Beyond Frontier - 31. BF Chapter 31

“Hello. Jurien Police.”, “Hello. My name is Joe. I am a family friend of Jasper and Anita Adamson,” I explained. “Can I speak to Anita please,” I asked.

“I am sorry, sir, but Sergeant Anita Adamson no longer works here. She was transferred to Broome just over two years ago,” came an unexpected reply.

“Thank-you for that. I have her mobile number, so I will give her a call on that. Goodbye,” I replied and ended the call. I actually didn’t have her number, as the last time I saw my mobile it was in my cabin on the trimaran, Last Frontier. I wondered if Gramps had taken over caring for my brothers, or if they went with Jasper and Anita to Broome.

I decided that I would wait till it was dark and I would return to Fremantle and go on board the Last Frontier to have a look and see what was happening on board. I decided that I would take some clothes with me and spend a few days on board if all was good.

For the rest of the day I organised a replacement battery for my old car that I had used for college, and which I had left in the apartment carpark. Once I had the car working again, I loaded it up with my sports bag of clothes and relaxed in the apartment for the rest of the day. After dark I headed to a restaurant for some dinner, before climbing into my car and driving down to Fremantle, parking the car close to the fishing boat harbour soon after 8pm.

Looking around to make sure there was no one around, I climbed on board. I went up to the fly bridge and unlocked the drawer to retrieve the alarm remote and sat phone. There was only the alarm remote in the draw so I disengaged the alarm and headed down to the main deck and unlocked the saloon door.

Knowing every inch of the trimaran by heart, I walked into the pitch black dark room, closing and locking the saloon door, before heading to the bridge door, and down the stairs to the crew area, where I turned on some lights, fairly confident that they would not be seen from outside. I noticed that all but one of the fridges and the freezer doors were open and empty, but looking into the small fridge and the dry store I saw some fresh food still in there.

At that moment I decided that I would go back to East Perth, pack up all of my belongings, including everything that was still there, plus the food that I had bought yesterday, and return to the yacht, and sail out of Fremantle on my own. So, I placed my bag in the single crew cabin and locked up again, reset the alarm and drove back to East Perth, where I spent the next two hours packing everything up.

Luckily in my store room there were a number of empty boxes which I used for all the food and drinks that I had bought. I loaded it all into the car and once again drove back to Fremantle, arriving shortly after 1am. I loaded all of my belongings onto the yacht and put all the food away before driving the car back to East Perth and leaving it in the apartment carpark where it was secure.

When I arrived back in Fremantle by taxi at 2am I was tired and exhausted. I wasn’t sure if I should sail out feeling so tired, so I decided to head to bed and wait until it was dark again. I did not bother with a shower, but went straight to bed and fell asleep. I woke up to the sound of footsteps going down the stairs from the bridge. I remained quiet as I listened to what was happening just down the passage.

“What the hell is going on here? Where did all this food come from?” I heard a voice say. There was no reply, so I guessed that he was alone and talking to himself, I had not checked to see if anyone was living on the yacht, which I realised now was a big mistake. As I continued to listen this person made a cup of tea and cooked some toast, which was making me hungry.

I looked at my watch which read just after 10am. I realised that I was busting to go to the toilet, so I quietly went into the bathroom and sat on the toilet, so as to not make so much noise. When done, I just closed the lid and left it unflushed. Feeling a little relieved, I stepped back into my cabin and sat on the bed and continued to listen. I soon heard footsteps heading up the steps again and then outside.

I heard the yacht’s alarm being activated, so I remained seated not wanting to trigger the alarm which had sensors just outside the cabin door. I waited till it had been quiet for a good twenty minutes before I moved to the door, opening it slightly and pressing the alarm remote to deactivate the alarm.

Once I had done this I crept out to the galley area and stopped to listen, before quietly going up the stairs and peering into the bridge where there was no sign of activity. I headed back downstairs where I firstly flushed my toilet and washed my hands. Then I went to the galley to make a cup of tea and some toast.

