by Janina Woods
Now, that was better.
As if to save the men from the awkward silence, we were interrupted by two people, who rolled out a piano from inside the ship and placed it in the centre of the space. A man in a tuxedo walked behind it with a purposeful stride, upright and proud. Some people applauded as they became aware of him. I took care not to stare at him too closely, even though he was devilishly handsome. It just wouldn’t do while my wife was at my side. Not that it would do in any other situation.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the man stated loudly in a voice higher than I’d expected. “I’m afraid I have bad news for you tonight. My dear colleague Georgie has fallen ill and cannot perform for you.”
A murmur of disappointment spread throughout the audience, and even the veterans looked sad. My eyes fell on a lone violin case. Ah, so tuxedo played the piano and was usually accompanied by this Georgie character.
“Dear, won’t you volunteer?” Victoria said, loudly enough for the surrounding people to hear. “You always play such wonderful melodies for me.”
She was as sharp with her eyes as I was myself. Always had been. And her mental capacity didn’t seem to have diminished while we had been apart. I didn’t know if she had any agenda or just wanted to set me up, but I didn’t mind. Contrary to what my fellow men might think, I enjoyed a performance in front of an appreciative audience.
“You flatter me. But I really don’t think I’d be up to the challenge.”
“Nonsense. You’ll do just fine,” Victoria encouraged me.
“Right. Go on and play for us,” hawk-nose smirked, evidently seeing my reluctance as fear to embarrass myself. “A piano by itself is nice to listen to, but a duet is always preferable.”
“Would the gentlemen care to join me then?” the performer asked, well aware of what had transpired.
“I couldn’t...”
But then he winked at me, and I had no more reason to keep up my false modesty. “Oh, alright. If you want me to embarrass myself so thoroughly, I won’t deny you the pleasure, my dear.”
I rose to the audience applauding my courage and walked the few steps to the middle, where the piano player handed me the violin. I tested the sound quality and coaxed a small melody out of the instrument to test it.
“I see you weren’t just talk. Anything in particular you can play well?”
“Oh, play whatever you want. If I don’t know the tune, I will improvise.”
The man laughed and took a seat in front of the large instrument. “I hope you know what you’re getting into... Ladies and gentlemen! May I present...”
“Ian Ashdown,” I introduced myself and did a little bow and winked in Victoria’s direction. “It’s a pleasure to perform for you. I hope I can be an adequate replacement for tonight.”
“Just don’t play too well. You’ll put poor Georgie out of a job,” tuxedo remarked and lost no time in starting the first tune.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on the notes. Ah, I knew that one. He had started me off easy with a very well-known tune. After a few seconds I fell into the rhythm and accompanied the slow melody, swaying softly with the music, eyes closed all throughout the song. When it ended and the piano started a more lively tune, I did what I could do best: improvise. The happy melody floated through the audience into the mist, and from the ship’s deck out onto the open sea.
While I did enjoy the performance, it also gave me a perfect opportunity to observe the crowd. I counted the passengers while I turned to the music and made note of the seemingly more important faces. All while Victoria looked at me adoringly, like I was the only person in the world that mattered to her. If only.
As Watson appeared at the railing of the upper deck, I spotted him immediately, but didn’t let it interrupt the performance. He watched me finish the current song and another two, before I declared to have taken up enough of everyone’s time already. The pianist thanked me dearly and shook my hand with both of his. I returned his smile genuinely, because who doesn’t enjoy the attention of a handsome man?
I returned to the table, where the veterans stared at me with a mixture of admiration and disbelief. Many people back in London knew my little brother to be the extraordinary and enthusiastic violin player in our family. But what only few were aware of, is that I was the one who taught him. And as with everything else, I was better at it.
Much better.
“Marvelous performance, Mr. Ashdown,” hawk-nose exclaimed and raised his glass. “That a tailor should know how to coax such harmonies out of this fine instrument!”
“You flatter me,” I answered. “I merely dawdle in my free time to entertain Mrs. Ashdown. Think nothing of it.”
“Nonsense,” a familiar voice then sounded from behind me. “Very impressive. I have never heard you play like that before, my friend.”
“Ah, there he is,” I let my features light up as Watson stepped next to me. “My associate Mr. Brewer. I would be lost without him. He’s keeping track of all the pesky numbers you need to keep a business afloat.”
The other men laughed and we exchanged a few more jokes before they politely excused themselves. Watson took a seat at the table and we were alone at last.
“Thank god they’re gone,” Victoria sighed as soon as they were out of earshot. “How could you stand them?”
“I couldn’t,” I answered truthfully.
The waiter started to serve the soup on my order. That would keep other, curious people away from our table for a while, as it would have been exceedingly impolite to interrupt us during dinner.
“I haven’t heard you play in such a long time, darling,” Victoria smiled, her delight not even one bit faked. “Thank you for the performance.”
I cleared my throat. “You are most welcome. But you must be aware that this wasn’t for your benefit?”
