by John Molloy
“Christ!” shouted Kerstin as she looked with horror to starboard. A couple of hundred yards away it roared like a train going through a tunnel. Henry had never seen anything so frightening in his life, it came down from the low black clouds like a monstrous hand twisting and turning; funnel shaped, sucking up water in a terrifying cacophony of relentless magnitude, throwing out white spray like a grotesque spinning waterfall.
As the gigantic water spout struck, Kerstin shouted above the roaring for Henry to hold on. Everything was enveloped in surging roaring water as the stern was lifted out of the water and her bow was pointing down at an angle of forty-five degrees. The sails were torn off and the rigging twisted and bent; the dinghy was lifted and flung overboard along with life belts and aerials, then the yacht shuddered as if the life had been torn out of her and she was plunging to the bottom. Kerstin tried to see through the swirling water as it lashed her body like a whip. “Henry,” she cried, “Henry.” As quickly as it had come, it passed leaving Kerstin hanging against the steering wheel. To her horror, Henry was nowhere to be seen. She pulled herself fully upright, looked around and saw the line attached to his harness running across the deck over the side. She climbed across the deck and saw Henry swinging from his harness half submerged.
“Oh Christ, please help me,” she cried.
The sky began to brighten to a clear blue from the south; the savage wind had dropped to calm and the sea was back to a moderate swell. She pulled on the line but could not lift him on board, so she waited for a swell to dip the boat over and as the water came level with the deck, she pulled him on board. “Henry! Henry!” she pleaded with him but he was unconscious. She laid him down and went to stop the engines.
Her next task was to get help as soon as possible. She opened the hatch and went below; there was half a meter of water in the cabin and she saw two of the windows had been stove in. The chart was floating with pencils and books and the GPS was swinging from its hook, but still appeared to be working. Lifting up the dripping wet chart she laid it back on the table, she turned the radio on but it was dead, having got a good dousing of sea water, the aerial was also gone. She went through to the sleeping quarters and noticed that the bunks were dry.
Back on deck, she lifted Henry who had come round and opened his eyes.
“Come on down to your bunk.”
He walked and staggered as she supported him down to the bunk. As Kerstin stripped all his clothing off and laid him on the bunk, she was worried that he hadn’t spoken to her. She noticed a lump on the back of his head as big as a pigeon’s egg. “My God!” she exclaimed as she noticed a trickle of blood coming from his left ear.
“Henry, will you open your eyes please.”
Slowly he opened his heavily lidded eyes. She looked closely and examined the size of the pupils. Thank goodness, she thought, they are normal so he has no internal bleeding.
Kerstin got a position from the GPS and made a mental calculation of a course to take her into Martinique’s capital, Fort-de–France. The storm had driven them nearer the coast than she would have wanted, but luckily, the engines sounded fine. Please God let them keep going, she muttered. The vessel’s steering was also undamaged. Before long, the headland opened up and she saw the entrance to the quiet harbor. She made straight for the marina where several dock workers seeing the distressed state of the yacht, came to her immediate assistance.
As soon as Kerstin had tied up, they jumped on board.
“Can we help you?”
“Yes, my friend needs to get to hospital. Can you call an ambulance?”
“Yes mam,” I’ll go and phone, said the youngest of the men. The remaining three men followed her down to where Henry lay semi-conscious. An older man, noticing that Kerstin was upset, put a comforting arm around her. “You need not worry now, he be alright. I see his eyes are open and they looking good to me. You got a bad beating with that old ‘Devil Johnnie’. I see it from here but it went back out to sea again and not come ashore; we lose fishermen every year with them Devil Johnnies,” he said in a deep, heavily accented voice.
The ambulance arrived with its siren blaring. After grabbing a change of clothes and other essentials, Kerstin went with him to the hospital. Once he had been examined and x-rayed he was put into a private room. The doctor told her he was concussed and he’d given him an injection for stress and trauma. He told her that Henry would most likely sleep for eight to ten hours. He also assured her there was no bleeding on the brain and he should make a full recovery.
She booked herself into a nearby hotel and lay down on the bed exhausted, but couldn’t sleep. She never realized how much Henry meant to her. I must be getting old she admonished herself; falling in love after all these years of free living and with an older man too.
Unable to rest, Kerstin decided to sort out the repairs to the Amber Witch. She rang the insurance company and arranged with the harbor master to have her lifted next day for repair. She organized a reputable company to carry out the work and send their estimates to the insurance company. The assessor would probably take a day or so to make out his report and get the go ahead for the work to be carried out. This kept her busy for a few hours. Then she went back to the yacht and had a good look around and was relieved that the damage was not as serious as she had first thought. Kerstin gathered their personal belongings and brought them to the harbor master who put them into safe keeping. She kept the clothes and things they would need while ashore. She decided not to visit Henry until next morning; instead she spent a quite night at the hotel.
