The Right Thing

By Edward Schlueter

The call that changed Benjamin Harris's life forever came in the middle of the night, informing him that his grandfather, who disappeared twenty-two years before, was dead. As he adored his grandfather while he was growing up, he was determined to find out more information, in hopes that he could finally understand why he suddenly and, without notice, vanished from his life. Ben's search for answers leads him across the country to an island near Seattle but was totally unaware that he was being drawn into a much-larger search to solve a mystery that has been ongoing for seventy-five years. As the Second World War was coming to an end, the Nazis attempted to reposition millions of dollars in diamonds stolen from Jewish merchants throughout Europe to their agents in Argentina. The box carrying the stones disappeared en route and have been missing ever since. Many people have been hunting for the hidden diamonds, claiming that they have a right to the stolen treasure for themselves while others have been hunting to find them and return the diamonds to the victims of the crimes. An agent of the Israeli government meets Ben, and together, as allies, find answers to both mysteries in a suspense-filled, dangerous journey leading them across international borders, in their desire to do the right thing. $21.9

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9781647011772

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

The call that will change his life forever came at 4:45 am, waking Ben from an alcohol-induced heavy sleep, brought about by the celebration of his thirty-fifth birthday.

He rolled over to lift the receiver from the cradle, and it slipped from his grip, hitting the hardwood floor with a crack. Picking up the receiver and after untangling the cord, he spoke in a raspy, unfamiliar voice even to himself, uttering the word hello.

The voice on the other end, while attempting to sound sympathetic, was nonetheless officious, while making the obligatory phone-call notice that no one either enjoys making or especially receiving.

Is this Mr. Benjamin Harris? the voice inquired.

Yes, it is. Who are you, and why are you calling me in the middle of the night?

The voice went on to explain that it was her sad duty to inform him that his grandfather just died. His last wishes were to contact you immediately after his passing, regardless of the hour or day.

The sleep was finally leaving Ben, and he started to become alert enough to understand what the party on the other end was saying.

I’m sorry… Who is this again, and why are you calling me with this?

"My name is Grace Hansen. I am the head nurse at the regional hospital in Guemes Island, Washington. Your grandfather was brought here last night and was being treated for injuries incurred as a result of what appears to be consistent with a serious fall in his house. Due to his age and the seriousness of his injuries, coupled with several other health issues, he passed away two hours ago.

I was, however, very surprised to learn that he had a grandson, she continued. He never had a visitor to my knowledge, and in all those years, he lived alone but was so insistent that we contact you at this phone number upon his passing. I am so sorry about this and will do everything I can do to help you with this situation.

Ben was shocked to hear the words that were coming from the phone as he had no idea of his grandfather’s whereabouts or whether he was alive or dead. He also thought it rather strange for the caller to refer to his grandfather’s death as a situation.

The heavy down comforter stirred next to Ben with a quiet voice emerging from under the covers, which belong to the long-haired blonde lying on the pillow next to him.

A young woman sat up, pulling back her hair exposing a very pretty face, and asked, Who is it, and what do they want?

I’m trying to listen and understand what they are saying. Go back to sleep, answered Ben, covering the phone’s mouthpiece with his palm.

The voice on the other end of the phone droned on while Ben listened intently. You must make travel plans to come to the facility to claim your grandfather’s remains, she instructed. You will also receive information about how to claim his personal effects.

Ben was thinking a bit more clearly now, and his immediate reaction was that this was the first contact regarding his grandfather that he had been waiting for some time to hear, and if it was, in fact, legitimate.

With this skepticism regarding the call firmly taking charge of the rest of the conversation, he challenged Ms. Hansen by asking the most obvious question.

Why would I drop everything and attempt to take care of a person’s final wishes who abandoned our family when we needed him the most? I have had no contact with him in the past twenty-two years, and now I am supposed to jump because he died?

The response was quick in coming, explaining that when he arrived here, He made sure that I knew enough about you to convince you that he was actually your grandfather. He instructed me to only contact you after he died, out of concern for your safety.

