Three Classic Thrillers (19 page)

“Apology accepted. Don’t let it happen again.”

“It won’t. I promise.”

“Was she good?”

“I think so. I don’t remember too much. What did you do with her sister?”

“She told me to get lost. I hit the beach and took a walk.”

Avery bit into a pastry and wiped his mouth. “You know I’m separated. We’ll probably get a divorce in a year or so. I’m very discreet because the divorce could get nasty. There’s an unwritten rule in the firm—what we do away from Memphis stays away from Memphis. Understand?”

“Come on, Avery. You know I wouldn’t tell.”

“I know. I know.”

Mitch was glad to hear of the unwritten rule, although he awakened with the security that he had committed the perfect crime. He had thought of her in bed, the shower, the taxi, and now he had trouble concentrating on anything. He had caught himself looking at jewelry stores when they reached Georgetown.

“I’ve got a question,” Mitch said.

Avery nodded and ate the pastry.

“When I was recruited a few months ago by Oliver Lambert and McKnight and the gang, it was impressed upon me repeatedly that the firm frowned on divorce, women, booze, drugs, everything but hard work and money. That’s why I took the job. I’ve seen the hard work and money, but now I’m seeing other things. Where did you go wrong? Or do all the guys do it?”

“I don’t like your question.”

“I knew you wouldn’t. But I’d like an answer. I deserve an answer. I feel like I was misled.”

“So what are you going to do? Leave because I got drunk and laid up with a whore?”

“I haven’t thought about leaving.”

“Good. Don’t.”

“But I’m entitled to an answer.”

“Okay. Fair enough. I’m the biggest rogue in the firm, and they’ll come down hard when I mention the divorce. I chase women now and then, but no one knows it. Or at least they can’t catch me. I’m sure it’s done by other partners, but you’d never catch them. Not all of them, but a few. Most have very stable marriages and are forever faithful to their wives. I’ve always been the bad boy, but they’ve tolerated me because I’m so talented. They know I drink during lunch and sometimes in the office, and they know I violate some more of their sacred rules, but they made me a partner because they need me. And now that I’m a partner, they can’t do much about it. I’m not that bad of a guy, Mitch.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“I’m not perfect. Some of them are, believe me. They’re machines, robots. They live, eat and sleep for Bendini, Lambert & Locke. I like to have a little fun.”

“So you’re the exception—”

“Rather than the rule, yes. And I don’t apologize for it.”

“I didn’t ask you for an apology. Just a clarification.”

“Clear enough?”

“Yes. I’ve always admired your bluntness.”

“And I admire your discipline. It’s a strong man who can remain faithful to his wife with the temptations you had last night. I’m not that strong. Don’t want to be.”

Temptations. He had thought of inspecting the downtown jewelry shops during lunch.

“Look, Avery, I’m not a Holy Roller, and I’m not shocked. I’m not one to judge—I’ve been judged all my life. I was just confused about the rules, that’s all.”

“The rules never change. They’re cast in concrete. Carved in granite. Etched in stone. Violate too many and you’re out. Or violate as many as you want, but just don’t get caught.”

“Fair enough.”

Osgood and a group of clerks entered the room with computer printouts and stacks of documents. They made neat piles on the table and alphabetized it all.

“This should keep you busy for a day or so,” Osgood said with a forced smile. He snapped his fingers and the clerks disappeared. “I’ll be in my office if you need something.”

“Yes, thanks,” Avery said as he hovered over the first set of documents. Mitch removed his coat and loosened his tie.

“Exactly what are we doing here?” he asked.

“Two things. First, we’ll review the entries into all of these accounts. We’re looking primarily for interest earned, what rate, how much, etc. We’ll do a rough audit of each account to make sure the interest is going where it is supposed to go. For example, Dolph Hemmba sends his interest to nine different banks in the Bahamas. It’s stupid, but it makes him happy. It’s also impossible for anyone to follow, except me. He has about twelve million in this bank, so it’s worth keeping up with. He could do this himself, but he feels better if I do it. At two-fifty an hour, I don’t mind. We’ll check the interest this bank is paying on each account. The rate varies depending on a number of
factors. It’s discretionary with the bank, and this is a good way to keep them honest.”

