Boats and Bad Guys

by Diana Xarissa

  “I’d like to go over the events from Saturday morning,” Captain Howard said, ignoring Brenda’s words. “I’d like to try to work out where everyone was and how Mr. Grosso came to be in the wrong cabin.”

  “I believe you would be better off talking to the police about such things,” Stanley March said. “It is their job to investigate, after all.”

  “I hope that you’re all willing to cooperate,” the captain said. “We’ve reviewed the security camera footage, so I believe I know in what order everyone collected their keys from the customer service desk. Let’s work in that order.”

  “I thought the poor man was dead before we even started boarding,” Charlotte Masters said. “What difference does it make who collected their keys first?”

  “I’m not looking for a murderer,” the captain told her. “I’m trying to work out what everyone saw and how Mr. Grosso ended up in the cabin that was assigned to Ms. Woods, that’s all.”

  “This seems very irregular,” Charlotte said. “I thought you told me that the police were going to be here. That’s the only reason I came.”

  “Yes, well, the police have been informed that we are conducting our own investigation. They declined an invitation to join us this morning,” the man replied tightly.

  “I still don’t see what we can tell you that will help in any way,” Charlotte said tartly.

  “Let’s get started and see, shall we?” the man asked.

  Charlotte sighed deeply and then sat back in her chair with her arms tightly crossed. Fenella doubted that the captain would get any useful information out of Charlotte, based on her expression.

  “There are a few gaps in the security camera footage,” the man said. “And it only becomes active on the passenger decks when we begin loading passengers onto the vessel. Unfortunately, as Mr. Grosso appears to have managed to get on board before that time, we don’t have any video footage of his arrival. We aren’t sure who he was with or what he did on the ship before his unfortunate demise.”

  “What could he have been doing?” Charlotte demanded. “Did he have criminal intent?”

  “No,” Sarah said firmly. “He probably arrived early and didn’t realize it wasn’t time to board yet. If he was too early, the ferry staff probably wasn’t in place yet, so he probably just walked onto the ferry without even realizing they weren’t ready for passengers yet.”

  “Didn’t you have passengers getting off the boat?” Harry Hampton asked.

  “It was the first sailing of the day,” the captain explained. “The ferry arrived at Douglas last night around seven o’clock and all passengers disembarked. The cleaning crew went through, finished around ten, and then the ship was shut down for the night. The early morning staff arrived around six on Saturday morning to begin checking in freight passengers.”

  “So the man could have snuck onto the ferry at any time in the night,” Charlotte suggested.

  “He was at work,” Sarah objected.

  “The police have verified that Mr. Grosso finished his shift at six,” the captain said. “He only worked a short distance from the ferry terminal and could have arrived there within minutes of leaving his office.”

  “And you think he snuck onto the ship?” Stanley asked.

  “We know he must have done,” the captain said. “The time of death indicates that he was on the ship not long after six, which means he either snuck in or someone from my crew let him board without proper authorization.”

  “I hope you’re taking a good look at your crew,” Sarah snapped. “Robert had no reason to sneak onto the ship.”

  “We are, of course, investigating the crew,” the captain replied.

  “But what was he doing on the ship early?” Charlotte asked.

  “He’d just finished work,” Sarah said quickly. “He was probably tired and wanted to get to our cabin and get some sleep before I got there. He probably thought it would be a nice surprise for me.”

  “I’ve heard there was a massive smuggling operation going on,” Charlotte announced. “Someone told me that when they unloaded the ferry, they found three containers full of stolen property that weren’t even meant to be on the ship.”

  The captain flushed. “Those sorts of rumors don’t help matters any,” he said. “I can assure you that nothing was found on the ferry that didn’t belong there.”

  Fenella narrowed her eyes at the man. Something about the way that he’d said that had her doubting his words.

  “Are there criminal reasons why someone might want to get on the ferry early?” she asked. “I mean, surely Mr. Grosso was simply an innocent victim, but what possible reasons could someone else have for trying to board an empty ferry?”

  The captain shrugged. “I could give you a long list,” he said. “Starting with teenagers who think it’s something to try to get away with when they’re bored, through to career criminals who are smuggling things across.”

  “What sort of things?” Fenella asked.

  “Drugs usually come from the UK to the island,” the man said. “And I’ve never seen people being smuggled between the two countries. Mostly, as Ms. Masters suggested, stolen property gets sent both ways.”

  “None of this has anything to do with Robert,” Sarah said insistently.

  “Perhaps he saw something he shouldn’t have,” Stanley suggested.

  “Did he know anyone on the crew?” Charolotte asked Sarah.

  “He used to spend a lot of time at the terminal,” Sarah told her. “His company ships things back and forth all the time. I’m sure he knew some of the people who work at the terminal. He sometimes helped the guys who loaded or unloaded their containers off the ferry. I’m sure he knew crew on the ferry itself as well.”

  “So, if he turned up and he was tired, he might have just asked a friend to let him on board and into his cabin early,” Captain Howard said. “We just have to find which member of staff let him do that. Can you suggest any names?”

