The Atlas Murders (50 page)

I love you Henry, but there’s
one thing between us and it will eventually break us up if we don’t settle it
once and for all.”

 He looked
at her in puzzlement.

 “Tell me and I will clear up
whatever it is; I promise I’m not married or anything like that.”

 She smiled a weak smile.

“I’ve a woman’s intuition you
know. The hideous ghost that comes between us is ever present. I can see him in
your eyes and feel him like an ogre standing triumphal and gloating, possessing
your being.”

 Henry looked frightened and
turned his head away from her.

“Is it that noticeable this
hatred I have locked away inside?”

 “It’s noticeable to me. I
see you at times; the haunted look etched on your face and the torment is ever
present in your eyes. Now Henry, we’re going to track him down and exorcise his
demon from you. I’m sure we’re closer to him than you might think, and if he’s
not on any of the next islands, he’s surely in Caracas. We will find him! I’m
not going to let him take away my love for you.”

 He turned to meet her loving
eyes. Her strength of will seeped into his very soul and lifted his sunken
spirit.

 “You know I love you Henry. I’ll
not let go of you.”

As they embraced, he trembled
with pure emotional release.

 “I was so afraid of losing
you.”

“I am with you Henry, and now
we must get the yacht back and bring that evil Tukola to account.”

 They were showered, dressed
and were walking out of the hotel before most guests had stirred. They had been
awake so early that Henry couldn’t believe it was only eight o’clock.

“Henry my dear, I have a tour
arranged for us today so I hope you’ve brought your camera.”

 “Where to, anything special?”

 “I thought we’d take in a
museum and learn a little of the island’s history, then we could visit one of
the charming old colonial plantation houses.”

“Kerstin, I would so much
love to for you to be my sexy personal tour guide, but the doctor did say that
I had to take it easy for a few days.”

“Oh yes, of course he did.
Sorry Henry, how silly of me to suggest such a thing. It must be because you
look so well considering what you’ve been through that I forgot you should be
resting.”

“That’s ok my dear, but it
doesn’t mean I want to spend my time stuck in a hotel bed staring at the
ceiling. Perhaps we should just hang around the town and have a spot of lunch
later in one of the inviting looking eateries close to the harbor.”

“Sounds good to me.”

They strolled down a
picturesque, palm lined backstreet a short distance from the hotel.

 “I smell freshly brewed
coffee.  Look, there’s a small café just up a bit further.”

 As they sat sipping their
coffee, Henry mused that for the first time since he sailed on the Amber Witch
he felt relaxed and more like a tourist. He thought that perhaps Kerstin’s
support earlier that day was beginning to help him manage his deep-seated
obsession with bringing Tukola to justice. Anyway, he pondered, until the boat
was ready, there was little they could do to catch him.

Kerstin wouldn’t let him
visit the boatyard to see how the work on the yacht was progressing. “We’ll go
see her the day after tomorrow. Hopefully, she should be nearly ready to be put
back in the water by then.”

 “Aye-aye mam, I agree. I
could get used to this lifestyle very easily.”

 “Well, it’s all before you.
We’ll just have to choose our time and a place.”

He put his arm around her as
they left the cafe, “I’ll go along with that.”

 Although much more relaxed, Henry’s
detective mind was working in overdrive since Kerstin threw in her lot with him.
He now had more to prove by catching Tukola. “What’s our next island of call? Oh
yes, St. Lucia as originally planned.”

 “Yes, it’s only a short run
and a few more then to St. Vincent and Barbados; all close enough together and
last of all the Grenadines and Grenada. I forgot to tell you about the
hurricane season which is due in about three weeks’ time, but the further south
of here we get the better chance to be clear of them. They normally don’t reach
below Barbados, but you never can be too sure you are always liable to get the odd
rogue one.”

 “Will we have to stay south
then until the hurricane season is over?”

 “We’ll wait and see how far
into the season we are before we attempt to sail back north again.”

 After a light lunch by the
harbor, they went back to the hotel where they spent a lazy afternoon doing
very little.

 The view from their window
out over the expanse of the great harbor with its forts once manned and armed
to guard against the British and Spanish sea forces, now stood with sun
bleached stone walls silent and mute like blind men looking out over the benevolent
sea.

