"Your organization is an important marketing channel for me," she said.
"And your product has come to be quite important to us. I don't intend to let personal conflicts interfere with our relationship. You and I, we are above such petty things, I think."
"I appreciate your confidence, Mr. Gregorio, but I admit to being a bit lost, here. What sort of personal conflicts?"
He chuckled. "Joe DiFiore is an animal. His brother Mike was worse. People like them have their uses, but I should never have allowed them to represent me in dealing with someone like you. You don't have to say anything, but trust me. I've heard your complaint. You will never have to deal with them again."
"I see. And with whom will I transact business?" She made note of his use of the past tense in referring to Mike DiFiore; she wondered if Wong had gone too far.
"Oh, I think you and I should work directly with one another from now on. It's unfortunate that Mike was injured so badly in his role as messenger, but I've ensured that Joe understands. Not that I think you would worry, but rest assured that Joe will never trouble you again."
"I look forward to our relationship, Mr. Gregorio," she said, pleased to learn that Wong had left Mike DiFiore alive to serve as a reminder to these people. "I'm sure we understand one another quite clearly."
"Yes, I think we do. I do want to let you know that for the time being, I'll continue to use Joe to keep an eye on our mutual interests in South Florida, but if that bothers you, just say the word, and he'll be gone."
"I wouldn't presume to second-guess your judgment on staffing decisions, Mr. Gregorio. I know a man like Joe has his uses. I keep some dangerous pets myself."
Gregorio listened to the soft noise of the encrypted telephone connection for a few seconds. "Well, it's been a rare pleasure to chat with you. I'm sure we'll enjoy working together. It's nice to find someone with whom I can reach such a clear understanding in such a civilized manner."
"Likewise, Mr. Gregorio. If there's ever anything I can do for you, please let me know."
"Certainly, Madame Chen."
"Good day, Mr. Gregorio."
"Ah, Madame Chen?"
"Yes?"
"There is a small matter, perhaps."
"Yes? Tell me about it, please."
"There's a certain lawyer from Atlanta with whom I believe you may be doing some business."
"I think I know the man of whom you're speaking. Would that be Mr. Savage?"
"Yes, Madame."
"A fine civil litigator, I hear. I have not yet engaged his services, though he comes highly recommended," she said.
"For good reason, Madame, I assure you."
"How do you come to know of him, Mr. Gregorio?"
"He's leading a class action suit against a company in which I have an interest. A suit totally without merit, I assure you."
"I have no doubt. Lawyers are only concerned with making money. But how can I help you?"
"He's an honorable man, I believe. If you could help him see that the suit against Tequesta Recycling is without merit, he would probably withdraw as the lead counsel for the plaintiffs."
"I see. And that's all you want? For him to withdraw personally?"
"Yes. It would serve him well, and as I said, the suit is without merit. Without his participation, it will collapse. He could perhaps tell the court that some personal problem is forcing his withdrawal, so that he wouldn't have to admit that he'd been duped by his clients. We wouldn't want him to do anything that might directly prejudice the case."
"I might be able to sway him," she said, "if it's important to you."
"Oh, it's worth $50 million to me, but the important thing is his well-being and reputation, don't you agree?"
"Of course," she said. "I'm sure he and his family would suffer if he made a mistake like that. Teenaged children, especially girls, are so sensitive and vulnerable."
"I wouldn't know, Madame. But I'll trust you on that. I appreciate whatever you can do, and I'll make a deposit to the usual account in advance to defray your expenses."
"Thank you again for calling, Mr. Gregorio."
"My pleasure, Madame."
The Dragon Lady savored her victory for a moment. Then she pressed the intercom button.
"Yes, Madame?"
"Is Wong back from Florida?"
"Yes, Madame. Your plane landed about an hour ago."
"Tell him I want him."
"Yes, Madame, immediately."
"And Veralyn?"
"Yes, Madame?"
"Tell him to bring the package he brought back. He'll know what I mean. When is my appointment with the Berger woman, again?"
