Chapter 31

Suitably equipped with a coffee and a few of Mrs Cronje’s homemade biscuits, I set up the listening device on the bed and settled down to analyse the conversation that had being taking place around the barbecue at the house in Hermanus; prior to my hasty retreat.

The quality of the recording was superb, and I could hear clearly what was being said. Unfortunately, the crew members that I had recorded at the start were both French, and they were naturally communicating in French. What they were talking about was probably very interesting, but, my understanding of French was not to the standard required to interpret what two native speakers were talking about. I just hoped that the tape was not full of French.

About ten minutes into the recording the language changed to English and I was back in business. It sounded as if someone in authority joined the group as he took charge and started giving orders.

‘Serge, have you got enough meat out here for the whole lot of us,’ the new arrival asked.

‘Oui, I think so, Wayne. I have steaks, some South African sausage, I think that they call Boerewors, and there are also these kebabs.’

‘Guys I have some good news for you which should make you extremely happy.’ This was obviously the skipper Wayne speaking again.

‘Can I grab a beer first Wayne before you tell us the good news?’ Another voice, with what I interpreted as a Scandinavian accent, chipped in.

‘Quickly Torben; you always want to hold everything up for a beer.’ This was Wayne again.

‘Well you won’t let us drink on board, so I have a lot of ground to make up,’ Torben again.

‘The good news is we won’t be sailing the whole way back. The boss has been crafty and has obtained a lift on a freighter as far as Agadir in Morocco. Belle Diamant will travel as deck cargo, and we will have accommodation in cabins while we are on board.’

‘When will we be leaving and how long will the journey take Wayne?’ It was one of the French guys speaking.

‘It normally takes us around 35 days to sail from here to Agadir, and, we should get there in 13 days, maximum, on board the freighter. Back in the water, it will take us another 7 days to get to La Rochelle on Belle Diamant. The main advantage is that we’ll miss the doldrums, which, as you all know, can delay us considerably.’

I stopped the listening machine to digest the news that I had just heard. It took them nearly two months to sail down here to Cape Town, and now they would be back in La Rochelle in around twenty four days. If I hadn’t been able to eavesdrop, I wouldn’t have known about their revised schedule. I would have never thought about them getting a lift to Agadir. It was an exceptionally smart move by Caas Teifel.

I switched the device back on to listen to some more.

‘Are we going to get paid the same money if the boss has to pay for the lift to Agadir, Wayne?’

‘I asked him that Bernard and he said that he would stick by what he agreed with you. A bar in La Rochelle awaits you and your money; your girlfriend won’t expect you back for another three weeks or so.’

There was a lot of laughter at that remark.

After that, there was just the usual chit chat you get around a barbecue. The last thing I heard before it cut out was the sound of the alarm going off. That was when I had left in a hurry.

The only pieces of information that I was missing were:

1. The name of the freighter that the yacht would be loaded on in Cape Town harbour.

2. The date and time when the freighter was leaving.

The other thought to hit me was that I would have a lot less time to sort out what was happening at the European end of the diamond chain. My time in South Africa clearly was coming to an end. I would be able to leave before the end of the week; however, I still hadn’t seen the diamonds being put on board the yacht.

Just then my mobile rang.

‘Hi Vince, Laurie Scott here.’

‘Hi Laurie thanks for phoning me back. Have you any news for me?’

‘More than news Vince, I actually have a bunch of keys to give you. You can drive by and pick them up.’

‘You’re a star Laurie. I don’t know how to thank you enough. I’ll be around this afternoon if you are going to be there,’ I said, really grateful for what he had managed to do.

‘In this weather I am not going anywhere. I will be here all afternoon, probably watching the golf on the TV.’

‘I’ll drop by at around 3:00 p.m then.’

I put the phone down relieved that I now had a safe place to spy from. Laurie had moved far quicker than I expected.

Remembering that there was a shopping centre close to Laurie’s house, I decided to drop in there on the way and pick up a sandwich. Hunger satisfied I arrived outside his house just before 3:00. As usual his wife answered the door and brought me in to where Laurie was sitting watching the golf with a beer beside him.

He stood up as I went in and picked up a set of keys off the table.

‘These are the keys Vince, and the boat’s name is ‘Barnabe’. The owner says that it is on the second pontoon in.’