Once I had eaten I decided to make sure that all of my belongings were out of sight in case someone came back and checked all the cabins, so it looked like it was empty and not in use.

Once I had done this I checked the other two crew cabins and crew lounge which were empty. Then I checked the guest cabins and I found that the master guest cabin was in use.

In the wardrobe I found some company uniforms and clothes that looked like they belonged to Simon and Finn which made me smile. I now presumed that they were taking it in turns to stay on board as caretakers to keep an eye on both yachts. Later in the morning as I was finishing a cup of tea I heard footsteps come onto the deck of the trimaran. I quickly and quietly raced forward and hid in the storage cupboard in the study which I was able to squeeze into, and I waited.

“I tell you Finn I am sure that someone has been on board. There is a lot more food in the fridge and dry store, but I have found no sign of anyone staying here. Let me check all of the cabins thoroughly and I will get back to you. Bye,” I heard Simon’s voice clearly as he came down the stairs from the bridge. I heard the cabin doors open and close before he entered the study and crew lounge and found nothing, and then headed back upstairs to check the other guest cabins, finally returning to the galley.

“Hey. It’s me again. I have searched each cabin and found them all empty except for the one we are using. This is really giving me the creeps,” I heard Simon say. There was a long pause before he spoke again. “You did? And what did he say when you told him of my suspicions that someone has been on board?” There was another long pause. “Ok. Well, I am glad you are on your way back down. I will see you at about 4 pm then. How are Mr Harrington and his grandsons?” There was another pause “Ok I will wait till you get down here. See you later. Love you. Bye,” I heard Simon say.

While Simon was in the guest area, I had climbed out of the storage cupboard and I was now relaxing in the crew lounge, hoping that Simon wouldn’t come in. Thankfully after the phone call he headed back upstairs. About an hour later Simon came back downstairs and made some lunch which made me hungry, but I decided to wait before I attempted to sneak into the galley to get something to eat.

When I heard Simon leave the yacht at about 2pm without activating the alarm I guessed that he would not be away for long, so I went to the toilet again, made myself a sandwich and a cup of tea, cleaned up the mess I made, and after I retrieved my laptop and a book I retreated back to the crew lounge. Shortly before 4pm I heard footsteps on the deck and shortly after they came down the stairs to the galley.

“I tell you someone has been on board in the last twenty-four hours. I have checked every cabin and I can’t see any sign of anyone sleeping in any cabin with the exception of ours. So, tell me what is happening at home port?” I heard Simon say.

“Well, Mr H has had an offer for the catamaran after those guided tours we did last week, so I guess that is the closure of the cat as part of the company which I think is very sad. The boys are still struggling not having their brother around anymore, and it feels strange not having the crew of both yachts together anymore, especially since Jasper moved to Broome when Anita got a transfer with her work,” I heard Finn reply.

“When do Kirk and Finn get back from their holiday to home?” Simon asked.

“I think late next week. Mr H had a call from them the other day,” Finn replied. Hearing this made me presume that the other crew members, Alex, Toby, Lisa and Rebecca were no longer working for the company which I was very sad about.

“Have we any charter bookings yet, or is Mr H waiting till Kirk and Leon are back?” Simon asked Finn.

“Yes, I think he has asked Sarah to put all bookings on hold until they are back, and that some overdue maintenance is done on here. Mr H has put the property up for sale, since he and his grandsons are living at the headquarters, and Sarah and Oscar have settled into their new house nearby,” Finn replied.

I could hear Finn working in the galley and that gave me a brilliant idea. I chuckled as I worked through the idea in my head, which would take place tomorrow morning. I sat back in the lounge and read my book as the lads prepared and ate dinner and then headed upstairs to watch a movie.

When I was sure that they were watching television, I slipped out of my hiding place and made another sandwich for dinner along with a cup of tea before returning to the study to eat and into the crew lounge to relax some more before I retreated to my cabin to have a quick shower and get some sleep.

