Chapter Thirteen Flame By The SEA

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Timmy could not forget the shock, the anger, he saw on Captain Raveen's face. When Captain Raveen saw him jump off the sloop that the Captain had set adrift, the Captain screamed at him, "You little bastard, you're going to spoil everything."

Timmy wished he had not cried like a little baby. He hated to think what the Captain probably thought of him.

Standing over the fire Timmy built for himself, the Captain stared at Timmy sitting on a log beside the fire. "Don't look so sad. I'm sorry I lost my temper with you. I should have expected something would go wrong to ruin my plans."

Staring into the fire, Timmy asked, "Where are we?"

The Captain sat down on the log next to Timmy. "We're on Portabay Prison Island."

Timmy turned and stared into Captain Raveen's grey eyes. Not meaning to sound accusatorial, Timmy asked with a slight edge in his voice, "Why did you send your boat adrift?"

The Captain hesitated. He wasn't use to explaining himself to anyone, much less a child. Still, the Captain answered, "I want people to think I fell overboard and drowned in the storm. See, the insurance company refuses to pay what they owe me for my ship that sank. The insurance policy is non-transferable. They think by forcing me into suing them, they can drag the case out in the courts until I'm dead. Then there will be no one to collect. When I first realized what they were doing, I decided to take action to insure that my court challenge against them would not end with my death. I set up a charity to benefit mental patients like Silencer. I then had my lawyer to sue the insurance company on behalf of the charity for damaging the reputation of its founder, me, and costing the charity potential donations. The charity's suit against the insurance company will not end with my death. That's all I intended when I set up the charity. But then Silencer died. As I was carrying his body to my sloop, I suddenly realized how I could benefit from my plan. If the crooks who own the insurance company think I'm dead and can't collect the insurance money, then it will be in their interest to settle my suit against them posthumously. It will be in their interest to restore my reputation and end the suit brought against them by the charity I created. See, if they take the bate and do what I think they will to save money, then I can collect the insurance."

Timmy smiled. "I won't mess up your plan. I promise." Captain Raveen nodded. "I'm using the old prison for shelter. You are welcome to stay there with me."

"I think I will stay here. I'll be okay."

"Someone might see your fire."

"If someone does and they come to rescue me, I won't tell them that you're on the island. I'll tell them I saw you fall overboard. I'll swear there was nothing I could do to save you as I stood helpless, watching you go under for the third time."

"And what are you going to tell them when they ask how you became separated from the boat and wound-up on the island?"

Timmy thought a moment. "I'll tell them that I didn't know how to steer the boat. That's the God honest truth. I'll then go into one of my tall tales that I'm so good at telling."

The Captain laughed. "You're good at telling tales."

Timmy smiled. "I'm damned good."

"So tell me the tale."

"I was stowed away, see. The Captain, in his grief and drinking a lot, had no idea that I was aboard. From where I was hiding in the cabin, I saw the Captain. I had a good view. I could see he had a bottle in hand and there was more than one bottle rolling around and about his feet. The Captain was getting himself into a real drunken stupor. Suddenly, a huge wave rocked the boat. It frightened me so, I nearly pissed in my pants. I closed my eyes and started saying every prayer I could remember. I swore to God that if he would save me this time, I'd be so good that the nuns would want to make me a saint. Then I opened my eyes and watched in horror. I saw the Captain laughing in the face of the storm. He climbed upon the rail of the boat and smiled such a big smile, I swear he looked as though this was the most wonderful day of his life. I held my breath as a huge wave washed over the boat, and I watched in horror as Captain Raveen swam with the wave into the stormy waters of the sea. So there I was, left on the boat in the storm, all alone. The boat rocked violently in the angry waves of the sea for what seemed forever. Then the storm ended and the waves calmed. I tried to figure how I might steer the boat to land, but I couldn't figure how to guide the boat. I don't know how long the boat drifted aimlessly, but at last I saw dry land. When the boat came close to the island, I thought it was the mainland. I thought I was near home at last. I tried to steer the boat to shore, but I couldn't. As the boat--I guess about 2,000 feet from shore--started drifting further out to sea, I decided to swim for land. So here I've been stranded, alone, on the island."

