Death Diamonds of Bermudez (4 page)

Sam’s face turned red; all she could do was to nod her head.

Portagee interrupted everyone’s trend of thought by saying, ”Were these guys really Boer solders?”

Michael replied back, “No, there is no such thing as Boer soldiers anymore. They looked more like mercenaries to me dressed in what would be modern day Boer uniforms.”

Keno asked, “Well, what the hell are they doing in Bermuda anyway?”

Sam added, “I don’t know, but we know they’re staying in a cottage on Long Island. And we all know that the Boer War Cemetery is there.”

Graham went on to say, “Well, maybe they’re fanatics searching out their roots.”

Michael spoke up, “These guys are bullies and up to no good. They’re here to steal something and wreak some damage.”

Portagee asked, “Like what? Do in a bunch of dead Boer War Soldiers?”

Michael snapped back, “What if there was something valuable buried in those graves?”

Graham asked, “And you think we’re going to be a bunch of grave robbers? That will land us all in prison.”

Keno and Sam looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Keno then spoke up, “Sam and I both think we should plan a trip to Long Island and spy on these crooks. As soon as they do something illegal we’ll call Inspector Savage.”

They all agreed that was their plan. They dispersed to go home and get their supplies. Tomorrow morning they would meet back here and head to Hamilton together. Keno had a friend in Hamilton that would loan them a small fourteen foot Boston Whaler to motor out to the island.

The Secret of Long Island

The next morning before dawn the Spinners had made their way to Albouy’s Point in Hamilton. As expected, Keno’s friend had left a Boston Whaler tied up at the dock. Sam as usual began giving directions to the boys trying to keep them organized and on the straight and narrow. Once the Whaler was loaded and ready to shove off Captain Portagee took command of the vessel.

Portagee barked out, ”Mates, it’s time to set sail. Keno and Michael untie the ship’s ropes from the dock and shove off. Graham, get to the bow and make sure the channel is clear.” He turned to Sam and said, “You can just sit there and look pretty.”

Sam replied, “Why, thank you, Portagee.” She then gave him a wink.

Michael stood up and yelled, “Now wait just a darn minute. Let’s not get too carried away.”

Sam smiled at Michael and winked at him. Michael melted back in his seat and stared in the direction of Long Island. He was at a loss for words.

As the Spinners motored their way across the Great Sound the cool morning air was very refreshing. There was also a palpable excitement in the air. The Spinners were thinking that there might be treasure to be found.

Graham could see that Portagee was on a direct course towards the small dock on the south side of Long Island. Graham yelled out, “Portagee, steer clear of the south side of the island.”

Portagee fired back, “Why? We always dock there.”

Graham replied, “With our Boer buddies on the island already we should keep a low profile. They’ll see our boat if we dock there.”

Keno interrupted, “Well then, Mr. Smart guy, where should we dock that’s safe?”

Graham added, “On the north east section of the island there’s a small concealed cove where we can anchor the boat.”

Portagee replied, “That works for me.” He changed course towards the north side of the small island. Within a few minutes they dropped anchor in the concealed cove.

Keno asked, “Now what? It’s just about daybreak.”

Michael replied, “We all seem to think these goons will be going to the Boer War Cemetery. So let’s go hide in the bushes on the east side of the cemetery where they won’t be able to see us and wait.” They all agreed that was a good plan and made their way to the dense bushes to wait.

Meanwhile, Savage was back at the Bermuda airport having his morning cup of coffee. While he was sipping his hot coffee he couldn’t help but wonder what the South Africans were looking for in Bermuda. His thoughts were quickly broken when he heard his name being paged, “Would Inspector Savage please report to the Immigration window?”

Savage got up from his table and walked over to the window. As he got closer he heard two people yelling at each other. By the time he was at the widow he knew who one of the voices belonged to. It was his old buddy Derrick Storm. Savage looked through the window and asked, “Officer, what seems to be the problem?”

The officer on duty turned to Savage and said, “We caught this man with a concealed and undeclared firearm. This man said you could explain.”

Savage grinned a little and said, “Lock this gun smuggler up. I have never seen him before in my life.”

Storm looked over at Savage and yelled, “You bastard! Get me the hell out of here before I do some damage.”

Savage laughed and pulled a letter out of his jacket pocket and said, ”Officer, here’s a letter from the Commissioner allowing this US FBI agent and his sidearm to enter Bermuda.”

Within minutes Storm was released from the Immigration holding room and was out of the terminal with Savage. The two crime fighters spent a few minutes with small talk before Storm asked, “Were you able to find out where our South Africans went?”

Savage replied, “Yeah, they’re out on Long Island staying at a rental cottage on the west side of the island.”

Storm added, “Isn’t that where the Boer cemetery is?”

Savage nodded his head in agreement and said, “These thugs must be desperate to find something on the tiny island. By the way were you able to find out anything on these guys?”