The next morning at 6am I woke up just as it was getting daylight and checking that the lads were still asleep, I grabbed a spare hand-held radio from the bridge, before I began to cook up a full breakfast, of sausages, tomatoes, bacon, eggs, toast, orange juice and tea.

While it was cooking I laid the table for two in the crew dining area and had some tea and toast. By 7am I had everything in the oven keeping warm, and using some tape I taped down the button of the hand-held radio in the galley and set the egg timer for two minutes, before retreating to my hiding place in the cupboard in the study. There I waited making sure the hand-held radio had its volume turned down.

When the egg timer went off, I chuckled, as I heard noises from the other end of the yacht. Soon there were footsteps coming down to the crew area. “What the hell is going on here? I smell cooking,” I heard Finn say. I heard the radio being untapped. “Holy smokes, it is a full cooked breakfast, already plated,” Finn said, “plus the table has been set for us, and…”

“… a jug of fresh juice in the fridge,” Simon added.

As I heard the lads sit down and begin to eat breakfast I pressed the button on the hand-held and chuckled. “What was that? Something is very weird going on here. Who do you think it is?” Simon said.

“This is the ghost, the ghost of your boss Anton,” I whispered into the radio, and I heard Finn shriek, followed by a loud thump.

“Finn, wake up. It is just someone trying to play a trick on us. Finn, come on, mate. Wake up,” I heard Simon say.

When I realised that Finn had fainted, I nearly jumped out of my hiding place, but decided to wait to see what happened next. “What happened?’ I heard Finn say eventually.

“You fainted, mate,” I heard Simon say.

“Th... that sounded so much like Anton’s real voice,” Finn replied.

“Yes, thinking about it now, I think you are right. But how is it possible? He has been gone for over two years now,” Simon said.

By now I was out of the cupboard, as I had decided to reveal myself to the lads. I heard them continue to eat breakfast and very quietly I opened the door from the study to the crew area and walked down the passage. It was Simon who saw me first as he was facing my direction. I smiled. The look on Simon’s face was of total shock. I stepped closer and Finn saw why his partner was looking as he was. Finn once again fainted.

“Oh no! Not again!” Simon said as he pulled Finn’s face out of his breakfast. I handed him a tea towel, so he could clean Finn’s face.

“Hello, Si. Sorry for the fright I have given you guys. I am alive and well. Just lost with no memory for 2 ½ years,” I said to my best friend, as Finn began to come around again. He stared at me. “Hey Finn, can you stop fainting, so I can explain what happened,” I said with a small smile, which made Simon chuckle.

I sat down next to Simon and smiled. “Well, it is nice to see you guys again. I arrived back in Australia just two days ago, and got my memory back less than a week ago. It was seeing my former research vessel in Kuala Lumpur that did it. For the past 2 ½ years I have been a navigator for a cargo freight ship called Horizon and Beyond,” I began to explain.

“So, you didn’t know who you are for that long?” Finn asked me.

“That is right my friend. When I sat at the back of the yacht to think I was lucky to have the sense to grab a life jacket, since I was close to the water with the yacht moving. I accidentally slipped off the back and after I put the life jacket on I saw the yacht sailing away in the distance. I was caught in a strong ocean current going further out to sea. I gave up trying to swim against the current as it was a waste of energy, so I lay back and just drifted.

Sometime later I heard a noise and saw a giant cargo ship heading straight for me, and no matter how much I swam to get out of the way I couldn’t. I closed my eyes when the front hull hit me. I hit my head on the steel hull and was knocked out. When I became conscious again it was quite a few hours later as it was getting late afternoon by then. Soon after waking up another cargo ship was approaching, but this time it was slowing down and avoiding me, and they rescued me.

After a hot shower, a good feed and some sleep, I met with the captain, and he told me that we were on our way to Kuala Lumpur. For some strange reason I asked what the cruising speed of the ship was, and when he told me the speed, I came up with the approximate travel time to get there, which was right, even thou I had no idea how I worked it out so fast.