Dominique was convinced that calling the police would be a disaster. It would be the beginning of the end. But what was the alternative? Look for her friend on her own? When she barely knew the island?
Angie remained tense as she looked at Dominique. After a few indecisive minutes, Dominique grabbed her phone and looked for a number. It took a while before someone picked up. Then she asked, “Leroy? Can you come and pick me up?”
39
“Where to?” Leroy said after Dominique had entered the back of his cab. “Where do I have to bring you?”
“To the police station.”
He turned his head around to face her.
“What?
She grimaced. “Lilian is still not back.”
“That’s not good,” he said in a serious tone.
He drove off and did the obligatory wave to Harry at the security gate. Dominique was racking her brain in the backseat. How could all of this have happened? And to make matters worse, Todd and Marc had left! They had just left her alone, when they knew Lilian had disappeared. Now she had to go to the police on her own. Even worse: she was going to have to inform Lilian’s parents later.
She closed her eyes and dropped her head on the back of the seat. She cried in silence.
A moment later, Leroy parked the car in front of the police station in Wilhelminastraat.
“Do I need to come with you?” he asked.
“No, thanks. I have to do this myself.”
She smiled at him sadly and got out of the car. Inside the station she walked up to the counter, where a woman in a uniform asked her how she could be of service.
“I need to file a missing person report.”
“Who is missing?”
“My friend Lilian de Groot. She is a Dutch citizen. Twenty-one years old.”
The young woman gave her a very serious look. “Actually, you need to talk to our youth and sex crimes department. Let me get someone for you.”
She disappeared through one of the doors and returned a moment later with a heavyset black man, who introduced himself as Sergeant Snellen and asked her to follow him.
The very obese man led her to a room with a table and four chairs, where all the windows were hidden behind closed blinds. A large ceiling fan turned slowly. The policeman offered Dominique a chair and fetched a large pitcher of water, pouring her a cup without asking. Only then did he finally take a seat. His white uniform shirt showed large sweat stains under his armpits. He took a notepad from a small drawer, which he placed in front of him, and he took a pen from his shirt pocket, which he first tested on a piece of paper. When it appeared to be working, he asked Dominique what the reason was for her visit, his pen ready for action. She told him the details as quickly as possible.
“So this is a missing person’s report.”
“Yes, Lilian de Groot, Dutch, twenty-one years old.”
“One moment,” the sergeant said. He grabbed a new sheet of paper and wrote the date at the top. “Do you happen to have the ID papers of the missing person?”
Quietly, she slid Lilian’s passport across the table to him.
Sergeant Snellen copied all the information from it and thumbed all the way through the passport once before giving it back to her.
“All right, when was the last time anyone saw Lilian Maria de Groot?”
“Two days ago, on Enlightenment Island,” Dominique explained.
He looked up at her for a moment and wrote down her answer and then asked, “Were you with her at that moment?”
“Yes. Meaning I left with an American friend, and she stayed there with another American friend.”
“At what time was this?” the policeman continued.
“About eleven, eleven thirty p.m.”
“And since then you haven’t heard from her?”
“No, nothing.”
“And you’re vacationing here together?”
“Yes, we share a house.”
“Where?”
“At the Bon Bini Beach Resort, house number 19.”
The large policeman carefully and neatly wrote everything down. After he’d finished, he pushed the notepad and pen to her.
“I need you to write down all your contact information. As well as all the information you have about the two Americans.”
“I only have their cell phone numbers,” she said while writing. “And they’ve already left for the States.”
“When?”
“Today.”
“Hmm, that could complicate matters.”
He looked at her inquisitively, nodded, and pointed to the notepad.
“Everything you know.”
Dominique grabbed her cell phone and wrote down Todd’s and Marc’s names and phone numbers. She also noted the two lived in Austin, Texas.
The man took back the pad from Dominique. “So, the family also hasn’t had any contact with the girl?”
“Not that I know of. I haven’t spoken to them. But Lilian’s passport and all her belongings are still at the house.”
“Right, so let’s agree on the following.” The man drew a line on the paper. “We will begin our investigation. Just to be sure, I will put out an APB on her and inform all the proper authorities of this missing persons report. I suggest you contact the parents of the missing person.”
“Her name is Lilian.” Her voice sounding far more agitated then she had intended.
The policeman looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before he continued. “Right. In the meantime, it would be very helpful to me if you could tell me what information could be useful in finding Lilian. For instance, how did you get to Enlightenment Island? Is that where your American friends were staying?”
She blushed. “A few of our other friends, Americans and Canadians, work at that hotel. They helped us get on the island.”
He pushed the notepad back to her again. “Write down their information for me as well, would you?”
Dominique grabbed her phone again and noted all the phone numbers of Dave and Chuck’s group.
When she was done and had returned the pad, the policeman slowly reviewed everything she’d written down. He gave her a friendly nod.
