‘I hadn’t thought about that, but your right. It makes sense that they might leave earlier than originally planned as a result of my presence. I’ll check tomorrow if the yacht is still on the pontoon or is out of the water and being worked on.’
‘You seem more relaxed now Vince than when you came on the phone,’ I could sense him smiling on the other end of the line.
‘It’s been a massive help to talk to you, and I feel that I could sleep now. Thanks and I will be in touch.’
‘Bye Vince.’ I heard the line go dead as he terminated the call.
Who could I contact that might have a boat in the marina, or, who might know someone that had a boat. The only person that I knew in Cape Town was Laurie Scott. I would phone him in the morning before he took his dog for his daily walk.
I also would listen to what I recorded in the morning, hoping that the information I had gathered, was worth all the hassle.
I suddenly felt terribly tired. Last night I had slept amongst the sail bags and had spent a lot of the night awake, trying to decipher strange noises. Tonight I had expended a lot of nervous and physical energy, and it had all caught up on me. I went to bed and surprisingly slept remarkably well.
I woke up to the sound of driving rain on the window and the sound of a strong wind buffeting the guest house. Clearly there wouldn’t be too much work done on the yacht today if indeed they had even taken it out of the water. On the other hand, they would not be expecting me to be sniffing around the marina on such a miserable day. I probably could do a little surveillance without getting caught. After breakfast, I would ring Laurie Scott about trying to get keys to a boat. It was unlikely that Laurie would be walking his dog in this weather.
Suitably breakfasted I phoned him.
‘Laurie Scott. Can I help you,’ a broad Scottish accent answered.
‘Hi Laurie, its Vince Hamilton here.’
‘Good morning Vince. Surely you haven’t used all that ammo already have you?’
‘No Laurie. I have used the gun, but only needed to fire a few rounds. I have another strange request for you.’
‘I’m not too good on strange requests, but fire ahead.’
‘Do you happen to know anybody who owns a boat moored in the Royal Cape Yacht Club marina?’ I decided to ask him directly rather than skirt around the problem.
‘Let’s see.’ There was a pause while he thought ... ‘The only person I can think of is an English bloke who has a boat that he races during the summer months. I haven’t seen him for a few months, so I have no idea if his boat is still in the water. If he can’t help, he is bound to know another boat owner who can.’
‘Would you be able to ask him for me? I want to be able to use the boat to hide on while I keep watch on another yacht that is moored in the marina.’
‘Vince, give me about two hours and then call me back. I’ll give him a call and see if he can help. He won’t be going anywhere in this weather so I should be able to get hold of him.’
‘Thanks Laurie. I really appreciate your help.’
We ended the call, and I prepared to go out in the rain and walk to the marina to check on the yacht. It was no point taking an umbrella as the wind would turn it inside out in a matter of seconds. I would have to get wet and dry out later.
As I went down the streets through the city, I was able to avoid the worst of the storm by keeping close to the buildings, however, once I got closer to the harbour, I had to leave the shelter and step out into the open. The rain was coming almost parallel with the ground, so my anorak wasn’t much use in keeping me dry. The big advantage of this rain was that only ducks would be out in it.
I entered the harbour area, and, keeping well under the high perimeter wall, I went towards the Yacht Club. The visibility was so poor that the yachts on the pontoons were just a blur. As a first option, I decided to check the area where the boats were held when they were being worked on. To my immense relief I spotted what I was after. Belle Diamant was high and dry on props on the hard, well actually not too dry in a storm like this, but not in the water.
With the day that was in it, there was no work in progress on the yacht, and, by what I could see through the driving rain, it didn’t look as if any work had been carried out yet. Soaked to the skin I returned to the guest house content that the boat was going nowhere today.
I had two jobs to do while the rain was on: The first was to call Willem and ask him if he had found out anything about where Caas Teifel had been during the time that we had placed him on the Belle Diamant. The second job was to listen to the tape from the listening device.
I showered and changed into some dry clothes and then called Willem.
‘Hello Vince. How are you this morning?’ He didn’t speak in Dutch this time so he must have looked at his screen.
‘I am good now, but I got extremely wet this morning when I went to look for the yacht in the harbour. It is teeming down here!’
‘Are there any further developments there?’
‘Well Belle Diamant is up on the hard, but it doesn’t look as if they have done any work on her yet. There is no way that they can work on her day as the rain and wind are the worst I have seen in Cape Town.’
‘Is there any particular reason for your call today Vince? Is something else troubling you?’
‘I keep forgetting to ask you if you found out where Caas Teifel was hiding when the yacht was coming down the Atlantic to Cape Town.’
‘I haven’t been able to find out a lot, but I can confirm that he went to La Rochelle when the Belle Diamant was there. He also went to London for a few days and visited a casino amongst other things. I have checked whether he came back to Rotterdam, but I am pretty certain that he didn’t come back here.’
‘He must have gone straight out to South Africa from London then, which would make sense,’ I suggested.
