Tears of the Moon (47 page)

‘No, not at all. I see them as a means to an end.’

‘You have an idea or plan in mind?’ He raised an eyebrow.

‘Not yet. But I’m open to suggestions.’

‘If you could get this asset, would you consider a business proposition?’

‘From you?’

‘Does it make a difference?’ he grinned.

‘On the contrary, I think it would have definite
advantages.’ Her bantering mood hardened. ‘However, I have to, er, acquire the capital, shall we say.’

‘That’s your problem.’

‘Well, give me some helpful advice. When are pearls sold? Where are they kept?’

‘Star of the Sea use Metta for their cleaning. I’d say once he’s done with them, they sit in the office safe till they’re shipped south for sale.’

‘That gives me a little challenge then, doesn’t it?’ She smiled at him.

Amy did her homework, visiting Tyndall’s office on her rounds about town. A sleepy Koepanger sat by the stairs but leapt to his feet at Amy’s arrival. ‘Nobody here, mem. All outside … at sea.’

‘Everybody?’

‘No, some work at foreshore camp. Me help, mem?’

‘Give me the key. I know what I want.’

The boy shook his head fearfully. ‘Ahmed say me no give key to nobody.’

‘Quite right. But that doesn’t mean me, Mem Tyndall. I have business to attend to. Now give me the key, I’ll just be one minute.’ She held out her hand and glared at him.

‘You give back one minute?’

‘Of course. Wait there.’ Amy hurried up the stairs.

She unlocked the door to Tyndall’s office, glancing around at the scattered gear, ropes, whisky bottles and rug thrown over an old chaise lounge. She swiftly riffled through the piles of papers on his desk but, finding nothing of interest, turned her
attention to the safe. It would be difficult but the right skilled person could possibly pick the lock. She opened the desk drawers on either side, flipped through their contents, and took out a folder detailing pearl sales. She then pulled the centre drawer. It held a flat bottle half-filled with rum and a set of keys.

‘Mem? You there, mem?’

‘Yes, I’m coining down.’ Amy hurriedly slammed the door closed, locking it with the set of keys she’d taken from the desk. Smiling, she slipped the keys in her pocket and went downstairs.

‘I have locked the office. There is no need for you to go up there.’

‘
Terimah kasi,
mem.’ He put the key in his pocket and settled on the chair again.

The next message she received from Karl Gunther was an invitation for dinner. It was dark when she set out in the sulky he had sent for her. At the jetty, the driver helped her down and, without a word being exchanged, she followed him along the wharf past several dark boats to where Gunther’s red and black schooner was moored, a lantern burning on the mast. He appeared on the deck and helped her on board.

‘Wait down below, we’re going out into the bay. Tide is dropping, don’t want to get stranded on the mud. Always like to be able to make a quick getaway.’

‘Me, too. So what am I supposed to do? Swim?’

‘I guess you’re at my mercy.’

They anchored and the sole crew member made himself scarce.

Gunther poured himself a rum. ‘Only got rum.’ He poured a shot into a second glass and pushed a bottle of sweet lemonade to her. ‘Put some of that in it.’

‘It’s not my favourite drink exactly,’ said Amy. ‘But I guess the French champagne will come after I strike gold, eh? So tell me what it’s all about.’

‘Pirates, my dear, pirates.’

Amy paled. ‘We’re not going down that path, Karl,’ she snapped. ‘Ye gods, man, you could look like a pirate readily enough, but count me out of joining in your swashbuckling fantasy.’ She paused, thought for a moment, then cocked her head to one side and queried cautiously, ‘Or is it just the rum talking?’

Gunther threw back his head and roared with laughter. ‘Ah, you’re a cargo of fun, Amy. No, we’re not going to become pirates, we’re simply going to do business with them.’ He reached over and topped up her glass with rum.

‘I was not aware that piracy is still a business,’ replied Amy, both puzzled and amused at the suggestion. ‘Do you mean skull and crossed bones on flags and all that sort of thing?’