"Tomorrow morning, at ten. Did you want to go to Bequia on Lotus Blossom to meet her?"
"No. I don't have time for a boat ride. Arrange for the helicopter to take me, please. And once Wong is here, I will not want to be disturbed for the rest of the day."
****
"She wants to meet with you?" Liz asked. "In person?"
"Yes," Dani said. "Aboard her yacht, Lotus Blossom. She's bringing it to Bequia for the meeting."
"What could she want that would warrant that?" Liz asked.
"Who knows? She said she wanted to talk with me about one of her charities — something about mentoring teenaged girls to encourage them in entrepreneurial ventures. According to her, their opportunities are limited. All most of them think about is finding a man to take care of them and having children."
"And she's opposed to that?" Ed asked, joining them in the cockpit. He had been below, reading a case file.
"Well, I don't know that she's opposed to it. She gave me a long spiel about wanting to see more startup ventures founded by young women — good for the economy, keeps them off drugs and out of the hands of the sex traffickers, that kind of thing."
"It's hard to argue with that. And her guy did try to help Cynthia."
Dani looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Well," Ed said, "he did. He got hurt for his trouble, too. I feel like I should go with you and thank her."
"Don't be so hasty, Ed," Dani said. "We still don't know how Wong came to be in the vicinity at just the right time."
"Wow! You are one suspicious lady. Glad I'm not married to you."
"Me, too," Dani said. "I don't think we'd last long as a couple."
"Well," he said, "I guess you told me. But what makes you suspicious of Ms. Chen?"
"Wong lied about why he was in Petite Martinique."
"What? But he said he was in Grenada on some kind of business for Chen. Probably to do with their spice trading — isn't Grenada a major producer?"
"Yes. It's one of the largest exporters of nutmeg in the world, and they grow a lot of other spices there, too," Liz said, as he draped an arm over her shoulders.
"So why don't you believe him, Dani?" Ed asked.
"Because he wasn't in Grenada."
"How do you know?"
"Phillip's wife checked."
"His wife? I don't — "
"She's a senior officer with French Customs in Martinique," Liz said, shifting her position slightly, forcing his arm to a less comfortable angle as she winked at Dani.
"But I thought Petite Martinique was part of Grenada," he said, removing his arm from Liz's shoulders and shifting to his right until their hips were touching. "That's confusing."
"It is part of Grenada, and yes, the name is confusing. Remember, the British and the French traded these islands back and forth like chips in a casino back in the 18th and early 19th centuries. You can't go by the origin of names," Dani said, returning Liz's wink.
"Okay, but I'm still lost."
"She made an official request to Grenada Customs," Liz said, edging away from him on the cockpit seat, putting a few inches between them. "Sorry Ed, but I'm too hot to snuggle right now."
He grinned. "What an opening that is. But I'll let it pass. I still want to understand what Dani's thinking."
"Speaking of openings," Liz sa
id, "don't be too sure."
"Huh?" he asked.
"About wanting to know what I'm thinking," Dani said, watching his expression turn sour. "Anyway, Lotus Blossom wasn't in Grenada that day. Hasn't been for several weeks, in fact. Neither was Wong."
"Could there have been a misunderstanding?" he asked.
"Possibly," Dani said. "Sharktooth's going to check."
"Yeah? I noticed his boat wasn't in the anchorage this morning. He's gone to Grenada?"
"Right. He'll check things out there and meet us in Bequia."
"How can he double check on an official inquiry?"
"He knows people," Dani said. "All kinds of people around the waterfront."
"So you'll have his information before your meeting on Lotus Blossom," Ed said. "Are you going to confront her about Wong?"
"I don't think so; it's better if she doesn't know how much we know."
Ed nodded. "You would have made a good lawyer."
"I guess that's a compliment, coming from you."
"You would; I'm not just saying that. You think you might learn something from her?"
"Probably. It may or may not be helpful to our immediate situation, but she'll give away something. I'll play along with her; she wanted to meet me and see if I'd fit into her mentoring program. Most likely, that'll give me the opportunity to ask her a lot of questions in return."
