Hy Brasil

by Margaret Elphinstone

  ‘The petition was granted. I understand he undresses now as soon as he reaches the sand dunes.’

  ‘Yes. Well, if he was my man, there were certain things I had to find out. First, who were his contacts and how did he get them? Second, if the stuff was brought, as I suspected, in ships that anchored just out of sight on the edge of the deep, whose boat was flitting the stuff ashore? Third, perhaps most important, what was his motive? He ran a thriving above-board business, apparently, and he’s certainly not an addict. I thought I knew the answer to all three questions. As it turns out, I was right. But I needed proof.’

  ‘I’m sure your zeal for justice is commendable. Some might say that such activity exceeds the responsibilities of a private citizen.’

  ‘Not according to our constitution. And then Honeyman takes a green glass goblet and a box of worthless oddments that once belonged to Nicky Hawkins from the Pele Centre, and as soon as the word gets out, he’s locked in the jail. Not just in jail, but solitary confinement, and I’m told he can’t see or communicate with anyone. Why?’

  Hook opened his mouth to reply, but Ishmael ignored him.

  ‘It was the connection with Ferdy’s Landing and young Hawkins that gave me my clue. After Hawkins died the house was shut up for months. Penelope Hawkins took a few family heirlooms, and the rest was cleared out and sold by the auctioneers. It was more or less empty when I bought it.

  ‘I’ve paid some attention to West. In some ways he does have the right personality profile. And yet I’d be amazed to hear he does drugs himself; there had to be another reason. I realised early on that the veneer of guileless eccentricity is somewhat less than skin deep. But it wouldn’t have worked for him if it wasn’t also the truth. West is the fool that he seems, but not quite in the way one first thinks. Jared said to me that the man must be certifiable because he didn’t know that St Brendan came before the Pirate Kings. I don’t think that would pass muster as an IQ test, but it confirmed my own opinion about the muddled state of West’s mind.’

  ‘There I would certainly agree with you.’

  ‘Thank you. The other thing that made me wonder was his stubborn refusal to co-operate with the University in monitoring the volcano. I didn’t want to make too much of that, as I can see how it springs directly from the man’s insecurity in his own profession, but after the Port o’ Frisland earthquake two days ago I was sure I was right. I went to see West myself then, and I tried to say to him that it was madness, given a state of seismic emergency, not to pool his resources with the University. I suggested using graduate students, if he didn’t want staff, and mounting a twenty-four-hour watch. His response was offensive, and hardly relevant. It was at that moment that I decided to raid the Pele Centre.’

  ‘Without any legal authority whatsoever,’ remarked Hook.

  ‘True. So this is the story, as I pieced it together: West hears that Nicholas Hawkins is dead, and a few days later he breaks into Ferdy’s Landing. He knows exactly what he’s looking for. Three things. Firstly, he’s known for some time where Hawkins gets his money. My suspicion is that he was blackmailing the boy. In which case, he’ll want to check there’s nothing left in the place that might incriminate him. Secondly, he thinks there may be something in this for him. Sure enough, he finds Nicky’s papers that tell him, when he breaks the code, exactly whom he needs to contact in order to start up a lucrative trade of his own. Thirdly, he’s at pains to remove all evidence of the goods. The last thing he wants now is an enquiry into Hawkins’ past dealings. He removes every contraband article from the house. My guess is that he looks in the glass on the mantelpiece, and finds it contains a good deal more than a box of matches. He puts the glass in the box along with everything else.

  ‘West’s as cunning as they make them, but there are things he doesn’t see. He comes back from Ferdy’s Landing with his haul, and disposes of it carefully. But an old green glass, and a little black box with a ship on it? Take out the contents, and it’s the same to him as a couple of jam jars. Spring cleaning’s not his strong point. He shoves them on a shelf and lets the dust gather. And a shell from Gallipoli? God knows what he thought he’d got there. But he examined it, no doubt, and found it wanting. Have you ever seen inside the man’s house? Yes, you probably have. The point is, he’s quite clearly never looked at a created thing aesthetically in his whole life, and that was his downfall.

