he carefully filed off the black
spots. He put the key into the lock again, and repeated the
procedure. He was humming quietly to himself as he picked
the lock, and he smiled as he suddenly realized what he was
humming.
"Far Away Places."
I'll take my family on vacation, he thought happily. A
real vacation. I'll bet the kids would love Hawaii. The cabinet
drawer came open, and he pulled it toward him. It took only a
moment to find the folder he wanted. He removed a small
Pentax camera from his briefcase and went to work. Ten
minutes later he was finished. He took several pieces of
kleenex from the briefcase, walked over to the water cooler,
and wet them. He returned to the filing room and wiped up
the steel shavings on the floor. He locked the file
cabinet, made his way out to the corridor, locked the front
door to the offices, and left the building.
4
It was glorious weather during the day. Later that
evening, Captain Bargas came to Robert Stanley's
stateroom.
"Signor Stanley ..."
"Yes?"
The captain pointed to the electronic map on the wall.
"I'm afraid the winds are getting worse. The libeccio is
centered in the Strait of Bonifacio. I would suggest that we
take shelter in a harbor until..." Stanley cut him short. "This
is a good ship, and you're a good captain. I'm sure you can
handle it."
Captain Bargas hesitated. "As you say, signor. I will do
my best."
"I'm sure you will, Captain."
Robert Stanley sat in the office of his suite, planning his
strategy. He would meet Ben in Corsica and get everything
straightened out. After that, the helicopter would fly him to
Roma, and from there he would charter a plane to take him
to Los Angeles. Everything is going to be fine, he decided.
All I need is forty-eight hours. Just forty-eight hours.
He was awakened at two A.M. by the wild pitching of
the yacht and a howling gale outside. Stanley had been in
storms before, but this was one of the worst. Captain Bargas
had been right. Robert Stanley got out of bed, holding on to
the nightstand to steady himself, and made his way to the
wall map. The ship was in the Strait of Bonifacio. We
should be in Ajaccio in the next few hours, he thought. Once
we're there, we'll be safe.
The events that occurred later were a matter of
speculation. The next day Robert Stanley was in Ajaccio. He
spent the night in Hotel. After breakfast he told Donald
Herman:
"I’ll go to make one phone call. Stay across the street
and watch for me," Donald said.
"O.K., sir. " Ten minutes later Robert Stanley walked
toward Donald. All of a sudden a big truck came around the
corner with high speed. The driver was not able to stop the
truck and Donald Stanley was hit, fall down on the street.
Donald run to Robert Stanley, but was too late.
He called for an ambulance and the body was taken to the
nearest hospital. What later was found Robert Stanley had
terrible head fracture and massive bleeding, which cause his
death.
5
Capitaine Frank Duval, chef de police in Corsica, was in
a bad mood. The island was overcrowded with plenty of
summer tourists who were incapable of holding onto their
passports, their wallets, or their children. Complaints had
come streaming in all day long to the tiny police
headquarters at 2 Cours Napoleon off Rue Sergent
Casalonga.
"A man snatched my purse ..."
"My ship sailed without me. My wife is on the board…"
"I bought this watch from someone on the street. It has
nothing inside ..."
"The drugstores here don't carry the pills I need …"
The problems were endless. And now it seemed that the
capitaine had a body on his hands. "I have no time for this
load of shit now," he shouts it out. "But they're waiting
outside," his assistant informed him. "What shall I tell
them?"
Capitaine Duval was impatient to get to his girlfriend.
His impulse was ready to say, "Take the body to some
other island,” but he was, after all, the chief police official
on the island.
"Very well." He sighed. "I'll see them briefly."
A moment later, Captain Bargas and Donald Herman
were escorted into the office.
"Sit down," Capitaine Duval said, ungraciously. The two
men took chairs.
"Tell me, please, exactly what happened."
Captain Bargas said, "I'm not sure exactly. I didn't see it
happen ..." He turned to Donald Herman. "He was an
eyewitness. Perhaps he could explain it."
Donald took a deep breath. "It was terrible. I work ...
worked for the man."
"Doing what, monsieur?"
"Bodyguard, masseur, chauffeur. I run to save him, but
there was nothing I could do. I called for help. Ambulance
came in. But it was too late. He was killed by auto accident."
"I am very sorry." He could not have cared less. Captain
Bargas spoke up. "It was accident but now we would like
permission to take the body home."
"That should be no problem." He would still have time
to have a drink with his girlfriend before he went home to
his