by Dale Mayer
“The lifeboats are accounted for,” Vanessa said. “One of us checks that each morning and each night. And it was my turn to do it, so I can confirm that issue. For both the morning of the day of our kidnapping and even now, after we reclaimed the ship.”
“There was one vessel close to us,” Tony said. “It was another research team. They were there for about four days. We had a couple other sailing vessels around. It’s quite common when you anchor to have others close by. People are naturally sociable.”
Vince nodded. “Think specifically about the night before the kidnapping and the day of the raid by the gunmen, was there anybody close to you?”
“There were three other boats,” Vanessa said. “A small catamaran—somebody had been traveling around the islands. A small yacht. I don’t know who was on it, but I think it was called Katia.” She looked over at Tony for confirmation.
He shrugged. “We didn’t keep track of anybody close to us. There was no need to. It’s international waters, and people come and go all the time.”
“And there’s no marina at some of the more remote areas, so people anchor wherever they want to.”
“And the third boat you saw?”
“It was a small cruiser,” she said. “I don’t know who it was. They were friendly enough. As they went past us, they waved. We did too.”
“So I repeat, is it possible Dr. Sanchez left with one of them?”
“We don’t know,” Vanessa said, enunciating clearly. “Remember? We didn’t see her after we were taken from the ship. I was knocked out. For all I know, three or four other vessels were around us then. When we woke up on the old boat, we heard two men, that we knew of, walking the deck. We didn’t really see the second man. We saw the first one only, and he’s the one we overpowered to gain our freedom. Also, looking out the portholes, we couldn’t see any other ships.”
“But it’s possible the remaining kidnapper had a boat he took off in.”
“As far as we know, you were the only ones around us for miles. Did you see anyone close?” She turned the tables on him.
“No,” he said. “There was that big storm. We avoided it, found you on the outskirts in the kidnapper’s old boat, but nobody was close by.”
She nodded. “So, we can’t answer where our research vessel actually was at the time of the raid, especially if the storm knocked out some of our tracking systems beforehand and if our pilot at the time was asleep.” She sent a sideways glance to Tony.
He must have had the proper look of shame to keep her on her original line of thought.
“When we found the research vessel again, it was empty, and nobody was close by then either.”
“And that’s a damn good thing,” Tony said. “But it also belies the theory that we were taken by pirates, doesn’t it? That vessel is extremely valuable. The equipment on it is extremely valuable. And yet, it was just floundering in the water.”
“It was anchored,” Vince said. “It just floated gently. It wasn’t in any distress. It was completely abandoned. That’s the confusing part.”
“Very,” Vanessa said. “It makes absolutely no sense. Not if it were truly pirates.”
Vince looked at her and gave her a fat smile. “Exactly.”
Just then the elevator doors opened, and a manager walked out. Seeing the group standing outside Jasper’s door, he asked, “May I help you?”
“Is it possible to find out if the person in this room has left for the afternoon, for the evening,” Vince asked, “or if he’s still in there?”
The manager frowned at him. “We’re not allowed to give out any information on our guests,” he stated in a snotty tone.
Vince made a sudden hand gesture. “He has a bad head injury. Our concern is that he’s in there dying.”
The manager sucked in his breath noisily. “I really don’t know what to do in this instance. Let me call down to the desk and see if anybody knows anything.”
He moved toward the end of the hallway near the window. On his cell phone, he had a conversation they couldn’t hear the details of.
When he came back he said, “No one at the front desk remembers seeing him.” He motioned for them to step back. “I’ll open the door. I want to make sure, if he’s in there, he’s either sleeping or at least okay. But I don’t want any of you coming in after me.” He pulled out a master key and unlocked the door, stepping inside, closing the door behind him. The door opened immediately, and he looked at them with a smile. “He’s not here.” He closed and locked the door again. “You can wait for your friend down in the lobby.”
Vince had seen just a corner of the bedroom as the main door had opened and closed, and the bed had definitely no sign of Jasper. Confident he was out somewhere doing his thing, Vince turned to the others. “We might as well get settled into our rooms. We have time for a quick change, and then we’ll go for dinner. Do any of you have a way to contact Jasper, have a cell phone number or something? If so, let’s arrange for him to meet us for dinner.”
“We can text him,” Tony said, pulling out his phone. He sent off a text. “I should have done this in the first place.”
As they stood here, they heard a funny sound from inside Jasper’s room. Vanessa gasped, turned, walked over to the door. “That makes no sense.”
“What’s that?” Vince asked as he unlocked the door to the room he shared with Johan.
“That is Jasper’s cell phone,” she said. “He has a very distinctive Daffy Duck voice clip.”
Vince walked back toward her. “You’re right. It makes no sense. He wouldn’t walk around a foreign city without his cell phone. Or did he have a work phone and a personal phone? I know plenty who do?”
“I don’t know.” Vanessa stared at the door in frustration. “The manager said nobody was in there. Did he give it a thorough check?”
