Scent of Gardenia (Scott Tucker Series) (22 page)

Chapter
53

It took
just under an hour to arrive at the site where Roger Elliot’s body was found.
The plan was for Ralph to dive with the dive shop owner, who was a good looking
young man named Denny Longo. Mercedes never took her grandfather up on his
offer to take SCUBA lessons. Looking at the calm turquoise water, she now wished
she had learned to dive. Ralph had taken lessons and enjoyed diving.

Denny
maneuvered the boat for a few minutes and then when he was satisfied he went to
the bow and dropped the anchor. When the anchor caught, the boat swung around.
Denny started to change into his wet suit and Ralph headed down below. Several
minutes later they were both standing in front of her looking like seals in
their wet suits. Mercedes watched them both put the balance of their dive gear on
without saying a word to them. Finally, they both flapped their fin covered
feet to the rear of the boat. Ralph looked like he had just gone to heaven.

After
talking with each other for a short time, they jumped off the back of the boat
into the water. Ralph waved to her and disappeared below the water. Denny had
indicated that he could take Ralph to the exact spot where the cage was found
with Roger Elliot’s body. She had questioned Ralph on what benefit that was
going to have on their investigation, but he insisted it was necessary. She watched
the bubbles rising to the surface making a wide arc. The bubbles stayed in one
location, which she surmised was the location where the cage was found. About
five minutes later she saw the bubbles getting closer to the boat.

Denny
popped his head out of the water first, followed immediately by Ralph. Ralph
was shaking his head, moving quickly toward the stern. They both climbed up the
ladder, and then sat down to remove their fins.

“Mercedes,
we have a problem,” Ralph said. “We have another cage down there, and there’s a
man’s body inside.” He proceeded to remove the balance of his equipment. “He
hasn’t been in the water very long judging from the condition of his body. We
need to call inspector Hughes right away.”

She
didn’t say anything.
Ralph was right for a change; there was a benefit for
making the dive. The body is probably another one of the missing men…hopefully
not Nils’.

Denny
was using the ship-to-shore radio to reach the inspector. It took quite a
while, but he finally made the connection, telling him what had been found.

“The
inspector will be coming shortly, with his team, and he wants us to remain
right here until he arrives,” Denny announced. He sat down at the table inside
the cabin.

Ralph
came over close to her. “Mercedes, I’m glad you didn’t make this dive with us.
He’s not a pretty sight. However, I would say he’s Shawn Dustin, based on the
pictures we had of the missing men,” Ralph whispered. He headed below to change
back into his clothes.

*.*.*

An hour
and a half later a police boat pulled up next to theirs and tied off. The
inspector was with four other men. Two of them were wearing wet suits. The
inspector nodded to them. He then went over to Denny; shook hands and conversed
for a minute. He then went over to Ralph and Mercedes. “Mr. Longo indicates you
both asked him to show you where the earlier dive cage was found. Why did you
think that was important to your investigation?” Inspector Hughes asked.

Ralph
answered before she could. “We wanted to see if there was anything left behind,
and it looks like we were right.”

The Inspector
looked like he was going to say something, but just stared at Ralph and then at
her. He went over to the side of the boat and spoke to one of the two men in
wet suits. The man immediately started to put the rest of his gear on, and the
other man followed. The Inspector came back to speak with Denny, taking some
notes. He then asked Ralph to step to the rear of the boat. The Inspector
talked to him, while also making some notes. He then came over to her. “Agent
Strong, I understand you did not dive with them. Do you have anything you would
like to tell me about finding the body?”

“I can’t
tell you anything about that, but I can tell you that if this is Mr. Dustin’s
body, two US citizens have been found murdered, and we
have
to step up
the investigation to find the others.”

The
inspector immediately frowned. “We’re doing everything in our power to find
them,” he retorted.

Her gut
told her that wasn’t exactly the case. She was glad they were doing their own
investigation. “Inspector, we’re going to be here until we find our missing
citizens. So please use us to help in any way you see fit. I can tell you that
the news of nine missing US citizens is not going over well back in the states.
If this is one of the missing men, which we speculate is Shawn Dustin…that news
will give the press more fuel to throw on the fire.”

His face
turned immediately red. He didn’t say a word, but went to the stern to watch
his two divers and Denny descend below the surface.

Chapter
54

Mike had
contacted Jules’ cab company. The owner was very concerned about Jules’ fate.
He indicated he could easily replace the cab, but not Jules. Mike asked if he
could recommend a driver for an extended period while he was on the island.

In the
hours they spent together today, Sam and Mike had hit it off. Sam was easy
going, with a very dry sense of humor. Mike wanted to check out places where one
could obtain dive cages. However, the process was time consuming and Mike felt
it wasn’t as productive as he had hoped.

“Sam,
I’m getting quite a tour of the island. I appreciate your taking me to all of
these places, but I have to ask you—if you didn’t want anyone to know you
purchased several dive cages where would you go?”

Sam
pulled the cab over at the next available spot. Finally, Sam offered, “I need
to give that some thought.”

“Sam,
let’s assume Jules did find the right place to get the dive cages. You know
Jules well enough, where do you think Jules would have gone?” Mike offered.

Sam
pounded his palm off the steering wheel. “I think I know where he be going.” He
pulled back onto the road, heading back in the direction they came.

*.*.*

They had
been driving for almost thirty minutes. Mike was deep in thought, trying to
imagine what could have happened to Holly and Jules. He purposely had avoided
contacting Charlotte Williams. With two more people missing, he didn’t feel
this was the right time to contact her. Mike noticed Sam studying the roads
leading inland from the shore road. Sam finally spotted what he was looking for
and exited the shore road.

“Mr.
Mike, this is the road I was looking for.”

