Bon Bini Beach: A Thriller

by Suzanne Vermeer

  “Hi, guys!” Dominique called out to them as she stood up. “Where’s the rest?”

  “We barely see Alan and Trish anymore; they pretty much stay in Trish’s hotel room,” Jerome said, grinning. “And Amanda and Latoya went scuba diving in Bonaire for a few days.”

  They went inside, ordered some drinks, and sat down at a table in the back. Chuck brought along some tortilla chips, which he attacked right away.

  “So, you said you had news about Lilian?” Dave asked. “What’s up?”

  “Yes, it’s strange and all very confusing.” Dominique sighed.

  “Marc, one of the American guys with us that night, is being held at the police station. He is the last one who saw her, so he is a suspect. But while he was being questioned tonight the police received a message from someone saying they had kidnapped Lilian. They want a half a million in ransom.”

  “Holy cow!” Dave said. “Are they taking it seriously?”

  “They have no choice. There was a very accurate description in the email message of what Lilian was wearing the night she disappeared.”

  “Wait, it was an email and not a voicemail?” Jerome asked skeptically. “That’s pretty stupid. It’s easy to trace where it was sent from.”

  Dominique made a frustrated hand gesture. “That’s what I said. But according to the police, they used proxy servers, so the email can’t be traced.”

  “Yeah, duh!” Jerome said disdainfully. “Not after the fact, of course. But you can check it the moment it comes in!”

  “Jerome is the nerd of the group,” Chuck explained. “He knows everything there is to know about computers. The best hacker I know!”

  “Hey, hey,” Jerome called out, looking around, slightly worried. “You want to be a little more careful with that kind of information, please? You never know who is listening!”

  “So, they should be able to figure out who sent that email?” Dominique asked in a very serious tone.

  “Yes, with the proper software and hardware they could,” Jerome answered. “But I highly doubt that the Aruban police has that. You really need the right equipment for that.”

  Dominique grabbed his arm. “Would you mind telling that to the policeman in charge of the investigation?”

  Jerome looked at his friends with concern. “Uh … I don’t know, I …”

  “I promise you that you won’t get in trouble for it!” Dominique pleaded. “Nobody has to know you’re a hacker. Please! Do it for Lilian?”

  “Okay, when?”

  “Right now.” Dominique emptied her glass quickly and got up. “This needs to happen as soon as possible.”

  The three guys gulped down their beers and followed her. Chuck quickly slid the leftover tortilla chips into his hand and ate them as they walked.

  Lilian’s parents were still waiting patiently in the police station lobby. When they saw Dominique enter, they got up. “Hey, Do, I just wanted to tell you again how much I appreciate your dad and Thomas helping us in this way,” Lilian’s father said, grabbing her hand. “We would never have access to that kind of money otherwise.”

  His wife stood there in silence. But there was far less resentment in her eyes when she looked at Dominique.

  Dominique released her hand. “Thanks, I’ll pass that on to them. But I really have to go.” She motioned toward the three guys behind her. “My American friends have some information that Sergeant Snellen may find very useful.”

  Lilian’s parents let them pass by. Dominique walked up to the counter and asked for Snellen.

  The large policeman entered the lobby a few minutes later. He looked as if he had spent a very long day in very sweaty and hot surroundings, in the same clothes, which was probably the case.

  Dominique introduced the three guys to him.

  “What can I do for you?” Snellen asked in tone that was polite but suggested he was a busy man.

  “We were talking about the email that came in tonight,” Dominique explained. “And then I told these guys that it was impossible to trace.”

  “True,” Snellen said. “The person who sent it used one or more proxy servers, meaning the email passed through one or more relay stations, so it could have been sent from anywhere in the world, making it impossible to trace.”

  “That’s not true,” Jerome said, gloating. “If you implement a virtual tracking hound at the time the email was sent, you can track the sender’s IP address.”

  Snellen sighed deeply. “I’m sure you can. I’ve seen something like that on television before. But do you really think we have access to that type of equipment here?”

  “All you need is a superfast internet connection,” Jerome admitted. “And the right software. And a very fast and powerful mainframe. Then it should be no problem.”

  “Can’t you ask for assistance?” Dominique asked.

  With an exhausted smile, the policeman said: “From whom? The Dutch police? Right—they’ve got better things to do. Besides, by the time they could set up something like that here, it will be days, maybe weeks later.”

  “But the FBI or the CIA should be able to do something?” Dave suggested. “They have all the equipment you need for that type of operation.”

  “If the victim was American I could get them involved,” Snellen said. “But all I have right now is an American suspect. And after what happened tonight, with the ransom demand, I don’t even know if we can hold him much longer.”

  He looked around. “But we can try it; however, I’m not expecting much. So, if you don’t have any other pressing issues, I need to get back to work. There is a lot to do.”

  “I think he doesn’t want to be bothered,” Chuck said, as he watched the policeman walk down a hallway and disappear.

  “He’s just in a bad situation,” Jerome protested. “That guy is totally stuck; he doesn’t have the technology he needs.”

