The Jason Green series Box Set

by Gordon Wallis

  It was when I was only metres from the clearing and the drive that I flicked up the goggles to have one last look at the house. Suddenly I heard an engine turn over and start running. It sounded like a small car. Reverse lights were turned on. Someone in the carports was going somewhere and I was in an exposed position. The car reversed rapidly and I heard the crunching of its tyres on the tarmac. There was no time to retreat back into the jungle and I was only metres from the driveway. There was nothing else for it. I lay down as flat as I could and removed the goggles from my head. In the light of the driveway I saw a small silver car moving forward around the roundabout. Whoever was driving seemed to be in a rush. I felt like a rabbit in the headlights as the car accelerated towards me. The only consolation was the sparse bush that surrounded me and the fact that I was as low as possible on the ground. I was sure that there would be very little chance that whoever was driving the car would see me. It felt like an age but eventually the car was up along side me. I looked up briefly and saw the unmistakeable silhouette of the driver. The long hair flowed out behind the driver’s head. It was Angelique and she was driving alone.

  Where the fuck is she going in the middle of the night? I thought. I've got I good idea! In an instant the car was gone and the sound of the motor faded away as she drove. There was no time to waste hanging around. I flicked the goggles back into position and started off through the jungle to my left. My mind was still numb as I walked and the adrenalin was surging through my body from the close encounter with the vehicle. The jungle seemed thicker than it had when I had first arrived. I was sweltering and frustrated. I needed to get over the wall and back into the beach where I hoped there would be a breeze. From there I would decide on my next move and how I would go about it. After what seemed an age I reached the clearing and the wall. Again there was enough light to remove the goggles. I realised that I was probably a fair distance from the rope and I would have to move back towards the main house and beach before I reached it. The feeling of being trapped was ever present although not as bad as it had been in the cave system. I walked slowly and carefully until I saw the figure of the huge palm tree towering above me to the left. It was a welcome sight and soon enough I came across the rope. It was exactly as I had left it. It was my ticket out of that hell hole and I felt a huge sense of relief as I began pulling myself upwards. My arms ached as I went and I was extra careful with my footing. The memory of the falling rock was still fresh in my mind and I didn't want to make a mistake like that so late in the game. Eventually I reached the top and I stopped to catch my breath. As I sat, I looked at the main house. It no longer looked grand and beautiful. It was now dark and sinister. I could only imagine the secrets it held within its whitewashed walls. The tantrums and abuses it had witnessed. But there was no time and I needed to get well away from the place. I pulled the rope up and quietly dropped it over the other side. Then I carefully lowered myself down the other side until I found what felt like a good foothold. It took longer to descend than it had coming up as I struggled to find decent foot and hand holds but eventually I made the one-metre drop and was back on the other side. I untied the rope, coiled it up and packed it away in my bag. Without pausing to rest I flicked the goggles over my eyes and made my way north through the green monochrome maze of the jungle. When I was sure that I had walked at least a hundred metres I made a right and headed towards the beach. Once again it felt like the jungle was endless. The deafening screech of the cicadas combined with the maddening heat and humidity was enough to drive a man insane, but eventually I saw the end and the pinpricks of the stars come into view. When I finally got to the beach I was totally exhausted. I sat on a fallen palm tree for a break. All I wanted to do was to get out of the heavy clothes and run into the water. To scrub the boiling polish from my face and neck and be done with it. Just to feel cool again would be like a re birth. But I realised that there was a very good chance that Angelique would be visiting Richard.

  I needed to find out but it was very late at night and it would not look good for a random tourist to be seen wondering around Richard's hotel at that time. Especially a non-resident. No, the polish and the heavy black clothes would have to remain until I had seen what was going on there. Then and only then would I be free of them. After a few minutes, I got to my feet and started walking back up the beach. The guard from the wall was out of sight as I had come a fair distance through the forest. As I walked I thought of the winter in London I imagined how it would feel with the howling wind and freezing rain on my face. I decided I would rather be warm in the cold than sweltering and unable to do anything about it in the heat. Finally I had made it past the jungle to my left and was approaching the outskirts of Richard's hotel. The lights were forty metres in front of me as were the last of the rooms on Richard's side of the hotel. Once again I made my way into the bushy jungle to my left. The one consolation was that the property was a lot smaller than the big house and I would only have to travel a short distance until I was parallel with Richard's room. The lights of the first two rooms were off and the residents obviously asleep but there was a dim light coming from Richard's room and the lights of the bathroom were bright. Slowly I crept towards the room. It was when I was within twenty metres, that I heard the un mistakable sound of two people having wild and passionate sex. For a moment I wondered if the female I was hearing could be someone else, one of the Dutch girls perhaps, but then I heard the unmistakeable voice of Angelique. She cried out his name in her French accent. I needed no further evidence of what they were doing so I retreated back into the jungle until I was out of earshot. I paused to decide what to do. There would be no approaching Richard now. It would be shocking and embarrassing for both of them. It was out of the question. Then it struck me that I was carrying the tracking devices. I had seen the car she had been driving and I decided it wouldn't be such a bad thing to keep tabs on her movements. I had not seen the car park for the Eden Beach Lodge but I could only guess that it would be directly behind the main building. I flicked the goggles back into position and made my way inland until I had passed where the main building stood. Through the bush, I could see the light of the car park. There were not many vehicles there and the small silver one I had seen Angelique driving was conveniently parked near the edge of the clearing. Feeling relieved that I wouldn't have to venture into the semi light of the car-park I made my way through the bush and stopped just short of the clearing. There was a guard house with a dim light near a wooden boom that was the entrance. It was all quiet so I wasted no time in retrieving a tracking device. I activated it, dropped my bag and crawled over the dead leaves towards the car. I had to cross a low wooden pole but I arrived near the front wheel arch unseen and the magnets made a quiet clunk as they attached themselves to the body of the car. I could feel the engine bay was still warm from the drive there.