Henry was sitting up eating breakfast when she arrived into his room the next day.
“What happened to me Kerstin? I can’t remember much, and got a shock when I woke up here an hour ago.”
She kissed him and was overcome with tears of happiness to see he looked almost back to his old self.
“I nearly lost you! It turned nasty out there for a time; you were washed overboard and were hanging by the harness. You also gave your head a great bang. Let me see,” she felt the lump on his head, “is it sore?”
“Yes a little.”
“Has the doctor been in to see you yet?”
“Yes he’s just gone. He said I should be ok to go this evening, if I promise to take it easy and come back to see him in two days’ time.”
She beamed all over with joy.
“That’s great news, I was beginning to miss you,” she said as she kissed him again.
“I’m going now and will be back in a couple of hours. I have a few things to organize with the Amber Witch.”
“I meant to ask, but we still have her?”
“Yes, we still have her but she has some superficial damage; mostly on deck where the water spout struck and some water damage inside. I have it organized, so you just concentrate on getting well.”
“So that great big monster that hit us was a water spout?”
“Yes, the locals call water spouts, ‘Devil Johnnies’. They and the norther winds that create them are fairly common here in the Caribbean.”
“Right, I have things to attend to.”
As she left, she blew him a kiss.
While Kerstin was dealing with officialdom, she decided to conduct to usual searches and make enquiries about Tukola. This would take the burden off Henry and give him valuable time to recuperate. Firstly she tried the phone book with no success. Then she visited the police station which was near to the customs and excise offices.
A very friendly detective sergeant, who introduced himself as Henri, listened with fascinated interest to her request. At times he stared with a blank expression as if his mind was back tracking to some remote place in his archival memory. When she had finished he suddenly sat up straight and looked at her. “Yes, I believe I do recall the name now. It’s been so long it seems like a hazy memory. It was a conversation between our then chief constable and a lady who reported that her teenage daughter had gone missing. If I recall correctly, the girl was sixteen and ha
d gone on a yacht with some people she had made friends with, but had not told her parents. As it turned out she was located at a port further down the coast and returned seemingly none the worse for her adventure. However, during the search I heard the name Tukola mentioned and an old file was resurrected and gone over. Now I had nothing to do with that case so, I never had occasion to see the file, but I will go and get it now and we can see what it contains.
He was gone five minutes and when he returned he placed an old paper folder on the desk. “It looks like it’s come from the dark ages.” He opened the dusty cover and disappointment showed on his face when he saw only three pages. “Shall I read them out loud?”
“Yes, please do.”
“This file is dated 1968 and had been sent to all French and Dutch islands in the Caribbean. The name of the man in question is Hadar Tukola who is a suspect for the murder of a girl on the island of St Maarten; the Dutch part of the island.”
Kerstin interrupted his delivery.
“It’s ok Henri; I have already seen such a file in St Maarten when we were there. I was hoping there might be something new, but seemingly not.”
“I’m sorry mam. I hope you will find this beast, but after all these years it seems an incredible task. I wish you luck you are a brave couple.”
“Thank you Henri,” she said as she left his office.
Kerstin spoke to the young doctor who treated Henry when she went to arrange payment for his stay. “He was lucky that knock was not near his temple area or it could have been fatal. I did blood tests and I rushed through the results. His general health is good and he is fit to go, although rest for a few days would be advisable.”
She was relieved to hear this thanked the young doctor. “I’ll see to it he gets a few days’ rest.”
Henry was ready to leave when she went into his room.
“Where to now dear?”
“I’ve a nice big bed in a smashing hotel where you can rest and recuperate for a few days until the Amber Witch is ready for sea again.”
The beautiful hot day was mellowing into a warm evening with the hint of a soft breeze as they walked from the hospital. Henry stopped and looked in awe at the distinguished manor houses and well-groomed gardens.
“This island is known as the island of flowers and has some very interesting history,” explained Kerstin in her best sexy tour guide voice.
“I can well believe it, these beautiful houses evoke the splendors of the past, and so do the wonderful boulevards with their majestic palms and blooming trees.”
They came across a busy street market and Henry held her hand and stopped to look as the scene unfolded before them. “My darling Kerstin, you have such knowledge and a beautifully soft way of conveying it.”
She felt her heart fill and her overflowing emotions brought a small tear to her eye. For a fleeting moment she was a teenager again and the only one on the planet in love.
Henry went to a stall and picked up a colored necklace fashioned with beautiful beads of different sizes and shapes. He placed it round her neck. The Creole stallholder came out to them from behind her stall, smiling and admired the choice. “These are love beads and you must now kiss the lady for all your wishes come true.”
Henry looked to see was she joking, but as he turned back Kerstin put her arms around him and they kissed long and true. A little audience had gathered and exclaimed their approval. The Creole lady said, “You make wish and it will come true.”
