Laura 01 The Jaguar Prophecy

by Anton Swanepoel

  As soon as the boats are securely rafted together, the first two police officers unsling their machine guns, but keep them pointed downwards.

  They enter the lifeboat and ask all passengers to stand clear of the entrance. Then the fourth figure comes out of the boat and one can immediately see from his uniform and appearance that he has a very high rank.

  Stepping into the lifeboat he looks around while asking, “Victor, where are you?” Victor and Laura are behind some of the guests, who immediately know that the police officer must be talking about the man who forcefully got into the lifeboat and attacked the crew on the ocean liner.

  Standing aside, the other passengers make a space so that Victor and Laura are easily visible by the police. Some of the passengers smile and nod in Victor’s direction, while others whisper to each other. Victor can hear them saying that he will now get what he deserves, and they hope he is put in jail forever; one passenger even wants Victor hanged.

  Chief Inspector Reginald walks over to Victor and comes to a standstill only a foot in front of him.

  “I hear you had a disagreement with the ocean liner crew, punched a passenger, and knocked out a United States Special Agent, in addition to being wanted for questioning regarding some involvement in multiple murders?” Reginald’s face is expressionless. Victor just nods his agreement to all the charges. Reginald turns around while saying, “Follow me.”

  A few of the passengers applaud. Victor starts to follow Reginald but takes Laura by the hand and pulls her along. “She is coming with, Sir.”

  Reginald turns around slowly and looks Laura up and down before speaking. “You have been on the ship how long, and you already have a girl? Damn Victor, are you ever going to change?” A smile forms on his face.

  “Nope, defiant to the end,” Victor replies, also smiling. Reginald steps forward and hugs Victor.

  “Damn good to see you my friend, been a long time, and if you call me Sir again, you are not getting any rum.”

  Victor returns the hug and bursts out laughing when he hears about the rum. Laura just stands confused, looking from one man to the other. What is going on here?

  The passengers have stopped laughing and clapping, some now stand open mouthed in shock at what has just happened. Reginald let Laura and Victor climb onto the police boat first. As soon as they are on the police boat he turns to the passengers on the lifeboat and speaks.

  “We were never here and those two were never on this boat, anyone even thinking otherwise will be arrested and jailed for life.” Turning around he winks at the two police officers at the door and climbs onto the police boat.

  While the third police officer again stands guard, the other two officers quickly untie the boats and push the two boats away from each other. They hold on to the side of the police boat’s cabin while standing on the pontoon and observe all the passengers on the lifeboat as the police boat slowly pulls away.

  As soon as the two boats are 100 feet apart, the two police officers standing on the pontoons enter the cabin and the skipper opens the boat up to full throttle. The passengers on the lifeboat stare in silence as the police boat speeds off into the distance.

  Suddenly another police boat on the port side of the craft starts its engines, and the passengers are shocked to see that five police officers with machine guns are standing ready on the side and deck of the boat, covering the police boat that has just left.

  The passengers’ attention was so focused on what happened in their lifeboat, that no one even heard or saw the second boat silently floating 50 feet from them. All know that although it will make an awesome campfire story, it is an event best forgotten.

  “Victor, your agent buddy is not happy with you and demands your immediate arrest. You’re lucky that you have important connections, but I think he may give us some trouble later. Going to be fun,” Reginald smiles as he says the last part. “I arranged a room for you two at the Reef Resort, you’ll have privacy there. I’ll drop you off at the dock by the bar. You two can make your way to the Resort on the beach from there. I wanted to get a room at Rum Point, but the cruise liner will probably take most of the passengers there.”

  “I owe you,” Victor replies.

  “Why is it called Rum Point?” Laura asks. Both men turn towards her, however it is the skipper who answers while looking at Laura as he speaks.

  “Because of the buried rum bottles.”

  Laura gives him a frowned look.

  “Many years back, there were no fixed roads linking the east end of the island with the rest of the island, you had to either go through the bush using what was and still is called the Mastic Trail, which took a long time, or you could go by boat. The area now known as North Sound was actually called Great Sound in the early 1900s and the point that reached into the ocean was called the Great Point. In October 1913, a three masted schooner with building supplies and a large cargo of red rum in barrels called hogsheads ran aground. The Captain thought of his wife first and loaded her and her belongings into one of the ship’s lifeboats to take them to safety.

  “Unfortunately the lifeboat got stuck on a shallow ledge on the reef and in the process of trying to free the boat, the Captain’s wife died. Local fishermen took the body and put it on a local Cat boat to George Town,” the skipper continued.

  “Cat boat?” Laura asks.

  “I’ll tell you later,” Victor answers and nods to the skipper to continue the story.

  “While the body was being transferred to George Town, local young lads rescued the rum, where they proceeded to pour the rum out of the barrels and into glass bottles. In order to hide their find from the owner and the police, they buried the bottles all over the beach. For years they would walk the beach, finding and enjoying the hidden rum. From then on the area was known as Rum Point.” The skipper smiles as he finishes his story then turns his concentration back to piloting the boat.

  Laura thanks the man for the story and then proceeds to ask him questions about the boat and all the buttons and monitors on the control panel.

