Death Beyond the Limit: Fiji Islands Mysteries 3

by B. M. Allsopp

  ‘Okay, Joe. Can I play in Shiners now?’

  ‘Io, if you do what I say. I asked you what grown-up work you wanted to do. Have you thought about that?’

  ‘Io, but I can’t decide. Maybe driver—bus driver, taxi driver?’

  ‘You’re not old enough yet, Tevita. I’ll think of something.’ Even if he gave up his brothel job to be in the Shiners, the boy would soon be recruited into some criminal life. Horseman suspected Tevita had no choice about the brothel job, but the boy cooperated because it provided him with a home.

  ‘We’ll go now. Come along.’ Tevita willingly followed him back to the street. They were in the cab, Tevita giving directions, when Horseman’s phone buzzed.

  It was Singh. ‘I heard you had a punch-up in Victoria Parade.’

  ‘That’s a vicious rumour. I subdued my prisoner who resisted arrest.’

  ‘Glad to hear it. Who’s the prisoner?’

  ‘Probably one of the triads running brothels here. The women of Joy-13 were taken to his house. I’m heading there now.’

  ‘Sir, you need backup.’

  He wasn’t going to wait but wanted to reassure her. ‘I won’t go in. Tevita’s been staying there, but he’s going to collect his things and come with me.’

  ‘Can’t wait to compare notes. Musudroka rang. He’s with Santo. Santo wants to tell his story, but he’s scared. Can he stay in the lockup until he can fly back to the Philippines?’

  ‘What about Filipo?’

  ‘Santo says he hasn’t seen Filipo for days.’

  ‘We’ll work something out for Santo. Get him in quick. Ask the super for advice. Keep me posted. I expect to be back within an hour, but it’s dicey at the moment.’

  ‘Good luck, sir!’ He’d need that.

  48

  Horseman tapped on the interview room door and went in. Singh and Musudroka sat opposite a worried Santo.

  ‘Excuse me for interrupting, officers. I’m very glad to see you here, Mr Santo. We’ve been worried. Please continue, Detective Sergeant.’

  ‘Were you in the taxi with Filipo Moreno in the early hours of last Sunday morning, when he left his passport behind?’ Singh asked.

  ‘No, I wasn’t with him that night and I haven’t seen him since. I didn’t know he lost his passport.’ Santo sounded certain.

  Singh persisted. ‘As second-in-command, you must have some idea of his whereabouts.’

  Santo shook his head. ‘I’ve checked his cabin, asked around, called his mobile—no result. I’m anxious about him.’

  ‘Is this the first time that Yee has brought women on board from a carrier on the high seas?’

  ‘No. Several times before. But not every trip. Only sometimes.’

  ‘I’ll ask you to write a statement with details afterwards. Can you estimate the dates and how many women came on board each time?’

  Santo thought for some moments, then nodded. ‘Roughly, yes.’

  ‘Did you witness Jimmy Inia fall overboard?’ Singh continued.

  ‘No, I didn’t.’

  ‘When did you find out about it?’

  ‘I found out Jimmy was missing when Filipo alerted me. I got the crew to search the ship. Later, Captain Shen asked me to retrace our route to look for him.’

  ‘Did you do that?’ she asked.

  ‘Of course, it was an order. I was very upset. Filipo told me Jimmy’s life jacket and PLB were still in his cabin. Overboard in the dark, you don’t have much chance without them. I didn’t learn what really happened until Filipo told me hours later.’

  ‘Did Filipo see Jimmy go over the side?’ Horseman asked.

  Santo nodded, fighting to control his welling tears.

  ‘It was some time after they finished processing. Filipo and Jimmy were resting in their cabin. He said two crew came in, asked them to go up on deck with them. Yee was waiting. More crew closed in, grabbed Jimmy. He struggled but there were too many of them. Yee was quiet but scary. Filipo knows some Chinese, but not enough. But he knew Yee was giving orders. The crewmen tied chains around Jimmy’s wrists. Yee shouted at them and they threw him in. Then Yee shot him with a pistol as he kicked in the water. Until he sank.’ Santo crossed himself again.

  Everyone was silent for what seemed like minutes.

  ‘You have a clear picture in your head for someone who didn’t see any of this.’ Horseman was a bit suspicious.

