The Light Keeper's Daughter

The Light Keeper's Daughter - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Sitting in the dark cave, Daniel knew something was happening. He could hear the voices coming down the cave passage, struggling to carry the crates. All of his senses were on alert. Like any good reporter, he could not only interpret what was said, but the underlying actions people were unaware they gave off when they lied or were shocked. It took him a long time to perfect reading the facial patterns and gestures that so many people used unconsciously.

With that in mind, he did not need his skills as an investigative reporter to know that Franklin did not care for him. He knew the animosity was because of the feelings they both had for Camila. Daniel was sure that Franklin saw him as interloper in Camila’s life. He felt bad for the fellow, but there was really nothing he could do. He loved Camila and Camila, somehow by some miracle, loved him too. A smile slid to his lips as the thought of Camila saying those three little words.

Daniel’s thoughts of Camila were stopped abruptly when he heard grunts and feet shuffling coming from the cave entrance. “Ugh! This is a heavy load. I wonder why the boss ordered two extra crates?” The voice sounded young, like someone trying to move up in the organization and was still a little wet behind the ears. Maybe he wasn’t even sure how deep he was involved and how dangerous the mob life could be. He was probably some kid that was rising off the streets and didn’t grasp how serious this business was.

“It’s not our job to question Mr. Parrino. Just do our job.” That sounded like someone who had been with the business for a while and knew not to mess with the boss. It also confirmed Daniel’s conversation with his father, Vincent Parrino was behind these drugs coming into the country. “Just get the crates in here. Mr. P said to bring one of tonight’s crates to the warehouse.”

From the job Franklin and Daniel did earlier in the week, they knew the contents of the crates had been raw opium and had not yet been processed. Daniel could only guess that they would process the opium for consumption at a different site than the underground drug club.

As much as Daniel wanted to get these drugs off the street, he could not risk them taking one of the altered crates and was relieved they would not yet find that the drugs had been switched out.

The duo dropped off the two boxes and went back for more. From their overheard conversation and the fact that the last drop was four crates, Franklin assumed that six boxes were dropped tonight. They would know for sure once they spoke to Camila.

Within twenty minutes, the pair had dropped off three more crates and had left the large cavern. The pair added a total of five to the cave and they said they were taking one with them. Daniel figured that Camila watched them drop six crates from the boat.

That did not mean Daniel and Franklin could leave. They had no idea where the men were now. They needed to stay hidden until Mr. Underwood, who was hiding on the bluff, came down to tell them the coast was clear. That could be minutes or hours from now, depending on if the two mobsters waited on the tide to go out or if they swam out of the cave at the opening and made it back to shore on their own. The assumption being that the boat would remain anchored in the first large cave where the tide would still be in.

******

Just before dawn, Camila watched as her father, Franklin and Daniel approached from the beach. She had kept a steady eye towards the caves in anticipation of their arrival. She had uttered many prayers for their safety during the past few hours. Watching as the men in the boat left the cave with a crate hours ago, she hoped her father, Daniel and Franklin would return soon, until she watched one of the men come back with an empty boat to the cave opening and he did not exit the cave until the tide went out thirty minutes ago. The other man must have either sat with the drugs in the wagon or went back to town and returned later for his partner in crime.