death certificate. He would not leave his hospital for so long a
journey for one death – there are many, you understand.” “So no one
saw my brother except Dr Schouten and the two men who found him – and
no one has made any investigation, no one has questioned Kane or Hadley
or the doctor?” “You are wrong, M. Trevtlyan. We are not standing in
Hyde Park Corner in the midst of a modern civilized metropolis. The
Tuamotus are many hundreds of miles away and we have but a small
administrative staff – but I assure you that questions were asked.
Indeed they were.” He leaned forward and asked coldly, “Are you aware,
M. Trevelyan, that at the time of your brother’s death he was suspected
of murder, and a fugitive from the police?” “I did hear that
cock-and-bull story. It must have been convenient for your police
department to have such a tidy closing of the case.” He didn’t like
that and his eyes flickered. “Here in French Oceania we have a
peculiar problem. The islands have an enviable reputation, that of an
earthly paradise. Consequently, men are drawn here from all over the
world, hoping to live in ease and comfort. They think they can live by
eating the fruit from the trees and by building a little thatched
hut.
They are wrong. The cost of living here is as high as anywhere else in
the world.
“These men who come here are often, not always, the failures of
civilization. Most go away when they find that the islands are not the
paradise of reputation. Others stay to cause us trouble. Our work
here is not to aid the degenerate sweepings, but to maintain the
standard for our own people.
And when an unknown white who is already in trouble dies we d9 not make
too much fuss.” He tapped the file. “Especially when there is a valid
death certificate, apparently in order, especially when we think he may
be a murderer, and very especially when he evaded the Tahiti police and
ran away to die on some atoll two hundred miles from here.”
I kept my self-control with some difficulty. “Yes, I understand all
that, but will you make an investigation now? My brother, as you will
see in there, was a scientist, not a beachcomber. And you will admit
that there is something wrong with the death certificate.” MacDonald
picked up the doctor’s statement. “True, a man cannot have
appendicitis twice.
Yes, we will certainly interview the doctor again.”
He made a note on his pad. “I will appoint an officer to interview him
personally, rather than send a message to the local authorities. It
will be done as soon as he next goes out to the Tuamotus.”
He leaned back and waited for my thanks.
“When will that be?” I asked.
“In about three months’ time.” “Three months!” “Your brother is
already dead, M. Trevelyan. There is nothing I can do to bring him
back to life. We also are busy men; I administer an area of over a
million square miles. You must realize that the government cannot come
to a stop while we-‘ “I am not asking you to stop the government.
All I’m asking is that you investigate the death of a man!” “It will
be done,” he said levelly. “And we will find that the doctor has made
an honest mistake. Perhaps he confused two patients on the same day.
That is nothing new, but it would be a pity to ruin him for one
mistake. We need doctors in the islands, M. Trevelyan.” I looked into
MacDonald’s eyes and realized I was up against a stone wall. Nothing
would be done for three months and then the whole affair would be
hushed up, covered in a web of red tape.
I wrote my lawyer’s address on a piece of paper. “I would be obliged
if you would let me know the results of your investigation.
You can write to that address.” “I will let you know, M. Trevelyan. I
am sure there will be a simple explanation.” He half stood up, clearly
dismissing me.
I went immediately to the British Consul and got no joy. He was urbane
and civil, pointing out that everything MacDonald had said was true and
that the only thing to do was to wait. “They’ll investigate the
matter, don’t you worry, Mr Trevelyan. If old Schouten has made a
mistake they’ll find out.” But he didn’t sound convincing even to
himself.
I said, “What kind of man is this Schouten? I gather you know him.”
The consul shrugged. “An old Islands type – been here for years.
He’s done some good work in the past.” “But not lately?” “Well, he’s
getting old and-‘ “Hitting the bottle,” I said viciously.
The consul looked up sharply. “Don’t blame him too much for that.
He lost his entire family when the Japs invaded New Guinea.” I said
bitterly, “Does that excuse him for killing his patients?” There was
no reasonable answer to that, and I pulled myself together and changed
the subject slightly.
“Have you heard of a man called Jim Hadley?
“A big Australian?” “That’s the man.” “Of course he’s never been in
here,”said the consul. “We’ve no official connection, but I’ve seen
him around. He’s well known here as a rather hard-headed type, not a
man to be crossed I’d say. Your brother chartered his schooner for a
while.” “Is he really that tough?” He frowned.
“Very much so. Not a consular tea party type at all. I wouldn’t
recommend him.” “What about a man called Kane?” “Is that the other
Australian? His partner, I think
– I’ve seen him with Hadley. It’s the same answer, I’m afraid; I’ve
never spoken to him.”
“Tell me honestly – do you think the administration is dragging its
heels in this matter?” He sighed. “I’ll have to speak bluntly, Mr
Trevelyan. When your brother died he was on the run from the police.
He was suspected of murder.”As I was going to interrupt he raised his
hand. “Now, don’t tell me that’s ridiculous.
Most murderers have brothers, like yourself, who refuse to believe
anything ill of their kin, especially at first hearing.” That wasn’t
what I was going to say, but I kept my mouth shut.
“When he died, complete with death certificate signed by a qualified
medical man, the police called off the hunt, and quite naturally so in
my opinion. At the present time the administration has a hell of a lot
on its plate, and they had no reason to suspect anyone else. But
they’ll get around to investigating the new evidence you’ve brought
them sooner or later.” “When the trail is totally cold.”
“I do see your point,” he said. “I don’t think I can do anything about
it. But I’ll try.”
And with that I had to be content.
When I reboarded Esmerelda I felt blue. I think I had expected my news
to come with a devastating shock, and it had been dismissed as a
hiccup. Clare was on deck and she said sunnily, “Isn’t this a
beautiful place?” , It stinks,” I said sourly.
“What are you mad at? You look as though you wouldn’t care if the
whole island sank into the sea.” “It’s these damn colonial French.
Justice – but at a snail’s pace. The British here aren’t much better
either.” “No dice with the Governor?” “Oh, they’ll make a new
investigation in three months – or three years. He doesn’t want to
lose his precious Dr Schouten. If he looks too closely he might have
to arrest the doctor for unprofessional conduct and he doesn’t want to
do that, so he’s going easy on the whole thing- sweeping it under the
carpet in the hope that it’ll be forgotten. He’s got much more
important things to do than to find Mark’s killer.” She was
sympathetic and I began to loosen up a little. After a while I even
felt cheerful enough to ask her to dine with me.
and to my delight she agreed at once. I excused myself and went in
search of Geordie, whom I found tinkering with the engine in company
with two of the crew. Everyone else had vanished ashore. I took
Geordie aside and told him what had happened.
. He wiped the oil from his hands and said. “Then you’re stymied.”
“LA)oks like it, as far as authoritative aid goes.” ,Now’s the time to
put some pressure on Campbell. You won’t get anywhere without him if
you want to see Schouten.
It’s a pity you can’t interpret one of those drawings to read Tanakabu
– or perhaps you can scare up some good scientific reasons for going
there.” “As well there as anywhere.” I said morosely. “I’ll work on
it.” I spent the rest of the day wandering around the town and picked
out a restaurant for the evening, and when it came Clare and I took