Bell continued. “She was abducted off the SS Spatminster, far enough from Panama for the captain to carry on with the voyage rather than double back here to inform the authorities of her disappearance.”
“How do you know that? The Spatminster lacks a wireless.”
“Otto Dreissen showed me a photograph of her this morning. She was holding today’s paper while a man off camera was pointing a pistol at her head.”
“My God. Have you gone to the police?”
Bell chuckled humorlessly. “I was in a police interrogation room when Dreissen showed me the picture and told me if I didn’t stop sniffing around, he would kill Marion. There’s a detective named Ortega on Dreissen’s payroll.”
“Do you know where they’re holding her?”
“I suspect on the support ship for the dirigible they used to snatch her from the Spatminster.”
“Dirigible?” Goethals scoffed.
Bell feared another dismissal coming. “I know how this all sounds, Colonel, I really do. But logic and local lore bear me out. If the Spatminster had been close to Panama City when Marion was kidnapped, the captain would have turned around, agreed?”
“Yes. I know him. Malcolm Fish. Good man. Why wouldn’t he think she fell overboard? Happens all the time, and there’s no need to report anything until the next port of call.”
“Marion had two roommates on the voyage back to California. In order to abduct my wife, the kidnappers would have needed to deal with them. Were they murdered and dumped? Doubtful. Most likely, they were tied up in their cabins and weren’t reported as missing until one of them worked her way out of her restraints.”
Goethals didn’t look convinced.
“Also, a ship’s porter or purser had to have been compelled by force to tell the kidnappers which cabin was Marion’s. Again, I suspect that man was bound and gagged rather than murdered. Had there been three murders, plus the kidnapping, Captain Fish probably would have returned here. Since he didn’t, he’s no doubt pressing on. While I’m not sure where the closest port is to him now, I guarantee he’ll make contact once he’s there.”
“Southern Mexico, I’d guess. Let’s say I believe you. Why do you suspect an airship?”
“Speed. Once Dreissen decided he needed leverage over me, Marion was long gone. Another boat wouldn’t have been fast enough to reach the Spatminster and return to Panama in time for him to show me the photograph. A seaplane was the other likely option, but I’ve heard rumors about locals seeing and hearing a cloud that hums.”
“I’ve actually heard talk of that myself,” the Colonel admitted.
“How else would you describe a Zeppelin if you had no idea such a machine existed?”
“‘A cloud that hums,’ I should imagine.” Goethals looked to be on the verge of believing until he shook his head. “This seems too byzantine, Bell.”
“No, sir, it’s simple. Dreissen couldn’t take the chance that my amnesia would fade and that my investigation would expose his plan.”
“And what part does an airship play in that?”
Bell wished he had the answer, but he didn’t. That piece of the puzzle was still missing. “I don’t know for certain. They are smuggling items either into the country or out.”
“Good God,” Goethals shouted, before checking himself, and then in a conspiratorial whisper asked, “This doesn’t have anything to do with Teddy Roosevelt’s visit, does it?”
“Not for starters,” Bell said. “The first attacks by the Viboras took place months ago, long before TR announced his side trip here.”
“Oh, yes, of course.”
“But it’s an unfortunate coincidence, at the very least.”
“I thought all you detectives don’t like coincidences.”
“We don’t at all, but that doesn’t mean they don’t happen. Still, I’ll want to review your security measures for his visit.”
“It’s already been worked out that he won’t set foot in Panama. He’s being taken from his ship on a specially rigged flat-bottom boat that will climb the three locks at Gatun and then tour the lake for a bit while a luncheon is served and then it’s right back out again.”
“That’s good,” Bell said, wishing the former President would heed his warning and stay the hell away. He realized the best he could do was wrap up this whole thing in the couple days he had left. “Back to our business at hand.”
“Yes. Umm, Talbot doesn’t know you suspect him, right? He’s back out on the lake now. Why don’t we snatch him when he returns to Gamboa and—what’s that phrase?—‘sweat it out of him.’”
“He might not come back. He might leave with the Germans, and I, for one, want to know what he’s up to out there.”
Goethals blew out a frustrated breath. “You’ve presented me with a lot of allegations with no real proof or possible solutions. What’s your point with all of this? What do you want?”
“I want my wife back,” Bell said simply. “And you can help. A few months back, a pilot named Robert Fowler flew from the Pacific to the Atlantic in a biplane fitted with pontoons.”
“Yes, he took along a photographer.”
Bell nodded. “Sam tells me the plane is still here. As it turns out, I know how to fly. The airship has a vulnerability. They need a large open area with a tall vertical mooring mast in order to dock. They wouldn’t have cleared a place to land out in the jungle. Too much time and manpower, plus they had to resupply the craft during its transatlantic crossing—the world’s first, by the way.”
“A ship,” Goethals guessed, eyes brightening.
“Exactly. They have a support ship in the waters off the coast. If I can find it, I can rescue my wife because that’s where she would have been taken. I bet Dreissen is there too. And if Talbot is smart, when his role is fulfilled once all of this is over, he’ll leave Panama with his German boss. I need your permission to borrow that plane so I can see this through to the end.”
32
The atmosphere in the wardroom was one of
