Wreckers Island (romantic suspense) (15 page)

‘Ok, ok,’ said Dan, looking at John slightly
helplessly. ‘That’s no good. I was clutching at straws.’

‘Now listen,’ replied John. ‘This is what we
do. You and I go back to the outbuilding and carefully open the shaft. Assuming
all is quiet, we shine our torch into the hole. Zak’s outstretched hand was
visible from the tunnel where he fell. If we can’t see that hand in the
torchlight, it means Zak may still be alive and has managed to crawl away. If
the hand remains in the same position, that would strongly suggest he’s dead or
at least, unconscious.

‘We must go down the shaft and find out for
certain. If we do have a body to remove, my plan would be to wrap it in
tarpaulin, winch it up the hole then carry it out to Louise’s boat. You and I
will motor off into the bay and dump it overboard.’

‘It will most likely float,’ objected Dan,
and be washed ashore on the tide.’

‘Exactly,’ said John, ‘and that’s what we
want to happen. ‘His death needs to look accidental, which indeed it was. If we
weigh him down with stones and send him to the sea bed, if and when his body is
ever discovered, it will be treated as murder. We must not do anything which
could inadvertently make it look as if we have a guilty conscience and are in
some way responsible.’

‘I’m afraid that’s exactly what it will look
like if we get caught, John,’ said Dan.

‘Do you have any better ideas?’

‘No. It seems to be our only hope. It’s a
horrible plan though.’

‘It will be an awful lot more horrible if we
don’t deal with things quickly and allow the body to start decomposing.’

Dan shuddered.

‘Ok, it’s agreed,’ said John. ‘We’ll go to the
lighthouse now and tell the girls we want some lads’ time to do a spot of
fishing. The girls will probably appreciate some time to themselves as well. As
soon as the deed is done, we come straight back and the four of us take the
boat over to the shore and go for another night out at the Smugglers Tavern.

‘We’ll sit in the window which allows us a
view of both the harbour and the island so we would see straightaway if anyone
takes a boat towards the lighthouse. I don’t like leaving the treasure but it
should be secure in that strong, hidden safe, especially as we have that decoy
box. The important thing is, it helps create an alibi and a sense of
normality.’

Dan shrugged his shoulders with an air of
resigned acceptance. He didn’t like what John was proposing at all. Hopefully
Zak had survived and limped off licking his wounds and their sordid little plan
wouldn’t be necessary.

It was with troubled hearts that
John and Dan returned to the lighthouse. Louise and Emma were now in the
lounge, sipping wine and chatting away animatedly. They seemed in good spirits.

‘Dan and I fancied taking the boat out for a
spot of fishing,’ said John, after a while. ‘Would that be ok by you, Louise? I
think I’ve mastered how to use it. We’ll leave you two girls to continue your
girlie chat, then how about we go ashore later and have another drink and a
meal?’

Emma looked alarmed at the prospect of the
boys going off, but she didn’t want to be a spoilsport. But she had no appetite
for another session in the Smugglers Tavern so soon.

‘Isn’t it a bit unwise us going out later,
given what has happened, and what we’ve got stored in the lighthouse?’ she
said.

‘It’s no safer with us here,’ said Dan. ‘If
Zak or one of his bully boys were to attack us later, I don’t think any of us
could stand in their way. Our only hope would be to call the police at that
stage, and we could do that from the shore.’

‘Ok, shall I make you a flask of tea or
coffee and get you some snacks to take?’ said Emma, ever thoughtful.

‘No, we’ll be fine, honestly,’ said Dan, ‘I
haven’t got much appetite at the moment.’

‘No, nor me,’ said John. ‘Anyway you two
have a nice time and we’ll be back later.’

John and Dan headed first to the outbuilding
where Louise had reminded them the fishing rods were kept. It gave them a handy
excuse to be going back there. Conveniently the outbuilding wasn’t visible from
the lounge windows although it was overlooked by the lamp room if the girls
happened to go up and look out at the wrong moment. It was a risk they would
have to take.

All was quiet inside the outbuilding. With
the sun dipping, it was getting gloomy in there. John flicked the light switch,
and a single bare incandescent bulb suddenly gave out a bright light, its glare
mitigated somewhat by a film of dust across its surface. The place was as they
had left it.

‘God I’m dreading this,’ said Dan.

‘Believe me, so am I,’ replied John. ‘Come
on, let’s get it over with. I tell you what, I’m looking forward to another
night out in the village tavern, I think we’ll deserve a drink after this!’