The Amber Witch was a hive of
activity when they reached the boatyard. Kerstin went to the foreman and
listened as he gave orders to two men about checking the steering gear. He was
a jolly chap of non-guessable origin, handsome as most of these people of mixed
race are and fit and firm for a man of fifty.

“How are we progressing?”

 He smiled and shook hands
with Henry.

 “The old Devil Johnnie he
nearly get you. I am glad to see you are so well, my name is Charles. I can say
we will have you back in the water later today and I will go with you for a
little sail tomorrow to satisfy she is perfect. I will have to get a marine
surveyor to certify she is seaworthy again especially for your insurance.”

 Henry thought how efficient
the repair men were. “Thank you Charles, we will see you again tomorrow
afternoon.”

 “Yes that will be fine.”

 They left and went to the
ship’s chandlers to order new charts and some navigation books that were
soaked. She was trying to think what else needed replacing but preferred to wait
until she next went on board to check what else was water damaged.

Suddenly he stopped, “Kerstin
you know the photo the old woman Martha in Havana gave me, did it get destroyed?”

 She looked at him concerned,
thinking how much he wanted to find his son, Juan. “It’s ok, I have it with all
your personal belongings at the harbor master’s office. We should go there now
and get some dollars, I’m nearly out.”

 Henry put his hand in his
pocket and took out some coins; “look at my wealth.”

 “I do hope we find your son
Juan, I know it’s a long shot but they are on one of these islands so we could
do it.”

 “I have mixed feelings about
him sometimes; you never know what his mother told him about me, if she told
him anything. He might hate me for not keeping in touch with her. You know
Kerstin, how many factors can enter a lost relationship but I’d still like to
see him and maybe try to explain what happened.”

 It was such a troubled time
and young lust or love has a way of expressing itself and no young man could be
faulted for being a willing partner.”

 “You have such a perfect way
with words; you’d make a misdemeanor sound like an act of bravery.”

 She was coming in after her
trials when they arrived on the pier wall. Kerstin stood with admiration as a
mother looks at a child.

 “She’s just beautiful, look
at her go, lying over to such a light breeze, as sleek and swift as a cheetah.”

 Henry realized how much she
loved the boat. “I never thought she was so beautiful and it’s a joy to see her
like that.”

 They tied her up and Kerstin
couldn’t wait to get on board. Charles gave them the all clear and told them
he’d have the surveyor’s certificate in an hour’s time. “She handles
beautifully, pure joy to sail.”

 Kerstin was so proud. She
went and checked everything below decks first and made a note of what they
needed to get. Next she walked the deck and scrutinized everything pulling and
hauling on lanyards and seeing the new life raft was properly in its cradle.
Satisfied she called Henry. “I‘ve checked everything and made a list of what we
need, what say we move back in tomorrow.”

 “Fine by me. Everything is
dried out below and she looks like nothing ever happened to her.”

 Kerstin slapped her hand on
the chart table.

“She’s a sturdy baby.”

 The next day they were down
early for breakfast and went straight over to the harbor to move back onto the
boat. Their seven o’clock start gave them the whole day on board to get ready
for the next leg of their voyage.

By the time evening arrived they
were satisfied with all their preparations as they sat down to a cold supper.
Kerstin was brimming over with joy at the prospect of sailing the yacht again.
“If we get an early start tomorrow, something like six o’clock, we should make
Castries by late afternoon. Get a weather forecast and I’ll mark the course on
the chart, then an early night. I’ll pop up to the harbor master’s office and
tell them we’re sailing early; they’re a bit sticky on protocol here.”

 “Aye-aye mam all will be
done, you go to the harbor master and I’ll do the dishes.”

Chapter
Thirty-Eight

 The light of a new day was slowly
banishing the darkness when they cleared Fort de France and set a course south
for Castries, the capital of St. Lucia. It was early afternoon when they became
becalmed off the northern most tip of St. Lucia. Kerstin was standing looking
up at the few cumulus clouds moving against the slow roll of the mast like
cotton balls. “Not much sign of a breeze, we’ll have to use our diesel if this
lasts for much longer.”

After about thirty minutes of
traveling on engine power, conditions became more favorable and they were able
to hoist the sails.

