Sharktooth grinned and patted his belly. "She make them too good."
"Come back to the cockpit and meet Maria," Dani said.
"Yes, please," he said, following Dani and Liz.
"Maria Velasquez, this is Sharktooth," Liz said.
Sharktooth took her proffered hand gently by the fingers, folding his giant paws around it as he gave a nod that stopped just short of a bow. "I am pleased to meet any friend of these two wonderful ladies. Welcome to Dominica."
"Thank you, Sharktooth," Connie said. "I've read about Dominica; it sounds so beautiful. I wish we were stopping so you could show me around."
"Soon come," he murmured. "Dani and Liz, they are at home here. You will be back, and you will be at home here, too. My wife and I, we will show you. The book you read, it's not quite right. Dominica is more than jus' beautiful. Dominica is paradise; this de trut'. It is special, because God, he make Dominica on Monday, you see."
"On Monday?" Connie looked puzzled.
"Yes. After he take Sunday to res', so he do an extra good job when he make Dominica." He laughed at his own joke, a rumbling sound, like thunder in the distance.
"So," he said, releasing Connie's hand, "I mus' collect your garbage an' be on my way, befo' the moon she rise."
"He's in the galley," Dani said.
Sharktooth nodded and stepped below. In a few seconds, he reappeared, his massive right hand gripping the knots that tied Pietro's wrists and ankles together. He carried the man with no more effort than most people would carry a bag of groceries.
"I'm surprised he's not groaning through the gag," Liz said.
"I give he some tranquilize," Sharktooth said with a rumbling chuckle as he flexed his left arm, his hand making an enormous fist. "Don't want he to suffer too bad jus' now. Later, mebbe so. We see."
"Watch that he doesn't die, Sharktooth," Dani cautioned. "We want to give him to Paul, eventually."
"No problem," Sharktooth agreed. "After I talk to he some, I give to Uncle Christian to look after. He eye an' he nose, they might get infeck. But Uncle Christian, he take care of that, no problem."
Sharktooth stepped down into his boat, lowering the unconscious Pietro to the passenger seat as Dani and Liz cast off his lines. He gave them a wave as he roared away toward the few dim lights that marked Portsmouth.
"Okay, now I've met Sharktooth," Connie said with a smile, "But who is Uncle Christian?"
"He's a bush doctor," Dani said. "A relative of Sharktooth's."
"Well, I guessed that from the 'Uncle' part," Connie said.
"Just to keep things straight, 'Uncle' is his first name," Dani said. "His relationship to Sharktooth is much more complicated than that."
"Oops. Okay, I'm learning. Assume nothing. So, what's a bush doctor?" Connie asked.
"Medicine man; Uncle Christian is a healer. He knows the medicinal properties of all sorts of plants that are native to Dominica. Last year, he was working with a special team of M.D.s from the States to help them isolate the active ingredients in some of his potions."
"I'm impressed," Connie said.
"So were they. They were a little put off at first by the animal sacrifices, though," Liz chuckled.
"Animal sacrifices?" Connie asked.
"Uncle Christian's a houngan – a Voodoo priest," Dani said.
Chapter 32
"What time will Sandrine be home?" Liz asked.
"Around 4:30, but if they aren't busy, she may slip away early. Don't be surprised if she breezes in any minute now," Phillip said. "She's eager to see you; I have a detailed list of instructions about what I'm supposed to do in the kitchen."
"You need help?" Dani asked.
"It's all under control. She just likes to keep me occupied."
Dani smiled. "Smart girl."
"Since you offered, why don't you go pick out a nice bottle of red and open it so that it can breathe?"
"Okay. That won't tax my culinary ability too much."
"I'll take Maria down to the vault and we'll lock those diamonds up while you do that. You're welcome to come, Liz," Phillip said. "Have you seen the basement since Sandrine took over?"
"No," Liz said, getting to her feet.
"I haven't either," Dani said.
"Come on down when you've picked out the wine; you'll get a chuckle out of it. You know the way." Phillip led Liz and Connie from the room, keeping up a running commentary on all the redecorating Sandrine had done in the year since their wedding.
Dani was on her way from the kitchen to the downstairs area when the front door burst open and Sandrine ran in, threw down her bag, and gave Dani a big hug.