She went on to say, "You were born on November 6, the son of Linda Harris and a father that you never knew. Your mother raised you with the help of your grandfather until he disappeared from sight years ago, causing her to take you to Savannah, Georgia.

"You are currently following in your grandfather’s footsteps sailing as a marine engineering officer on board ships in the merchant marine and currently on leave for the next three months.

"You moved to Savannah twenty-one years ago with your mother, who passed away ten years ago of a brain aneurism, and now lives alone in the house that she bought with your grandfather’s money.

I trust this is enough introduction to verify that what I am telling you is correct, and you should come immediately.

She curtly finished her remarks and conversation by asking, Do you have any questions for me? Finally, when can we expect your arrival?

I have no questions at this time, but I will let you know, replied Ben, replacing the phone in its cradle.

He got up out of bed, putting on a bathrobe, went to the bedroom window, staring out through the opening in the drapes onto Lafayette Square, to think for a moment about what was just laid upon him.

How did he supposedly follow my every move throughout my life and share it with a nurse in a hospital, without ever coming in contact with me? was one of the burning questions he pondered. How did she get my unlisted phone number? was another question he was asking himself.

*****

Lafayette Square is one of the twenty-two squares in the historic district of Savannah that are the city’s most beloved icons with the countless statues, large live oak trees, and the trademark Spanish moss dripping from the branches.

The center of the square is adorned with a signature triple fountain and surrounded by refurbished old stately homes, providing a postcard setting of beauty and elegance throughout history.

As he looked out over the square from his second-story window, he noticed a person dressed in dark clothing and hat pointing a camera with a telephoto lens at his window. When this person saw Ben staring out from his bedroom, the camera was quickly put away, and he left the park.

This was not a singular event as he has seen a person almost every morning for several years sitting on one of the park benches looking at his town house, but this person appeared to be smaller in stature and different in the way he moved about the square.

He thought it rather peculiar, but over the years, came to accept the stranger, often even waving from his window, with the person returning his wave on occasion. Ben had noticed that the original person who sat in the park stopped coming several months before and supposed that he found another of the colorful squares to sit in the mornings.

Ben was immediately suspicious of this apparent new stranger.

His instinct told him that it just was not right but discounted his concern, owing to the fact that taking pictures of the beauty of Lafayette Square and the magnificent restored old buildings in the historic district of Savannah was a normal occurrence.

A voice from his bed that he just left asked again, Who was that on the phone? Come back to bed and tell me about the call.

Ben was still trying to concentrate on the stranger in the park, and when he turned to go toward the voice, his feet got tangled in the heavy floor-to-ceiling drapery, tearing the panel from its supporting hooks, causing it to fall to the floor.

The chuckling and raspy voice belonged to Anna, the pretty blonde sharing his bed this morning and whom he was in an off-and-on relationship with, which he had enjoyed for the past two months, saying, You almost killed yourself with the drapery. You should have come back to bed when I told you the first time.

*****

They first met at City Market, an area lined with shops and restaurants, where, during an evening out with friends, she spilled a drink on him, which she claimed was purely accidental. He was immediately taken by her cobalt-blue eyes and long blond hair, which she adroitly used to disarm men whom she was interested in pursuing.

They took a liking to each other after the incident, becoming friends and lovers almost immediately. After a few dates, however, she confessed to him that the drink-spilling incident was not an accident but obviously a very successful introduction, as she could not think of any other way to meet him.

The two of them were almost inseparable during the two months since the introduction, enjoying each other’s company, their fondness for dining out, and not to mention the excellent lovemaking they both shared.

He thought she was beautiful and smart, as well as capable of handling herself with poise but sometimes coming across as aloof and distant, especially to him. He enjoyed the time they spent together so much that he often thought how it would be to further their relationship, but actually he knew very little about her, except that she moved to Savannah during the last year.

She told him she was recently divorced, and that it was too difficult to discuss her marriage as well as many pertinent facts of her childhood and family. She continued, In time, I will tell you everything about me and even, maybe, some things you may not want to know. This seemed to satisfy Ben for the time being.

