The sailcloth shroud by Charles Williams

The provided text details a suspenseful crime narrative centered around Stuart Rogers, a yacht captain, who finds himself entangled in a mystery after the death of Wendell Baxter, a man he hired to help sail a newly acquired ketch from Panama. Initially questioned by local police about the subsequent murder of another crew member, Keefer, Rogers learns that Keefer’s death is connected to the mysterious disappearance of a large sum of money. The plot thickens as Rogers uncovers evidence suggesting Baxter, whose real name was Brian Reagan, was in fact a fugitive who faked his death at sea, possessing a significant amount of money and fleeing from dangerous individuals, including a man named Slidell. Rogers is then kidnapped and interrogated by these criminals, who believe he helped Reagan escape with the money, leading to a violent confrontation and a desperate flight, ultimately revealing that the hidden fortune was concealed within the yacht's refrigerator, and that Reagan genuinely died from a heart attack,