by Dawn Brookes
“I carry this everywhere. I keep a digital diary in case I ever want to write my memoirs,” he explained, laughing.
He sat down on the sofa and Rachel took a seat next to him, intrigued.
“They are speaking in Russian so I’ll need to interpret for you.” He pressed play. “Tell me you had nothing to do with Nikolai Stepanov’s death.” Rachel recognised the voice of Asimov.
“He was blackmailing Boris.” She assumed this was Sergei speaking, and Thomas confirmed this by mouthing, “Sergei.”
There was silence for a moment. “I knew that, but it was in hand.”
“It wasn’t New York he found out about; it involved another matter. Not something that involves you.”
“Astonishing! What other matter? I need to know about everything; I am taking big risk.”
“It was nothing.” Sergei sounded dismissive. “Boris had a brother-in-law who caused big trouble for us in the past. Nikolai discovered he was working on this ship. We planned to kill the man and didn’t want Nikolai opening big mouth. We killed two birds with one stone.”
“I don’t believe what I’m hearing! You killed two men during this cruise? Unbelievable.”
Thomas stopped the tape.
“They argue about it for a bit longer. Sergei explains that neither of the deaths could be linked to him; he has someone else on board who did the killings. I’ll play and interpret the next bit, though, because it mentions that the wrong man was killed.”
Thomas looked so pleased with himself, she didn’t want to burst his bubble by telling him she already knew this.
Sergei spoke again and Thomas interpreted.
“We found out this man who took witness protection would be on this ship. We needed to get an accomplice on board to replace a crew member, so we arranged for a person’s father to have an accident.”
Rachel gasped that Brigitte’s father had been an unwitting victim in this conspiracy.
“And this poor person’s father – did you kill him too?”
“Of course not – he survived. He will recover. Anyway, we brought our accomplice on board and ran into some problems. They killed roommate by mistake after being caught in the man’s room. Man we are looking for has killed himself – that’s what accomplice says. Nikolai was greedy, and when he recognised Boris’s brother-in-law, he threatened to expose him and get him killed – but I already knew about him.”
Asimov took deep breaths before hissing, “Boris thinks I had something to do with Nikolai’s death. Look, I signed up to do a favour for a friend, not to get involved with murder.”
“I always hunt traitors down. Russia does not tolerate betrayal.” Rachel could hear the edge in Sergei’s voice and she almost felt sorry for Asimov.
“Is there not an investigation?”
“No, they have assumed the first death to be murder/suicide, and the second heart attack or overdose. We drugged Nikolai to mimic a heart attack.”
“I haven’t asked what is in the documents I expect Boris to collect because I don’t want to know. Now I do want to know.”
“The information they contain is worth billions of dollars, and one of your companies will get the contract to manufacture a state-of-the-art stealth aircraft like the world has never seen. Russia will be grateful to you, my friend.”
Thomas stopped the recording again. “That’s it – Asimov leaves the room after that.”
“We need to take this to the security chief right now.” Rachel stood up to go, but noticed Thomas remained where he was with his head in his hands. “What’s wrong?”
“Rachel, I’m not sure about this. I’m not a brave man, and this Sergei Markov goes around killing people – I don’t want to die.”
Rachel saw he was trembling, with tears in his eyes.
“Look, I realise it’s difficult, Thomas, but we can’t let them get away with murder. Not only that, they intend to steal some pretty high-level security information.”
“I’m really scared, Rachel – you need to give me more time to think about this. My schedule’s full for the rest of the evening. Give me to tomorrow morning.”
“Alright, but then I will need to tell the chief whether you come with me or not.” Rachel was frustrated, but understood why Thomas was scared, and he had good reason to be. She offered up a quick prayer for Thomas, but she remained determined to see Markov arrested for his part in two murders.
“I’ll be in the Twilight Room at 10am tomorrow for a treasure hunt. Meet me there. I don’t want anyone to see you coming in here in case suspicions are raised.”
“Can I take the recorder?”
“No, there’s a lot of personal stuff on there from the cruise. I will need to make a copy of that first. You can have it tomorrow, with or without me. One more thing, Rachel. Promise me you won’t tell anyone about this until after we’ve met tomorrow.”
Rachel knew not to push him at this point or she might lose him.
“Okay, I promise.”
She hoped she wouldn’t come to regret her promise as she watched him return the recorder to his safe.
Chapter 35
“I can’t believe it,” said Bernard, astonished to hear how close Jefgeny Popov had come to becoming the third victim of Nurse Psychopath. “You read about these things, but you never imagine they happen in real life.”
A sombre mood clouded Gwen’s office as the medical team tried to process the information they now had. Graham had insisted they discuss it and debrief after he had been to see the captain.
“She might have killed me,” Bernard continued.
“She wouldn’t have tried it on any of us,” said Graham.
Gwen, Bernard and Sarah looked at each other, acknowledging how close Bernard had come to being a victim.
“Don’t you realise, Bernard? You were her alibi while she snooped around Jefgeny’s room. I think she drugged you that night.” Sarah saw the confused looks on Alex and Graham’s faces and explained about the second morning of the cruise when Bernard had woken up to find Lauren in his bed.