  ‘There’s a moral in that, no doubt,’ murmured Hook.

  ‘Of course, all the enquiries I made could easily have been duplicated by official investigators. I discovered that some of them had been. But what about the invisible boat that evaded the most stringent coastguard patrols? The obvious solution was corruption among the coastguards themselves. I know most of those men pretty well. Well, you can see from the paper just by your left hand exactly what I found out. And here is the confirmation, from Olly West’s safe. You recognise the signature, sir, of course?’

  Hook took the paper, glanced at it, and shrugged his shoulders.

  ‘It wasn’t hard to work it out: all West needed to carry on Hawkins’ trade was access to a boat. He might have taken over Hawkins’ boat, but West’s no sailor, and what’s more the boat itself was beyond repair after being left all winter after Hawkins died. It was pretty well derelict long before that; apparently Pedersen had done some work on it the year before, and he told Nicholas he was risking his life every time he took the thing to sea. Of course that didn’t stop Hawkins. In my view the unforgivable thing was using the child to crew for him. He knew it was dangerous, he knew it was criminal, and he knew the boy was all his mother had. Luckily I think that Honeyman was, even at that age, basically incorruptible.’

  ‘Evidence, man, evidence. Could you tell that to the jury?’

  ‘Certainly I could. But back to West. Why turn to smuggling? This is 1985. He’s been in Hy Brasil five years, and he’s applied for and been refused resident status twice. He’s made three attempts to get it by marriage, but he couldn’t bring any of the women to clinch the deal. He hasn’t a work permit; he’s here on sufferance, with his visa renewed every six months, because he has some sort of income coming in from the UK. Now he’s trying to get government backing to start his seismological centre. Why on earth would he sabotage his status here by turning to a highly dangerous illegal trade? If he were caught, the best he could hope for, as a British citizen, would be deportation, the worst, judicial sentence under the law of Hy Brasil. Well, as it happens, I’ve read the government dossier on Oliver West. He was threatened with compulsory repatriation after demands from the British consulate that he be returned to the UK to answer charges of blackmail and embezzlement. I began to see his motive. I suggest, sir, that West had an interview with – shall we say a senior government official? – in the spring of 1985.’

  ‘And your proof?’

  ‘I’ll tell you. Why would such an official listen to West? 1985: The fishing industry is in dire straits. Hy Brasil has just refused again to join the European Community. Unemployment in rural areas is escalating. The truth is – and probably only you and I know just how true this is – the country’s on the verge of bankruptcy. In fact it’s my belief you’d talked to West even before I handed in my resignation. I’m now a good deal clearer than I was then why my own remit should suddenly have become impossible. I know my policies were right; why were they so suddenly rejected – not even rejected, in fact – just lost somewhere in the system? I suggest that West bargained for lifelong residency, government grants to start up his centre, all the capital support he could wish for, and permanent indemnity against repatriation. In return he offered a prestigious scientific project, but, more importantly, a regular source of secret revenue, and, to safeguard the government against exposure, himself as the fall guy. He was in a strong position, because not only did he have the contact, but he also knew that the government wouldn’t dare make a direct link even if they knew how.’

  ‘I admire your imaginative abilities, Pereira.’


  ‘He gets the go-ahead. The next thing he needs is a boat. As it happens, he knows something about the private life of Chief Coastguard Ready at Ogg’s Cove that makes a useful bargaining counter. If necessary I can reveal what it is, but it would cause several people pain if I did so, and I’d rather not. Ready is indecisive at first, but then the government suddenly issues him with a second boat, along with somewhat ambiguous orders about excise patrols and a fifty per cent bonus for two men to put in some occasional unofficial overtime.

  ‘Hawkins’ drug traffic was small-scale and spasmodic; it began through family contacts. West built it up from there into a regular, expanding business making serious money in an international market. After all, he had government funds to invest, and with the massive profit and almost instant returns, the trade grew like a toadstool, overnight. For twelve years West and the government have held one another in a fine system of checks and balances. Its basis is power and need, certainly not trust, but the profits are equally welcome to both. Would you say that was a fair analysis, sir?’

