Down below, in a cabin still filled with toxic smoke from the fire, Anna called Sinem. She showed up minutes later with Erdem running behind her mountain bike in his suit and shiny shoes. Then the marina manager and several security guards showed up. It was the same potbellied manager as before, but the security guards were a new touch. I think he’d just about had enough of Harvey, his workers, and our boat by then.
In Turkish, the manager asked the brothers if they had been working on Shadow. The big one with Down’s syndrome grinned at the attention. The manager muttered something, grabbed the older brother and pointed at the smoldering deck.
Nobody said anything.
Then, with childlike exuberance, the big one made a noise like an explosion or a discharging fire extinguisher. He waved his arms at Shadow, repeating a Turkish word I’m guessing was, “fire!”
It was good enough for the manager. He cracked a maleficent grin and ordered the security personnel to take the brothers away. The crowd murmured and guffawed in agreement. Finally, with nothing else to do, they wandered off in separate directions.
TWENTY-SIX
“Well now, that was quite a show!” Tom, having watched the action just had to comment on it.
I stuck my head from the companionway. “I’m glad you’re amused. Bit of a fire. We’re making sure it’s out. Might be smoldering in the insulation or something.” I heard Anna coughing below. “Don’t know if a boat even has insulation.”
“Some do.” Tom waved a hand in front of his face. “Pee-ew, sure does stink. I hope you aren’t down there breathing that.”
Burning plastic, resin, and who-knows what else made for a nasty and seriously carcinogenic incense. I climbed out, calling Sinem, Erdem and Anna up from below. The five of us gathered under one of the dock’s sunshades. Introductions were made and everyone agreed that Harvey was bad news.
Tom read Harvey’s glitzy Yacht Conversion Proposal and came to our rescue, yet again. When the smoke and toxic stench abated, he and I went below. I showed him the pile of equipment such as radar, water desalination components and electrical gear that had already arrived. Two enormous and outrageously expensive solar panels leaned against a bulkhead.
“You have bills of sale for this stuff?” Tom asked.
“Of course.” I pulled a clipboard from under a box.
“Uh huh, I see you paid by credit card.” Tom leafed through the wad of receipts. “Says here he picks things up, adds his own delivery fee, a customs clearance fee, and then ten percent on top?”
“Sounds about right.”
“Sounds about wrong. This stuff isn’t coming through customs. He’s getting it here and charging you a special customs fee. Maybe thinks you won’t notice. Mind if I see the credit card slips? ”
“He hasn’t given me the slips yet.”
“Better check your credit card. The guy’s a thief.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I’ve done a little snooping. He’s is a real creep. He was running some kind of scam over in Greece. He’s been laying low here in Turkey until you showed up. I guess you were just too good to pass up.” Tom looked at the boxes. “Anything you paid for and didn’t get from him yet?”
“Plenty.” I showed Tom the list. “And, I’ve already given him cash for that objet d’art smoldering on deck. He claims I’ve only paid for the materials so far.”
Tom groaned. “Come on, you have to get whatever’s yours and then be done with Harvey.”
“What about the boat? What about all the stuff it needs? How’s it going to get done?”
“Harvey’s sure not helping.” Tom waved at the spindly structure on deck. “Find trained folks here. Do it yourself. I’ll help out without skimming a percentage. Marine consultant, what a stinking pile of bull shit! You’ve wasted a lot of time and money on Harvey.”
So much for serendipity!
Sinem had a friend in the mega-yacht business. A friend with a lot of connections. On the way to the friend’s office, I phoned Harvey, confirmed we were square and dismissed him. He didn’t even ask why. He just sounded a bit hurt. Sighing, he asked if he could get his technicians’ welding tools off Shadow and leave the latest shipment of parts down below with the keys I’d given him.
I was feeling like a total schmuck, until we got back to the boat and found all the equipment gone!
I phoned Harvey.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t had time to get over to your boat yet.” His voice had a grating nasal quality, intensified by the phone.
“It’s gone. All the equipment, even the solar panels.” I looked outside. “The welding stuff too. You must have picked it up?”
“My tools are gone? You left them alone and got them stolen?” He hollered, “You’re going to pay for this! You don’t fuck with me, lady, you hear?” Click.
The thieves overlooked our cameras, jewelry, alcohol and laptop. I connected it to the marina’s Wi-Fi and logged into my online banking site. The credit card was maxed out! “What an idiot!” I slammed the computer shut.
“Harvey?” Anna was in her bathroom confirming the gold chain she left on the towel hook was still there.
“No, me!” I got my cell phone roaming and called the card’s fraud squad. They gave me the when, where and how-much the card had been used. Within the last hour, locally and to the tune of five grand. I was livid. The card was maxed and would remain so until the charges were proven fraudulent. On top of that, the card had to be canceled and I had to wait for a new one.
“In Turkey?” I whined to the investigator. “I don’t know if there even is mail delivery here.” I gave them Gavin’s name and address. He could courier the card to me. In the meantime, I had no credit card and I’d given Harvey all the cash I had. Considering the enormity of what we were trying to accomplish and the stakes we were playing with — our lives — I was furious that an Australian con-man, scheming for a few lousy bucks, would be our undoing.
It was high time to involve the police!
The lightning fast response I got when I spoke to an English-challenged desk sergeant blew my mind. In hindsight, I know it was certain keywords: marina, big old gulet, eccentric Australian, and Russian girlfriend, which got his attention. I was whisked from the packed waiting area into a dingy meeting room, tea was served, and an English speaking lawyer with dark eyes and fiery red hair was brought in.
Someone, whom I presumed to be the chief of police by his impeccable and highly decorated uniform, sat behind the lawyer with a couple of regular officers. I was wondering how to pay the lawyer, when one of the officers started speaking to him in Turkish. He translated and the questioning began.
They showed me photos of Harvey’s gulet and maps of the marina. I pointed out its location. My questions about getting equipment back were ignored. I was shown more pictures of people. Most of them were rough looking types and I didn’t recognize anyone. The cops flipped through their special album until I recognized Harvey’s Russian girlfriend. Bingo! That’s all they wanted from me. Binders slapped shut and the red-headed lawyer and I were left sitting there.