"If anyone comes to the island, I suspect they'll believe you. Hell, even knowing the truth, I almost believe you."

Timmy asked, "How are you planning on getting back to the mainland?"

"In about a month the tides will change and the waters will be shallow enough along the sandbar to walk to the mainland."

"Meanwhile, what are you planning on living off of; I mean eating? I didn't see you unloading any food or anything."

"The island is covered with berries, wild turkeys, and a few rabbits. There is a spring fed freshwater creek near the prison."

"I'm real hungry. Do you think you could help me rustle up some food?"

"I think so." Captain Raveen smiled and pulled a knife from his belt. He stood up and cut a branch from a tree next to Timmy.

Timmy flinched as the branch brushed up against him. "What's that for?"

"I'm going to make us a spear so we can spear some fish. You look like a boy who likes fish."

Timmy smiled. "Freshwater or salt water?"

"There are fish in the freshwater stream near the prison. It is filled with an odd kind of fish that a boyhood friend and I use to call catabass. I have no idea what an expert on fish might call them."

"How did you come up with the name, catabass?"

Captain Raveen laughed. "Because it looks like it is the result of a sex crazed catfish who got awfully friendly with an attractive bass."

Timmy stood up and kicked out his fire. Captain Raveen sharpened the end of the branch and handed Timmy the spear.

Putting his knife back into his belt, Captain Raveen started along the trail toward the prison. In the moonlight, Captain Raveen looked back at Timmy. "Come on."

As Timmy stepped beneath the tall overgrowth of vines covering the trail, he felt as though he were stepping into a dark tunnel. Timmy screamed, "Wait a minute. How the hell can you see where you are going? Oh shit! What's that?" Falling to the ground, Timmy moaned, "It's a crocodile; a damned crocodile."

Actually it was a log; but struggling to get away from it, Timmy swore in no uncertain terms that it was a "damned crocodile." Hearing Timmy's panic, Captain Raveen rushed to try to help Timmy get up and away from whatever. Then when the Captain felt the log against his leg, he kind of chuckled though he did his best not to laugh at Timmy.

Angrily, Timmy stood up and pushed the Captain's hand away. "I don't need your help." As the Captain started to take Timmy at his word, Timmy grabbed hold to the sleeve of the Captain's shirt. The Captain and Timmy took a few steps and then Timmy turned and tried to see the crocodile, which he still swore he'd tripped over. "Damn, for a minute I thought I was going to end up a peg leg like the Hawker says my grandfather is."

Captain Raveen stopped. "The Hawker. Have you been talking with the Hawker?"

"Yeah, he told me all about you and my grandfather, Timothy Benton."

"Timothy Benton is your grandfather?"

"That's right. My name is Timmy; Timmy Benton."

In the dark, Timmy couldn't see the Captain's smile. Nor could he see the tears that filled the Captain's eyes.

The Captain said, "Come on. We've got to spear those fish before midnight. It's bad luck to go fishing after midnight before dawn?"

Timmy asked, "Why? What kind of bad luck? What will happen if we go fishing after midnight before dawn?"

Captain Raveen took Timmy by the hand and started walking Timmy toward the creek. "Well," the Captain said, "Neptune will reach for you from Davy Jones's locker. But fates worse than death will protect you. Pluto, from the dark side will rescue you from the grasp of Neptune and then the demigods will tempt your soul to fall from grace for their favor. The temptations will be so great that you will not get a moment's rest. Never more will you go into a true sleep before midnight. Nor will you sleep past dawn without strange dreams gripping your soul. Your soul will be destined to suffer until the dawning of a new age." Captain Raveen cleared his throat. "Mind you, that sage tale was told to me by my father right before I was about to go on one of my late night fishing trips. He ended the tale by saying that sometimes Neptune, Pluto, and the demigods are forgiving and ignore the transgression of souls who fish past midnight, but that he wasn't so forgiving and he would tan my bottom if he caught me staying out that late."