"Bienvenue, Dani! You are so long not coming here; you look well."
"Merci, Sandrine. You too," Dani said as she returned the embrace.
"Where are the others?" Sandrine wanted to know.
"Phillip is showing off all the improvements you've made. I was just on my way downstairs to join them."
"Ah! Improvements? Moi? Phillip, he is making me to appear as the runaway goat. He is the one who does all this, you know?"
"Runaway goat?" Dani's brow was furrowed.
"Maybe that is not quite right, what I say," Sandrine mused. "When one makes another to be blamed for something, in English you say, 'he makes the goat escape,' non?"
"He makes you a scape-goat," Dani said, struggling to match Sandrine's serious look.
"Mais oui! Phillip makes me the escape goat, when he is the escape goat all alone."
"That's Phillip," Dani said, allowing herself a smile.
"Yes. He enjoys to do many of these works with his own hands. He has some phrase for it, but I cannot remember. The English, they say d-i-y."
"Do-it-yourself," Dani ventured.
"Mais oui. Come, let us join them before he is telling Liz and your new friend what is not the truth." Sandrine grabbed Dani's hand and dragged her toward the stairs, kicking off her absurdly high heels as she went.
When they reached the lower level, Dani looked around, stunned at the change since her last visit. "It's beautiful, Sandrine. But where are all of Phillip's, um…"
"My souvenirs?" Phillip asked, leading Connie and Liz into the main room. He turned and pressed a concealed button and a massive bookcase slid smoothly in place, hiding the doorway from which they had emerged.
"Yes," Dani said with a chuckle. "Your souvenirs."
"Clarence is keeping them for me. Sandrine wasn't comfortable living in an armory."
"Now you make me to be the escape-goat again!" she teased. She turned to Dani and asked quietly, "Is correct, this usage?" Satisfied by Dani's subtle nod, Sandrine continued. "You were the one who wished to have this for living space, my love, so you must be the escape-goat this time, non?"
"Of course," Phillip said in a resigned tone, trying to hide a smile. "Did you open some wine, Dani?"
"I did."
"Then let's adjourn to the veranda and watch the sunset behind Vengeance. It's a treat to have her as part of our view," Phillip said.
Soon, they were all settled in lounge chairs, wineglasses in hand, gazing out over the harbor where Vengeance and a number of other yachts bobbed at anchor. The sun had just touched the cloudless horizon, promising a spectacular sunset with a strong possibility of a green flash when Phillip excused himself to answer the telephone. The others sat quietly, watching the show. Although the horizon was clear, there were enough puffy, tradewind cumulus clouds overhead to produce a spectacular pink aura as the rays of the setting sun were reflected between the indigo surface of the sea and the snowy white clouds. As the last of the sun dropped from view, a pale, jade-green glow suffused the horizon for an instant. The women, moving as one, put their glasses down and began to applaud.
"Guess I missed a good one," Phillip said, returning to the veranda as the echoes of applause faded.
"Stunning!" Connie said. "I've never seen a green flash like that one."
"Who called?" Sandrine asked.
"Sharktooth," Ph
illip said. "Seems that Jovanovich became talkative this afternoon. He's even willing to waive extradition and go back to the states to testify against Rolle and Alfieri."
"Sharktooth can be persuasive," Dani said.
"He said it was all thanks to Uncle Christian. They tied Jovanovich to a tree out in the jungle and let him watch Uncle Christian make a zombie out of somebody," Phillip said.
"Really?" Connie asked, eyes wide.
"Yes, they really let him watch," Phillip said.
"I meant the zombie," Connie said.
"Surely you don't believe in zombies," Dani said.
"But you told me Uncle Christian was a Voodoo priest," Connie protested.
"Oh, he definitely is, but he's quite a showman, too. He can make you think he's doing all sorts of strange things. Guess Pietro was probably in a gullible state of mind."
Connie, a dubious look on her face, was silent for a moment as she parsed Dani's evasive response.
"I asked Sharktooth to give Paul Russo a call and fill him in, so I wouldn't be surprised if we get a call from him before the evening is over."
"My bet is Paul will show up in the next day or so," Dani said.
