The Galician Parallax Read Online Free Page A

Richards. He’s quite well known in the Cornish yachting world.’ He gave the paper back to Sergio and told him that all the others were unknown.
    ‘Probably not Cornish, right?’
    Stan nodded.
    ‘My hunch is that Simmons was dealing with drugs into your country and this Maiden Voyages outfit was a means of transport.’
    ‘So you think that something went wrong and his suicide was a cover-up job of sorts?’
    At that moment, the waiter came over to ask if the couple needed anything. They ordered another two coffees and once the waiter went back to the bar, they continued with their conversation.
    ‘But why doesn’t your outfit go direct to Interpol or Scotland Yard and check the racket out?’
    Sergio didn’t answer. Ignoring the question, he reflected for a moment. ‘Let me backtrack to
Serene Maiden
, the actual yacht; the naval officer that fell overboard last year.’
    ‘Lieutenant Commander Bentley-Smith.’
    ‘That’s right.’ Sergio smiled. ‘You know the sea better than I do, Sr Consul. Why was the body found miles away from the supposed position of the yacht when the “Man overboard” message was sent off?’
    Stan had to agree with Sergio as the same thought had crossed his mind when he dealt with the case.
    ‘Something happened to that old man on that yacht before he fell into the water.’
    Both men pondered for a second. It was Stan who pushed the issue one step further. ‘Coastal jurisdiction; Bentley-Smith must’ve died or fallen overboard within Spain’s 200-mile limit. That’s why the body was found…’
    ‘… and instead of turning round back to Galicia, the yacht continued to within limits of its port base.’
    In unison they said, ‘With their load of drugs intact.’
    It was Stan who completed the analysis by saying that once the yacht was back in Falmouth, the last thing the British Maritime Agency would be looking for was anything suspicious about the yacht itself. If it was carrying any concealed drugs they would be overlooked as the natural death of a sailor was more important. On the contrary, had it returned to Vigo and as the yacht was not registered at any yacht club, the Spanish authorities would probably have impounded the vessel and its illicit cargo soon discovered.
    ‘Sr Consul, coming back to Mr Simmons, I think he was murdered by third parties but not connected with the UK runs.’
    Stan was taken aback. ‘You’ve got me confused again, Lieutenant.’
    Sergio smiled. ‘Sorry… let’s see if I can sort my words out.’
    For the first time, Sergio broke the code of police work, took a gamble and began to unravel as much information as possible, and his own suspicions regarding the case. A great deal had to do with the United Kingdom and Stan happened to be the right person to fill in a few gaps. ‘I blew my top at my bosses because they wouldn’t listen. They’ve even relegated me back to routine work, a type of disciplinary action without necessarily reprimanding me.’
    It was now nearing midday.
    ‘Excuse me, but I need to check in at the office.’ Stan opened up his mobile. There were two missed calls and a message. His wife, Yolanda, wanted to know where he was.
    ‘Women,’ he muttered. ‘OK, where were we?’
    No disasters had taken place either at the agency or the port. He agreed to lunch with her at the
Mosquito
restaurant to calm her down. During the interval, Sergio had been able to gather his thoughts. He came straight out with it.
    ‘This is my hunch. I suspect Simmons was doing some moonlighting of his own and what’s worse I think he was peddling with a group of Arabs.’
    ‘But that’s no reason for murder?’
    Sergio nodded but then hit Stan with the following. ‘High level drug trafficking by most of the Arab groups has only one purpose in mind, to finance all the al-Qaeda terrorist camps around the world. Something went wrong or… they no longer needed any drugs and Simmons had to be silenced. Why?’
    ‘Lieutenant, this is way