  Victor pulls Reginald closer to him and whispers in his ear.

  “Reginald, there is a man who was on the ocean liner that has something of mine, he fits the description of a man who made a complaint on the ship that his room was broken into, check with the Captain, he’ll give you the name of the man. Use his facial description, but with a little taller and leaner body to get the man I’m looking for.”

  Reginald lowers his head as he replies, “The man who made the complaint is Paul Wood. He died in the bar from cyanide poisoning. Your agent buddy informed me about it, and he is of the thought that you did it, as witnesses saw you two together just before he died. The bartender said you ordered a drink but didn’t drink it and gave it to Paul, who then died just after you left the room. Unfortunately, Paul’s body is still in the freezer, now at the bottom of the ocean, 5000 feet deep.”

  Reginald put his hand on Victor’s shoulder before continuing, “No worry, I know it’s not you, not your style, you would have slit his throat.” Laura had finished talking to the skipper and only catches the last bit of the conversation, she freezes on hearing Reginald’s remark and is about to ask Victor who he is when Reginald announces, “We’re here, get ready to jump off, I need to leave to help with questioning the passengers and cleaning up your mess.” Victor just smiles back at his old friend.

  The police boat pulls up against a wooden dock that is right next to a 40 feet wide round bar with a thatched roof. The dock makes a lazy curve to the left and is about 300 feet long where it ends on the beach. The beach itself is beautiful, with soft white sand and clear calm waters due to the reef 500 feet from the beach forming a natural sea barrier. There are deck chairs on the beach under large thatched permanently fixed umbrellas, followed by a few wave runners parked on the beach.

  The Resort is built right on the beach and is a three storey building with the front facing the ocean directly, giving all the front rooms a stunning sunset from the
ir balconies. Laura and Victor quickly jump off, and after Victor thanks Reginald for his help, he takes Laura’s hand and looks her directly in the eyes as he speaks.

  “Laura, I know you must be confused and probably scared, while having many questions, but I need you to trust me now, and I promise you that I will tell you everything you want to know and explain all that has happened. However, it is not safe for us to be seen around in daylight and I need you to act normally as if we are a couple and just on vacation, is that ok?” Victor spoke in a soft and reassuring voice and gave Laura’s hand a little squeeze when he finished talking. Laura only nods her head in agreement, yet says nothing. Victor senses Laura’s fear from the tight grip she has on his hand. Smiling and still looking Laura directly in the eyes Victor adds, “One more thing, you are beautiful.”

  Before Laura can react, Victor starts walking and she automatically follows him, her mind in chaos and her emotions all over the place. She does not know if her heart is racing because of the excitement and being with Victor, or from fear that she may be killed at any second by a sniper rifle. All she knows is that she is lost and this man has saved her life, and in her books that makes him a friend.

  It is 2pm already and both Laura and Victor are tired and hungry. Walking hand in hand past the beach chairs and wave runners, they reach the entrance to the main lobby of the Resort. The entrance is 40 feet wide and leads to a hallway 300 feet long with shops lining each side that ends in a glass door leading to the parking area. Beachware and souvenirs line the glass windows of the shops and Laura starts to forget a little about all the killing as she looks at all the handmade island souvenirs.

  One Christmas decoration in particular catches her attention, and she stops for a moment to admire it. Victor feels Laura stopping and as he stops and turns to see why Laura is no longer following him, he notices what has caught her attention. On one of the shelves is a row of little Santa Clause figures in swimming trunks with Santa hats on, surfing stingrays. Victor smiles and patiently waits for Laura to start walking again.

  The last glass door on the right just before exiting the hallway to the parking area leads to the office. Victor opens the door and lets Laura enter first. A cool breeze meets them as they enter the room, both Victor and Laura are glad to be out of the heat.

  A water cooler is positioned by the door and Laura helps herself to some water while Victor walks up to the counter and starts talking to a young girl on Reception.

  “Hi, you have a reservation for Reginald?” Victor notices that the girl must be around 22 and obviously new as she fumbles with the pages of the schedule book.

  “Yes, a one bedroom suite,” she replies as she looks up into Victor’s blue eyes. Instantly she is mesmerized and drops the pen she is holding. The girl does not even notice Laura at the door and continues, “Would you like two single beds or a double bed?” while smiling from ear to ear.

  Laura is busy reading brochures and spins around upon hearing the question, her face has the expression of someone who has just realized the fart they just had is not actually a fart. Victor looks at Laura and then just shrugs his shoulders at her before replying, “Two singles will be ok.”

  “My name is Betty, please sign here,” the girl continues, now even friendlier. Betty points to where Victor needs to sign, but is looking at Laura, eyeing her up and down. Then she turns her gaze towards Victor and gives him a thorough look over. Handsomely built and tanned, with short cut dark blonde hair and intense blue eyes that just pull you in. Betty finds it hard to look away as Victor’s eyes mesmerize her.

  “A double bed will be fine, room key please.” The voice shocks Betty out of her trance and her face turns red from embarrassment as she realizes it is Laura speaking to her, who is now standing next to Victor, putting her right arm under Victor’s left arm.

