Dragon's Triangle (The Shipwreck Adventures Book 2) (39 page)

He lifted the glasses one more time to check the boat. The timing was right and the boat fit the description. There were not nearly as many sailboats traveling into Manila as there were in Thailand. Yes, that must be hers. He turned and headed back to his campsite. He buried the charcoal wood and ash from his fires as well as the blanket. He swept the ground clean, then started out on the long walk to the ferry dock on the other side of the island.

Aboard
Bonefish
Manila Yacht Club

December 3, 2012

The customs and immigration officers didn’t show signs of wanting to leave. She had filled out all the paperwork and the officers had stamped the passports, but the man and woman were looking at each other and speaking in Tagalog.

The four of them were seated around the table in the main salon of
Bonefish
. Even though it was only a little after 9:00 a.m., the cabin was hot and stuffy. Riley had turned on the fans, but the thick, humid air in that tight space barely moved.

“Here it comes,” Irv whispered.

The woman customs officer avoided looking into Riley’s eyes when she asked for five thousand pesos as a clearance fee. “If you don’t have pesos, you can just pay one hundred US dollars,” the woman said.

At that moment, Riley’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the screen. She saw the message:
Meet me at 11:00 in the San Agustin Church in Intramuros.

Riley showed the phone to Irv. “Do you know where that is?”

He nodded.

She turned back to the officials. “If I pay you, I will need a receipt with your names on it.” Both officers had ID badges on lanyards. Riley started writing down their names on the corner of her clearance papers. “Sir, could you spell your last name for me?” she said to the man.

He spoke to the woman in Tagalog again, and then he slid out of the banquette seat and rose. He offered Riley his hand. “Thank you and welcome to the Philippines,” he said.

As they climbed up the steps and out onto the dock, Riley could hear the plaintive notes of the woman’s voice. She did not seem happy about her partner’s decision to give up on the bribe.

When they were gone, Riley said, “You ready?”

“Yeah. You want I should call us some transportation? I’ve got an old buddy from the Scouts who runs a cab service.”

“That sounds good.” She handed him her phone. “Hey, do you know if there’s a back way out of this place?”

“Through the boat dry-storage area. There’s a gate back there. I can loosen up the chain so we can squeeze through.”

“Okay, have your friend pick us up in front of that gate.”

He nodded and dialed. He spoke in Tagalog and when he disconnected he said, “It’s all set. He’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

“Give me a minute to throw some extra clothes and things in my backpack, and then we’ll get out of here.” She tossed him a small duffel. “Here. Feel free to pack your old clothes and any stuff that I’ve loaned you.”

Up in the forward head on her boat, she pulled out the compartment behind her toiletries and removed the prayer gau. When she had returned it to the hiding spot here, she had wrapped it again in the silk cloth. She unwrapped the silk and looked at it. Since Cole had already copied the documents, they probably wouldn’t need this. On the other hand, back in the Caribbean, the answers they sought turned out to be not in writing on the page, but in the design of things. Maybe the
little gold prayer box had its own story to tell. She wrapped it back up and slid it into one of the plastic bags she used for taking liquids onto airplanes. She buried it under her clothes in the backpack.

When they were ready, she got two towels out and told Irv to drape one around his shoulders. “Let’s make it look like we’re just moseying up to take our showers.” She wasn’t sure how effective it would be, since he already had his damn garrison cap on his head. She didn’t think guys usually wore their battle ribbons into the shower.

After she locked up her boat, they walked up the finger pier and into the main yacht club building. The receptionist was a large woman whom Riley thought looked disturbingly like Imelda Marcos. The woman focused on Irv. “Are you the captain of
Bonefish
?”

He turned to Riley and winked.

Riley said, “No, that’s me.”

“Oh? All right. A young woman telephoned a few minutes ago. She asked if your boat had arrived yet. When I told her it had, she asked for your cellular number. I told her giving out phone numbers is against policy. She was not happy. I hope this won’t inconvenience you.”

“No, it’s quite all right. Really. Thank you.” Riley leaned across the counter. “I’m going on a little sightseeing trip. Could you please alert your security to take extra care watching my boat? I don’t know who this woman is, and I fear she may try to break in.”

“Don’t worry, miss. I’ll tell them.”

“Thanks. The showers are back this way?”

“Yes, at the end of the hall.”

Riley had already seen that there was a side door across from the showers that led out into the boat dry-storage area. They headed down the hall and slipped out the door.

“A woman,” Irv said once they were outside. “I’ve never known Benny to work with a woman.”

“It would be smart, though. We’d be less likely to suspect a woman.”

“Come on. The gate’s over here.”

Irv was right about the chain on the gate. How he’d come by this piece of information, she didn’t know, but since the chain was looped around the gate a couple of times they were able to pull tight all the slack, and because they were small they both managed to squeeze through the gap.

Outside at the curb, an old-fashioned horse and buggy waited while the traffic on the wide boulevard lined up behind it trying to get around. The cart had two big wooden-spoked wheels and a small seat in back for passengers. The cart itself was made of wood, but it bore a roof of what looked like leather. The driver, who had thick white hair, dark wrinkled skin, and a hunched back, sat on a little seat just ahead of the passenger seat. He held a long whip in his right hand.

“What the hell?” Riley said.

“Jump in,” Irv said. “It’s called a
kalesa
. This is Manila, sweetheart.” He walked up to the front and shook the driver’s hand. “Good to see you, Pedro,” he said. He continued in Tagalog, but Riley understood when he said San Agustin in Intramuros. Then Irv hopped in back with Riley.