"We were thinking tomorrow, when I spoke with him this morning. All the pieces are falling into place. There's already an arrest warrant for Alfieri regarding the murders up in Georgia, and with Pietro talking, the cops in Miami should get one for Rolle with no trouble."
"So why wouldn't he be headed for Nassau?" Dani asked.
"Damn!" Phillip said. "I just realized that you're missing a critical piece of information. Nobody told you about Rolle's Kate."
"No," Dani agreed. "What about Rolle's Kate?"
"Rolle's Kate is Wallace Rolle's motor-yacht. Paul dug up the particulars after he found out Rolle and Alfieri left Nassau aboard her a few days ago. She's a custom 150-footer, built of aluminum with two big turbo diesels. Top speed is well over 30 knots."
Dani felt a tingle run down her spine as her memory clicked. "We saw them entering Deshaies as we were leaving the other morning, I'll bet. I couldn't read the name, but it was two words. The first started with 'R,' and the second one was 'Kate.' Bahamian flag?"
"Yes," Phillip said.
"They were probably waiting to pick up Pietro and his buddy after they finished with us," Liz said.
"Damn. I meant to ask Pietro about that," Dani said.
"It's not too late," Phillip said. "I'll call Sharktooth back. I should let Paul know we have a sighting of Rolle's Kate in Deshaies a couple of days ago, too. He was starting to wonder how we would find them. Sounds like they're in the neighborhood."
"It is enough of this business talking, now," Sandrine said. "Is a place good to stop?"
"Mais oui, ma chérie," Phillip said.
"Then I will get the dinner ready. You must call Sharktooth, but do not make to talk long-winded, okay?" Sandrine said as she stood and started inside.
Chapter 33
"My bet is he and his trained ape have taken the diamonds for themselves," Sam said, his voice tense with suppressed rage.
"I doubt it," Wallace replied. "He doesn't care about money; he's odd that way."
"He's odd all right; gives me the willies every time I'm around him. He should have called us yesterday; he's about 36 hours late, the way I see it."
"Well, I agree with that. He's capable of double-crossing us, but money's not his thing, and he doesn't like women or sailboats," Wallace said.
Rolle's Kate had been idling along well to the west of the islands for the last day and a half. She was presently on course for the Saintes, cruising at 20 knots. As they approached the entrance between Terre de Bas and Îlet à Cabrít, she reduced speed smoothly. By the time she entered the protected water enclosed by the islands, she was moving at no-wake speed, barely causing a ripple as she passed close by each of the anchorages. Wallace and Sam stood on the bridge deck, scanning the anchored boats with powerful binoculars. An hour and a half later, their search had proven fruitless. Wallace stepped inside and told the captain to set a course for Portsmouth, Dominica.
"He wouldn't be there," Sam protested when Wallace returned to his side.
"We won't find them at night anyway; we'll anchor out in the entrance to Prince Rupert Bay. If he hasn't called by morning, we'll check the anchorages along the west coast of Dominica while we think of another way to find him," Wallace said.
"I thought you had some kind of tracking device in that satellite phone you gave him. I don't understand why you won't use it."
"I've told you before; it has to be activated, Sam, damn it. What is it that you don't understand?"
"Why the hell don't you activate it, then?"
"I can't activate it unless the phone is turned on; I've had the geeks set it all up. The next time the phone goes on the network, tracking will be enabled."
"I don't understand why you didn't have it set up before."
"Two reasons. I've said this before; will you listen this time if I explain it again?"
Sam gave a surly nod, controlling his temper with difficulty.
"The big reason is the security risk. If we can track it, somebody else could, if they hacked past the PIN. Besides that, it shortens the battery life a good bit."
"If it's enabled, does the phone have to be on to track it?"
"No. It's a separate device that I had installed in the phone case. It's got its own battery; once it's activated, it doesn't matter what you do to the phone, short of destroying it. Even then, you'd have to destroy the little device itself."
"Why'd you go to the trouble if you weren't going to use it?"
"You're starting to bore me," Wallace said, pointedly turning his body away from Sam as he clenched his teeth.