‘Thank you very much; I should have no problem finding it as the marina isn’t that large.’ Being the second pontoon, I should be able to see them working on Belle Diamant without too much difficulty.

‘How long do you want them for Vince?’

‘I’ll get them back to you by Friday and certainly by Saturday at the latest.’

‘He is not in a hurry to get them back so take your time. There is no rush.’

‘I’ll bring the gun back at the same time as I hope to be finished with that by the weekend too. In fact, I want to fly back to the UK on Saturday evening.’

‘I’ll show you out and get back to my golf,’ he said leading me out to where the rain was still teeming down.

I drove back to the multistorey car park and made a run for the guest house to try and avoid getting soaked again. I would have a decent night’s sleep in my bed in the guest house before taking up residence in the yacht tomorrow morning.

At around 5:00 p.m the rain eased off a bit and I was able to slip out to the local supermarket to buy some provisions. When I took up residence in Barnabe, I would need to feed myself and drink something. I obviously couldn’t take a lot on board as I didn’t want to be too conspicuous and advertise the fact that I was in residence.

I got up early the following morning with the aim of being on board Barnabe before anybody else was about, and I knew, from my experience in the sail locker, that the Yacht Club started to come to life at around 6:00 a.m. I was walking through the gates of the harbour at 5:45 a.m and in my hiding place on Barnabe, unobserved, just before 6:00.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I unlocked the entrance hatch and went inside the yacht, but I was agreeably surprised. The yacht was about 10 meters long and quite modern. All the cushions and furnishings had been left on board, so it was surprisingly comfortable. There was a cockpit amidships, which would make it particularly suitable as an observation point. The boat hadn’t been used for some time, so it was cold and damp inside, but it wasn’t uncomfortable and was adequate for what I needed. I stowed the bits and pieces of food that I had brought with me and set about getting myself some breakfast.

Suitably fortified, I searched the boat for something that I could use as an awning over the cockpit. I wanted to ensure that I wasn’t visible to any prying eye. On boats I had been on before, there had often been a cover that they used on sunny days, to give shade in the cockpit while eating. After a bit of rummaging, I found what I was looking for, and, checking that there was nobody around, I managed to erect the cover over the boom and tie it down to the sides making a tent. I now could look out across the marina without being seen.

Sunrise was around 8:00 a.m and by that stage I was well hidden. I would stay out of sight until sunset, around 6:00 p.m. What I did after that would depend on events during the day. Looking out towards the area where the boats were on the hard, I could just see Belle Diamant. There were already people working on it, using a pressure washer on the hull to get off the grime. They were also hosing down the decks and the superstructure. At this rate, they would be ready to put the boat back in the water by the evening.

About mid-morning, I saw Caas Teifel arrive and shortly after that I saw him, plus another person who had been working on the boat, extract a sail bag from the yacht, drop it to the ground, and carry it towards a shed at the far end of the area where the yachts were.

I switched on my listening device.

‘Are you sure that this is the genoa that got split when you were sailing down here Torben?’ ‘Yes this is the one. I put a mark on the sail bag so there wouldn’t be any mix up when we got here,’ the man, who had been called Torben, replied.

‘I’ll take your word for it. The sail maker, who works in this shed, has agreed to repair it up for me. He will have it ready this evening. Will you please remember to collect it before you knock off tonight, or, at the latest tomorrow morning?’

‘Will do.’

‘How is Wayne? Has he recovered from the crash the other night?’

So it had been Wayne, the skipper, who had been in the car that had chased me.

‘Yes, he seems to be OK, but Serge is still suffering. They were both extremely lucky to get out alive.’

‘Wayne should never have gone off chasing after whoever it was. Our mission is too important to have it disrupted by stupid car chases. He is an exceptionally lucky man that he didn’t suffer worse injuries.’

‘The voyage on the freighter will give them more time to recover before we have to sail the boat, so we should be OK.’

They vanished into the shed where the sail maker worked, with Torben re-emerging first to go back to work on the yacht. Caas Teifel came out about fifteen minutes later and went to the car park where he had left Moira’s BMW. He drove off leaving the harbour area and joining the main traffic of Cape Town.

With that bit of action over I decided to make myself some lunch. I reckoned that nothing of interest was going to happen until the evening.