Bluewater Drone: The Eleventh Novel in the Caribbean Mystery and Adventure Series (Bluewater Thrillers Book 11)

by Charles Dougherty

  "Yes; it's sort of a family thing. But now we — scratch that — I'm the one in a position to help. I can't just turn my back on a relationship that goes back several generations."

  "But Dani, he asked you to help sneak Marie into Danilov's camp. He didn't ask you to put your life on the line."

  "I can't see any way to get Marie in, but I've got a personal invitation."

  "They killed the last agent he sent," Liz said.

  "We don't know that. And even if they did, I'd be in a different situation. Remember, Strong's begging me to join him."

  "But you know he's a lightweight, Dani. He's a pawn. If you get in trouble, he can't help you."

  "You're right about that, but I'm not going to get in trouble."

  "You can't see it in the dark, but I'm rolling my eyes right now," Liz said. "You went to lunch with him and managed to get in trouble."

  "We don't know what Chernov was up to. He could have been working for somebody besides Danilov, trying to sabotage Strong. Or maybe he was working for some faction within Danilov's organization that doesn't like Strong."

  "But you were the target, not Strong."

  "Maybe. But if I accept Strong's invitation to go aboard Danilov's yacht, things will be different."

  "Yes, that's true. You'll be a captive on a megayacht that's in international waters. What if Chernov is looking for a rematch?"

  "Come on, Liz. You'll know where I am, and Danilov will know that. He's not going to do anything stupid when he knows you'd send up the alarm if anything happened to me."

  "I still think you'd be crazy to take that kind of risk, Dani. How long would you expect me to wait before I called for help?"

  "Well, say if you didn't hear from me for a day — "

  "A day? You know as well as I do what can happen in a few minutes with people like that, let alone a day."

  "And besides, I'd have backup from Clarence's organization."

  "The same organization that's already lost one agent to these people. Are you seriously thinking about doing this?"

  "Yes. Danilov has no reason to think I'm anything other than what Strong says I am."

  "Except that you beat up Danilov's pet gorilla."

  "It occurred to me that Strong might have set that up, Liz."

  "What are you talking about? Occurred to you when?"

  "When I was reading the script. It's almost a replay of a scene where Cassie got cornered in a bar and fought her way out. She's kind of a kickass heroine, see."

  "I'm rolling my eyes again. Are you making this up?"

  "No. I thought about it all afternoon. It's a completely logical explanation for what happened. Strong's said all along that Cassie could have been modeled on me. He probably wanted to see how I handled that kind of thing; it's part of this whole method acting idea, right? You had some acting experience in university. What do you think?"

  "I think you've made up your mind, and I'm wasting time trying to talk sense into you. Is Phillip going to let you do this?"

  "It isn't Phillip's decision. You know that."

  "But J.-P. will hold him — "

  "J.-P. raised me, Liz. He'd be disappointed in his daughter if she was too scared to take on a little challenge like this. He has never held anybody but me responsible for my decisions."

  Liz sighed. "I guess we'd better call Phillip. Do you think Marie would be able to help out with the charter while you're gone?"

  "I was counting on it. You two made a pretty good team when I got locked up in St. Lucia a few months ago."

  ****

  "This isn't at all what Clarence had in mind, Dani," Phillip said. His voice was somewhat muffled, as Dani and Liz were huddled under a blanket in their forward cabin in an effort to avoid disturbing their guests, who had gone to bed early. "Marie's familiar enough with the technology of the missiles to evaluate what she's looking — "

  "There's no way we can think of to get her aboard in my place."

  "How about finding a reason for her to accompany you?"

  "We can't come up with one. Liz asked if the character he wants me to play had a sidekick, but she's a loner."

  "That doesn't mean you can't have a sidekick," Phillip said.

  "Phillip, we have to assume that a guy like Danilov has probably had me checked out, right?"

  "Have you had some indication of that?" There was alarm in Phillip's tone.

  "No, but if the roles were reversed, you or I would have done some background work."

  "Probably so. What's your point?"

