Chapter 1 |
Shipwrecked
Chapter 1
Italy declared war on the 10th day of June 1940 after aligning themselves with Germany, an alliance that was ill fated from the very beginning. Things did not go well for the Italian forces and on the 10th of July 1943 the writing was on the wall as the allied forces invaded Sicily. Shortly thereafter Fascism collapsed and Italy surrendered on 25th of July 1943. Italian Naval headquarters sent out a signal for all Italian shipping to surrender to the allies. All but one did just that.
Some time later as a storm thrashed in from the northeast lashing down with all the force and fury of nature, a lone Italian submarine struggled in vain against the gale force head wind. Only the worried captain and the watchman stood on the conning tower bracing against the onslaught and neither of the men could see far for the driving rain and spume blowing up from the breaking waves. Bad weather was a good time to avoid enemy sub hunters and even potentially friendly vessels, but this pestilence seemed the worst enemy of the mission. The navigator estimated that the submarine was in fact moving backwards and totally unable to make headway against both the current and raging wind.
Captain Mario Cortelli gave the order to dive – his hopes being that they could submerge to a depth sufficient to escape the hurricane and outwait the storm. Cortelli had never agreed with the war or Mussolini’s ambitions and this mission had from the outset had the smell of treachery and deceit.
The electric motors could easily hold against the ocean currents but duration was limited by both battery power and oxygen reserves. A rebellious crew, an old damaged, rusting and creaky ship, coupled with a shortage of fuel and breathable air made for a dangerous combination of circumstances.
‘Sir,’ said the first officer. ‘I feel we should head back and surrender.’
‘Idiot,’ growled the angry captain. ‘Whom would you surrender to?’
‘The first port we find or the first ship we meet, sir.’
‘Idiot, a warship would blow us out of the water and there are no ports along this coast.’
‘We can’t go much farther, sir, neither the men nor the ship can take it.’
‘When this storm has passed we will sail to Newfoundland and surrender to the British.’
‘Aye-aye, sir, as you wish.’
Six miserable, cold and boring hours past before the captain gave the order to rise to periscope depth. A white flag would be raised on the conning tower, which might protect them from naval artillery. At periscope depth the captain took his first look at the new and fresh morning. The storm had abated and now only a damp day with a heavy swell offered any resistance to their progress.
Tired from having little sleep, breathing bad air and worrying about his crew the captain again took up watch on the conning tower. Not to be taken by surprise a large white flag had been raised up the periscope. A heat wave followed the cyclone and began raising mist off the angry sea. The very thing they did not need was a wet and impenetrable sea fog. By noon the mist had thickened giving less than a hundred metres visibility.
‘Iceberg on the port bow,’ yelled the watchman.
‘Hard to starboard,’ yelled the captain. ‘Slow all engines.’
With a terrifying thump the submarine struck the hidden underwater forerunner to the ice flow. Suddenly there were several brilliant green ice monsters all around creaking and groaning against the vessel’s hull.
‘All engines stop.’
‘Sir,’ came the first officer. ‘We’re holed and taking on water.’
Rapidly the situation progressed from bad to worse. The unlucky vessel had stumbled into a group of what the fishermen call growlers. They were just broken pieces of an ice flow drifting down from the north – a common phenomena in those waters even in midsummer.
‘Damage report,’ yelled the captain.
‘Forward torpedo room and battery chamber taking on water, sir.’
‘Seal it off,’ yelled Cortelli.
The ship was old; the crew tired and with systems breaking down the situation suddenly became fatal. The hatch to the battery chamber jammed making a waterproof seal impossible, electrics started failing. The starboard vents seized and the icepack relentlessly hammered the side of the ship. After an hour battling with the elements it became clear Italy was about to lose one more submarine.
Even in summer the water would be terribly cold and friendly land lay many kilometres away. Captain Mario Cortelli sounded out the words all sailors dread to hear, ‘Abandon ship.’
In a perfect world men would not need to lay down their lives for the avaricious dreams of a madman, but here 54 souls abandoned their sinking vessel to face an unknown peril in a virtually unknown sea. Coincidentally Henry Hudson with his son and seven of his crew had been cast adrift in these same waters on the 23rd June 1611, and none of them were ever seen again.
