Dark Passage

SEVENTEEN

‘The owner of a vessel to which this section applies (or the owner’s designee) shall contact the nearest Federal Bureau of Investigation Field Office or Legal Attache by telephone as soon as possible after the occurrence on board the vessel of an incident involving homicide, suspicious death, a missing United States national, kidnapping, [or] assault with serious bodily injury.’

Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010

(H.R. 3360)

‘Ben isn’t here right now,’ Molly Fortune told us. ‘He’s checking on an issue with one of the security checkpoints. Why don’t you come back in about half an hour?’

‘That’s OK, we’ll wait,’ David said, claiming the seat nearest the door.

The frown lines between Fortune’s eyes deepened. ‘Is Julie OK?’

I was quick to reassure her. ‘Julie’s fine under the circumstances, Officer Fortune, but we’re here on a related issue.’

‘Is there anything I can do to help?’

Figuring it would do no harm, I introduced her to David Warren. ‘David and I met quite by accident,’ I said, ‘but we recently discovered we have something in common. We think the information might help Officer Martin solve the mystery of who attacked my niece.’

Fortune’s eyes widened with interest. ‘Can you tell me about it?’

‘We could,’ David said, ‘but it’s rather complicated. Rather than have to explain it several times, I’d rather wait for your boss.’

‘Completely understandable,’ Fortune agreed. ‘I’ll page him, then. In the meantime, can I get you anything to drink?’

It was almost lunchtime, and the only thing I’d eaten all morning was the latte I’d brought with me to the meeting in the library. ‘Coffee would be great,’ I told her. ‘If it’s not too much trouble.’

‘Coffee’s fine for me, too,’ David said.

The Firebird café was only one deck above our heads, so the steward who responded to Fortune’s call arrived within minutes carrying a carafe, four cups, assorted packets of sugar, and miniature tubs of cream. I was stirring cream into my coffee and wondering what to do with my bits of trash when Martin returned.

‘Mrs Ives, I understand you have some information for me.’

I stuck the plastic stirrer into the empty sugar packet and tucked them away in my pocket. ‘Not me, exactly, but Mr Warren here.’

David stood and offered his hand to be shook. ‘Officer Martin, I’m David Warren. My daughter was Charlotte Warren, a youth counselor on board Phoenix Voyager some eighteen months ago.’

Martin inhaled sharply, replied carefully, ‘Ah, yes. Quite naturally, I’ve heard about the case.’

‘Whatever they told you, Officer Martin, I need you to understand that my daughter did not commit suicide. When you hear what I have to say, I think you’ll agree with me.’

Martin nodded and released David’s hand. ‘Why don’t we all sit down?’

After everyone was settled, I said, ‘David and I believe there’s a connection between the fifteen-year-old girl who was drugged and raped on that Voyager cruise and what happened to my niece, Julie, here on the Islander. We believe that there is a serial predator on board the Islander who was also aboard the Voyager, that he attacked these two girls – and perhaps others we don’t know about as well – and that, given the opportunity, he will do it again.’

‘Charlotte knew the victim, you see,’ David continued. ‘When she heard about the attack, it upset her very much, so much so that she called us about it. I believe that Charlotte subsequently discovered the person who was responsible. Whether she confronted him or not we don’t know, but somehow he must have gotten wind of it and murdered my daughter to keep her quiet.’

Martin considered us in silence for a moment. ‘Two attacks separated by eighteen months on two different vessels. As deeply invested in this theory as you appear to be, even you have to admit that it’s a bit of a long-shot.’

David reached for his briefcase and set it on his lap. ‘There were some peculiarities about the Noelle Bursky case,’ he said, as he began to leaf through the documents. ‘It’s clear that the attack was planned, because two of the security cameras had been put out of commission. The one covering the Tidal Wave club on the Voyager had been vandalized, and the other camera was neutralized by the simple expedient of draping a pool towel over the lens. When my daughter disappeared, a similar trick was used. A towel was draped over the camera that covered the area where she presumably went overboard, the area on deck five where her red heel was later found.’

Martin and Fortune exchanged a quick glance, but David was too engaged in his narrative to notice. ‘Because of this person’s familiarity with the ship’s security cameras, I think it’s reasonable to conclude that he was Voyager staff or crew. Now! We know that there are a number of individuals on board Islander who were also aboard Voyager when my daughter fell to her death. Fast forward. Julie Cardinale was attacked under very similar circumstances to the attack on Noelle Bursky. This leads me to believe that whoever attacked Julie Cardinale is the same person who attacked Noelle Bursky and the same person who murdered my daughter, Charlotte.’ He took a deep breath, exhaled. ‘One. And. The. Same.’

Martin reached out. ‘May I see that report?’

‘Certainly.’

Martin scanned the report, flipped to the second page, scanned it, too, then looked up. ‘Where did you get this information?’

‘I hired a private investigator.’

Martin handed the report to Molly Fortune. ‘Take a look at that, Molly.’

