Death Beyond the Limit: Fiji Islands Mysteries 3

by B. M. Allsopp

  ‘Then the jurisdiction belongs to China as the flag state—that’s the country where Joy-13 is registered. In practice, the flag state is often on the other side of the world and can’t investigate a crime. They’re happy to hand over the enquiry to the vessel’s nearest port state, which in this case is Fiji, of course. But it’s up to the flag state. China could decide to investigate and prosecute the case just to exonerate Shen. Not good for justice, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Have you come across a case like this before, sir?’ Musudroka asked, serious now.

  ‘Io, the most relevant was when the master of a vessel outside the territorial limit radioed us about a knifing in a brawl. The injured man required urgent hospital treatment. We expedited port clearance for Lautoka, had an ambulance waiting and investigated both the brawl and assault. I’ve got a feeling our Jona case won’t be so simple.’

  There was silence as the team absorbed the fallout from Horseman’s law lesson. As there were no more questions, he decided that was enough law for now.

  ‘Sergeant Singh, can you do the honours with the whiteboard, please?’

  Singh had already put up the photos of Jimmy’s ravaged head and the passport shot she’d retrieved from Immigration. She added a photo of Captain Shen.

  Singh addressed the team. ‘We must find out how Jimmy died. Was it by accident or was he murdered? If he was murdered, was he pushed overboard to take his chances with the sharks or was he killed on the ship, then thrown overboard? Ideas, please?’

  ‘The captain’s statement may be correct though,’ Kau said. ‘Two crewmen confirmed the sequence of events in our interviews yesterday.’

  ‘Three, including Santo, the engineer I spoke to this morning,’ Horseman added.

  Musudroka came in. ‘But why didn’t he report the accident? That’s his duty. I reckon he’s hiding something.’

  ‘Pressure to fill his hold, he says. That’s bad, but I can believe it,’ Horseman added.

  Singh wrote How did Jimmy die? below the pictures, then divided the board into two columns: headed Accident in red and Murder in blue. She wrote the points supporting each header beneath. She said, ‘Under Murder, I’ll add no life jacket. Two of the crew stated that Jimmy always wore his life jacket on deck.’

  Musudroka piped up. ‘What about the weather? One seaman told us it was fine and calm.’

  ‘Check that with the Weather Bureau, Musudroka,’ Horseman said.

  Kau said, ‘We don’t know when he went overboard, alive or dead. It could have been anywhere from half past three in the afternoon to seven o’clock at night.’

  Singh added, ‘Exactly. It’s a real shame those search warrants are held up. We need the ship’s log but there’s no way the captain’s going to give that up without a warrant.’

  As Singh wrote the points raised on the board, the blue Murder column lengthened. Horseman asked her to summarise.

  ‘Looking at our list, it’s clear there’s doubt about the accident theory. We need to pinpoint where and when Jimmy went overboard as closely as we can. We need to solve the problem of the life jacket and why the captain didn’t report a MOB. It may be because Jimmy was murdered. Remember the vessel was at sea for six more days before docking in Suva.’

  Horseman spoke up now. ‘Another problem has been surveillance of Joy-13. I’ve been told that officers take up positions where the far side of the vessel is hidden from them. I went down last night to take a look and that seemed to be so. By standing close to the ship, you can’t see its opposite side. Musudroka? Kau? What are your observations?’

  The two young DCs glanced at each other, surprised. ‘Could be, I guess, sir. We were careful not to miss anyone entering or exiting the boat. I would walk to the bow and stern—check it out! I know those terms now!’

  ‘Enough, man, get on with it!’ Horseman normally tolerated Musudroka’s high jinks, but not now.

  ‘Sorry, sir. You’re right, I didn’t walk far enough away to get a view of the side of the ship facing the water—the port side, that is.’

  ‘Right, here’s the plan. One, we increase surveillance from now. The super will allocate more uniforms. Monitor crew movements and take names and contact details of all visitors. We may not have the right to insist but act as if we have. This is a serious duty, not a joke. Musudroka and Kau, speak to the crew coming and going, chat to them, be pally. Find out where they go in their time off—bars, nightclubs, cafés, even brothels. Ask them for their recommendations. In your time off, go to their drinking spots. Most don’t speak English but you’re resourceful. We’ll meet again tomorrow. I expect you two to do the rounds of their hangouts on Saturday night.’