  ‘Sir, that’s because Filipo showed me the secret pictures he took on his phone.’

  Singh’s jaw dropped. ‘What? He’s got photos?’

  ‘I told him he was insane. He took them through a tear in his pocket, so they’re not that clear.’

  Hope surged through Horseman. Filipo and his phone would close the case if only they could find them. He could see Singh felt the same.

  ‘Did Captain Shen know about Jimmy’s murder?’ Horseman asked.

  Santo shook his head. ‘I don’t know. We may have backtracked just for the VMS.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Singh said.

  ‘The authorities can look at the ship’s track on the VMS. They can check if the captain really searched for a man overboard or not. If Shen knew what happened to Jimmy, he could still create that record just to get out of trouble, probably.’

  ‘Why did Yee kill Jimmy?’ Horseman asked.

  ‘I don’t know. Jimmy was quiet and careful. Did his job.’

  ‘How do you get on with Captain Shen?’

  ‘He’s a strict skipper. Needs to be. But he’s okay. He looks after the ship. He controls the fishing well. He knows his job.’

  ‘Does he look after the crew well?’ Singh asked.

  ‘He doesn’t respect the crew much. But Joy-13 is a big new ship. Equipment is up to date. Crew accommodation is good compared to most longliners. Only crowded when prostitutes come on board. They make the crew nervous too.’

  Horseman could imagine the charge the women brought to the atmosphere on board. A mutiny waiting to happen? He thought of Captain Bligh forced into an open boat with the loyal crew so the mutineers could return to the women of Tahiti. Bligh Passage in Fiji’s waters memorialised his feat of navigation. No VMS in those days. Bligh sailed to Timor with the aid of a compass and sextant.

  ‘Why did you come to tell us Filipo’s story now?’ Horseman asked.

  ‘I met Tani here near the cathedral last Sunday, as you know. Later I saw a priest, Father Berenado. I told him everything. He urged me most strongly to have courage to tell the police. But it took me a few days to find my courage. I’m concerned about Filipo too.’

  ‘Many thanks. You’ve done the right thing. We’re doing our best to find Filipo.’ Horseman offered his hand to Santo, who shook it fervently.

  ‘Please, sir, I can’t return to Joy-13. I just want to go home.’

  ‘You can stay in the lockup tonight and we’ll make arrangements tomorrow. Detective Constable Musudroka will help you write your statement now and we can check through it together in the morning. We may need to ask you further questions after that.’

  *

  ‘Singh, I’ve got to report to the super. Come with me, you need to hear.’

  They met the super coming down the stairs. ‘Bula, sir. I want to brief you on developments this afternoon if you’ve got time.’

  ‘I can see from your face this is serious, Joe. Let’s go to my office. You come too, Susie.’

  Horseman summarised his afternoon’s discoveries. Despite the revelation that Filipo had photos of Jimmy’s murder on his phone, he still wanted to pursue the lead on Yee’s people-smuggling operations. He could do nothing about that without the super’s ability to liaise with the secretive Vice squad.

  ‘Joe, you see this as urgent. I see it as an emergency. This influx of Asian prostitutes and proliferation of brothels in Fiji’s ports will soon reach the point of no return if we don’t act. Your intelligence is valuable and timely.’ He smiled his half-smile. ‘It more than justifies the force you used to control that pimp this afterno
on.’

  ‘Vinaka, sir. That was my pleasure.’

  ‘I will put this before Vice immediately. And I won’t put up with being kept in the dark any longer about the Flagstaff place you reported the other day, the other addresses too. Santo’s evidence sounds crucial. Pity he wasn’t forced to watch the murder, then we’d have a credible witness rather than hearsay.’

  ‘Io, sir. I told him he could stay in the lock-up tonight. He’s scared. I said we’d keep him safe until he can fly back to Manila.’

  ‘Io, we can protect Santo, the poor beggar. Those arrangements can wait until tomorrow. Now, speaking of Joy-13, when you waylaid me on the stairs I was on my way to see the Deputy Commissioner. The Chinese detectives have completed their investigation already.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Io, you heard right. The ambassador told him this afternoon they were translating their report into English for us. No doubt it will be brief. However, he told the Deputy Commissioner they concluded that Jimmy Inia fell overboard by accident. Furthermore, Captain Shen’s failure to report the accident was understandable due to pressure to maximise his catch before offloading in Suva. They really had no choice, did they? So, no surprises there.’