“Okay, we’re going to get to work on this. I can assure you that we will do everything in our power to find your friend.” He got up. “But, if she should return on her own, please call us as soon as possible and let us know. I do know from experience that women left to their own devices here on Aruba sometimes do reckless things. But usually they turn up again.”
Dominique didn’t answer, but got up, keeping a straight face. The policeman led her to the hallway, where he gave her his business card and said good-bye to her.
Once outside, Dominique could only feel angry. How dare that man? Young women left to their own devices here on Aruba? It was almost as if he didn’t take her report seriously. As if it was completely normal that Lilian had disappeared.
Leroy’s taxi was still waiting for her. Clearly upset, she got in. This time she sat down next to him in the passenger seat.
40
“How did it go?” Leroy asked carefully.
“Fucked up! What kind of police department is that? I have no faith in them at all!”
He smiled. “Remember, it’s just a small island—so don’t expect too much from the police.”
“Yeah, but this is unbelievable!” she exploded. “That guy was basically saying I should just go home and sit around and just wait to see if she shows up!”
“And I guess that is not what you’re planning to do?”
“Of course not! We have to find her.”
He made a helpless hand gesture.
“Fine with me, but where do we begin?”
“I have no idea. You know Aruba better than I do. Where could she be?”
Leroy started the car and drove off. “Where did you last see her?”
“On Enlightenment Island.”
He whistled through his teeth. “Nice! I was only there once, when I h
ad to accompany a disabled customer. Beautiful place. But it’s only accessible to the hotel guests isn’t it?”
Dominique nodded impatiently. “Yes, but we were there also. That was the day before yesterday. I don’t think she’s still there. But where in the world could she have gone?”
Leroy looked at her from the side, over the edge of his crooked sunglasses. “You mean besides the nightlife in Oranjestad?”
“Really, I have no idea. You’ve got to help me ,Leroy—we have to find Lilian. Fast. How hard could it be? I mean, it’s not like Aruba is huge island.”
“Thirty kilometers long and about nine kilometers wide. More than enough room to disappear in. It could be very hard.”
She sighed. “Fine, I get it. How much will it cost for you to remain helpful?”
“Now you’re insulting me! I’m very helpful, I …”
“Is a hundred dollars enough? Or two hundred?”
“Two hundred is fine,” he said quickly. “I have expenses, too, you know? And if I drive around with you all day, I can’t pick up any other customers.”
She interrupted him again. “We can stop at an ATM machine, because I don’t have that much cash on me. I can also ask my father to pay it to you.”
“No, no, cash is fine!”
She sat next to him in silence until the taxi stopped in front of the bank building. She took out three hundred dollars using her father’s credit card, two hundred of which she put in Leroy’s hand.
“So, can we finally start looking now?” she asked.
“Sure!”
Slowly, Leroy drove past all of the squares and terraces in the nightlife district behind the boulevard. Dominique searched among the walking, talking, shopping, drinking, and laughing vacationers. Once in a while, she’d think she’d caught a glimpse of her friend’s familiar looks, but every time it turned out to be someone else.
The taxi’s faltering air-conditioner couldn’t prevent it from becoming unbearably hot in the car. They opened all the windows, but it didn’t bring much relief, because they were driving so slowly.
“This isn’t working,” she decided after half an hour. “We’re never going to find her like this.”
Leroy pointed to the clear-blue sky. “At this time of day, most people are on the beach, or shopping in the city, or they’re going out to eat or drink somewhere. These are the hottest hours of the day.”
“There has to be another way. Come on, you know Aruba!”
He stared straight ahead, deep in thought for a moment. Then he shrugged his shoulders and said, “It’s worth a try.
“What’s worth a try?
But Leroy didn’t answer. Instead, he steered the car with a real sense of purpose through the small little streets of Oranjestad, heading from the tourist area to the more residential area. He stopped in a typical city street filled with houses without front yards, with windows filled with laundry racks and roofs covered in satellite dishes. After parking, he nodded, indicating Dominique should join him.
They got out of the car, turned the corner, and passed a vacant lot, which served as a playground for a couple of young boys on dirt bikes. Next to the lot was a small building that looked like a long shed. It was about ten or twelve yards from the road.
At the front door there was a white plastic table, and, on it, a few cans of beer and a full ashtray.
Two heavyset men were seated at the white table, both on dangerously sagging plastic chairs. They didn’t stop talking when Leroy appeared at their table.
Dominique partially hid behind Leroy and looked around worriedly. She only knew of this part of town because she had been here with the other cab driver. She felt uneasy and wondered what her searching partner was planning to do here.
When the two men finally finished their conversation and looked up at Leroy, seemingly bored, he said a few words to them in Papiamento. He pointed to Dominique with his thumb.
The men looked past Leroy and checked her out top to bottom. Then one of them stood up, no longer blocking the doorway.
Leroy nodded passively to them and motioned for Dominique to follow him.
