The Atlas Murders (12 page)

His friend dozed and read in
fitful intervals as he gazed out into the infant night, the stars began to
appear behind a bright Venus. He enjoyed a scotch and ice and thought of Vera
and how he wished she was sitting next to him. He felt the aircraft shudder slightly
and begin its descent; she began to turn and when he looked out he saw in the
velvet darkness a vista of Rome spread out like a brilliant lighted carpet.

The second leg to New Delhi
was slumber time and Henry surprised himself by sleeping for a considerable
part of it. It was morning when they touched down in India, and sweltering hot.
He walked and gawked sometimes embarrassingly during the two hour stop and marveled
at the people, their color and dress. This was a world he had seen pictures but
read very little about. The Indian nose piercing and their large earrings and
bracelets fascinated him. He admired their vividly hued silk saris and colorful
veils. The ‘kumkum’ a bright, usually red dot on the ladies foreheads was a
sight to behold. They took off into the hot tropical sky and ate a meal and
drank wine as they traversed the sky above the mysterious lands and temples of central
and eastern India, over The Bay of Bengal to the beautiful island city of
Singapore. It was night again and Henry was adjusting his time piece as they
had time to spend at this delightful terminal. Here again the females captured
his admiration. Their Asian/Chinese features were to say the least, stunningly
beautiful. They wore tight fitting colorful skirts with slits at the sides
revealing long shapely limbs in sensuous modesty as they walked. Henry thought
how he would like to spend a few weeks here exploring what his traveling
companion assured him was a city of wonders, and the crossroads of the world.
There was quite a British influence everywhere around the terminal, and English
was signed and spoken. His flight was called and he nearly didn’t respond to
board until he realized the flight number. Yes he noted, it was his flight but
flying onto Sydney. He questioned the air hostess when he boarded and told her
that he thought they were stopping at Perth and then flying to Sydney, but she
assured him they only ever flew to Sydney, and he would have to get a connecting
flight from there to Perth. He checked his ticket and he realized she was right.
He hadn’t noticed the stop at Sydney oh well, another day’s flying, he thought.
A slight alteration of course to avoid a typhoon south of Java delayed their
arrival. They touched down at nine o’clock and Henry went to check the time of
his flight to Perth. He was flying at eleven o’clock, so he had time to stretch
his legs and eat breakfast. The smaller aircraft was a little more becoming of
the aviation spirit, and he felt a tad exposed in the aging Dakota. The
stunning views of the Australian central desert and sweeping outback was enough
to quell any slight fear he may have harbored when they were taking off. A
refreshing experience and sights to remember forever were his companions when
the plane landed at Perth.

Right, Henry thought, this is
where the real work begins.

Part Two

Ships in the Night

Chapter
Seventeen

Perth, Western
Australia.

Henry rehearsed his
instructions about his contact and as soon as he had his luggage checked out,
he saw the man standing reading a newspaper. He approached him and spoke the
code word.

“Follow me,” said the man.

 His contact had a car
waiting and opened the trunk beckoning to Henry to throw his bags in. When they
were seated in the car he turned to Henry. ”You’re Henry Tyler? I’m your new
friend for a week or so, Danny Woods.” He took Henry’s hand in a firm hand
grip. ”I’ll take you to your hotel. I’m sure you could do with a few hours
relaxing after all that flying.”

“I’m pleased to meet you
Danny. I could do with a shower and a decent meal. That airline food leaves a
little to be desired - maybe it’s just not the food but the atmosphere you’re
in.”

“To be quite honest Henry,
I’ve never flown. I came out here six years ago on a White Star Liner and boy
what a time I had. It was the experience of a lifetime. I’ve been stationed
here or here about ever since, and loving every minute of it. I’ve just come
back from a little stint in Adelaide - beautiful city, real colonial style.
Henry here we are, your room is booked.”

An aborigine man carried his
bags into the Criterion Hotel. Danny looked up at the deep blue sky and wiped a
handkerchief across his forehead. “Been like this for the past two weeks, easterly
wind off the desert could do with a change to the south west, they call the
“Fremantle Doctor”. I’ll call you at eight o’clock.”

Henry welcomed the air
conditioning as he entered the hotel lobby. His room was cool and comfortable
and after showering he lay down and slept like a drunken sailor.

A loud knocking on the door
woke him. He sat up and didn’t know where he was. There was a faint light
coming through the drapes. Another loud knock directed him to the door and the
light switch. He opened the door and Danny was there with a briefcase in his
hand.