Tony patted her shoulder. “Look. Jasper just forgot his cell. Maybe he’s down having a drink. Come on. Go get changed. We’ll go out for dinner, and hopefully he’ll be back by the time we are finished.”
They finally persuaded her, and she entered her room, locking it behind her.
Vince and Johan exchanged glances. Johan took their hotel key, popped out a different key card from his wallet and walked over to Jasper’s room. Within seconds he had it unlocked.
Vince slipped in behind him. Sure enough, the cell phone sat on the night table. Jasper’s unpacked bag was on the bed. It looked like his wallet was there too. That made no sense. He quickly checked it. There was no money in it, just cards, which was not so unusual in this day and age, especially when traveling. They did a search of the room, even checking under the bed, but there was no sign of him.
Frowning, they looked at each other and slipped out of the room.
In their own room, Vince said, “That makes no sense.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Johan stood in the room, staring out the window. “He must be with somebody else then.”
“That would mean Dr. Walker. But Dr. Walker was alone when we saw him.”
“I was thinking Dr. Sanchez.” Johan turned to face him.
Vince’s eyebrows popped up. “That’s possible, but nobody has seen her either.”
“Do we know that? We need to get some photos and circulate them around the hotel and elsewhere.”
“Good idea,” Vince said as he grabbed his gear, put it on the bed and popped out his laptop. He brought up a photo of Dr. Sanchez. “I don’t know if this is the most recent one, or the closest likeness, but I think it would print off well.” He emailed it to himself then added it to a USB key and pocketed it. “Do you need a shower or change?”
Johan shook his head. “We haven’t done anything to work up a sweat yet.”
Vince laughed. “Sounds like you’re almost disappointed.”
“I prefer action over inaction any day,” Johan said.
They exited the room, went down to the main reception desk, where Vince got several copies of Dr. Sanchez’s face printed off. And
then, as a secondary thought, he asked them to print off a copy of Jasper’s face as well. They looked up at him when he said he needed to bring the face up on Google, but it was quick and easy with the university’s website.
So, with those copies of each printed off, he turned and handed several to Vince, then turned to look at the receptionist, asking if they had seen the woman. The picture was passed around to several people nearby, but they just shrugged.
“So does that mean no, or maybe something close to that?”
One young man stood nearby. He took a look and shrugged. “I think I saw her, but it was about a week ago.”
“Good,” Vince said. “That would make sense. They docked here before they headed out on their annual trip. They needed supplies and stocked up from here.”
“Yeah,” he said. “She was with a bunch of men and maybe another woman.”
Vince was encouraged to at least have somebody who had seen that much of her. “You haven’t seen her since?”
The young man frowned. “I don’t think so. She should be back in soon though. Come to think of it, I may have seen some of those men who were with her. But I’m not sure.”
Vince thanked him, and he and Johan walked into the front lobby. Several people sat here, reading papers or busy on their phones. It seemed like, in the digital age, everybody did everything on their phones now. Vince asked a couple of them if they had seen Dr. Sanchez, but there was no recognition on any of their faces. On a hunch he walked into the pub and asked there. The bartender did recognize her, but again from a week ago.
By the time he was done, he met Johan out in the front again and shrugged. “No sign of her.”
Johan said, “Nobody seems to have seen Jasper either.”
“He probably came down and went straight out onto the street.”
“Possibly.”
They stepped out onto the street, knowing they didn’t have much time before they met the others for dinner.
“The market should be still going strong,” Johan said. “We can walk down one side and back up the other before we meet the others.”
“Good idea. You ask about her. I’ll ask about him.”
They split up, going down each side, asking everybody.
When they met again at the top, they were both hot and disgusted, each shaking their heads.
“So nobody has seen either of them,” said Johan.
“I could see that with Dr. Sanchez, particularly since she’s not here anymore,” Vince said. “But Jasper is big. It’s pretty hard to not see him.”
“Unless he hasn’t left the hotel yet,” Johan said. “I get that Dr. Walker is an asshole, but I don’t know if he’s also a liar.”
Chapter 9
Vanessa sent several text messages to Jasper, and, for the hell of it, she sent several to Laura again as well. Vanessa had no clue what was going on and could only hope Jasper was just being the typical kid, lost in his enjoyment of exploring a new place. There was a slim chance he’d return to his room to retrieve his phone. She couldn’t forget he was a global traveler. Comfortable, natural and very curious in all settings.
He really was a traveler, that one. Anytime they had a place to stop, he got excited and researched all the local history so he could make the best use of his time. And maybe he’d done the same thing here. But, with that head injury, he hadn’t looked good. He was a big kid, and it would take a lot to keep him down. But he’d been hurting. For that reason alone, she’d expected him to be inside his room. That he hadn’t been had completely thrown her.
She showered and changed. When she stepped out of her room again, she still hadn’t heard from either one. She sent Dr. Walker and Tony a message, saying she was ready for dinner and was heading down to the lobby. Both responded within a few minutes, saying they were on their way.
