by John Molloy
Right, Henry thought, this is where the real work begins.
Part Two
Ships in the Night
Chapter Seventeen
Perth, Western Australia.
Henry rehearsed his instructions about his contact and as soon as he had his luggage checked out, he saw the man standing reading a newspaper. He approached him and spoke the code word.
“Follow me,” said the man.
His contact had a car waiting and opened the trunk beckoning to Henry to throw his bags in. When they were seated in the car he turned to Henry. ”You’re Henry Tyler? I’m your new friend for a week or so, Danny Woods.” He took Henry’s hand in a firm hand grip. ”I’ll take you to your hotel. I’m sure you could do with a few hours relaxing after all that flying.”
“I’m pleased to meet you Danny. I could do with a shower and a decent meal. That airline food leaves a little to be desired - maybe it’s just not the food but the atmosphere you’re in.”
“To be quite honest Henry, I’ve never flown. I came out here six years ago on a White Star Liner and boy what a time I had. It was the experience of a lifetime. I’ve been stationed here or here about ever since, and loving every minute of it. I’ve just come back from a little stint in Adelaide - beautiful city, real colonial style. Henry here we are, your room is booked.”
An aborigine man carried his bags into the Criterion Hotel. Danny looked up at the deep blue sky and wiped a handkerchief across his forehead. “Been like this for the past two weeks, easterly wind off the desert could do with a change to the south west, they call the “Fremantle Doctor”. I’ll call you at eight o’clock.”
Henry welcomed the air conditioning as he entered the hotel lobby. His room was cool and comfortable and after showering he lay down and slept like a drunken sailor.
A loud knocking on the door woke him. He sat up and didn’t know where he was. There was a faint light coming through the drapes. Another loud knock directed him to the door and the light switch. He opened the door and Danny was there with a briefcase in his hand.
“Sorry to wake you old chap, you sure sleep sound.”
“That was the first real sleep I’ve had since I left London.”
Danny sat down and opened his case, while Henry pulled on some clothes. “I won’t delay you long Henry, just a few things to get sorted before we start a little itinerary tomorrow. Firstly, you will not leave for Albany. The latest news is the Rangoon is coming here to the nearby port of Fremantle. This makes things a little less complicated as you’ll be able to join directly from the shipping office here. Can I see all your documentation? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s all in order but I want to be sure of dates for your last ship, The Irish Plane and your own supposed admittance to hospital for a suspected appendicitis. Now, did you ever have your appendix taken out?”
“No, so there are no scars to be worried about.”
Danny was scribbling on a note pad. ”Right Henry, give me a description of the crew member we have to knobble. I just want to be sure it matches the description we have.” Danny stayed about an hour, going over the whole operation. He organized a communication system for Henry that meant even from some of the remotest countries he could safely get in contact. “Right my old chap, I’ll let you back to your sleep but if you feel like a bite there’s still a restaurant open downstairs. I’ll pick you up at nine in the morning.”
Danny was prompt it was just nine o’clock and Henry was on the street outside the Criterion when the car stopped.
“Jump in,” came from the open window, “had a good night?”
“Slept like a baby.”
They left and headed out to Fremantle. Touring the dock area on foot they saw a big Japanese grain carrier being loaded. There were clouds of fine grain dust hanging in the air around the loading shuts. They left the docks and walked up Victoria Street, stopping at the first watering hole they came to. Danny called for two beers in the bar which was dark and dingy, and smelling of stale tobacco smoke. Henry poured the cool pint bottle of Black Swan beer into a pint glass.
“What do you think of our local brew?”
“The most delicious drink I’ve tasted in years, although I think the dust and the heat might have a way of magnifying the flavor.”
“Maybe so,” Danny licked froth from his lips, “but from my experience it has a special place among beers.”
They spent a few more hours walking round Fremantle until the heat of the day drove them indoors. After a small lunch in a quaint café on High Street they walked to the shipping offices. Danny introduced Henry to the shipping master and he asked to see Henry’s discharge book. He glanced through it then handed it back. “Everything seems in order and do you have all your vaccinations just in case the medical people ask.”
“Yes,” said Henry, “they’re all in order. When do you expect the Rangoon?”
He went to a large ledger and turned a page. “According to this E.T.A. in two days’ time.”
“Fine sir, we’ll be in touch,” said Danny. As they left he turned to Henry. “Would you like to go for a swim; the beach is within walking distance?”
“That’s the best suggestion to date; only I have no swimming apparel with me.”
