Chapter 11 – The Harbour (Again!)

Dwayne and J P went back in the same direction they had travelled in earlier, this time going all the way down to the marina where they saw a row of barely-seaworthy fishing boats and old yachts.

'I have visited a lot of these boats before' said Dwayne. 'A lot of the fishermen here are not in the habit of paying their taxes. The owner of that yacht there was taken in for running illegal tours in that boat when it could have sunk at any minute taking him and the tourists with it'

'I don't think I'd fancy that tour' commented J P.

They approached the first fishing boat on which sat two scruffy local men in the process of mending their nets.

'Good afternoon Sirs' Dwayne began. 'Can you tell me if you have seen this couple?' he showed them photos of Patrick and Gemma.

'Um…no' said the first fisherman. The others shook their heads in unison.

'Do you mind if we search your boats?' continued J P. There were protests at this but most of the fishermen allowed the two police officers to board their boats and check every possible place the missing couple could be hiding. However, one tough and muscly fisherman refused to allow them onto his boat.

'Are we going to have to get a warrant?' Dwayne quizzed him.

'I haven't seen the people you are looking for and I don't take passengers on my boat. There is nothing to see!' he insisted arrogantly.

'Then there is nothing to worry about, is there?'

'Look, it wouldn't be good for you to go onto the boat. It is rather smelly with the cargo I am carrying. If anyone did ask me for a lift they would change their mind as soon as they climbed on'

'And what cargo are you talking about?' asked J P.

'I'm engaged in a waste disposal business on the side, OK?!' the fisherman screamed.

'Waste disposal?'

'You know, rubbish! I help out small businesses by taking away their waste for a better rate than the local Council'

'I see' said Dwayne. 'But we've smelt worse. If you don't let us on now we will have to report this undeclared business of yours as well as getting a warrant to search your boat!' At that the fisherman cursed and reluctantly let Dwayne and J P board the boat. A quick search on the main deck and the area below confirmed there were no people on board, however neither officer smelt the putrid smell of waste they expected to, which raised suspicion. Seeing what looked like a bin bag sticking out of a cupboard door, J P opened the cupboard to find a single bag containing a redundant remote control for an electrical item, a broken champagne flute and a rolling pin that appeared to have been used as a paint roller as it was covered in many different colours of paint.

'What do you think is going on here?' he asked Dwayne.

'I have no idea but the way the man was acting it all seems very suspicious'

Back on dry land, the officers confronted the fisherman regarding the rubbish bag.

'Where did you get this bag of waste?' Dwayne asked him.

'I am unable to disclose that information. Customer confidentiality!' the man insisted.

'I thought you said you had several clients and that your boat was smelly. Why do you have only one bag? And unless both of us have suddenly lost our sense of smell the is not the odour you told us there would be on board'

'What can I say? It's a quiet day today. Normally it's smellier'

'Is there something special about this one bag?' asked J P. 'Why is it in a cupboard rather than a cargo hold?'

'Really? I must have put it there by mistake. I will move it to the hold immediately'

'OK, well we'll be back if we have any more questions. Thank you'

Their queries with the other groups of fishermen yielded no further results.

Meanwhile, Jack and Florence were speaking to wealthy yacht owners who had anchored up at the west side of the harbour. Every time a new yacht appeared it seemed to be a bit bigger, or have a new unique feature that made it better than the last one. The detectives had shown photos of Patrick and Gemma to around a dozen yacht owners and done searches of the grand boats, when they came to a well-polished new-looking two-story yacht belonging to a middle-aged English couple.

'Excuse me' began Jack. 'Could you tell me if you've seen this couple?' he asked, showing the photos to a man with gelled greying hair in expensive trousers and a starched sleeveless white shirt, and an immaculately styled blonde woman in a designer dress and sandals.

'Now they do look somewhat familiar' said the man.

'Is that not the couple that tried to get on the ferry without passports?' the woman suggested.

'They tried to get on the ferry? when?!' asked Florence.

'About…an hour and a half ago' said the woman.

'Had a bit of an argument before having a look at the yachts along here' said the man. 'We were concerned they might try to get on board our yacht but I saw them going off up towards the marketplace before they got to us'

'So…they went that way?' said Jack, pointing to the street leading up to the main road where the stalls were set up.

'Yes' confirmed the woman.

'Thank you, you have been very helpful' Jack and Florence left the couple.

'So, do we continue with the last few boats or do we speak to the stall holders?' Florence asked.

'Hmm…what do you think they would have been wanting from the market?' Jack pondered.

'I don't know. Something for lunch? A Sainte-Marie souvenir?'

'Somehow I don't think either of those things would have been their top priority'

'I see what you mean. What would someone in their situation be most in need of then?' Florence tried to think. 'Presumably they know that we know about their criminal activities so were trying to get off the island before we caught up with them. So if that was not possible they would need to find another way of stopping us finding them'

'Very good Florence. And since they knew we would be making enquiries all around the island they would need to hide themselves very well indeed!'