Timmy laughed. "Yeah, right." Timmy rolled his eyes. "But you know, speaking of things that are bad luck, while I was on your boat in Portis I saw a crow perched on the rail at the stern of the sloop."

Timmy and Captain Raveen stepped out from beneath the dark overgrowth. Standing at the edge of a meadow, again they could see their surroundings by the moonlight. In the yellowish light, Timmy looked across the meadow and stood speechless, seeing Portabay Island Prison for the very first time. Timmy thought how ominous and foreboding the prison appeared across the golden grassland.

Captain Raveen twinged upon seeing the prison,

but tried to ignore the feeling. He had already visited the prison once this night and promised himself that he would not allow the site to again cause him grief for his brother.

Captain Raveen looked down at Timmy and saw how frightened Timmy appeared, staring at the shadowy outline of the prison's distant walls. With a gentle voice, Captain Raveen broke Timmy from his seeming trance. "Did you say a crow? How did you know that I consider the crow a sign of bad luck?"

Timmy hesitated. "I hope you're not angry. I read your journal."

"So you saw a crow on the stern of my boat, you say." Captain Raveen laughed. "With all the bad luck I've been having, I shouldn't be surprised that I face even more misfortune."

"I'm sorry if I'm part of the bad luck."

"I don't consider finding myself in the company of you, the grandson of my childhood friend, bad luck. I consider you being here a sign from heaven that no matter what, things are going to work out for the best."

Timmy looked at the prison. "I hope you're right." Then Timmy looked at Captain Raveen. "I've the damndest feeling."

"What?"

"I've never been here before. But this place. . . ."

An owl swooped down, flying so near to Timmy that Timmy actually felt the air from the flutter of its wings. As the owl made a second sweep toward Timmy and Timmy saw the owl coming toward his face, Timmy jumped back and fell to the ground. Timmy stared in awe as a rabbit hopped over his feet. Then Timmy watched as the owl made a ninety degree dive toward the rabbit. Suddenly, the rabbit disappeared into a thicket and the owl glided through the air above Timmy.

Timmy screamed, "Oh no!"

The owl, with its claws open to attack its prey, sailed toward Timmy. At first, Timmy didn't see the owl's prey slithering near his hand and neither did Captain Raveen. Then they both heard the rattle and looked down. They saw the owl's deadly prey, a six foot serpent covered with diamond blotches, coiling into position for attack.

Captain Raveen felt helpless as the rattle snake showed its white fangs and prepared to strike against Timmy's hand; but Timmy's mood of fear changed. He no longer felt helpless at all. He felt a strange calmness as he watched nature at work. He could feel the power of it all, and knew its Godly greatness. He knew, no matter what, he was safe in the power.

Then the owl swooped down, and the Captain breathed a sigh of relief. Timmy and the Captain watched as the owl grabbed the snake up into its claws. They watched as the owl snapped the snakes head off. Then Timmy applauded as the owl flew off with the bloodied snake as its reward for victory.

Timmy looked at the snake's head next to his hand. Then excitedly, he jumped up. "Did you see that? Wasn't that great? I guess it doesn't compare to the adventures you've had, but I think it was great."

Captain Raveen smiled as he picked up the spear Timmy had dropped. Then Captain Raveen took Timmy by the hand, and they started across the meadow. Captain Raveen looked down at Timmy and with a twinkle in his eye said, "Let's hope we don't have any more adventures tonight--at least not with snakes."

Timmy said, "I bet this island is full of adventures. I think it's going to be an adventure just to go fishing with you."

Looking down at Timmy and listening to Timmy's excitement, Captain Raveen remembered when he and Timothy were Timmy's age. Captain Raveen told Timmy, "When your grandfather and I were young, he had the same spirit for adventure you have. Your grandfather use to say, 'Chains, irons, locked in dark dungeons deep, still I will be free so long as it is an adventure.'"