The next morning they were both awake very early. Overnight Henry’s mood had dipped dramatically. Sitting on the bed with his head in his hands, he told Kerstin that he was having serious doubts about their mission, especially because it had almost resulted in them being killed. He said he was thinking about calling the whole thing off.
“Henry,” she admonished him, “there’s no forgetting the murderer and going back to live a normal life while he’s out there somewhere. And you know he’s probably still alive from the bank records.”
“But look what nearly happened; you could have been lost on the yacht, never mind me being killed, but it shouldn’t happen to you just because you agreed to join me on this crazy adventure.”
“What happened out there could have hit us at any time since we started out from the Cayman Islands; it had nothing to do with him. It’s part of sailing in these waters. Now Henry, I told you that I’d accept someone as a full package faults and all if I loved them enough, and you know how I feel about you.”
“I don’t want to lose you Kerstin, and if it means stopping the search for him, I promise I’ll do it.”
I love you Henry, but there’s one thing between us and it will eventually break us up if we don’t settle it once and for all.”
He looked at her in puzzlement.
“Tell me and I will clear up whatever it is; I promise I’m not married or anything like that.”
She smiled a weak smile.
“I’ve a woman’s intuition you know. The hideous ghost that comes between us is ever present. I can see him in your eyes and feel him like an ogre standing triumphal and gloating, possessing your being.”
Henry looked frightened and turned his head away from her.
“Is it that noticeable this hatred I have locked away inside?”
“It’s noticeable to me. I see you at times; the haunted look etched on your face and the torment is ever present in your eyes. Now Henry, we’re going to track him down and exorcise his demon from you. I’m sure we’re closer to him than you might think, and if he’s not on any of the next islands, he’s surely in Caracas. We will find him! I’m not going to let him take away my love for you.”
He turned to meet her loving eyes. Her strength of will seeped into his very soul and lifted his sunken spirit.
“You know I love you Henry. I’ll not let go of you.”
As they embraced, he trembled with pure emotional release.
“I was so afraid of losing you.”
“I am with you Henry, and now we must get the yacht back and bring that evil Tukola to account.”
They were showered, dressed and were walking out of the hotel before most guests had stirred. They had been awake so early that Henry couldn’t believe it was only eight o’clock.
“Henry my dear, I have a tour arranged for us today so I hope you’ve brought your camera.”
“Where to, anything special?”
“I thought we’d take in a museum and learn a little of the island’s history, then we could visit one of the charming old colonial plantation houses.”
“Kerstin, I would so much love to for you to be my sexy personal tour guide, but the doctor did say that I had to take it easy for a few days.”
“Oh yes, of course he did. Sorry Henry, how silly of me to suggest such a thing. It must be because you look so well considering what you’ve been through that I forgot you should be resting.”
“That’s ok my dear, but it doesn’t mean I want to spend my time stuck in a hotel bed staring at the ceiling. Perhaps we should just hang around the town and have a spot of lunch later in one of the inviting looking eateries close to the harbor.”
“Sounds good to me.”
They strolled down a picturesque, palm lined backstreet a short distance from the hotel.
“I smell freshly brewed coffee. Look, there’s a small café just up a bit further.”
As they sat sipping their coffee, Henry mused that for the first time since he sailed on the Amber Witch he felt relaxed and more like a tourist. He thought that perhaps Kerstin’s support earlier that day was beginning to help him manage his deep-seated obsession with bringing Tukola to justice. Anyway, he pondered, until the boat was ready, there was little they could do to catch him.
Kerstin wouldn’t let him visit the boatyard to see how the work on the yacht was progressing. “We’ll go see her the day after tomorrow. Hopefully, she should be nearly ready to be put back in the water by then.”
“Aye-aye mam, I agree. I could get
used to this lifestyle very easily.”
“Well, it’s all before you. We’ll just have to choose our time and a place.”
He put his arm around her as they left the cafe, “I’ll go along with that.”
Although much more relaxed, Henry’s detective mind was working in overdrive since Kerstin threw in her lot with him. He now had more to prove by catching Tukola. “What’s our next island of call? Oh yes, St. Lucia as originally planned.”
“Yes, it’s only a short run and a few more then to St. Vincent and Barbados; all close enough together and last of all the Grenadines and Grenada. I forgot to tell you about the hurricane season which is due in about three weeks’ time, but the further south of here we get the better chance to be clear of them. They normally don’t reach below Barbados, but you never can be too sure you are always liable to get the odd rogue one.”
“Will we have to stay south then until the hurricane season is over?”
“We’ll wait and see how far into the season we are before we attempt to sail back north again.”
After a light lunch by the harbor, they went back to the hotel where they spent a lazy afternoon doing very little.
The view from their window out over the expanse of the great harbor with its forts once manned and armed to guard against the British and Spanish sea forces, now stood with sun bleached stone walls silent and mute like blind men looking out over the benevolent sea.