The Body in the River (23 page)

It was after midnight when they returned to the hotel. They gave their thanks to Petit for his help and said their goodbyes. Their mood was still high as they got into the lift to go up to their rooms.

Rose said,
‘
I think you should rewrite the book on diplomatic relations, Fred; you certainly got Jean
’
s co-operation.
’

Middlemiss smiled.
‘
There
’
s more than one way of skinning a cat or chatting up a frog.
’

Brookes let it pass; the DS had done his job and that was what really mattered.

When he got to his bed, he immediately fell into a deep sleep. But it was not to last long.

At 3am, his phone rang.

It was Aitcheson.
‘
Puerto Rico, John. The Juliana changed course during the night and docked at a place called Ponce on the south coast just after one local time. But there were no passengers on board. Fleming was not there.
’

‘
What! That
’
s impossible.
’

‘
The customs boarded the ship the moment it landed; there was only the crew on board. They
’
re still searching it but it looks like Fleming has got away. Are you sure he was on the ship in the first place, John?
’

Brookes
’
heart skipped a beat, his brain in a whirl. He scratched his head trying to think. Then it came to him.

‘
Shit; there were two ships that left La Trinite that night. He
’
s pulled a fast one. He laid us a false trail and we fell for it. He
’
s a lot sharper than I gave him credit for. Either that or the crew threw him overboard, which the French police here think is possible, as a man flashing lots of cash about is asking for trouble in these waters.
’

‘
OK. Calm down, all is not lost. It sounds as if he is still alive, as he
’
s made contact with his bank on Grand Cayman. He asked the manager for funds to be transferred to a bank in Townsville. That
’
s in Texas on the Mexican border. It looks as if you were right about his destination; Matamoros is literally just across the border. If he
’
s on another ship, he can
’
t possibly have got there yet.
’

‘
Well, we
’
re sure he didn
’
t go by plane; the airports here are tightly controlled because of the local drug smugglers.
’

‘
Right, so we have time to catch up with him. The bank manager did as we asked him. He told Fleming that a computer hacker had compromised all the customers
’
telephone ID codes and he daren
’
t release any funds until each one
’
s ID is verified.
’

‘
How did Fleming react?
’

‘
The manager is fairly sure he fell for it. He told the manager he
’
d get back to him and rang off. But if he
’
s heading for Mexico, he will have to go past Grand Cayman; we think he will stop there and visit his bank. The manager insisted on seeing his passport and his face before releasing funds.
’

Brookes
’
brain was functioning again. He said,
‘
OK, I
’
ll find out the details of the other ship and let you know. How long have we got if he is aboard?
’

‘
It
’
s about two thousand one hundred kilometres to Grand Cayman from where you are; he couldn
’
t get there until later today by ship. I
’
m arranging for a charter plane to take you direct; be ready to go by dawn.
’

Brookes put the receiver down and searched in his wallet for the business card Petit had given him. On it he found the Frenchman
’
s home number. It was a long time before he got an answer.

Finally he heard a woman
’
s voice on the line, saying something angrily in French.

He said,
‘
I need to speak to Monsieur Petit. Please let me speak to him.
’

There was silence on the other end of the line.

He repeated urgently,
‘
Let me speak to Jean; Jean Petit.
’

He was rewarded with the sound of the other phone coming into contact with some hard surface; then the distant sound of the woman
’
s voice talking angrily.

Finally, a man grunted something into the receiver.

‘
Jean, is that you?
’

‘
Oui. Who is this?
’

Brookes quickly gave Petit the news, finishing by saying,
‘
I need the name of the other ship; urgently.
’

‘
Merde, someone will pay for this. I am sorry, Monsieur. I can only apologise to you. I will call you back in a few minutes with the details of the ship.
’

‘
Thanks, Jean; this is not your fault, Fleming has fooled us all. Thanks for all your help.
’

Brookes next phoned his two colleagues, and told them to dress and join him in his room. Then he ordered a large pot of coffee from reception and a taxi to take them to the airport at 5am.

Within the hour, Brookes had the details of the other ship. The 2,000 ton Bella Marie was a modern freighter driven by powerful twin diesels, giving it a cruising speed of 18 knots. Registered to a Panamanian company named Flexi Freight, it too was a tramp steamer picking up and delivering cargos across the Caribbean. It was licensed to carry a maximum of four passengers. The crew consisted of a captain, chief engineer, and five hands.