The flimsy overloaded inflatable boats soon became separated and lost in the interminable fog. Who, in the middle of a global conflict would bother to search for a few lost sailors? Who even knew where or why they were where they had at last ended their voyage of subterfuge, mutiny and misadventure? Sixty-five years later, I had never heard of Captain Cortelli or his dangerous and ill-fated foray into the Hudson Bay of northern Canada but all that was about to change.
Home Free
Chapter 2
Arriving back in Canada after a wonderful and rather profitable summer in Great Britain seemed like a real drag. After all the excitement Gran and I were back into the same old routine. One major difference being that Deloris Sondecker had followed me home. Well she didn’t actually follow me, she more or less came with me uninvited. I had fallen head-over-heels in love with a broad called Shantell Richardson, a vicar’s daughter from the north Norfolk coast in England. She turned out to be a lesbian, as gay as a sand boy. Apparently everyone except me knew the score. Deloris could have been a fair substitute but somehow she just did not appeal to me. Oh, there was nothing wrong with the woman; she had it all; a rich daddy, large breasts, damn good-looking face and a perfect figure. With all that going for her the artificial blond hair and obvious silicone implants, coupled with being over friendly, over educated, and used to getting her own way rained on my parade in buckets.
I did not invite Deloris either to Canada or to my house, nonetheless she followed us and booked herself into the hotel that I owned – the Canadian, right on the lakefront near the city of Hamilton. You see I was doubly upset, firstly Shantell turned out to be a never-was and then Newf decided to stay in Britain for awhile with that broad Morag the daughter of Gran’s housekeeper at Cromlet Castle, and I might add under age – well eighteen, I guess. Even Jane Overland stayed behind but she’s looking after my interests. Jane’s a pushy broad and scares the hell out of me, but she’s a real whizz at everything she does. I had bought a half share in a helicopter business and Jane though retired took the position of business manager on my behalf – only temporarily of course.
Somehow all it felt right – sulking I mean. Just before we left for England Gran had hired a shrink for me. The old girl thought I might be a bit too depressed. Like who wouldn’t be? My wife had been killed in a traffic accident and that left me totally bored – nothing to do except chew my fingernails ad dream of things never to be. The trouble with an exciting project is that it doesn’t last very long. Now I have time to sit on my thumbs and think about the past and all that might have been or could have been.
Wallowing in the middle of a quality sulk I didn’t hear the doorbell ring – well it didn’t register at first. Incessantly the bell went ding-dong, ding-dong. A person can’t have a good wallow in the past without someone wanting attention. When at last the bell registered in my brain I went to the door and flung it open. Who should be standing there but Deloris, looking like the fairy queen of silicon implants. She always wore ridiculous clothes. This time she had a skirt short enough to double as a belt – huh! Belt! Man, it started halfway down her hips and stopped immediately after. I’ve seen wider bandages – I’ve worn wider bandages. The top, if you could call it that consisted of some form of silky… well sort of a stretchy-silky white sleeveless thing she sort of pulled over herself like a tube. It was hardly worth the trouble you could see right through it. Talk about nipple city.
‘What now?’ I snapped feeling very irritable. ‘Can’t you come back when I’m not busy? Say next century.’
‘You always seem to be too busy to see me, Billy. I want to make plans with you. Let’s put our heads together and do some brainstorming.’
‘I don’t want to put anything together with you, Deloris. Please leave me in peace. A man needs his privacy.’
She stood there on the doorstep for a moment stunned by what I had said and then she began to assemble some opinions. Her eyelashes fluttered as the thoughts bubbled to the surface.
‘We need to make plans for the future, Billy – our future. I could call Daddy and invite him here if you like.’
‘No. Why don’t you go home to Daddy and see if he has any words of wisdom for you?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I really do not want you here. I didn’t ask you to come so why don’t you toddle off and leave me alone I need to brood on my own?’
She looked stunned and speechless for a moment. ‘Why? I thought we were friends, even more than friends.’
‘No. Please leave me in peace. I have some wallowing to do and I prefer to do it alone.’
‘Why, like… well, have I offended you or something?’
‘For heaven’s sake, woman. You attract men like honey attracts wasps. I really don’t want the hassle. You are too… too synthetic. Your hair came out of a bottle, and some expensive over paid surgeon moulded your breasts. I know everything in Texas is big, but you take it to the outer limits. Please leave me alone.’
‘How dare you? My breasts are real.’
‘Yeah, as real as your hair.’
‘My hair is real, it’s just coloured that’s all.’
