“You were supposed to wait for them after docking at the private pier near the mansion.”
“I was going to do that, sir, but the man you put in charge told me to get close to the private beach cove, and they would wade in from there instead. That is what happened.”
Erskine crossed his arms. “What? You were supposed to drop them off at the other pier and they would enter the house from there.”
“They insisted on being dropped off near the cove, sir,” Gopalan said. “They said the private dock was too exposed.”
Erskine felt like firing him, but he would have to bring it up with the general manager first. Rakesh Budrani would surely defend his staff, and Erskine would have to tell him the reasons behind it. “So why didn’t you just wait until they came back out then?”
“The tall man said they would just radio in for a pickup, and so I anchored the boat a quarter of a kilometer out and waited,” Gopalan said. “Those were his instructions to me.”
“But you’re here.”
“Yes, sir. I waited for a long time until dawn was about to break. I was assigned to be the boat driver in case of any dives scheduled this morning so I decided to go back.”
Erskine fumed. “You were supposed to wait for them!”
“I did that, sir—all night. But they never called back or signaled from the shore,” Gopalan said softly. “I’m sorry, sir. I-I don’t want to get into trouble with Mr. Budrani.”
He somehow managed to keep his anger in check. So you’re more scared of Rakesh than me? I’m going to have you fired before I get the axe, you brown skinned bastard. “Did you see anything at all while you waited out there?”
Gopalan shook his head. “No, sir. The whole mansion had no lights on, and it seemed like it was completely deserted.”
“Were there any boats still on the private pier?”
“Yes, sir. One speedboat was moored at the dock below the estate. It had a gold trim.”
That’s Emeric’s private speedboat, he thought. “Any others?”
“No, sir.”
Erskine looked out into the crystal blue sea. The supply boat from Kochi was scheduled to head to the private pier next week, but he had already placed her on hold until things cleared up. If Kazimir doesn’t fire me then I’ll just hire more private contractors, but it’ll have to wait until after the opening ceremonies. It would be too conspicuous if I send for them now.
Gopalan knew he was in trouble. “Do you want me to go back and try to see if I can pick them up, Mr. Erskine?”
He shook his head. “No. It’s only a couple of kilometers towards the resort grounds if they decided to walk back here through the jungle. You carry on as if nothing’s happened.”
“Yes, sir.”
Erskine wagged a finger at him. “And do not ever say anything to the general manager about what I asked you to do last night, do you hear me?”
Gopalan nodded obediently. “Yes, sir.”
Turning around, Erskine began to walk back towards the sandy trail. Taking the walkie-talkie from the clip on his belt, he keyed in the device for the security office. “Did anyone from the road checkpoint see anything last night?”
His assistant at the monitoring room answered. “No, sir. Nothing came down the road since you ordered the checkpoint set up.”
“Okay, I want a rotating team present at the checkpoint at all times. Twenty-four seven. With guns. Nobody gets past them, is that understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“See if you can schedule one of the helicopters to take me up as soon as possible,” Erskine said. “I want to do a flyby over the mansion.”
“Right away, sir.”
20
FEELING THE POWDERY white sand in between his bare toes, Nick Dirkse couldn’t help but smile as he walked back towards their guest cottage near the seashore. Los Angeles had its own beaches, but they were nothing compared to this. Even though more visitors were slowly arriving for Lemuria’s grand opening, which was just a few days away, his family seemed to be the only guests on this side of the whole resort, and the staff treated them like royalty.
Breakfast had been done in their bungalow’s living room, with one of the hotel chefs knocking on their door and wheeling in a cart full of ingredients before cooking it in front of their eyes. Nick had opted for the Indian version consisting of vada doughnuts and appam egg pancakes with various yogurts and chutney dips, and was pleasantly surprised by how good they tasted. Cathy and the kids preferred the usual American breakfast of eggs, bacon, and pancakes, though Scott quickly changed his mind when he saw his father’s meal being prepared and opted for it too.
Looking at his watch, Nick concluded it would be close to noon in about an hour and he needed to find them all so they could have lunch together. Scott and Kim had gone their separate ways soon after breakfast, but he knew Cathy had stayed at the cottage, despite having barely seen the rest of the resort. Time flew by quickly it seemed, and he was having fun.
He’d spoken with Kim the night before, and she seemed hesitant at first, but soon opened up and admitted that the relationship with her boyfriend was pretty much over. By the end of the conversation they were both laughing and hugging each other, Nick saying he was glad she did well in her finals, and her next semester in college would be even better.
Art was right, he thought. I needed this vacation.
Nick’s mind was clear of worries for the first time in years, and he could feel a new bond developing between him and the kids. Scott had been mostly quiet back in Los Angeles, preferring to stay in his room and play videogames when he wasn’t at school, but now he had become a fireball, always eager to explore and learn new things about the entire resort. The attendants loved him, and the boy was even allowed to enter the staff areas so he could see how things were done from the inside.
Making his way towards the front porch of the guest bungalow, Nick could see Cathy was just outside, sitting on a rattan chair, her bare feet propped up on the low wall while working on a laptop computer. I think I got the kids back on my side again, so all I gotta do now is work on her.
“It’s a beautiful day and you’re still out here working, Cat,” he said while dusting off his feet at the steps below the raised porch.
Cathy kept her eyes focused on the laptop’s monitor screen. “Give me a minute, I just have to send some home interior pics to a potential client.”
When he got onto the porch, Nick leaned back on one of the support beams and crossed his arms. “And you said I was working too much back in L.A. It looks like you turned into me now.”
She looked up at him. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I’m not one of your clients, Cat. I’m your husband,” he said.
“I know that.”
“Good, then you won’t mind if I do this,” Nick said before leaning forward and closing the lid of her laptop.
Cathy shrieked, pulling her hands away, before giving him a bewildered look. “What are you doing, you jerk!”
Nick kept up his smile as he kneeled down beside her. “This is supposed to be a vacation for us.” He pointed at the now closed laptop. “All that can wait.”
A part of her wanted to slap him, but Cathy realized he was right. Despite being half a world away, her mind was still in Los Angeles. With a capitulating sigh, she placed the laptop onto a small table. “You’re right.”
He pointed at the clear waters in front of them. “So many shades of blue out there. All I remember was the gray ocean back in Redondo and Huntington Beach. Just the dirty, polluted surf. I even got sick with rashes a few times back in the day.”