****
Paul Russo breezed through the green line at Martinique's Aimé Césaire International Airport, scanning the faces in the arrivals area. Finally, he spotted Phillip, standing well to the back of the crowd and looking out through the door. Slipping through the sea of happy people, Paul was almost to Phillip when Phillip glanced around and saw him.
"Welcome to Martinique!" Phillip said. "Sorry I wasn't watching for you; I'm double-parked out there. How was the flight?"
"Fine, thanks. Good to be back here."
"Good to see you again. Sandrine and Liz are planning a big meal; hope you're hungry."
"I'm plenty hungry, but with those two cooking, a dead man would have an appetite," Paul said as they climbed into Phillip's Jeep. "So Vengeance made it here okay?"
"Yes. No problems after their run-in with Jovanovich and Jones," Phillip said, pulling into the traffic.
"I take it Jovanovich is still willing to talk? My old partner's all set to fly to Dominica and take him back to Miami."
"Jovanovich has had a rough time, between Dani and Sharktooth. I'm sure he's eager to get back to a nice, safe jail cell."
"Yeah. Figured as much. I told Luke he should read him his rights and question him on video while he's in Dominica, just so he doesn't have second thoughts once he's warm and comfortable. Think he'll waive his right to an attorney?"
"At this point, he'll probably agree to anything to get out of there, but your partner should bring his own recording equipment. Sharktooth's stuck him in a sort of primitive spot," Phillip chuckled.
"Should I give Luke Sharktooth's cell phone number and just let them work this out?" Paul asked.
"Sharktooth will be here first thing in the morning. Your partner will need to hook up with a guy named Uncle Christian. I've got his phone number at the house and he's expecting the call. Sharktooth set it all up."
"So his uncle is babysitting the 'Butcher of Srebrenica' all by himself?" Paul asked, slightly alarmed.
"Uncle is just his name; he's some kind of distant cousin of Sharktooth's. He's a houngan, and he and Sharktooth put on a Voodoo show for Jovanovich. Jovanovich thinks he saw them transfer some guy's soul to a goat and then turn the guy into a zombie. Jovanovich is freaked out by Uncle Chr
istian. Anyway, Sharktooth said they had him pretty drugged up; he's docile enough."
"Think he'll look okay on video?" Paul worried.
"I'm sure Uncle can give him something to make him look sober. Don't worry; it'll be fine."
They rode along in companionable silence for a few minutes as Phillip negotiated the winding road through the hills that lay between the airport and the village of Ste. Anne, where his villa was located. Although the trip was only a little over 20 miles, it was an hour's drive under the best of conditions, and the roads were crowded with people going home from work at the moment.
"Did you get a warrant for Rolle?" Phillip asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes, on the strength of what we expect to get from Jovanovich. The Feds are all fighting over who gets to impound the boat. DEA, FBI, Homeland Security, and God knows who else. They all want a piece of it; $200 million, that thing cost, according to what they got from the yard up in Wisconsin that built it. Not really our worry; the Coastguard in San Juan is ready to fly a crew down in a chopper to take possession when we give 'em the word."
"Then I hope we don't have to scuttle it," Phillip said with a grin. "I'd hate to see all the bureaucrats cry."
"Speaking of that, do we know where it is?"
"No. After you told me about it, Dani realized that it must have been the megayacht they saw pulling into Deshaies as they were leaving a few days ago. We put the word out, but nobody's seen it, and it hasn't cleared customs anywhere down here that we can find, anyway."
"How're we going to find them? I don't much like the idea of just using Vengeance for bait and waiting for them to come to us. Too much could go wrong."
"Dani would agree," Phillip said.
"Really? I'm surprised; she must be getting a little more cautious these days."
"Yeah. Jovanovich put a bullet hole in the forward bulkhead on Vengeance when he was trying to terrorize them; she hasn't shut up about it. He's lucky she didn't realize how much damage there was before she turned him over to Sharktooth."
"Oh! I see," Paul chortled.
"Yeah," Phillip laughed. "She wants to take the fight to them; she said she had an idea, but she wanted to think about it until you and Sharktooth got here and we could all kick it around."
Bluewater Ice: The Fourth Novel in the Caribbean Mystery and Adventure Series (Bluewater Thrillers Book 4) Page 19