‘I think you are right Vince. After the yacht left for Cape Town, he must have spent a few days in London and then gone to South Africa to meet up with Jacques Fortuin. That was when you saw him.’
‘Thanks for checking up on him for me Willem, even though it doesn’t reveal much. If there are any further developments, I will let you know.’
‘Bye Vince.’
I ended the call and went to see if I could get a cup of coffee from the landlady.
Chapter 31
Suitably equipped with a coffee and a few of Mrs Cronje’s homemade biscuits, I set up the listening device on the bed and settled down to analyse the conversation that had being taking place around the barbecue at the house in Hermanus; prior to my hasty retreat.
The quality of the recording was superb, and I could hear clearly what was being said. Unfortunately, the crew members that I had recorded at the start were both French, and they were naturally communicating in French. What they were talking about was probably very interesting, but, my understanding of French was not to the standard required to interpret what two native speakers were talking about. I just hoped that the tape was not full of French.
About ten minutes into the recording the language changed to English and I was back in business. It sounded as if someone in authority joined the group as he took charge and started giving orders.
‘Serge, have you got enough meat out here for the whole lot of us,’ the new arrival asked.
‘Oui, I think so, Wayne. I have steaks, some South African sausage, I think that they call Boerewors, and there are also these kebabs.’
‘Guys I have some good news for you which should make you extremely happy.’ This was obviously the skipper Wayne speaking again.
‘Can I grab a beer first Wayne before you tell us the good news?’ Another voice, with what I interpreted as a Scandinavian accent, chipped in.
‘Quickly Torben; you always want to hold everything up for a beer.’ This was
Wayne again.
‘Well you won’t let us drink on board, so I have a lot of ground to make up,’ Torben again.
‘The good news is we won’t be sailing the whole way back. The boss has been crafty and has obtained a lift on a freighter as far as Agadir in Morocco. Belle Diamant will travel as deck cargo, and we will have accommodation in cabins while we are on board.’
‘When will we be leaving and how long will the journey take Wayne?’ It was one of the French guys speaking.
‘It normally takes us around 35 days to sail from here to Agadir, and, we should get there in 13 days, maximum, on board the freighter. Back in the water, it will take us another 7 days to get to La Rochelle on Belle Diamant. The main advantage is that we’ll miss the doldrums, which, as you all know, can delay us considerably.’
I stopped the listening machine to digest the news that I had just heard. It took them nearly two months to sail down here to Cape Town, and now they would be back in La Rochelle in around twenty four days. If I hadn’t been able to eavesdrop, I wouldn’t have known about their revised schedule. I would have never thought about them getting a lift to Agadir. It was an exceptionally smart move by Caas Teifel.
I switched the device back on to listen to some more.
‘Are we going to get paid the same money if the boss has to pay for the lift to Agadir, Wayne?’
‘I asked him that Bernard and he said that he would stick by what he agreed with you. A bar in La Rochelle awaits you and your money; your girlfriend won’t expect you back for another three weeks or so.’
There was a lot of laughter at that remark.
After that, there was just the usual chit chat you get around a barbecue. The last thing I heard before it cut out was the sound of the alarm going off. That was when I had left in a hurry.
The only pieces of information that I was missing were:
1. The name of the freighter that the yacht would be loaded on in Cape Town harbour.
2. The date and time when the freighter was leaving.
The other thought to hit me was that I would have a lot less time to sort out what was happening at the European end of the diamond chain. My time in South Africa clearly was coming to an end. I would be able to leave before the end of the week; however, I still hadn’t seen the diamonds being put on board the yacht.
Just then my mobile rang.
‘Hi Vince, Laurie Scott here.’
‘Hi Laurie thanks for phoning me back. Have you any news for me?’
‘More than news Vince, I actually have a bunch of keys to give you. You can drive by and pick them up.’
‘You’re a star Laurie. I don’t know how to thank you enough. I’ll be around this afternoon if you are going to be there,’ I said, really grateful for what he had managed to do.
‘In this weather I am not going anywhere. I will be here all afternoon, probably watching the golf on the TV.’
‘I’ll drop by at around 3:00 p.m then.’
I put the phone down relieved that I now had a safe place to spy from. Laurie had moved far quicker than I expected.
Remembering that there was a shopping centre close to Laurie’s house, I decided to drop in there on the way and pick up a sandwich. Hunger satisfied I arrived outside his house just before 3:00. As usual his wife answered the door and brought me in to where Laurie was sitting watching the golf with a beer beside him.
He stood up as I went in and picked up a set of keys off the table.
‘These are the keys Vince, and the boat’s name is ‘Barnabe’. The owner says that it is on the second pontoon in.’
‘Thank you very much; I should have no problem finding it as the marina isn’t that large.’ Being the second pontoon, I should be able to see them working on Belle Diamant without too much difficulty.
‘How long do you want them for Vince?’
‘I’ll get them back to you by Friday and certainly by Saturday at the latest.’
‘He is not in a hurry to get them back so take your time. There is no rush.’
‘I’ll bring the gun back at the same time as I hope to be finished with that by the weekend too. In fact, I want to fly back to the UK on Saturday evening.’
