fired his gun would be back to kill her.

  When the carnage was over, the neighbors came to peer into the house, staring at the bloody scene and doing nothing. She never knew how she got to the hospital, but it was enough that she did.

  "Are you coming?" Rupert pushed his thick glasses up his short nose.

  "We're going to Valkyrie," Angel said.

  "We are going to dance all night," Ernesto added.

  "I wanted to finish packing," Tala said, but when their faces fell she relented. "I suppose we should celebrate. Three years is a long time to study."

  "And who knows when we'll see each other again." Julio pushed into Tala's room and sat on her bed.

  "I'll see you again," Jesus said to Ernesto, "Wherever we sign on, it's going to be together only I'll be the boss."

  One by one they filtered into the small room, chattering and touching things even though there wasn't much to touch. Tala had come with little, acquired nothing but her uniforms and books, and now would go to her first ship with only one bag in hand.

  "Oh, you should wear this tonight." Angel lifted a white blouse with red embroidery on the sleeves out of the suitcase. "Do you have a short skirt? That would look —"

  "Don't touch that." Tala was on her feet, ripping the shirt out of Angel's hands. "Don't ever touch that again."

  "I didn't mean anything," Angel said.

  Tala swallowed hard, ashamed of what she had done. She put the blouse over her arm and smoothed it.

  "No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. This is . . . its just special. I don't wear it." Tala leaned over the suitcase, folded the blouse carefully, and put it under the bright white uniform shirts that were already packed. "Look, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."

  "We know. We should go anyway," Julio said. "Come on. Let's go."

  In a few moments only Rupert remained. He said:

  "You could still come."

  "No. I think I better finish here," she said.

  He hesitated. He pushed his
glasses up his nose again.

  "Tala?"

  "Yes?"

  "You've got to figure it out, you know. You were the best in our class, but you're not going to get anywhere unless you figure out whatever makes you so angry."

  Tala put a hand on Rupert's arm and that turned into a hug, brief but fierce. When he was gone, Tala sat on her bed, reached into the drawer of the small desk, and took out the envelope. For three years she had looked at the things inside, things that were not only precious to her but necessary to her survival: a birth certificate, the application to the academy, and I.D. numbers. She flipped the papers over and saw the acceptance letter to the academy and the offer of a scholarship.

  The dream was fulfilled. Not in the way it should have been, but it was done. The world waited. Tala put the papers back in the envelope that was stained in places. Only she knew that the rust colored splash across the paper was dried blood. She reached in once more and took out a newspaper clipping. This was new, cut out only a week ago from the newspaper. She took a pen and circled the man's face, the one who stood so proudly by the president of the Philippines. When that was done, she put the picture back in the envelope, put the envelope into her suitcase, closed the case and set it by the door. Tala lay down on her bed, put her arms behind her head, and stared at the ceiling.

  Ernesto was right. She needed to figure it out. Fulfilling a dream wasn't enough. Revenge for changing the course of that dream was what was called for, and she had always known it.

  23

  Day 2 @ 3:10 P.M

  The silence inside Josie's house was deafening, the shock universal. Everyone in the room stared at the picture of the young woman on the Xerox. It was Charles Armstrong who finally spoke.

  "I think we better go down to the office, Billy."

  "He's not going anywhere with you unless you are ready to read him his rights."

  Josie palmed the table and started to push herself up. Billy put a hand over hers.

  "Josie, I'm telling you, that is not Tala Reyes. Why would I make up something like that?"

  "Maybe to cover for the fact that you are the one responsible for killing the man in the container." Armstrong pushed back his chair and got up. He centered it on the table before he said: "I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist that Billy come with me. You are free to accompany him, Ms. Bates."