Davey Jones's Locker

by Christopher Cummings

  “No,” Carmen answered.

  “Great place for diving Echo Reef, don’t you think?” the young man said.

  “Yes,” Carmen replied.

  “Been there before?”

  Carmen shook her head. “No. Have you?” she asked.

  The young man shook his head. “Never. We are working our way north. I hear there are some great dive sites further up the coast.”

  “There are. Try Wheeler Reef off Townsville.”

  During this exchange Andrew remained silent. For some reason he did not feel like talking to the young man. The young man gave a friendly nod and strolled back to his own boat. By then the Moa Mermaid was berthed port side to and the engine switched off. Under the direction of Moses they set to work to make her tidy and ship-shape. Lines were neatly coiled, the mainsail re-stowed, the jib furled, the anchor re-secured.

  With that done Jordan got them to unship and launch the dinghy. The hatch cover was then removed and the diving gear extracted and laid out. The marina had facilities for refilling air tanks so Andrew was sent to get a small trolley and on this they transported the air tanks to the compressor shed. The attendant set to work filling them, all ten at once.

  The wet suits were washed with fresh water and then hung up to dry and the other equipment all rinsed. The refilled air tanks were then collected and stowed. By the time that was done Moses called them in for morning tea. Andrew was astonished to see that it was already 10:30 am. While they sat in the cabin and ate biscuits and drank tea he looked out at the part of the bay that was visible from their berth. The wind was still howling in, ruffling the whole surface of the bay into sudsy whitecaps.

  Moses then asked for a detailed description of the door and they discussed exactly what type of tools they might require to open it. Dirty clothing was then bundled up and the whole party went out onto the pier and along it to the shore. At the marina shop they bought a softdrink each, then Mr Collins telephoned home. Andrew and Carmen both spoke to their mother, describing what they had found and asking if they could stay one more day so they could dive on the wreck. She was obviously reluctant and reminded them they had school on Monday.

  “Oh Mum!” Andrew cried. “Please! I won’t be able to concentrate on school work for wondering what is in there! And I don’t know how long we will be able to keep the secret before one of us lets something slip.”

  What he was thinking about was the possibility of the gold still being there. To his enormous relief his mother sighed and said, “Oh alright! Put your father back on.”

  Andrew did so and then went over to where Carmen stood. She was studying items for sale in the glass counter. As Andrew arrived she pointed and said, “That’s what we need.”

  ‘That’ was an underwater camera. “What a great idea!” Andrew enthused. “That way we will have some proof.”

  “It will give us something to show our friends too,” Carmen added.

  So, when their father returned with the news that their mother would let them say another day- if the weather improved, Carmen asked him to buy the camera. He did this, then told them to take the washing to the coin laundry in town.

  “Moses, Jordan and I are going to see about tools,” he added.

  The whole group then walked into town and had lunch at a cafe. After that Andrew and Carmen went and did the laundry. This took an hour. They then walked back to the marina. As they walked along the foreshore Andrew kept glancing out at the bay. Seeing its whole surface a seething mass of small waves did nothing to calm his anxiety.

  “I hope the wind does die down by tomorrow morning,” he commented.

  “So do I,” Carmen answered. “It is nearly twelve. The radio news will be on soon. That will give us a clue.”

  Brother and sister hurried back to the launch. They were the first ones back so the clothing was dumped on the bench and the radio turned on. The weather forecast after the news was more heartening. It said that the high pressure area was still moving east and was now in the Tasman Sea. It was predicted to weaken and to continue moving in an easterly direction. That meant that the winds along the Queensland coast should ease- to 15 to 20 knots it said. That made Andrew all anxious as he thought that winds of 20 knots would make it too rough to dive at Echo Reef. But that was the best they could hope for so he had to accept it.

  Moses and Jordan came walking back along the pier with shopping bags and the tools. As they approached Moses held up a short steel crowbar with a curved end. “This a jemmy. Is it any good for opening that door?” he called.