  Hook laid down his pen, and regarded his maze, apparently with satisfaction. Certainly it was very symmetrical. ‘You’ve been very busy, Pereira.’ He sighed. ‘I have, of course, reposed a good deal of trust in you, from time to time.’

  ‘I hope you’ll continue to do so, sir.’ Ishmael shifted the papers on the table. ‘My only object is to serve my country to the best of my ability. It would, of course, be a shock for you to discover that government personnel and resources had been diverted to an illegal and immoral trade, one, moreover, which you have yourself denounced on numerous occasions.’ Ishmael picked up the letter with the signature he’d just indicated. ‘Naturally, if it came to your attention that coastguard patrol boats had actually been engaged in the trade they were employed to suppress, you’d do your utmost to stamp out all corrupt elements.’

  ‘Of course, Pereira. I’m surprised you find it necessary to ask.’

  ‘If the ringleaders within the system could not be traced, the lesser agents would be relieved of excessive responsibility, and new senior officers appointed. You might want to set up a committee to implement this.’

  ‘Possibly I might.’

  ‘It would seem sensible for that committee to be given authority over the Customs and Excise Department, in order to implement more effective preventive measures.’

  ‘Indeed it would.’

  ‘The same committee could also undertake the immediate prosecution of West on behalf of the government.’

  ‘I suppose it could.’

  ‘The man is still at large. But without government connivance he can’t leave the country. You will of course want to mount a police search and coastguard patrol immediately to bring West in.’

  ‘Doubtless I will.’

  ‘I think your ideas on the subject are very sound, sir,’ said Ishmael. ‘You’d need to pick the right chairman for your committee, of course: a man you could trust, whose discretion you could always rely on.’ He picked up the letter with the signature, and put it carefully back in his file.

  ‘Enlighten me,’ said Hook. ‘Twelve years ago you handed in your resignation, and you told me that the joys of government employment had permanently palled. What brought about this change of heart?’

  ‘Call it a triple stake in the future.’ Ishmael began to gather the papers together. ‘I should tell you that copies of the relevant documents – only the relevant ones, mind you – are already with the editor of The Hesperides Times.’

  ‘You underrate me, Pereira. You didn’t need to tell me that. And now, I suppose if the government were at all strapped for cash, you’d encourage it to invest more liberally in your telecommunications projects? Jobs for all, wasn’t that the idea? I suppose if I let you you’d produce a new budget next week?’

  ‘I think it will take a little longer than that, sir. But yes, I do have some proposals.’

  ‘And supposing I say no to them?’

  ‘That is of course your prerogative, sir. There are a couple of other small matters we need to settle today.’

  ‘Don’t tell me. Is it a man or is it a fish? Dead or alive? I thought we’d come to it. Young Honeyman?’

  ‘Yes.’ Ishmael took another envelope out of his folder. ‘Now that we’ve proved Olly West was the shore contact, presumably the government will immediately release Honeyman with an appropriate apology.’

  ‘Not so fast, Pereira. You’ve proved your case with West. You have him. Sweep him from the board. But I’m not so sure that you’re in a position to trade your other pawn. You’ve just told me yourself that Honeyman, unlike West, was actually involved in the trade under Hawkins. And he has a record. I think it could be quite difficult to argue a case for him now.’

  ‘I don’t think it’s necessary. What I can tell you is why he’s come close to paying for the theft of a glass goblet with his life. I think if I do that you’ll understand why he must be innocent.’

  ‘His life?’ Hook raised his brows. ‘Isn’t this becoming just a little melodramatic? Whoever do you think has threatened his life?’

  ‘Was Mr Baskerville involved in any way with West’s smuggling activities?’

  ‘Fernando? The idea seems risible, but then, as you say, government investigation seems to have been remarkably inept, so I can only suppose now that anything is possible.’

  ‘You know that he was not. And yet when his suspicions grew, after he talked to the English girl, that Jared had stolen papers from the Pele Centre, he telephoned you. That call must have considerably startled you, sir?’