She, on the other hand, was extremely interested in his back ground and had many times asked about his family, how he could afford to live so well without working, and other personal interrogation, which annoyed him, choosing not to answer when asked.

The wall he built around himself, coupled with her constant questioning, resulted in a relationship with many challenges; but for now, the time spent together and the occasional sleepovers were enough.

She came to him, sliding her arms around him, as he was trying to understand exactly what the phone call was all about.

He had always enjoyed her warm, willing embrace, but this morning, his mind was elsewhere, slipping free of her, trying to clear his head to understand what was unfolding before him.

He knew that this phone call was long overdue, as he was expecting that someday he would hear about his grandfather, but did not anticipate that it would be a call telling him of his death, in a place that he has never heard before.

He did not want to go into any detail or explanation to Anna, but rather decided to tell her as briefly as he could that he had to make a trip, to take care of some family business and did not know when he would return.

She was rightly confused and felt compassion for him receiving a phone call that could change his life and sorry that this call could disrupt her short relationship as well.

When she asked if she could join him on his trip, he emphatically told her, No! Not this time. This is something that I have to do alone.

CHAPTER TWO

He was born Benjamin Edward Harris, in Miami, Florida, the son of a Cuban-immigrant mother and a German-born father.

He often joked, but on the other hand, was also serious that using his family tree to trace his origination, would be too complicated but intriguing to follow.

The last generation of his family all centered on his grandfather as the core of the unit. Ben’s mother and father never did marry, with his father actually unaware that Ben was born. As Ben never knew any other father figure, he came to idolize his grandfather and tried to emulate him, following closely in his footsteps until his disappearance, when Ben needed him the most.

Ben studied hard to obtain a coveted marine engineer’s license, enabling him to serve as a ship’s engineering officer in the merchant marine, as his grandfather did years ago.

In 1947, Edward Harris, Ben’s grandfather, was one of those lucky people who regularly traveled to Havana after the war, as he landed the position of third engineer aboard the luxury cruise ship, Chiriquí, operated by the Great White Fleet.

The ship was based in Miami with eighteen officers, of which young Edward was one, and ninety-two crew catering to ninety-five first-class passengers, with scheduled ports of call in Havana and Panama.

Havana was a much-desired destination at that time for tourists because of its reputation for gambling, both opulence and decadence, all offered in the setting of a beautiful tropical city that was said to be the mistress of pleasure and the lush goddess of delights.

It was also a prized destination for the cruise ship trade coming from the United States with honeymooners and adventure-seekers dressed in their finest attire. Beautiful tropical dresses for the women and the white tuxedo jackets for the men were a prerequisite for dinners and parties.

Young Edward, the handsome engineering officer, met and fell in love with Maria Carmen Cordella, a beautiful young cocktail waitress at the Flamingo Hotel, during one of his shore leaves in Havana. He regularly went to the casino every chance he got to see her and talk to her for hours about absolutely nothing in particular, but just to be with her was enough for him.

They married in 1951 in a small ceremony at La Catedral de la Virgen Maria de la Conception Immaculata de la Habana located in the Plaza de la Cathedral in the center of Old Havana.

Many of his shipmates were in attendance with almost the entire staff of the hotel there as well, as she was a beautiful, vibrant, and charming young lady, who was seemingly part of their family.

As could be expected, the party afterward at the Cabaret Kursal nightclub was a riotous and fun evening, with no end to the dancing, Cuban cigars, pink daiquiris, and Havana Club rum.

As the celebration was winding down, the two young lovers escaped the noise and festivities going to their most favorite spot in the Havana suburb of Casablanca. This magical place for them was on a hill overlooking the city and harbor, which turned out to be the same place where a sixty-six-foot-high marble statue of Christ overlooking the city would later be erected.

The family often amused themselves by saying that the statue was erected there to look down on the spot where young Edward and Maria first shared their love on their wedding night.

Ben’s mother, Linda Maria Harris, was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1954, the daughter of the beautiful casino cocktail waitress and with a father whom she barely knew as a young child, as he only came to visit once a month when his ship was in port.