Graham put a hand on Bernard’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about your experience and glad you were drugged rather than killed. Why do you think she went back to the room?”
“Who knows – maybe she’d left something behind that might incriminate her, or perhaps she wanted to find Jefgeny and kill him,” said Sarah.
“How did she carry on nursing?” asked Alex.
“People like her are renowned for being manipulative, and according to my friend in Connecticut, she was. She’d also been clever, offering to rotate around the hospital so no-one got to know her well, and subsequently suspicions weren’t raised. It was only after a keen-eyed ward nurse in charge of supplies noticed insulin stocks didn’t tally with those being administered that she got caught.”
“So why didn’t they realise then she might be killing patients?” asked Graham.
“She came up with a convincing story about visiting a slum where diabetic patients couldn’t afford meds. They checked her story and confirmed that she did a lot of good in the slums. The hospital hierarchy gave her the opportunity to jump or be pushed. She chose to jump.”
“So they believed she was some sort of misguided Robin Hood?” said Sarah. “Did she kill patients at the hospital?”
“That investigation’s only just started, but I suspect if she’s killed on this ship with such audacity, she’s killed before.”
“Why would she kill people in hospital, but not in a slum or Africa?”
“That we may never know,” said Graham. “Perhaps her warped mind enjoyed playing God, choosing who should live and who should die. We’re not certain she has killed before, and she might well have killed people in the slums, and in Africa too. I’ve called the doctor there and told him the bad news.”
“What about the other hospitals she worked at?” asked Sarah.
“Fiction,” answered Gwen. “I’ve had emails from all the hospitals listed on her CV – none of them have heard
of her. The only places we’re sure she worked at are the hospital in Connecticut, Future Motors and Africa. The local police are interviewing staff at Future Motors. I’m not sure whether we’ll get any more information about that for now. She’ll be handed over to the authorities when we arrive in New York, along with the man who attacked Rachel.”
“What interesting cruises we enjoy when you and your friend are together, Sarah,” said Graham. “I hope if there are any more shared cruises, the most exciting thing we encounter is who pays for drinks in the officers’ mess.”
They were brought back to reality when Sarah’s radio burst into life with a call to a child suffering from sunburn. Letting out an exaggerated sigh, she stood up and grabbed the emergency case.
“Only one more sea day left – hurray!”
Day 6
Chapter 36
Sarah woke following the best night’s sleep she’d had in ages. Her evening had been light, and pleased not to have encountered any real emergencies, she’d prayed for the first time in ages before going to bed, thanking God that Bernard had not been one of the victims of Lauren’s killing spree.
The happiness transferred over to the morning; it was the final sea day before they were due to arrive in New York, and Sarah was looking forward to shore leave and shopping with Rachel. She ordered a room service breakfast and changed into her scrubs as she was only working the two surgeries today. Gwen was taking the on calls for the day as she would also be on shore leave tomorrow. With New York being an overnight stop, they were alternating leave, with half the team having one day off and the other half the second. After six days at sea, it was important they all stepped on land again.
Sarah pulled the case into the medical centre and wheeled it into Gwen’s office before starting surgery. She finally got to run the blood tests on Jefgeny, and they revealed he was anaemic with abnormal liver function, pointing to early liver damage from excessive alcohol intake. She and Alex were going over the results as Eva was also anaemic.
“Eva just needs a bit of iron and some folic acid to help her through the pregnancy,” said Alex. “She’ll be fine with that. It’s sad she will lose her job – it won’t help her with an application for American citizenship.” He shook his head.
Sarah felt sorry for Eva, whose only crime had been protecting the life of the man she loved. Now it seemed that unless he stopped drinking, his life wouldn’t be that long anyway. They walked through to the infirmary to deliver the news to both patients, starting with Jefgeny.
“Now, Mr Popov, I have to tell you you’re severely anaemic, and more than likely you have a stomach ulcer caused by drinking. On top of that, your liver is struggling to cope with your alcohol intake and you have the beginnings of liver cirrhosis.” Alex allowed this information to sink in.
“Can you cure me?” Jefgeny asked, head down.
“We can give you medicine to heal the ulcer and you will need to have a tube passed into your stomach in hospital on land to find out how bad the damage is. If you’re fired from the company, the cruise line insurance will no longer cover you.”
Sarah’s heart broke as she looked at the terror on Jefgeny’s face. He’d already been through so much.
Alex continued. “In terms of the liver, that’s down to you. If you want to see your child grow up, you need to stop drinking.”
It sounded harsh, but Sarah knew Alex was trying his best to provoke Jefgeny to help himself. She wasn’t sure whether the man could stop drinking if he lost his job, his insurance, and his girlfriend got deported.
Eva looked at him, pleading with him. “Jefgeny, please, for me and for our baby.”
Jefgeny looked down and nodded. “I try.”
Alex seized his opportunity. “I’ll start you on stomach medication straight away and give you an eight-week supply. Miss Sipka won’t be able to drink during pregnancy so that should help you. Do you have anywhere to go when you get to America – any family?”