“No need to be so unromantic,” she laughed and took a sip of wine.
We had finished with our soup and were served a pasta dish complete with seafood in a creamy sauce. While I picked at the clams, I let my gaze wander. The piano player finished his performance for the night and the other tables had already cleared out, as the night air was fresh and chilly. After the climate we had endured in Italy, this felt more like a spring breeze to me, but other passengers were not so resilient. A few polite nods were given into our direction as some of the guests departed, but no one else attempted to talk with us beyond a few words of praise for my violin performance.
“Who are you looking for?” I asked Watson, who almost dropped his fork out of surprise. “You observe the other passengers attentively.”
“Oh, I made the acquaintance of an elderly couple yesterday - James and Agatha Hill - and wondered if I could spot them in the crowd,” he answered innocently enough.
“You left your cabin yesterday?” I asked.
“I... yes. I know we agreed not to go out on our own, but I felt so sick, I had to get some air. They approached me because I was apparently as white as a sheet. We talked about everything and nothing - but mostly about Egypt. They had learned much about the country from a friend who is an aficionado of Egyptian culture.”
“That’s most helpful,” I nodded. “And maybe too great a coincidence?”
“Is it really? We are on our way to Alexandria, after all. There are bound to be a lot of people interested in all things Egypt on board,” he countered.
“Still, it’s always wise to be careful, doctor,” I insisted while he frowned at my patronising tone.
“Anyway, my thoughts drifted back to our conversation. And then I finally remembered where I’d heard the phrase Desert Wind before,” he explained.
“Please, do elaborate,” I urged him.
“I didn’t think much of it back then, but about two years ago I treated a group of people in London, all with the same symptoms of sepsis,
” he recounted. “They had all cut their right index finger with what they called a hallowed knife... that turned out to be the cause of their sickness, because it had been ancient, rusty and incredibly dirty. Of the group of eight people, two ultimately died from the infection, which wasn’t the proudest moment of my career. But what is important is that they were in engaged in a ritual of an Egyptian cult. One of the women told me the name as she teared up over her foolishness and warned me to never get in contact with the people of the Desert Wind.”
“A most singular incident, doctor. You have done well in remembering the details,” I commended him on his account.
“I could’ve done that sooner...,” he said apologetically, but I waved his concern away.
“This is exactly the kind of clue we need to give us a starting point for our investigation in Alexandria.” And maybe we wouldn’t stumble about like headless chicken.
“Do you recall more about the cult?” Victoria asked.
“Unfortunately, this is all I know,” he shrugged. “When the woman realised what she had told me, she seemed frightened to death. She pleaded with me not to tell anyone about the information she had given me, especially not that it had been she who told it. I didn’t want to pry any further.”
“That in itself is already suggestive. We shall endeavour to find out more about this Desert Wind group when we are on the southern continent. Well done, doctor.”
Watson grinned proudly for having contributed to our investigation. The only thing missing from the picture was a wagging tail, as I could see him quite clearly as a dog, who brought a particularly large stick to his master, and wanted to be praised for it. But I had no time to dwell on this for long, because a high-pitched scream resounded through the ship and ripped everyone on deck from their thoughts. We jumped up, the cult and our dinner all but forgotten.
“The starboard side!” A man shouted and pointed into the direction. We followed the crowd - myself with a mixture of curiosity and uneasiness in my heart. Why couldn’t I go anywhere without a potentially dreadful incident in my vicinity?
Well, probably because I was usually the cause of it...
As we neared what seemed to be the centre of the commotion, the space became too crowded to go on. Victoria pulled us towards the stairs, so we could have a look at the scene from the upper deck. Luckily, only a small group of people had the same idea, which enabled us to get a good view.
A woman sat on the floor on the deck below us and held onto one of the maintenance staff’s arms, sobbing violently. From up here, her words were unintelligible and almost immediately swallowed by the winds, which had picked up over the last hour - coincidence or not? The scene was cast in a harsh illumination by an emergency spotlight, just now hastily carried over by another staff member. Half hidden beneath the tarp cover on top of one of the lifeboats, which flapped in the breeze, I could see the reason for her agitation: The bodies of both a man and a woman were lying lifeless in a pool of blood.
“She must’ve noticed the tarp, which had come loose in the stronger wind and during the process of inspection, she has found the bodies,” I elaborated, listing the obvious facts. “It seems like whoever hid them there didn’t fasten the ropes securely enough, so when the breeze picked up, it unraveled the knots.”
“I can see even from here that their throats are slit. This wasn’t a crime born of impulse, but a planned murder,” Victoria added. “It must have happened inside the lifeboat. There’s no other way to explain the amount of blood underneath them.”
“Agreed,” I nodded. “And there is no blood on the deck. The murder must have happened during the morning hours of last night. It would have been impossible to carry it out while everyone was awake and the winds only died down around 4 o’clock in the morning.”
