Visiting Cooper Caswell
Trace quietly opened the door to his hotel room. He eased the door open and methodically examined the room before stepping in. He searched the bathroom, checked the closet, and looked beneath the bed. He searched the room for listening devices.
He sat on the edge of the bed. He no longer felt comfortable staying at the hotel. He thought, ‘If I choose to stay with somebody in Suva, who I know, they might be in danger and this might tangle them up in this mess.’
‘Cooper Caswell!’ He thought. ‘Of course. No one knows that I know him. It’s been a couple of years. He’s up there in age. I hope he remembers me.’
Trace grabbed his duffel bag. He opened the door to his room and looked both ways down the hotel hallway. He closed the door quietly and headed to the fire escape stairway. He slung open the door and slipped through the doorway. He glanced through the door’s window to make sure no one followed. He scurried down the steps to the ground floor. Before exiting, he stuck his head out the door, making sure nobody was in sight. He parted the door slightly and slipped out.
He walked casually, yet as if going somewhere.
“Cooper Caswell,” Trace murmured spontaneously and thought, ‘Maybe I can stay with him. It’s been a while since we chatted over a cup of tea.”
Trace walked along the winding tropical streets of Suva. He climbed the steep street leading to Cooper’s house.
Trace stopped at the walkway and looked both ways down the street, assuring himself nobody had followed. He walked briskly to Cooper’s front screen door. He knocked.
“Right there!” said Cooper from the rear of the house. He came to the door. “Trace! When did you blow into town? Come on in. I was about to eat supper and made enough for two Englishmen and a Scotsman.”
Trace shook Cooper’s hand. “How have ya been? And I’ll take you up on supper.”
“I’m fine,” Cooper said. “And again, when did you blow into town?”
“Early today,” Trace said. “The Tramp Islander is in Port Vila. I flew in. Had some urgent business.”
“So you’re still sailing The Tramp Islander?” Cooper said.
“Yeah,” Trace said, “it’s been great.”
“I’d have thought by now you’d have been married, a kid, and one on the way,” Cooper chuckled.
Trace grinned. “That’s not for me, yet.”
Cooper walked Trace into the dining room. They sat. Cooper brought a meal of roast beef, boiled potatoes, and stewed tomatoes. Small talk ensued as they ate.
Toward the end of the meal, Cooper filled their tea cups from a china kettle. Trace dropped two lumps and added a dash of cream.
“This visit is not entirely social,” Trace said. “Although it mostly is. I’m being followed and I need a place to get out of the way for a while.”
“So,” Cooper smiled, “you found your way into trouble again.”
“It has a way of finding me,” Trace said. “I want to be frank.”
“Well,” Cooper said, “you are from Texas.”
“I’m trying to help a guy who is on the run,” Trace said. “He’s suspected of murder—of his best friend.”
“And you are sure he didn’t do it?” Cooper said.
“Ninety-nine percent sure,” Trace said. “He was naive and greedy enough to allow himself to get tied up in something much bigger and more nefarious than he ever imagined. He thought he’d have an enjoyable summer of making a bunch of money and returning home; sort of a summer job for a college student.”
“It’s an old story,” Cooper said. “Once you’re in, you’re in, and there’s no way out.”
“He has drug transport charges to worry about,” Trace said. “He’s on his own for those. It’s the murder wrap I’m concerned about. I’m sure after this experience, he won’t even buy aspirin for a friend. He’s not the type to live a life of crime and danger. He knew how to fly a plane and thought that’s all there was to it.”
“How long do you need to hole up?” Cooper took a sip of tea.
“Tonight,” Trace said. “I’m sure no one will connect us. I walked here. Nobody followed. As far as I know, everyone thinks I’m staying at a hotel. If this is too much for you, I can go elsewhere.”
“The thought has never entered my mind,” Cooper said. “You can stay as long as needed.”
A pleasant evening followed. And Trace stayed in the apartment Cooper rented to him two years earlier.
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