"And then there's Lotus Blossom," Liz said.
"What about Lotus Blossom?" Ed asked.
"She'll have to show me around the yacht when I express a professional interest. She'd be surprised if somebody like me didn't ask for the grand tour."
"How is that useful? You don't think they took Cynthia, do you? You think she might be on that boat?"
Dani and Liz traded looks of surprise.
"Well, do you?" he repeated.
"They're our best suspects," Dani said. "But no, I don't think they'd be brazen enough to invite me aboard if they were holding her there. You never know what I might see or hear down in the innards of a boat like that, though. I could pick up something that might be useful later."
"We should tell that Chief Inspector guy," Ed said. "They could — "
"They couldn't touch her," Liz interrupted. "This woman entertains the Prime Minister and his wife, remember?"
"But they could get a warrant, and — "
"You're the lawyer, Ed," Dani said. "You think there's enough to support issuing a warrant?"
He clenched his jaws and frowned for a moment. He shook his head. "Probably not, unless you had a sympathetic judge."
"Right," Dani said. "And we can guess where the judge's sympathies would be on this one."
"So I should keep working on getting the money together, huh?"
"Yes. Today's the 48-hour deadline. I'm surprised you haven't heard from them yet," Dani said.
"They're probably watching," Liz said.
"Watching?" Ed asked.
"They have some visibility into your finances, Ed. Remember, they knew you were working to raise the cash when they called yesterday about the video."
"Shit! You're right. I was so upset by the video that I forgot that. You think they're monitoring my accounts?"
"It sounds that way," Liz said.
"How can they do that?"
"Well, from a technology perspective, it's dead easy," Liz said.
"Okay, I can see that, but there are all kinds of restrictions in the way. The brokerage can't give them that kind of access without a warrant or a subpoena."
"You're thinking like a lawyer, Ed."
"Kidnappers don't bother with warrants and subpoenas. Given the amount of money that's in play, you should assume they have all of the tools that the government would have and none of the constraints," Dani said.
"I'd better go call my broker and see how we're coming. Can I use your sat phone or do you need it?"
"Sure. Sharktooth left us another one."
"Why'd he do that?"
"It's encrypted. We thought it might be good to have."
****
"While he's below, I'm going to call Mario and see what he can find out about who's asking questions about Papa."
"I was going to remind you."
"Thanks. I'm going to take the phone up on the foredeck. I don't feel like answering Ed's endless questions if he overhears me."
"Go. I'll keep an eye on our course." Liz slipped behind the helm.
"Good. I'll only be a minute." Dani opened the small locker beside the helm where she'd stashed the extra satellite phone.
She made her way to the forward end of the coachroof and sat down to place her call. After a few minutes, she returned to the cockpit and put the phone away. "He'll call back. It'll probably be late afternoon — maybe in the morning."
Liz nodded. "Ed's funny with his questions, isn't he?"
Dani rolled her eyes. "I have to restrain myself to keep from punching him. What a jerk. It's like this whole thing with Cynthia is some kind of academic exercise. Does he have no emotional attachment to her?"
"I think he does. He says that he compartmentalizes his emotions; it's what he has to do to be effective in court. He says all successful trial lawyers are consummate actors and storytellers," Liz said.
"Well, I'd like him a lot better if he acted like he gave a damn what happened to her. Poor kid. Who knows what she's going through? And he's all over you, now. Not that you're discouraging him."
Liz didn't say anything for a moment as she studied the sails. "Have you forgotten I'm doing this for your benefit?"
"No. I'm watching. I've seen your subtle moves. Pretty slick, actually, the way you're leading him around."
"It's kind of like dancing," Liz said.
"I wouldn't know about that."
"I could teach you."
"Another time. He's got me pissed off. Don't take me too seriously; I'm just letting off steam."
"Okay. I thought so, but I wanted to make sure."
"Aren't you tired of him trying to cop a feel?"
"I'm keeping him at arm's length without shutting him down. You said you wanted to learn the tricks."