 “Sorry to wake you old chap,
you sure sleep sound.”

“That was the first real sleep
I’ve had since I left London.”

Danny sat down and opened his
case, while Henry pulled on some clothes. “I won’t delay you long Henry, just a
few things to get sorted before we start a little itinerary tomorrow. Firstly,
you will not leave for Albany. The latest news is the Rangoon is coming here to
the nearby port of Fremantle. This makes things a little less complicated as
you’ll be able to join directly from the shipping office here. Can I see all
your documentation? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s all in order but I want
to be sure of dates for your last ship, The Irish Plane and your own supposed
admittance to hospital for a suspected appendicitis. Now, did you ever have
your appendix taken out?”

 “No, so there are no scars
to be worried about.”

 Danny was scribbling on a
note pad. ”Right Henry, give me a description of the crew member we have to
knobble. I just want to be sure it matches the description we have.” Danny
stayed about an hour, going over the whole operation. He organized a
communication system for Henry that meant even from some of the remotest
countries he could safely get in contact. “Right my old chap, I’ll let you back
to your sleep but if you feel like a bite there’s still a restaurant open
downstairs. I’ll pick you up at nine in the morning.”

 Danny was prompt it was just
nine o’clock and Henry was on the street outside the Criterion when the car stopped.

 “Jump in,” came from the
open window, “had a good night?”

 “Slept like a baby.”

They left and headed out to
Fremantle. Touring the dock area on foot they saw a big Japanese grain carrier
being loaded. There were clouds of fine grain dust hanging in the air around
the loading shuts. They left the docks and walked up Victoria Street, stopping
at the first watering hole they came to. Danny called for two beers in the bar
which was dark and dingy, and smelling of stale tobacco smoke. Henry poured the
cool pint bottle of Black Swan beer into a pint glass.

“What do you think of our
local brew?”

 “The most delicious drink
I’ve tasted in years, although I think the dust and the heat might have a way
of magnifying the flavor.”

“Maybe so,” Danny licked froth
from his lips, “but from my experience it has a special place among beers.”

They spent a few more hours
walking round Fremantle until the heat of the day drove them indoors. After a
small lunch in a quaint café on High Street they walked to the shipping
offices. Danny introduced Henry to the shipping master and he asked to see Henry’s
discharge book. He glanced through it then handed it back. “Everything seems in
order and do you have all your vaccinations just in case the medical people
ask.”

 “Yes,” said Henry, “they’re
all in order. When do you expect the Rangoon?”

He went to a large ledger and
turned a page. “According to this E.T.A. in two days’ time.”

 “Fine sir, we’ll be in
touch,” said Danny. As they left he turned to Henry. “Would you like to go for
a swim; the beach is within walking distance?”

 “That’s the best suggestion
to date; only I have no swimming apparel with me.”

They stopped outside a cloths
shop. Danny elbowed Henry. ”Here you go,” and after five minutes and they
returned to the hot street with trunks and towels. There were few people on the
beach. Henry ran to the water where small waves were lapping the fine sandy
shore, he ran through the little waves and jumped in. He couldn’t believe the
water could be so warm.

“Don’t swim out too far Henry”

The two of them splashed and
swam like children at Brighton on a day trip. Back on the beech the sugary sand
was hot - too hot to sit on.

Danny looked at Henry.
“Blimey, you’re snow white; you’ll have to get a bit of tan during the next few
days. Oh, and by the way, the reason I said to you not to swim out too far is
because of sharks. They come in as far as the breaking water and as you can see
today there is not much of a swell as the wind is off the land, so they could
be in close. We can spend a few hours at the beach again tomorrow and the next
day and hope you get a bit of color, but not too burned.”

“I’m not too fair skinned, so
I should tan quite easily.”

“Good, because for a chap who
has supposedly spent a long time in the tropics you should have a good tan.”

 Next day he did a bit of
shopping for the few things he thought he might need, especially some light
cloths, and air mail writing paper and envelopes he’d completely forgotten to
pack. He picked up a bottle of suntan lotion and Danny called for him at five o’clock
to go to the beach. The strong heat was gone out of the sun and they spent an
hour swimming. There were some bikini clad beauties to admire and Henry soon realized
that a nod or a wink could be the beginning of an interesting friendship, but
there was no time for such frivolous diversions.

