Bluewater Enigma: The 13th Novel in the Caribbean Mystery and Adventure Series (Bluewater Thrillers)

by Charles Dougherty

  "Yeah," LaRosa said. "The only name they got for him is Berto. That's why I sent it to you. That's the name you gave me to use with the Lennox broad. I thought maybe she'd ratted you out or something. None of us recognized the picture, but that's all I could figure, that maybe she'd seen you and given 'em a description."

  Montalba forced a laugh. "I wish I were that handsome. I wouldn't be spending time with the likes of her."

  "So that ain't you, then?"

  "No. Any reason besides the name that made you think he might be connected with me?"

  "No. I just figured better safe than sorry, you know?"

  "Yes, I understand," Montalba said. "Thanks. And did they say why they're looking for him at your club?"

  "Nah, it was kinda weird. He's wanted for questioning about stealing some million-dollar yacht from a marina down near Government Cut. They had pictures of the boat. Man, it's a beauty. Lots of class. And the two babes that run it? Knockouts, both of 'em. I'd rent that sucker for my next vacation if he hadn't stole the damn thing, you know?"

  "Were there a lot of people in the club when they came in?"

  "Nah. By the time I got downstairs, it was just my two guys. After the cops left, the boys told me there was a rummy in there when the cops came in, but he hauled ass."

  "A rummy? Somebody they knew?" Montalba asked.

  "Yeah. He lives on the street. They let him come in sometimes if there's no customers. He knows to leave if anybody comes in, like payin' customers, you know. The bartender buys him a beer and feeds him sometimes. Cut a deal with him to do that so he don't hassle the customers for spare change outside."

  "All right." Montalba said. "Thanks, but I don't know the man in the sketch either. Call me if you find out any more about him, though."

  Montalba disconnected the call. He scooped the phones from his desk drawer into a briefcase, folding up his laptop and putting it in as well. He snapped the briefcase closed and looked around the bedroom that doubled as his office.

  It was an interior space of 150 square feet, hidden within Graciella's penthouse condo; there were no windows and little in the way of furniture. Access was via a door that was concealed behind a massive entertainment center in her living room. Her housekeeper had cleaned the rest of the condo today, so the only traces of his presence were in this room.

  He slugged down the cup of coffee, annoyed that it had cooled to lukewarm while he was on the phone. He needed the caffeine, though. He took the cup into the tiny bathroom. Opening the cabinet under the sink, he took out a pair of latex gloves and put them on. He washed and dried the cup, leaving it on the back of the counter.

  He opened the medicine cabinet and took out a dust cloth and an aerosol can of furniture polish. He began wiping down the surfaces that might have collected fingerprints, working methodically.

  He had not used the shower in here during this stay, nor the bed. He'd spent most of his time with Graciella in the main living areas. In ten minutes, he was satisfied that he was leaving no prints behind. He took his personal cellphone out of his pocket and called his sister.

  "Guillermo?" she answered.

  "Yes. I'm in a bind; it's an emergency."

  "Where are you?" she asked.

  "Your place. I need to get to the safe house, fast."

  "I'm on my way home from the spa. I'll pick you up at the elevator in the garage in five minutes, okay?"

  "Yes. Call me when you're pulling into the garage. I'll get on the elevator then. Wait for me."

  "The private elevator?" she asked. "The main one's faster."

  "The private one. I can't risk being seen — no time for makeup."

  "I just turned the corner," she said. "I'm pressing the garage door opener button now."

  "I'll be right down," he said, disconnecting the call.

  27

  "I don't think Luke's being aggressive enough," Dani said, choosing a piece of mango from the fruit plate Liz had prepared for the three of them. They sat in the shade of the big cockpit awning, watching the yachts coming and going in the anchorage off Ste. Anne.

  "What do you think he should do differently?" Beverly asked. "He was going to send people to ask Manny about the sketch."

  "He should rattle that Montalba woman and see what happens," Dani said. "That's what I'd do."

  "But he's right to be cautious about that, Dani," Liz said. "All he has is that rough sketch that shows a superficial resemblance. There are all kinds of reasons not to rush into that."