  Dominique grabbed her cell phone and walked away from the others.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just sending a quick text message.”

  She typed: DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT EQUIPTMENT THAT COULD TRACE THAT RANSOM EMAIL? X DO. She searched for her father and Thomas in her address book and pushed SEND.

  57

  Dominique woke up in a cold sweat after a night filled with dreams of being chased and not finding her way out.

  It took a while before she knew where she was. Then it all came back: Aruba … Lilian.

  With her eyes closed, she stayed there for a while, thinking. Good thing that she hadn’t made it a late night and also didn’t have much to drink. She needed to stay clearheaded, especially if there were any new and sudden developments regarding Lilian.

  Before calling Leroy and asking him to drive her home around twelve thirty, she had spent most of the evening with Dave, Chuck, and Jerome at La Mamba. They had sat around talking, until Dave put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. At first she had allowed it, but when he kissed her and slid his hand down her back, she had softly pushed him away. Todd was still too deep in her heart and mind to start something with Dave now. Despite what had happened between them on that first drunken night.

  She thought about Dave and smiled. He had taken it all in stride. “No rush, no pressure,” he had said, both of his hands raised above his head, as if to prove his willingness and the innocence of his pursuit. Those funny eyes, and that long lock of hair that kept falling in his face. She liked him a lot.

  But, yeah, then there was Todd. The few nights she spent with him were certainly memorable. That’s why she was extra disappointed that he still hadn’t responded to any of her text messages.

  When she got home, she had called him for the first time. And he had even picked up the phone! It didn’t take long before he mentioned his “no strings attached” motto. No attachments, no obligations. Just a passionate holiday romance. With or without pills.

  Of course, they spoke about Marc. Todd had been questioned by the police as well in the meantime. “No big dea
l,” he said. He and Marc hadn’t done anything wrong, simple as that, according to him. So they couldn’t hold Marc on Aruba for much longer. It was all going to be okay. He ended the call sounding quite jovial and cheerful.

  Only after she’d hung up did she realize he had not said a single word about Lilian. He had not even asked about her. What an asshole! How could she be so wrong about someone? As far as she was concerned, he could get exactly what he asked for: no strings attached!

  She got out of bed slowly. It wasn’t until she was in the shower that she began to wake up. When she walked into the living room, yawning and stretching, and checked her phone, she saw she had two missed calls from her father.

  She called him back right away. He picked up on the first ring.

  “Hey, Do, I read your text message.”

  “Hi, Dad. Did you have a good flight?”

  “Yes, it was fine. I’m in Milan now. But about what you texted me: What do you mean about that equipment?”

  Dominique briefly explained what she had found out the night before and also what Jerome had told her.

  “Maybe you could use one of your business contacts to track this down?”

  He chuckled. “My business contacts. That’s a good one! These things are usually a bit more complicated than that. If I ask a business partner for a favor, I can be sure he is going to want a far bigger favor in return!”

  “Yes, but this is important!”

  “That’s true. But what would need to happen exactly?”

  “They would have to contact Snellen and set up some sort of connection with the police computer over here. Then when another email comes in from the kidnapper, they’d be able to trace where it came from. According to Jerome, all you need is a computer with a large memory capacity and the correct software. If needed, he could supply the software.”

  “That’s more something for a governmental intelligence agency, Do. I don’t think my business contacts can arrange something like that. But, I’ll make some calls,” her father said, deep in thought. “And I’ll discuss it with Thomas, because he has a lot of contacts in that area. I’m sure he can pull a couple of strings to get that done. Although I’m afraid he is going to ask me for a big favor in return.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, let me put it like this: Thomas and I have worked together a lot in the past, but these days we’re partially in the same sector. At the moment, he is more of a competitor than he is a colleague. There were a few deals we made together, and he would still like all the background information so he can bring in a couple of those big clients himself—including some of my clients. Something I have refused up until now, despite our friendship. But business is business; you have to be tough. If he helps me with something, I have to help him with something.”

  “Do you think he can do something? That would be great!”

  “I’m not making any promises, Do. We’re talking big business here. I will have to discuss it with a few of my business partners as well. Those guys invested heavily in our company, so they’re going to want compensation. This is no easy task.”

  “I understand that, Dad. But were talking about Lilian here!”

  “Yes, I know, I know, Do. All right I need to go make some calls. It could take a while. I will call you back later.”

  “Thank you so much; that’s great, Dad! Talk to you later.”

  She felt better right away. While she was making a sandwich she caught herself humming.

  58

  Dominique realized that all she could do now was wait. Even if her father could succeed in involving one of those big companies with the right computer facilities, they would still have to wait for the kidnapper to send another email. Or until something useful came from Marc’s interrogation. Or until Lilian made contact on her own.

  She was very glad that Lilian’s parents were no longer staying in the house with her. But now that her Uncle Thomas had also left, she felt incredibly alone. The day ahead of her felt particularly empty.