When they came through the wooden door, Dominique couldn’t believe her eyes. The interior of what had seemed like an old barn looked more like a nightclub on the inside. The one longer side was taken up completely by a bar with a dozen or so barstools, covered in red plastic material. Only two of the stools were taken. Behind the bar was a heavyset man washing glasses. On the other side there was a pool table, where a few men played.
Leroy walked up to the barman and asked him something. The man pointed to the poorly lit area in the back, which had about five tables, all occupied.
Everyone in the bar looked at Dominique as she followed closely behind Leroy to one of the tables in the back.
Two middle-aged men were seated there with two scantily dressed young women. The women were seated one on each side of the largest of the two men, who had stretched his arms out behind them on the back of the seat. The other man had the same heavyset build as the two men she had seen at the door.
The fat man asked Leroy something in Papiamento; he gave him detailed reply, with many gestures. Then the fat man looked at Dominique. “So your girlfriend is gone?”
She was startled for a moment, because she didn’t expect to be addressed in her own language. “That’s right,” she answered quickly. “I haven’t seen her since yesterday. I’m very worried about her.”
His gaze lingered on her breasts for a moment before he checked out the rest of her body. “Your age? And she is also Dutch?”
Dominique nodded and felt herself become more insecure by the minute. This was compounded by the two young women on either side of the man who began to whisper to each other and giggle while looking at her.
“Name?” the man asked.
“Mine or my girlfriend’s?”
“Both.”
“I’m Dominique Werner, and my friend’s name is Lilian. Lilian de Groot.”
Without the fat man asking him to do so, the muscled guy began to take notes on the back side of a cardboard coaster.
“Where can you be reached?” the fat man asked, giving the two young women an angry glare, as they were becoming increasingly loud. The two women fell quiet instantly and gave Dominique a look of disapproval.
Dominique gave her cell phone number, which was also noted on the cardboard coaster.
“Do you have a picture?”
She nodded and took a picture of herself and Lilian from the folder with papers that she had brought with her to the police station.
The fat man took a quick look at the picture and then handed it to the man seated across from him.
“Dollars, euros, or florins?
She looked at him in utter confusion.
“How do you want to pay?”
“For what?” she asked and looked with surprise at Leroy, who made an urgent grimace, indicating that now was not the time to suddenly change her mind.
“My men can look for your friend, but of course that costs money,” the fat man said, seemingly bored.
Dominique thought fast. She didn’t like this at all, but she didn’t really have a choice. Apparently, Leroy thought this was a good way to find out where Lilian was. Besides, she didn’t know how the fat man would react if she told him she didn’t want to make use of his services. So she better go ahead, she decided; with her father’s credit card in hand, money was the least of her problems at this point.
“I’ve got dollars,” she said, trying to sound as tough as possible. “How much does it cost?”
A large and satisfied smile came across the fat man’s face.
“Two hundred dollars a day. You pay in advance.”
The two young women began whispering intensely to each other again across the big man’s large belly.
“You can get forty dollars and not a penny more.”
Leroy looked at her in shock, and the muscled man with the coaster also gave her a look of surpr
ise.
The fat man started to laugh. “Ah, a business woman! I like that. Someone who’s got the balls to negotiate with Fernandes. In my own casa!” The smile disappeared from his face as quickly as it had appeared. “My rates are nonnegotiable, little girl,” he said in a threatening tone. “But because I like you, I’ll make it one hundred and fifty per day. That is my final offer.”
Dominique straightened her back, suddenly feeling a lot more self-assured. She was familiar with these circumstances. The first time she had seen her father negotiate, it had shocked her. They had been in a small store in a bazaar in Egypt, where they were welcomed with a warm cup of sweet tea. Then the negotiations started. It had looked as if the two men were fighting, the way they spoke to each other, filled with outrage. There were threats and compliments, and twice her father had walked out, completely dissatisfied. After, the salesman had coached him back inside. Eventually, they agreed on a price and both seemed perfectly satisfied. Since then, she had experienced these types of negotiations, often on her own vacations, and used the techniques she learned from watching her father.
“That’s very nice of you,” she said calculatedly. “But one hundred and fifty dollars per day is unacceptable. If it wasn’t for the fact that Leroy here seems to think so highly of you, I would have walked out long ago. I’ll give you eighty dollars. Afterward. And no funny business: I want a full and detailed report about what you did for my money.”
It became very quiet all round them. Leroy seemed to shrink in his shoes.
The fat man pulled his arms away from behind the two women and sat up straight. His face was very serious.
“I’m going to be honest with you. It’s not good for the tourist industry in Aruba when young women disappear here. That’s a simple fact. What’s bad for Aruba is bad for my business. Because I am Aruba. But let me tell you something: when Fernandes promises you something …” He pressed three fingers down on his chest. “… he will stay true to his word. So when I say to you that my men will go and look for your friend, then they will! I don’t want to hear anything about detailed reports at the end of the day. That’s a bunch of nonsense. If you want that kind of bullshit, then go to the police! As if they can do anything for you!”
Bon Bini Beach: A Thriller Page 12
