“Yes, unless something further develops here. That should give me enough time. You sure there’s no problem?”
“No, not if it’s only for one day. Weather’s supposed to improve tomorrow, so I’ll tell them that’s the reason for the postponement. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Tell me more about Fred Archer,” I said, recalling my conversation with him here the other night. He hadn’t taken Deanna’s rejection very politely. “Is he the type to fly off the handle?”
“Fred?” Sexton said, with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t think he’s involved in this?”
“You didn’t answer my question,” I said.
“Billy, it takes a certain kind of man to survive as a Coastwatcher. Fred had a reputation from before the war. He wasn’t known to treat his workers with kindness. He paid them what he owed, no question about that. But he’d use his fists if he thought they were slacking off. I heard he once challenged any man who didn’t like how he ran his plantation to take him on in a bare-knuckle fight. No one stepped forward.”
“He sounds like the type to settle an argument with violence of one sort or another,” I said.
“It’s hard to judge islanders by our more civilized standards,” Hugh said. “Often it’s one plantation owner or manager and a larger crew of natives. And they can be quite cut off, like Silas Porter’s place on Pavau. The only way in there is by boat, or footpath over the mountain. No way to summon help if you’re hurt. Silas had a reputation as a hermit. Kept to himself, and quite happy about it, until the war came along. It’s not a life every man takes to. Plenty come out to the islands to make their fortune and end up slinking back to Australia or England, dead broke.”
“I get it,” I said. “But I’ll still have to check Fred’s whereabouts. Jack said Deanna was getting a lift from Archer and Gordie to Chinatown. I’ll need to see if that story checks out.”
“Understood,” Hugh said. “He and Gordie left for Sesapi to liaison with the PT boat skipper scheduled to take them to Ranongga. They’re due at the communications center later to get their teleradio equipment packed up. Then they’ll return to Sesapi and remain there organizing supplies this evening. I’ll get in touch and let them know you’ll be coming.”
“You can call from here?” I asked.
“On that,” Sexton said, gesturing to the field telephone in its canvas case on a table against the wall. “We call the main switchboard at the main navy base and they patch us through.”
“They don’t ask who it is at the switchboard?”
“Other than Coastwatcher Station, no. Feel free to use it if you want.”
“No thanks, not unless I can make a collect call to Boston.” I left, and it seemed clear that any number of people could have used this telephone, or others like it all across Tulagi, without being detected. But who was on the other end?
Sexton had said he’d contact the PT skipper to confirm the delay and inform him I might be along for the ride tomorrow. I’d stressed that the weather delay had to be believable. Otherwise, Kari could bolt and disappear into the bush on any one of several of the Solomon Islands. Sexton understood, but I could see he was nearly as concerned at the prospect of losing a good Coastwatcher as he was about Deanna’s death.
I decided to stop in Chinatown on my way to Sesapi. I needed to talk to Kaz’s girl, and it was probably best to do it while he was away. I didn’t want him to be offended by my questions and get gallant about it. In a murder investigation, pushy questions are sometimes all you have. In this investigation, that was true in spades. Besides, it was important to talk to her and Rui Chang in case they’d heard anything about Deanna’s death. I was sure they didn’t miss much of what happened in their domain.
I pulled over close to where Rui Chang’s house was and surveyed the street. There were a half a dozen or so places where Jai-li could’ve lived, but I didn’t feel like knocking on that many doors. I chose an establishment that sold vegetables and asked the storekeeper if he knew where Jai-li Chang lived. That got a lot of negative headshaking as he showed me strings of red peppers hanging from the low beams, apparently offering me a good price. I declined, backing out under a barrage of Chinese that could have been curses or the special of the day.
I got out into the street in time to see what I’d hoped to spot. A kid racing out the back of the store, cutting through the rear of two buildings, and showing up close to a house painted a gleaming white with azure blue awnings shading the windows from the hot sun. I walked closer and waited, hands clasped behind my back, away from the automatic in my holster.
It didn’t take long. A single guy descended from the house, dressed in a loose white shirt that obviously covered a pistol in his waistband. He was big for a Chinese guy, broad shouldered, with big hands. I caught his glance off to my side and knew there was another guy behind me, but that was okay. I didn’t come for trouble. I hoped the same was true of them.
“I’d like to speak with Jai-li Chang, please,” I said.
“She is grieving the loss of her brother,” the big guy said. “She sees no one.”
“Tell her I’ve come to pay my respects,” I said. “I’m a friend of the baron’s, and I’m investigating the murder of Shan Chang.” I figured this would have been one of the few occasions when Kaz had thrown his title around.
“Follow me,” he said, after a moment’s consideration. I’d guessed right.
We took the steps up to the house and stood under the shade of a palm tree. The bodyguard tapped my holster and I nodded. He took my pistol and handed it off to his silent partner, then patted me down. I had a jackknife in my pocket, which he also handed off.
“Apologies, but no weapons in the house,” he said. He knocked on the door, which opened a few seconds later, the metallic sound of bolts and latches being released evident even through the heavy wood door.
“Is this the usual level of security?” I asked.
“A member of the family has been killed, and another murder committed nearby,” he said. “I am Zhou. It is my duty to allow no harm to come to Jai-li Chang.”
“Has anyone tried to harm Jai-li recently?” I asked.
“Piotr said you were quite direct, Lieutenant Boyle,” a voice spoke from the shadows. Jai-li moved into the hallway, the light sparkling off her white silk dress, the design of a ferocious dragon embroidered in golden thread across her breast.
“Miss Chang,” I said, giving a little bow in her direction. I don’t even know why I did it; maybe she seemed a bit like oriental royalty. “Please accept my condolences. May I ask you a few questions?”
“Certainly, Lieutenant Boyle,” she said, and led me into a sitting room. The rattan chairs were set at a far end of the room, away from the open windows. Zhou glanced outside and then retreated to the doorway. This was a very careful household. “I will assist in any way I can.”
“Thank you. First, can you tell me if you knew Daniel Tamana?”
“The Melanesian boy who was killed? No, I did not.”
“Were you aware he’d been asking for your brother the day he was killed?” I asked.
“We did hear reports that someone was asking for a member of the family,” she admitted. “As you can see, we are very careful about such things.” I gave her points for honesty. Rui Chang hadn’t disclosed any such knowledge.
“Do you have any idea why Daniel would have been asking for him?”
“None,” Jai-li said. “Do you?”
“Not yet. But I believe there is a connection between the two deaths. I think it is possible that Daniel knew your brother from Vella Lavella. He worked on a coffee plantation on Rendova and then for a coconut planter on Pavau.”
“It is possible,” Jai-li said, her hands folded gracefully in her lap. She had a soft, rounded face, and full lips adorned with red lipstick. Rui might have had a few years on her, plus sharper cheekbones and heavier makeup. Wisps of black hair fell across Jai-li’s face, giving her an innocent and youthful look. I knew she was young, but I wasn’t certain of her innocence. “Shan did much business on Rendova, less so on Pavau, I think. It was somewhat distant and isolated.”