‘If only we could fast forward the next
couple of hours,’ said Dan, as they began removing the junk they had piled on
top of the flagstone. His weary, bruised hands cried out in pain as he picked
up a spade and began levering it under the flagstone. John did the same with
the other.

The slab wasn’t as hard to dislodge this
time. They were able to shift it to one side fairly easily. Then it was a simple
matter to lift the lid of the shaft – although psychologically it was extremely
hard. What John and Dan both needed was the hoppy, fragrant scent of an ice-cold
beer. That should have been their reward after such a trying day.

Instead, as the lid was prised off, a faintly
sickly odour rose up, like bad air with a metallic hint of drying blood. To
their relief, no-one was waiting on the rungs below ready to pop up like a
Jack-in-the-box. John shone the torch over the iron grips to be totally sure
and then, the horrible moment they had been waiting for: he turned the beam
onto the tunnel floor itself.

‘Look,’ said John, grabbing Dan’s shoulder.
‘Can you see – fingers just visible. Zak’s hand! He’s still lying there.’

Dan peered downwards, his face, whitened
already by the chalk he had applied, becoming whiter still. He looked, at that
moment, like death himself.

‘Come on,’ said John. ‘Let’s get it over
with. We’ll need tarpaulin and rope to tie him up. We should find both in the store
cupboard. We must wear gloves, proper thick gloves. It’s a good thing that cupboard
is well stocked with things like that, I never thought.’

They found several short coils of rope and
threw an end to the tunnel floor to bind him and made the other fast to the door
handle as before. Now all that remained was to descend the shaft. John insisted
that he go first, psychologically that would make it easier for Dan, who had
suffered enough that day.

Dan shone his torch to help his friend see
the iron rungs and John shone his up as Dan came down, after initially flashing
it nervously along the tunnel. It was horrible to be back in such circumstances.

The silence was total. No-one was about –
no-one living, that is. They looked at the grim sight on the floor. Zak had not
moved an inch in the two hours since he crashed to the ground. He did not
appear to be breathing.

John shone his torch at his face. It looked a
strange shade of grey and his glazed eyes stared lifelessly upwards. The top of
his forehead bore a purplish red mark where the spade had connected. In death,
he looked even more fat and bloated than before. It was a repulsive sight.

‘Zak, can you hear us, we’ve come to help,’
said John, bravely, wanting him to reply at the same time as fervently hoping
he didn’t.

He didn’t. John swallowed hard, and reached
out and grasped his wrist. It was cold. No pulse.

‘So you were right John,’ whispered Dan.
‘Zak’s dead. Now we have a six foot, probably 18-stone corpse to dispose of.’

‘I’m afraid so,’ replied John, who felt a
shiver along his spine. Even though he had expected this, it still shocked him
to the core. Now that they were actually confronted with the task of removing the
body, he was seized with doubt that it would be possible.

‘Do you know something, Dan,’ said John,
slowly, ‘I’m not sure we’ll be able to shift him, I don’t think we’ll have the
strength. I can’t see us being able to haul him on a single length of rope. By
the time we’ve tied it properly around him, it isn’t going to be long enough,
or strong enough. I don’t want to try knotting two lengths of rope together –
it could easily come apart.’

‘The only alternative would be to carry him the
other way, to the tunnel entrance and try to get him on the boat that end, but
we could easily be seen by passers-by,’ reasoned Dan. ‘That isn’t much of an
option either. Unless we left it to nightfall, that is, and I don’t like the
thought of having to manhandle a heavy corpse in the dark. Plus, how would we
explain our disappearance to Emma and Louise? This is becoming a nightmare.
We’re stuck John, completely stuck.’

John was better in these sort of situations
than Dan. He was a naturally more cheerful-natured chap who would often be able
to find a way out, if one could be found.

‘Hang on, I have the germ of an idea,’ he
said, suddenly. ‘How about using a safety harness – like yachtsmen wear. I’m
sure Louise has something like that stowed in her boat along with the lifejackets.
It’s the sort you can attach a safety rope to in case you get washed overboard.’

‘Ok,’ said Dan. ‘That sounds promising. Firstly,
let’s try the store cupboard in the outbuilding. Remember, her parents keep their
sailing gear in there. Come on, let’s go and have a look.’

John and Dan climbed out of the shaft
heartily wishing it was for the last time, but at least now they had a glimmer
of hope.

John began searching the shelves.

‘Here,’ he said, a few minutes later. ‘What
about this?’