"You and grandfather were tight like Tommy and me. I wish I could let Tommy know that I'm okay. He's such a baby."

Captain Raveen asked, "What about your mother and sister?"

Timmy laughed. "Hell, they're tough, they're Bentons." Then Timmy frowned. "Well, really, I'm not so sure about Kay. Sometimes she seems tough, but sometimes, I swear, she acts just like a girl. She lets her emotions get the better of her common sense."

Captain Raveen smiled. "At sometime or another, everyone lets their emotions get the better of their common sense. That is just being human."

Timmy looked up at Captain Raveen. "Kay? Human? You've got to be kidding."

"Now be honest, you love your sister, don't you?"

"Of course I do. She's blood."

Captain Raveen nodded. "And blood is the covenant of life."

Timmy thought about his mother. He asked, "Have you ever wondered if maybe there is bad blood that flows through your veins?"

Captain Raveen asked, "Have you been listening to those rumors about me?"

"No. I was thinking about my family. Do you know anything about my mother?"

"When she was growing up, I did my best to befriend her and try to stop her from being overly influenced by your great-uncle; but he had such a hold on her, there wasn't much I could do to affect her upbringing. Still, I tried because of what your grandfather meant to me. Then. . . . Well, I'm afraid I only made your mother's life worse."

"How? How did you make her life worse?"

"Let's just say that your mother and I are not on the best of terms. It would be wrong for me to say anything bad about your mother to you."

"Did you know that my mother was secretly married?"

"Yes, I knew Duncan Dean. He was a strange boy. Whenever I was in port, he made a point to visit me. It was like he wanted to tell me something, but for some reason he couldn't. Anyway, on one of his visits he did tell me about his marriage to your mother."

Captain Raveen reflected, "Growing up, Duncan spent many summers in Portabay and lots of time out here on the island with your mother. When he told me about the marriage, it didn't surprise me." Captain Raveen looked at Timmy. "But it would surprise other people. You mustn't go around mentioning the marriage. It could be dangerous."

"I know. The Hawker told me how someone learned about the marriage and is blackmailing mother. She gave into the blackmailers and helped set up Daniel Hudson's grandmother. She helped to have the poor, old woman captured and put in a mental institution."

Captain Raveen asked, "Who is Daniel Hudson?"

"A guy Scar Face was going to kill just so he could kill you."

"What?"

"Scar Face blamed you for his brother's death. He planned on killing you." Timmy stopped for a second to give a swift kick to a glistening soda bottle. "But don't worry; I showed him your journal and proved to him that you were not responsible for his brother's death."

Captain Raveen stopped walking. "I knew Scar Face was angry with me, poor man, but I thought he understood what happened."

Timmy turned around and walking backwards said, "No, someone wanted him to think you dynamited your ship. For some reason, they wanted to make him want to kill you so they could blackmail him into killing Daniel."

Captain Raveen shook his head and again started walking. "If someone wanted Scar Face to kill me, I doubt it was just so they could blackmail him. It sounds like to me someone wants me dead."

Timmy turned and kicked the soda bottle. "I think they were just taking advantage of Scar Face's grief, to set him up and try to make him kill Daniel."

"That may be, but suppose the people who want this Daniel Hudson fellow dead also want me dead. Suppose they want me dead for more reason than a tactical ploy to manipulate Scar Face."

Timmy asked, "But why--what reason?"

"I had a friend of mine try to trace who owns the Pyro Life and Indemnity Insurance Company. He found that a lot of the dummy corporations being used to hide ownership in the company have links to the Dean Family Trust and the Red Oak Crime Syndicate."

Timmy half listened to Captain Raveen as they walked closer to the prison. A warm, muggy wind whistled through the night air, and with the sound of crickets in the distance, Timmy was reminded of a strange tune he once heard. He'd heard the tune at the ruins of the old Plume Manor near his home. Following the sound of the eerie tune, he'd discovered a man at the ruins holding a music box. Weary of the man, he'd hid behind a bolder so the man wouldn't see him.

