Bluewater Enigma_Caribbean Mystery and Adventure Series

by Charles Dougherty

  "Let me see what I can find, first. I'll get back to you before I discuss it with her," Elaine said. "I can't believe somebody would steal a boat like Vengeance. A plain vanilla boat, maybe, but not something as distinctive as Vengeance."

  "That's where we come out, too," Liz said. "But we've gotten through the denial phase, now. I'm still struggling with acceptance, but as Dani says, we have to suck it up and move on."

  "Right," Elaine said. "Let me see about a boat for you to use. I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

  "Thanks, Elaine," Dani said, disconnecting. She pocketed her phone and stood up. "Ready for that walk?"

  Liz nodded. "Let's check email first, though. I forgot all about it after last night."

  "Okay," Dani said, as Liz opened their laptop and logged on to the hotel's wireless network. She moved to look over Liz's shoulder. "Looks like the normal junk," Dani said. "You know, I miss the ones offering to enlarge my penis. At least they were funny."

  "Uh-huh," Liz said, scrolling through their inbox. "Wait a second. Look at this, from the marina in Rodney Bay." She clicked on the email and read the subject line aloud. "Invoice for last week's dockage, Sailing Yacht Vengeance."

  Dani hunched forward and they read the email together.

  "Yay!" Liz yelped, surging to her feet, almost knocking Dani down. She jumped up and down, clapping her hands. "She's there, Dani! She's there! We found her!"

  Dani grinned. "Hallelujah! It says Vengeance has been in their marina for a week."

  "But how?" Liz asked, trembling, her fists clenched.

  "The delivery crew," Dani said. "Whoever the hell they were. They say the delivery crew left her there and told them we'd be in touch. Bizarre! They want to know if they should charge the card they have on file for us."

  "Shall we call them?" Liz asked.

  "Too late in the day," Dani said. "They'll be closed. I think we should book flights to St. Lucia. We can call the marina in the morning. We'll need to call the insurance people, too."

  "Should we let Elaine know?" Liz asked.

  "I think we should let her look for a boat, for now," Dani said. "We don't know what we're going to find when we get there. We may need that bareboat option. She won't commit us to anything without talking to us first, anyway. We can call her once we book some flights, though, just to let her know we're on the move."

  "That makes sense," Liz said. "Let's book flights, and then we'll take that walk."

  4

  Guillermo Montalba stirred a spoonful of sugar into his first coffee of the morning. He raised the cup to his lips as he studied the online credit card statement. The charges that Beverly Lennox had incurred on the credit card he'd given her made him smile.

  She might look and act classy, but she had the instincts of a street hustler. Besides the preliminary hold for $15,000 from the charter broker, Lennox had helped herself to a $10,000 cash advance. She'd been shopping, too. Jewelry, designer clothing, a day spa.

  Good for her, he thought. He understood her behavior; he'd have done the same if their positions were reversed. She was feathering her nest and testing him at the same time. That was fine; he wouldn't rein her in. The amount of money she could spend on the cards wasn't significant to him.

  Besides, the more she spent, the more damning the evidence against Velasquez would be. The cards were ultimately paid for by a political action committee Montalba had organized to support Velasquez's presidential campaign.

  Velasquez was not Senator O'Toole's only competitor for the nomination, but he was the most obvious and most immediate one. Hence, Montalba's efforts to compromise him.

  O'Toole's success as a presidential candidate wasn't essential to Montalba's interests, but it might be a problem if O'Toole failed to win the nomination. O'Toole was powerful; that was what drew Montalba to him. A loss would diminish O'Toole's value.

  During his years as a Florida politician, O'Toole had built one of the largest drug smuggling operations in the U.S. As Montalba had proceeded with his plans to consolidate and monopolize the drug trade in the States, he had acquired O'Toole's organization.

  O'Toole mistakenly thought that Montalba was working for him. That was Montalba's plan. O'Toole, like many politicians, was egotistical and narcissistic. He had a strong need to be in control. Montalba had taken over O'Toole's illegal operations by letting O'Toole maintain the illusion that he was still in charge. O'Toole's perception was that Montalba had simply taken the place of the man who had been running the drug operation for him. Montalba, by funneling ever larger profits to O'Toole, had lulled him into ceding complete control.

