"Maybe, Inspector," Kat said. "We've narrowed it down to two people, and James seems to be the one."
"And who is your other suspect?"
I said, "Alex. At times he also appears to be just as guilty as James. I know we keep going back and forth on these two, but it's the best we have for now."
"Then why are you leaning towards James? What is your evidence against him?"
"Twice James has slipped up while talking to us. He said things that Kat and I feel only the thief or murderer would know."
"For instance?" the Inspector asked, interrupting me.
Kat responded, "Well, first of all he told George King that George Talbot had been murdered. No one knew that. Everyone's been told it was a suicide. Plus, when Kit told him the necklace had been found taped under table nine and we were waiting for the fingerprint report, he said, 'You mean on the manila envelope?' Kit hadn't mentioned to him that the necklace was in an envelope, let alone a manila one."
I joined in now. "Why would he say murdered, and mention a manila envelope, unless he knew George Talbot had been murdered by him. Or knew that the necklace was put into a manila envelope, unless he'd put it there himself?"
"I'd written in my notes," Kat continued, "that James said Berta told him that she and Barsha fought all the time. But Berta told us that she'd never talked to James before, and this cruise was the first time they'd worked together. Remember, it was only our second night out, so they hardly knew each other – according to Berta."
I said, "We have a tendency to believe Berta. We feel that James was trying to build up evidence against her in our eyes, so we would suspect her and not him."
Inspector Rashan gave us a smile. "The word 'murdered' from James could perhaps have been that he feels the two deaths are connected, as it seems most people who are involved in this case do. Everyone knows Barsha was murdered. And the thing about Berta telling him that she didn't get along with Barsha is only hearsay. Even though you feel Berta is innocent, James could say she lied. And then it would be the word of hers against the word of his, and it's possible indeed that she did lie."
We waited for the Inspector to continue, which he did after a lengthy pause.
"But perhaps the slip of the tongue about the manila envelope is something we can start building our case on. Yes, only the murderer would know about that. The only ones who knew were the two of you, the Captain, and myself. I made sure no one was around when I emptied the necklace onto the napkin. I've not told anyone, and the Captain promised me he'd not tell anyone either. He said he wouldn't even tell his officers how or where we found the jewelry. But maybe someone was in the dining room that we didn't see, and mentioned it to someone else. It's what some of the crew have been saying: 'Rumors spread like wildfire.'"
I said, "Then we can't be sure that besides us, only the murderer would know about the manila envelope unless . . ."
Inspector Rashan interrupted me, "Yes, I can see that now. What we need is more evidence. You two are doing a great job, and are going to make outstanding detectives. I wish you lived in Istanbul. I'd hire you both in a heartbeat, with no questions asked."
"Thanks, those are very encouraging words," Kat said. Then she asked, "Inspector, what else do we need? How can we get more evidence? What would really help us arrest James and solve this case – assuming he's guilty?"
"If we could find the murder weapon, that would help a great deal. We're almost sure it was a nine iron that killed Barsha."
"We know that James has golf clubs, as well as Alex and the doctor," Kat said. "Alex told us that James has a set of clubs, and his bag was something one would die for."
"That's right," I said. "If they're that nice, they must be very valuable. So he too would most likely keep them in his room, just like Alex does."
"You will be interested to know that I have asked questions around the ship," said the Inspector, "and Alex, James and the doctor are the only people on board who have their own clubs. Other people, guests and crew, use the clubs that are kept with the practice nets."
That certainly made things easier for us. "Inspector, do you think the Captain would give Kat and me permission to search James's room, with him not being there? We know his roommate is on leave."
"It won't hurt to ask. I have a feeling the Captain will say yes. He's just as anxious as we are to put an end to this case and get back on the routine. Then the guests will be happy and can enjoy the rest of the cruise."
"If the Captain says yes, we'll go into James's room and we won't disturb anything. If his clubs are there, we'll wear gloves and remove the nine iron out of the bag and bring it right to you. If we don't touch anything else, he won't be suspicious that someone was in his room. He surely won't miss just one club, as he'll have no reason to think we've taken it."
Inspector Rashan picked up the phone and contacted the Captain, telling him that we were suspicious of James, and why. The Captain said yes, and that he felt it was necessary to get the club. He had the authority to give permission to search any room on board, so he said for us to come to his office and he'd give us a master key.
We went right to his office. He gave us the key and told us he'd checked James's schedule of where he was, and that we'd have about an hour if we went there straight away. We told him that would be plenty of time. All we'd be looking for was the nine iron, and we wouldn't touch anything else.
When we opened James's cabin door we could see his bag of clubs. I put one foot into the room and then reached in very carefully, moving the clubs around by their shafts until I found the nine iron and removed it from the bag. It was a plus not having to go into his room, since the clubs were right next to the door. We both smiled at each other and I closed the door. That's when we heard the crash.
I quickly reopened the door and saw that the bag had fallen over, and the clubs were scattered all over the floor!