  ‘Dear me. Do your private enquiries include tapping the public telephone lines? And yet you, like the rest of us, are subject to the law, Pereira.’

  ‘My sources of information were entirely legal. It was easy to find out that Mr Baskerville, and others, were deeply concerned about the papers that Jared found in the Pele Centre. As it happens, you were all quite wrong. He never even noticed West’s safe, let alone attempted to open it. All he found was Lucy Morgan’s letters to Nicky Hawkins. And Lucy Morgan says that yes, West did attempt to blackmail her, in exchange for sexual favours, but, she said, he got nowhere, because she told him he could read her letters to anyone he liked but nothing on earth would prevail on her to go within a yard of him. I think in Mr Baskerville he found a more susceptible victim. The thought would never have crossed my mind, however, if Jared hadn’t been thrown in jail, or even if I’d been allowed to see him.’

  ‘My sources tell me that you did see him.’

  ‘You know that now? Yes, I paid my way in. If I’d failed I’d have appealed to the UN in Geneva.’ For a moment the mask of politeness slipped. Ishmael said with grim emphasis, ‘I would, and I will, do whatever is necessary to make sure this Honeyman does not disappear.’

  Hook glanced at him sharply, but said nothing. His pen remained poised over the blacked-in maze.

  ‘Jared knew nothing,’ said Ishmael. ‘Framing him was simple. The mistake your men made was to ignore the English girl. She came to me, and I drove her at once to Lyonsness police station. She made her statement, and I took her, with two detectives, straight back to Despair. We found everything just as she’d described. We were still there when the two special agents turned up to search the place, and we were able to tell them the job was already done. It wasn’t drugs they’d been sent to look for, was it? If you’d wanted a straightforward search for evidence of smuggling, the coastguards could have done it when they arrested Jared. But evidently they’d had orders not to do that.

  ‘So it wasn’t just about framing Jed, was it? You didn’t know, until Baskerville called you, that Lem Hawkins had discovered, and left written evidence, of what happened to Jack Honeyman. That evidence was supposed to have been deposited in a solicitor’s vault, and left unread for fifty years. Instead Hawkins kept it in a secret hiding place in Ferdy’s Landing. Perhaps he had other plans; I think it possible he would have talked to Jared when he came of age. But within months of Joh
n Honeyman’s disappearance, Hawkins was tipped off, possibly by Baskerville, that his own life might be in danger, but that’s a guess. Hawkins took the ferry to England the same day, without returning to Ferdy’s Landing. He knew he was ill before he left, and six months later he died in an English nursing home.

  ‘I imagine Ferdy’s Landing was searched after Lemuel Hawkins left, but you didn’t know about the old smugglers’ hiding place. We found it when we were working on the house five years later. It had six pounds of cocaine in it. I took them out to sea and scattered the stuff overboard. Far less did you know that West had taken those letters from Nicky’s tin box at Ferdy’s Landing. You never knew that the box contained a complete confession written by Baskerville, and that West has been blackmailing Baskerville ever since. When Kirwan confirmed to you that Honeyman had taken documents from the Pele Centre that it had obviously upset him to find, I think you decided that Honeyman would be arrested on a false charge, tried in a closed court for drug dealing, and that once he was safely sentenced, and in legal custody, probably for life, he would quietly disappear.

  ‘But you had a new problem: you suspected I had this.’ Ishmael held up the brown envelope he’d been holding. ‘You didn’t know, but I may as well tell you now, that I didn’t find it on Despair, but in the safe at the Pele Centre. But I know quite well it’s the reason you agreed to talk to me today in private. You understand now that Jared knows nothing about it. If he disappears, in fact, it will be for no reason at all.’

  ‘You expect me to trust you a great deal. I should like to see those letters.’

  ‘Certainly, sir.’ Ishmael took the letters out, and placed them on the table: three long handwritten letters, one in different handwriting from the others, and a sheaf of typewritten documents. He watched Hook pick them up, one by one, and read them. Hook’s face registered no emotion of any kind.