Sarah knew the answer to this, but said nothing. As part of a witness protection programme, Jefgeny would have had to sever all links to his past. She wondered how he’d ended up on the cruise ship rather than being given funding to start a good new life. She’d hoped to ask him, but for now she needed to start surgery.
After surgery, the team ate lunch in the medical centre, courtesy of Raggie who brought the food up from the kitchen. Once lunch was over, they all dispersed. They discharged Jefgeny and Eva, with Eva returning to work and Jefgeny being under house arrest, confined to his room until the next day. Waverley had assigned a security guard to him.
Gwen, Bernard and Sarah were finishing up the last of the coffee when Gwen’s computer beeped to announce an incoming email. She sashayed to the screen.
“You guys need to see this.” She turned the screen towards them. It displayed a photo of Lauren entwined in the arms of a man. Sarah recognised the man.
“I need to find Rachel,” she said as she ran from the office with Bernard in hot pursuit.
Chapter 37
Rachel was late, but saw Thomas at the front of the room, giving the group some last-minute instructions regarding the treasure hunt.
“Divide into groups, a minimum of two and a maximum of four. The sheets on the chairs contain the clues for the treasure hunt. We will let groups depart at ten-minute intervals so we don’t cause chaos around the ship. When the last group has gone, Rachel and I will follow to pick up any stragglers and help any of you who are struggling. Are we clear?”
“Clear,” several people answered at once. Thomas beckoned to Rachel to take a seat, looking happier than he had the day before. Rachel watched the last group leave the room before speaking to him.
“Have you decided?” she asked.
“I have. I will go with you after this activity, on condition you join me on the treasure hunt,” he teased.
“As you’ve already included me, I don’t see how I can refuse. Anyway, it will be fun. It’s years since I did a treasure hunt. We need to speak with the security chief straight after, though.”
“I know.” He put his head down before marching off. “Come on, then, time to go.” Rachel followed him – it was easy for them because Thomas had set up the hunt with the aid of the cruise director and knew where to find all the clues.
It wasn’t long before they found a group of three people wandering around on deck four. Thomas looked at the last clue they had found on their sheet before pointing them towards the guest services area.
“Aren’t you going to let me find any clues?” asked Rachel, disappointed.
“Sorry, we don’t have time. The groups will become impatient if I’m not around to help them when they get lost.”
Forty-five minutes later, after helping numerous groups with their clues, Thomas led the way to the rear of the ship. Rachel followed him up multiple flights of steps until they were in a private area with artificial grass.
“Where’s this, then? I’ve never been up here.”
“It’s a private party area, not in use today. It’s one of the areas we hired for the tour group. The next party’s tonight.”
“Ooh, it’s luxurious. Is there a clue up here?” Rachel looked around some false cordylines for clues.
“No, Rachel, I’m afraid not.”
Something in his tone made her turn around. She saw the gun in his hand before anything else.
“Thomas, why are you holding a gun?”
“You know why, Rachel.”
“Are you saying it was you all along? How did you get that gun on the ship?”
“It’s one of the many things I own. It’s undetectable to scanners and comes apart to go through X-rays. A prototype, but trust me, it’s deadly.”
“So what happens now? You shoot me and throw me overboard?” Her voice sounded calmer than she felt, and she was speaking loudly.
“That’s about the sum of it. I’m sorry, I had no idea you were a cop when I invited you to tag along. It was my mistake, but your snooping has bro
ught about the inevitable outcome.”
Rachel decided the only thing to do was to play for time. With a dry mouth, she spoke.
“Well you could at least tell me what this is all about. What about the conversation between Asimov and Sergei?”
He laughed. “I had you fooled there, didn’t I? They were arguing about how to surprise Lucretia for her birthday on the return journey. Asimov is going to propose, but they had different ideas about the menu. They played into my hands – these Russians get so excited, it was easy to convince you they were arguing about murder.”
“So they had no part in the deaths of Nikolai or the crewman?”
“None.” He smirked. “My sister is a nurse on board the ship and she’s been doing some final calls.”
He laughed, obviously not realising that Lauren had been arrested. Rachel didn’t want to spook him by telling him.
“The man – Popov, as he’s now called – was responsible for putting my father and my brother in jail. He and another man caused my father to kill himself because my mother returned to England in shame. Lauren and I vowed to get revenge on them. My sister likes killing people – she confided in me she killed patients in a hospital where she worked. I got her a job at a company we were stealing plans from to keep her out of trouble, but on this trip, I’ve let her do what she likes to do.”
Rachel couldn’t help but be disgusted at how lightly he dismissed murder. Thomas was in full boasting mode, almost wanting to tell her everything it seemed.
“I killed one traitor in Russia the day before the cruise, and now I will kill Popov, but first, I’ll kill his girlfriend in front of him.”
The conversation was taking a sinister turn. Rachel hoped to keep him calm, because if he got angry, he might just pull the trigger.
“What about Boris and the industrial espionage? I don’t understand.”