  Whenever she felt this way at home, she would always clean her room, or sort out her magazines. But here in Aruba, there was not much more to do than swim, sunbathe, or head into the city center to eat or drink something. Which, on any normal day, would sound like an ideal vacation, but now that she was forced into idle waiting, she’d rather have something to do.

  She looked at her phone. No messages, no missed calls. Checking her Facebook page and favorite news websites didn’t take up much more than half an hour. There was not really anything newsworthy happening in Holland in her absence; the usual politicians fighting with each other, and there were the usual problems with the trains. So, nothing new.

  But now what? she wondered. It was too early to sunbathe or go swimming. She could go to the beach, or go for a ride on the scooter, but she didn’t like to do those things alone. That’s precisely why she had brought Lil along on this vacation.

  She walked into Lilian’s room. Lilian’s parents had taken all their daughter’s belongings with them the day before. From what she could tell, Angie had also cleaned up after that, because the bedroom looked perfect. Now that all of Lilian’s stuff was gone—her suitcase, her clothes, her toothbrush, even the strands of hair in the sink and shower drain were removed—it felt as if Lilian had never even been there. That thought gave Dominique a cold chill down her back. Then her eyes landed on the nightstand next to the bed. She noticed a thick, worn out, black notebook. Dominique recognized it: Lilian always used it to take notes about things she saw or experienced, things she didn’t want to forget—like works of art she thought were beautiful or interesting, or movies she wanted to see. Did Lilian’s parents forget to take it with them? She found that hard to imagine: It was hard to miss right there in the open. It was most likely found by Angie later, when she was cleaning or while making the bed. She would have to ask her about it when she saw her again.

  Dominique took the notebook into the living room with her. She would bring it with her later, when she headed to the city, and give it to Lilian’s parents.

  She plopped down into one of the easy chairs and began thumbing through it. The book had a black cover with red corners. On the front, the word NOTES was imprinted on it. On the back cover, there were two holes with a wide elastic band attached that could be used as a bookmark or to keep the notebook closed. There were a lot of to-do lists in it, sometimes with times and dates. Also lists of books she’d read, and music she wanted to download. All in Lil’s familiar handwriting—she knew it so well.

  Smiling, Dominique looked at the notes about what she wanted to take with her to Aruba, and things she had to arrange before her departure. Check passport, yellow fever vaccination, books to bring, a list of addresses for postcards. She had summed up exactly what clothes and other things she wanted to bring. Many things were abbreviated, something Lilian did often. Back in school, Dominique would often copy her friend’s notes from their shared classes, and she could decipher almost everything. But two of the abbreviations regarding their vacation she could not figure out: To ab,cl.? And: Call AT. On the list of things she wanted to do on her vacation, besides Get a killer tan, See the whole island, and Take a lot of pictures, there was something she didn’t understand: Inform R. Deep in thought, she flipped from the full middle part of the notebook to the final few pages in the back, which were held separately by the elastic band. She removed the elastic band and saw more notes there in Lilian’s handwriting. There was an overview, sorted by date, with amounts of money; apparently, Lilian kept a pretty tight budget, listing what money she made from babysitting and her allowance and what she spent. Nothing noteworthy really, only Dominique noticed that she had made some large purchases a few days before their departure. She flipped to a list with addresses. There was an X after some of the names and at the top of the column that contained the Xs there was a C.

  It probably means cards, Do thought, remembering that Lilian had started writing postcards on one of the first days after th
eir arrival. “Otherwise, we’ll be home before the cards arrive,” she had said in her defense, when Dominique laughed at her for her diligence.

  One page had the subject WW. Below was a list of a few websites with the corresponding log-in names and passwords.

  Dominique snorted. Now that is something she would never do! Keep all your passwords together in one place—that was just asking for trouble! She was surprised she hadn’t written down her bank-card pin code! Imagine if you lost a notebook like that, or it ended up in the wrong hands somehow! You’d be totally screwed. Look at that! All of her log-in information from her bank, her Google accounts, Twitter, Facebook, and even her old Hyves account, a few web shops, and a variety of service subscriptions. There was also the login for her Blogger blog. Plus a few other things that Dominique couldn’t place right away. Most of the time she used Lil as her log-in name and used part of her name and birthdate or zip code in the password. Only in one case, with something noted as WP, she used a complex combination of numbers and letters. Dominique flipped back. The whole middle part of the book was filled with notes and short bits of information. It was also partially a diary, which started with a page with the enticing title For Lil’s eyes only. Obviously, that didn’t stop Dominique. Judging by the date on the first diary page, she could see Lilian had started writing almost three years ago, when they were still in school.

  She smiled. In grade school they had both had diaries, which they shared with each other. Sometimes when they would get into a fight they would withhold the diaries from each other for a while. When she was allowed to read it again sometime later, she would sometimes read nasty things about herself. But she did the same thing with Lilian when she couldn’t stand her. Thankfully, their fights never lasted long.

  But she had no idea that Lilian had started a new diary again. And that it was in this form, where you ran the risk of someone else reading it. What if you left it just lying around somewhere by accident? If it were her, she would put something like this online, safely protected behind a password and log-in name, which not even her best friend would know.