The Dragon's Tale: A Jack Lauder Thriller (15 page)

CHAPTER 2

     Romy offered to drive Jack down to the ferry and they left the nightclub.  At least Jack had a lead now, although his friend seemed to number among his companions just about every low life in the world. One explanation for his elusiveness might be he didn’t want Jack to find him. If that was the case, Plum was right, he could kiss his money goodbye. Forget about the blood and the stone, it’s even harder to get cash out of a broke Aussie. Jack was beginning to believe the propaganda. Gerry was off the wall. 

     When they got downtown it turned out the boat didn’t sail until midnight so they drove into Ermita where Romy left the car and they toured the bars. Jack handed him his reward. “We didn’t find your friend,” the Filipino protested.

     “Near as dammit, fair’s fair.” Romy wasn’t arguing. His wife was expecting a child and a windfall went a long way in Manila. They returned to the New Aussie Club where Jack bought the proprietor a beer by way of thank you.

     “Enjoy yourself, mate,” the barman said. He pointed around. There was a dozen or so good-looking girls on the dance floor.

     "You sure you don't want girl?" Romy asked, "Pretty cheap cheap here, you got the time!”

     Jack smiled. You get older and, if not wiser, maybe less foolish. Then a woman started to stride across the floor towards them. She had long blond hair and a radiant smile. He was on his guard but she was doing her best to be charming. She stopped short of him and held out her hands.  “Can we just start again? Not from the beginning maybe but at least from the last couple of days?” Romy’s eyes popped out of his head. Jack looked at the tall, thin man following her. “My, you’re very hard to keep up with?”

     “Why are you trying?”

     “Maybe I was sorry about what happened the other night? We got off on the wrong foot and all that?”

     “Really? Is that what this is about?”

    “Well, no, not entirely. If you must know, I figured I had some leave coming and if you’re going to catch up with that ass’ole I’d like to be there when you do.” He took the explanation on board – but how had she known he was in the Philippines? Before he could analyse it further he remembered his manners and introduced her to Romy. “Hi, Romy,” Diana said, totally relaxed. She had a good way with people who might think themselves below her station. She’d been brought up among sheep rustlers and she possessed no airs and graces.

     “Hi, please to meet you,” he stammered back, totally bowled over by her sheer drop-dead beauty. It was as if a film star had been introduced into their midst. “Mr. Jack, you want me leave now?” Jack cuffed his head and bought him another drink.  He could sink them in best Western style. Romy drew himself up to his full height, a paid up member of the symposium.

     Then the other man came up behind Diana and said, “Who’s the facking Pom?”

     “Oh yes,” Diana said, her face speaking with more volume than her voice, “this is Goff, Goff meet Jack.”

     To show it was all to be taken in jest, the Aussie added, “G’ day, mate.” He held out his hand and they shook.

     “The night ferry will soon be leaving for Cebu,” Romy reminded him and Jack grimaced because he hadn‘t wanted Diana to know that but, of course, how would Romy know?

     “Cebu. Now that’s a dead and alive hole,” Diana chipped in, throwing back her hair with an equine flick of the head.

    “It’s a long journey too. Takes all night and half of tomorrow.”

     Diana had a bottle of beer to her mouth. She paused and looked at Jack with a slight sideways glance of the eyes. “We’ll have to find something to amuse ourselves then, won’t we?”

     “Hey!” Goff cut in, “I know a man in Cebu. Might be up for a deal.” He winked at her. “Get ourselves a cabin?”

     “He’s a diamond trader,” she whispered in Jack’s ear, “met him on the plane.”

     “You always had impeccable taste in men.”

     Those sapphire eyes turned arctic, “Jealous are we?”

     He wanted to tell her no, it was someone else he was thinking about, but did she really care that Amie was dead? And anyway it wasn’t right. He was jealous but he wasn’t going to admit it and if she could throw herself at a bloke like that he didn’t want to know her. Even though he’d thought of her more than once since the lost opportunity, once or twice guiltily, when he was with Amie, he made up his mind to get rid of her as soon as possible.

     A little later Romy took them all to the wharf. Jack had tried to dispose of the other two by suggesting they might need to get their things but Diana tapped her small case. It was all in there and Goff always travelled light apparently. Diamond trader, Jack thought, diamond bloody smuggler more like. At least he had a first class cabin to himself but even that was scuppered when the purser, assuming no doubt they were a menage-a-trois, said the other two could share it as the first class cabins slept four. Diana looked delighted and he just groaned inwardly.

     After an emotional farewell with Romy and many promises to return to see him at some indeterminate date in the future, the sort of promise made with all good intentions but little reflection, a seaman led them across the deck, where scores of people were putting up makeshift cots. "How many people can you cram on this boat?" Jack asked. Maybe the sailor didn't understand, or he was ignoring the question, but he didn't respond.  He led them down to the cabin where he deposited his bag on the top bunk.

     “I like the top bunk,” Diana said and put her bag there too. Goff put his on the other top one too and Jack groaned again. The Aussie winked at him though and it took him a few moments to realise from the furtive whispers that he was trying to tell him he expected to be sharing the other top bunk so it might be best to sleep under his, if he wanted a quiet night. It was an hour before the boat sailed and Diana added, “The air-conditioning’s not up to much, is it?” Jack sat on the bottom bunk and watched wryly as Goff, standing behind her, made a gesture of goosing her rear, grinning at Jack behind her back, his tongue out in a mixture of the comic and the lascivious.