  "He's bound to have some doubts about me, too," Beverly said. "I'm not the best kind of witness; I know that."

  "Your explanation is solid," Dani said. "He's just scared of her political connections."

  "For good reason," Liz said. "Imagine what would happen if he confronted her and found nothing."

  "I don't think that's likely," Dani said.

  "Politics aside," Liz said, "If she is mixed up in this somehow, confronting her could tip off Berto. If he goes farther underground, then where would we be?"

  "That's a thought," Dani said.

  "What?" Beverly asked.

  "Scare Berto into doing something; make him show himself," Dani said.

  "I've seen that look before, Dani," Liz said. "You're making me nervous. What kind of scheme are you hatching?"

  "I see Luke's problem," Dani said. "He's got a couple, actually. The political angle is one, but there's also the thin evidence connecting Berto to the theft. And no offense to you," she said, looking at Beverly, "but the whole case against Berto hinges on your credibility."

  "I agree," Beverly said, "and I know I'm not a credible witness. I already said that."

  "But we've got some other options," Dani said. "We don't have the constraints that Luke has."

  "Uh-oh," Liz said. "Are you thinking about going to Miami?"

  "It crossed my mind," Dani said, "but I've got a better idea. You mentioned driving Berto underground, and that made me realize something."

  "What?" Beverly asked.

  "He's already underground," Dani said. "There's only one person we know of who can identify him." She looked at Beverly. "And his plans aren't working out. I'd bet he's not a happy man. Velasquez didn't escape unscathed, but Berto doesn't have the recordings to hold over his head. If he wanted leverage for some reason other than the political campaign, he didn't get it. And he went to a lot of trouble and expense to install the surveillance gear on Vengeance. As far as he knows, McGuire's people have sunk her."

  "Unless he has access to the tracker," Liz said.

  "Right," Dani said. "But then he'd see his prize on her way to parts unknown, so he still wouldn't have what he wanted. What more could go wrong, from his perspective?"

  "He gets arrested?" Beverly asked.

  "Or exposed," Liz said. "He's got a lot invested in being invisible."

  "Yes," Dani said. "How do you think he'd react if we threatened to drag him out into the light of day?"

  "He'd attack us," Beverly said.

  "That's one choice," Liz said. "Or he could run. That's more likely than attacking us, I think. He wouldn't know where to start if he wanted to come after us. He's got reason to think we're dead, remember. Or on our way to Venezuela."

  "Either option suits me better than the status quo," Dani said. "He'll have to come out of hiding to do either one. Then we get a shot at him — or Luke does."

  "But I don't see how we could set that up," Liz said.

  "Beverly could send him a text. She could threaten him with exposure unless he paid her off," Dani said.

  "He'd have me killed," Beverly said.

  "He's likely to do that anyway," Dani said. "Or try, like McGuire did. Look where it got him."

  Beverly looked away for a few seconds and then looked back at Dani and nodded. "You're right. But nobody's going to believe me. Not the police, and not Berto, either. Why would he believe I could expose him?"

  "You do have some credibility on that score, at least with Berto," Dani said. "That sketch is
out there. If he hasn't seen it yet, he will, and he'll guess that it had to originate with you."

  "But we've already let that genie out of the bottle," Liz said. "We can't do him any more damage unless we know where he is."

  "Remember what Phillip did to the SpecCorp guy?" Dani asked.

  "Yes, but I'm not following you," Liz said.

  "Neither am I," Beverly said. "What SpecCorp guy?"

  Liz gave her a quick summary of what Phillip's friends had done to Delaney.

  When Liz finished, Dani said, "For the sake of argument, let's say that Graciella Montalba is related to Berto."

  "Okay," Beverly said. "I believe that, based on their looks. She has to be his sister."

  Liz nodded.

  "And let's assume that he wanted Velasquez out of the race for the presidency so Senator O'Toole would have a lock on the nomination. If Graciella is Berto's sister, O'Toole's going to be his brother-in-law. Both of them are easy to find. If we go after them, we might provoke Berto to show himself."