It certainly looked like a safety harness,
with reflective tape, toggles, shoulder straps, a waistband and – most
importantly – a sturdy metal D-ring to attach a line to.

‘That should do it,’ said John, as the pair
of them made their way back down the shaft. ‘Now for the yucky bit. ‘We’re going
to have to sit him up against that wall.’

The two of them put their gloves on, grabbed
Zak’s shoulders and pushed him into a seated position. ‘Lucky that rigor mortis
hasn’t set in yet,’ said John, trying valiantly to sound cheery, but it came
across as strangely macabre. ‘Sorry to ask but can you hold him in position
while I tie the harness on?’

Dan complied, stifling the urge to vomit as
he helped John lift Zak’s arms to allow him to fit the straps beneath them and around
his chest. It was indescribable to be at the bottom of the shaft, not knowing
if Jake or someone else might burst round the corner at any moment, virtually
hugging a dead man – one, furthermore, that his girlfriend had inadvertently killed
and whose body was now to be illegally disposed of.

At one point, Zak’s head lolled against his
shoulder, nuzzling it as if it were Emma’s. Dan pushed it back, revolted. A distinct
sickly sweet, nauseating odour of intestines, dried blood and bad breath rose from
his mouth. It was the smell of death. Dan fought the desire to retch.

‘Ok,’ said John, as he attached the rope to
the D-ring of the harness pulled tight around Zak’s body. ‘This looks feasible
– the harness will help distribute his weight and the ring will take a lot of
strain without any risk of the rope unravelling and him plunging back down
again. Now we both need to go to the top and haul with all our might.’

John and Dan lifted the corpse to the foot
of the shaft and climbed into the outbuilding. They grabbed a stretch of rope
each and began to pull and pull. It was incredibly hard-going, especially for
Dan whose limbs were already bruised and sore.

Their arms felt as if they were being wrenched
from their sockets. Slowly, the great leaden weight at the bottom of the shaft
began to lift upwards and begin its journey to the top. Their combined strength
was only just up to the task. Yet eventually, this time under very different
circumstances, Zak’s head appeared above the hole in the floor for the second
time that day. No gloating, seedy grin or bombast this time, just the wax-grey,
bloated features of a face in which no-one was any longer at home.

John had laid out the tarpaulin ready to
receive Zak’s body as they finally dragged it clear of the shaft. He and Dan
rolled the corpse up tightly in it then got several lengths of rope to bind him
securely.

‘We’ve been some time,’ panted John, ‘the
girls will wonder why we haven’t put to sea yet, let’s pop and check all is
well and make sure they’re not looking out of the window when we shift the
body.’

John and Dan took off their gloves and,
hoping they didn’t smell too much of death, and went into the lighthouse.

‘Hi you two, goodness that was quick,’ said
Emma, as they came in.

‘Erm no, we haven’t gone out yet,’ said
John. ‘We were sitting on the rocks, looking out to sea, chatting, you know how
it is, we’re heading off now.’

‘Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do,’ called
Louise, cheerfully.

~~~~~

‘What have they been up to?’ said Emma,
after the boys disappeared. ‘They both looked deathly pale.’

‘It’s been a tough day for them,’ pointed
out Louise. ‘Especially for your Dan. I think he sees John almost as an older
brother figure, you know, even though they’re the same age. He probably needed
to talk about what he’s gone through today, and get it off his chest. We’ve
been having a long heart-to-heart – they probably needed the same.

‘Well it’s me he should be talking to,’ said
Emma, put out, ‘but I know what you mean. Let’s hope they feel refreshed after
their fishing trip.’

~~~~~

No boats were to be seen close to the island
as two reluctant pallbearers strode from the outbuilding holding Zak’s body
between them wrapped in blue tarpaulin. They made their way towards the jetty,
John holding his head and Dan his feet. They were glad when the path dropped
behind rocks out of sight of the lighthouse windows, although fortunately, the
lounge windows faced the other way. They heaved Zak’s remains into the boat,
which listed slightly under the weight.

John pulled the starting rope and the outboard
engine fired up immediately. That was a relief. As they headed away from the
island, they looked at each other, as if needing reassurance.

‘I have no idea where would be the best
place to choose,’ said John. ‘What about you?’

John stared impatiently at Dan, who had been
the star of the show earlier on, but was now leaving him to make the decisions.
After all, the whole point of this was to spare his girlfriend the trauma of
knowing the consequences of what she had inadvertently done. That and the need
to protect their claim to the treasure, of course.