  I crossed back into the darkness of the bushes, retrieved my bag and, using the goggles once again, made my way through the jungle and back towards the beach. When I finally arrived I walked up the dark side until I was at least a hundred metres from the hotel. It was a feeling of massive relief when I removed the tracksuit top, the jeans and the skull cap. The shoes were last followed by my shirt which was totally drenched. I was desperate to sprint into the water and absorb its coolness for hours but I restrained myself and walked slowly across the sand. I would have been a strange sight to anyone had they seen me. An undressed black and white minstrel having a midnight dip in the ocean. Eventually I made it to the water and lowered myself into it. Slowly I pushed myself out into slightly deeper water and the temperature dropped around me. It was like finally being free from a terrible fever.

  The relief was unbelievable and I lay floating, staring at the stars for a good five minutes, my mind totally blank. Using the wet sand from below me I scrubbed the polish from my face and neck. After doing this I made my way out of the water back up the beach to where my bag was hidden. I packed the heavy black clothes into a separate compartment of
the bag and started walking up the beach towards my hotel. It was late and I passed Richard's hotel and all the others on the way unseen by anyone. Thankfully there was no trouble near the water-sports centre either and I arrived safely at my hotel. I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was make my way up the lighted pathways to my room but I was worried that there might be residue of polish on my face, so instead I walked until I was parallel with my room and made my way through the palm trees and over the grass to my door. I unlocked it and stepped into the cool breeze of the fans. Without thinking I dropped my bag onto the bed and headed straight to the bathroom for a well deserved cold shower. Usually I would stand in the shower and think things through but I was weary and just enjoyed the cool water running over my naked body instead. When I finished I dried myself off lightly, walked back into my room and slumped onto the bed. The fans were blasting and the evaporating water from my skin acted like an air conditioner. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven.

  After a few minutes I had cooled down sufficiently. I got up and drank a full two litres of Carlos da Costa's mineral water. It left a bitter taste in my mouth but it was wet and that was what I needed. I pulled on some clean shorts and opened my laptop to check the tracking device I had planted. It took some time for the programme to load, but eventually the screen showed a map of Paje and surrounds. Angelique's car was exactly where I had seen it with the blue light flashing on the screen. I positioned the screen so I could watch it from the bed.

  My plan was to sit upright whilst I watched and smoke a few cigarettes whilst I ran through the events of the day in my mind. I sat back on the bed and smoked. The last thing I remember was a feeling that my mind was drifting away from my body and I fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

  Chapter Fifteen - Bad Day in Paje

  My mind woke up before my body. That quiet peaceful feeling of having had a good night’s sleep. I felt cool and comfortable. Without opening my eyes, I turned over wanting to drift back into the place I had been. Suddenly, and with a shock, it all came back to me. The face of the dead waiter covered with flies in the river bed. The diving trip with Richard and Angelique. The blazing heat of my nocturnal trip into the jungle and over the wall of the big house. The incredible sight of the cocaine packing factory and the even more bizarre subterranean office and storage facility. My eyes opened like a shot and I looked at my watch. It was 7am. “Fucking hell!” I cursed out loud and jumped to my feet. I was furious with myself for falling asleep so quickly. I consoled myself with the fact that it had been a hell of day and I must have been absolutely shattered. I drank some water, lit a cigarette, and went to the laptop. Angelique's car was no longer at Richard's hotel. Instead I saw the blue light flashing in an unmarked but large piece of land between the road and the ocean. I knew she was back at home at Carlos da Costa’s place. I opened a smaller window on the screen that showed the log and times of the car’s movement. It showed she had left Richard's hotel at exactly 3.30am and had driven south down the main beach road straight home. At least you know where she is, Green, I thought. Still angry with myself, I put on a tee shirt and some shoes and headed out for a run on the beach. I crossed the lawn and headed to the beach without looking around. I wanted to be alone that morning. Instead of turning right, I made a left and ran faster than usual up the soft sand for a full two kilometres. My mind was still numb and I was happy to leave it that way for the duration of the run. I stopped and leant over on my knees for a minute to catch my breath and then repeated the same fast run on the way back. I hardly took any notice of my surroundings and instead concentrated on the sand directly in front of me. There were a few clouds in the sky that day but when I finally got back to my hotel I was once again burning with heat. Burning with heat, but feeling better. Angelique's car was still in the same place it had been when I awoke. I drank a litre of water, stripped off, and took a cold shower. As I washed I knew it would be the day I would confront Richard. My plan was to have some breakfast and go directly to his hotel and have it out with him. It had all gone too far. It had been become personal and too dangerous for me to continue this charade. I had had enough. I dressed, put on my sunglasses and headed out to the restaurant. Most of the hotel guests were busy eating as I arrived, so I slipped around to the left of the building hoping to get my usual table and be left alone. As luck would have it my table was free and I made a bee line for it, avoiding looking at anyone as I went. All around me were the cheerful sounds of children and parents talking and laughing and cutlery clinking on porcelain.