Chapter 32
Kat and I slipped into the cabin and closed the door. We picked up the clubs and replaced them in the bag. We had no idea if they were in any special order, so we just put them in randomly and stood the bag where we thought it had been. We were hoping that James wouldn't notice anything was different, and certainly not realize that the nine iron had been removed.
After we finished, we took the club to Inspector Rashan as promised. We told him what had happened, and he said, "If James notices anything different, maybe it will make him do something silly if he's the killer. Start making mistakes. Don't worry about it. As you Christians say, 'It might be heaven sent.'"
Then he said with his great encouraging smile, "I'll take this club to the doctor and see if he can detect any traces of blood."
Kat looked at him. "How did you know we're Christians?"
"I can tell. Have you ever considered that I might be one too?"
Before we could answer him his phone rang.
He picked up the receiver, "Hello . . . yes . . . okay . . . I'll tell them. They're here with me now. One question, did he say anything about his nine iron being missing? Okay, thanks . . . good bye."
Inspector Rashan hung up the phone. "That was the Captain. He said James has just complained that someone has been in his room without his permission. But he didn't mention anything about the nine iron not being in his bag."
I frowned. "I wonder why not? If he's our killer, that would be the first thing he'd look at, and also have to complain to the Captain about it – because it would look suspicious if he kept quiet."
"You're right," said Kat. "Inspector, I wonder if we can also search Alex's room? I'd like to get his nine iron. I think we need to make some comparisons. If James's club is clean, there might be traces of blood on Alex's. And even if we can't see anything, a well equipped laboratory on the mainland should be able to carry out tests on both of them for DNA."
"That's an excellent idea, Kit. I'll call the Captain back and get permission to retrieve the club, and for him to keep securely it under lock and key."
The Inspector ca
lled the Captain, hung up the phone, and told us that it would be okay to search Alex's room. And since we still had the master key, to go right there after lunch. It would be the best time to carry out the search, as Alex would still be on duty for a few more hours. And the Captain also wanted us to be sure to return the key to him when we were through.
"Thanks, Inspector. We'll definitely be more careful this time. We won't just reach into his room if his clubs are by the door, but we'll go in and carefully remove the nine iron from his bag. And you can tell the Captain we'll return the key right after we're through . . . no delay."
After lunch we went straight to Alex's room. We opened the door, went in and closed it behind us. Alex's clubs were practically in the same spot as where James kept his. We carefully looked for the nine iron, while trying not to disturb the rest of the clubs. We went through each one twice. It wasn't there.
We went back to Inspector Rashan's cabin and reported to him that the club was missing
He reminded us about taking the master key back to the Captain, and that we must respect his request by getting it to him as soon as possible.
I said, "You're right, Inspector. We'll take it to the Captain now. We'll also thank him for trusting us. We will of course tell him what we've found, or rather what we didn't find."
On the way to seeing the Captain, Kat asked, "Kit, do you think it would be okay to ask the Captain where Alex is working, and then accidentally bump into him? We could somehow get the conversation talking about golf and see where it leads. Maybe we could even mention to Alex that a nine iron might be the murder weapon, and see his reaction?"
"I think that's a great idea, Kat. Were you reading my mind again?"
We were both laughing as we entered the office. The Ensign usually assigned to the reception desk was on a late lunch, so the Captain greeted us. We thanked him again and handed him the master key.
"Thanks for promptly returning this." He waved the key at us. "I don't usually let it out of my sight for any length of time. There are spares in the safe, but if this got lost, the finder could go anywhere. I just got off the phone with the Inspector. I called him to see what was happening. He told me the two of you were on your way here, and that you couldn't find the nine iron in Alex's bag. So what's next?"
"Well, Captain, if it's all right with you we'd like to go and find Alex, and see what we can find out about the missing club. We were hoping you could tell us where he's working right now, so we can accidentally run into him. Is that possible?"
"Anything that helps you solve this case is all right with me. In a couple more days of confinement on the ship, we're going to have some mutinous travelers. And once that sets in and they start complaining to each other, it'll affect every passenger on board. Then pandemonium will set in, and the rest of the cruise will never recover to how it should be. So I'm happy to give you any help I can. I'd like to see these crimes solved as quickly as possible, and everyone can go ashore at our next port of call when we get there."
He ran his finger down his schedule for the day. "Yes, here it is. Alex just started his free time five minutes ago. He'll be back on duty at five forty-five. Then he'll be back in the dining room at table nine with all of you."
"Thanks, Captain. That means we have about an hour and a half. We'll go looking for him. Any ideas where he hangs out during his time off?"
"I know he loves golf. Maybe he'll be at the driving net range, or the putting area. If I were you, I'd try there first. If not, your guess is as good as mine."
"Wow," Kat said. "If he's at the driving net range he must have gone back to his room to get his clubs. That means we nearly got caught in his cabin!"
Chapter 33
When we left the Captain's office we went straight to the top deck where the putting green and driving range were. We could see Alex there. The person he was talking with had his back to us, but he was waving his arms and pointing his finger at Alex in an angry way. As we got closer, we could see it was James.
"Hi guys, what's happening?"
James turned toward me. "I don't know how he did it, but Alex searched my room and stole my nine iron." His voice was very loud, and everyone could hear him.