  Sarah shook her head. “He didn’t talk about his work very much,” she said apologetically. “He might mention that he spent the day at the terminal or that someone called off and he had to load the containers himself, but I can’t recall him ever mentioning the names of anyone particular.”

  “If he was killed before the ferry started loading, why are we even suspects?” Stanley demanded. “None of us were on board when he died. The killer must have been one of your crew.”

  Captain Howard shook his head. “The police have reason to believe that he met someone in that cabin, someone else who was due to sail that morning and had a cabin booked.”

  “That’s just stupid,” Charlotte snapped. “What possible reason could they have for thinking that?”

  “I don’t know,” the captain admitted. “But they seem pretty certain. They’ve questioned the crew extensively, but it seems as if they are only trying to find out who let Mr. Grosso on board, rather than anything further.”

  “They should be trying to work out who let the killer on board early, instead of focusing on Mr. Grosso,” Fenella suggested.

  “Yes, well, perhaps they’re working on that,” the captain replied.

  “So why did you ask us all here?” Stanley asked. “I’m sure you weren’t expecting anyone to confess to murder.”

  “No, not at all,” the captain said quickly. “I’m more interested in hearing about your interactions with the crew. I’d like to work out the order in which you all arrived and approximately what time you each arrived at your cabin.”

  “Surely your cameras and computers can tell you all of that,” Stanley said. “Our tickets were scanned when we were checked in. Of course, then we had to wait in a ridiculously long queue for quite some time before we were allowed onto the ferry. No doubt you have a camera pointed at the customer service desk where we eventually collected our cabin keys. This is a complete waste of time.”

  “As I said, there are gaps in the camera footage,” Captain Howard said. “We can’t accurately place ever
yone.”

  “What caused the gaps?” Fenella asked.

  “We aren’t sure,” the captain told her. “There appears to have been some sort of problem with the camera that day.”

  “Is that usual?” Fenella wondered.

  “No, not at all,” the captain said quickly. “When such things are discovered, they are fixed immediately, as well. It’s just unfortunate that it happened on the one day when we really needed the footage.”

  “From what you’ve said, no matter what time we arrived, it was after the poor man was dead,” Stanley said. “Come on, Florence, we’re leaving. I won’t waste another minute of my day talking about a crime I couldn’t possibly have committed.”

  He got to his feet and pulled Florence out of her chair. “I did want to help,” she protested as he marched her across the room.

  “We can’t possibly help, as we had nothing to do with it,” Stanley said. “We arrived far too late to have been involved. The police have it all wrong if they think someone from one of the other cabins had anything to do with the murder. Captain Howard is just hoping to pin it on one of us so that his crew is in the clear.”

  “I most certainly am not,” the captain snapped. Stanley ignored him, and he and Florence swept out of the room.

  “I’m not,” Captain Howard said insistently to the men and women who remained behind. “I do think one of my crew let Mr. Grosso on board, and maybe he or she let the killer on as well. I’ve been doing everything I can to find that person and get them to tell me what they know.”

  “And the police,” Fenella suggested.

  “Oh, yes, of course, and the police,” the man agreed. “But thus far, no one has stepped forward to admit their involvement.”

  “So maybe Mr. Grosso snuck on board and his killer did the same,” Nick Proper suggested.

  The captain frowned. “I’d like to think our security is better than that,” he said. “But that may be possible, I suppose.”

  They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Captain Howard crossed the room and pulled the door open.

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, sir.” It was the girl who had escorted Fenella and the others from customer service to the conference room. “But Inspector Robinson from the police is here. He said he must speak with you immediately.”

  The man glanced around the room and then sighed. “I suppose he found out about our little meeting,” he said. “Bring him back here.”

  The woman nodded and then walked away. A moment later, she was back with Daniel Robinson on her heels.

  “I should have let you know about our internal investigation,” the captain said as soon as Daniel reached him. “But I didn’t think it was relevant to anything.”

  “We can discuss this gathering later,” Daniel said. “For now, we need to talk about another murder.”

  Chapter Ten

  Several people, including Fenella, gasped. Nick started to get to his feet and then sat back down quickly. Charlotte was the first to speak.

  “Who has been murdered?” she demanded loudly.

  Daniel shook his head. “I’m glad you’re all here,” he said. “It will save me a great deal of driving around. I’ll speak to you each in turn, after I’ve talked with Captain Howard.”

  “Mr. and Mrs. March left a few minutes ago,” the captain told Daniel.

  “I actually saw them in the car park,” Daniel said. “They’re giving a statement to one of my constables now.”

  “If you’ve come to see me, it must be one of my crew that’s been killed,” Captain Howard said.

  Daniel held up a hand. “Let’s have this conversation in private,” he said. He glanced around the room. Fenella thought he smiled at her briefly as their eyes met, but she wasn’t sure. “I’m going to leave a constable in here with you. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves, though.”

  “That’s hardly likely,” Charlotte said. “Not if we’re being listened to.”

  “I would hope that you don’t have any secrets from the police, at least in terms of the two murders,” Daniel said.

  “Of course I don’t,” Charlotte snapped. “But that doesn’t mean I want the police listening to my conversations, either.”