‘I’m sorry, lady but you remind me of a Hollywood hooker. I would imagine you’ve had more men than a ladies basketball team on steroids.’
She didn’t say a word, but turned and marched angrily away. Slamming the door I returned to my idle pursuit of watching the waves on the lake roll in. Possibly she would never return leaving me to wallow in my own misery. The excitement of the summer was over and now all I had left were memories – memories of my wife Chu Ling, memories of a long past era – another world.
Newf always boosted my moods. We’ve been friends ever since the TOD affair when David Bloomfield murdered Newf’s father. I sat daydreaming about Newf and wondering how and where he is getting on when the phone rang.
‘What?’ I said gruffly after snatching up the receiver.
‘Mr Reyner?’ questioned a quiet and timid sounding voice.
‘Yeah, what?’
‘I need your help, it’s a matter of life and death,’ said the man in a hushed tome of voice.
‘Who’s for crying out loud?’
‘Mine. You must come to meet me; it is concerning a vast treasure. Sirena Bottino.’
‘Who’s she? Like why would I be interested? I’ve got all the treasure I need.’
‘I promise you, Mr Reyner, the treasure is real and so’s the danger. You must help me.’
‘Treasure? Is this some form of joke, a windup? Did Newf put you up to this?’
‘Not in the least.’ He sounded hushed as though he expected someone to discover him at any moment.
‘So what you want me to do?’
‘Go to the Hotel Klondike and book in under your own name. I’ll find you.’
‘We don’t have a Hotel Klondike in Hamilton.’
‘In Flin Flon. Be there the first week of October, I can probably hide until then.’
‘You must think I’m mad or something. Who the hell are you? Just what are you up to.’
The phone went dead, who ever it was at the other end hung up rather suddenly. Like I’m going to drive to some place I’ve never heard of and then book into a hotel on the off-chance some idiot might turn up with a fortune in gold. As if.
At around six I wandered over to the Canadian, that’s my hotel, to have supper with Gran and William Tan, my little boy. They were already in the dining room having arrived a few moments before me. Deloris was nowhere to be seen, which in itself was somewhat of a relief.
‘Where’s Deloris?’ I asked seating myself opposite Gran.
She glared at me in her most admonishing manner. ‘I am ashamed of you, William.’
‘Me? Why?’
‘When I came in here earlier I found poor dear Deloris sobbing her heart out.’
‘Yeah? So?’
‘So, young man, you have a lot to answer for. Miss Sondecker is devastated by your callous and demeaning remarks. That young woman put her life on the line for you and all you can do is make derogatory remarks about her body. I find that most repugnant.’
‘Well I…’
‘Shut up, William, and listen. Miss Sondecker is a human, a person, a living breathing human with desires and feelings. You treated her worse than… than, well, worse than a slave master on a cotton plantation. I am thoroughly ashamed of you and your actions. Have you no feelings at all? You are cruel and heartless.’
‘Well, I…’
‘Be quiet, William. You have broken the woman’s heart. I have never seen a girl so distressed, she was shaking. I want you to apologize and take back those disgusting remarks. How could you demean her figure? It was very cruel and thoughtless of you. She is a very beautiful young woman and certainly does not deserve such treatment and especially by you.’
For a moment I kept quiet waiting for the next tirade – nothing happened. ‘Well, I was upset when she called,’ I managed to say without interruption.
‘That is no excuse. After supper find that young woman and get down on your bended knees and apologize, beg her forgiveness. Is that clear, William?’
‘Sure, Gran.’
Things are never as easy as they might at first seem. Deloris was nowhere to be found. I felt like banging my head against the wall. How could an educated person be so stupid? Deloris would make the perfect companion – wife even. Maybe I should reengage Gran’s trick cyclist – my brain could do with an overhaul. Perhaps that mysterious phone call could be the answer to my quandary. A good mystery, some excitement and maybe a bit of the old rough stuff would wake up my thoughts and satisfy my lethargy. Living alone is the shits. At least insulting Newf was an acceptable sport and pastime. He can take it and come back laughing.
Just as the sun began to disappear over the western end of the lake my doorbell rang. With a beer in one hand I walked to the door and opened it. Amazingly Deloris stood there dressed like a refugee from the CBC. She wore a snug tweed suit with a cravat for a tie. Her golden hair had been lifted and hidden under a grey pork-pie hat with a spotted veil covering her eyes. She looked like something straight out of a nineteen-thirty movie scene.