The relationship between the ship’s young officer and Ben’s grandmother was difficult because of his being an absentee father most of the time, but the time they all had together when his ship was in port overshadowed his absence.

When he did come every month, he would shower his wife and daughter with presents acquired in Miami, and for the two days each month, he would be an idyllic father, spoiling his daughter as so many absentee parents do most of the time.

Maria Carmen was an excellent mother providing the care and nurturing a child’s needs while establishing a safe and comfortable environment with friends and family, sharing their lives with them.

In 1958, the Cuban Revolution was becoming a reality, and life in Havana was changing rapidly when tragically, his world came to a crashing detour.

The love of his life, Maria, unexpectedly died of an aneurism in her brain, which left him heartbroken and unable to understand why this happened to his wife, whom he so idolized. He knew, however, that he had to stand up again to take the responsibility of raising and caring for his four-year-old daughter. She had such a personality, rapidly becoming the singular purpose of his life, causing him to rekindle the fire inside him and regain the twinkle in his eyes.

Due to the unstable atmosphere in Havana and throughout Cuba, he made the decision to take his daughter to Miami to build a life with her where she could flourish.

This decision, unfortunately, had a price to pay as well. His concern and dedication to raising his daughter meant that he would have to leave his seagoing profession, which he truly loved and permanently reside in Miami to be a full-time father to the young Linda.

His background in the maritime profession coupled with his hands-on knowledge of machinery, electrical and all types of boats and watercraft, proved invaluable in procuring a job at the Sunnyside Marina.

Several years later, he purchased the marina from the owners, doubled its size, adding a hotel and restaurant and continued to work hard to make the venture extremely profitable.

Linda grew into a beautiful young lady who developed a personality that could light up a room. Her father was enormously proud of his daughter and also quite happy with his decision years ago to raise her.

After her graduation from the University of Miami, she landed the coveted job as marketing manager for the Port of Miami where she was extremely successful in her job, gaining the respect and admiration of her bosses, as well as her peers. She did enjoy the Miami nightlife and made many new friends, who also participated in the glamor and opulence of Miami.

Linda went to a party hosted by a good friend she worked with and met a rather tall, dark, handsome young man named Benjamin Abramsen, who worked in the adjacent offices housing the Miami Business Development unit.

Like Linda, he was a recent graduate of the University of Miami, where he completed his work to earn a degree in marketing and was extremely happy in his new profession.

Benjamin was the son of strict Jewish parents who both emigrated to Miami in 1937, bringing with them their knowledge and skills as successful diamond businesspeople in Amsterdam, Holland.

The relocation to Miami by his parents and children was a result of the growing pessimism and uncertainty for the Jewish business population in Europe.

Linda and Benjamin secretly saw each other after work and lunch hours for several months, coming to realize that they were in love with each other. They even thought about marriage and starting a family of their own, dominating every conversation the two had together.

They continued to see each other over the objection of his parents claiming that they were of different religions, beliefs, and backgrounds. Marriage, they were constantly told, was out of the question, as it was not consistent with their family values.

The now outdated beliefs and the pressure brought by his parents forbidding this relationship to continue caused Linda to keep from Benjamin the fact that she was pregnant.

The two lovers attempted to see each other but slowly drifted apart—him in his desire to excel in business at the constant direction of his parents and her to retreat to the safety of her father’s house.

Nine months later, the combination of the Latin and Germanic genes produced a handsome, seven-pound four-ounce, healthy boy, whom she named after the two people she loved most, Benjamin and her father, Edward.

Ben’s natural father, Benjamin Abramsen, never knew that he fathered a child and eventually moved to New York City at the urging of his parents. He accepted another position in a small company located on Forty-Seventh Street, the heart of the diamond industry in the United States. His new profession was marketing diamond jewelry in which he became very successful, much to the pleasure of his domineering parents.

He later met a young girl in New York, whom he met through his parents’ introduction, and married, much to their approval and satisfaction, as she was from the same religion and lineage as Benjamin.

