The Sartorial Senator (A Nick Williams Mystery Book 3) Read online

  "I have enough in the safe for another two week's pay and incidentals."

  "My purchase included all ship's contents, so that includes whatever is in that safe."

  "Right."

  "I'll get you some additional cash in the morning, if I can. Is there a Bank of America branch here?"

  "Sure is. It's downtown. And they should be open in the morning."

  "Will five thousand be enough?"

  The captain nodded.

  "Great. Anything else?"

  "Salaries?"

  "How were those paid before? In pesos?"

  "Yes."

  "OK." I thought for a moment. "Convert them to dollars to the crew's advantage and then boost them all by 25%. And boost yours and your mate's by 50%."

  "That's very generous."

  "Not at all. Glad to have you working for me. This is a new adventure." I looked around the small bridge. "Never thought, when I was a medical corpsman on a big tub, that I would own my own."

  The captain smiled, "How does it feel?"

  "Good, but surreal. That may have more to do with all that's happened in the last two days than anything else."

  The captain nodded sympathetically. "It's been interesting. That's for certain."

  "Yes."

  It seemed like there was something else he wanted to tell me. I waited.

  He put one finger to his nose. "We, uh, used to do a little side work for Mr. Deladier, if you get my drift."

  I considered this. Smuggling. Of some sort. I didn't want to know. I was going to be having enough trouble keeping my investigator's license without being party to a federal crime.

  "Will the change in port affect that?"

  "Definitely."

  "Do you think you'll have any trouble with the crew?" They probably got a little extra pay on top for the effort.

  The captain considered this for a moment. "I don't think so."

  "You have my permission to fire anyone who does."

  The captain nodded. "I was not overly fond of doing what we did, but..."

  "I understand. That's all over as of now, even if that means you have to row out and dump it into the ocean tonight. Am I clear?"

  The captain's eyes widened. "Yes, sir."

  I nodded with determination. "Good."

  Chapter 3

  Aboard The Flirtatious Captain

  Newport Harbor

  Friday, May 29, 1953

  After sunset

  That night we had an excellent meal prepared by the crew. We sat aft with Mike, watched the lights of the harbor, and talked about San Francisco and the old days. Mike and Carter always had great stories about what the City was like during the war when I was far away.

  I had enlisted right after Pearl Harbor. Mike and I were going together then and he was sore at me for doing so without telling him first. He was a motorcycle cop at the time and his sergeant had told him to not even think of enlisting. Being on the west coast meant they needed as many essential personnel in place as possible. Besides, he had flat feet. Carter had gone down to enlist, but the board told him to stay put. Fireman were even more essential than cops since everyone was afraid of Jap attacks on the mainland. San Francisco would've been first on the list.

  I'd spent the war in the Pacific working as a medical corpsman. Most of my time had been on board ships but I'd had a six month stint in New Guinea. For better or for worse, I was in for the duration. A lot of things had happened in the City while I was gone and I loved listening to Mike and Carter tell stories about that time.

  After we were done eating, the crew brought us a cake that one of them had bought in town and brought back aboard. It was blazing with candles. Carter and I managed to blow them all out. One of the crewmen, a Brit, had led them all in a rousing chorus of "For They Are Jolly Good Fellows." On the third round of the refrain, they changed the word "Fellows" to "Fucks." Carter and I both laughed at this. As I looked around, I realized this was a gay ole ship, indeed. I even caught Captain Jennings looking at his First Mate with a lewd glance.

  After they went about their business, Carter and I decided to get to bed early for some fun. After about an hour of that, we tried, once again, to shower together. I made a mental note to add a big walk-in shower in our bathroom to the list of needed renovations.

  Once we were both clean and dry, we got back in bed. I put out the light and slid into Carter's waiting arms. The boat rocked a little. We talked to each other about how things had changed so quickly in the last couple of weeks.

  I finally said what I had been thinking about all night. Or at least since the crew had surprised us with the cake.