They arrived in Castries and
went to the customs office. After getting clearance they sailed across the harbor
and anchored in Vigie Creek. They decided to wait until morning before going
ashore. Kerstin who was a font of knowledge about the islands never ceased to
amaze Henry with her stories and snippets of history. They were sitting out on
deck enjoying a meal and watching the comings and goings of yachts and ships as
the lights of the city were flicking on like fireflies on a vast canopy.

 Henry gazed over the city
spread out in a great encompassing circular carpet of light like a field of
stars. “What’s the population of Castries?”

 A ship passed and the wash
rocked them at their anchorage. “A lot of the shipping doesn’t observe the
speed limit here,” complained Kerstin, before answering Henry’s question. “Castries
has about sixty odd thousand people, quite a large city. The majority of people
here are of mixed African descent, possibly ninety percent. The rest of the
population is made up of the original native and mulatto people, and there’s a very
small number of Europeans.”

 Henry asked her how she knew
so much about the Caribbean.

“Guide books, Henry. Whenever
I travel I always make sure I take a good supply of them. They’re one of my
secret indulgences. Did you know Henry, for such a small island, St. Lucia can
boast two Nobel Prize Winners; Sir Arthur Lewis in 1979 for economics, and the
poet, Derek Walcott won the prize for literature in 1992. For an island with such
a relatively small population, that’s a remarkable statistic.”

“It is remarkable, and you my
dear, are a remarkable woman!”

“Thank you Henry, but I think
that’s enough facts for one night; we better head off for some shut eye, we’ve
an early start tomorrow.”

 The streets were busy as
they strolled around the harbor to Pavee Road where the police headquarters
were situated. They saw policemen and women coming and going from the building.

They were shown to a private
room when they explained at the reception what they wanted. It wasn’t long
before a senior policeman entered the room and introductions were made.

 “I’m pleased to meet you
both and now, how can I be of assistance.”

 Henry related his story from
start to where they were now as short and precise as possible. The officer picked
up a pen and a sheet of paper.

 “Could you write his name
for me please?”

  “Thank you. Now, please
excuse me, I will be only a little while.”

 Three minutes later the
officer came back clutching a file; he had an air of urgency about him as he
dropped the file on the desk and opened it.

“You’re lucky Mr. Carter. I
was the man who handled this business, and it wasn’t that long ago. Let me
see,” he said, studying the file, “ah yes, it was June, 1998. A man from
Venezuela was here looking for his daughter. Her name was Mariola Devadas and
she was sixteen years old. She was working on the island of St. Vincent and
went missing.”

He showed them a small photo
of a family group. “That’s her there in the middle. Her father said she was
recruited by some agency for an hotelier and while she worked there she sent
money home to her impoverished family. At the end of a year’s stint she was due
to go home for a vacation but never returned. According to the girl’s father,
her boss had a high powered launch and he regularly traveled between St.
Vincent and Caracas - he would often take the hotel girls on the these trips.
The hotelier told her father that she went missing from the hotel several days
before he was due to bring her back to Caracas. We had no sightings or
recollections from anyone of her having come to St. Lucia, so we were of no
help to the poor distraught man.

Now, here’s the bit I know
will be of importance to you;
the owner of the hotel is none other than, Hadar
Tukola… he has to be same man you are looking for.
I can’t tell you much more….” he hesitated, “wait a
minute… if my memory serves me right, I think t
he girl’s father said the name of the hotel was
something like, The Captain’s Beach Hotel, but I could be wrong.”

 Henry turned visibly white,
he was astounded; he looked at Kerstin but no words left his lips.

 She shifted in her chair,
took a deep breath and looked up at the policeman. “That’s just the
breakthrough we need, thank you so much officer.”

 Henry ran his hand across
his forehead and realized he still had feeling. “And there was never any more mention
of this young girl?”

 The officer closed the file.
“You see Mr. Carter,  a lot of young people, especially girls go on yachts and
sometimes their parents don’t hear from them for months or even years, but as
far as I’ve heard, this young girl was looking forward so much to going home;
it was unlikely she went on a yacht.”

 Henry took the photo of
Tukola from his pocket and showed it to the officer.

 “Would you recognize him?”

 “Yes, that’s the man. I have
met him on a number of occasions when he’s visited the island in his big
launch. The last time he was here he came to the station to report that some
things had been stolen from the launch. There was little we could do because he
didn’t want us to go on the yacht. I told him that in future he should not
leave such a valuable craft unattended.”