  "They'd know that my best friend is Liz — not Marie. And if I take Marie along and they check her out, what are they going to find?"

  "Her legend, probably."

  "Which is?" Dani asked.

  "I don't know," Phillip said, "but — "

  "But it's a good bet that I'm not part of it, correct?"

  "That's true, but it could be changed."

  "We don't have a lot of time for that kind of prep work. I need to give Strong an answer tomorrow."

  "If you say yes to him, when do you think you'd go aboard Platinum Odyssey?"

  "Probably the next day. I might be able to buy a little time — a day or so; he knows we have charter guests aboard."

  "Speaking of that, what are you going to do about them? Leave Liz in the lurch?"

  "No. They're encouraging me to go. They want to take on some of the sailing themselves."

  "Hmm," Phillip said.

  "But," Dani continued, "I thought maybe Marie could take my place on Vengeance. She's familiar with the boat, and she and Liz hit it off all right when they were looking for me in St. Lucia a few months back."

  "How do you feel about this, Liz?" Phillip asked.

  "She's as mad as a March hare."

  "Marie?" There was surprise in Phillip's voice.

  "No, not her! Dani. I think she's 'round the bend,' as you Americans say."

  "I agree, but we already knew that about her. Could Marie fit in all right with your guests?"

  "Of course. She can be charming when it suits her."

  "And do you think your guests would be willing to sail around close to Platinum Odyssey?"

  "Given how curious they are about Strong, I would think so; remember the drone. They've got all kinds of telephoto lenses. I'm sure they would like the chance to try to catch Strong unawares. Where are you going with this?"

  "I'm thinking Vengeance might make a good surveillance platform. Dani's being aboard Platinum Odyssey gives you a solid excuse to hover in their vicinity."

  "To what end?" Dani asked.

  "Close backup. Marie can bring the latest and greatest electronic eavesdropping gear with her. We need to figure out how to keep in touch with you while you're in the lion's den, Danielle."

  "I'll have my satellite phone; it's encrypted."

  "Yes, but Rosa Delgado had one, too, and they took it away from her after she made her first call."

  "Rosa Delgado?" Dani said. "Clarence's agent?"

  "That's right. They told her to use her regular cell phone. They've got their own cellular system aboard, with satellite trunks. They gave her a line about satellite phones interfering with their navigation system, or something."

  "So how did she communicate with Clarence after that?"

  "She had a text messaging app on her cellphone that supported encryption."

  "Did that work?" Dani asked.

  "We don't know. They busted her somehow. Clarence's tech people don't think they cracked the encryption, but even if they didn't, they would have been curious about what she was sending. You have to think they're recording the cellphone traffic. If they managed to get their hands on her phone, it's possible that they cloned it somehow and were able to break the encryption."

  "Speaking of her, can you send me a photo? I'll keep an eye out for her."

  "Yes, sure. We'll fix you up with a long range infrared transceiver so you can talk to Marie, too. It'll be line of sight, and best used at night, but there's no way they'
d be able to intercept it."

  "Why at night?"

  "Marie would need to be within a few hundred meters for a reliable connection. You wouldn't want to bring Vengeance in that close, even at night. They'd spot you for sure, but at night, she could bring a dinghy in range without much risk."

  "What am I looking for once I get aboard?"

  "We'll need a face-to-face briefing; there's too much I don't know to try to do it now. Let me get to work on this with Clarence and Marie, and I'll get back to you, okay?"

  "Yes," Dani said. "I guess I should delay meeting with Strong for as long as I can, right?"

  "Yes. If we can get this together, Marie can join you early tomorrow morning; you two can have a day of overlap to get you up to speed, but it would be better if that happened away from your guests."

  "I agree. We're still in Nonesuch Bay. Maybe we could meet ashore."

  "I have a question," Liz said.

  "What's that?" Phillip asked.

  "What if our guests don't want to stay in the vicinity of Platinum Odyssey?"

