Despite his raucous manner, there was a sadness about him. “I heard you and Ames were very close,” Cindy said softly.
“Hell, yes, we were. For lots of years,” and he gulped down the rest of the glass in a second. “So?”
“What happened?” Cindy asked directly.
“Wait a minute,” he said, holding his hand up in front of him. “You came here and tell me you’re Dalia’s friend, and now you want me to tell you what happened with me and Ames? That lady’s a bitch. ”
Cindy was shocked.
“She tried to get between me and him every chance she could. Jesus Christ, I worked for the guy, I ran the business. He needed me. We had big customers all over the place waiting for shipments. ”
“You ship rum?” Cindy asked.
“Rum, nutmeg, spices. You know this is Spice Island? ”
“Of course.”
“We’re one of the main distributors.”
“The two of you built quite an operation,” she said.
“No, the two of us didn’t build it,” the Captain corrected her, “Ames built it and I worked for him. You got to keep your ducks lined up straight. He built it with the help of some big money guys. I worked for all of them. ”
“You didn’t think that was fair?” Cindy jumped right on it.
“For plenty of years Ames was fair to me. Very fair. More than fair. He could be a prince. He could be a son. ”
“Did Dalia get in the way?” Cindy asked.
“You mean is Dalia the reason I got fired?” the Captain lunged a bit forward in his chair. Cindy didn’t know if it was from the alcohol or from the shock of actually realizing that he’d been fired and saying it out loud.
“Is she the reason?” Cindy asked, alarmed.
“Nah, she’s irrelevant. To everyone, including Ames. She snipes and bitches and that’s about it. You think he pays any attention to what she says? Nah. He brushes her off like a little fly. Deep down he can’t stand her, if you ask me. ”
Cindy was horrified.
“Women don’t have any say down here on the island, where business is concerned,” he continued. “That’s something, anyway. Give thanks for small favors,” and he poured himself another glass.
Cindy was afraid to actually ask him why he’d been fired. She needed to know, but felt as soon as she asked, he’d back off. Something about her allowed him to talk to her freely on his own, though. Cindy thought it was because she was not pushing, just going along with his remarks.
“Ames has been missing three weeks and eight days,” the Captain said then, his words becoming a bit garbled. “I was fired a week before all that.”
“Ames fired you?”
At that the Captain stopped and sneered. “Now you’re pushing too far.”
“I’m sorry,” Cindy said and she was.
The Captain felt her concern. “I don’t know what in hell you’re doing down on the island. You’re nothing like Dalia. How the hell did you two become friends anyway? ”
“We met in high school,” Cindy said. “It’s been years since we’ve been in touch.”
To Cindy’s surprise, he looked up and listened as she spoke. He seemed interested in who she was and what she was saying. Despite everything, he liked her, and she liked him too.
“Well, if you were my daughter,” the Captain said, “I’d tell you to get the hell off the island, fast. There’s nothing good for you down here. Your friend’s changed over the years, and you can snoop around all you want. Neither of you are going to find Ames. ”
Cindy knew, of course, that Dalia had changed. Everyone changes. But she wondered why he was so certain that they wouldn’t find Ames.
“Why won’t we find him?” she quickly asked. “Is he dead?”
“Hell, how do I know?” the Captain was taken aback by her blunt talk. “I sure hope not. Dead is forever. Whatever happened, he didn’t deserve to die. Look, there are weasels on this island, all kinds of lousy, rotten deals going on. I’m not going to say he was beyond making some himself. But, he didn’t deserve to die. ”
“Deals related to drugs?” she said.
The Captain looked up at her with intensity then. “There’s all kinds of rumors. Everyone likes to blame everything on drugs. But I’m going to tell it to you straight. There were no drugs on this boat. Not that I knew of, not as long as I was the Captain! I gave Ames my word about that. And I kept it, believe it or not. ”
Cindy believed it.
“I never let any rotten drug dealers, or sex dealers come close. These jerks traffic everything through these waters. But not on my boat! If someone put something on my boat, it wasn’t me. And, I didn’t know about it!”
He looked at Cindy pleadingly. Was that why he was fired, she wondered? Because he refused to carry drugs?