The horse took off at a trot. Pedro waved his whip in traffic like a turn signal and managed to get into the center lane, from where he could make a U-turn. Riley saw another
kalesa
traveling in the opposite direction with a couple of smiling Japanese tourists in the carriage. And there were crazy painted stainless-steel buses that looked like they belonged in a Mardi Gras parade.

Irv noticed her looking at one with the name “Ruby” on a big signboard above the windshield. “That’s called a jeepney,” Irv said. “You’ll see them all over the country here.”

Riley turned back to face him. “Irv, I don’t like that business about that woman on the phone. We need to be extra careful.”

“You’re right, sweetheart.” He scooted forward on the seat so he could speak into the ear of the driver. After they conversed, Pedro turned right onto a side street.

There were lots of women on the street, and Riley suspected they were prostitutes from their dress. “Where are you taking us, Peewee?”

Pedro stopped the horse and turned to look at Riley. Irv reached over and picked up several strands of her hair and the two of them chatted on in Tagalog.

Riley swatted his hand away. “What are you doing?”

Pedro whistled and pointed at one of the girls. She strolled over to their carriage.

“Do you speak English?” Irv said.

The woman nodded and Irv scooted closer to Riley and told the young woman to climb in.

“She’s about your size and build, but her hair’s too dark,” Irv said. “Do you have a hooded sweatshirt in your bag?”

She understood his plan, then. “Great idea,” Riley said, “as long as she doesn’t get hurt.” She dug into her backpack and pulled out her favorite navy hoodie.

“It’s a church,” Peewee said. “If it’s not your friends, they’ll be out to snatch, not to hurt.”

It was crowded in the
kalesa
now with the three of them in the back. Pedro flicked the reins and the horse took off, his hooves making a lovely clip-clopping sound as they made their way through the city traffic.

“What’s your name?” Riley asked when she handed the sweatshirt across to her.

“Consuelo,” she said. Worry lines appeared on her forehead as she looked back and forth at them. “What do you want me to do?”

“Don’t be afraid,” Riley said. “I won’t let anything happen to you. We’re going to a meeting at a church. I will pay you one hundred US
dollars if you will walk into the church with us, wearing that.” Riley indicated the hoodie. “Once I see who is there, then you can go.”

Consuelo stuck out her lower lip as she considered the offer. Then she said, “One hundred twenty dollars.”

“Deal,” Riley said.

As they passed Rizal Park, Irv told Riley a little of the history of the Intramuros section of Manila. The name, he explained, translates to “within walls,” and the old city was built in the 1570s by the colonizing Spanish ruling class, who chose to build their walled enclave by the mouth of the Pasig River. They built the fort, churches, government buildings, schools, and fine homes inside while the walls, gates, and drawbridges were designed to keep overseas intruders as well as the native people outside. Irv said he had visited the city when he first arrived in the Philippines before the war broke out. He had seen Intramuros before it was nearly destroyed along with the rest of Manila by the retreating Japanese at the end of the war.

They entered the walled city through a large gate and the street under the horse’s hooves changed to cobblestones. The narrow one-way streets wound between the stone buildings and wrought-iron balconies. Riley thought it was remarkable the way they had rebuilt the place. There were still remnants of the ruins, but many of the buildings looked like they were centuries old when in fact they had been rebuilt in the last sixty years.

They had Pedro take them past the church once. When he turned his horse onto General Luna Street, the church loomed into view. Irv said it was the only building in Intramuros that was left intact after the bombing. It was a Sunday and they saw that there was a mass under way. A sign said the service was from ten to eleven.

Irv explained the plan. Once most of the people had left the church, Consuelo would walk in the front door and walk up the aisle
to the altar. Meanwhile, Riley and Irv would enter through a side door and stand in the shadows to watch.

Riley said, “Somebody is expecting me after the mass. When everyone has left the church you’ll go in. You’re about my size. But if anyone approaches you, Consuelo, push the hood back and show who you really are. And I’ll be right there watching, okay?”

The young woman nodded.

Pedro positioned the
kalesa
around the corner from the church. He would wait there and direct Consuelo to head for the front door in five minutes. The service must have ended early as people were flowing out the door.

Irv led Riley around through a garden to a courtyard and the side door into the cathedral. They hung back in the shadows of the alcove. Within their small side chamber there was a life-sized statue of the Virgin Mary on one side and a glass display of what looked like bones on another. A table by the statue was covered with flickering votive candles, and out by the main cathedral there was a carved stone font of holy water. With their backs to the wall of the alcove, they inched their way closer to the church.

The main cathedral was breathtaking. It was difficult not to be distracted by the painting on the ceiling, the chandeliers, and the magnificent carved wood furnishings. They couldn’t see back to the front door of the cathedral, but they should see Consuelo once she was halfway to the altar.

Riley heard Consuelo scream before she saw her.

“Let’s get out of here,” Irv whispered.

“We can’t just leave her.”

“That was the whole point of this. She’s the canary.”

“You go on. Get Pedro to pull up right in front and get his horse ready to run.”

“You’re nuts,” Irv said, but he turned and left out the side door.

She peeked around the corner. It was Benny and he had Consuelo’s neck in the crook of his arm. She was whimpering and he was yelling in English. “Where are they?” he shouted.

Farther back in the alcove, red velvet ropes were strung between steel posts to keep people back from the wood and glass case with the relics in it. The posts had wide, round metal bases. She lifted one up. It wasn’t attached to the floor. She unclipped the rope from the end post, carried it to the edge of the alcove, and set it down.

She stepped out into the main sanctuary and said, “Are you looking for me? If you want me, come get me.” Then she made as if to take off running out the side door. She picked up the post and tucked herself back inside just around the corner. She heard his footsteps and brought the post up over her shoulder like a baseball bat. She wished she could see. Timing was going to be everything.