  "Marie will have a couple of her men with her in a go-fast boat, anyway. They can handle the close-in work without any trouble; they were on tap to be her backup anyway." Phillip said. "What do you think the chances are of that?"

  "I think they're slim," Dani said, "but it's good to have a backup plan just in case."

  "I agree," Liz said. "I think they'll be eager to stick close by; I almost think they're more interested in snooping on Kev Strong than they are in making their documentary."

  "How will we get an answer to that?" Phillip asked.

  "Leave it to me," Liz said. "While Dani's off with Marie, I'll see if I can steer them into staying close to Danilov's yacht."

  "Okay, good," Phillip said. "Look for Marie around eight; she's already up in Guadeloupe, I think."

  "Were you anticipating this?" Liz asked.

  "No," Phillip said. "She and her team were already moving into position to watch Platinum Odyssey after they lost touch with the agent. If there's a problem, I'll let you know," Phillip said. "Get some rest." He disconnected the call.

  "I'll be okay, Liz."

  "I know. But I still think you're 'round the bend.' Go to sleep."

  Chapter 22

  "Who is that woman Dani left with?" Mindy asked.

  "She's a friend of ours," Liz said. "Her name is Marie LaCroix: she's from Martinique."

  "Did she come from there in that speedboat, overnight?" Blaine asked.

  Liz smiled. "No, I think she's been hanging out in Guadeloupe for the last few days. That's only an hour's run at the most in that boat."

  "It looks like a serious go-fast machine," Blaine said. "And with the dull gray paint job, it's almost invisible. Why does she have a boat like that? Is she a smuggler or something?"

  "It's not hers," Liz said, forcing a chuckle. "A friend of hers lets her use it sometimes. It's not always a good idea to know too much about why someone wants a boat like that."

  "So where did she and Dani go?" Mindy asked.

  Liz laughed. "Look, you two eat your breakfast before the eggs get cold, and I'll tell you what's happening, okay?"

  "Okay," Mindy said.

  Blaine nodded his agreement.

  "Marie works as a consultant for a company in Martinique. They specialize in the proper handling of hazardous cargo; she does on-site training for their clients, and an occasional survey when something goes wrong. She travels a lot to some strange places, but between assignments she has a good bit of spare time. Dani and I have been teaching her to sail when she was free and we were between charters. She and I recently spent a week poking around St. Lucia on Vengeance while Dani was tied up with some other things.

  "Dani told me last night that she wants to give this movie gig a try, and she called Marie to see if she'd be willing to fill in for a few days." Liz paused for a sip of coffee.

  "But we'll do it," Mindy said. "Really, she didn't need to do that."

  "I know you offered," Liz said, “and we appreciate it, but there are insurance considerations. Marie's familiar with Vengeance, and she knows her way around the islands. She was excited by the opportunity, and she's a lot of fun. You'll like her. Besides, she's pretty handy with a camera; part of her job when she's investigating problems is documenting them in pictures. She can probably get some shots of the two of you doing things together."

  "That's interesting," Mindy said. "So when is she going to switch places with Dani?"

  "That's part of what they wanted to talk about, I think, but a big part of that depends on what you want to do over the next few days. Dani didn't know if you wanted to head south, or stick around here and try to get more information on the movie and candid shots of Strong. She might even be able to get some shots aboard Platinum Odyssey with her cellphone camera and text them to you."

  Blaine looked at Mindy. She raised her eyebrows, and he nodded.

  "If Dani's going to be aboard Platinum Odyssey, it would be cool if we could get some shots of her and Strong, like with a telephoto lens," Blaine said. "I wish we had that replacement drone, but I don't think I want to risk that after what happened last time."

  "I don't blame you for that," Liz said.

  "Yeah," Mindy said. "Really. But if Dani's going to be on Platinum Odyssey, that kind of gives us a reason to hang around fairly close to them, doesn't it?"

  "If that's what you want to do," Liz said. "But this is your yacht; we'll go wherever you like."

  "A scoop on Strong's next movie could be a real money-maker for us," Blaine said, "Even if we have to extend the charter by a week to get the video for our show. We've got the time in our schedule. How about you and Dani?"