“What happened to Ames?” she asked him once again.
His eyes cleared then and he sat straighter. “There’s a lot more going on down here than drugs. Ames was a member of the Millionaire Yacht Club. They come to the island regularly and race. It’s an international club, with big money attached. Ames was dazzled by the rich sea crowd. Dazzled. His life dream was to belong. And he finally made it. I don’t know if you know this, but he was born poor and saw his dad die young, because they couldn’t afford medical treatment. He never got over it. ”
“I didn’t know that,” said Cindy.
“That kind of thing can leave a pretty big scar. He made up his mind that would never happen to him, or anyone else he ran into. At least you can say he tried to help, gave his money to whoever needed it. But it became an obsession. Whatever he had was never enough. He wanted more and more. Richer and richer, he used to say. He flaunted his money all over the place. That wasn’t smart. ”
“Did he love Dalia?” Cindy asked then, the question arising on its own, echoing in her mind.
“She was rich as stink when he met her. Gave him tons of money to build up the business. ”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Ames loved all the women he was involved with. Each in their own way. ”
“He wouldn’t have run off with someone?” Cindy asked.
At that the Captain laughed long and hard. “Please,” he said, “you’re making me bust a gut laughing.”
“Did he fire you?” Cindy asked.
“He wasn’t in his right mind when he did it,” the Captain answered. “I figured I’d talk to him in a few days and we’d turn it around.”
“Those days never came though, did they?” said Cindy.
The shock of that fact suddenly hit the Captain. Hit him had. “No, it didn’t,” he mumbled, “and I miss the damn bastard something awful.”
“Who did it?” asked Cindy.
“I believe the person who did it is in the Millionaire Yacht Club. His partner, there. ”
“Dale?” asked Cindy, open mouthed.
“Boy, for a little lady, you’ve sure done your homework,” the Captain said.
“You haven’t met the guy yet, have you?”
“No,” said Cindy.
“You will soon,” said the Captain. “The Club’s coming into town in a few days for their sailing competition.”
“Why would he want to kill Ames?” Cindy asked.
The Captain looked exhausted, and deflated. “Find out for yourself,” he said. “It’s just a hunch, I don’t have more information,” then he reached for the rum and poured another glass.
Cindy knew it was time to get out of there before he got any drunker. She stood up, “Thanks for your time. It was good talking with you. ”
He didn’t get up to say goodbye. “Take my advice. Go home and find yourself a nice husband. Get off this rotten island, quick. Ames is not the only who can get lost at sea. ”
When Cindy walked out of the boat, to her surprise the bunch of guys she’d seen before had come onto his boat and were hanging outside, waiting. Wiry, muscular, covered in tattoos, they looked threatening, lined up against the dock.
She looked away and tried to walk past them, when one stepped out to block her way.
“So you had a little visit with the Captain, eh?” the guy said, coming too close, breathing on her.
Cindy stepped back. Clearly, they didn’t like it that she was here.
“So what did the two of you talk about?” another guy came up close from behind.
Cindy’s heart started pounding. “I was just helping a friend,” she said.
The guy’s dark eyes narrowed. Then he put his rough hand on her shoulder, and pushed. Cindy lost her balance and tumbled back a few steps.
“You think I’m stupid or something?” the guy said.
Cindy lifted her hand to push him away, as three other guys circled around him, closing in.
“Ames’s wife Dalia sent me,” she spoke hastily. “I’m an old friend.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the biggest guy stepped to the front, mocking. “Tell me another, cutie.”
Outflanked, Cindy began to breathe faster as suddenly she heard a voice, coming up the plank.
“Okay, break it up. Police!”
The guys jumped back and scattered, as to her shock, Mattheus rushed towards them.
“You got a problem with this lady?” Mattheus asked, his face set and his eyes shifting back and forth among all of them. Then he put his hand out and took hers. “She’s coming with me. You guys back off or I’ll throw you in the clinker for good!”
The guys mumbled something incoherent, and drifted to the side, as Mattheus led Cindy back to the road.
*
“That was incredibly stupid,” he said to her, when they got to their cars. “There are some places you don’t go to alone. Especially in the middle of a case like this. ”
Cindy felt immensely grateful that he was there.
