Cruise: A Thriller

by Suzanne Vermeer

  “They have to make a turn somewhere,” Alderon grumbled. Occasionally, from the corner of his eye, he looked at the slowly moving dot on the screen. The GPS receiver showed them precisely where their target was.

  “Within now and the next ten minutes,” Benitez agreed. “Otherwise, the distance to Las Rocas Rojas will become too big.”

  Alderon nodded. “In theory, yes. But maybe she got a ride that night. In that case, the money could easily be thirty kilometers farther.”

  Benitez grumbled under his breath. Identifying and assessing external factors was an important part of their profession. Reality had taught him that when a wealthy woman was killed, it was never the gardener, but usually the husband who had killed her. Not because of the money, but in a moment of blind rage. Usually the murder was committed with an object that was easily available at that time. A kitchen knife, a glass shard, or a brick.

  Most of the serious crimes committed were simply crimes of passion. Statistics showed that in more than eighty percent of cases one of the partners played a significant role, either as the killer or as the person who ordered the killing. During the twenty years that he had been with the police, there had only been two major cases that involved an offender who didn’t fit in this category. One was the aggravated assault of a young woman in her own home after she caught a violent junkie trying to steal a jewelry collection in broad daylight from a secured villa. During that case, he was convinced that it was an insurance scam because the owner was having financial problems. But he had been mistaken, because the detective team in Barcelona had caught the gang red-handed when they offered the stolen jewelry to a broker.

  Usually he could summarize his cases in three categories: money, pleasure, or insanity. All of them committed by the people who were closest to the victim.

  Despite its strange history, they also treated this case from this perspective. Romina Castellano had already been sentenced for her crimes. The burden of proof was sufficient to remove any doubt about her role in this crime. This evidence, a thorough analysis of the letter and Heleen van Rijnsburg’s story, were enough to conclude that Castellano was trying to lead them down the wrong path. She made these false allegations about Heleen van Rijnsburg and pointed the finger at her to create a distraction and create more time and space for herself. She simply wanted to disappear with the hidden money and her son.

  With this in mind, they tried to reconstruct the night of her escape. They managed to do this precisely right up until the moment when Romina tied up the paramedics and disappeared into the night with the ambulance. What happened after that was anybody’s guess. The ambulance was found at Las Rocas Rojas, and her overalls covered in blood were found on the rocks below. After a rapid DNA test proved to be the blood of Romina Castellano. She had not jumped off those rocks and was certainly not dead.

  During their reconstruction, they assumed that Romina had not picked out some random location for her fake suicide. She’d had more than enough time to think about the details in prison. Because there was so much cash involved, which had all disappeared, it seemed obvious that she had hidden at least some of it as escape money, somewhere near Las Rocas Rojas.

  Before the sun rose and the authorities could cover a much larger area, she had to get at least two jobs done. Get the money and find a safe hiding place.

  So far, the operation was going according to schedule. Romina had come to pick up her child and the “scapegoat,” Heleen. Now she had to get the money. Once this was done, they had to intervene immediately. From that point on, Heleen van Rijnsburg’s life was in serious danger.

  There was a great respect for the Dutch woman among all of the colleagues who’d worked on this project. After they explained their plan to her, she did not hesitate even for a moment. She would cooperate fully and help resolve this insurance scam once and for all. Even after they explicitly explained the risks to her, she stayed with her decision.

  “Slow down,” Benitez said. He saw that the dot on his screen had clearly slowed down and had changed direction. “They made a turn. They’re now driving on Hooker Street.”

  “Finally some excitement,” Alderon replied dryly. Then he pressed down on the gas pedal.

  51

  Hooker Street was a winding road that ran between the suburbs of Blanes and the highway. Like many of these types of small back roads in the northeast of Spain, Hooker Street served as a prostitution area. The majority of the prostitutes came from Eastern Europe. Even during the late hours, there was plenty of business going on there.

  Heleen adjusted her speed. Compared to the relatively empty highway, she had now landed in heavier traffic. The drivers here didn’t take traffic rules very seriously. Since turning onto this road, she had needed to break hard twice, once after a prostitute had appeared in the headlights of the car ahead and again when a driver had stopped short. Miraculously, David slept through it all. He was still on the backseat with his Oso clamped against his chest. Romina sat beside him and held her gun firmly pointed at Heleen. Her other hand rested on the left rear window. The only physical contact with her son consisted of an accidental touch of her leg on his foot.

  “If you only knew what these girls do for money,” Romina said complacently. “Just like you, right?”

  “I can only imagine.”

  The Spanish woman laughed scornfully.

  “You can’t imagine anything, you stupid cow. I’m not talking about sex, but about greed and trade. These girls know everyone and will do almost anything for money.”

  Heleen kept looking straight ahead. The remark rolled right off her. The prostitutes barely interested her. She had her mind on something else.

  “I do not understand,” she said hesitantly. “How did you get here?”

  Romina responded with a sarcastic smile, but her ego was clearly stroked.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know, huh? Well, since you will probably never be able to repeat it anyway, why not? After I parked the ambulance at Las Rocas Rojas, I took off my overalls, cut myself, smeared some blood on the sleeves, and threw that prison rag over the edge. Because I know that area, I knew it would linger down below on the rocks.”