"Better you than me. Glad he's shifted his attention to you; I only know one way to react to unwelcome touching, but I'm learning. I'm not sure I've got the self-control you have, though."
"Sure you do. You've shown it in other ways; you'll do fine."
A minute or two passed in silence while Dani thought about that. A frigate bird made a close pass, flying between the masts. It squawked and broke the spell cast by the soft sounds of the wind in the sails and the gurgle of Vengeance's wake.
"I agree with you, just so you know," Liz said.
"About what?"
"The way he acts. He seems to have completely forgotten that he even has a daughter."
"I was thinking that you didn't notice."
"Oh, I noticed," Liz said. "I've discussed it with him. That's when he told me about compartmentalizing his feelings. But even then, he seemed too detached. I think I'm more worried about Cynthia than he is, sometimes."
"I know what you mean. Being able to focus his attention is a commendable skill, but I think this is an inappropriate use of it."
"He's coming," Liz said, catching a flicker of motion through the companionway as he put the phone back in its place by the chart table.
Chapter 25
"Thanks for the suggestion about getting an advance on the proceeds of the trades, Liz," Ed said, as he sat down beside the companionway opening. He was facing Liz and Dani across the length of the cockpit.
"Glad it helped," Liz said. "How's progress?"
"The money's ready, whenever they call with instructions."
"If they're monitoring your account, I'm surprised they haven't already called," Dani said. "How long has the cash — "
She stopped to answer the new satellite phone. "Hi, Sharktooth." She listened for a few seconds. "Can I put you on the speaker?"
She reached around the steering pedestal an
d set the phone on the cockpit table.
"Mornin', mornin'." Sharktooth's voice boomed from the tiny speaker in the odd greeting common to the English-speaking islanders up and down the chain.
"Good morning," Liz said. "Learn anything interesting in Grenada?"
"Sandrine's information was good; nobody saw any sign of Lotus Blossom or Wong. Not the day Cynthia was taken, nor any time recently."
"So Wong was lying about Grenada," Ed said. "But there could be any number of reasons; I can't get past the fact that he and the other guy got hurt when she was recaptured."
"We don't know how they got hurt," Dani said. "You get anything else, Sharktooth?"
"Mebbe, mebbe not. They use a Haitian freighter to ship spices from Grenada."
"Chen does?" Dani asked.
"Mm-hmm. My frien's t'ink mebbe she charter. Use same ship many times."
"What good does that do us?" Ed asked.
"The freighter left Grenada the mornin' they take Cynthia, boun' for St. Vincent."
"So it would have been in the vicinity when she was kidnapped, then," Liz said.
"Mm-hmm. Lion of Judah. She hail from Port-au-Prince. Man say typical Haitian boat."
"What's that mean? Typical Haitian boat?" Ed asked.
"Old, small, rusty, poorly maintained, and dirty," Dani said. "What else, Sharktooth?"
"Rumors. Some folks t'ink Lion of Judah bringin' drugs."
"Into Grenada?" Liz asked. "But they grow plenty of weed there, don't they?"
"Not weed. Meth, heroin, coke. The bad stuff. An' whatever kinda pills they takin', too. Drugs like that, they don't come from the islands. Bring 'em from down south. Venezuela, mebbe."
"How come if your contacts know that, the cops in Grenada don't stop it?" Ed asked.
"Same reason the cops in the States don't stop it," Sharktooth said. "More rumors, too, 'bout Lion of Judah."
"What rumors?" Liz asked, amused at the irritation on Ed's face.
"Smugglin' people, mebbe."
"Human trafficking?" Ed asked. "This Chen woman's running drugs and engaging in human trafficking?"
"Down, boy," Dani said. "We don't know what her involvement is with the Lion of Judah. The crews on those rust buckets freelance all the time."
"We should call the authorities," Ed said.
Bluewater Ganja: The Ninth Novel in the Caribbean Mystery and Adventure Series (Bluewater Thrillers Book 9) Page 14