  "I wanna go home, Carter."

  "I know you do, son. I do, too."

  I snuggled up against him even closer than I was. He wrapped his left arm around my waist and pulled me in tight.

  He said, "We don't have to go to Washington if you don't want. You told the man to serve the subpoena first, after all."

  "I know. I just think I'll be worrying about it when I don't have to. I keep thinking about those Hollywood guys who all went to jail."

  Carter sighed. "You know that's different, right?" He used three syllables for that last word. That thick Georgia accent got me every time.

  "Right."

  "The only names you could have named have all been fired already." He paused. "Including Henry."

  I sighed. "Henry. I wonder if Jeffery has done anything about that yet."

  "I'm gonna call Henry tomorrow morning."

  "Good idea."

  Henry was Carter's first love and best friend. They'd grown up together in Georgia. In '39 they'd driven from Albany, their hometown, to San Francisco in an old Ford that Carter had saved up to buy. Somehow it got them across the desert and to their new home, by the bay.

  They were no longer lovers but were still living together when Carter and I met in '47. I loved Henry like a brother. A couple of weeks earlier, Carter had brought him home to dinner. Henry told us about how he'd been fired from his engineering job with Bechtel because he was discovered to be homosexual. He'd been working on a sensitive project and it had been revealed in an investigation.

  I knew he was a good engineer, so I promised to help get him set up in a solo practice. It was only a few days later that Jeffery had disappeared not once, but twice. We needed him to set up the paperwork for Henry to start his business and I was guessing that hadn't happened in the short time since Jeffery got home.

  Chasing Jeffery down is how we'd ended up in Ensenada. And, as I thought about it, how I ended up buying this ship.

  "If Jeffery hadn't gone down to Ensenada, we wouldn't be lying here on this bed in this rocking boat."

  Carter nibbled my ear. "I know. I oughta give the guy some sort of present to thank him for that. At least something good came out of all this."

  I took a deep breath. "And we met Nacho."

  Carter kissed the back of my neck.

  "What did you like the most about him?" he asked.

  I thought for a moment. "He had beautiful eyes. You?"

  "He was fun to play poker with. He bet wildly, as if he was ten years old. I don't think he really understood how the game worked."

  "He was like a little boy, wasn't he?"

  "Yeah. With a gun and an evil brother."

  "Yeah." I closed my eyes and thought about Nacho and his beautiful eyes and massive mustache.

  I asked, "Is it wrong for us to talk about him like this?"

  "No. We remember him the way he was. The way he wanted us to."

  An inappropriate mental image rose up in my mind.

  "Did you ever think?" I couldn't say it, after all. The words caught in my throat.

  "The three of us?"

  "Yeah."

  Carter began to kiss my neck and then my shoulders. He pulled his arm up and wrapped it around mine, pinning me in place. He lifted weights regularly and I was no match for him in terms of physical strength.

  "Well?"

  "So
n, let me tell you one thing." I loved it when Carter talked to me like that. It gave me chills.

  "What?"

  "Ain't nobody, and I mean nobody, ever gonna get in this bed with you and me."

  I didn't say anything.

  He pushed his knee up and wrapped his left leg around mine. He now had me completely pinned.

  "Understand that, son?"

  I was grinning.

  "Sure do."

  He bit down on my ear just a bit.

  "Good boy."

  . . .

  I had no idea what time it was, but I woke up with a start. I was sure I'd heard a splash, but didn't know for certain.

  I whispered, "Carter?"

  He was right in my ear. "Shh."

  I nodded and listened. Someone was coming down the stairs. The crew's quarters were forward of us. There was a wall that separated the two sections. Our section was smaller and contained a storage closet, our bedroom and bathroom, a second bathroom, and the second bedroom that Mike was currently occupying.

  So, if someone was coming down the stairs, it was not to get to the crew. It could have been Mike's fuck buddy crewman, but I didn't think so.