Linda, on the other hand, decided to keep and raise the baby by herself; and it was decided that since the baby would never know his father, the baby would retain her last name, Harris. The mother moved in with the grandfather where young Benjamin Edward Harris was adored and spoiled as would be expected of a curious, precocious, and beautiful grandson.

CHAPTER THREE

Ben decided to make the trip to the Pacific Northwest in the hopes that he would find out the things that have been haunting him for years. He could never understand how his grandfather could leave behind everything he worked so hard to accomplish to disappear from view.

He felt that this could be the chance he was hoping for, to finally put an end to the mystery of his grandfather’s disappearance and the tragedies that have plagued his family for the past years.

Anna was quick to understand how this mystery and disappointment of his grandfather’s not being in his immediate family has gnawed and chewed at his very fiber. It was upsetting for her to see him so determined to get the answers he has been looking for in the past.

She urged him to make the necessary plans for the trip and helped him to find out about his destination.

After a Google search of Guemes Island, Ben found out that it was an island adjacent to Anacortes, Washington, separated by a body of water channel of water aptly named Guemes Channel, approximately eighty miles north of Seattle. The island is dotted with houses and cottages used as a weekend and summer getaway destination for people living in the Seattle metropolitan area and also is home to people who would like to live in relative obscurity and privacy.

With this information as to his destination where his search for answers would begin, he hastily went from Google search to purchase airline tickets for the trip.

As he was haplessly throwing several pieces of clothing into an overnight bag, his thoughts drifted to his grandfather and his mother.

Ben’s earliest memory of the Harris family was that of great happiness while hearing the stories told by his grandfather and mother.

The stories and laughter would extend far into the night after Sunday dinners they shared with friends. It was, of course, accentuated by the traditional game of dominoes and copious amounts of Havana Club rum, which was a standard fare for such get-togethers.

Ben’s grandfather, who everyone referred to by the name Pappy, used to like to tell the stories his life aboard the ships that brought him and his wife together but would stop short of sharing his experiences during the war. Every time someone would ask him what it was like on the ships during the war, he would let them know, without question, that it was nothing he would like to talk about.

Anna startled Ben, coming to him from behind, putting her arms around him, bringing him out of his deep thoughts, and assuring him that he was doing the right thing.

She kissed him on the back of his neck and started to unbutton his shirt, but thinking of his upcoming trip diverted his mind from the pleasure she was offering. She was upset as he would not return her desire for lovemaking that night. He was preoccupied with wondering what the road ahead was in store for him and who would be on that road with him.

After a night filled with anticipation preventing either one of them getting the sleep they needed, they awakened to realize that the journey was to begin for him, and this would be the start of her being alone, awaiting to hear of his progress.

They quickly showered and dressed without too much conversation as the tension of his impending venture was already starting to come between them.

After a quick cup of coffee, Ben placed his overnight bag in his mother’s 2004 Mercedes that he kept to remind him of his family’s happier times, with Anna climbing into the car, sitting beside Ben as they departed for the airport.

There was little or no conversation between them during the half-hour trip to the airport, except for small talk pointing out the new construction and delays but avoiding the importance of his trip.

As they arrived at the departure drive-through, she took his hand and told him, I’m sure you are doing the right thing, and you will find the trip most rewarding and profitable. Please remember that I do love you, and I will wait for you to find what you need and come home.

I’m not so sure of anything anymore, he replied, kissed her, and got out of the car at the departure area and looked back for one more glimpse of Anna before the doors closed.

She had already sped away from the departure drop point with his vision of the car rapidly getting smaller and the feeling of emptiness growing larger inside him.

CHAPTER FOUR

The flight to Seattle from Savannah was especially long compounded by the necessity to change planes in Dallas for the connecting flight.

He realized that this was the farthest he will be away from Anna since they met, and he was missing her already. He had a hard time expressing how he felt toward Anna, as everyone he had loved in his life was no longer with him, and he was terrified that if he fell in love with her, the same would happen again.

