“What do you mean?” I asked.
“They’re both natives and part of the Coastwatchers. They must have known of each other. It’d be natural enough to want to meet a chap like yourself,” Gordie said.
“But I thought you only knew each other by call sign,” I said.
“Word travels,” Archer said. “The natives know much more than they let on, believe me.”
“Besides,” Gordie said, “didn’t they both work on Pavau? They must have met at some point.”
“Not according to John Kari,” I said.
“Then why did Daniel hide himself?” Gordie asked.
“But only on the boat,” I said, thinking it through. “He came right to Hugh Sexton’s place, right?”
“That he did,” Archer said, nodding. “What does it mean?”
“He felt safe there,” I said. “But not on the boat.”
“Because Hugh was there, you mean,” Archer said, his voice suddenly hard. “Are you accusing us of making him fear for his life?”
“It does make sense, doesn’t it?” I answered, watching for Archer’s reaction.
“I should knock your teeth in for that, you cow,” Archer said, stepping closer, his fists bunched at his side. His face was red and a vein throbbed at his temple. Interesting.
“Hey, just thinking out loud, Archer,” I said, holding up my hands, palms out.
“Do it quieter, then,” he said, and spun on his heel, stomping off the dock.
“Why’d he call me a cow?” I asked Gordie, who as usual was smiling.
“A Yank’d say bum or bastard. If he were feeling charitable, that is.”
“My insinuation didn’t seem to bother you,” I said, wiping the perspiration from my eyes, glad to have avoided Archer’s swing. He looked like he knew how to use those meaty fists.
“About Daniel being afraid of one of us? Hells bells, I’ve got bigger things to worry about, like the Japanese Army and Navy,” he said. “Besides, I know I didn’t hurt anyone. Not on our side, at least.” He flashed a grin and went back to work, leaving me to wonder at that singular statement of innocence.
I couldn’t think of any other rocks to turn over in Sesapi, and I had some time to kill before I picked up Kaz at the PBY base near headquarters. I decided to pay Jack a visit and see how he made out with Cluster, angling for a new boat. If he managed not to irritate me, I might even tell him about the report I filed with Ritchie, absolving him of any involvement in the murder of Daniel Tamana.
I found Jack in his hut, whistling a happy tune while he stuffed clothes into a white canvas sea bag.
“I guess it went well with Cluster,” I said, thinking that most guys would be happy about going home, not hanging around the Solomons to give the Japs another chance to burn, drown, or maim them.
“I’m getting a new boat, Billy,” Jack said, his grin wide and his eyes on fire. “And I’ve got you to thank for it. Ritchie told Al Cluster about your report, and that sealed the deal.”
“You’re welcome,” I said. Not that Jack thanked me directly. He was good at alluding to things without coming out and saying them. A real pal tells you thanks straight up. A rich kid says it like he owns you. I was already irritated.
“It’s not only a new boat, it’s a new experimental craft,” Jack said, jamming a pair of tennis shoes on top of his khakis. “A gunboat, armed to the teeth.”
“I think I saw her at Sesapi,” I said. “PT-59, moored next to the PT tender. They were removing depth charges and torpedo tubes.”
“Yeah, that’s the plan. They’re installing forty-millimeter guns, more machine guns, armor plating, the works. We’re going after Jap barges bringing men and supplies down the Slot,” Jack said, cinching his sea bag closed. “That’s where the war is, Billy, not waiting like a sitting duck for destroyers. If the Japs can’t keep their garrisons manned and supplied, we’ll send them to hell and gone.”
“You discharged from the hospital, Jack?” He was excited, walking on air, but I wasn’t so sure about him captaining a gunboat. He was still rail thin, and I could see he was disguising a limp, walking around the bed like a drunk determined to stay upright. The slightest of winces played across his face, hidden by an eager smile. Some guys feigned illness to get sack time in the sick bay. Jack feigned wellness to get out.
“Clean bill of health and a new command,” he said. “Never felt better. All I need to do is gather up a crew and oversee the finishing touches on the 59 boat. Al said they might rename her Motor Gunboat Number One. Has a nice ring, doesn’t it?”
“Jack, are you sure you’re ready?”
“I’ll tell you what I’m not ready for, Billy. I’m not ready to be sent home before I pay the Japs back for sinking my boat and killing my men. Don’t get in my way, okay?”
“I’m not in your way, Jack,” I said, stepping closer and holding my hands behind my back to keep them from grabbing Jack by the collar and shaking some sense into him. “If I were, that report would have come out differently. Not everyone who disagrees with you is trying to get in your way.”
“Okay, okay,” he said, holding up one hand in half surrender. “I didn’t mean anything by it, I just can’t wait to get out of here and get on with things. Come on, sit down. Have a sandwich, I’m not hungry.” Jack sat at the small table and pushed a plate of Spam sandwiches in my direction, sending newspapers and magazines fluttering to the floor. Jack was never much for housekeeping, but now that he was on his way out the door, he was even more careless.
“Thanks,” I said, biting into half a greasy sandwich, knowing that Jack’s stomach could never take anything like this and keep it down. I didn’t say anything else, letting the brief burst of temper settle back down.
“Anything new on Deanna?” Jack finally asked.
“I thought I might have had something,” I said, telling him about John Kari driving through Chinatown and the Cosmoline, which I thought implicated him until I saw the others with it.
“Pretty common stuff,” Jack said. “But it does put those four Coastwatchers in the frame, doesn’t it?”
“It doesn’t clear them, that’s for sure,” I said. “Did you know that Daniel came over from Guadalcanal on the same PT tender they were all on? He apparently didn’t make himself known, which raises even more suspicions.”
“No, I didn’t. Wouldn’t have any reason to. Who do you think is the most likely suspect?”
“I think Kari is hiding something,” I said, tossing down the remains of the Spam lunch. My stomach wasn’t crazy about it either. “He and Daniel were on Pavau at the same time, but he claims never to have met him. I think he must have, though, since they both would have been present when the Lever boat picked up copra deliveries.”
“On some of those outlying islands, the arrival of a boat carrying mail and supplies is a major event,” Jack said. “There’d have to be a good reason for them not to have taken notice of each other.”
“Especially since Kari worked for Lever, keeping track of copra deliveries and selling supplies to the planters.”
“Didn’t Silas Porter come from Pavau?” Jack asked.
“He has a plantation there,” I said. “But apparently the north end of the island is cut off by a mountain, and there’s little contact between the leeward and his place on the windward side. Didn’t seem like they ever had the chance to meet. And Porter was something of a recluse back then. The war changed him after the Japs massacred his workers.”
“Sounds familiar,” Jack said. “Things have to get really bad before a man is forced to change his ways. But when that happens, there’s no going back.” His eyes drifted, not fixed on anything in the room, or even outside the open windows.
“What’s next?” I asked, in an effort to bring him back from the place where things got really bad.
“I could use a lift to Sesapi,” he said, the weariness in his voice weighing it down. I didn’t bother telling him he should stay here.
“Sure. Come on, I’ll even carry your bag.” That got a smile, a real one, and I was reminded how damn likable Jack was when he wasn’t playing the angles. As we stood up, a muscular, tanned navy ensign entered the hut.