  I tried to see in the dark. There was a very faint light coming through the starboard windows, which were narrow and up at the top of the room. I saw a figure pass by the door to our room. He was amazingly quiet.

  I listened as he opened a hatch. From what I remembered, the storage closet had no hatch and I couldn't think of where another one might be.

  After a moment, he closed whatever he had opened and was creeping back to the stairs. I could feel Carter tensing behind me as I was getting ready to jump up to surprise the intruder. Before either of us could move, a light came on from Mike's bedroom.

  "Hey!" That was Mike.

  We both jumped out of bed. Neither of us had any clothes on. Whoever it was had on black clothing and a mask. He didn't appear to be armed. He leaped across the rail, up onto the stairs, and was above decks quickly.

  Carter pushed ahead of me. I was right behind him, looking at his naked derriere and considering what he would look like to the crew, then remembering they wouldn't mind one bit.

  Mike was already up the stairs when Carter got there. They both took two and three steps at a time. I was just a step or two behind Carter.

  Once we were above deck, I saw Mike going forward along the port side. I ran around the stairs and headed aft. Carter was leaping up the stairs to the top deck.

  When I came around aft, I could see the man throw a package to someone else on a waiting rubber dinghy with an outboard engine that came to life right then. I reached out to grab the man, who was a little shorter than me, and very wiry, but he wrestled from my grip. I reached out again and only found air as he jumped into the boat. I saw Carter's long body pass in front of me as he leaped into the boat. He managed to land in it, but the force of his weight made it unstable. It rocked towards the ship and then away from it and, as that happened the man at the motor pushed Carter into the water and over he went.

  I froze when I realized that the boat's outboard motor might run over Carter in the water. But, whoever it was didn't want to add murder to theft and smuggling. He deftly steered the motor around Carter and didn't hit him as they sped off.

  I reached over and offered my hand. Carter grabbed it, putting his hand over my wrist just like a fireman. I looked into his eyes and had one of those rare moments where everything stopped. My heart was racing like a locomotive.

  To anyone else, it probably looked like one naked man helping another naked man out of the chilly harbor water. But to me, it was a long moment that stretched out. I could feel the deep love I had for Carter. His eyes, as they watched mine, seemed to shine in the dim of the harbor lights. Neither of us said anything. We just watched each other.

  And then, as slow as everything had been, it sped up again. Mike was now behind me and, between the two of us, we got him back on board quickly.

  We stood there for a moment in the faint lights of the marina and watched the boat speed out towards the channel that led to the open ocean.

  Carter sat down on the bench that was on this side of the ship. I bent down in front of him. "You hurt?"

  He shook his head. "Just disappointed."

  Mike laughed. "What would they have done with a tall naked man, anyway?"

  Captain Jennings came around from the forward section as the lights came on.

  He stopped when he saw me and Carter and said to someone, "Bring blankets."

  I realized I was as naked as Carter was and so I sat down. Then I remembered this was my goddam ship and if I wanted to walk around in my birthday suit, then I was gonna damn well do so.

  I stood up. "Captain. Let's go down below. And kill the lights." For some reason I felt like a sitting duck in all the lights. As we were walking down the stairs on the port side, the lights went out.

  Once we were in our room, I grabbed a towel and handed it to Carter so he could dry off. He smelled fishy, of course. I pulled on swim trunks and sat down on the bed. Once he was dry, Carter did the same.

  After a moment, Mike walked in from his room. The captain was right behind him. I invited the man to sit in one of the two chairs that the small room could barely contain. Mike leaned in the doorway. I said to Mike, "Close that door." And he did.

  I looked over at the captain. "Who was that and what did they take?"

  He looked around at us, a little frightened. "I think it was the customer. And, although I don't know for sure, I think it was a package of heroin."

  Mike whistled. "Did you know about this, Nick?"

  I looked up at him with my stony face stare. "No. The captain told me today, as we were discussing the sale of the boat, that he used to do side jobs for Deladier. And I told him that I wanted whatever it was off the boat." I looked at my watch and saw that it was just about 12:30. "I guess you didn't have time to take care of that." I was mighty sore about this.