‘In a way, yes. You see, my pet, in the Sulu Sea to our north, piracy is a way of life for some of the natives. Small boat stuff, but quite a pretty penny in it. Problem is they’re being out-gunned by an increasing number of patrol boats from colonial governments. And that is where we come in. Guns, Amy.’

‘Sounds dangerous,’ she said guardedly.

‘Not really,’ he responded with a dismissive wave of a hand and leaned back against a bulkhead with his drink. ‘The trick is to have better guns than you’re trading.’

‘Is there good money in it?’

‘Not money … gold. Much easier to dispose of and there’s no need to deal with banks that might ask questions. Besides, the Sulu Sea mob are rather keen on hoarding gold, so there’s no waiting around for payment. They’re willing to pay big money for the latest weapons, particularly some of the new American rifles.’

‘And where do we find a cargo of American rifles? At Streeter’s?’

Gunther roared again and slapped his thigh, almost choking on his drink. ‘Oh, you’re a card, a right good one you are, Amy. At Streeter’s … ’ He laughed loudly again.

‘Well, I’m waiting,’ said Amy with a grin, rather pleased that her little joke had gone over so well.

‘Nah. We’ll give Streeter’s a miss. We’ll pick ‘em up in Darwin. Friend of mine there has a load coming up from Sydney. What the larrikins down there call “salvage”. Sort of got lost in a warehouse one night some months ago. Of course, the shipment won’t be through the usual channels. We’ll take delivery at a place not overrun by customs and the like. Then we sail up to a friendly island chief I know and spread the word that we’re open for business and make 300 percent profit.’

Amy’s head whirled. Gun running was not an
option she had imagined in her fantasies. Still, 300 percent profit had a lovely sound to it.

‘About the security you mentioned, the better guns?’ She pushed her glass over to him.

He poured them both the rum, sloshed lemonade into her glass then looked across the table and grinned. ‘The Sydney boys have that in hand. They have also acquired an army Lewis machine gun. It’s as good as having a score of riflemen on board. An expensive item, I’m afraid, but an essential investment.’ He gave her a while to take this in, then asked, ‘Well, are you in?’

Their eyes met and locked in an unblinking transmission of messages. Messages that said we both know who we are, what we want and what we can give each other and we both know the answer is yes.

Amy decided to lay her cards on the table. ‘I have no ready cash of my own, but as Tyndall’s wife I am entitled to a share of the business. The pearls in the safe will be my share. It’s fair. Tyndall gets his freedom in return.’

‘A divorce?’

‘If he wants to do the hard work. I’m not going to bother,’ she flicked a hand dismissively. ‘And after this little enterprise, what then?’ she asked.

‘You’ll have money, you can do what you want.’

‘I would be looking for further opportunities in return for my investment,’ said Amy. ‘I have to think of my future.’

He gave her an appraising look. ‘If we get on, we could consider another business project or two.’

‘Just business?’ Amy leaned forward and ran her
tongue over her lips. Raising an eyebrow, she whispered provocatively, ‘Maybe we should see how well we get on.’

Gunther glanced down at her breasts and reached for her hand. He pulled her to her feet. ‘The bunk’s in there. Let’s see how compatible we are then,’ he said, giving her a gentle shove.

Amy fell back through a curtain onto the bunk, giggling, and watching him strip off his clothes. She felt slightly lightheaded from the strong liquor. She knew it would have to come to this at some stage in any relationship with Gunther and besides, she enjoyed sex. Tyndall’s rejection of her had made her feel frustrated and undesirable. She desperately craved the attentions of a man.

Gunther wasted no time in delicate foreplay. Amy had been prepared for rough copulation and expected Gunther to roll away when satisfied. What came as a shock—a wildly erotic and stimulating one—was the untold pleasure he aroused in her. He gave a lusty laugh as she cried in ecstasy.

Later as she lay back satiated and sore but immensely satisfied, he revealed his secret. Taking her hand, he rubbed it along the shaft of his penis till she felt a strange hard bump on the underside.

‘What’s that? Is that what made it feel so good?’ she asked.