The upcoming separation period he felt was good for him to enable him to figure out his life and where Anna fit in the picture.

After deplaning in Dallas for the hour-long stopover, he was making his way from the A gates to the C gates for the Seattle leg of the trip when a gentlemen in his late fifties moved closer to him. He proceeded to strike up a conversation while they waited to board the transfer shuttle to take them to their departure area.

The man, dressed in a sweater and chino-type pants offset by a very distinctive pair of cowboy boots, began the conversation by sharing his disdain for the trouble involved with changing planes in such a large airport.

It’s great to live in a smaller city like Savannah, but the price you pay is always having to change planes in a hub to go anywhere, he stated, looking for a reaction and return conversation from Ben.

He was overly friendly, which took Ben by surprise and caught him a little off guard with his instinct and involuntary response, causing him to increase the space between the two of them. Ben had always been an introvert when traveling, believing that participating in conversations with people you will never see again is a waste of time.

Ben quickly disembarked the shuttle and made his way to the departure gate, arriving just in time to board the flight. During the four-hour-and-twenty-five-minute flight, he had time to reflect on his life and to wonder if this trip was a total false alarm or if it would possibly prove to be an uncovering of a mystery that had been haunting him most of life.

Staring out the window at the moving landscape far below him, he thought about his mother and, most of all, about his grandfather.

He thought about his grandfather’s life, some of the stories he had heard about him, and why he mysteriously disappeared out of everyone’s life.

During the war, Pappy signed on to a cargo ship as part of the engine room gang and eventually worked his way to earn a license as a Third Assistant Engineer, which he considered one of the greatest achievements in his life.

Ben, his mother, and grandfather enjoyed a very good life when they were living in Miami in the early years. They both adapted to their chosen roles with her as the homemaker and mother while he was the provider and role model to Ben.

Everything was as they wanted with clear definition and happiness in all their lives, but then several years later, everything came crashing down following a series of unspeakable events that changed their lives forever.

On a sunny afternoon in early May, Pappy took Ben and Linda to The Miami Boat Show, which was the crown jewel of boating events in the Miami area.

After returning home, they were horrified that the house was torn apart with bookshelves emptied, closets stripped, cabinets and furniture emptied or overturned, with all the contents strewn over the floor, but thankfully, no one was home at the time.

Both Ben and his mother were shocked and frightened, but his grandfather was stoic and solemn without showing emotion. This was totally out of character for his grandfather, who was known to have a volatile temper at other times.

Ben’s grandfather up righted a chair in the living room and sat, staring aimlessly at a wall and muttering to himself. Ben, being so close, heard the words that were not actually directed at anyone, but the words he did hear made no sense at the time.

I knew this was going to happen sooner or later, he paused and continued, I am sorry, but it is too late to change what has happened.

Ben asked him to tell him what he meant by being too late, but his grandfather just got up and went into another room without saying another word.

They reported the break-in to the police, but after several months of investigation, no suspects were ever found, and no motive discovered. There was actually nothing missing from the house and no fingerprints or DNA found. This tragedy was classified as a senseless, random incident, and the case was closed.

After this incident, there were several more unusual happenings that occurred. People following Ben and his mother, with his mother once even being the subject of an unsuccessful kidnapping outside a supermarket where she usually shops.

These things caused Pappy to lapse into a deep depression with sometimes exhibiting uncanny viciousness toward others, but never toward Ben or his mother. Then, without notice or forewarning, Ben’s grandfather, Edward Harris, the self-made millionaire and happy family man simply disappeared.

During the several months that followed, both Ben and his mother were still trying to understand what had happened to their beloved father and grandfather when they were contacted by Edward’s close friend and attorney. Before leaving, Edward instructed the firm to sell all his assets, including real estate holdings and businesses that he owned and to put the proceeds of the numerous sales in a trust for Ben and his mother.

With no reason to stay in Miami and still feeling the terror and disappointment of the recent events as well as the total emptiness of the disappearance of her father, Ben’s mother took flight with Ben and went to Savannah, Georgia.

Savannah was the choice