We emerged into a smaller courtyard. Several benches were centered around a small pond that contained a number of aquatic plants and about five goldfish.
Lee, Tony, Murphy, and Hu sat together on one side of the pond and ignored O'Reilly and me. We sat next to each other on a bench against the courtyard wall and started to chat.
He told me story after story about running guns from Hong Kong up to Shanghai and then upriver into the mainland for Chiang Kai-shek before the war and after the Japanese had invaded China. I told him about a few of my more interesting cases, which were tame compared to his adventures. He asked me about the case when Carter and I bought The Flirtatious Captain and how our friend Nacho, one Ignacio Esparza, had been murdered by his brother in the ship's lounge.
After a while, the conversation petered out. We sat there in the relative silence. The sound of the other men talking in Cantonese became like so much background noise. For the first time, I realized where we were. Out loud, and for no particular reason, I said, "It's the mysterious Orient."
O'Reilly laughed. "Yes, it is. With the inscrutable host. And the wisdom of the sages. And on and on." He slapped me on the knee. "And it smells like hell, don't it, Nick?"
I laughed. "Not here. But down by the bay, it does." I paused for a moment. "When did you start calling me Nick?"
"Should I not?"
I shook my head. "No, I'm glad you are. But today was the first time."
"Well, we're more equals on this little trip, aren't we?"
"We've always been, as far as I'm concerned."
"That's part of your magic, Nick. You never let anyone feel as though they owe you anything just because you're a wealthy man."
I shrugged. "I guess so."
O'Reilly laughed. "'Tis true. I've worked for several wealthy gentlemen. I've even been bedded by one or two. And no one has ever made me feel as though I really were the captain of their yacht as you have."
"Really?"
"Yes. What you said to young Lee back in the van is true. You always let the experts do the work that they're good at. You never try to get in the way. That's a rare thing."
I shrugged. "When it comes to the ship, I still feel a little shy about walking onto the bridge. Old habits from when I was in the Navy, I guess."
"Well, it's your bridge, lad. But I very much appreciate your ways in that regard. The Captain may be in your name but I'm the captain of the Captain, if you take my meaning."
I laughed. "I do. And I'm glad."
He put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed me. "As am I, boyo."
We sat there for a long moment and then I asked, "So it must be love."
"How's that, Nick?"
"You sound like you just got off the boat from Ireland."
O'Reilly burst out laughing. "Do I now?"
I replied, "That you do," trying to imitate his accent.
He squeezed me tighter and then kissed me on the cheek. "You couldn't have said anything that would've made me happier than that. I don't think I'll ever go back to Ireland. Not now that I have a piece of the real home I once had lying in me own bed these days and nights."
"It's good to be around the two of you."
He sighed contentedly. "We're in love. We picked it up right where we left it."
"What happened back then?"
O'Reilly got quiet. He pulled his arm back and stood up. "I need to take a piss. Be right back, boyo."
He wandered into the house. I wondered how he knew where the bathroom or outhouse or whatever they might have would be. Then I remembered that he'd lived in Hong Kong and probably knew how big houses like that were laid out.
I also wondered if I'd crossed some sort of line. I hoped not. I loved the captain and wouldn't have wanted to cause him any pain.
After five minutes, he wandered back into the courtyard and asked, "How about you? Want me to show you where to go?"
I nodded, stood, and followed him into the house.
. . .
Once we were back out in the courtyard, O'Reilly said, "So you were askin' what happened between Murphy and me."
I nodded.
"Well, you heard the quick version. Me da found out we was in love and he pushed Johnny outta Hong Kong as fast as he could. We was too young to know better than to let an old man threaten us. But we did and that was that." He looked up at the sky. It was beginning to get dark. Right then, a young woman walked up and silently put a tray down in front of us on a small table. It had a teapot, two teacups, and a variety of dishes I didn't recognize. Oddly enough, there were two forks along with two sets of chopsticks.
O'Reilly poured tea for us both. It was even stronger than what we'd had at lunch. We nibbled at the bits of food. One dish was too spicy for me. But the rest were good.
"So, as I was sayin', we were too young to know better." He swallowed a bite.
Without thinking about it, I asked, "How is it that you used to live here and you don't know how to use chopsticks?"
He laughed. "Now, that's right to the point. In those years, I lived with me da'. You'd have thought we were in Dublin, you would. Everything was stews and meat pies and boiled potatoes and cabbage. I can't remember ever having any Cantonese dishes until I started working for the generalissimo. And, even then, I carried a fork everywhere with me. I almost brought one today but I left it at the hotel."
I laughed at that.
O'Reilly took another bite of something that looked like seaweed. "If I could go back in time, I'd give me old da' a proper punch in the nose."
I nodded and waited.
He shrugged. "But I expect you know what that's like."
"Yeah. But I gave my father hell."
O'Reilly laughed. "I bet you did." He sighed. "Not I, not once." He affectionately put his hand on my arm. "But I should have. I can see that now. Be glad you're not 50 and just now realizin' what you already know, Nick."
Right then, Murphy walked up. "Hu is ready to take us back to the cove, me love."
