Page 76 of No One Aboard
From there they had taken off and turned millions into more. Investments. More cons. Steve’s death had only been the beginning. Francis started his own yachting company promoting safety at sea. He had sailors who worked for him, guys like Ernie Carmichael, who would sail with rival companies and catch them breaking maritime laws. At least that’s what was claimed. How many of his rivals were framed? How many companies suffered financial and reputational blows because Francis Cameron knew how to pull a good con?
“The start-up capital for his yachting company, Unwind, was solely comprised of the money Cameron and Matamoros got from Steve’s accident,” Koshida explained.
“So you don’t think it was that. An accident.”
Koshida shook his head. “They had a negligent boss, a man worth millions who sent them out in an undermanned ship in unsafe waters. The dominoes were all in a row. All they had to do was push.”
Jerry saw his brother, jaw set in concentration, shouting orders to his fellow crew in a storm. He watched Steve turn around to ask why they weren’t listening, only to be faced with his friends looking cold and conniving. Was it premeditated? Or did one of them get a brilliant idea and act in the moment? All they had to do was push...
“I don’t understand. How did you figure this out?”How did it take so goddamn long?
Koshida spread his hands. “It wasn’t their last crime. For thirty years Francis Cameron has been doing whatever it takes to climb. His workers, guys like Matamoros and Carmichael,would get jobs for rival yachting companies and plant evidence they were breaking maritime laws. It’s hard to keep track of legalities if you spend most of your time at sea. Suspicion alone can sink a ship. Or a company. Pretty soon Cameron’s yachts got the best reputation around. He hammers his clientele with a narrative of safety. Doing everything by the book. Slaps a slogan on every ad campaign, billboard, and life preserver so people know he means it.”
Jerry remembered the orange ring sitting in the stern up on deck.
“Safe to sail in any gale,” he murmured.
Koshida continued. “Cameron sits for interviews to describe the trauma he went through working on an unsafe vessel, seeing a friend drown. He tells the public his life’s mission is to prevent incidents like that from happening again.”
Jerry’s hands had formed fists without him realizing. “Profiting off Steve’s death.”
Koshida slapped the tabletop. “Exactly. Only a few months ago, someone tipped us off about his history. We looked into it, and everything started to fall apart. Right now, some of my guys have Ernie Carmichael in an interrogation room. Carmichael says he overheard Cameron and Matamoros bragging about... well, about how this all began. About that night in the storm with Steve. So I’m here to see how deep the bullshit goes, see if you know anything at all, and inform you your brother’s death has been reopened and is being looked at as a homicide. My guess is Carmichael is more involved than he says, and soon he’ll be a whistleblower. Fraud, embezzlement, murder... Francis Cameron’s entire legacy is a sham.”
“Who?” Jerry said after a moment.
“Who what?”
“Who tipped you off?”
Koshida sighed. “Not for me to say. But we no longer have contact, so we’re doing our best to explore other avenues.”
Jerry picked at something dark under his fingernails. “Why can’t you contact them anymore? They stop talking?”
“That’s one way to put it.” Koshida sighed. “They were onThe Old Eileen.”
Jerry’s head spun. His tongue ached; he must have burned it on the hot coffee. He shut his eyes, willing the pain to ease as Koshida went on.
“They were supposed to be on that boat to keep an eye on things. Now everybody’s missing. Somehow, Cameron guessed we were on to him, and that’s when his family vacation turned into something more.”
“What do you mean,” Jerry said slowly and made air quotes, “family vacation?”
“I mean that it wasn’t just a celebratory trip. The Camerons are on the run.”
Jerry bit his tongue to stop his head from swirling. The perfectly seaworthy ship, the missing life raft, Steve facedown in the water. “On the run? You think...”
Koshida nodded, the intensity in his gaze unmistakable. “I think they had a plan. I think they fled never intending to return to the United States. I think Cameron and Matamoros purchased a private island outside US waters and one or both are hunkered down there now, likely with Francis’s family and at least some of the crew. This is all conjecture, but if Carmichael talks...”
Jerry’s mouth hung wide, a ringing in his ears as Agent Koshida got to his feet.
“Your brother’s killers are almost certainly alive, Jerry. And I’m going to catch them.”
Chapter 37
Tia Cameron
Call sign: Thimble
Day 9 at Sea