“So... do you think we have been followed?” Watson asked. “I don’t know how anyone could’ve made it in time.”
“You think this connected to us, do you doctor?” I raised my eyebrow.
“I... well, I can’t discard the possibility,” he shrugged.
“I didn’t notice another person as we boarded the ship. It was a quick affair,” Victoria mused. “Though they used the opportunity to restock their fresh produce for the kitchen.”
I agreed, as my observations were similar. It wasn’t completely impossible for anyone to follow us, as you could never dismiss even the smallest chance, but it was highly improbable.
“Shall we aid the investigation?” Watson wondered. “If this is even remotely connected to us, I wouldn’t feel right to just ignore it.”
“No, we cannot make ourselves known in that way,” I answered.
Watson’s shoulders sank. There was a murder and he could no nothing, which very clearly disappointed him. Maybe it was his sense of justice, or maybe he had just been around Sherlock for too long already. I wagered it was the latter.
“We can’t do anything officially, but we still have a few days left on board the Aurora, and I intend to find the culprit before we land in Alexandria. I believe the captain will be glad for our help. We just can’t reveal ourselves to anyone else.”
“I understand completely,” Watson was quick to assure me. “We shall get to the bottom of this murder!”
“The game’s afoot then,” Victoria added with a grin.
I simply shook my head.
Not As Preposterous As You Might Think
The crew had a hard time getting all passengers away from the location of the murder, and it took even more effort to convince everyone to return to their cabins for the night. We stood in the shadows and waited for the bulk of people to clear out before approaching the captain. He beckoned us to his office, and it was immediately clear that he was out of his depth with the current development.
We entered the small, cluttered space, which was almost completely occupied by a worn-out desk that had been screwed to the floor, and countless cabinets covering all walls, filled to the brim with books, documents and various exotic decorations. The man himself - greying hair, a well-maintained full bread, strikingly blue eyes, corpulent form and short stature - was sweating despite the chill of the night. He took a seat and gestured for us to close the door behind us. All three of us had barely enough room to stand in front of the desk without hitting anything off a shelf. The air was thick and uncomfortable.
The captain eyed me warily and I could see that he already held us accountable for the murder on his ship. The three strangers that had been forced upon him by a higher power. It was no surprise that he was cautious, and I couldn’t blame him. We already suspected that the murder was indeed connected to our presence, after all.
“Captain Fraser, we would like to offer our assistance with the investigation,” I opened the conversation as no one else made an attempt to. “While we can’t do so openly, I believe we can still help you.”
“How?” the small man asked and leaned back in his chair. No acknowledgement, no sign of gratitude, just doubt. Something in the diversion of the ship must’ve angered him greatly. I was just about sure that he had been pressured into making for Catania by a superior. That would explain why he hadn’t welcomed us when we boarded. Well, that wasn’t my concern right now.
“The culprit can’t go far. We need to corner them sooner than later, but for that we need the cooperation of your crew,” I paused just briefly, because what I was about to ask could very well be taken as an insult. “Do you trust every worker under you?”
Just as expected, the first reaction was a sharp intake of air. Fraser looked ready to launch into an argument, but then he just shook his head.
“This is... I might not like you, but if you can help me to lay hands on the murderer I will aid you. Yes, I do trust my crew. There are a few new faces in the kitchen this time around, but they’re vouched for by older crewmen. They wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
> I felt some of the tension dissipate from the room like smoke clearing the air. A reluctant cooperation was still better than none at all.
“If you can say so with conviction, we will assume that the culprit isn’t among the crew, but rather one of the passengers. The couple was in first class, but we can’t exclude the others, as everyone can basically roam the public areas freely. I already have a plan to flush the murderer out of hiding.”
The others eyed me with curiosity, the unspoken questions obvious. I chose to answer without them having to be posed.
“Tomorrow night after dinner, we will bring passengers of all classes together on the entertainment deck for an announcement regarding the murder. Attendance will be mandatory. You will tell this to your crew at the morning assembly and then again to the people present at breakfast. The message is clear: We will reveal who the murderer is.”
“But you haven’t even looked at the bodies... or their cabins!” Watson exclaimed. “How can you already expose them?”
“Doing so would only be excess work to confirm unimportant details,” I countered. “But I suppose we will have the whole day tomorrow, so it can’t hurt to examine them, if that satisfies your curiosity.”
Watson shook his head. “So you know who the murderer is, then?”
“No.”
“But then...”
“Not yet, in any case. They will be at the announcement, both because they can hide in the crowd much more easily and because they want to see whom we condemn.”
“Then who will you blame?” the captain asked.
“No one,” Victoria said. “You will make them reveal themselves.”
“Exactly. And that is because the killer is neither part of the crew nor the passengers. They are most certainly unplanned additions, just as we are. Subsequently they are much more likely to be connected to us than to the victims, which eliminates the need to investigate them further. I am already certain that the dead bodies belong to the very couple my associate interacted with yesterday.”