After thanking the officer
one more time, they left the cool of the police station for the humid heat of
the street. They were happy that they were finally closing in on Tukola, but
also extremely anxious about how to proceed. They went to a nearby café,
ordered coffee and discussed their next moves.

“Henry, we are going to have
to plan this very carefully from here in. Do you think he would recognize you
after all these years?”

 “Yes, I’d say he would.
Although my face is older, many people tell me I’ve aged well.”

 “So you’re going to have to
don some sort of disguise because if he recognizes you the game is certainly up.”

 “What do you suggest?”

 “I don’t know yet but I’m
working on it, but I’m sure it won’t take me long to come up with something
convincing.”

“That’s just as well my dear
Kerstin, because, now that we are so close, we’ll have to work fast in case the
bastard strikes again; time really is of the essence.”

“Yes, from now on we must
make every second count.”

 Back on board they plotted
the course to Kingstown, the capital of St. Vincent.

 “It’s only a ten hour run
down to St. Vincent,” she said, as she put the dividers on the course and
measured off the side of the chart.

Henry sat down and put his
head in his hands. “You know now that we’ve located him, I’m as nervous as a
kitten. I just don’t know what way to approach this. We have no powers of
arrest and nothing too concrete to charge him with except the murder of Shirley
all those years’ ago. Would we be laughed out of their court?”

Kerstin turned to him, her
eyes steely cold. “Yes, I suppose we could be, but we’re not going to any
court! He’ll get the justice he meted out to his victims, and don’t get soft on
it now.”

 “Thanks Kerstin, I know now
where you stand with me on this. I was afraid you wouldn’t see it the same as
me.”

 She went and straddled him
as he sat on the couch. “You know where I stand with you, right beside you
until this is finished.”

 He kissed her long and
passionately. “You see that big sea out there? Well, I love you more than all of
that.”

 “And I love you more than
the big blue sky.”

 They sailed before daylight
and the great harbor was silhouetted against the brightening eastern sky as
they cleared the headland and set a course south for Kingstown. She picked up a
fresh off shore breeze which pushed them along at about seven knots. Kerstin
came and relieved Henry on the wheel. “You know I’m going to have to change
your appearance before we arrive. If we get a spare hour later on, I’ll get to
work on you.”

 He looked surprised and
relieved. “What kind of plan have you hatched? Are you going to make me look
like your favorite film star?”

 She laughed out loud. “If I
could do that I’d be worth millions. Who was it who said: wonders we can do
immediately, but miracles take a little longer?”

 “So even with your best
efforts I’m not going to end up looking like Robert Redford,” he enquired,
laughing hysterically.

They sailed on making good
progress until just after noon, when they were off the northern tip of St. Vincent,
they lost the wind. Kerstin dropped the sails and took a good look at their
drift they were moving slowly away from the coast. Great! she thought, it’ll
give me an hour to perform my disguise duties.

She went below where Henry
was sitting down writing notes in his precious atlas. He looked up at Kerstin.
“Now, what should I drum up for lunch?”

“Forget lunch and take off
that shirt.” she took out a bottle of hair dye from a drawer, holding it up for
him to see. “What do you think of that color?”

 “Good heavens, it looks very
black, I’ll be like a crow when you’re finished with me.”

 “Yes, your hair will be the
blackest of blacks but I’ll have to do something with your fair eyebrows to
make them black too.”

She worked her magic and in
an hour he was a different man. She had used a make-up pencil to darken his
eyebrows and when he looked at himself in a mirror he couldn’t believe the
change.

 “Do you know, I wouldn’t
even recognize myself; you’ve done a marvelous job, thank you.”

 “I don’t know if it makes
you more handsome, but I preferred you before and the sooner I have you back
again, the better!”

 He pulled on his shirt.
“I’ll go out and see how we’re doing if you can make yourself something to eat.”
He shouted back down to her, “there’s still no wind so should I start up the
engine?”

 “Yes do.”

Kerstin plotted the position
on the chart and shouted up, “steer one seven zero.”

 “One seven zero,” he
repeated.

 They made Kingstown by mid-afternoon
and tied up at the harbor which was situated on the seafront of the town.