  Andrew went and took the jemmy from Moses as he stopped on the jetty. It certainly looked like the sort of tool that would do the job. Jordan had a chisel and a small sledge hammer which he held up for inspection. “I bought a bag to carry them,” he said, showing a canvas haversack. “And I’ll drill holes in their handles and thread rope through them so you can tie them on.”

  The two men climbed aboard and the tools were laid on the table. Carmen showed them her new underwater camera and this was admired and then placed there as well. She then said, “What are you going to do now?”

  “Have an afternoon nap,” Moses replied. “You kids should too.”

  It seemed such a good idea that both Andrew and Carmen went below. When their father arrived back a few minutes later he came down and joined them. As soon as Andrew lay down he realized just how worn out he was. Within minutes of closing his eyes he was sound asleep.

  Three hours later Andrew opened his eyes, wondering where he was. It took his sleep fuddled mind a few seconds to recollect and then he looked around. On the other bunks lay Carmen and his father, both apparently still sleep. The need to go to the toilet forced Andrew to get up. Not wishing to wake the others he was as quiet as he could be but the toilet door did not fit properly and its lock was stiff. The result was that when he came back out again he saw Carmen open her eyes and look at him.

  She looked at her watch and sat up, then stood. On seeing that their father was still asleep she put her fingers to her lips and made her way to the toilet. Needing a drink, Andrew made his way up to the cabin. He expected to find Moses and Jordan there but the place was deserted. Carmen joined him and they had a drink, then looked out. Unable to see the bay clearly from where they were irritated Andrew so he climbed down onto the jetty.

  “Where are you going?” Carmen asked.

  “Just to check on the sea. I want to see if the wind has died down any,” Andrew replied.

  “I’ll come with you.”

  Brother and sister walked side by side along the jetty and out onto the breakwater. A road ran along this to the entrance to the marina. They turned onto the road and strolled along. Andrew was surprised at how stiff his muscles were and at how worn out he still felt. As they walked along he pointed up to the open, grassy slopes of Flagstaff Hill.

  “We would get a good view from up there,” he said.

  Carmen shook her head. “We would, but it is too far. It must be a couple of kilometres each way. I don’t feel like walking that distance.”

  “This is an interesting place,” Andrew commented. “We really must try to come here for a holiday.”

  “We will,” Carmen agreed.

  Still talking about exploring the islands which they could see littering the huge bay they walked to the end of the breakwater. The view was not really encouraging. The wind still blew strongly and the whole bay was flecked with the white of small waves. The waves had stirred up the shallow water so that the sea had a grimy appearance.

  “Like muddy pea soup,” Carmen suggested.

  “Yes,” Andrew agreed. He felt even more anxious now that the weather forecast might be wrong and that the wind would not lose any of its strength in time for them to go and dive once more on the wreck.

  Feeling quite depressed and more tired than he wanted to admit Andrew turned and started walking back. The wind was cool enough to make him shiver. “Let’s go and listen to the radio,” he suggested.

  Ten m
inutes slow walking had them back at the marina. They strolled slowly out along the pier, studying the other boats with interest. There was no-one in sight on any of them and the only person in view was a lone fisherman over at the end of another pier. As they approached the launch the young man with the dark curly hair climbed down onto the jetty from the white motor launch. Just as Andrew was about to climb back aboard the Moa Mermaid he saw the young man hold up his hand in a signal to stop.

  “What does he want?” Andrew said to Carmen. The young man hurried along the pier towards them. While he did Andrew glanced on board but saw that there was no-one on deck or in the cabin. Apparently Moses, Jordan and their father were still asleep.

  The young man stopped a few paces away and also looked into the cabin of the launch, then pointed back towards his own boat. “Excuse me,” he said, “But your friend wants to show you something interesting. Would you mind coming along to my boat for a minute?”

  “Friend?” Carmen asked.

  “She says she knows you,” the young man replied. He began walking back towards his own launch.

  Mystified, Andrew started walking. Carmen followed. “Who are you talking about?” she asked.

