"Turning the tide."
After my rebuke we travelled for the rest of the journey in a rather tense silence arriving safely at the airport around late morning.
Geoff made the necessary arrangements. We would go by helicopter. We could have gone by plane but this way was less conspicuous. I didn't ask how much it would cost either or whether Geoff had given another one of his bribes.
While we waited we went for a bite to eat. It gave us the time needed to mull over our next move.
We started by looking for any accomplices.
Patrick was dismissed straight away. There was nothing out of the ordinary in what he had done and as for my crew I dismissed them too which left Richard our superintendent.
'Sometimes,' said Geoff, 'in my profession; when someone says that they don't like a person it means the exact opposite.'
He was of course referring to Max and how she viewed Richard.
He of all the people was the most suitably placed to have made up a lot of the misdirection that had everyone tied up in knots.
'He filed the reports on the whereabouts of the Jupiter,' acknowledged Geoff. 'And so he could have easily lied about her position from the start.'
It was a valid point. I said that Cheryl had her suspicions of Richard and received a smile in return.
'Woman's intuition,' said Geoff taking a sip from a cup of Luke warm coffee. 'Ignore it at your peril.'
He said that he would put a tail on him.
'If Mr O'Donnel has done anything out of the ordinary then my friend in London will find out and for good measure I'll get him to check out your man's bank account to see if he has been receiving any extra payments.'
We moved quickly on to Germany and then to Paris and it was here that I found myself hesitating.
Until now, Geoff had assumed I had been the innocent victim incapable of acts of violence and disclosing now about what I had done to the man in the street could have serious consequences on the trust that was now developing between us.
He read my hesitation.
'All or nothing,' he pointed out. 'You leave one thing out because of something which embarrasses you and we could miss that one vital piece of evidence that helps us find Danny.'
So I told him, warts and all and waited for his judgement.
He sighed and leant back in his chair. He took another sip of his coffee. He offered nothing for a while and then having given it some thought simply asked whether I was sure I had killed him.
'Of course I am,' I cried. 'What the hell do you think I did? He went down, there was blood - of course I killed him. I have been living with that fact ever since it happened. That's what led us to the South of France and her daddy's yacht, to get away from the police.'
He smiled that deep smile of a man who was in the know and I immediately understood what he was saying.
'So you think she planned that as well do you?'
He nodded.
'What better way to get you away from your ship and prepare you for her next instalment.'
But what of the note and the number to the safe I asked.
'Easy,' explained Geoff. 'It's an old magic trick. She plants a piece of paper inside every photo or behind every picture in the room. She waits patiently and then when one of the pieces are found she acts so surprised it causes you forget about everything else. You then leave the room with the next seed of doubt planted well in truly inside that very fragile head of yours.'
I let out a sigh. Had I been that gullible I wondered.
'The easiest thing for us to do,' he continued, 'is check the papers and see if anything was reported.'
'But it was,' I cried, desperate to hang on to some grain of truth but another all knowing look from my friend sitting opposite brought my head back down. 'You think she lied about that as well, don't you?'
He beamed across a smile.
So what then was the truth?
'To be perfectly honest,' conceded Geoff, 'I would bet my reward that the only truth we will ever find is the clear and unequivocal fact that your friend Jenny Stamford planned all of this to hurt not only her own family but you and your wife in the bargain and that her ultimate goal has always been to get her daughter back.'
It made perfect sense and despite the many emotions of tenderness and love I still had for Max, I had to adjust to the fact that she had never felt a thing for me in return.
Our meal ended, I placed one of my cards on the table. It was the least I could do, pay for the meal even if it was for only a few dollars.
I then stole a moment to discuss Adam's thoughts about the man who had raped his sister.
Geoff was already up to speed on the origins of why this had all happened and although he sympathised deeply with her plight he would not allow any further feelings towards her. It was a possibility, granted. The man's death on the ski slopes may have been her very first act towards retribution and both Geoff and I may have to go right back to that very moment before we would ever get a true picture of what was happening.
'I shall run a check on all hotels and chalets to see if she was there and for good measure will see if our friend Mr Takiyoma junior was with her too.'
The waiter had not come to collect my card. Geoff leant over and picked it up. He turned it over slowly before finally putting it back down.
'How long have you been with HSBC?'
'Oh years,' I said nonchalantly, relieved to have lessened the tone of conversation. 'Cheryl had initially been with Lloyds but we changed to a joint account when we married and we have been with them ever since, why?'
He dropped a frown. He asked how many cards or accounts I had.
'Well I'm not as flush as you,' I said indignantly. 'Not enough to offer a four hundred dollar tip like you did at the border.'
'Expenses,' he said dismissively before picking the card up again. He handed it to me. 'It's in your name - I thought you only had a joint account.'
I took it. I saw nothing out of the ordinary until in the far left hand corner I saw a small emblem with the words Cayman Islands stamped underneath.
My eyes widened.
'But that's not mine!'
'It has your name on it.'
The waiter arrived to clear the table and Geoff paid with his own money. He pursed his lips.
'She's good I'll give her that,' he said once the waiter had gone. 'That would have taken some exceptional timing or,' he added looking intently at me, 'maybe too much timing? Is there something you're not telling me?'
I looked back stunned, his face suddenly hardening.
'Your sinking here Kirk and if you don't come up with the goods fast I'm out of here and you're on your own.'
But I couldn't. He rose to leave and then yes of course.
Another innocent act becomes an ulterior motive.
'My wallet,' I cried. 'My wallet. It was stolen in Singapore. We were at a fountain. I couldn't find it. Max said not to worry, that she would pay for everything and then someone handed it in.'
I pleaded for Geoff to believe me.
'I never needed to use it so I never open my wallet until now.'
Oh how clever.
I filled Geoff in about the escape from the hotel and how the next day I was asked to take some money out with my card to prove where I was.
He frowned.
'To prove you have all that money in the Caymen Islands more like,' he growled getting angrier by the minute.
He sat thinking hard about how serious this could be and then brushing aside the money for a moment he tried to look on the bright side.
'At least we can prove to Cheryl why the photos were taken,' he said upbeat. 'That, at least is a bonus.'
I didn't share his optimism only to be given a quick reality check for my pains.
'Look,' snapped Geoff agitated. 'We can't always have want we want Kirk. Most of us never even reach ten percent of our life's expectations and we just have to muddle through. You,' he said leaning forwards, 'have more than most. A devoted wife, three adoring children and until recently a damn good job and if you are not careful you are going to lose the lot.'
'If I haven't already.' I said dejectedly.
It wasn't what he wanted to hear. He sat back and huffed.
'Rubbish,' he said. 'Start again. Swallow your pride. Only this time base your marriage on trust. Go back to your lowly job as a junior Officer, not as punishment but because that's where you belong - as a father to your children and a husband to your wife and talk to Cheryl; admit to your yearnings for adventure, tell her about your past and accept that you were wrong.'
And he was right of course.
The first act of any redemption is to acknowledge your imperfections and although that would be hard, it was not impossible. If only Cheryl would let me reach out to her then I could tell all and take the consequences.
Our flight ready, I strolled out to towards the heliport feeling young again; off to an uncertain future but ready to do the best I could.
The rotor blades were already whirring, the noise deafening and as I glanced back towards the airport lounge I thought about where were going, a huge metropolitan city where anything was possible and where hopefully we would start to turn this whole mess around.
+ + + + + + + + +
So ... they are on their way.
Will Cheryl forgive him?
Will Kirk find Danny?
How is this ever going to end?
Take care all.
JU
...