"She must have stumbled over something without realizing it, or at least they think she did, which is just as bad. Oh, and that guy they're still looking for?"
"What about him?"
"He matches the description of the guy I knocked off the dinghy dock the night we picked Ed up."
"Oh," Liz said. "You think he was trying to snatch her then?"
"It looked that way."
"Yes, it did. That does reinforce the connection between her drug buy and her kidnapping, doesn't it?"
"It does."
"Did Phillip have anything else to offer?"
"Nothing except what Sharktooth already told us. I did ask him to check up on this Chen woman, though."
"From what the priest told Sharktooth, she and Wong are do-gooders. Why do you want him to check them out?"
"Coincidence? My suspicious nature? The whole thing just feels wrong."
Liz nodded.
"And I can't believe that shithead has time to think about sex when Cynthia's ... " Dani shook her head and took a sip of coffee. "What did he say, anyway?"
"Well, he tried to be subtle, but it was easy enough to see what he was up to. The clincher was when he asked if you and Sharktooth were a couple."
Dani laughed at that. "There'd be no competition from Ed if we were; that's for sure."
"He was also fishing for whether you'd said anything to me about his attention. He didn't want to press on if it was making you uncomfortable."
"Uncomfortable? What was he thinking?"
"Well, he thought that since he was a paying guest, you might feel some obligation to go along with his advances."
"What a piece of shit. How can he have sex on his mind at a time like this?"
"Some men react to stress that way, Dani."
"Maybe so, but this comes across as too calculated to be that kind of thing. I'm irritated with myself that I even thought about getting involved with him, now."
"Don't be too quick to judge him. He's still a hunk."
"He's all yours; I'm busy."
Liz's face flushed. "That's not why I told you. I just — "
"It's okay, Liz," Dani said, laughing. "Thanks for passing it along."
****
Cynthia sat on the sour-smelling, stained mattress in the dark, cramped cabin. Her head ached from the racket of the engine on the other side of the steel bulkhead. The heat was oppressive, and the air stank of diesel fuel and stale tobacco smoke, but the dominant odor was the one that wafted from the filthy bedding.
She had first tried sitting down on the deck, leaning her back against the bulkhead between her and the engine room, but then the vessel had accelerated, and the vibration and noise had driven her across the cabin to lean against the door.
She found that the deck in front of the door was sticky with some unidentified substance. Repulsed, she retreated to the relative comfort of the bunk that was wedged into the opposite corner; there was no other space large enough to afford her a seat.
She was startled by a loud squeak. Peering through the gloom, she saw the hand wheel in the middle of the watertight door turning. Someone was coming into the cabin, and she had no means to defend herself, nowhere to hide. The door banged open and she screamed when she saw the two men who had brought her aboard silhouetted in the light from the corridor. One of the men carried two dented buckets, one in each hand. He set them on the deck and reached to the side, fumbling with something on the bulkhead outside the door. There was a loud snapping sound, and the room was bathed in sickly yellow light from a single bulb in a wire cage above the door.
He leered at her and licked his lips, laughing as she wedged herself farther into the corner. He picked up the two buckets and set them on the deck inside the door. He turned and took a heavy bowl from the other man.
She saw that a spoon protruded from the bowl and felt her stomach growl. She was astonished to discover that she was hungry. The man set the bowl beside the two buckets and backed through the doorway. The other man swung the door shut, and the wheel in the center spun again.
She got up and went to where the bowl and the buckets were sitting against the bulkhead. One bucket was empty; the other was about two-thirds filled with dirty-looking water. She picked up the bowl and sniffed at the contents. To her surprise, the aroma made her mouth water.
She stirred the food with the spoon and saw that it was a watery, gray stew of some kind. Rice, tomatoes, and gristly looking bits of meat were the only identifiable ingredients.
Raising the spoon to her mouth, she took a tiny taste. A myriad of flavors exploded in her mouth, foreign to her, but nonetheless appetizing. She took the bowl back to the bunk and sat on the edge, cradling it in her lap as she began to devour the stew. Before she was sated, the bowl was empty. She wiped a finger through the bowl, collecting the greasy remnants, and licked up the last drop. She set the bowl on the floor by her feet, and lay down, feeling sleepy. As drowsiness overcame her, she wondered what was in the stew that made it taste so much better than it looked. She decided she'd rather not know, and drifted into a fitful sleep.
****
"The call came from a satellite phone stolen from a yacht up in Chateaubelair a few weeks ago," Phillip said.
"Did they get a location?" Dani asked.
"No, only the usual satellite footprint — not much good to us."
"No," Dani said, "but odds are if it was stolen on the island, it's still in the neighborhood."
"That's a leap, Dani. There's no way to prove it."
"Strong suspicion's good enough for me. I don't need proof. You learn any more about Chen and Wong?"
"The Chief Super confirmed what Sharktooth got from the priest. He knows them by reputation. Didn't even need to check and call me back."
"So he thinks they're above suspicion?"
"Come on, Dani. He's too good a cop for that. Nobody's above suspicion, but Madame Chen's not the kind of person whose feathers you want to ruffle without hard proof. She hosts the Prime Minister and his wife on that yacht you mentioned."