O'Reilly stood and pulled Murphy into his arms. They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment. "Don't you ever leave me again, John Murphy."
Murphy grinned and kissed the captain on his nose. "You can bet on it."
Chapter 18
Anchored in Deep Bay
Saturday, February 19, 1955
Early morning
I awoke with a start.
Tony was kneeling over me and said, "The wind has shifted. We're going to try to land just north of the border."
I nodded. "Thanks." I sat up. I'd been stretched out in the aft of the sampan. To my right, which was east from our position in the bay, I could see the lights of Hong Kong glowing over the hills. To the north, across the border, everything was dark. I looked up in the sky. There were fast-moving clouds passing overhead, illuminated by the nearby city lights. "Feels like rain."
Tony sat down next to me. His body was warm next to mine. I realized that I was cold. And, then, as all my senses kicked in, I noticed that the sewage smell wasn't as strong as it had been. I figured that had to do with the shift in the wind. We'd had to stay anchored in the bay until the wind out of the north shifted to the south.
"You sleep hard, brah. A Hong Kong patrol boat has been by twice, checking on us."
"What'd you say?"
"Lee did his sweet-talk thing and told them he was taking three drunk Irishmen out for a late-night fishing trip. I was his idiot mate who didn't speak. You were so drunk, you were passed out." He squeezed my arm. And then left his hand there. Before I could say anything, he leaned in and kissed me on the lips.
I pulled back. "I'm in love with Carter."
He brushed his lips against my cheek. "This is just fun. He'll never know."
"I'll know." My voice was hard and carried.
He sat back. "You are in love, brah."
"Yeah. Your auntie could've told you that."
"Oh, man, that's a way to kill a thrill, for sure."
I laughed and put my arm
around his shoulder. "Good to know. I like you Tony. And I'd hate for that to change."
He sighed and leaned into me. "Sorry, Nick. I've had the hots for you from the moment I saw you in the hospital."
I kissed his cheek.
Right then, O'Reilly called back. "When you two are done, I need some help with these sails. Johnny and Lee are raising the anchor."
Lee and Murphy laughed as Tony stood up. "Might as well be me, Captain. I'm getting nowhere fast with ole Nick back here."
Everyone laughed as we began to move forward across the water.
. . .
The smell intensified as we drew closer to the shore. I was given the rotten job of sitting forward and leaning over with a small flashlight pointed down to see the water depth. The murk began to show some shapes and it was awful. I nearly lost my dinner at least three times.
One thing I didn't see was any aquatic life. Wherever the fish were, they were smart not to be in that body of water.
Finally, I began to see the bottom. I whispered, "Looks like about four feet, Captain."
"Switch off your light," said O'Reilly.
I did as he said.
"No more talking," he added as quiet as he could. Even so, I could hear his voice echo back off something in the distance.
After another five minutes, we heard the boat rub bottom. From what I could see, we were about ten feet from the water's edge. The smell had begun to taper off about the time I'd called the depth.
Murphy, who was wearing a pair of wading boots, stepped around me and into the water. It only came up to his calves. He pulled the sampan up onto the beach.
The rest of us grabbed our supplies and quietly stole onto the beach. Lee took the pistol while Murphy carried the shotgun. We walked single file towards a grove of trees. Murphy led the way, followed by Lee. Captain O'Reilly was next. I was behind him. Tony brought up the rear.
We'd changed into black trousers, shirts, and crepe-soled shoes as we'd sailed north. As we made it to the line of trees, the wind began to pick up. Lee whispered something I couldn't hear. Murphy raised his hand which was his signal for us to stop. We stood still in the wind while it whistled through the trees. There was someone else moving through the forest. From where I stood, it sounded like one person about fifty feet to our right.
In a very official-sounding voice, Lee barked out something in Cantonese. The moving stopped. Lee barked out something again and Murphy made a forward signal, so we started walking again. Murphy and Lee began to crash through the trees, deliberately shaking branches. They also started muttering in Cantonese. Tony started doing the same thing.
I guessed we were now acting like a patrol, whether from China or Hong Kong, I had no idea. As we crashed through the brush, Lee barked out something again. Murphy raised his hand and we all stopped. Whoever was walking parallel to us made two more steps and then stopped.
Lee barked again and we moved forward. After ten more noisy minutes, we can to a single-lane dirt road. We quickly crossed and made our way to the other side into an even thicker grove of trees.
Murphy turned to the right and we began to walk parallel to the road towards the northeast. I kept my eye on the woods on the far side of the road and caught a glimpse of someone short and thick walking parallel to us. I had a passing thought that it might be Sam, but that made no sense at all. Sam was laid up at St. Mary's in San Francisco. I figured I was just hallucinating.
We continued in that direction for about thirty minutes. We were coming to some sort of populated area. I could tell by the smells. Someone had cooked something on an open fire recently. The aroma was still lingering.
Murphy raised his hand and we stopped. The sound of voices arguing was coming from about thirty or forty feet in front of us. One was a woman and two were men. It was all happening in Cantonese, from what I could tell.
Murphy pointed his hand to due north and we followed. We were walking around either a camp or a small village. In the dark, I couldn't tell for sure.