Danny seemed to realize what
he was thinking and said, “Nice babes mate, but they will have to wait for
another time.”

“What do you think of my ‘bronzy’,
is it coming on?”

“Yes, even since yesterday
you’ve got a bit of color. The Rangoon will probably be in for about five days
and you won’t be joining until the day before she sails – lets our boys get Denis
Troy safely to hospital.”

“Safely to hospital? That’s
what you’d call a very contradictory statement to say the least.”

“I suppose so, but I hope the
last bit of this operation goes smoothly. When you’ve safely sailed I’m going
to send inquiries to the latest ports she’s visited to see if there are any more
reports of young girls being murdered.

The sun was casting long
shadows and the hot wind had dropped to a silky caress. His thoughts fleetingly
flew to Vera; in an ideal world this would surely be an idyllic place to take
her. Walking back on Victoria Street they stopped to replace lost body fluids
at a pub which was filled by a noisy group of dock workers slaking their thirst
after a hot day loading a grain ship. The cold Black Swan went down a treat,
and after two pints they were on the road again.

When they arrived at the hotel
the dark shadow of night was creeping in from the arid desert. “Tyler, will you
have to amuse yourself tomorrow. I have a busy day. As a matter of fact I’m
running a little late for a meeting as it is. Try and go to the beach for a
while to top up that tan and I’ll be here tomorrow night at eight.”

Henry jumped out of the car.
“Fine Danny, I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

 Henry wrote a short letter
to Vera and another to Vincent. He’d add a bit more as things progressed over
the next few days, then post them before the Rangoon sailed. He caught the bus
to Fremantle next day and went for a swim in the early afternoon. He decided
not to spend too much time out under the hot sun even with sun lotion on he was
still a bit raw and red. He strolled to the park and sat and read the local
paper under the shade of a big leafy eucalyptus tree. The loud blast of a ship’s
whistle aroused a curiosity. Perspiration on his forehead turned cool. He
folded the paper and walked towards Victoria Street. When he rounded the
towering grain silos onto the docks he saw a ship slowly being maneuvered to
her berth. He felt shivers like tiny electric shocks running along his spine
when he saw the bold black letters on her huge bow, ‘S.S. Rangoon’. He heard
orders being shouted from the bridge to the mate on the forecastle head; make
fast. He saw busy crewmen hauling ropes and winding them on the bits then releasing
the chain stoppers. Two men hauled the back spring and made it fast. He heard
the telegraphs on the bridge ring finished with engines. My new home he
thought, she looked huge and imposing alongside the quay. With a strong feeling
of apprehension starting the grip him, he turned and walked back to the bus
stop.

Back at the hotel he was
restlessly waiting for Danny, and when he appeared he couldn’t wait to tell him
of the Rangoon’s arrival. But before he could get a word out he heard.

“Well she’s arrived, right on
time too.”

“Yes” Henry replied, a little
deflated, “I was there watching her from a safe distance being berthed.”

“Good, and what did you think
of your new abode?”

“She looks a fine ship, but I
suppose it’s just a job and it has to be done.”

“Yes Tyler, you’re right and
hopefully you won’t have to spend too much time on her. Our man will be on duty
tonight trying to identify Denis Troy and putting his plan of action together.
I’ll keep you informed how it’s progressing. Time will be of the essence as
she’ll be here for just four days, and then you’ll be sailing to India - not
sure what port yet.”

“Is there anything on for
tomorrow? I’m sure I should stay away from Fremantle for fear I might bump into
some of her crewmen.”

“Yes, you wouldn’t want to
meet any of them as yet. Just have a quiet day around Perth and enjoy the
sights.”

“Aye-Aye sir, will do.”

Danny left, after politely refusing
an invitation to go to the bar for a drink. “We’ll have one before you sail. I
must meet with a young lady who is arriving from Sydney on a flight tonight at
ten o’clock.”

Henry wrote a few lines to
both Vera and Vincent, telling them of the arrival of the ship. He felt
restless and couldn’t settle down to sleep so he decided to go for a walk. He
came to a book shop still open for business and browsed around picking up three
paperbacks that he thought would help wile away some hours when at sea. He also
bought a new atlas book to replace the one he left back in England. This one he
determined would have to be kept free of notes and markings in case it was seen
by the crew members. He would keep mental notes and update his old atlas when
safely back home.

Danny arrived at the hotel
next evening at nine o’clock. Henry was in his room scribbling a few lines to
Vera when he walked in.