Hostage to Fortune

Chapter Thirty

Bruce Goddard was very impressed with the British police. They'd flown him in from Gran Canaria and put him up in the Savoy Hotel, all so that he could make a statement about the rescue of Will Wainwright. He'd been to London before but never stayed anywhere as luxurious as this. It was an experience he was determined to savour. When the barman offered to put the price of his beer on his room bill, he thought that maybe that was taking the piss. However, once he was told the price, his reluctance disappeared. He was just enjoying his beer when much to his surprise, he was paged.

'Your dinner guest has arrived sir.'

'Nah you've got wrong man, mate. I was just gonna go out for a curry and a few beers.'

'No mistake, sir. You are Mr Bruce Goddard from room 235?'

'Well yeah but...'

'Well sir, your guest is waiting for you in the restaurant.'

Bruce thanked the lad and made his way to the restaurant. The Maitre D' was very polite and made no mention of his jeans, though it was obvious that everyone else was dressed for dinner. He summoned a waiter, who showed Bruce to his table. There was a man already sitting at the table and as Bruce arrived, he stood up.

'I'm sorry, mate.,' said Bruce. 'There seems to have been some mistake. I didn't invite anyone to dinner and I certainly can't afford to eat here.'

The man offered his hand. 'Good evening Mr Goddard. I'm Will Wainwright, and I hope you'll forgive me but I invited myself.'

Bruce stepped back a little and looked at the man before taking the offered hand and shaking it.

'I've gotta say, mate, you're looking a hell of a lot better than the last time I saw you.--But look we can't eat here it'll cost a bomb and I'm not really dressed for it.'

'I can wait while you get changed if you like, but I assure you no one here is going to worry about the way you are dressed. As for the bill, we'll charge that to your room.'

Bruce smiled 'Ah I've got you now. This was all you wasn't it. Flying me in here, putting me up in this place. It was nothing to do with the cops, you set it up.'

'Guilty as charged, Mr Goddard.'

'Bruce! Just call me Bruce.'

'Okay, Bruce, and you must call me Will now shall we sit down and eat, or do you want to go somewhere else?'

The two men sat down. Through the course of their meal, Will delved into Bruce's past. By the time they'd got to their brandies, he knew he would make the offer.

'Bruce I owe you a debt that I could never repay. Now tell me are you just a motor jockey or can you sail?'

'Are you kidding me? I'm a Kiwi, of course, I can bloody sail.'

Will reached into his inside pocket and pulled out an envelope.

'Now just a minute. I don't want your bloody money. I did what I did because it was the right thing to do, and because that girl of yours gave me no choice.' He smiled as he remembered the bikini-clad Stephanie urging him to go faster.

Will reached into the envelope pulled out a ticket and passed it across the table.

'That is a business class ticket to cape town. My ketch Bee Jay II is out there. I'd like you to check her out and bring her home.'

Will placed two other items in front of Bruce an envelope and a card.

'In the envelope, you will find one thousand pounds. I'd like you to find another three men to crew for you Bee Jay is capable of being sailed single-handed but until I get all the systems checked out, I'd feel happier if you had a full crew. You will probably need to pay off their debts before you can sail. They'll be paid in full when they arrive in Ramsgate as will you.'

Bruce smiled, this man obviously knew sailors.

'The card is a prepaid card with enough money on it to pay for provisions fuel and a little extra for emergencies.'

Finally, Will passed a single piece of paper across with a figure written on it.

'And that is what I'm prepared to pay you to do the job.'

Bruce looked at the number on the paper and whistled. He looked across the table at Will.

'You make it bloody hard for a bloke to say no.'

'Then don't.' Will pulled another paper from the envelope. 'This is a job description and salary details for a Job I will offer to you on your return. In short, it amounts to looking after Bee Jay, making sure she's ready to sail when needed, hiring a crew and sailing her to wherever she's needed. Effectively when I'm not on board, you will be her skipper. Think about it and give me your decision when you get back. Now, do we have a deal?'

'I guess so yeah, I dunno, I'm still reeling from the shock.'

'Good, your plane leaves in a week. Make the most of what the hotel has to offer. Anything you want, charge it to the room. If you want to see a show or something, talk to the concierge and he'll make the bookings.'

Will got up to leave and offered his hand. 'I hope this is the start of a long and fruitful relationship.' He said.

He took hold of his walking stick and started to walk away then turned back to Bruce.

'I don't know what happened between you and Stephanie, and I don't want to know, but let's be clear on one thing, from here on she is off-limits okay?'

'Yeah, No worries. I kinda got the idea that she's a one-man woman, you know?'

Will smiled and nodded. Bruce knew what was in that smile.

'Say, have you two got something going? Well good on you. She's a great girl.'

'I know.' Said Will. 'It may have taken me a long time to realise it, but I do know.'