  "I'm sure we can work something out if you need more time aboard Vengeance. We don't have a booking for the week after yours at the moment. If you think you want to do that, why don't I email our broker and ask her to hold that week open?"

  "You don't mind?" Mindy asked. "We'll pay."

  "Not under these circumstances. Normally, she'd want a deposit, but I think since we're doing this partly because of Dani's whim, we can skip that formality."

  "That's super, Liz! Thanks," Mindy said.

  "Yeah, thanks," Blaine added.

  "You're welcome. Let me go send that email while you finish breakfast. I'll call Dani and see what her schedule's looking like for the day, so we can make some plans, too."

  ****

  "What did Liz have to say?" Marie LaCroix asked, as Dani disconnected the call.

  "She wanted to let me know that she talked with our guests about their plans for the next few days, and to find out how long you and I would be this morning, so they could decide how to spend their day."

  "And? What do your guests wish to do while you are off playing at being a movie star?"

  "Liz did a good sales job on them. They want to stay close to Platinum Odyssey. They say they'd like to get some long-range photos of Strong. They probably think they'll catch him in compromising positions with me."

  "One never knows ... " Marie grinned.

  "This one knows: that's not going to happen. I'm not convinced about their motives, either, just between us."

  "What are you saying, Dani? I am not quite understanding, I think."

  "They're nice people, but I think they're up to something they haven't shared with us. They're supposedly here to shoot video for this reality TV show that airs monthly, but so far they've spent most of their time trying to see what Kevin Strong's doing."

  "They are paparazzi, Phillip said to me. Does this not seem to be true?"

  "I don't know much about reality TV shows, or movies and paparazzi, either," Dani said, "but they've committed to two weeks at our normal rates — that's close to $30,000 U.S. — and Liz said they just asked for another week. To me, that seems to be a big investment for what must be a risky return."

  "A third week?" Marie asked.

  "Yes. Liz has committed to give them that at no charge, since we're using
up some of their time on our own business, but she said they didn't know that when they asked to book it."

  "For the television show, they must have some contract, yes?"

  "Yes, I would think so, but like I said, that's not what they're spending their time on. They've spent most of it so far trying to get photos of Strong, which they hope they can sell to the tabloids. That has to be pure speculation."

  "Possibly," Marie said. "Sometimes I have read that the tabloid papers pay exorbitant amounts for such pictures."

  Dani shrugged. "I don't know Marie. I'd never heard of Kevin Strong before he hit on me in the bar the other night, but I'm hardly aware of pop culture's latest icons. Maybe he really is that famous. I wouldn't know, but something about them just doesn't quite ring true."

  "You have checked them out, yes?"

  "Uh ... no. I mean, no more than our agent normally does. She had them fax a copy of their passports and wire the fee to her. Now that you mention it, though — "

  "I will take care of this. Blaine and Mindy Wilkes, is this correct?"

  "Yes. Mindy is short for Melinda."

  "And this TV show? It has a name?"

  "Off the Edge."

  "Okay. Probably, it is nothing, but?" Marie raised her eyebrows and rolled her head. Extending both hands, palms up, she shrugged her shoulders. "It cannot hurt. In any case, I will be with them on Vengeance to watch them."

  "Yes. Phillip said you had a couple of your men lined up, too."

  "They are here; I left them in Falmouth Harbour. I will pick them up when we are finished. When I am aboard Vengeance, they will be out of sight over the horizon with the boat I came in. They are well-trained and well-armed, because we had been thinking we maybe must sink Platinum Odyssey. This depends on what the client wishes, you understand."

  "When will the client decide?"

  "After we have determined whether the missiles are aboard. But they check some other things, as well, to try to learn who Danilov is acting for, you see."

  "You think Danilov is planning to launch the missiles?"

  "Our client does not know. There are no signs that he is trying to sell the missiles, nor has he had any contact with known terrorist organizations."

  "And no one believes that he wants them for self-defense," Dani said.