  Daniel smiled stiffly and then turned back to Captain Howard. “If you’re ready,” he said.

  “I’m not, but we may as well get it over with anyway,” the captain said in reply.

  Fenella felt herself let out a long breath as the pair left the room. A moment later the door opened again and a young uniformed constable walked in. She glanced around the room and then stood with her back to the door watching everyone. For the next several minutes, the silence in the room was almost unbearable.

  “Hi,” Justin Newmarket finally spoke. “I’m Justin.”

  The woman gave him a cool look. “I’m Constable Richards,” she replied.

  “Oh, come on,” Justin said. “What’s your Christian name?”

  “You can call me Constable,” the woman told him.

  Sherry Hampton laughed. “She’s immune to your questionable charms,” she called to Justin. “But do continue trying. It’s incredibly entertaining for the rest of us.”

  “I was just being friendly,” Justin protested. “It was too quiet in here. It was uncomfortable.”

  “I was enjoying the quiet,” Charlotte said. “I don’t understand why people can’t simply sit back and enjoy silence.”

  As Charlotte had been the one who’d insisted on everyone talking the first time they’d all been together, Fenella found her complaint odd. Before the uncomfortable silence could descend again, Brenda Proper spoke up.

  “But who’s dead?” she asked. “The police inspector seemed to think that there’s some connection between this murder and what happened to poor Robert, but I don’t understand how that’s possible.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t possibly comment,” Constable Richards told her.

  “Whoever it is, the inspector came to see Captain Howard about it,” Sarah said. “I think it was someone from the ferry crew.”

  Fenella was watching the constable’s face and she was sure she saw a flicker of something flash across it at Sarah’s words.

  “That’s a very clever idea,” Fenella told Sarah. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re right.”

  “It must have been whoever let the killer board the ferry early,” Charlotte said. “Let’s just hope he or she was killed while we were all here, having this pointless meeting.”

  Fenella doubted that it would be that easy, but she didn’t say anything. For a few moments everyone went silent again.

  “Are you single?” Justin tried again.

  Sherry burst out laughing as the constable frowned at the man. “I’m not,” she said eventually.

  Justin nodded. “I didn’t think so,” he said. “You’re too pretty to be single.”

  The woman stared at him for a moment and then shifted her gaze to look around the room. Sherry was still chuckling to herself as the door opened behind the constable.

  “I’d like to speak to Charlotte Masters first, please,” Daniel said in the doorway.

  The constable whispered something to him and he nodded. They left the room together before Charlotte had even stood up. A moment later they were back.

  “Ms. Masters?” Daniel said.

  Charlotte picked up her handbag and walked out of the room with her head held high. The constable shut the door behind her and resumed her post.

  “Can’t you tell us anything now that we’ve worked out most of it?” Nick asked after a moment.

  “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m not able to answer any questions,” the woman said.

  “What does your boyfriend do?” Justin asked after another silent minute.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m not able to answer any questions,” the constable said again.

  Shelly laughed loudly. “I’m going to try that the next time I’m out and someone tries to chat me up,” she said.

  “You can just tel
l them you’re married,” Harry reminded her, giving her hand a pat.

  “Oh, yes, of course,” Sherry said, frowning.

  “I can’t imagine where you’d be that I wouldn’t be with you, though,” Harry continued.

  “No, no, of course not,” Sherry muttered.

  It was Justin’s turn to laugh. “Nothing like spending time with a happily married couple to remind you of the joys of being single,” he said.

  Daniel was back a moment later, and Fenella wasn’t sorry when he took Justin away this time. Without him or Charlotte in the room, she thought she might have a very quiet wait for her turn.

  “You can stop that any time,” Sherry said sharply.

  Fenella looked at Harry, who blushed. “I’m sorry,” he said, removing his hand from where he’d rested it on hers. “I thought you might be worried about talking to the police, that’s all.”

  “I have nothing to hide,” Sherry replied. “You seem incredibly nervous, though.”

  “Not at all,” Harry said. “Why would I be nervous?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe you’re involved in smuggling or something,” Sherry said with a yawn.

  “I don’t think that’s at all funny,” Harry snapped. “And you shouldn’t suggest such things about your own husband.”

  “Well, you do have an awful lot of money,” Sherry said. “How am I supposed to know where you got it all?”

  “I earned it,” Harry said tightly. “My first wife and I both worked very hard for a great many years. And we were very frugal as well. We never took lavish holidays or bought brand new cars. We saved up for a comfortable retirement.”

  “And then she went and died and never got to enjoy life,” Sherry said.

  “She enjoyed her life a great deal,” Harry argued. “It is unfortunate that she never got to enjoy retirement, but no one is promised tomorrow.”

  “Well, I intend to have holidays and new cars,” Sherry told the man. “You can afford it, and you want to keep me happy, don’t you?”

  Harry studied her silently for a moment. Fenella watched as Sherry realized the man’s answer wasn’t immediate.

  “Harry? Darling?” she simpered. “You do want me to be happy, don’t you?” She leaned over and whispered something in his ear that made him blush.