  The captain looked abashed, as he well should have. "I told... Well, I gave orders that it should be dropped in the water while dinner was being served. Seemed like the best time to get the package since it was in the aft section and you would all be above deck while you were eating dinner. I don't know why that didn't happen. It was a serious lapse on my part. I can clear out tomorrow if you want, Mr. Williams."

  I started to speak and Carter put his hand out in front of me. "Hold on. Who was supposed to have taken care of this for you?"

  The captain looked at the floor and said nothing. Mike folded his arms and said, "We can take you in to the Coast Guard and let them handle it, Captain, or you can tell us. You've made a very difficult time in Nick's life worse by involving him, and us, in this thing."

  The captain looked up at Mike. "You're a cop, right?"

  I said, "Was a cop. But still a very conscientious citizen. And I'm not worried about me, frankly. I'm worried about you, Jennings. I think someone sandbagged you. Now, who was it?"

  The captain looked at me, with sad eyes, and said, "Stuart." Stuart was his First Mate. And, based on what I'd seen earlier, also his lover. Now his reluctance made sense.

  Mike opened the door and was gone in a flash. He bounded up the stairs.

  "How long has Stuart worked for you?" I asked, trying to be friendly even though I was still angry.

  "Two years."

  "And were you lovers before that?" asked Carter.

  Jennings turned to Carter with surprise on his face. "How did you know?"

  I said, "It was obvious tonight. I think we both saw the way you were looking at each other."

  Jennings looked down. "No, that's only started in the last couple of months. You see--"

  We all looked up when we heard someone saying, "Stop pushing."

  A body came flying down the stairs a second later followed by a voice complaining, "Goddam it! You could have broken my neck!"

  Mike was down the stairs quickly. "Get in there. And then tell the captain what I
found you doing."

  Stuart, who was a mildly attractive man in his thirties stood in the doorway looking sullen. Mike shoved him from behind and then closed the door, standing in front of it. His face was set to monster-face scary.

  Stuart slumped down in the chair next to the captain. He was dressed all in black.

  "What were you doing, Stuart?" asked the captain.

  "Leaving you." The contempt in the words was shocking.

  I asked, "What else?" I knew Mike must have caught him doing more than just stuffing a duffel bag.

  Mike said threateningly, "Tell him."

  Stuart looked around the room. "I don't have to do nuthin'." He folded his arms to emphasize his words.

  Carter stood up and walked the two steps to Stuart's chair. "What's that?" Mike was right behind him.

  I could only imagine the vantage point that Stuart had at that moment. And it probably wasn't very nice. He was a wiry guy...

  I looked down and saw that the cuffs on both legs of his trousers were wet.

  I asked him, "How did you get back on board?"

  Looking between Mike and Carter, he smirked at me. "'Kill the lights.'" He tried to mock my voice but didn't do it very well.

  "Your buddy circled back around then?"

  "Yeah."

  Carter sat back down on the bed and Mike returned to his place in front of the door.

  "Were you emptying the safe?" I looked over at Jennings when I asked that question. Poor guy. His whole world was crashing in on him and it was all over his face.

  Mike said, "That's exactly what he was doing. Twenty thousand dollars, from what I could tell."

  I tried to maintain my stony face. Jennings looked down at the ground. "Two weeks' pay and incidentals?" I asked. "How much salary was Deladier paying?"

  Stuart laughed. "You're joking, right?"

  I asked Jennings, "Would you please fucking tell me the real goddam story?"

  Jennings never looked up but he did start to talk. "We've been running packages for Deladier for a year." He glanced quickly at Stuart. I was betting that a bell just went off in his head. "I don't know for sure, but I think it was heroin. I never handled any of it. I just went where we were told to go and dropped anchor and then left when I was told to leave." His eyes darted at Stuart again.