‘Oh good,’ I said trying to put on a smile. ‘Gran, said…’
I had no chance to finish the sentence. She jumped in with a firm and determined voice. ‘You are an arrogant, self centred, thoughtless, chauvinist pig of the worst possible variety.’
‘Thank you, I’m so gland you noticed. I would…’
‘If I were a man I would give you a severe thrashing. One you truly deserve.’
‘Gran said I…’
‘I am not interested in what your grandmother has to say. You listen to me, Mr Reyner, and you listen well. I am highly educated and have had an excellent upbringing. I am a lady and a virgin and have never had any surgery of any kind. If it would not tarnish my skin I would slap your disgusting face.’
‘Well I…’
‘I am going into Hamilton to call my daddy. I shall return tomorrow. You had better be in the bar at three in the afternoon carrying a very large slice of humble pie. Do you get my meaning, Mr Reyner?’
‘Yes. Now, Gran said…’
She cut me dead. In one move the woman turned and marched away. A taxi waited only ten feet from the front step with the door open and the engine running. Talk about a quick getaway. Yours truly had been left on the doorstep with a beer in one hand and egg all over my face.
The following day arrived as painfully and slowly just as all the others preceding it had. Life couldn’t get any worse. Food seemed to have lost its attraction and I decided to stay in the house and sulk a little more. There was no way of finding that fellow who called from Flim-Flam or wherever it was. Who wants to go treasure hunting anyway?
The boring foodless morning coupled with the miserable rain left me sitting on a comfortable chair glaring at the lake. I never ever sleep during the day – at least not in the afternoon. My sombre mood and sad thoughts coupled with the monotonous scenery must have hypnotized me into a deep slumber. When eventually my eyes fell upon the timepiece on the wall the hour was just striking three. ‘Holy mackerel!’ I exclaimed in alarm. Deloris’s deadline just happened to be three, missing it would mean that Gran would kill me. Like a mad thing I leapt to my feet and fled from the house. It is only a sixty-second journey to the Canadian and I must have made it in ten. Flying into the bar like a mad thing, the first thing of note was that the place appeared deserted. Only the barman occupied that huge room.
The bar clock said five after three – either it or my watch had to be wrong. ‘What’s the right time?’ I yelled at the barman.
‘It’s actually seven minutes after three, sir. The clock is a couple of minutes slow.’
‘Oh, crikey. Have you seen Miss Sondecker today at all?’
‘No, sir. I haven’t seen the lady since yesterday.’
‘Have you seen my Gran lately?’
‘Yes, sir. Both she and young William are in the education room with the tutor.’
‘Crap!’
It looked like my world, at least my life was about to become a lot more complicated. Gran never takes kindly to anyone not heeding her advice, and disobeyed orders are even more unkindly frowned upon. Feeling rather like the fighter pilot who got shot down on his first mission I walked slowly to the exit. Just as I entered the foyer, so did Gran.
‘Ah, there you are, William. I wish to speak with you about Miss Sondecker.’
‘Oh crikey, Gran, can’t it wait? I am a little tied up at this moment.’ Putting on an air of urgency I hurried to the outer doors. Opening it presented me with quite a shock. Deloris stood on the doorstep dressed in her executive outfit.
‘Mr Reyner,’ she announced in a firm voice.
‘I’m sorry,’ I put in breathlessly. ‘I really am.’
‘So am I. I was delayed in town and had to rush here. Please forgive my tardiness.’
‘Oh, yeah, yeah, sure. I figured you weren’t coming.’
‘Then you apologize unconditionally.’
‘Oh, yeah, sure, that’s why I’m here. Would you like a drink of something?’
‘No. I do not imbibe. Would you kindly book me back into your hotel?’
‘Oh, sure.’ I turned and dashed into the reception. ‘Give Miss Sondecker her room back,’ I demanded.
‘Sorry, sir. When the lady booked out the last rooms were let. We’re fully booked, sir.’
‘Oh rats!’ I dashed back to Deloris. ‘I’m sorry, er… well… You see we’re fully booked since you left.’
‘What about the house or the cottages?’ she asked.
‘Permanent residents. Oh heck!’
‘Don’t panic, William dear,’ Gran said smiling. ‘North will not be returning for a while, you can allow Miss Sondecker to occupy his quarters temporarily or perhaps you have a spare room in that large house of ours?’