  By relieving O'Toole of the burden of dealing with troublesome details, Montalba had encouraged the senator to increase his isolation from the illegal activity. This suited O'Toole well. Since he had his eye on the presidency, he could ill afford to be caught with his hand in the drug trade. O'Toole saw himself as a silent partner in the drug business now.

  Montalba's sister, Graciella, was Montalba's true partner. She and Montalba had contrived for O'Toole to seduce her, and she was now publicly engaged to marry the senator.

  While Graciella was recognized everywhere as a wealthy socialite from Argentina, no one knew about her brother Guillermo. He was an invisible man, his existence known only to his sister. He never appeared in public, only occasionally allowing someone like O'Toole to glimpse one of his faces.

  In the drug trade, he was only a rumor, a creature of the shadows, with a hideously scarred face. In his other encounters, which he kept to a minimum, he was a handsome, anonymous man, a wealthy recluse without an identity.

  When they were in their teens, Graciella had killed their mother. They had survived to adulthood by trading on Graciella's looks and his vicious nature. After a few years, the two of them had accumulated enough money to vanish from Argentina.

  By the time Graciella made her appearance on the South Florida social scene, she and her brother had amassed a fortune. That allowed Guillermo to remain invisible while continuing to add to their wealth.

  O'Toole was just another asset in their portfolio; his value to them was in his political potential. It would be useful to the Montalba siblings to control the White House for a few years.

  O'Toole's drug business wasn't the only one Montalba had taken over. He was well on his way to monopolizing imports into the southern U.S., from California east to Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas.

  There was one problem that he had not yet solved. A shadowy cartel that continued to elude him was rumored to be moving product through the Caribbean into the southeastern U.S. A woman named Connie Barrera appeared to be running it.

  In contrast to Montalba's methods, Barrera had an unusual approach to consolidating distribution channels. Montalba bought out his competition, often resorting to violent tactics to encourage his competitors to quit the field. Barrera, on the other hand, arranged for her competitors to be discovered by law enforcement. She'd been instrumental in shutting down several of the largest operations in the Caribbean basin.

  As best Montalba could tell, she was the last of his competitors. His efforts to penetrate her security had failed, but he had new information. A few weeks ago, Barrera and a number of her associates had gathered in Miami for a meeting.

  Barrera and her husband, a retired Miami cop, ran a luxury charter yacht in the islands. Montalba was certain that this was a cover that allowed her to move freely around the Caribbean. The authorities were accustomed to the erratic movements of charter yachts and did not suspect her.

  During their gathering in Miami, Montalba had learned that there were two more women associated with her. They ran a similar yacht, also in the Caribbean, and they had close ties to law enforcement throughout the islands. Further, they had connections with some mercenaries in the French islands. They drew upon both sets of contacts to keep Barrera's operation running smoothly.

  When the meeting ended, the two women had stored their yacht in Miami while they took a two-week holiday. M
ontalba had taken the opportunity to have the yacht fitted with concealed surveillance equipment. He'd further arranged for Beverly Lennox to book a week-long getaway on the yacht for herself and Velasquez.

  Montalba was pleased at the notion that he would be able to test the equipment by recording compromising videos of Velasquez with Beverly Lennox. He could foresee using the yacht for similar activities should another candidate emerge as a threat to O'Toole. As a bonus, he would be able to spy on the two women who were the movers and shakers in Barrera's business.

  "Then you did not hire the three men?" the marina manager in Rodney Bay asked, eyes wide.

  "No," Dani said. "They showed the marina in Miami a forged letter authorizing them to take Vengeance. The people at the marina had never seen them before. The police had them go through mugshots of the thieves known to steal from around the waterfront, but they didn't recognize anyone."

  "Can you describe any of the delivery crew?" Liz asked the man.