  Horseman nodded. ‘I’ve heard of show-trials in China. This is a show-investigation. Before you chase up Vice, sir, there’s the matter of Tevita.’

  ‘Io, we owe that rascal quite a bit, don’t we?’ Again, the half-smile.

  ‘A boy like Tevita can get seduced by evil. Just a bit of stick and a bit of carrot—overnight! Give him a grubby mattress in a brothel and he’s content enough. He’s had no upbringing, he has no moral sense—’ Horseman threw his hands up.

  ‘Rugby isn’t enough Joe. Good, but not all a child needs. It’s his hero-worship of a decent man—you, that has saved him so far. Just by a whisker. However, he needs more attention than you’ve got to give him.’

  Horseman nodded glumly. ‘I want to help him train for a trade. This afternoon he told me he’d like to be a driver. I wondered—’

  ‘Joe, your own children aren’t born yet, you don’t get it. Tevita hasn’t a clue, he doesn’t think beyond tomorrow, I bet. He just wants to please you and he’ll say just about anything to do it. Lucky for us, he’s been truthful recently.’

  ‘Sir, he’s bright enough, can live on his wits, he’s curious. I wondered if the police garage could use a boy to wash vehicles, anything…’

  He tried to keep the desperation from his voice but failed. Singh looked at him, concerned.

  The super lifted his grizzled eyebrows. ‘Not a bad idea, not a bad idea. After those leads he’s given us, we should help him.’

  ‘Io, sir. He’s staying with the uncle of another Shiner. A kind man, but he’s full up with hangers-on. He said he can only give Tevita two more nights or his wife will kill him—kill her husband that is, not Tevita.’

  ‘We can’t have that, can we? Your concern does you credit, Joe. I’ll have a word with the garages at the barracks first thing tomorrow. I can possibly get him put on probation there, with a bunk in the apprentice quarters. I won’t forget.’

  Relief flooded through him. ‘Vinaka vakalevu, sir.’

  ‘Let’s not count chickens, eh? Forget Tevita for now. What I need most of all is an SIO who’s focused on closing this case. Right now that means finding Filipo and his phone.’

  ‘Agreed. We haven’t found any trace yet. I’ll get on to Toby Shaddock again.’

  When Musudroka returned from helping Santo with his statement, Horseman showed him Jimmy’s bank records and talked him through them.

  Musudroka was silent, a horrified look on his face.

  ‘Now we know,’ said Horseman. ‘Jimmy succumbed to fear, to greed and so to evil. He paid the ultimate price. Who can say they wouldn’t take that first step, through fear?’

  ‘You wouldn’t, sir,’ Musudroka was confident.

  The young man’s trust touched him. ‘Vinaka, Tani. I hope to God I wouldn’t. I know you wouldn’t either. And as for Detective Sergeant Singh, she wouldn’t even be tempted.’

  Singh leaned forward, intense. ‘No, they’re unscrupulous bastards. I might agree to turn a blind eye if I was frightened, but I would submit accurate reports all the same. How could the skipper know what was in my reports if I kept them secure?’

  Horseman wondered if she could possibly be serious. ‘Oi lei! I’m glad you’re on the side of the angels, Singh. But when Fisheries prosecuted the skipper for those violations, he just might suspect you hadn’t kept your bargain, don’t you think?’

  She smiled. ‘There’s my criminal future down the drain!’

  They all chuckled, despite the horrors they’d just heard about.

  ‘You two go home now. Tani, you’re on surveillance from four in the morning. Get some sleep. Filipo is our top priority now—make sure you ask the other crewmen about him. Call me with any news. We’ll meet with Kau and the super in the morning.’

  THURSDAY 28th September

  49

  His phone blared. He jumped up, gasping. Two o’clock in the morning. He must change his ring tone to a less alarming one.

  ‘Kau, sir. Sudden activity on Joy-13. Looks like they’re getting ready to leave.’

  ‘Vinaka, Kau. They’re leaving Suva?’

  ‘Can’t be sure but that’s what it looks like. The crewmen are securing the small boats on deck, closing the hatches. Everyone’s busy.’

  ‘Has a pilot gone on board yet?’

  ‘I don’t think so, sir. I’ve only seen crew returning.’