Timmy heard Captain Raveen asking, "You see what I'm saying?"

Sheepishly, Timmy nodded. He didn't want the Captain to know that he hadn't been listening.

Captain Raveen explained, "The Red Oak Crime Syndicate, which controls the Dean Family Trust, are the ones your mother is afraid of officially finding out that she was married to Duncan and has a claim to the trust or estate. It doesn't surprise me that people like that might plot my murder; but it does surprise me that they'd risk damaging the reputation of one of their more legitimate businesses. I wouldn't have thought they'd go so far as to plot having me killed--not before they've exhausted their efforts to fight me in court."

Timmy understood, "So you think the criminals who control the Dean Family Estate are the one's blackmailing Scar Face." Timmy thought a second. "But that would mean they most likely are the ones blackmailing mother. Do you think the people who mother is afraid of finding out about the marriage, already know about the marriage and are threatening to reveal to themselves what they already know? God! Do you think that's likely?"

"The people who secretly lead the crime syndicate, probably, unofficially, do know about the marriage. As long as it's not common knowledge among their peers or the general public, it's no big deal. So long as your mother has no substantial allies and she's not making any moves against them, they don't see her as a threat. But see, if you or I went around talking about the marriage and made it public knowledge, then the situation changes. With official, public knowledge comes automatic allies. People take sides when there are sides to be taken in public discussion. That is the way of the world."

Captain Raveen stopped talking. He didn't like what he was thinking.

Somehow, Timmy knew what the Captain was thinking. "The line between official and unofficial has already been crossed, hasn't it? So what happens now?"

Captain Raveen hesitated. He didn't want to upset Timmy, but he wasn't going to mix words. "Among criminals, there can be no signs of weakness. When crime syndicates officially know about weak links in their organization, they act quickly to insure no rival group is tempted to take advantage of the situation. They act quickly to eliminate the weak links and prove they are in control. I suspect if the line has been crossed and they think they can control and use your mother, then they may try to recruit her into their organization. If they succeed, that will be enough to prove to their peers that they are well in control of the situation and are not worried about your mother trying to claim the Dean fortune. If they fail to recruit her, then. . . ."

"Then they'll frame her for a crime or kill her."

"I'm afraid so."

"When they made mother help to have Daniel's grandmother captured, they were testing mother for recruitment, right?"

Captain Raveen nodded. "I think so."

Timmy bowed his head and kicked at the glistening soda bottle near his foot. "I guess she passed their test; but still she's going to get hurt. She needs someone to help her stand up to those creeps." Timmy asked, "After we get off this island, could you help my mother?"

"I. . . ." Captain Raveen looked at the soda bottle rolling across the ground where Timmy kicked it. "Strange." Using the spear he cut for Timmy, he lifted the sparkling bottle off the ground. Removing the bottle from the end of the spear, he examined the faded image of the Dean Music Box displayed on the glass container.

Captain Raveen thought about his sister Molly and how she loved Frenchy Dean, the man who designed the famous music box. The Captain's father, Baldwin Raveen, had convinced him that Frenchy was the reason Molly left home. After Frenchy married the former wife of Martin Lockstock, the movie actress Jennifer Clayburg, his father told him that Frenchy must have dumped Molly, but that she was too proud to return home. Frenchy had tried to tell them that he didn't know where Molly was, but they hadn't believed him. All these years, Captain Raveen believed his father's drunken rambling.

Captain Raveen looked at the faded picture of the music box on the bottle and remembered Silencer's dying words. "If I'm right and Molly was murdered, someone got by with killing our sister. God, they got by with it."

Timmy repeated, "After we get off this island, could you help my mother?"

Thinking out loud and still looking at the faded image of the music box on the soda bottle, Captain Raveen suggested, "Your mother and I both need to somehow make contact with a man by the name of Matthew Clayburg."

"He's the one accused of murdering Robert Dean. What could he do?"