"That's not true. See, I have my own." Alex lifted it out of his bag. It still had its cover over the head of the club.
"Let me see that." James grabbed it from Alex's hand and pulled off the cover. "This is my iron, not yours. You could never afford one like this."
Alex looked at it. "How did that get in my bag? I haven't played golf or even practiced my swinging or putting for a long time. I've no idea how it got in my bag. You must have put it there."
"Likely story! You must have had one of your housekeeping friends let you into my cabin with their set of keys." Again, James's voice was very loud.
"That's not true. None of my friends would do that. They know it's against the rules and they could lose their jobs. It wouldn't be worth it to them, no matter how good friends we are. Anyway, why would I ask them to do that?"
"Hold on, guys," I said.
Alex was losing his cool. His voice was also getting louder by the moment just as James's was.
Alex almost gave me a push. "For all I know James planted that club in my room. But why, I don't know." With that, he started to walk away.
James's voice was again very loud and he was clearly fuming with anger. "Sure, just walk away. It wouldn't surprise me if it was you who put that dent in Barsha's head."
Alex swung around, and with clinched fists darted toward James. James didn't move. He seemed to be waiting for Alex. I jumped in between them and tried to hold them apart. I don't remember who threw the punch, but I was lying on the ground. I looked over at Kat. She was motioning me to stay there, but my pride was more hurt than my body. I got up and this time was more successful, with some of Alex's friends holding onto him and pushing him back. They circled around him and took him away.
I looked over at James who was also being restrained. I could tell by the looks on the faces of those who were holding him back that they were most likely Alex's friends too. When they let him go he began to walk away. He hesitated for a moment and then started to come back. But when he saw the club in Kat's hand he quickly turned around. Shrugging his shoulders he continued walking away.
"You were so brave, Kit. You're my Prince Charming and I do love you very much."
"Thanks, Kat, I love you too. But what do you think about all of this?"
"It's very confusing, isn't it? Just when we think we're solving the crime, something like this pops up."
Through it all, I was holding the club with my handkerchief and wondering if it really did belong to James. "If this is James's club, as he claims, then how about the one from his room that we gave to Inspector Rashan? Who does that one belong to?"
"I was wondering the same thing. I'm sure James would have liked to have it back, and would have taken it with him. But he saw you holding it and changed his mind."
"I also noticed that. Let's give this one to the Inspector. He might have some good ideas for us to follow up on. It's either going to be James or Alex that'll be our thief and murderer. I'm almost positive it is one of them."
"I agree with you, Kat. Perhaps they were in it together. They both seem to be guilty."
Chapter 34
Wow, what a good . . . no, great . . . actor I am. I'm sure I had them all convinced that I'm the innocent one. I raised my voice at just the right time. And, oh, the fight. I planned that well. And the club switching, that was another great idea of mine. It worked out perfectly. Another smart plan that says I'm a genius. And the switch at just the right moment . . . wow! The gods must be with me! I'm so clever, it astonishes even me!
If I was in Las Vegas I'd bet heavy on myself as the innocent one, and come out very rich. Now, if I can just stay calm and not get over-excited, I'll soon have my freedom.
The only problem is, they now have the murder weapon. But I was so careful. I must have washed and s
crubbed it a hundred times to make sure my fingerprints and Barsha's blood aren't on it. But now, because of my cleverness, both of our prints are on it. His and mine. No one will ever catch me.
Those two snoopers searching my room was something I hadn't planned on, but it turned out to be my lucky break. It just made me look more innocent. Not only am I a great actor, I'm also an extremely clever one.
Chapter 35
We went to Inspector Rashan's room and were happy to see that the Captain was also there. We gave him the nine iron and related the whole scenario to them. The Captain placed the club in a large plastic bin liner and sealed the top, then wrote a description of where it was found on a sticky label.
He was very concerned to hear that some of his workers were not getting along, and were fighting and hollering at each other in front of the guests and making them, he was sure, very uncomfortable. They had all been warned when signing up to work on the ship that arguing, disagreeing or talking negatively about each other to the passengers, could lead to their dismissal.
Not only was the Captain concerned about James and Alex, but also the other workers who were involved. Plus, knowing that possibly one of them was a murderer was a huge concern.
He said, "This has never happened on any of my watches before. Some of the staff workers have been with me for a long time. Many of them are like family. My heart is very saddened by all this."
We both felt sorry for him. Kat said, "Kit and I have made a list of pros and cons on our two suspects. James still comes out on top as our number one. The clincher was the slip by James about the manila envelope." Then looking at the Captain she asked, "You didn't tell anyone what we found, did you, Captain? About the jewels being in a manila envelope?"
"No, I've been very discreet about it. In fact, I haven't told anyone that we'd even found the necklace. I thought I'd leave it up to yours and Inspector Rashan's capable hands."
"Inspector, Kat and I would like to interview James Innacia one more time. I have a few questions we'd like to ask him. Not only about the envelope, but also about his saying that George was murdered, and about his so-called conversation with Berta. Is that okay? If so, Captain, can you arrange that for us?"
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