Jinx joined them. She had slipped a T-shirt over the bikini, but it wasn’t long enough. Her creamy buns protruded from the bottom. “What’s happening, Cat?”
Cat raised a hand to quiet her. “Just getting some information from our friend, the soldier, here. This is Denny, he’s an American.”
“Hi, Denny, I’m Jinx.” She fixed him with a dazzling smile.
Denny looked vaguely stunned. It wasn’t the first time Cat had seen this sort of reaction to Jinx. The young man looked around him. “Listen, you’re just here to fix your alternator, right?”
“Right,” Cat replied.
“Well, if you don’t want to hang around any longer than that takes, I can probably fix it with this guy for a few bucks, and you can avoid the formalities.”
“How much?”
“Ten bucks American, maybe twenty.”
“You’re on, Denny,” he said to the kid.
Denny spoke to the soldier again and got a sly look and a nod. “Give him ten,” he said to Cat.
Jinx spoke up. “Cat, are you bribing somebody? You want to get us all arrested?”
“Jinx, clam up,” Cat said. “We’re going to get out of here as quickly as possible.”
Cat handed the money to the soldier, who turned away without another word.
“Thanks,” Cat said to the kid. “I really do just want to get our repairs done. I’m off a Swan 43 back there, name of Catbird. You know anybody around here can lay hands on a sick alternator?”
“Sure,” the boy replied. “There’s a guy up in the town. Let’s pull it off and I’ll run it up there for you. You’ll have to stay inside the fenced compound here, unless you want to start messing with customs.”
“You work here?” Cat asked as they climbed down the ladder to the yacht.
Denny grinned, exposing a set of good teeth. “Nobody works much around here,” he replied. “I work the sport boats, hire out when somebody hauls a boat, clean a bottom now and then.” They were walking toward the boat, Jinx ahead of them. Denny couldn’t take his eyes off her. Cat felt almost sorry for him.
They reached the boat, and Katie stuck her head through the hatch. “Katie, this is Denny; he’s going to give us a hand with the alternator. Denny, this is my wife, Katie.”
“Hello, Denny,” Katie said.
“Hi, Mrs. Catledge,” Denny said, shooting her an infectious grin. Katie waved and went back below.
They climbed aboard, and Cat led the way down the companionway. He lifted the ladder and unlatched the engine cover.
“Beautiful boat,” Denny said, admiringly, looking around the saloon. “I haven’t seen a Swan around here for a long time. She looks new.”
“Brand-new, nearly,” Cat replied. “We shook her down from Lauderdale to Antigua, now we’re headed for the Canal and the South Pacific. Gonna take a couple of years. Right after we get this alternator up and running.”
“Bet it’s the diode,” Denny said, kneeling to the engine. “Got a wrench?”
Cat handed him a wrench set rolled in canvas and watched as Denny quickly unbolted the alternator. He seemed to know his way around engines, something Cat admired. He, himself, was something of a genius in electronics, but unlike most other technical types, he didn’t much like mechanical things.
Denny stood up. “Give me an hour or so,” he said, “if it’s the diode and my guy has the part. If he doesn’t, I’ll have to scrounge around some. Suppose he has to order it from Bogotá? That would take a couple of days, even if it’s airfreighted.”
“Cat...” Katie said, worriedly.
Cat shook his head. “In that case, just bring it back. I don’t want to hang around here. We’ll get it fixed in Panama.”
“Right,” Denny said.
Jinx spoke up. “Say, Mom and I want to get cleaned up. Is there a shower around here?”
“Yep, over behind that building there. No hot water, but around here the water doesn’t get very cold. Lock the door, it’s coed.”
“Maybe I’d better go with you,” Cat said. “What do you think, Denny?”
“It’s okay,” Denny replied. “Safe enough; I wouldn’t worry.” He climbed into the cockpit with the alternator.
Cat followed him up and glanced around the cockpit. “Katie,” he called below, “did you take the binoculars down with you?”
“Nope,” she called back. “They were in the cockpit a few minutes ago.”
Cat looked around the cockpit and on deck in vain.
Denny stood by, nodding slowly. “Welcome to Colombia, Mr. Catledge,” he said sorrowfully. “First thing you have to learn is never leave anything lying around. Tell me, did you used to have a spinnaker pole?”
Cat looked at the foredeck and was greeted by the sight of empty chocks. “I don’t believe it,” he said. “I wasn’t gone five minutes and Katie was on the boat the whole time.”
“You’ll be lucky if you’ve still got an anchor and warp,” Denny said.
Cat ran forward and opened the anchor well. “It’s still here,” he said with relief.
“Just one guy then, and he had his hands full,” Denny said. “I’d take it below now, and your winch handles, too. Make sure your cockpit lockers are secured, or you won’t have any sails, either.”
Cat nodded dumbly and started getting the anchor out.
“Be back in an hour or so,” Denny said, hopping onto the catwalk and starting for the ladder. “Depending.”
Cat waved him off and struggled aft with the heavy anchor and chain. Then he stopped. Jesus, he’d had his binoculars and spinnaker pole stolen, and now he’d just let a perfect stranger walk off with his alternator. He’d been a little slow in adjusting to the local climate.
The women were leaving the boat with soap, shampoo, and towels. “We’ll be back after a while,” Katie said.
“You’re not taking any money or anything valuable with you, are you?” Cat called to them.
Katie took off her wristwatch and handed it to him with her wallet. “You’re right, and believe me, we won’t linger in the shower.”
“Maybe I’d better come with you,” Cat said. Having a thief on board in broad daylight had rattled him.
“No,” Jinx said, “if you do, when we get back the boat might not be here. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of ourselves, and we can scream real loud if we have to.”
“I guess you’re right,” Cat said. “Somebody had better stay here with the boat.” They left and he went below to the chart table. He grabbed the chart, a pencil, and a plotter and headed back for the cockpit, checking to make sure his shotgun was still secured in its hidden cupboard behind the clever flap that concealed it. He’d had that done in Fort Lauderdale, and he felt better knowing they had some sort of protection aboard in this part of the world. He’d heard the horror stories, and he meant to be careful. He climbed into the cockpit and started planning his passage to the Canal. Ordinarily, he would have done it at the chart table, but now he wanted to be where he could see who came and went.
Four hours later he looked at his watch and then at Katie. They had all showered and had lunch. He had done his passage planning and a couple of odd jobs on the boat. The kid, Denny, was nowhere to be seen. “Well, I guess I did the wrong thing,” he said.
“Cat, let’s get out of here,” Katie said. “This place gives me the willies.”
Cat nodded; he didn’t like it much, either. “There’s probably enough juice left in the engine battery, but I want to save it for when we get to Panama, and I don’t think I want to try to sail her out of here,” he said, glancing around the area. “Too confined. We’ll inflate the dinghy and tow us out with the outboard. When we get to the Canal, we can radio for a tow. I can make a radiotelephone call to the builders on the way, and we can probably have a new alternator and spinnaker pole waiting for us in Panama.”