“I thought they were honest.”

“They are, but they’re bankers, remember.

“You’re looking at close to thirty accounts here, and when we leave we’ll know the exact balance, the interest earned and where the interest is going. Second, we have to incorporate three companies under Caymanian jurisdiction. It’s fairly easy legal work and could be done in Memphis. But the clients think we must come here to do it. Remember, we’re dealing with people who invest millions. A few thousand in legal fees doesn’t bother them.”

Mitch flipped through a printout in the Hemmba stack. “Who’s this guy Hemmba? I haven’t heard of him.”

“I’ve got a lot of clients you haven’t heard of. Hemmba is a big farmer in Arkansas, one of the state’s largest landowners.”

“Twelve million dollars?”

“That’s just in this bank.”

“That’s a lot of cotton and soybeans.”

“Let’s just say he has other ventures.”

“Such as?”

“I really can’t say.”

“Legal or illegal?”

“Let’s just say he’s hiding twenty million plus interest in various Caribbean banks from the IRS.”

“Are we helping him?”

Avery spread the documents on one end of the table and began checking entries. Mitch watched and waited for an answer. The silence grew heavier and it was obvious there would not be one. He could press, but he had asked enough questions for one day. He rolled up his sleeves and went to work.

_____________

At noon he learned about Avery’s prior commitment. His woman was waiting at the condo for a little rendezvous. He suggested they break for a couple of hours and mentioned a café downtown Mitch could try.

Instead of a café, Mitch found the Georgetown Library four blocks from the bank. On the second floor he was directed to the periodicals, where he found a shelf full of old editions of
The Daily Caymanian
. He dug back six months and pulled the one dated June 27. He laid it on a small table by a window overlooking the street. He glanced out the window, then looked closer. There was a man he had seen only moments earlier on the street by the bank. He was behind the wheel of a battered yellow Chevette parked in a narrow drive across from the library. He was a stocky, dark-haired, foreign-looking type with a gaudy green-and-orange shirt and cheap touristy sunglasses.

The same Chevette with the same driver had been parked in front of the gift shop next to the bank, and now, moments later, it was parked four blocks away. A native on a bicycle stopped next to him and took a cigarette. The man in the car pointed at the library. The native left his bicycle and walked quickly across the street.

Mitch folded the newspaper and stuck it in his coat. He walked past the rows of shelves, found a
National Geographic
and sat down at a table. He studied the magazine and listened carefully as the native climbed the stairs, noticed him, walked behind him, seemed to pause as if to catch a glimpse of what he was reading, then disappeared down the stairs. Mitch waited for a moment, then returned to the window.
The native was taking another cigarette and talking to the man in the Chevette. He lit the cigarette and rode away.

Mitch spread the newspaper on the table and scanned the headline story of the two American lawyers and their dive guide who had been killed in a mysterious accident the day before. He made mental notes and returned the paper.

The Chevette was still watching. He walked in front of it, made the block and headed in the direction of the bank. The shopping district was squeezed tightly between the bank buildings and Hogsty Bay. The streets were narrow and crowded with tourists on foot, tourists on scooters, tourists in rented compacts. He removed his coat and ducked into a T-shirt shop with a pub upstairs. He climbed the stairs, ordered a Coke, and sat on the balcony.

Within minutes the native with the bicycle was at the bar, drinking a Red Stripe and watching from behind a hand-printed menu.

Mitch sipped on the Coke and scanned the congestion below. No sign of the Chevette, but he knew it was close by. He saw another man stare at him from the street, then disappear. Then a woman. Was he paranoid? Then the Chevette turned the corner two blocks away and moved slowly beneath him.

He went to the T-shirt store and bought a pair of sunglasses. He walked for a block, then darted into an alley. He ran through the dark shade to the next street, then into a gift shop. He left through the back door, into an alley. He saw a large clothing store for tourists and entered through a side door. He watched the street closely and saw nothing. The racks were full of shorts and shirts of all colors—clothes the natives would not buy but the Americans loved. He stayed
conservative—white shorts with a red knit pullover. He found a pair of straw sandals that sort of matched the hat he liked. The clerk giggled and showed him to a dressing room. He checked the street again. Nothing. The clothes fit, and he asked her if he could leave his suit and shoes in the back for a couple of hours. “No problem, mon,” she said. He paid in cash, slipped her a ten and asked her to call a cab. She said he was very handsome.