  ‘Io, sir!’ Musudroka gave him the thumbs up. The lad was irrepressible. Probably just as well.

  ‘Second, Sergeant Singh, you can allocate the roster for surveillance and keep in touch with them by radio. First, I’ll file an official request to Interpol for information on Captain Shen. He could have history. Then I’ll handle the interviews with the remaining crew members. I have no clue as to how long this legal meeting will take or what the outcome will be. But I need to be here when the super returns or calls me.’

  34

  Nothing new came from the interviews and three crewmen still hadn’t turned up. Nothing yet from the super. Time to call Singh.

  ‘Bula, Susie. Are you still at the wharf?’

  ‘Yes, I’ve reworked the guards’ routine to fifteen-minute intervals to avoid boredom and keep them on their toes. They’ve got to check off their duties every interval, note events and sign off, then swap to a different position. It isn’t foolproof, but these guys aren’t bad. They didn’t have enough structure and they got bored.’

  ‘Sounds great. I ordered Joy-13 watched and guarded on the spur of the moment, without much guidance for the uniforms or detectives. You’ve put it right now. Had lunch yet?’

  ‘Heavens, no. I’m observing them go through their paces for a full interval. Ten minutes to go. If they don’t do the right thing after that, they never will.’

  ‘I reckon they’ll shape up with you as drill sergeant.’

  ‘They’d better!’

  ‘I haven’t heard from the super yet so I’m stuck here until I do. If you can talk for a few minutes more, I want to run something past you.’

  ‘Sure, go ahead.’

  ‘I haven’t explained why I suspected the guards’ lines of sight were restricted. It was yesterday afternoon at Shiners training. Tevita told me he was at the wharf and spotted a boat leaving from the seaward side, full of women.’

  ‘What was Tevita doing on the wharf? How did he get in?’

  ‘Good question. Now I’ve confirmed what he said about the surveillance gaps, I’m inclined to follow up on a boatload of women being moved ashore.’

  She gasped. ‘People smuggling? Prostitution?’

  ‘Io. Makes more sense than fishing violations, doesn’t it? As a motive for murder, I mean.’

  ‘Sure does. I wonder how and when they were taken on board? The women couldn’t have been hidden from the crew.’ Singh spoke slowly, thinking the new scenario through.

  ‘It fits in with Filipo’s story of having to move into Jimmy’s cabin. “A reshuffle,” he said.’

  ‘The captain must have sworn the crew to secrecy. Or promised a bonus, or threatened them with dismissal if they breathed a word. That explains their fear—some even denied there was a fishing observer on board. They were so petrified they played dumb. It all makes sense.’ He heard her rising excitement.

  Horseman added, ‘But Jimmy can’t have been part of the plan. The captain wouldn’t have had much notice about the fishing observer placement on his vessel.’

  Singh didn’t answer right away. ‘I see. Jimmy’s placement threw a spanner in the works. But why did the captain still go ahead with the people smuggling operation?’

  Horseman had thought about this. ‘I think maybe it was beyond his control. A higher level. Organised crime. Maybe a triad gang
running the people smuggling, quite separate from the vessel’s legitimate presence here—a longliner licensed for Fiji waters. Good cover. Because she’s a licensed vessel, Joy-13 escapes the checks and inspections that an unlicensed vessel in transit would not. Shaddock and TTF help Joy-13’s credibility too.’

  ‘There must be something in it. Where do we go from here, sir?’

  ‘I’m reluctant, but I’m going to talk to Tevita. He might know more about where the boat went. I was so worried that he was in danger last night that I didn’t encourage him to elaborate. But I can’t see any other way. He could well know more.’

  ‘Pity he’s not on the surveillance team.’ Horseman could hear the smile in her voice.

  ‘Yep, he’s had those skills since he was small: melting into crowds or shadows, alert to sounds, excellent vision. But it’s depressing—he’s had to be good at surveillance to survive.’

  The super came into the room and waved at Horseman, pointed to his own office.