  "I'm afraid not. I asked the staff after you called this morning, but no one saw them. They brought the yacht in late one evening and tied her up to the fuel dock. Someone called the next morning and talked with the receptionist. All they told her was that you would be arriving in a few days and would settle any charges with us. We post our accounts weekly; that's why accounting sent you the email yesterday. We moved her into a slip that morning after they called. They left the keys in a cockpit locker for us."

  "We are quite relieved to find her," Liz said. "Thank you for taking care of her for us."

  "Yes," Dani said. "Thank you."

  "You are most welcome. You've been good customers for a long time. We're happy to accommodate you. After your call this morning, I went down and opened her up to air her out. She looks to be in fine shape."

  "Yes, thanks for that," Dani said. "We took a quick look at her before we came to see you."

  He nodded. "One of the staff told me. Will you be staying with us for a while?"

  "We haven't made plans yet," Dani said. "We want to do a thorough inspection first. If she's all right, we may take her over to Ste. Anne this evening. We have friends there."

  "Ah, yes. Mr. Davis and his wife, right?"

  "Yes," Liz said.

  "Another old customer," the manager said. "Give him my regards."

  "We will," Dani said. "If we find anything amiss, we'll want to stay here this evening."

  He nodded. "Of course. That will not be a problem. Just let us know, either way. If we can help, that's why we're here."

  "Thank you," Dani said, reaching across the desk to shake his hand. "Let's go get to work, Liz."

  Liz shook hands with the manager and they walked out onto the dock. "Should we call Phillip?" she asked.

  "Yes. Would you do that while I do a quick survey? I want to make sure they didn't leave any nasty surprises or sabotage her somehow. That shouldn't take me long. I doubt I'll find anything we can't deal with quickly. If she's seaworthy, we can be in Ste. Anne by four or five o'clock."

  "All right," Liz said. "Are you ready for him to call Sandrine?"

  Phillip Davis's wife, Sandrine, was a senior officer in French customs. Dani and Liz had come up with the idea of asking her to give Vengeance a thorough inspection for any concealed contraband.

  "I think so. Don't you?"

  "Yes, I do."

  "Ask them to call us if Sandrine wants us to put Vengeance in the marina for her boarding party."

  "Okay. I'll tell him that otherwise, we'll just anchor," Liz said.

  They'd already had a preliminary conversation with Phillip while they were in the taxi from the airport to the marina. He had suggested that Sandrine could order a drug dog and an explosives dog, as well as a thorough customs inspection. Dani and Liz were worried that the thieves might have left behind some kind of illegal cargo, either by accident or to cause trouble.

  "I'm so happy!" Liz said, as they stepped off the dock onto Vengeance. "It's so good to be home."

  "It is," Dani agreed.

  "Thanks for your help, Sandrine," Dani said, taking a sip of wine. They were sitting on Phillip and Sandrine's veranda, looking out over the anchorage off Ste. Anne, Martinique.

  "You are welcome. I am glad we can help."

  "You saved us some big problems," Liz said. "It's a good thing you and Phillip thought of the dogs."

  "Yes, I think so," Sandrine said. "The drugs were not many, but still they would have caused you trouble if customs was finding them somewhere else, yes?"

  "A quarter kilo of marijuana and a few ounces of cocaine sounds like 'many' to me," Dani said. "That's not some casual user's stash. It was odd the way it was hidden, too."

  "Maybe it is the person who uses the guest cabin on the trip down here. Taping the bags under the drawers was perhaps to hide from the other crew," Sandrine said. "It is a lot of drugs for a person, but it is not much for the smuggling, I think. As you said when my men find, is very strange, this whole thing."

  "Stealing the boat, planting drugs aboard, leaving the boat and telling the marina to expect you in a few days," Phillip said, shaking his head. "Nothing about it makes sense. You checked the machinery and electrical spaces thoroughly, you said?"

  "Yes," Dani said. "There's nothing aboard that doesn't belong there, now that Sandrine's people have been through her. Just the stash of drugs."

  "The dog found no sign of drugs anywhere else?" Phillip asked.