  Heleen saw that Romina gave her a penetrating look in her rearview mirror. She forced herself to relax as much as was possible. She dodged her piercing gaze and pretended to look at Romina’s clothing. The Spanish woman wore a black jacket and dark sweatpants. Heleen tried to look surprised.

  “Why are you giving me that stupid look?” Romina snapped. “Didn’t you read the letter?”

  Heleen pulled a surprised face.

  “What are you talking about? What letter?”

  Romina looked at her scornfully. “The suicide letter I left in the ambulance. It said that I was going to commit suicide. I wanted to buy some time with it. If they think you’re dead, the chances of a massive manhunt are much smaller, right?”

  Heleen nodded meekly. She struggled to keep her nerves in check.

  “Anyway, I dug up a bag of money that we had buried there months ago, near the area where I parked the ambulance. A total of fifty thousand euro, to be used only in case of emergency. This seemed like the right time to use it.”

  She laughed at her own joke. Her voice was husky.

  “I had put on a jogging suit underneath my overalls in my jail cell. Walking through the woods, it takes about two hours from Las Rocas Rojas to get to Hooker Street. I started running and got there before sunrise. During my party days in Blanes, I had a few drinks with some of those girls. One of them was at work. I spoke to her and asked her for a ride. Once we got to her apartment I offered her five thousand euro in cash to let me stay with her for a week. For someone who has to give up more than half of their earnings to a pimp, this was an insanely high amount, so she went for it right away.

  The next morning I put her to work. By promising her another five thousand euro, she arranged clothes, a gun, and a friend’s car for me to use. She worked all of that out on the same day. Then I gave
her a bonus and sent her off on another errand. Disguised in a hat and sunglasses, I started exploring the area around your house.”

  “How did you know that David was staying with me?”

  “From my beloved sister, Ana,” Romina replied mockingly. “Before she left for Madrid, she called me to say that David was going to stay with you for a while. Why she did this is not clear to me. She did not have to do that, I mean. Custody of David had been taken away from me, after all. But what I understood from her story was that she wanted me to know where he was just in case something happened to her. After all, I am still his mother.”

  Heleen was now genuinely surprised, because Ana had not told her anything about this. On the other hand, she could understand the call. It was true what Romina had said, that despite everything she remained David’s mother.

  “So you became furious and decided to escape.”

  Romina shook her head.

  “Not really. I just saw it as useful information. Saw it as an opportunity to kill several birds with one stone. My rage only came later, when I heard that Frank had committed suicide because of the pictures that you had sent him. I managed to control that anger quickly, because I recognized that a unique opportunity had presented itself to me through all of these events.”

  Heleen sought eye contact through the rearview mirror.

  “Those pictures … It was never my intention …”

  With a tap of the gun barrel against the headrest, Romina cut her off.

  “You don’t understand a thing, you Dutch whore. Frank always described you as a very naïve person who believes in concepts like unconditional love and total loyalty. He was right; you belong to a dying breed.”

  Heleen swallowed her pride and focused on her mission. “You’ve escaped, and David is right next to you. Why do I need to come along? What is the added value?”

  Romina reacted just as she had hoped and expected.

  “Didn’t I tell you that I was going to achieve everything? Even a stupid cow like you should know what’s still missing.”

  “The money.”

  “The big money,” Romina corrected her. “That fifty thousand was just play money for hard times. The real loot is hidden somewhere else.”

  Things are going well, Heleen thought. Everything was being recorded by the police, who were following her at a distance. The moment they knew where Romina had hidden the money they would intervene. Now that they had touched on the subject and Romina felt superior, she had to lure her out further. It was better to get the information from her here than to wait for a confrontation in the unfamiliar area where the money was.

  “I cannot understand how you got the money here. Wasn’t it deposited in Vincent Gautier’s bank account?”

  Again, a derogatory laugh came from the backseat.

  “You could say that we pulled off the same trick twice. Once the money was in Gautier’s account, he played the role of millionaire. To the outside world, it seemed as if he threw away all of his money, but in reality he had to stick to a very tight budget. Twice a week he withdrew a substantial amount of cash from the bank, between one hundred thousand and two hundred thousand euro. With part of that cash, about ten thousand to twenty thousand euro, he hung out in the bars and casinos and played the role of the big spender. The rest of the accumulated cash that we laundered took exactly the same route as your anniversary cruise. My brother, Jorge, just smuggled the suitcase onboard in Nice. Upon arrival in Barcelona, he wore a vest under his clothes, in which he had hidden the money. During the regular delivery of the ship’s supplies, he walked off the ship and handed me the vest. The moment you came to our house, all the money was already here. We were just about to disappear.”

  “Why did Gautier have to die?”

  Romina leaned slightly forward. She focused on the road in front of her. The question hardly seemed to interest her.

  “That Gautier was infatuated with Jorge. To sweeten him for our plan, my brother played the game. When the end came in sight, the old queen started making too many demands, blackmailing Jorge and trying to hold on to him. We decided that it was better if Jorge gave him an overdose. Problem solved.”