While Molly was going over it, I said, ‘Because of the drugs, Julie’s memory of her abduction is patchy, but as you know, she was able to describe an individual wearing a black polo shirt and a ball cap. Would you be agreeable to letting Julie watch the security tapes to see if she can spot that person? Perhaps if she sees his face, it will jog her memory.’

‘I’m sorry, Mrs Ives, but that’s simply not possible. It would be against company policy. We’ve made copies, as I promised. Our legal department has authorized me to turn the copies over to the F.B.I., along with all the other evidence we’ve collected, as soon as we reach Baltimore. They’re the ones to do a proper investigation.’

David turned to look at me, his upper lip curled. ‘I warned you that Phoenix Cruise Lines would circle the wagons.’

Ben Martin stiffened. ‘Mrs Ives…’ he began.

‘It’s all right, Officer Martin. You’re just doing your job. I appreciate that you’re following federal guidelines, and that you’ve been so cooperative.’

David muttered something under his breath that might have been ‘balls.’

‘But since you’ve reviewed the video tapes and I haven’t,’ I continued, ‘there’s something that’s been bothering me.’

‘Yes? How can I help?’

‘There are two cameras in the Breakers! bar area, correct? One near the entrance that also covers the Tidal Wave Club, and the other in the bar area itself?’

‘Correct.’

‘Earlier, when you described what was on the tapes to me, you said that one camera captured Julie and her friends sitting at a table in the corner, and that other than the waiter who delivered their drinks, nobody else approached them while she was sitting there.’

‘I believe that’s what I said. Something like that, anyway.’

‘I know that Julie’s glass had a secure-fitting lid, with only a small hole to accommodate the straw, so it’s reasonable to assume that none of the young people sitting at the table with Julie had the opportunity to introduce Ketamine into her drink.’

‘That would seem to be the case.’

‘I’m not familiar with Ketamine and my old standby, Google, doesn’t work all that well out here – doesn’t work at all, in fact – but, I’ve been wondering. Does Ketamine come as a liquid or powder?’

‘Both,’ David answered without hesitation. ‘Ketamine was used on Noelle Bursky, too.’

I gave him a 500-watt smile. ‘Thank you, David,’ I said, then turned back to Officer Martin. ‘OK, so help me out here. Julie ordered her drink at the bar. The bartender on duty at the time – I think she said her name was Kira – mixes the drink in the blender and while it’s whirring around, she fixes soft drinks for the others at the table. All the drinks go on a tray, get capped and stuck with straws, and the waiter carries the tray to the table. Correct?’

‘Yes, I believe so.’

‘Well, frankly I can’t see how it’s possible that Julie’s drink was drugged anywhere except at the bar, either by the bartender who was actually making the drink, or by the second bartender on duty that day, or by somebody else entirely, perhaps when the bartender’s back was turned.’ I paused to let that sink in. ‘It was a very busy time of day, remember? The pizza party was over, the movie was about to begin. Wesley was frazzled. I saw for myself that the tables were crowded. There had to have been other people to-in and fro-ing around that bar. Those people must have been captured on the security tape, so tell me, who else did you see?’

Officer Martin cleared his throat. ‘Uh, this is embarrassing. I’m afraid that particular camera was not in operation.’ To his credit, he actually flushed. ‘The men minding the monitors picked up on it, of course. When the technician they sent up to check on it got there, he discovered that someone had draped a towel over the lens.’

I recoiled as if I’d slapped in the face. ‘You knew about this and didn’t tell us?’

‘What was the point? We’ve interviewed the staff, and we have a pretty good idea which adults were in the Tidal Wave area at the relevant time, but as I pointed out to you earlier, Mrs Ives, we are not the police. We cannot make arrests.’

‘Oh, for the love of God, we’re talking about a kidnapping here!’

At least he had the decency to look embarrassed.

David shot to his feet, snatched his report off Molly Fortune’s desk, crammed it in his briefcase and said, ‘Come on, Hannah, let’s let Officer Martin and Officer Fortune get on with their work. I’m sure they have many important things to do.’

He seized me by the elbow and hustled me out into the corridor so fast that I barely had time to say goodbye.

‘What was that all about?’ I asked when we were out of earshot of Security.

‘The towel!’ he crowed. ‘That proves it! It’s definitely the same M.O.’

I shook my arm free. ‘I realize that, David, but why are you in such an all-fired hurry?’

‘While it certainly would have been helpful to see the security tapes, Hannah, that’s not our only option. What did people do before there were security tapes?’

I stopped so quickly that my shoes squeaked on the marble floor. I had been so focused on state-of-the-art, hi-tech options, on what the security tapes might tell us, that I had overlooked the obvious. ‘We talk to people. We schmooze. That’s what we do!’

We’d reached the elevators. Without consulting me, David pushed UP. He glanced at his watch. ‘And if we hurry, the same young people who were there yesterday will just be coming on duty.’