Dennis Wheatley - The White Witch of the South Seas

`She wouldn't do that. I'm certain she wouldn't. While Valentim was alive she had no chance to spike his guns. But she would have if she could, for my sake. Now that she is in control of the situation, I'm sure that she will refuse to have anything more to do with Lacost.'

`No doubt you are right. But only when she has turned Lacost down will he be forced to think up some scheme to get her into his power without being suspected of having murdered her husband. That is going to take some planning and should give us still longer to ensure that she is adequately protected. Meanwhile, we have a good chance to settle with Lacost and Co. once and for all. We'll go ashore again in the morning and carry out a very thorough investigation: take statements from Joe Joe and all the other servants about the Colons and, as far as they know them, the exact circumstances of de Carvalho's death. I also intend to have his corpse disinterred, wrapped up in a lot of sacking and boxed, then take it back to Suva so that an autopsy can be carried out.'

`No!' James shook his bushy head violently. `No! We must set off at once. Lacost is on his way to her. As I just said, I'm sure that when she learns that the licence is now legally hers her first thought will be of me. But she can have heard nothing of us for nearly ten weeks. She may believe me to be dead or that, not having found some way to communicate with her, I have ceased to love her. Fed up with this whole business, she might let Lacost have the licence for the asking, and return to Brazil. That's the least bad thing that can happen. We've got to work fast, I tell you.'

Gregory considered for a moment. `There is something in what you say. But it would mean my abandoning the investigation I meant to carry out. If we leave that for a week or so the memories of the servants about what happened will have become faulty and de Carvalho's corpse will have become no more than a skeleton.'

`To hell with his corpse! Valentim was no friend of mine that I should be anxious to avenge his death. Besides, we can't prove that he was clubbed to death. Remember, a coconut falling from a tree is very different from one you see for sale on the stalls. It would not have had its husk chopped open and removed, so would have weighed anything up to twelve pounds. It is quite possible that, falling from such a height, it would have smashed his skull.'

`But it was the back of his head, not the top, that had been bashed in.'

`Yes; yes; I know. And I don't doubt that it was the Colons who killed him. But, if accused, they are sure to say that when the coconut fell he was bending over to tie up his shoelace, or pick a flower, or something. Naturally, I'd be delighted if we could pin Valentim's murder on Lacost, but the chances are we'd fail. Anyhow, I don't give a damn about that now. It's Olinda who matters. I've got to get to her. I'm going to rouse out Bob Wyndhoik and have him start the engines at once.'

As James turned away, Gregory shrugged resignedly. Although he did not believe that there was any immediate cause for anxiety about Olinda, he could not help sympathising with his young friend's urge to ensure that she had his protection at the earliest possible moment. Moreover, there was much to be said for the argument that it would be next to impossible to prove that when de Carvalho had, presumably, been hit by the coconut he was standing upright. There was also the factor that if the police were brought into the matter it was quite on the cards that he and James might have to kick their heels in Suva for perhaps several weeks until the trial came on, as they would be needed to give evidence about the reason why the Colons should have wanted de Carvalho out of the way.

All things considered, it seemed just as well to let sleeping dogs lie and, now that Olinda could so much improve their own position by legalising it, concentrate on securing the treasure before Lacost could get back to Tujoa, ignore old Elboeuf and make off with it.

The Southern Cross shuddered as her motors started and a moment later she was nosing her way out of the bay. Soon afterwards James joined Gregory in the cabin, where he was fixing himself a badly needed drink. The young Ratu smiled and rubbed his hands together

`Bob thinks we have quite a good chance of reaching Suva right on their heels. They can't have had more than a few hours' start, and from the account we had in Tujoa of Lacost's Pigalle she is a rotten old craft. For us, round the south coast of Viti Levu should be only about sixteen hours cruising, while she may take twenty or more.'

`Perhaps he's right,' Gregory conceded. `But dirty old boats sometimes have good engines. If I were you I'd tell Bob to about ship and make for Lautoka.'

`Why? It's very unlikely Lacost will have gone there.' `True. But it's only twenty miles away, and we could telephone a warning to Olinda from there.'

`You're right!' James exclaimed, and dashed away up the cabin steps.

When he returned the launch had heeled over and was making a sharp turn. Gregory finished his drink and remarked thoughtfully, `There is one thing I don't understand. Why should de Carvalho have come to the Mamanucas in the Colon 's old tub instead of in his own fine yacht?'

James shrugged. `Goodness knows. But it does account for one thing, and I thank heaven for it on my knees. Normally, Olinda accompanies Valentim on all his cruises. From what Joe Joe told us this afternoon it is clear that there was no woman with the visiting party, so Olinda remained in Suva. Obviously, her reason for doing so was because the accommodation in the Pigalle was too shoddy for an elegant woman to be willing to occupy it, Praises be things turned out like that, otherwise she would already be in the hands of those devils. Or perhaps Lacost would have arranged a plausible double “accident”, in which case she would be dead.'

`Yes. It's certainly a stroke of luck that she wasn't with them. There may be another explanation, though, why she was not. Perhaps there was a death in her family, or some other urgent reason why she should return to Brazil. If so, and de Carvalho sent her off in the yacht, that would account for his having come here with the Colons in the Pigalle.'

`I only hope you are right, although I would have thought that in such a case she would fly back. Anyhow, if she is no longer in Suva she will be out of all danger.'

After a moment James went on, `One other thing puzzles me about this business. If Lacost had made up his mind to murder Valentim before getting the gold, why didn't they simply push him off the boat in the middle of the night, and let him drown? If they had done that, no one would ever have been able to examine the body and learn the truth.'

Gregory slowly shook his head. `The job they've done is much more subtle. If later any question arises of their having an interest in bringing about his death, they can say, “But if we had wanted to kill him we had a week or more at any time during which we could have thrown him to the sharks. His death was an accident of the sort that happens every now and then to a native in these islands. He died within a few hundred yards of the bure. It is only by chance that one of the servants there did not actually see what happened. We made no secret of his death, but gave him proper burial, and, instead of leaving for Tujoa, which was where we wanted to go, we at once returned to Suva to report the accident to his widow and the authorities”.'

By that time it was two o'clock in the morning. Giving a yawn, Gregory added, `We should dock at Lautoka in less than four hours, but that is time enough to get a good rest, and I need one. I'm going to my cabin. Tell Bob to give me a call ten minutes before we are due to land, will you?'

Soon after five o'clock, the Southern Cross reached Lautoka, and Gregory paid off the cheerful, garrulous Bob Wyndhoik. As they walked the short distance to the Cathay Hotel, a wonderful dawn sky of gold and orange, streaked with narrow bars of black cloud, showed above the mountains to the east. At the hotel the servants were just starting work but the manager was away for the night, staying with friends, and was not expected back until after breakfast. However, his deputy, an Indian, proved most efficient and helpful. Having ordered coffee and fruit for them, he set about trying to put them in touch with Olinda.