  "There's a flaw in your logic," Liz said.

  "What's that?" Dani asked.

  "You're assuming O'Toole knows about Berto," Liz said.

  "O'Toole's about to marry her," Dani said. "If Berto's her brother, O'Toole's bound to know."

  "That doesn't follow," Liz said. "The article in the newspaper said she's an only child. No living relatives, remember?"

  "You're right," Dani said. "You think we should focus on her?"

  "Yes," Liz said. "Confronting her is much cleaner. If Berto's her brother and it's their secret, she'll go to him straight away. If you lean on her and she calls O'Toole, then we can reconsider."

  "You're right," Dani said. "Good thinking. Thanks."

  "What if we're wrong, though," Beverly said, "and they aren't related."

  "Then we've wasted a little time and brought a little excitement into the life of somebody who probably deserves worse," Dani said. "If she's not mixed up in this, she's mixed up in something else ugly. People like her always are. If she's innocent, she'll get over it. But I don't think she is, and neither do you."

  "How are you thinking we can do this?" Liz asked.

  "Sharktooth's cousins," Dani said.

  "Sharktooth's cousins?" Beverly asked, frowning and shaking her head.

  "Sharktooth's a friend of ours," Liz said.

  "Another of my father's partners," Dani said. "Like Phillip."

  "He lives in Miami?" Beverly asked.

  '"No, he lives in Dominica, but he has two cousins who spend a lot of time in Miami."

  "But this could get them in trouble, couldn't it?" Beverly asked.

  "It's the kind of thing they do for amusement," Dani said. "They have some kind of natural immunity to trouble; Sharktooth says they're carriers, like Typhoid Mary."

  "What about Luke?" Liz asked. "If we do this, would we tell him? Otherwise, he'd feel betrayed, wouldn't he?"

  "Let's think about that," Dani said. "We need to figure out exactly what we'd want Sharktooth's cousins to do, too. Is it too late in the afternoon for some coffee?"

  "No. This may be a late night," Liz said. "I'll make some. I think Beverly has some questions for you while I'm doing that."

  "What kind of name is Sharktooth?" Beverly asked, as Liz went below.

  "Nobody at the Pink Pussycat admitted knowing Berto?" Luke Pantene asked.

  The two detectives who had taken the sketch to the club sat across the desk from him.

  "No, but we got a 'maybe' from a bum that hangs around the neighborhood."

  "How strong a maybe?"

  "I think he was pretty sure he'd seen the guy. He made a kind of half-assed try to hustle us."

  "Hustle you?" Luke asked. "How?"

  "He asked what it was worth if he'd seen the guy, and I threatened to bring him in for vagrancy. That loosened his tongue a little."

  "I don't know," the second detective said. "I think he was feedin' us a line to keep from getting busted. I keep thinking about what he said about them letting him come in there for a drink and food when they weren't busy."

  "What about it?" Luke said. "You think he's going to try to play you off against the people running the club?"

  "Maybe, maybe not. You know street people, captain. Always looking for an angle."

  "Think he might talk if you brought him in?" Luke asked. "I don't mean hassle him. I mean give him a break. Put him up overnight, buy him a decent meal. Treat him like a witness."

  "Might work," the first detective said.

  "How did you leave it with him?" Luke asked.

  "He's got a copy of the sketch. Said he'd call us if he saw the guy."

  "I'm wondering if we could use him for leverage to squeeze LaRosa and his people," Luke said. "Tell them we have an eyewitness who can put Berto in the club."

  "I don't like it, captain. They'd guess who it was. He was in the club when we got there. He snuck out when we started asking questions. We might get the poor bastard hurt. Or killed, with LaRosa."

  They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

  "Come in," Luke said.

  A young woman in uniform entered the office, an iPad in her hand. "Sorry, Captain Pantene, but we thought you'd want this. It's from the trap on Manny LaRosa's cellphone. He sent a text about an hour ago. I have it here. There's also a recording of a return call from the number he sent the text to."

  "That's about when we left the club," one of the detectives said. "An hour ago, give or take."