Storm replied, “We were lucky. Interpol had them in their database. Kruger Van Eck is the leader of this Boer paramilitary group. He’s very wealthy. His family is in the diamond mining business in South Africa. He’s obsessed with establishing a
Boer Nation.
He wants
an independent Boer state in South Africa.

Storm continued on saying, “His lieutenant is
Dirk Lynch. He’s a monster of a man. I don’t know if both of us together could take him out.”

Savage added, “Yesterday I gave him my best shot, and he shrugged it off like I never touched him.”

Storm asked, “Oh, you had a run in with him?”

Savage quipped, “That’s another story, mate. We’ll discuss that some other time.”

Storm went on to say, “
Let there be no doubt these men are ruthless killers and will stop at nothing to reach their goals. We have to stop them in their tracks. But first we have to find out what the hell their mission is.” The two men walked over to Savage’s car and left the airport heading to Hamilton. From there they would borrow a police boat and head to Long island on the Great Sound.

The South Africans had spent the
night on Long Island in their rented cottage. Van Eck was awake most of the night. He knew his dream of a Boer nation was almost a reality now. All he had to do now was follow the map to his destiny. Van Eck could wait no longer, he stood up and began yelling, “It’s time to go and seize our future. Get your butts up, and let’s get moving.” They left the cottage and began their trek in a southerly direction towards the cemetery.

One of the South Africans said, “Everywhere we go, we’re having to go through bloody cemeteries.”

Van Eck snapped back, “Keep your mouth shut or Lynch will give you something to whine about.” He grumbled a little, but decided it was best to shut up. The group made their way to the entrance of the cemetery. The Boer War Cemetery was fairly small. A small limestone wall formed three sides to the cemetery. At one end of the cemetery was a monument in
honour of the deceased solders. Van Eck pulled out his old tattered map and compared it to the cemetery. The map and the cemetery were still a pretty close match, except the monument was not located on the map. Van Eck thought that it must have been erected at a much later date. The map indicated that the location of the secret riches were in grave fifty-four. He looked around for awhile and said, “What the bloody hell, there’s no grave marker here higher than thirty-six. He could see that the monument had the names and grave numbers who were buried in the cemetery. He barked out to one of his men to check the monument headstone for grave number thirty-six.

His goon walked all the way around the monument and said, “Boss, the highest number on this monument is forty-three.”

Van Eck was now frustrated. He yelled out to the others, “What the hell happened to grave
fifty-four?”

Before they could answer a voice from behind them spoke out, “What’s the matter, Van Eck? Are you having trouble finding the right grave to rob?”

Van Eck turned around quickly and saw Storm and Savage approaching. As they got closer Storm added, “Did I forget to mention you’re a bunch of murderers too?”

Lynch started moving towards Storm. Savage stepped in between the two and said, “You better bloody well back off, mate.” Lynch hesitated and laughed. Savage continued, “It may be funny to you, but remember the bigger they are the harder they fall. However Savage remembered how Lynch took his uppercut like it was a piece of paper.” Lynch just stood there staring at Storm and Savage.

Van Eck was stunned for a moment. He recognized Storm from the bar in New Orleans. He finally spoke up, “You two don’t have a clue what you’re messing with. You two better go back the way you came.”

Storm snapped back, “You’re right, but when we do know you’ll be the first to hear back from us.”

Van Eck turned back to his men and said, “Let’s go back to the cottage, men. The smell of death is too strong here.” They walked away from Storm and Savage over the small hill and out of sight. Van Eck said to himself, “Those two are dead men”.

As the South Africans got out of sight of Storm and Savage, Savage looked at Storm and said, “What the hell did we just accomplish?”

Storm replied, “Not a damn thing. We’ve got nothing on these thugs, and nothing to go on. I assume that we interrupted whatever it was that they were looking for.”

Savage pointed in a southerly direction and said, “See that tiny island over there about fifty meters away? When it gets dark tonight we’ll come back and watch them from there.”

Storm replied, “Good idea, but remember last time we staked out these killers I lost two friends.”

Savage
agreed, “I understand.” The two left the island making sure that Van Eck and his thugs could see them leave.

Meanwhile the Spinners from their hidden vantage point in the bush had seen and heard everything. Graham was first to speak saying, “Let’s get out there before those goons come back and find what it was they were looking for.”

Michael added, “That’s a good idea, but we need a couple of look outs up on that hill to warn us if those goons come back.”

Sam said, “That sounds like a job for me and Portagee.”

Portagee quipped back, “
I want to stay and dig. Let Keno go watch out with Sam.”

Michael interrupted Portage saying, “We need Keno’s muscles on this job.”

Keno added, “That’s right, my little buddy.”

After this
rejection Portagee went with Sam and hid behind the limestone cemetery wall keeping an eye out for the South Africans.

The other three Spinners were now talking amongst themselves trying to make sense of the clue. Graham said, “If that map was made by a Boer War prisoner he would have been fearful that someday the graves might be exhumed and moved back to South Africa.”