They stopped outside a cloths shop. Danny elbowed Henry. ”Here you go,” and after five minutes and they returned to the hot street with trunks and towels. There were few people on the beach. Henry ran to the water where small waves were lapping the fine sandy shore, he ran through the little waves and jumped in. He couldn’t believe the water could be so warm.
“Don’t swim out too far Henry”
The two of them splashed and swam like children at Brighton on a day trip. Back on the beech the sugary sand was hot - too hot to sit on.
Danny looked at Henry. “Blimey, you’re snow white; you’ll have to get a bit of tan during the next few days. Oh, and by the way, the reason I said to you not to swim out too far is because of sharks. They come in as far as the breaking water and as you can see today there is not much of a swell as the wind is off the land, so they could be in close. We can spend a few hours at the beach again tomorrow and the next day and hope you get a bit of color, but not too burned.”
“I’m not too fair skinned, so I should tan quite easily.”
“Good, because for a chap who has supposedly spent a long time in the tropics you should have a good tan.”
Next day he did a bit of shopping for the few things he thought he might need, especially some light cloths, and air mail writing paper and envelopes he’d completely forgotten to pack. He picked up a bottle of suntan lotion and Danny called for him at five o’clock to go to the beach. The strong heat was gone out of the sun and they spent an hour swimming. There were some bikini clad beauties to admire and Henry soon realized that a nod or a wink could be the beginning of an interesting friendship, but there was no time for such frivolous diversions.
Danny seemed to realize what he was thinking and said, “Nice babes mate, but they will have to wait for another time.”
“What do you think of my ‘bronzy’, is it coming on?”
“Yes, even since yesterday you’ve got a bit of color. The Rangoon will probably be in for about five days and you won’t be joining until the day before she sails – lets our boys get Denis Troy safely to hospital.”
“Safely to hospital? That’s what you’d call a very contradictory statement to say the least.”
“I suppose so, but I hope the last bit of this operation goes smoothly. When you’ve safely sailed I’m going to send inquiries to the latest ports she’s visited to see if there are any more reports of young girls being murdered.
The sun was casting long shadows and the hot wind had dropped to a silky caress. His thoughts fleetingly flew to Vera; in an ideal world this would surely be an idyllic place to take her. Walking back on Victoria Street they stopped to replace lost body fluids at a pub which was filled by a noisy group of dock workers slaking their thirst after a hot
day loading a grain ship. The cold Black Swan went down a treat, and after two pints they were on the road again.
When they arrived at the hotel the dark shadow of night was creeping in from the arid desert. “Tyler, will you have to amuse yourself tomorrow. I have a busy day. As a matter of fact I’m running a little late for a meeting as it is. Try and go to the beach for a while to top up that tan and I’ll be here tomorrow night at eight.”
Henry jumped out of the car. “Fine Danny, I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Henry wrote a short letter to Vera and another to Vincent. He’d add a bit more as things progressed over the next few days, then post them before the Rangoon sailed. He caught the bus to Fremantle next day and went for a swim in the early afternoon. He decided not to spend too much time out under the hot sun even with sun lotion on he was still a bit raw and red. He strolled to the park and sat and read the local paper under the shade of a big leafy eucalyptus tree. The loud blast of a ship’s whistle aroused a curiosity. Perspiration on his forehead turned cool. He folded the paper and walked towards Victoria Street. When he rounded the towering grain silos onto the docks he saw a ship slowly being maneuvered to her berth. He felt shivers like tiny electric shocks running along his spine when he saw the bold black letters on her huge bow, ‘S.S. Rangoon’. He heard orders being shouted from the bridge to the mate on the forecastle head; make fast. He saw busy crewmen hauling ropes and winding them on the bits then releasing the chain stoppers. Two men hauled the back spring and made it fast. He heard the telegraphs on the bridge ring finished with engines. My new home he thought, she looked huge and imposing alongside the quay. With a strong feeling of apprehension starting the grip him, he turned and walked back to the bus stop.
Back at the hotel he was restlessly waiting for Danny, and when he appeared he couldn’t wait to tell him of the Rangoon’s arrival. But before he could get a word out he heard.
“Well she’s arrived, right on time too.”
“Yes” Henry replied, a little deflated, “I was there watching her from a safe distance being berthed.”
“Good, and what did you think of your new abode?”
“She looks a fine ship, but I suppose it’s just a job and it has to be done.”
“Yes Tyler, you’re right and hopefully you won’t have to spend too much time on her. Our man will be on duty tonight trying to identify Denis Troy and putting his plan of action together. I’ll keep you informed how it’s progressing. Time will be of the essence as she’ll be here for just four days, and then you’ll be sailing to India - not sure what port yet.”