We moved around the spot for about five minutes and then came back around to our track parallel to the dirt road. We kept going that way for a long time. Whoever was tracking us was keeping pace with our movements. Every now and then I would hear him on the other side of the road.
After what seemed like an hour, Murphy raised his hand. We all stopped. I could hear children crying along with men and women talking. I leaned around Captain O'Reilly and could see a string of electric lights in the distance. I could also hear a diesel generator and smell the fumes.
I heard Murphy whisper. "This is it."
I could feel a knot forming in my stomach. This was the refugee camp that Mai was reported to be working out of. The location was the last piece of information that Pete had given O'Reilly the night they were eating at Compton's before Pete was murdered by Ricky.
I suddenly had a realization. I looked at the far side of the road. Whoever it was, was standing and watching us. I blinked a couple of times to make sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. And I was. The person following us was Ricky.
I almost said something and then had the good sense to keep my mouth shut. I stood there and digested the implications of it all.
At first, all I could think about was how he knew where we were. When I realized that didn't matter, I started thinking about why he was following us. As I thought about our conversation at The Silver Rail, I could hear him say "And, you may despise me, Nick, but I still love you. Always have and always will."
Before I could think more about it, Murphy held up two fingers. Tony walked around me and followed Lee as they walked toward the camp.
I tapped O'Reilly on the shoulder. He carefully turned. I put my lips right up on his ears. "That's The Kid who's following us. I think he's protecting me."
O'Reilly pulled back and shook his head while mouthing the word, "No."
I nodded vigorously and mouthed, "Yes."
He slowly turned to look across the road. Ricky was gone.
. . .
After about five minutes, there was a big ruckus that began to come from the camp. Murphy raised three fingers. That was the signal for the two of them to sneak in around the confusion that Lee and Tony had started by walking in and acting drunk.
They ran forward while I followed them and got as close as I could without being seen. The plan was that they would go grab Mai and Jerry and then we would all run back to the boat and make our way back to the cove. Hu was supposed to meet us there and then take us to where we'd left the Ford van.
I'd been standing there for about five minutes, when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. It startled me even though I knew who it was. Ricky was grinning up at me.
I didn't say anything. He yanked my head down and kissed me hard on the lips. That was when I realized he smelled like raw sewage. I almost gagged but managed not to make a sound. He released me and then ran towards the camp. As I watched him, he ran around to the left and disappeared.
The stench of the sewage filled my nose and I couldn't seem to get rid of it. After about three minutes, I saw O'Reilly come around from the road. A dark-haired woman was following him. Behind her was a scrawny kid. And behind him was Murphy.
"Go!" hissed O'Reilly. I turned and took off. We ran through the woods for about five minutes. Suddenly, there was a cannon-like blast. There was silence and then a series of gun shots, machine guns from the sound of it. Then another blast, followed by another one, and another one. Suddenly there was silence followed by a loud explosion. I could feel the heat a split-second before the concussion blew me to the ground.
After a moment, I shook my head and stood up. O'Reilly was doing the same. Mai asked, "Anyone hurt?"
I shook my head. Jerry stood up and said, "I'm OK, Ma." I almost laughed at his plainly British accent.
Murphy said, "Let's go."
We continued to jog through the woods for another twenty minutes before O'Reilly said, "Wait."
I stopped and turned around.
He was leaning over and breathing heavy. Murphy wasn't doing much better. Considering all the Camels I smoked... I suddenly realized I hadn't had a Camel since we left San Francisco. I couldn't remember where my old beat-up Zippo was. I didn't stop to think about it. Instead, I said, "Let's rest for one minute."
Everyone nodded. I started counting down from sixty and watched as O'Reilly stood up and began to recover. When I got to fifteen, I heard a truck coming down the road from the camp towards us.
I called out, "Truck!" and led everyone deeper into the woods from the dirt road. As we waited, the truck came to a stop. I heard Tony call out, "Come on!"
We ran over to the road. Tony was standing in the back of a military truck. I helped Mai and Jerry get in. Tony said to me, "Get up front with Lee."
I nodded and did just that. As I pulled myself into the passenger seat, I heard Tony bang on the side of the truck. Lee put the monster into gear and took off.
As we drove along, the only thing Lee said was, "Soviet, of course."
I nodded. The thing had no shocks or springs to speak off. It was like riding on a piece of wood that was being dragged along the ground behind a speeding horse. After about ten minutes, Lee pulled the truck off to the side of the road and into a ditch by the edge of the woods.
"Come on."
We jumped out and helped the others climb down from the back. Once we were all together, Murphy led us into the woods towards the water's edge.
When we came to the far edge of the trees, we were about thirty feet from where the boat had been beached. We sprinted across the beach. Lee got on board first. He helped Mai get on, followed by Jerry, and then the rest of us. Murphy shoved us off and then jumped inside.
The wind was stilling blowing from the south. All the clouds were gone and the stars were shining bright overhead.
From the middle of nowhere, Captain O'Reilly produced two oars. He handed one to me and said, "Starboard." He handed the other to Tony and said, "Port."
The Sodden Sailor (A Nick Williams Mystery Book 11) Page 18