‘I’ll show you out and get back to my golf,’ he said leading me out to where the rain was still teeming down.
I drove back to the multistorey car park and made a run for the guest house to try and avoid getting soaked again. I would have a decent night’s sleep in my bed in the guest house before taking up residence in the yacht tomorrow morning.
At around 5:00 p.m the rain eased off a bit and I was able to slip out to the local supermarket to buy some provisions. When I took up residence in Barnabe, I would need to feed myself and drink something. I obviously couldn’t take a lot on board as I didn’t want to be too conspicuous and advertise the fact that I was in residence.
I got up early the following morning with the aim of being on board Barnabe before anybody else was about, and I knew, from my experience in the sail locker, that the Yacht Club started to come to life at around 6:00 a.m. I was walking through the gates of the harbour at 5:45 a.m and in my hiding place on Barnabe, unobserved, just before 6:00.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I unlocked the entrance hatch and went inside the yacht, but I was agreeably surprised. The yacht was about 10 meters long and quite modern. All the cushions and furnishings had been left on board, so it was surprisingly comfortable. There was a cockpit amidships, which would make it particularly suitable as an observation point. The boat hadn’t been used for some time, so it was cold and damp inside, but it wasn’t uncomfortable and was adequate for what I needed. I stowed the bits and pieces of food that I had brought with me and set about getting myself some breakfast.
Suitably fortified, I searched the boat for something that I could use as an awning over the cockpit. I wanted to ensure that I wasn’t visible to any prying eye. On boats I had been on before, there had often been a cover that they used on sunny days, to give shade in the cockpit while eating. After a bit of rummaging, I found what I was looking for, and, checking that there was nobody around, I managed to erect the cover over the boom and tie it down to the sides making a tent. I now could look out across the marina without being seen.
Sunrise was around 8:00 a.m and by that stage I was well hidden. I would stay out of sight until sunset, around 6:00 p.m. What I did after that would depend on events during the day. Looking out towards the area where the boats were on the hard, I could just see Belle Diamant. There were already people working on it, using a pressure washer on the hull to get off the grime. They were also hosing down the decks and the superstructure. At this rate, they would be ready to put the boat back in the water by the evening.
About mid-morning, I saw Caas Teifel arrive and shortly after that I saw him, plus another person who had been working on the boat, extract a sail bag from the yacht, drop it to the ground, and carry it towards a shed at the far end of the area where the yachts were.
I switched on my listening device.
‘Are you sure that this is the genoa that got split when you were sailing down here Torben?’ ‘Yes this is the one. I put a mark on the sail bag so there wouldn’t be any mix up when we got here,’ the man, who had been called Torben, replied.
‘I’ll take your word for it. The sail maker, who works in this shed, has agreed to repair it up for me. He will have it ready this evening. Will you please remember to collect it before you knock off tonight, or, at the latest tomorrow morning?’
‘Will do.’
‘How is Wayne? Has he recovered from the crash the other night?’
So it had been Wayne, the skipper, who had been in the car that had chased me.
‘Yes, he seems to be OK, but Serge is still suffering. They were both extremely lucky to get out alive.’
/> ‘Wayne should never have gone off chasing after whoever it was. Our mission is too important to have it disrupted by stupid car chases. He is an exceptionally lucky man that he didn’t suffer worse injuries.’
‘The voyage on the freighter will give them more time to recover before we have to sail the boat, so we should be OK.’
They vanished into the shed where the sail maker worked, with Torben re-emerging first to go back to work on the yacht. Caas Teifel came out about fifteen minutes later and went to the car park where he had left Moira’s BMW. He drove off leaving the harbour area and joining the main traffic of Cape Town.
With that bit of action over I decided to make myself some lunch. I reckoned that nothing of interest was going to happen until the evening.
Chapter 32
As the afternoon wore on, it started to get a lot colder, and I was finding it hard to stay outside the cabin in the cockpit. I was actually shivering, and the cold was getting into my bones. I searched the boat for some additional clothing to keep me warm. Having searched every available space, the only suitable thing that I could find was a life jacket. It wasn’t ideal, but it had a lot of foam padding in it which would act as a good insulation. Rather than have the reflective orange on the outside, which might be spotted, I put the life jacket on under my anorak, zipping it right up to my chin. It restricted my movements and made me feel somewhat bloated, but I was a lot warmer.
When it got dark, the lights on the jetty at the end of each pontoon, plus the lights around the club itself, illuminated the area to a degree. I was just about able to pick out the yacht Belle Diamant. Work had stopped on the vessel at around five o’clock; however, I had decided to stay in my observation post in case there might be some action later.
At around ten o’clock, I was rewarded for my patience when I saw two figures emerge from the car park and move towards the area where the yacht Belle Diamant was located. They grabbed one of the trolleys used by the boat owners, to carry items from their cars to their boats, and returned to the car park. A few minutes later they reappeared towing a fully loaded trolley behind them.
The Diamond Chain Page 18