Mike
noticed the absence of homes, observing more and more commercial buildings. Sam
stopped the cab in the road and looked at the small sign;
‘Bermuda’s Past
and Future Treasures.’
“I think this be the right place.” Sam pulled into
the small parking lot and up to the Quonset hut. Sam started to get out and
asked, “Do you want me to go with you?”

“Sure,
maybe your company will bring me some luck.” Mike chuckled, opening the door.
He followed Sam around the side of the hut where two signs indicated; ‘Open’
and another ‘Ring Bell.’ Sam pulled the rope and the tarnished bell gave a
shrill ring. There was no immediate answer, so Sam rang it several times.

“Dang,
what is it with you people? I heard it the first time. I don’t move as fast as
I used to,” a very tall, heavy set man with a gray beard said, as he approached
them. “What do you want?”

Mike
looked up at the man. “My name is Mike Miller. I’m interested in whether you
have any dive cages.” The man looked like he could use a bath.

“No, not
any more,” he answered shaking his head. “What is all the interest in these
cages, anyway?”

Mike
heard him, trying to hold his excitement. “Why, has anyone else been asking about
them?”

“Yup!
There was a pretty little redhead here the other day, with a tall black man.
She sure was a jumpy little thing.”

“Mister…?
Do you remember their names?” Mike asked.

“I’m not
any Mister, people call me Willie. Oh, she had a name…I forget, something to do
with Christmas.”

“Okay
Willie, was her name Holly?”

“Yup,
pretty little thing too!”

“Can you
share what you told them?”

“Sure,
but I could use a sale today.”

Mike
took out a twenty, handing it to him.

“That is
real nice of you.” He went over and sat his large frame on a bench beside the
front door. He took a deep breath and continued, “I told her about another
redheaded woman who bought six of them. She was real pretty too, but not as
jumpy as Holly was. I told her I didn’t know her name. The woman picked the
cages up in her pickup. It took her three trips…paid in cash too.”

“Would
you recognize her again if you saw her?” Mike asked.

His
smile got larger and larger. “I told her if I see her every night, I sure would
know her. Now, I see both of them…my stereo redheads,” Willie said, with a
proud smile. He started laughing and it turned to coughing.

Mike
waited until he stopped coughing. Willie’s face was red as a beet. “Is there
anything else you can tell us?”

“Well I
got to thinking after she left…does this have anything to do with that man
found in a dive cage?

“Yes it
does. I would say the woman who bought your cages was involved with his death
and the other missing men also. You should also know that Holly and her
companion, Jules, have also been reported missing. If the woman who bought the
cages should come back here for any reason—you need to find out her name, or
better yet; detain her.”

Willie
looked up at Mike. “You know what? I should get me another cage and put that
pretty thing in it.” He started to laugh and again it quickly turned to
coughing.

*.*.*

On the
road back to his hotel, he now knew what Holly and Jules knew—it was indeed at
least one woman who was keeping and killing. Now he needed to find out who she
was and where to find her.

“Sam,
what are your thoughts on the redheaded woman Willie was talking about?” Mike
asked.

Sam took
his time answering. “Well, Mr. Mike, I would say she has to have some room to
keep those cages. You just don’t plop them in your front or back yard. She
would also have to know how to dive. That is, unless she has an accomplice.”

“I was
thinking the same thing. Let’s assume she was a diver. She would need supplies,
at least, once in a while. Do you have any idea where to look for this kind of
equipment?”

“I do,
but we’ve run out of time to check those places. How about we get an early
start and check them out tomorrow?” Sam asked.

“I guess
I’m just anxious, but that sounds fine to me. You name the time tomorrow
morning, or why don’t you join me for breakfast at the hotel…say seven
o’clock?”

“That
sounds great.”

*.*.*

Mike was
in his hotel room listening to the local television station, getting ready to
change for dinner. He realized this was a good time to call Paddy. He had the
hotel operator place the call for him. The phone rang a few minutes later. The
operator told him the party he was trying to reach was on the phone.

“Thank
you.” He acknowledged the operator. “Paddy, good evening it’s me. I wanted to
give you an idea about what I’ve learned today.”

“Hi
Mike, it’s good to hear your voice. Do you have any good news?”

“Well,
in a way. We learned where Holly and Jules went to find the supplier of the
dive cages. The man sold a redheaded woman six cages. Judging from his
description, the woman was quite attractive. He doesn’t’ know her name. Unfortunately,
she paid with cash, making several trips to pick them up herself. So with that
information in hand, I’m not quite sure what Holly would have checked out
next.”

“Well
Mike, you’re on the right—“

“Wait
Paddy…there’s something coming on the television which I have to listen to.”
Mike and Paddy were silent while he listened to the broadcast. “Paddy, they
just reported another body has been found in a dive cage in the same location
as Roger Elliot’s. It also mentioned the local police were accompanied by FBI
agents. That must be Mercedes, or someone in her group. I saw three of them at
the airport when I arrived. Wait—“

“They
just mentioned that authorities believe the body is that of Shawn Dustin. The
body had not been in the water more than a day.” Mike heard Paddy let out a
breath of air. “Are you okay, Paddy?”

“I’m
okay. I’m concerned about how soon the bodies are being found. Holly was also
correct about when the next kidnapping was going to occur. She was wrong about
it just being another man…she might have been too close. What’s next on your
agenda?”

“Well,
tomorrow we’re going to check out diver supply places to see if they know of
any redheaded woman that skin dives.”

“Who are
we? Are you working with Mercedes?”

“No. I’m
letting them do their thing. I’ve rented a cab and a driver for an extended
period of time.”

“Mike,
that sounds like the right approach.” Paddy hesitated, then added, “You be
careful. If you get too close, you don’t want to be the next person reported
missing.”