  “Yes, of course, here you go,” Betty replies while retrieving a key from behind the counter and handing it to Laura.

  “Any luggage?”

  “Not at the moment, thank you,” Victor replies. Betty nods, but Victor detects confusion in her face.

  “Your room is on the top floor. You can use the elevator in the hallway or the stairs right next to it. Have a nice stay.”

  Laura immediately turns and pulls Victor with her when Betty finishes talking. As they walk towards the door Laura looks over her shoulder and catches Betty staring intently at Victor’s firm buttocks. Laura immediately drops her arm from under Victor’s arm and grabs him by the buttocks. Victor just smiles and shakes his head slightly while he opens the door for Laura, then follows her out of the office and towards the elevator.

  They pass two shops before reaching the elevator. Upon reaching the elevator Victor pushes the up button with his left hand and then suddenly grabs Laura by the small of her back with his right hand and pulls her in close before kissing her. The action is so fast and unexpected that Laura cannot react. Laura’s head starts spinning and butterflies fill her stomach.

  Her body says yes, but her mind says no, and just as she is about to push Victor away, a ping sound from the elevator informs them that the elevator has arrived. Victor immediately lets go of Laura and walks into the elevator, holding the doors open for her.

  “If you’re scared of elevators, we can take the stairs, but I am not carrying you up.” Victor winks at her as he speaks. At the sound of his voice, Laura jumps into the elevator, her head still spinning. It feels as if she is floating on air. Laura’s nipples start to harden and immediately she folds her arms over her breasts, her face turning red.

  The elevator stops seconds later on the third floor and as the door opens Victor puts the palm of his hand in the small of her back and gently pushes her out of the elevator.

  In the middle of the wall directly in front of them is a beautifully decorated wooden door. The door has palm trees engraved all around the sides and depicts a sun setting over the beach with gentle waves and two sets of footprints disappearing into the water on the beach as its central theme. The key is a normal door key and after inserting it, Victor has to turn it twice before the door is unlocked.

  The door handle is in the shape of a banana and Victor pushes the door open, then stands back and indicates to Laura with the palm of his left hand to enter while he gently pushes her forward with his right hand on her back. A cool breeze and the smell of vanilla greet them as they enter their room. The room is built as one large long continuous unit with drywalls between sections.

  The door opens into the kitchen that has large white tiles and a glass table with seating for four in the middle of the kitchen. There are four wooden chairs placed at the table and cutlery is already set out for two people. A sink, stove and fridge are to the right of the kitchen against the dry wall with an open archway next to it leading into a small living area that has a television cabinet against the drywall, with a couch large enough for three people, which can fold out to form a bed, against the opposite wall.

  A doorway leads to the bedroom that has off white tiles and a king-size bed with standard white bedding. There is a built in wardrobe against the right wall, and a night stand on either side of the bed. A small reading lamp is situated above the bed that contains two reading lights, positioned so that each occupant can read without disturbing their partner.

  The bed is close to the left of the room, next to curtains with sea life drawings on, drawn closed. To the right of the bed is another door that leads to the bathroom. The same off-white tiles decorate the floor of the bathroom, which has a large bath with a shower head against the wall.

  It is not a luxury room, just a getaway place from the city life. However, for Laura it is as good as a five star hotel. This is her first ever trip out of the country and she has never stayed in a hotel or place other than her parents’ place and her small apartment in the city. She finds it strange that the kitchen, living room and bedroom all have curtains on the same wall.

  Walking over, she draws open the curtains in the kitchen and is surprised to find
glass doors that can slide open to give access to a balcony with an ocean view. The balcony runs the length of the unit and allows one access to the balcony from the kitchen, living room or bedroom through sliding glass doors.

  Each room gives a stunning sea view when the curtains are open. The balcony has two deck chairs, each with a small table for drinks next to it. While Laura is admiring the unit and ocean view, Victor takes a banana from the fruit bowl on the kitchen table and proceeds to peel it open. After taking a few bites he takes an apple and another banana from the fruit bowl and walks over to Laura, who is now standing on the balcony.

  “Hungry?” Victor holds both the second banana and apple out to Laura who cannot resist the red apple.

  After taking a few bites Laura turns to Victor and says, “You owe me an explanation.” Victor smiles and takes another bite of his banana, finishing it off.

  “What is a cat boat?” Laura continues. Victor almost chokes on the banana from laughter.

  “Of all the things you can ask, that’s the first thing you want to know?” Laura just takes another bite from her apple, waiting for Victor.

  “Ok, fishing has always been part of the Cayman tradition, with the locals building their own schooners.

  A local fisherman designed a new type of schooner and while he worked on it, he covered the boat so that no one could see how it looked. After completing the boat, he invited his neighbors to come and see his new boat.

  “With everyone around, he removed the cover from the boat and to their surprise, they found that a cat had made a home out of the boat and had given birth to a litter of kittens. From then on the style of boat was known as a cat boat. Apparently, it was a brilliant design and for the people to ride in a cat boat was like riding in a Rolls Royce.”