'Just like Fidel when he followed them here!'

'Just like Fidel…ah! Are there any stalls selling wigs? Glasses? Anything to disguise their appearance?'

'Follow me!' Florence led Jack up to meet someone who sold just that.

Ten minutes later they were speaking to a stall holder.

'Yes, they were here about an hour ago and bought a curly afro wig each. The woman bought a red floral headscarf like the local women wear and the man bought a man's bandana.

'Great. And which direction did they go in after they left?' asked Jack.

'They headed back towards the marina. Said it was time to go back to their boat and head to Guadeloupe'

'Their boat?' exclaimed Florence. 'Did they tell you anything about this boat?'

'No. Oh yes, the woman said that the scarf she bought was the colour of the sail on their boat if that is any help'

'OK so we're looking for a red sail' confirmed Jack. 'Thank you very much, Sir, you have been very helpful. Right, back to the harbour, Florence!' And with that the two detectives headed back in the direction they had come from. Once back at the line of yachts they had been searching, they reviewed the ones they had already visited.

'Well, we didn't see anyone with an afro or a red headscarf or bandana earlier on, did we?' recalled Florence.

'No, you're right, and the couple we spoke to earlier said they were looking at yachts to the east of theirs. Let's look at the sails on the boats we haven't been to first, shall we?'

The first yacht looked brand new and very expensive and a group of well-dressed British people were standing on deck drinking prosecco, with a good view of their gangway. The sail was green with a yellow star.

'Not this one, I don't think' said Jack.

'Agreed' said Florence.

The second yacht was bigger and had a blue sail and a security guard stood sentry by the entrance.

'No way they could have got on that one!' commented Florence.

'No and the wrong colour again' agreed Jack.

The third boat was very small and looked abandoned, but after a few seconds there was movement indicating someone was inside. It was topped by a small red sail.

'Aha! This one is worth investigating' said Jack and the two of them headed to the gangplank. As they approached the entrance to the boat they heard music coming from inside but when Jack knocked on the door and shouted 'hello' it suddenly stopped. There was some shuffling followed by an attempt at a 'hello' by a female in a Caribbean accent.

'May we come in?' Jack shouted.

'Wh-what can we do for you?' came the voice again.

'It's the police. We're conducting a search of all the boats in this harbour. Do you mind if we board your boat?'

'There's nothing for you to see here. We need to sail away now in order to make it to our destination on time?'

'Really? Where are you going?'

'Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe'

'What's your business there?'

'How does that concern you?'

'We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Are you going to let us board the yacht or do we have to get a warrant and arrange for police to be waiting for you at every port you could possibly get to?'

'Ok come aboard' came a male voice. The two detectives boarded the boat, Florence staying by the entrance as a precaution while Jack proceeded towards where the two voices came from.

'Mr and Mrs Buchanan?' Jack asked, entering a small deck and coming face to face with a white couple who both had afro hair.

'Ye-' Patrick began before getting a strained look from Gemma who was being more careful what she said and tried to get away with saying 'who, Sir?'

Jack winked to Florence and she made a phone call. 'Why are you running away? Got something to hide, have we?'

'What are you talking about? We're just a couple of Sainte-Marie merchants on our way to Guadeloupe to trade' Gemma vainly tried to pull the wool over Jack's eyes.

'Oh, I see. So what trade are you in?'

'Um…musical instruments'

'I see you have those' Jack agreed. 'But I specifically remember seeing this guitar yesterday' he remarked, looking at the guitar Patrick was packing away when they had last spoken. 'So come on, off with the wigs and let's go back to the station for a talk'

'I don't think so' said Patrick, starting the yacht's engine.

'Oh, I think so' said 'George', boarding the vessel and turning the engine back off before tackling Patrick and handcuffing him.

'What's this? A citizen's arrest?' laughed Gemma.

'Oh, yes' said Fidel, removing his wig and glasses.

'No!' gasped Patrick and Gemma together.

'Yes it's me, Detective Sergeant Fidel Best. I am arresting you for fraud and plagiarism on St Lucia'. Jack helped him by handcuffing Gemma. 'Now, off with your wigs too!' Fidel continued, removing Patrick's afro. Florence came on to the deck and did the same to Gemma.

'Good work' said the Commissioner appearing at the entrance before making way for the two criminals to be led out. As they were ushered into the Defender, Dwayne and J P pulled up.

'Oh no, did we miss the action!' moaned Dwayne.

'I'm afraid so' Fidel informed them. 'The Buchanans were in one of the pleasure boats on this side of the harbour. The Commissioner and I were told by the staff on the Dominica ferry that they had tried to board but were refused and headed in this direction. We made it here just as the Inspector and Sergeant Cassell found them!'

'Well, I guess they could have been on our side so we did play a part!' J P reflected.

'I suppose so' agreed Dwayne as they all set off for the station.