"Lotus Blossom," she said. "Anything of interest there?"
"Registered in Bikini to a shell corporation. No luck trying to figure out who's behind the corporation, but it's no secret that the yacht's hers. The corporate ownership's probably just for tax purposes, and maybe to dodge any nuisance liability suits. The boat's a classic; built in the '50s by Feadship for her grandfather."
"Any interesting pattern to where she keeps it, what she does with it?"
"Not really. It shows up from time to time in all the usual places, but it sounds like she mostly keeps it down in the Grenadines. She spends quite a bit of time aboard, entertaining local politicians up and down the island chain."
"What about her, personally?"
"Single, never been married. Some speculation that she and this Wong have an off and on thing. The Chief says she's an attractive woman."
"And Wong? What about him?"
"He's a family retainer from back when the Chens were in Hong Kong. When the colony reverted to China in '97, Marissa Chen left and moved her whole operation to St. Vincent. There wasn't much to move, at least as far as the business was concerned. They're spice traders, brokers, according to the Chief, so they don't carry inventory. No warehouses or equipment of their own. Just money and contacts."
"So she brought him with her? He must be important to her."
"Wong was practically adopted by her grandfather and was several years younger than her father. Her father put him to work in the business when he took over from the grandfather. Marissa took over from her father several years before '97; he died from a heart problem while he was still a young man. She brought Wong with her, but her other employees are locals."
"The Chief knew all that background from Hong Kong?"
"No. I have a friend who was tight with the colonial police in Hong Kong."
"Why would he know so much about spice traders?"
"They kept a close watch on most of the peo
ple who were moving spices. Smuggling spice and smuggling other things weren't that different."
"The Chens smuggled spices?"
"Some of the countries where they sourced their goods might have seen it that way. My friend said nothing ever stuck to the Chens."
"Damning with faint praise," Dani said. "The woman we talked to in Petite Martinique referred to Wong as a 'little dwarf fella,' when she told us about him getting beat up."
"Right. The Chief said he's a dwarf, and kind of squirrelly."
"Squirrelly? How?"
"Chip on his shoulder about his size. He's a tough little bugger — been in more than his share of barroom scrapes. Usually comes out on top. He's hurt some big guys, and Chen buys him out of whatever trouble he gets himself into. The Chief says he doesn't start the fights, but he seems to be a magnet for bullies."
"Okay," Dani said. "Anything else?"
"Not yet. Sharktooth get any word on the boys from Trinidad?" Phillip asked.
"Nothing. Vanished into thin air."
"Any gut instincts?"
"Yes," Dani said. "There are too many coincidences."
"For instance?"
"The guy the police are still looking for ... "
"Festus Jacobs," Phillip said.
"Right. His description matches the guy who tried to pull Cynthia into that boat night before last."
"So?"
"He was a known associate of the two men she bought the ganja from."
"And?"
"That makes me think her kidnapping's related to her purchase."
"But why would they try to snatch her? The men she could identify are out of the picture."
"We don't know the timing. They may have disappeared or been killed because Jacobs failed to capture her."
"That's a stretch, but go ahead. More coincidence?"
"Yes. This whole thing with Wong showing up just when Cynthia needed a ride home stinks."
"But the guys in the yellow boat did Wong and the other man some serious damage."
"Maybe. But their spotting the girl with Wong is another big coincidence."
"Not so big. Surely they were looking for her, and Petite Martinique's a small place."
"Yes, that's true. So why didn't anybody see those two between the time they finished lunch and the time they attacked Wong? If they were searching for the girl, somebody should have noticed, but the constable couldn't find them when he called around."
"When was that?" Phillip asked.
"Between the time the nun called him and the time the priest took Cynthia to the police station."
"Where'd you get that?"
"Sharktooth."
"Anything else?"
"Not yet, but he's checking with his contact in customs in Grenada."
"For what?"
"Wong and Lotus Blossom were supposedly on their way back from Grenada when he stopped at Petite Martinique."
"Hm. Let me know what you find out."
"I'll do that."
"Need anything else?"
"Not that I can think of. I'll be in touch when we hear back, though. Thanks, Phillip."
"No problem."
Dani disconnected the call and went below to talk to Liz and Sharktooth, who were discussing a painting that Liz was working on.
Chapter 20
"We see that you've issued sell orders to raise $10 million. That's good. You'll find a reward at http://youtu.be/htY7GnFITO0. Check it out." The warbling voice was further distorted by the tiny speaker of the satellite phone as it sat in the middle of Vengeance's dining table.
"It takes four days for settlement before I'll have the cash," Ed said.
"Too bad. You have 40 hours left. Don't make your beautiful, sexy daughter pay."
"Please don't hurt her. I'm — "
"Hurt her? She looks like she'll enjoy it. Check out that video link." There was a soft click as the connection was broken.
Ed slumped against the table. "How far is the nearest Internet cafe?"
"We've got Internet access via satellite," Dani said. "Give us a couple of minutes to get the equipment fired up."