‘Ah, a woman who doesn’t mind admitting she likes sex,’ grinned Gunther. ‘It’s a pearl. The best baroque, placed in just the right place under the skin to please the ladies. Learned it from a Jap diver. They pierce the skin and stick in the penis pearl.
Skin grows back over it and you drive the women crazy.’

Amy had to agree with him as she realised with delight that a partnership with Gunther was going to be profitable in more ways than one.

Early the following morning, before dawn, as the sulky travelled through the quiet streets back to the house on the cliff, Amy reflected on the events of the night. As always seemed to happen to her, an opportunity came along just when she was feeling trapped and bored. Whether she created the diversion or it was coincidence or both, she never bothered to consider. Moving forward hopefully to a more advantageous situation was uppermost in her mind at these times.

She didn’t totally trust Gunther, but she knew he could lead her into a world of richer pickings than Broome could offer. A shady world, possibly a dangerous one, and if it came to a choice, Gunther would save himself before Amy. But then she would do the same. If a better opportunity presented itself, Amy would take it. They were using each other as long as it suited them both. She did pause for a moment to wonder about this unlikely alliance and the fascination the rogue skipper held for her. Putting this to one side, she began to think over the details of Gunther’s plan. It sounded good. And very profitable.

Amy sent word to Gunther to meet her at The White Lotus. Over jasmine tea she was all business.

‘If we agree on matters, how soon before we could leave here?’

‘I’m flexible. You seem anxious. We might have to wait in Darwin till the shipment arrives.’

‘Be safer than waiting here. Once I have, er, retrieved my investment I think it best if I were not around. I wish to leave before Tyndall returns and discovers the loss.’

‘You’ve figured out how to extricate the pearls?’

She gave him a flirtatious smile. ‘I have the keys to the office, but not to the safe. I need a professional hand to get in there.’

‘You’re asking me? What makes you think I know how to crack a safe?’ There was an amused glint in his eye.

‘If you don’t, you’ll know someone, I imagine.’

‘It will cost you.’ He continued to smile.

Immediately Amy knew Gunther had the nimble fingers and tools that could pick a lock. He looked too confident and relaxed about her request. ‘I imagine the cost could be negotiable?’

‘Indeed.’ He became serious. ‘I’ll need a day or so. How about Wednesday night?’

Dressed in a dark dress, Amy walked down to the waterfront just before midnight and went quietly into the Star of the Sea building, tiptoeing up the flight of stairs even though the building was empty. She unlocked the door to Tyndall’s office and sat behind his desk and waited.

After a while she walked to the window and looked across the moonlit bay. It was an absolutely
beautiful evening, the full tide flooding the mangroves and slapping against the old jetty. She became entranced, almost hypnotised by the scene. It was all so peaceful, so beautiful. But suddenly, she felt uncomfortable because the emotions evoked by the view were so at odds with the purpose of her midnight visit to the office. How strange, she thought, that I have come to the other side of the world and in such a short time find myself about to rob a safe and sail off to do deals with pirates. It was not the prospect of the deeds that disturbed her but rather the mystery of the process that led to her easy acceptance of them. How did it happen? What forces had come into play that had led her from a village in Ireland to this place at this time? It was a rare moment of introspection for the streetwise and sharp-minded Amy who held there was no profit in analyses of life’s mysteries. She did not consider that when some people make a choice, they are capable of great good, or great evil. Amy didn’t bother to reflect on choices in life. Amy looked out for Amy.

A hand suddenly clamped on her hair, tipping her head back and causing her to gasp. Gunther leaned down and bit her ear. ‘You didn’t hear me, did you?’

‘No.’ Her heart was beating rapidly and, looking at him, she suddenly wondered if he’d open the safe, take the pearls and be gone from her life. But such doubts were fleeting, disappearing totally in the flood of excitement that surged through her body as he pulled her to him and kissed her roughly. He then went to work on the safe.

He looked at it for some time, using a candle
shaded by the palm of his hand to illuminate the lock.