“At least you showed a little sense,” he continued, “when you texted me and told me where you were going. Look, it’s one thing to wander around talking to Dalia’s friends. It’s another to go down to the docks alone. That’s just stupid. ”
Cindy felt speechless for a moment. She didn’t know if she should feel angry at the tone of his voice or thrilled that he cared enough to be concerned.
“If you’re as serious about this as you seem,” Mattheus said, “then there are certain places you have to be accompanied. You can’t just walk into people’s worlds and shake them up and think they won’t react. In fact, I was just on my way to another place Ames’ hung out, when your call came in.”
Cindy stood at the side of her car, feeling forlorn. “Thanks so much for coming,” she said in a quiet voice, shaken.
“Does Dalia know you’re here?” he asked.
“Yes, she does. I told her. ”
Mattheus raised his eyebrows. “And she let you come by yourself?”
“In my opinion,” said Cindy, “she’s not entirely in touch with reality right now. It’s been too much of a shock for her. ”
“Right now or ever, maybe?” Mattheus said. “All kinds of types come down here to live on this island. Most of them have been running away from reality for a long time. ”
“How about you?” Cindy couldn’t help asking. Mattheus fascinated her and she wanted to know more.
He stopped and smiled. “Sure,” he said, “me, too. I ran away from what I couldn’t face. Just like you. ”
“Sorry about that,” said Cindy, and meant it.
“Listen,” he said then. “You can’t be alone now after what just happened. How about coming with me to my next stop? ”
Cindy broke into a little smile. “That would be great,” she said.
“Good,” he said, “but, it’s not a main tourist attraction. It’s a part of the island you’d never see on your own. And probably wouldn’t want to. Maybe I’m even crazy taking you there. ”
“I want to go,” said Cindy.
“So, get in the car,” he said then. “And buckle your seatbelt tight.”
Cindy got into the car with Mattheus, weak in the knees. She wondered where they were headed as they drove the car wound down narrow, winding roads, along the edge of a cliff. Driving along, Cindy began to realize the danger she had placed herself in. With a shock, she wondered why she hadn’t realized it fully before. What was she really doing down here, anyway? Was it only about helping Dalia? Was there something else going on with her inside?
As if reading her mind, Mattheus began talking. “It’s easy to be lulled into a sense of security on this island,” he said as the car took a sharp, left turn. “And for lots of people, the idea of solving a crime is exciting – you talk to a few people, discover some clues, become a hero overnight.”
Cindy smiled. Had that been the way she’d viewed it? She didn’t think so, but anything was possible. She was open to exploring all possibilities now, including about herself.
“You could have gotten into real trouble there on the dock. And who would know the difference? As they see it, you’re a woman alone. Who knows what you’re really looking for? ”
Cindy shivered.
Mattheus slowed, driving down a narrow incline into a village, with small, narrow streets, shabby homes and outdoor markets, on top of each other. He pulled the car over and stopped.
“Where are we?” Cindy asked.
“A part of the island most never see.”
Cindy looked around. The tight, crowded streets directly contrasted with the warm, open, opulent feeling of the rest of the island. The place felt shady, furtive and smoky.
“Ames came here a lot?” she asked quietly, puzzled.
“That’s what we’re discovering,” Mattheus said. “Not only Ames, but Elizabeth too. Believe it or not, she still does. ”
Cindy was shocked. She turned to him and saw him watching her carefully.
“We’re still hot on this case,” he said then, “there’s a lot we’ve found out. We’re one of the best forces in the West Indies. Why do you think we needed extra help? ”
“I never meant to imply otherwise,” Cindy said. “It’s just that a fresh eye can pick up something that’s off the beaten path.”
“My partner Sand is down here right now, a few blocks away, talking to some contacts. I’m meeting up with him in a few minutes. There’s all kinds of things going on in this island that you have no idea about, including trafficking. ”
“Drug trafficking?” Cindy asked.
“All kinds of trafficking,” he said, briskly. “Worse than drugs.”
Cindy became silent. He was talking about sex trafficking. She shuddered.
“Thanks for taking me to see this place,” she said.