"Some of the state police are on the Red Oak Syndicate's payroll, but see, some of the police are aligned with the Eden-Clayburg Studios that Frenchy Dean's half-sister, my cousin, established. Frenchy Dean's son, Matthew Clayburg, controls the 'studio' from his hiding place. He's a sworn enemy of the Red Oak Crime Syndicate, and I think he'll help us if he can."

Timmy smiled. "So you're planning on helping mother."

"I'm in as much danger from the Red Oak Crime Syndicate as your mother is. You better believe I'm going to fight them; not only to help your mother but to help myself."

Timmy asked, "How hard will it be to make contact with this Matthew fellow?"

"When we get off this island, I'll talk to my cousin, Elysa Eden. Hopefully, she'll give me the name of one of her friends who can be trusted to contact Matthew for me."

"Why would you have to use one of her friends? Why couldn't she just tell him what's going on and explain why we need his help?"

"Elysa is in the Portis Sanitarium."

Timmy's eyes widened. "That's one busy place, isn't it? How long has your cousin been at the sanitarium?"

"I'm not sure. She'd escaped some years ago. I really don't know when they recaptured her."

Timmy thought a second. "Is it possible that your cousin and Daniel's grandmother are the same person? That's not likely, is it?"

"I don't know. I've never heard anything about Daniel Hudson in relation to Elysa, but there being a new member to that family would be kept very quiet. They would want to protect him from being hurt by their enemies."

Timmy looked at Captain Raveen. "That family? She's your cousin. Don't you consider her family part of your family?"

"No. She's not really related to me by blood. Sounder Raveen, her father, was an adopted child--adopted by my aunt. While Sounder and my father were close and my brother Silencer and sister Molly were close to Frenchy and Robert growing up, Elysa wasn't raised by her father and so she wasn't close to any of us. It wasn't until she was grown that she got to know her father and half brothers. I've read things about her and I've heard talk about her, but see, Elysa and I never really got to know one another. I wouldn't even have known she was back at Portis Sanitarium if I hadn't seen her there."

"You said Elysa escaped from the sanitarium several years ago. What kind of mental problem did she have that caused her to be put there?"

"She originally was committed to the State Institution for the Criminally Insane in Lockstock. She was convicted of murdering a man by the name of Johnathan Kent."

"Do you think she killed him?"

"I don't know."

Leaning over and squinting, Timmy scrutinized the name POP-A-SOUND on the bottle in Captain Raveen's hand. He then ran his fingers across the pyramid shaped grooves he noticed lining the glass. "They don't sell this kind of pop anywhere around Portabay, do they?"

"No. POP-A-SOUND hasn't been sold in Portabay since the county padlocked their distribution warehouse some ten years ago. This bottle is even older than that though. Back, I'm not sure how many years ago, there was a big promotion involving the Dean Music Box. Robert Dean, the movie actor, Duncan Dean's father, was trying to find the music box that his deceased brother Frenchy designed. The media really played up the mystery of what happened to the music box. A limited number of these bottles were distributed as part of the promotion to find the music box."

"Did they find the Dean Music Box?"

"Yes. Matthew Clayburg found the real Dean Music Box the day Robert and Duncan were killed."

Timmy said, "I once saw a man near the ruins of the old Plume Manor with a music box. I don't guess it was Matthew. I suppose lots of people own music boxes."

"Yes, I suppose, but what did the man look like?"

"He had long brown hair and looked like he hadn't shaven in awhile."

"How tall was he?"

"I'd guess he was a little under six foot tall."

"Did you talk with the man?"

"Not really. I was scared and hid from him, but I don't guess I hid very well because he knew I was there. He called out to me and told me not to be afraid. He said he allowed me to find him so that he could warn me to always stay near someone when I go swimming. He said he didn't want to frighten me from having fun while playing in the water, but that I should never take unnecessary risk. He said this time around, he wants me to live to a ripe old age. By the time I got the nerve to come out of my hiding place to talk with the man, he was gone. It was really weird."

"Sounds like it."