Десмонд Бэгли - Bahama Crisis

‘Robinson might not be on board, anyway,’ said Perigord.

‘Then aren’t you going to do anything ?’ I demanded desperately.

‘Oh, yes,’ said Deane blandly. He lifted his eyebrows interrogatively at Perigord. ‘I hope your contingency planning is working well.’

‘It is. A fast Customs boat will pass Capistrano and enter the Lucayan Waterway ahead of her. There’ll be another behind. Once she’s in the Waterway she’s bottled up. Then we put the Customs officers aboard her.’

‘But I thought you said...’ I was bewildered.

‘We might as well try,’ said Deane smoothly. ‘Who knows what the Customs officers might find if they search thoroughly enough. Cocaine, perhaps?’

I opened my mouth again, then shut it firmly. If this pair was about to frame Robinson by planting cocaine on his boat they would certainly not admit it to me, but it seemed that Deane was a hard case who was not above providing his own evidence. After all, all he had to do was to keep Robinson in the Bahamas for four days.

‘We had better be on hand,’ Deane said casually. ‘You’ll come, too — you can identify Robinson.’ He picked up the photograph of Carrasco-Perez. ‘And I shall certainly want to question those on board about their association with Perez. We rendezvous at the Casuarina Bridge in thirty minutes.’

‘I’ll be there,’ I said.

Hoping and praying that Robinson would be aboard Capistrano I drove the few hundred yards to the Royal Palm knowing that Billy Cunningham would want to be in at the kill. As soon as he saw me he said, ‘ Capistrano was in a marina called Running Mon, but she’s gone now.’

I said, ‘I know. The police are going to pick her up.’

‘Is Robinson on board?’

‘I hope so. I’m joining Perigord and Deane. They want me to identify Robinson. Want to come along?’

‘Try stopping me,’ he said. ‘I’m looking forward to meeting that son of a bitch.’

I made a decision. ‘We’ll go by boat. Let’s go down to the marina.’

We found Joe Cartwright in the marina office. I popped my head around the door, and said, ‘I want the rescue boat, Joe; with a full tank.’

Cartwright looked up. ‘Can’t be done, Mr Mangan. Got the engine out of her. Tuning her up for the BASRA Marathon next month.’

‘Damn! What else have we that’s fast and seaworthy?’

‘What about the inflatable?’ he suggested. ‘She’s not bad.’

‘Get her ready.’

Within minutes we were at sea, roaring east along the south coast towards the Lucayan Waterway. Some people feel uncomfortable about being in a blow-up boat but they are very good. They are unsinkable, and the British even use them as lifeboats for inshore rescue. And they are damned fast even if they do tend to skitter a bit on the surface of the water.

I told Billy about the plan of attack, and presently I pointed. ‘There’s the Waterway, and that’s the Customs launch just turning in. We’ve got Capistrano trapped.’

I slowed as we entered the Waterway. The Casuarina Bridge was nearly two miles ahead, and in the distance I could see the Customs launch lying next to a white-hulled boat. ‘They’ve got her.’ We motored on and drew alongside the Customs launch where I tossed the painter to a seaman and cut the engine. ‘Let’s go aboard.’

As we stepped on to Capistrano ’s deck I was accosted by a Customs officer. ‘Who are you?’

‘Tom Mangan.’ I looked up at the bridge and saw Perigord and Deane looking down. ‘I’m with Commissioner Deane.’ Three men stood on the after deck. None of them was Robinson. ‘That the crew?’

‘Yes; skipper, engineer and seaman-cum-cook.’

‘No one else?’

‘We’re still looking. I’ve got men searching below.’

One of the three men approached us. ‘Hell, Captain, this is crazy. We’re not carrying anything illegal. We’re just on a cruise.’ He was an American.

‘Then you have nothing to worry about,’ said the Customs man.

‘Well, I’ve gotta get back before the bad weather blows up. Did you hear the weather report? If you don’t let me go I’ll have to see the American consul here.’

‘I’ll give you his address,’ said the officer blandly.

Another Customs man emerged from a hatch. ‘No one below,’ he reported.

‘Are you sure?’ I said.

‘We opened up every compartment big enough to hold a man.’

‘It’s a bust,’ said Billy disgustedly.

Deane and Perigord had come down from the bridge and were picking their way along the shore towards us. I looked around the deck of Capistrano and stiffened as I noticed that the stern davits were empty. I swung around to face the skipper. ‘Where’s the dory — your tender?’

‘Mr Brown took it.’

‘Brown? Who’s he?’

‘The guy who chartered this boat back in Fort Lauderdale.’

‘When was this?’

‘Just as soon as we entered this canal. He said he’d have a final spin and he’d meet us at the other end at the north shore.’

‘Christ, he’s given us the slip.’ I looked at the Customs man. ‘You must have been following him too closely and he took fright — or an insurance policy. If you weren’t going to stop Capistrano there’d be no harm done and he’d rejoin her on the north shore. But you did and his insurance has paid off.’

‘He won’t get far. He’ll run into the boat at the other end.’

‘I wouldn’t bet on it,’ said Billy. ‘This guy plays real cute.’ He gave an exasperated snort. ‘Brown, for God’s sake!’

The skipper said, ‘Will someone tell me what the hell’s going on?’

I turned and stepped on to the Customs launch. ‘Come on. Let’s go after him.’ Billy followed me.

We dropped down into the inflatable, and just before I started the engine I heard Deane bellow, ‘Mangan, come back!’ I ignored him and drowned his voice in a staccato roar as I twisted the throttle. We shot under the bridge and I looked back to see Deane on the deck of Capistrano. He was waving frantically.

Billy chuckled. ‘I guess he’s wondering what will happen to Robinson if we get to him first.’ He suddenly had an automatic pistol in his hand.

‘Put that damn thing away,’ I said. ‘If Deane knows you have it you’re for the chop. And we don’t want murder.’

‘Not murder,’ said Billy. ‘Execution.’ But he put the gun back into its holster.

The Lucayan Waterway stretched ahead of us and there was nothing to be seen on its surface. On either side there were occasional inlets leading to the proposed residential estates on which no houses had yet been built — the water maze. It all went by in a blur as I cranked up to top speed.

‘Something ahead — coming this way,’ said Billy.

It was a small dot in the middle of the Waterway which rapidly grew in size under the influence of our combined speeds. ‘The dory!’ I said.

‘And something coming up behind it,’ said Billy. ‘The other Customs launch?’

‘I hope not,’ I said.

There was no time to explain why because I was busy trying to ram the approaching boat. I pulled on the tiller but the dory went the other way in an evading manoeuvre, and as it flashed past I saw the man at the wheel pointing at me. Something hit the side with a thwack and there was the hiss of escaping air.

‘Goddamn!’ said Billy.

I twisted the boat in the water and cut speed. ‘This boat is compartmented. One hole won’t make much difference.’ I looked around. There was no sign of the dory.

‘I didn’t mean that,’ said Billy. ‘But if I’m shot at I’m going to shoot back and to hell with Deane.’ The gun was in his hand again.