  ‘The super’s back, Susie. I’ll keep you up to date. See you later.’

  *

  Superintendent Navala slumped into his chair, put his elbows on his desk and rubbed his face with his hands. The big man looked haggard. Not for the first time, Horseman wondered what work-life would be like when the super retired at the end of the year. And work-life was eighty, perhaps ninety per cent of his entire life now. The super was his first mentor, the man who had sought out a naïve university student and suggested a career as a detective. Lured him with the unbeaten record of police rugby teams. He had worked under other supers but none he respected more than Navala.

  ‘Cup of tea, sir?’ he offered.

  ‘Vinaka, Joe, but not at the moment. It’s not tea I need. That magistrate is the most cautious individual I’ve ever come across; in fact, he’s scared of making a decision. Unfortunately, the Law of the Sea is not clear-cut when a crime is committed on a foreign vessel beyond the 12-mile limit. The nearest port state has a right, especially when a victim is a citizen of the port state. But the vessel’s flag state has a right too. Which country ends up leading the investigation is usually negotiated between them, often through diplomatic channels. The expert advised China may view our investigation as a threat to her flag state jurisdiction. The best Fiji can aim for is to agree to share responsibility with China and divide various tasks between us.’

  He had to protest. ‘What? We didn’t know our victim had anything to do with Joy-13 until a few days ago. That was just a coincidence. We haven’t set out to deprive China of her rights!’

  ‘Everyone knows we haven’t, Joe, the Chinese ambassador included.’ The super looked stern. ‘However, he isn’t going to let it go. Fiji’s legal claims to jurisdiction mean nothing against the might of China. They know it, we know it.’

  ‘Sir, it’s quite possible Joy-13 was within the 12-mile limit when Jimmy went over the side. If so, none of this debate is necessary. We can’t know one way or the other without the ship’s log and navigation data. By refusing to give it to us, Shen just looks more guilty.’

  ‘I agree, Joe, but there it is. The Chinese ambassador is meeting with the Commissioner and the Foreign Secretary tomorrow morning. The Commish has asked me to be there to provide details of the investigation. He’ll stress our willingness to complete the investigative work, which a Chinese team would not be able to do, practically speaking. He’ll also offer to share our findings and information.’

  The Commissioner might well prefer to lose than to compromise. Horseman could understand that. He kept these thoughts to himself.

  The super gave him a tired smile. ‘I’ll call you with the outcome, Joe. I’ll go straight home after the meeting. It’s Saturday tomorrow—hasn’t anyone remembered that? Moce mada.’

  SATURDAY 23rd September

  35

  ‘I can’t believe it—this is all mad,’ Singh said after Horseman had relayed the super’s news.

  ‘Well, we don’t have to stop investigating while others decide the fate of our case, do we? I’m going to send Interpol Toby Shaddock’s details now. All that time he spent in Taiwan, he may have brushed up against the law. I’ll call my rugby mate in Interpol’s Hong Kong office too. He might be able to move my official requests to the head of the queue.’

  ‘I’ve not been able to get an ID on the mysterious visitor we ran into on Thursday. He said his name was Mao Li, gave a hotel address. Neither checks out,’ Singh said.

  ‘I knew his details would prove false. I think of him as Mr X. Isn’t he the only Joy-13 visitor not identified?’

  ‘Yes, everyone else checks out.’

  ‘I’ll ask Toby Shaddock about him. If he is a bona fide supplier to the ship, TTF probably arranged their deal, whatever that is. Let’s drop in without warning. Take him by surprise.’

  She grinned. ‘I’m all for that, sir.’

  ‘Had any luck with the crewmen who still haven’t turned up for interview?’

  ‘Yes, I spoke to Mr Santo. I’m going myself to collect them from the ship at eleven.’

  ‘You won’t have time to visit Shaddock then. Leave that to me.’

  ‘Sure.’ He could see she was disappointed.

  ‘Show the crew the headshots, too. Might encourage honesty if we show them Santo first—I don’t see why they wouldn’t be willing to name their engineer. Follow Santo with Captain Shen, and finally Mr X. They might just let his name slip out, or his role.’