He watched the street nervously until the cab arrived. He darted across the sidewalk, into the back seat. “Abanks Dive Lodge,” he said.

“That’s a long way, mon.”

Mitch threw a twenty over the seat. “Get moving. Watch your mirror. If someone is following, let me know.”

He grabbed the money. “Okay, mon.”

Mitch sat low under his new hat in the back seat as his driver worked his way down Shedden Road, out of the shopping district, around Hogsty Bay, and headed east, past Red Bay, out of the city of Georgetown and onto the road to Bodden Town.

“Who are you running from, mon?”

Mitch smiled and rolled down his window. “The Internal Revenue Service.” He thought that was cute, but the driver seemed confused. There were no taxes and no tax collectors in the islands, he remembered. The driver continued in silence.

According to the paper, the dive guide was Philip Abanks, son of Barry Abanks, the owner of the dive lodge. He was nineteen when he was killed. The three had drowned when an explosion of some sort hit their boat. A very mysterious explosion. The bodies had been found in eighty feet of water in full scuba gear. There were no witnesses to the explosion and no
explanations as to why it occurred two miles offshore in an area not known for diving. The article said there were many unanswered questions.

Bodden Town was a small village twenty minutes from Georgetown. The dive lodge was south of town on an isolated stretch of beach.

“Did anyone follow us?” Mitch asked.

The driver shook his head.

“Good job. Here’s forty bucks.” Mitch looked at his watch. “It’s almost one. Can you be here at exactly two-thirty?”

“No problem, mon.”

The road ended at the edge of the beach and became a white-rock parking area shaded by dozens of royal palms. The front building of the lodge was a large, two-story home with a tin roof and an outer stairway leading to the center of the second floor. The Grand House, it was called. It was painted a light blue with neat white trim, and it was partially hidden by bay vines and spider lilies. The handwrought fretwork was painted pink. The solid wooden shutters were olive. It was the office and eating room of Abanks Dive Lodge. To its right the palm trees thinned and a small driveway curved around the Grand House and sloped downward to a large open area of white rock. On each side was a group of a dozen or so thatched-roof huts where divers roomed. A maze of wooden sidewalks ran from the huts to the central point of the lodge, the open-air bar next to the water.

Mitch headed for the bar to the familiar sounds of reggae and laughter. It was similar to Rumheads, but without the crowd. After a few minutes, the bartender, Henry, delivered a Red Stripe to Mitch.

“Where’s Barry Abanks?” Mitch asked.

He nodded to the ocean and returned to the bar.
Half a mile out, a boat cut slowly through the still water and made its way toward the lodge. Mitch ate a cheeseburger and watched the dominoes.

The boat docked at a pier between the bar and a larger hut with the words
DIVE SHOP
hand-painted over a window. The divers jumped from the boat with their equipment bags and, without exception, headed for the bar. A short, wiry man stood next to the boat and barked orders at the deckhands, who were unloading empty scuba tanks onto the pier. He wore a white baseball cap and not much else. A tiny black pouch covered his crotch and most of his rear end. From the looks of his brown leathery skin he hadn’t worn much in the past fifty years. He checked in at the dive shop, yelled at the dive captains and deckhands and made his way to the bar. He ignored the crowd and went to the freezer, where he picked up a Heineken, removed the top and took a long drink.

The bartender said something to Abanks and nodded toward Mitch. He opened another Heineken and walked to Mitch’s table.

He did not smile. “Are you looking for me?” It was almost a sneer.

“Are you Mr. Abanks?”

“That’s me. What do you want?”

“I’d like to talk to you for a few minutes.”

He gulped his beer and gazed at the ocean. “I’m too busy. I have a dive boat leaving in forty minutes.”

“My name is Mitch McDeere. I’m a lawyer from Memphis.”

Abanks glared at him with tiny brown eyes. Mitch had his attention. “So?”

“So, the two men who died with your son were friends of mine. It won’t take but a few minutes.”