  “But …”

  Romina tapped the barrel of the gun against the headrest again.

  “No buts, you really need to pay attention now, all right?”

  Startled, Heleen kept her mouth shut.

  “About three hundred meters ahead there is a parking lot. Slow down and turn into it. Drive carefully because that parking lot is full of bumps.”

  Heleen did as she was told. She drove into the unlit parking lot in second gear, her headlights gliding across the back of four parked cars.

  “This is where the hookers do their business,” Romina said. “Park this wreck to the left, next to the black SEAT. That is the bonus that I was talking about.”

  Heleen drove the car to the spot she pointed out. She turned the ignition key and waited for new instructions.

  “Now get out. The keys are under the car next to the left rear tire. Open the left door, get behind the steering wheel, and start the car.”

  While Heleen followed her commands, Romina lifted David from the rear seat. She held the gun in her hand so as to limit her physical actions to as little as possible. Because there was no room for much grace, her movements were jerky. David moaned. He opened his eyes and looked at her drowsily.

  “Relax,” Romina whispered as she walked to the black SEAT. “Mommy is with you; everything is fine.”

  She put David in the back and sat down beside him.

  “Drive,” she ordered. Heleen backed out of the parking spot.

  “Oso,” David said.

  “That’s his bear,” Heleen tried to explain while she turned the car.

  “Shut up,” Romina snapped. For the first time she took a close look at the plush animal. Her face showed her disapproval.

  “What is this rag?” It was more an observation than a question.

  “His favorite stuffed animal,” Heleen replied as she drove back up the paved road again. “Without that stuffed animal he cannot sleep.”

  “Oso, here,” David muttered. He pushed the bear to his chest. Heleen looked over her shoulder at how he slowly drifted off back to sleep. She smiled tenderly.

  “Make sure Oso is always with him at night. Otherwise he becomes …”

  “Look out!” Startled by Romina’s scream, she looked back at the road before them. Bright-red brake lights glowed right in front of her. She slammed on the brake pedal. But she was too late to even to dodge the car. The SEAT’s bumper slammed firmly against the back of the blue Peugeot in front of her, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle. The car slid off the road and came to a halt between two trees.

  “Jesus!” Heleen cried out.

  “Keep going!” Romina screamed. She had shot forward during the blow. She ended up in a strange position, with her right shoulder stuck in between the two front seats.

  “Keep driving!” she shouted hysterically while freeing herself from the two seats.

  “I can’t just do that!” Heleen replied. Her body was shaking all over. Without hesitation, Romina put the barrel of the gun to her head. She ignored David’s frightened cries; he had fallen on the floor between the front seat and the backseat.

  “If you don’t floor it right now, I will shoot you!” Heleen knew that Romina, who was now really revved up, wasn’t kidding. She started the engine and drove away, repulsed.

  “Oso!” David yelled frantically as he tried to crawl back up to the seat. Romina took the stuffed animal and put it on her lap. During this indifferent move, she kept her eyes firmly on Heleen. David grabbed the bear’s arm and pulled it toward him. During the tense situation, Romina had unconsciously clamped her fingers around Oso’s body. There was a sharp ripping sound, and David was left with the stuffed animal’s severed arm in his hand. His response hurt both Heleen’s ears and soul.

  Romina cursed. The adrenaline rushed thr
ough her veins. She took the deformed bear in her hand and wanted to throw it at David in a fit of rage. The light from a streetlamp created a strange twinkle in the torn plush animal. She froze. She held the toy in front of her face and looked surprised.

  “What is … this?” She pried into the bear’s chest. “Turn on the interior light.”

  She held a small, round metal object between her fingers. She frowned. She had never seen a GPS transmitter, but was intelligent and suspicious enough to realize that that thing didn’t belong in children’s toys. Her brain was processing things rapidly. This little marble could easily contain a giant bomb, she thought.

  “Unbutton your shirt!”

  “What?”

  “Pull over on the side of the road and unbutton your shirt.”

  “Where does this …”

  “Now!”

  “What are you talking …”

  “Now!”

  Heleen parked the car on the side of the road. She knew that protesting was useless. The only thing she could do now was to think of a delaying tactic. The police were already aware of her predicament and would undoubtedly intervene. It was now up to her to buy some time so she could carry out their plan.

  She fumbled clumsily at the top button of her blouse. Pretending that her fingers had slipped away from the smooth button. After she theatrically still managed to undo the top button and wanted to start on the next, Romina jumped in. She pulled on the shirt a few times very hard and tore all the buttons off at once. Her hand slipped under the pajama jacket and felt Heleen’s body.

  The transmitter fit exactly in the hollow of her navel with a transparent piece of tape holding the transmitter in place. Romina pulled the tape from her skin and looked at the high-tech microphone.

  “Open the window,” she hissed. With one swift arm movement she threw out both transmitters.

  “Drive, bitch! And pray that your police friends do not catch us, or you will be the first one to die. That’s a promise.”

  52

  Frustrated, Juan Benitez hit the dashboard with the palm of his hand. The bizarre chain of events had wrecked their operation. Now that Romina had discovered the microphone and transmitter, they could not follow them at a safe distance anymore.