‘Newf’s house has been let, Gran. Yeah, we could use Newf’s room in my house or move Newf’s bedding into the spare room.’
I flew back into the foyer and ordered the porter to take Deloris’s things to my house and then dashed back again. ‘Don’t worry about the taxi?’ I said excitedly. ‘The doorman will take care of it at hotel expense.’
About halfway across the car park where the green starts the thought struck me as to what had just transpired. Oh boy! Somehow Deloris had wormed her way into my private quarters. Like a moron Joe Soap invited her into my house to stay.
‘We only have four bedrooms,’ I mumbled. ‘William Tan often uses one, and North has the use of one more, so I only have one spare and it’s not really set up for guests. It is en-suite and self-contained. Like, er… how long are you going to stay?’
‘Questions, questions, Mr Reyner. Is an inquisition really necessary at this juncture?’
I shrugged and opened the house door. ‘I’ll show you to your room and we can move the bedding later. It’s all clean and unused.’ We entered and I led her up the stairs to the upper landing. ‘That’s your room,’ I said pointing.
She smiled sweetly. ‘And which is your room?’
I pointed and then descended to the hall. Her luggage arrived by porter. ‘Thanks,’ I said and took the bags up to the upper landing.
Unlike a hotel none of the rooms upstairs were lockable with a key but each had a snap bolt on the inside. It suddenly felt unsafe to be in my own house, as though an alien spirit had ventured in. My thinking space had been violated. A gentle tap on Deloris’s door and it swung open.
‘Ah, thank you,’ she said. ‘You know you don’t have to be my porter. I am quite capable of doing things for myself. Am I allowed to venture into other rooms of the house?’
‘Other rooms? What other rooms?’
‘The kitchen. I can cook you know. Having large breasts does not preclude the ability to perform simple tasks and I did excel in domestic science.’
‘Oh. Sure if you want to. But I usually eat in the Canadian, no dished to wash you see.’
The house felt crowded – the bar over at the Canadian suddenly seemed desirable. Not bothering to give her a house key I quickly descended the stairs and headed across the parking area. A large and cool glass of beer offered the best solace imaginable. With the glass to my lips and my backside planted firmly on a barstool the aroma of failure drifted into my nostrils. Shantell had turned out to be a total waste of time, Newf has deserted me and now I’m plagued by an over sexed, over educated, Texas oil queen.
‘You look lost,’ Gran said approaching me from behind.
‘You could put it that way, Gran.’
She sat on the stool beside me. ‘William dear, I do hope you have not slipped back into your doldrums. There has to be an exciting mystery to solve. Perhaps Miss Sondecker can offer you some glimmer of hope.’ She shook her head in the negative at the approaching barman.
‘She’s the problem, I think, Gran, not the solution.’
‘Your aspirations are misguided. I know for sure that Miss Sondecker is an intelligent woman with excellent academic credentials. What is it about her that upsets you so?’
I shrugged. ‘She’s… well she…’
‘I see. You can’t stand a woman who is better looking, richer, and far more intelligent than yourself.’
I sighed. ‘What’s the point, Gran? She’ll soon tire of me and run home to Daddy. A woman like that has too many options. She could have any man and I figured she’d tire of me pretty quick.’
‘She will if you don’t show her some encouragement, William.’
‘I had a funny phone call.’
Gran glared at me. ‘Who from, dear?’
‘Don’t know. Probably a prank. He said he was from Flim-Flam or somewhere just as stupid.’
‘You mean Flin Flon, that’s in Manitoba, sear. What did he say?’
‘Said it was a matter of life and death – his apparently, but he rung off before giving me any real information.’
‘Well, William dear, I would like you to show Miss Sondecker some respect. We’ll work on mysteries later. Oh that reminds me, North phoned, he said he will be coming home in a few days.’
Now that was news that I could use. Perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel after all. The weather has been nothing but rain ever since we arrived back in Canada and being dogged by a woman adds even more black clouds. Now that Newf is on his way the sun will be shining through once again.
‘What about Morag?’ I asked. Morag is the housekeeper’s daughter from Gran’s castle at Cromlet. She latched onto Newf after attempting suicide when we were in Norfolk England.
‘Oh yes. There is good news on that front too. Morag will be accompanying North and it would seem there may be a wedding on the horizon.’
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