     “Fancy a stroll round the deck,” Jack asked, “watch the shoreline slip away?”

     “Hmmm!” she replied, “you are so romantic, Jack.”

     Goff added, “You seen one sea view, you seen ‘em all. Be my guest, folks.” Jack opened the door to let her into the corridor and, as he followed, the Aussie added quietly to Jack, “Eat your heart out, Pom. You take her for a turn round the deck and later I’ll show you how you really exercise a filly.”

     They made their way on deck where it quickly became clear that strolling wasn’t an option. Dozens of Filipinos were bedded down for the night on their flimsy hammocks.  “I get it now,” Jack said, “first class means you’re under cover. My but this shipping line believes in packing them in. It’s worse than the Bigg Market of a Friday night.”

     They threaded their way gingerly between the prone bodies and got to the stern of the boat where they stared at the white wake as the vessel ploughed its way through the darkness of the Indian Ocean. “So you were going to just walk away without so much as a goodbye?” she asked, leaning up against him so that he could smell her perfume mingled with the natural fragrance of her warm body.

     “Yeah, well I wasn’t really thinking about anyone else after I found Amie dead – “

     “What?” Diana exclaimed.

     He turned and looked at her. Could it be she didn’t know? Then he thought, why should she? It wouldn’t have been any big deal in the press back in Hong Kong and it probably wouldn’t even ripple into the European community. “Did you not know? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound callous.” He quickly explained the events, which had preceded his departure from Hong Kong. Diana held her hand over her mouth in horror. It was funny but he’d never appreciated that she would feel like that about her fellow human beings. He’d seen her as reared in a school of hard knocks where you were too busy riding your own to worry about anyone else’s.

     “I had no idea,” Diana said. “I can’t believe it. I knew Amie quite well because of Gerry but she was always in his corner so we didn’t exactly hit it off big time. Who’d want to kill her though? Was it just an opportunist crime?”

     Jack’s face turned grim. His mouth set and his blue eyes had a steely glint as he replied, “I’m not sure but I’d better warn you, I’m not the safest guy to be travelling with.”

     “You?” Diana responded incredulously. “Why on earth should anyone want to hurt you?”

     “Oh, come on, don’t you think your boss could answer that one?”

     “K.K? Well, he’s mentioned you and your connection with Gerry but he’s never given me the impression that…” Her voice trailed away as her brain began to catch up with it.

     “That’s it. I’m afraid it has something to do with Gerry. The Triads seem to think he left me something before he disappeared.”

     “And did he?”

     Jack shrugged, “Not that I know of. Mr. Ma told me it could be something I don’t know I’ve got. It could even be something in my mind, something he told me when he spoke to me and needed money.”

     “Gerry borrowed cash from you?” Diana spoke as if all this news at once was too much to take in.

     “Fifty grand,” Jack replied. Again a despondent tone had entered his voice.

     “Phew!” Diana exclaimed. “Are you talking sterling?”

     “Too right I am. If it was funny money I wouldn’t be so upset but it’s big ones all right.”

     “I always said you were a mug,” she laughed, digging him slyly in the ribs.

     “Thanks a lot, that makes me feel a whole bunch better.”

     “It’s only money. “Easy come, easy go.”

     “Less of the easy come. Worked for every penny I did. Sweat of the brow.”

    “Yeah! Pull the other one. Anyway, look on the bright side, you’re out here. That’s got to be a plus.”

     “You’re dead right. Just got to avoid the Red Poles. Your boss was supposed to sort those guys out.” He could see that once again she was surprised so he explained what had happened to him in England, leaving out the information about Amie’s presence, because he still hadn’t figured that one out, and then the coincidence of the successive attacks in Hong Kong, culminating in her death.

     “Unbelievable!” Diana said at length.

     “So you see why I’m not exactly the safest travelling companion at the moment?”

     Diana leaned over him and he could smell the sweetness of her breath. “I always had a sense of adventure, Jack.  Never did like boring men.” After an hour or so during which he got to liking her better they went back down below and found Goff, dressed only in his underpants, on his bunk reading a catalogue. Diana didn’t ask them to turn away as she got changed. She turned her back on them, slipped out of her jeans and t shirt. Jack pretended to look away but he couldn’t really take his eyes off the creamy skin of her back and the hour-glass flare of her hips. When she climbed up to the top bunk, his mouth went dry as the muscles rippled. Silently he sighed with thwarted animal desire. Goff was more forthcoming. He got out of his cot and heaved himself up so his face was next to her shoulder. “Hey Di,” he said, nuzzling the back of her head.

     “Yeah.” She didn’t even turn over.

     “Do you fancy a shag?”

     “No thanks.”

     “Well do you mind lying down while I have one?”

     “Fuck off.”

     Goff sighed and let himself back down. He held out his hands to Jack as he crossed back over and heaved himself up on to the bunk above. “A man’s gotta give it his best shot.” Meanwhile, all Jack could do was burn for her body too and hate himself for it. Long after the breathing had evened itself out on both sides of the cabin he lay awake, thinking about his life and how kind of worthless it seemed now as if he had done nothing with it. With that thought he fell into a deep sleep.