  As I sat down, my usual waiter approached me. I ordered a large glass of chilled orange juice, a pot of coffee, and a full English breakfast. As I waited for the order to arrive, I noticed a figure approaching from the left out of the corner of my eye. I knew it was Helen. I had been hoping to avoid her that morning especially after seeing her disappointment with me the previous evening. I braced myself as she arrived.

  “Good morning, Jason, how are you today?” she asked cheerfully, her face beaming, an expectant look in her eyes. She put her right hand on my shoulder as she spoke. “Oh hi Helen,” I said, “I’m fine thanks, and you?”

  “I missed you last night,” she said quietly, “Ineke and I were wondering if you would like to go on a spice tour with us today?”

  “I’m sorry Helen, I can't. I have some very important things to take care of this morning.” Her expression dropped into one of worry and sadness. “Did I do something to upset you?” She asked in a shaky voice, tears welling up in her eyes. This was the last thing I needed. It was yet another example of how I had screwed up on the job. I looked her straight in the eyes. “Listen Helen,” I said quietly, “you have done nothing to upset me. Please just believe me. I have to do this. Maybe I will see you later, ok?”

  More tears came and her bottom lip began to tremble. “Ok, Jason,” she said, “I'm sorry I bothered you.” She turned and left. I stared grimly out to the sea on my right. “Fucking hell” I said under my breath. The breakfast arrived and I ate without averting my gaze once from the table. When I had finished I signed the tab and without looking around, headed back to my room. As I walked in, I lit a cigarette and walked over to the laptop to check on the tracking device. The flashing blue light indicated the car was still at the big house. I sat down and stared at the screen as I smoked. I was about to crush out the butt when suddenly the blue light began to move. What now? I thought as I watched it slowly approach the main road. The car turned right and there was no surprise when five minutes later I saw it turn and park in the grounds of the Eden Beach Lodge. You couldn't keep away could you? I thought to myself. ‘Fuck it!’ I stood up, closed the laptop and walked straight out of the door. There was no time to waste. I would drag Richard away from her if I had to, and beat some sense into him. There would be no more pussy footing around. I walked out over the grass, through the palms and onto the beach which was then in full sunlight. I felt a great sense of relief as I walked, a feeling that the whole situation would finally be brought to a conclusion shortly and I would finally finish the job I had been given.

  I knew the outcome would come as a huge shock for many people, but at least I would know that I had ultimately done what I was being paid for. It was with that same single mindedness that I took the fifteen minute walk down the beach to Richard's hotel. I paid no attention to my surroundings or the various people on the beach but instead walked swiftly with very little on my mind other than what I had planned. When I arrived, I made my way up the right hand wing of the hotel and walked past the main building. There were very few people in the lobby and I carried on walking down the other side towards Richard's room. When I arrived, I knocked firmly on the door. “Richard!” I called, “Richard, it’s Jason.” There was no response. The curtains were closed and there was only silence from inside the room. I looked around frustrated and noticed two ladies from the house keeping staff at the next room. “Excuse me,” I said to them impatiently, “have you seen the man from this room?” They looked a
t each other with an alarmed look on their faces and then back at me.

  “Sorry sir,” said the older of the two, “we have not seen him today.” I started walking back in the direction of the main building. When I arrived I went quickly up the stairs to the restaurant. There were two couples eating a late breakfast but no sign of Richard or Angelique. With frustration building, I went back downstairs and made my way to the reception. It occurred to me to walk out side into the car-park to see if Angelique's car was there or not. I stepped out of the cool shade of the lobby to see there was no small silver car in sight. “Fuck!” I said under my breath. I wondered if she had left alone or if Richard had accompanied her. I walked back into the hotel lobby and went straight to the reception. There was a tall thin man in a black suit behind the counter. “Good morning sir, how can I help you?” He asked with a smile.

  “I’m looking for Mr Lewer-Allen,” I said, “I'm a friend of his, I've been to his room, but it seems he’s not here?”

  “Oh that's right sir,” the man said, “he left about ten minutes ago.”

  “Did he say where he was going or when he would be back?” I asked impatiently. “I’m sorry sir, he didn't say anything at all,” the man was non committal and he could sense my growing anger. There was no point in asking who he had left with. I knew full well that he had left with Angelique. “Thank you,” I said to the man and began walking out the front of the hotel. As I walked I made a call on my mobile to my taxi driver Hassan. He answered quickly with his usual cheerfulness. “Hello Mr Jason, how are you?”

  He said. “I'm fine thanks Hassan. Listen, are you available to drive me around today?”