“Is there anything on for tomorrow? I’m sure I should stay away from Fremantle for fear I might bump into some of her crewmen.”
“Yes, you wouldn’t want to meet any of them as yet. Just have a quiet day around Perth and enjoy the sights.”
“Aye-Aye sir, will do.”
Danny left, after politely refusing an invitation to go to the bar for a drink. “We’ll have one before you sail. I must meet with a young lady who is arriving from Sydney on a flight tonight at ten o’clock.”
Henry wrote a few lines to both Vera and Vincent, telling them of the arrival of the ship. He felt restless and couldn’t settle down to sleep so he decided to go for a walk. He came to a book shop still open for business and browsed around picking up three paperbacks that he thought would help wile away some hours when at sea. He also bought a new atlas book to replace the one he left back in England. This one he determined would have to be kept free of notes and markings in case it was seen by the crew members. He would keep mental notes and update his old atlas when safely back home.
Danny arrived at the hotel next evening at nine o’clock. Henry was in his room scribbling a few lines to Vera when he walked in.
“Good evening Tyler.”
“And the same to you, what tidings do you have good sir?”
He sat down and took an envelope out of his pocket. “Here are the names of contacts in ports you may call to. Your first port of call from here is Bombay. I have a contact for you there, and also one for Colombo, Tokyo, and Panama. There are instructions on how to contact these people but it is information you cannot leave lying around, especially when your cabin mate’s a prime suspect. So to address this I’m giving you a simple code which you can use to decipher these names and addresses. I have here a small copy of the bible and at page forty there are letters with little dots under them, you start at the first one and count to ten and apply this to the paper with the encrypted contact names on.”
“Yes Danny, I’m familiar with the use of this code.”
“Good, now here is a little secret compartment in the back cover of the bible, pull this little ridge on the inside of the cover and you can slip a small sheet of paper into the slot. Not too sophisticated but effective for your needs. I’m sure most of the crewmen will pick the bible as there last choice to read.”
“If the ship doesn’t go to the particular port and I have something urgently to report, will I just post my report to the contact?”
“Exactly, and they will forward it on to us. We expect to have your man Denis Troy in hospital sometime tonight, our team is in place and we have him identified.”
“Great, so I will be joining tomorrow?”
“No, not so fast. He will have to remain in hospital for at least twenty four hours before they’ll decide he’s not fit to sail, then the captain will have to contact head office in London to report and get permission to sign on a replacement. You will probably be signing on the day after tomorrow and sailing the following day.”
Danny stood up and handed Henry the bible. “I’m off now. I have a little job to do in Fremantle.”
“Good luck Danny, but when will I see you next?”
“I’ll be here tomorrow night, same time.”
Henry continued his letters to Vincent and Vera; he had a little bit more news to add to each missive. He then began to read the coded names and addresses Danny had given him; he could memorize them with a bit of effort, concentrating on one at a time.
The next day passed slowly. He remembered a passage from his Shakespeare days.
‘If every day were playing holiday, to play would be as tedious as to work’.
‘How true he thought.’ He read the local paper from cover to cover, had lunch, went to his room and showered for the second time that day. Feeling refreshed he went walk about. He had a late dinner and was back in his room a few minutes when Danny arrived.
“Anyone at home?”
“Come on in and join the party.”
“Great where are the strippers?”
“They’ll be here in a while, what’s new?”
How did the operation go with Denis Troy, any problems?
“Not a bother, our agent is brilliant. She’s a real beauty. No man in his right frame of mind could resist her charm! Our man is in hospital - suspected appendicitis. I just checked an hour ago. I told the reception I was the chief officer on the ship. I was told he’ll have to remain under observation for at least three days; especially as going back to sea would be very serious because if his condition worsened, they could do nothing for him. You may be joining tomorrow evening. I’ve had a word with the shipping master in Fremantle and all is in order there.”
“I thought it was going to be a male agent?”
“No, a female in that kind of situation is always best. That’s not to say one of our men was tracking her all the way in case anything went wrong.”
Henry was relieved that all went so easily to plan.
“Can you come for that farewell drink now?”
“Yes of course, and how did you get on with that bit of decoding had you any problem with it?”
“No, I can commit most of it to memory and just use the bible as backup.”
Danny led the way to the bar which was beginning to fill up with customers. Henry thought this would be his last social drink for quite a while.
Chapter Eighteen
> The next morning Henry was called to the front desk just as he’d finished breakfast and handed the phone. Danny was on the line. “Well how is your head this bright and sunny day?”