  ‘Can’t hurt to try. We’ve got blow-ups of passport photos for Santo and Captain Shen. I’ll get Kelera to crop Tani’s photo of Mr X down to a headshot so it looks similar.’

  ‘Do that but I won’t wait for it. Won’t wait for a car either. I’ll grab a cab and take the print of Tani’s shot over to Shaddock now. We need to step up our pace. There’s a chance the Commissioner will shut down the case. He’ll do his best to save it but if he can’t, we may only have hours.’

  She opened her orange file and passed him the A-4 print. ‘As you’ve often told me, we can only take one step at a time.’

  He smiled. ‘True. I’m right, aren’t I? Vinaka for reminding me, Singh.’

  *

  With fishing vessels entering and departing every day of the week, port agents would be unlikely to quarantine weekends, just like the police. He ought to call first, but he told himself he wanted to surprise Shaddock. Really, he was so restless he just couldn’t stay at the station.

  A young receptionist escorted him to Shaddock’s office. ‘Tea or coffee?’ he asked with a smile.

  ‘Coffee, please. Black, no sugar.’ Horseman hoped the quality would be better than at the station, where he always had tea.

  ‘Me too, vinaka, Teri,’ Shaddock said.

  Teri nodded eagerly and departed.

  ‘One of our cadets, a promising boy. We put them all on reception a few days a week, whatever their department. Best way to get a working overview of the business. Terrifies them at first, but they get to enjoy it soon enough.’

  Horseman approved. ‘Great idea. Even in the police, the probationers want to specialise too soon.’

  ‘With the old messenger system, trainees were familiar with every office and workshop, met every employee face to face, from the CEO to the cleaners. That was invaluable for a lad. We’re trying to replicate that.’ Shaddock’s attitude was friendlier today.

  Teri returned with a tray and set out their coffee. Horseman had guessed right—TTF did serve quality to their visitors.

  ‘Really interesting, Mr Shaddock. I don’t want to take up too much of your time. Have you lodged Joy-13’s forms and so on with the port authority yet?’

  ‘Io, this very morning. They should be available to you now.’

  ‘Vinaka. I’m still a bit mystified about how the system works in practice. I learned the other day that it’s quite normal for foreign vessels not to be inspected by Customs. In fact, only twenty-five per cent of vessels are inspected.’

  ‘Io, the growth in recent years has bee
n too great. While there’s still a random element, it makes sense for customs to concentrate their inspections on unknown vessels. TTF has considerable infrastructure here in Fiji and is trusted, so the vessels we handle aren’t routinely inspected. Especially those like Joy-13, which are licensed to fish in Fiji’s EEZ.’

  Horseman still thought this practice simply invited crime, but he merely smiled and nodded. He didn’t trust TTF enough to be sure company employees had no knowledge of Joy-13’s suspected people smuggling. He handed the A-4 print of Mr X to Shaddock.

  ‘We’d like to speak to this man who’s been on board Joy-13. He said he was visiting the ship on business. I wondered if he was connected with TTF.’

  Shaddock glanced at the print and replied immediately. ‘Oh, no he isn’t.’

  ‘But you do recognise him.’

  Shaddock paused a moment. ‘Yes, I see no reason why I shouldn’t tell you. He’s higher up the line in Joy-13 owner’s outfit. He seems to do roving inspections for the owners. He joins vessels at transhipment points, from the carriers, partway through a voyage. He’ll leave the vessel and transfer to another at a port or another transhipment point.’

  The explosive ring tone made them both jump. Horseman glanced at his phone before silencing it. The super. Great timing. ‘So sorry, I had it on max when I was on the street and forgot to turn it off.’

  Shaddock chuckled. ‘No problem. That’s quite a ring!’

  ‘So, there are all sorts of inspections going on here. Interesting. Do you have a name for this man?’

  Shaddock smiled. ‘Oh, didn’t I say? Wu Yee, goes by Charles with foreigners, I believe.’

  Horseman scribbled the name down. ‘D’you know him?’

  ‘Not really. I’ve met him. I have a basic understanding of his role from the company’s captains.’

  Horseman pulled out his lists.

  ‘He’s not on your crew list for Joy-13 and he didn’t put in an entry card for Immigration.’