Liz moved to the chart table and began flipping switches. As she waited for the system to lock on to the satellite, she said, "You can probably get an advance against the proceeds of the trade, under the circumstances, Ed."
"How would I do that?"
"You'd need to talk to somebody higher in the food chain at the brokerage, and it'll cost you some money, but they'll probably work with you."
"Thanks, Liz. They're closed by now, but I'll get on it first thing in the morning."
"If they can't help you, talk to your banker about a short-term loan until the trades clear," Liz said. "What was that web address?"
"Http://youtu.be/htY7GnFITO0," Dani said, reading from the notepad on the table in front of her.
Liz keyed the address into the web browser on their laptop and picked it up, taking it to the table. She put it in front of Ed, angled so that she and Dani and Sharktooth could see it as well. She clicked the return key, and they watched as a full screen video loaded and began to play.
There was disco music playing, and raucous laughter, with what sounded like catcalls in pidgin French. Cynthia, clad only in her skimpy bikini, danced listlessly to the music, a blank, frightened look on her face. The camera zoomed out and swung to show several men leering and clapping as they yelled at her. The lighting was dim; no details of the men or their surroundings were visible. The camera swung back to Cynthia and zoomed in, showing her face and chest. A blurred hand reached into the frame from the side and cupped her breast, squeezing. She winced, and the hand jerked. Part of the back of a man's head showed as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. She nodded, tears in her eyes, and looked straight into the camera, saying, "Please, Daddy do what they — "
The screen went black, and Ed put his face in his hands.
****
"I don't understand how Berger tracked the girl to Petite Martinique so quickly," the Dragon Lady said. She glared at Wong for a moment, but he said nothing. "Did you find out about that parasailing boat?"
He inclined his head in a brief nod. "Yes. It is registered in St. Lucia. It is kept in a small, shallow cove near Marigot."
"And who owns it?"
"I don't know, yet, Madame. It's registered to a company there. The agent is an attorney. Different people are seen using the boat; one matches the description of the big Rasta, but there are others."
"Who is the big Rasta, Wong?"
"My source doesn't know his name, but he is not from St. Lucia. They think maybe from Dominica."
"And the other men who use it?"
"They come from Martinique; they speak French. Sometimes the big man is with them, sometimes not. He speaks French with the other men when he's there, but my source says their use of the boat is strange."
"Strange in what way?"
"They often take it out at night. Sometimes they go out for several days. The locals think this is odd, for a parasailing boat."
"Yes, I see. Have they seen Berger around the boat?"
"No. Nobody recognized her name, either."
She studied one of the Japanese watercolors that hung on the wall.
"Did you learn anything about her from the people in Miami?" Wong asked, after a protracted silence.
She blinked and shook herself, turning to look at him. "Sorry. I was thinking. You asked me something?"
"I didn't mean to interrupt your thoughts, Madame. I wondered if the people in Miami had any information on Berger."
"Some, but nothing useful. Her mother's family owns an investment bank. She worked there for a while before she got into the yachting business."
"Are her parents still active in the banking business?"
"Her mother is. Why?"
"No particular reason. I thought it might help to look at the information differently, that's all. And what about her father?"
"There was no mention of her father; I assume he's d
ead, or of little importance."
"It would be interesting to know more about him. It's odd that they would have no information on him."
The Dragon Lady made a note on her pad. "An excellent point. I'll ask. Meanwhile, see if you can find out anything about the big man from Dominica."
"Yes, Madame."
"Is the girl aboard Lion of Judah now?"
"Yes."
"And is she segregated from the others?"
"Yes, but may I ask why?"
"A whim. If I decide to sell her, the less she knows about us the better. Those animals we're keeping there know too well what their fate is. She doesn't need to know about our sex trafficking."
Wong frowned.
"What's wrong?" the Dragon Lady asked.
"I thought I was going to dispose of her once we got the ransom."
"I did mention that possibility, didn't I?" She smiled at him.
"Yes."
"I may change my mind. I realized that I could do both."
"Both, Madame?"
"Collect the ransom from her father and sell her to the Arabs. Don't worry; we'll find another plaything for you, my little fiend."
"It's not that, Madame."
"What, then?"
"I understood that she wouldn't leave our care alive."
"So what if she does?"
"She knows who we are."
"What do you mean, knows who we are? Has she seen you?"
"Yes, Madame, of course. It was necessary to recapture her after those fools allowed her to escape. Remember, I spirited her away from the police."
"So she saw you. And she knows your name."
"Yes, Madame. She also saw Lotus Blossom, and the priest and the policeman both mentioned you by name in her presence."
The Dragon Lady's lips compressed into a thin line as she digested what he had said. As she started to speak, the intercom buzzed. Annoyed, she pressed down on the key and barked, "I said I wasn't to be interrupted, Veralyn."
"It's that man from Miami; you told me to always — "
"Did he say what he wanted?"
"No, Madame. Only that it's important and it has to do with some lawyer's daughter. He said you'd know."
"Leave me, Wong. Find out about the Rasta and get back as soon as you can. I have to take this call."
Bluewater Ganja: The Ninth Novel in the Caribbean Mystery and Adventure Series (Bluewater Thrillers Book 9) Page 11