  ‘Have any of them seen Filipo?’

  ‘They say no, sir.’

  ‘Keep watching, write down anything else that happens, just as you have been doing. Don’t try to interfere, Kau. I’ll alert the appropriate people. Keep in touch with further developments. Well done.’

  ‘Io, sir.’

  He called POSA. The watch supervisor sounded understandably sleepy. He argued that because Joy-13’s captain had not notified the port or requested a pilot, he could not possibly be preparing to depart.

  ‘Your constable is misinterpreting the activity he’s noticed. He’s not a seaman.’

  He hesitated to disturb the super but he needed to put him in the picture.

  The super yawned. ‘I’ll let the DC know in the morning. You make your own decisions on this one, Joe. Don’t hesitate to update me if you judge it necessary.’

  Horseman hoped the super could get back to sleep.

  Next he called Lt Vodo and explained the situation. ‘Maybe you can work your dream job this morning, Timo. How about a hot pursuit of a foreign fishing vessel?’

  ‘We can’t pursue Joy-13 until she’s slipped port without clearance. Should be justified if that happens. I’ll call Command to start the authorisation process. Keep me posted. The POSA supervisor will probably wake up and check on the vessel, anyway. It’s unlikely we’ll be needed.’

  ‘Could there be a problem with authorisation?’ Horseman asked.

  ‘If Joy-13 takes off, it should be good. This is what the navy’s here for. In the meantime, I’ll get myself and a crew down to the base and start getting good old Kula ready. If I wait for the green light, we won’t start for another hour after that, so…’

  ‘See you there.’

  The last on his list was Wes at Fisheries.

  At half past two in the morning, Joy-13 slipped her berth without lights, without pilot, without port clearance. When Horseman and Wes got to Walu Bay, Kula’s engines growled as they warmed up. Under floodlights, Lt Vodo directed a bevy of sailors as they adjusted mooring lines, unlashed the gangway, carried boxes on board, hoisted signal flags. As more sailors hurried through the gate in ones and twos, Vodo gave Horseman the thumbs up—HQ had authorised a hot pursuit.

  Vodo ran across to them, mobile to his ear, and shook hands while talking. A moment later, he ended the call. ‘Still rustling up sailors. We can’t leave short-handed. Got to allow for Joy-13 resisting our bo
arding party. Come up to the bridge and stay there.’

  ‘Keep out of the way, you mean?’ Horseman joked.

  Vodo grinned. ‘Don’t want to leave you behind and there’s no time to look for you! Don’t touch anything, that’s all I ask. Wes, pleased to see a Fisheries officer. Been on a boarding party before?’

  ‘No, this is my first.’

  Vodo’s grin faded. ‘Well, if Joy-13’s hostile, it could be best if you stayed on Kula. I’ll assess the risks when we see how they respond.’

  Vodo dashed back to the deck. The bridge was a hive of activity. A sailor fiddled with the radar, another adjusted the chart plotter, a third tested the steering, another wrote in a logbook with a pencil.

  Vodo caught Horseman’s amused glance. ‘Io, a 2B pencil doesn’t run out of battery charge at the crucial moment!’

  The crew’s excitement was palpable, yet each one was intent on his task. Just the same feel as waiting for the Go signal before a big police operation.

  At half past three, RFNS Kula departed Walu Bay in hot pursuit, under the command of Lt Vodo and a crew of twenty keen men. They all knew their jobs yet still checked and rechecked their gear. Their ear-to-ear grins and hyped-up chatter were contagious. The grey patrol boat looked robust to him, but not built for speed. But what would he, a mere landlubber, know?

  Nothing, it turned out. Once Kula left the harbour and negotiated the hazards in Suva Bay, she accelerated and sped off after Joy-13, her engines throbbing with reserve power. Both vessels now appeared on the AIS screen.

  Lt Vodo was at the helm. ‘Good getaway. I’ll crank up the speed while the sea’s calm. When we get beyond the barrier reef, conditions will be rougher.’

  ‘Can we catch them up?’ Wes asked.

  ‘Of course! We’re faster. How long it will take, ask me in half an hour. I’ll have a reliable estimate of their average speed by then. They’re doing twelve knots right now, but I doubt they’ll keep that up. We’re coming up to twenty. I’ll get us all fed and watered. We’ll need our energy.’