Brookes did his arithmetic. A sea knot equalled a distance of 1.85 kilometres. If the ship cruised at 18 knots that meant it travelled at 33k
’
s per hour. It would take it about 65 hours to complete the 2,100k
’
s from Martinique to Grand Cayman if it went direct. Leaving La Trinite at midnight two nights ago, it couldn
’
t arrive at Grand Cayman until five that afternoon at the earliest. He heaved a sigh of relief. Leaving by air at dawn, they would arrive before it.

*

The Dassault Falcon twin turbo jet touched down at Owen Roberts International Airport on the island of Grand Cayman at 11am. The flight had been a smooth one and Brookes and his team were able to relax on the four hour journey. The fact that such expense had been lavished on their mission underlined the importance placed on it by the British government.

As a customs official checked their passports, a huge bear of a man stepped forward. His muscular figure was clothed in a tropical police uniform; on his dark face was a beaming smile. He introduced himself as Inspector Chester Holmes of the Royal Cayman Police.

Brookes returned his smile, shook his hand, and made the introductions.

Holmes whisked them off to collect their waiting luggage and led them out through the terminal building. Thanks to Holmes
’
uniformed presence, they got a lot of curious glances. A white Land Rover with police markings was parked in the no waiting zone outside. A uniformed constable in attendance threw them a smart salute then put their cases in the rear of the vehicle.

As soon as they were seated in the vehicle, Brookes said,
‘
Inspector, it
’
s kind of you to roll out the red carpet, but it
’
s not necessary.
’

‘
Call me Chester, please, sir.
’

‘
OK, Chester, I
’
d rather keep our presence here quiet just in case the man we
’
re after has friends here. We
’
d rather he didn
’
t know there is a welcome committee waiting for him.
’

‘
Don
’
t worry, he
’
s not from the island and all the people here are my friends.
’
He spoke with confidence that Brookes didn
’
t share.

‘
Just the same, we don
’
t want a fuss. We are not the only people searching for him; there are some nasty ones too.
’

Holmes frowned.
‘
Who exactly?
’

Brookes gave him a hard look.
‘
A London gang of criminals who want him dead.
’

‘
Really? My briefing didn
’
t include this information. But don
’
t worry, foreign criminals have no influence here.
’

‘
How much
have
you been told about the man we are looking for?
’

‘
That he murdered a young woman in London.
’

‘
That
’
s true, but it
’
s why he killed her that is the important thing here. We believe he may have information that will help us bring down the leader of this gang and he
’
s very rich. We
’
re sure that this man will try to have him killed first.
’

Holmes licked his lips.
‘
I see; I will get my people on to this.
’

‘
Are there many foreigners here on the island?
’

‘
No, very few. Foreigners need a permit to work here and they are carefully controlled; even those from England.
’

‘
What about tourists?
’

‘
There are lots of those of course but don
’
t worry, the islanders are mostly honest folk and have no truck with criminals. Why is your fugitive coming here?
’

‘
We think to visit one of the banks.
’

‘
May I ask which bank, sir?
’

Brookes told him and he smiled.
‘
I know the bank, I have an aunt that works there as a teller. We must talk, but here is your hotel.
’

Looking up, Brookes saw the building, surrounded by palm trees and tropical plants.
‘
Wow, that
’
s some hotel.
’

‘
Yes, my instructions were to make you comfortable. Please book in, then we can talk about how we will catch this man.
’

Brookes found a package waiting at reception. The envelope it was contained in bore the impressive stamp of the governor
’
s office.

He didn
’
t open it until he was in his room. It contained a map of Grand Cayman, a fax from Aitcheson, and a compliment slip from the first secretary at Government House. There was a hand-written note on the slip that said:

“
A Mr Clark from the governor
’
s office will contact you.
”
The signature that followed was illegible.

The fax read:
“
SS Bella Marie 500 kilometres east of Grand Cayman, steaming your way. ETA 1am local time at current speed. Local police at your disposal. Good luck.
”

Taking the map with him, he returned to reception, where Holmes was waiting for him.

‘
Is there somewhere we can talk?
’
Brookes asked.

Holmes led him out onto a terrace overlooking the beach. He beckoned a hovering waiter and ordered iced coffees.

Then he turned to Brookes.
‘
How would you like this handled, sir?
’

‘
As quietly as possible. The ship he
’
s believed to be on will probably arrive some time tonight. How many harbours are there on the island?
’

‘
For big ships? Only the one here at Georgetown. We are surrounded by dangerous reefs.
’

Brookes frowned.
‘
And if he didn
’
t want to be seen arriving, is there anywhere else he could come ashore?
’