  “In there,” the young man replied, pointing to the cabin of the white launch. “It will only take a minute and she thinks you will want to see this.” The young man then climbed aboard and held the aft cabin door open.

  Now feeling even more curious Andrew climbed aboard and looked around. The white launch was as he expected it to be- modern, well kept and with a lot of plastic, chrome and aluminium. Carmen joined him but she had a puzzled frown on her face.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Something we found at Echo Reef. It is on the cabin table,” the young man answered.

  That really sparked Andrew’s curiosity, and also his anxiety. What had the man found at Echo Reef? Was it from the wreck? Impelled by a strong desire to know what the man had found he walked into the cabin, then stopped in stunned surprise. Carmen, who had followed him in, bumped into him and then let out an exclamation.

  “Muriel!”

  CHAPTER 37

  DAVY JONES’S LOCKER

  Andrew stared in shocked amazement.

  Muriel!

  “What... what are you doing here?” he stammered.

  Muriel was seated on a bench seat on the port side of the cabin. She wore a suit of white overalls and looked very tired. In answer she asked, “What did you find in the wreck?”

  Carmen, who had come into the cabin, answered, “What wreck?”

  Muriel made a wry face, almost a sneer and said, “We know you found the wreck. We heard that Torres Strait Island man talking to his wife.”

  Hearing that made Andrew mentally groan and he flailed himself for not asking Moses to be more careful. “We haven’t found anything,” he said.

  “Yes you have!” Muriel snapped. “Why else do you need special tools?”

  Carmen was obviously thinking along the same lines as Andrew as she retorted, “Very clever! So that’s why your launch up-anchored and sailed away straight after the radio message.”

  At that Muriel gave a thin smile, so close to a smirk that Andrew felt a spurt of humiliated anger. “You knew we were there the whole time. You were watching us,” he said accusingly.

  “Not before you arrived. We were minding our own business searching for the wreck,” Muriel answered.

  “You only knew where to look because you snuck into our house and looked at my chart,” Andrew cried.

  At that Muriel gave a harsh laugh. “Let’s not talk about sneaking into people’s houses shall we? People who live in glass houses....”

  A wave of hot shame silenced Andrew. Carmen took up the questioning. “How did you get there before us? Where did you get this boat?” she asked.

  “From my friends,” Muriel answered.

  Andrew looked around at the grinning young man who stood behind them in the doorway. Then he got an even bigger shock as another young man came up through a companionway that led down to another cabin in the focsle. It was Doug. Then a more worrying shock registered. Doug was carrying a loaded speargun, which he aimed at Carmen.

  “Hi, trouble makers,” Doug said cheerfully. “Nice of you to find the wreck for us.”

  Only then did it dawn on Andrew that he and Carmen had been lured into a trap. He turned and opened his mouth to warn Carmen to get out but was too late. The first young man, Trevor he was called by Muriel, slammed the cabin door shut and drew a wicked looking diving knife from the back of his waistband.

  Trevor shook his head and waved the shiny steel blade warningly. “Now don’t do anything silly, like calling out.”

  “Wha... what are you doing? What’s going on?” Andrew stammered, his anxious mind racing to sort out the implication of the situation.

  “You are going to show us where the wreck is,” Trevor said.

  “And if we won’t?” Carmen snapped.

  “Then we will feed you to the fishes and then find it ourselves. It must be somewhere near where you did your last dive,” Trevor replied. His voice was soft but the words had a chilling quality that froze Andrew. Only then did he notice that Trevor’s eyes were a peculiar hazel-grey and had a flat, opaque look to them.

  ‘Shark’s eyes,’ Andrew thought. ‘He is a killer alright.’

  Carmen was outraged. “This is ridiculous! You can’t kidnap us.”

  Trevor laughed. “We can and we have,” he replied in a soft, friendly sounding voice. All the while he had a smile on his face as though he was enjoying the experience immensely.

  “I will scream,” Carmen threatened.