On their way maybe, but she didn’t see them. Still, that wasn’t an issue. It was a big hotel. And Dr. Walker had most likely spent his entire time in the pub. It was one of his favorite occupations, and she could hardly blame him with a situation like this. Everybody had to deal with nerves in their own way, and she was hardly one to criticize.
Still, it helped an awful lot for her to connect with the others. They’d been a fairly close-knit team. Or at least she had thought so. Underneath though, apparently they were just fragmented individuals thrown together for a week. Apparently not even caring about the others.
Saddened by the circumstances that led to all this mistrust, she chose to take the stairs down. At the front desk, she saw the same person she had spoken to earlier about Jasper. She walked over and asked if Jasper had returned.
The man looked at her in surprise and then shook his head. “I haven’t seen him. That doesn’t mean he didn’t come in when I wasn’t looking though,” he said apologetically.
She smiled at him. “Absolutely. I’m not holding you responsible. I’m just worried about him.”
She watched as a tinge of relief crossed his face and realized just how difficult his job was. He had to walk a balancing act between privacy issues and the hotel rules and regulations and what was the right thing to do as a human being for another in trouble.
She patted the top of the desk gently, turned and wandered the very large lobby. All kinds of different seating areas here made it an interesting place to people watch. She could pick up all kinds of different vantage points.
Both men had said they would be here soon, so she didn’t want to get too comfortable. She wandered around, looking at the large maps and old photos on the walls. The area had a fascinating history. Pirates had really ruled down here, but a lot of them hadn’t bothered coming this far. Only a couple strong men had upheld the tradition. Because there was less competition, the pickings were that much better.
When still nobody showed up a good five minutes later, she frowned and turned to study the people in the lobby. A couple women sat together, having what looked like tea, and a single man who looked to be in his late seventies sat alone, reading a newspaper. Frowning she pulled out her phone and sent a text to Tony. Where are you?
And got no answer.
Worried now, she headed toward the elevator. As she hit the button to bring it to her, the double doors opened, and both men stepped out.
She groaned with relief. “There you are,” she said. “I’m afraid all of this is getting to me. When you guys didn’t show up, I got worried.”
Dr. Walker looked at her with that supercilious amusement he always had. “We’re totally fine, as you can see.” He glanced around as they walked forward. “Now where’s Vince and Johan? Our rescuers.” His voice held a light arrogant tone. “The men we’re supposed to take out for dinner as a thank-you.”
“It seems like the least we could do,” Vanessa said quietly, stepping up beside them.
Dr. Walker laughed, but Tony took her seriously. “And that’s what this is, isn’t it? We came very close to not making it.”
“Rubbish,” Dr. Walker said. “We could have lasted four or five days out there.”
“We could have,” Tony said. “But that doesn’t mean we would have done it in any comfort or that anybody would have found us in that time. An awful lot of empty ocean surrounded us. It’s not like we had a search party looking for us.”
“But that’s exactly what we did have,” Dr. Walker said. “Who organized that, by the way? Because really, he’s the one we should be thanking.”
She glared at him. “My father organized it.”
Dr. Walker looked at her in surprise. “Really?”
She nodded. “I’ve already spoken to him. And it was at his behest that Vince and Johan came after us.”
“Oh!”
It was obvious her words had thrown him, as if he thought she didn’t have anybody who cared. And that was something she thought pretty odd because he was the one with a family, but had they done anything to go looking for him? Or was it because his wife, being female, sitting at home with young twins, that Dr. Walker hadn’t expe
cted her to sound the alarm? Then again he was quite a sexist male, and that was what she would expect from him. But then maybe she was putting that on him. Just because she had a problem with him didn’t mean anybody else did.
“Thank him for us, will you?” Tony said. “I, for one, am grateful to have my life.”
She smiled up at him. “Indeed. I can send you his email, and you can thank him personally. I don’t know how much money this cost, but you can imagine it was in the tens of thousands.”
Both men winced.
“Hopefully, he’s not asking for a percentage of that back,” Dr. Walker snapped. “I certainly don’t have that kind of funds to spend.”
“Of course, you don’t,” Tony said. “Nothing is more important than your life, is there?”
They walked straight through to the front doors, still squabbling. As they stepped outside, the air-conditioning drained away, and the heat hit. Vanessa took several deep breaths, getting used to the humidity and then smiled. She pointed across the street to Vince and Johan walking toward them. “There they are,” she cried out.
“Any sign of Jasper?” Tony asked, standing beside her.
She pulled out her phone to see if there was any response. “I don’t see him, and I didn’t hear from him. And I sure as hell wish he’d check in.”
“But he doesn’t have to check in, does he?” Dr. Walker said. “He’s a grown man. If he’s got plans, then he’s got plans.”
She shoved her phone in her pocket as the men reached her. “He might have plans,” she said, and then, just to be an ass, she added, “or somebody else has plans for him.”
Both men turned and looked at her.
She shrugged. “We have no clue what’s going on with Dr. Sanchez, so there’s no way we can assume anything when it comes to Jasper.”