  Luke took the iPad and looked at the screen for a couple of seconds. He passed it across the desk to the two detectives. "The text wasn't encrypted?" he asked.

  "No, sir. It was sent between two cheap prepaid phones. We recognized the sketch and thought it might be important."

  "Good job. Can you play the recording for us?"

  She nodded and took the iPad, poking at the screen. The four of them listened to the conversation between LaRosa and the unknown man.

  When it was finished, Luke asked, "Did you get a location for the other phone?"

  "Yes, sir. It's that same cluster of buildings. Still no way to narrow it down."

  "Okay, thanks. Good work," Luke said, handing the iPad to the woman.

  She smiled and took the iPad, closing the door as she left the office.

  "You still want us to pick up the bum?" the first detective asked.

  "No, I think it's pretty clear that LaRosa's involved in this, whatever it is. But from the conversation, he doesn't know who the hell that guy on the other end of the phone is. I don't think we're going to get anything out of him."

  "Him? The bum?" the detective asked.

  "Any of them," Luke said. "All the bum would be good for is to squeeze LaRosa, but there's nothing there. The way that sounded to me, LaRosa's never seen the guy on the phone. I don't think it's even for sure that the guy was Berto."

  "You don't think the guy he called is Berto?" the second detective asked, his eyebrows raised.

  "If he's not, he sure as hell knows Berto," Luke said. "But I didn't get that LaRosa was sure he was Berto. How did you come out on the restaurants?"

  "Nothing there. No reservations for anybody named Berto or even close at either place. Nobody recognized the sketch. The managers at both places said if we called them with a last name they'd check again."

  "If, if, if," Luke said.

  "I wish we could drag the Lennox broad in and grill her," the first detective said.

  "What would you ask her? Anything specific?" Luke asked.

  "We know she's seen this Berto character. Had dinner with him twice, she told you."

  "Yes," Luke said. "Go on."

  "We could play the recording for her and see if she recognizes his voice," the detective said.

  "Good idea. I want you two to go downstairs and listen to that recording over and over until you're sick of it and you're reciting it in your sleep. Maybe there's something there we missed. But before you start, email me a copy of it. I'll get Lennox on the
horn and play it for her. I need to talk to those women anyway."

  28

  "I think Luke's scared of causing a political flap," Dani said. She and Beverly sat with Phillip on his veranda, looking out over the anchorage where Vengeance rolled in the gentle swell that came around Pointe Dunkerque. Liz and Sandrine were preparing hors d'oeuvres in the kitchen.

  "He has more constraints than just politics, Dani," Phillip said. "He has to worry about the admissibility of evidence if this goes to court. Plus, if she is connected to Berto somehow, the Montalba woman could tip him off that the police are getting close."

  "But I don't have those constraints," Dani said.

  "What are you suggesting?" Phillip asked.

  "What you did to that guy who runs SpecCorp."

  "That was a different situation."

  "How?" Dani asked.

  "For one thing, he wasn't being investigated by the police."

  "Luke's not investigating her," Dani said.

  "You can't be sure. If he were, he'd keep it quiet," Phillip said. "For all the reasons we just talked about."

  "I don't think he is, but what would it hurt if we shook her up a little?" Dani asked.

  "She's not going to open her door and invite you in when you ring the bell, Dani. If she's as rich as you say, she probably has protection of some kind."

  "So did the SpecCorp guy. What's his name, again?"

  "Delaney," Phillip said. "That was only possible because there were several people in his neck of the woods who had the skills and the inclination to teach him a lesson. The stars were in alignment on that one. You can't just go to Miami and do that kind of thing; they'll lock you up."

  "I disagree. You taught me well. But I didn't have in mind a do-it-yourself exercise, anyway."

  "No?" Phillip said. "What, then?"

  "Lucilius and Tiberius. They're in Miami. I saw them at the airport."

  Phillip laughed. "The Jones brothers. Have you talked to Sharktooth?"

  "Not about this. Why?"

  "I just wondered. What are they doing there?"

  "They're on holiday. I thought they'd enjoy this."