  The smile on Trevor’s face widened. “I wouldn’t advise that,” he answered. “You help us and we will let you go. Cause trouble and we will really hurt you.” He then raked his eyes over Carmen’s body and nodded with approval. “But only after I have had some real enjoyment,” he added.

  The threat of rape so shocked Andrew that he felt sick. He turned to Muriel and cried, “Muriel! This is madness! Let us go. We will tell you where the wreck is. It isn’t that hard to find. You don’t need us.”

  Muriel sat stony faced and just stared back. She shook her head. It was Trevor who answered, “Too late now kiddies. We’ve got you. So, co-operate and we will let you go once we have found the wreck.”

  Andrew did not know what to do. He had been measuring distances with his eye and trying to judge his chances of tackling Doug before he could fire the speargun. Sadly he knew he hadn’t a hope. Doug’s finger was on the trigger and it was a compressed air speargun. It would take only a split second for Doug to fire. By then Trevor would have attacked him from behind with the knife. Andrew did not think that Doug would actually shoot Carmen but he knew he could not take that risk.

  Carmen tried one more appeal to reason. “People will come looking for us soon,” she said.

  Trevor’s smile became thinner. “And we will be all concerned and will help them look,” he replied. Then he snapped, “Put your hands behind you back, both of you. Muriel, pass me that tape.”

  Andrew was very reluctant to do that, fearing that once he did he and Carmen would both be helpless and completely in the power of these people. But the only other option appeared to be to fight and he did not think he had any chance against the two older and stronger young men. Very slowly he did as he was told. By now waves of mounting apprehension, even terror, were starting to make him nauseous.

  Trevor was quick. In a few seconds he had bound Andrew’s wrists with electrical tape. Next he did the same to a furiously angry and defiant Carmen. Then he wrapped tape around Carmen’s mouth so she could not scream. Andrew then suffered the same treatment. Both were then prodded below at knife point. They were pushed into two bunks down in a berth deck. Trevor and Doug produced lengths of rope and securely lashed them to the fittings, legs as well as arms. Muriel and Doug then sat on the bunk opposite and watched them.

  To Andrew’s intense jea
lousy Doug put his arm around Muriel’s shoulders and she snuggled into him. Seeing that, and thinking that she had been on this launch for several nights, apparently without her parents being around, got him imagining the worst. That fuelled his jealousy and fired an intense feeling of rage and sick impotence.

  But fear of dying was a stronger motive and Andrew kept looking up the short companionway at the closed cabin door, fervently hoping that someone had seen them come on board the launch. But nobody came. Time ticked slowly by. Fear and discomfort warred in him to produce extreme reactions of rage and apprehension.

  Hours went by. Darkness set in outside the curtained windows. The three villains took turns at guarding them and at going up to eat and drink. From snatches of overheard conversation Andrew understood that his father had asked if they had seen him or Carmen and had been told no. Picturing the anxiety his father must now be undergoing, and the sick feelings he would experience as the night went on, made Andrew feel even worse.

  An urgent need to do a pee drove Andrew to gesture with his head towards the small toilet at the bottom of the steps. It took him a while to attract Doug’s attention but to his relief Doug finally came over and peeled back the gag, though none too gently. When Andrew made his request he laughed but did untie him and hoist him to his feet, his hands and legs still securely lashed. At the toilet that raised a problem which set Trevor cackling with mirth.

  “Hold it for him Dougy Boy!” he jeered.

  “No chance!” Doug retorted. His solution was to untie Andrew’s hands. That was a huge but painful relief. Andrew had been hoping he could somehow escape or at least yell for help from the toilet but Doug had obviously thought of that and stood in there with him, a knife blade pressed into Andrew’s spine.

  Afterwards he was tied back down but the tape was not put around his wrists. The gag was replaced, but not as roughly. Carmen was also taken to the toilet by Muriel and then retied. More time dragged by. Andrew tried looking at the villain’s watches but was unable to work it out as they wore diver’s watches with half a dozen dials and were too far away and were moved too quickly for his eyes to focus.