  "Nothing," Sandrine said. "We were extra thorough, because of the small stash. We were thinking perhaps they had used her to carry some large shipment, but there was no trace. We check even in the holding tank. Was clean."

  "They couldn't have stopped anywhere. Not for very long, anyway, not to get here last week. They had a fast trip, as it was," Liz said.

  "And if they stopped anywhere, they did not clear with customs," Sandrine said. "I have checked. Only in St. Lucia, they clear. They send me the crew list at my office tomorrow, but surely these people, they are using false passports. Still, maybe we learn something."

  "When's your charter?" Phillip asked.

  "We've got a few days," Liz said "It's not until next week. Elaine's supposed to get their arrival info and email it to us in the next day or two."

  "And where's the pickup?" Phillip asked.

  "Rodney Bay," Dani said.

  "Quelle coincidence!" Sandrine said.

  "Yes, isn't it," Dani agreed.

  "Then you can stay here for a day or two?" Phillip asked.

  "We planned to," Dani said. "Why do you ask? If you have plans — "

  "No, no. Nothing like that," Phillip said. "We're going to be here. I was asking because I think we should get Clarence to have Vengeance swept. Maybe he can do it tomorrow morning."

  "Swept for what?" Liz asked.

  "Somebody went to a lot of trouble to steal her, sail her down here, and get her back to you in time for this charter," Phillip said. "And you said Elaine told you the woman was insistent that it had to be Vengeance, right? She wouldn't agree to chartering a substitute."

  "When you put it like that, it does sound even more strange," Dani said. "What are you thinking?"

  "I'm not drawing any conclusions," Phillip said, "but remember when Connie and Paul had the new fuel tank put in Diamantista II up in Maine, and then those people chartered her to go to New York?"

  "To nuke Manhattan?" Liz said. "You think we've got a nuke hidden aboard?"

  "I said I wasn't drawing conclusions, but this is the same sort of situation. It's nonsensical to us, but it made sense to somebody. They went to all that trouble, and we don't know why. I have to wonder if your charter may be part of the scheme."

  "But there are no explosives," Sandrine said. "The dog would have found them."

  "Maybe not, if they were in the fuel tank, or glassed in the hull. Why don't you plan to stay here with us for a couple of days, and let Clarence give her a thorough going over?"

  "You sure he's got the people on short notice?" Dani asked. />
  "Yes. He just finished up an operation. Somebody contracted with him and your Papa to look for nukes somewhere in South America. I think Marie ran the operation, and I know she's back. Sandrine and I ran into her at the marina when we were having breakfast this morning."

  "It's probably a good idea," Dani said. "I don't imagine there's a nuke in our fuel tank, but who knows what they were up to?"

  "Good. Sandrine can drive you back to the marina to pick up your stuff while I call Clarence and ask him to see if someone tampered with Vengeance."

  5

  "Clarence called earlier this morning," Phillip said. "He caught me while I was on my way back from taking Sandrine to work."

  He was sitting on the veranda with Dani and Liz, enjoying a pot of strong coffee. Dani and Liz had both slept later than usual, exhausted from the stress of the last couple of days.

  "Did he find anything?" Dani asked.

  "Not yet." Phillip chuckled. "He just wanted to let me know that he was sending Marie and a couple of technicians to check out Vengeance." He looked down at his wristwatch. "They're probably just getting started."

  "You said they'd been down in South America," Liz said. "Where?"

  "No idea," Phillip said. "Your father and Clarence had a contract, Dani. I'm guessing with NATO, but I don't know. Somebody in Europe had picked up a rumor about a stockpile of nuclear weapons somewhere down there. Supposedly, they came from one of the old eastern-bloc countries, but nobody knew how or why. That's all I know; I wasn't involved, other than a little technical consultation. Scary world we're living in."

  "Sometimes I envy Marie," Dani said. "She gets to have all the fun."

  "She probably feels the same about you. She's had a hard life; still does, for that matter."

  "I don't know much about her background," Dani said. "Just little snippets I've picked up from her."

  "That's all anybody knows. I was still active when Clarence recruited her."

  "He must have checked her background, somehow," Liz said.