Depth of Deception (A Titanic Murder Mystery) by Alexander Galant Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Alexander Galant
reflected off something metal. The gloved hand held the locket up. Yes, this is it.
Looking back into the box, there was nothing else except a smelly old book. The box was carefully placed back onto the shelf and the door was closed. The dress pushed the door ajar.
A moment later the stranger was gone.
April 2, 1982
Chapter VIII
" How can she be gone?! " Captain Sadler demanded of the young nurse who identified herself only as Denise. He was so furious he had almost forgotten he was holding the teddy bear in the hand he was gesturing with. The crewman who had gathered the woman's belongings from sickbay had failed to notice it and had left it there. Sadler took the opportunity of returning it to follow up on the mystery. Now the mystery thickened.
"I came in early for my shift this morning," began Denise , "a nd discovered that some 'benefactor' had her transferred to some private clinic and even settled the bill...in cash."
"Cash?" Sadler didn't like the sound of it. It was likely that whoever had placed her in the middle of the ocean was now trying to cover their tracks. They were not only playing with lives, but had also wasted Military resources.
"I'm sorry, Mr... er... Captain," stammered Denise. "I only found out when I went in to see if she had regained consciousness again."
" AGAIN? " bellowed Sadler . "Did anyone question her? Did she say how she got out into the middle of the bloody Atlantic?"
"There wasn't time..."
"Time! Do have any idea how much time...?"
"Captain," interrupted a middle-aged doctor in a rumpled lab coat. "My name is Dr. Rowland. I'll have to ask you to keep your voice down. This is a hospital, not a military base."
"Forgive me," simmered Sadler. "I was just informed that the mysterious woman had regained consciousness. Why did no one think to question her?"
"Because she went into cardiac arrest," replied the doctor. "We thought it better to keep her alive rather than play '20 questions'."
Sadler ignored the sarcasm and took a deep breath. He knew they were only doing their jobs and that whoever released the patient was just following orders. In a calmer voice Sadler asked, " Is there any way we can find the location of this clinic? "
" I will do my best to find out, " replied the doctor.
" Well when you do… " Captain Sadler was suddenly distracted by the image on the television in the waiting lounge. On the screen were the words " Argentina Invades Falkland Islands. "
" Crap! " Sadler now had to get back to his ship; he knew he would soon be deployed to South America, as every available ship in Her Majesty's fleet would be required to defend the Falkland Islands. He turned to the doctor and nurse and with a sharp nod, thanked them both for their time.
With that, Sadler turned with bear in hand and marched to the exit. His involvement in the current investigation had just ended. If there were any casualties directly related to this stunt, it was too late for them.
. . .
In a nearby hotel, a man approached the front desk. The concierge looked up from his paperwork and smiled.
" Good morning, " said the concierge, he recognized the man who checked in yesterday afternoon by his leather jacket, but couldn't remember his name. " What can I do for you? "
The man handed the concierge two 8X10 photographs. " Could you fax these two pictures to the number on the back? "
" Of course, sir. " The concierge flipped over the first and looked at the fax number scribbled in ink. " This is an overseas call. Shall I charge this to your room? "
The man nodded and held up his hotel key. The concierge jotted down the room number on the tag: 319. He would add this to the man's hotel bill.
As he flipped the photo over to place it in the fax machine, the concierge couldn’t help but notice the strikingly beautiful woman in the picture. Though there was a look of confusion on her face it was still gentle. The second was a close up photo of a locket, housing two small photographs. In
Looking back into the box, there was nothing else except a smelly old book. The box was carefully placed back onto the shelf and the door was closed. The dress pushed the door ajar.
A moment later the stranger was gone.
April 2, 1982
Chapter VIII
" How can she be gone?! " Captain Sadler demanded of the young nurse who identified herself only as Denise. He was so furious he had almost forgotten he was holding the teddy bear in the hand he was gesturing with. The crewman who had gathered the woman's belongings from sickbay had failed to notice it and had left it there. Sadler took the opportunity of returning it to follow up on the mystery. Now the mystery thickened.
"I came in early for my shift this morning," began Denise , "a nd discovered that some 'benefactor' had her transferred to some private clinic and even settled the bill...in cash."
"Cash?" Sadler didn't like the sound of it. It was likely that whoever had placed her in the middle of the ocean was now trying to cover their tracks. They were not only playing with lives, but had also wasted Military resources.
"I'm sorry, Mr... er... Captain," stammered Denise. "I only found out when I went in to see if she had regained consciousness again."
" AGAIN? " bellowed Sadler . "Did anyone question her? Did she say how she got out into the middle of the bloody Atlantic?"
"There wasn't time..."
"Time! Do have any idea how much time...?"
"Captain," interrupted a middle-aged doctor in a rumpled lab coat. "My name is Dr. Rowland. I'll have to ask you to keep your voice down. This is a hospital, not a military base."
"Forgive me," simmered Sadler. "I was just informed that the mysterious woman had regained consciousness. Why did no one think to question her?"
"Because she went into cardiac arrest," replied the doctor. "We thought it better to keep her alive rather than play '20 questions'."
Sadler ignored the sarcasm and took a deep breath. He knew they were only doing their jobs and that whoever released the patient was just following orders. In a calmer voice Sadler asked, " Is there any way we can find the location of this clinic? "
" I will do my best to find out, " replied the doctor.
" Well when you do… " Captain Sadler was suddenly distracted by the image on the television in the waiting lounge. On the screen were the words " Argentina Invades Falkland Islands. "
" Crap! " Sadler now had to get back to his ship; he knew he would soon be deployed to South America, as every available ship in Her Majesty's fleet would be required to defend the Falkland Islands. He turned to the doctor and nurse and with a sharp nod, thanked them both for their time.
With that, Sadler turned with bear in hand and marched to the exit. His involvement in the current investigation had just ended. If there were any casualties directly related to this stunt, it was too late for them.
. . .
In a nearby hotel, a man approached the front desk. The concierge looked up from his paperwork and smiled.
" Good morning, " said the concierge, he recognized the man who checked in yesterday afternoon by his leather jacket, but couldn't remember his name. " What can I do for you? "
The man handed the concierge two 8X10 photographs. " Could you fax these two pictures to the number on the back? "
" Of course, sir. " The concierge flipped over the first and looked at the fax number scribbled in ink. " This is an overseas call. Shall I charge this to your room? "
The man nodded and held up his hotel key. The concierge jotted down the room number on the tag: 319. He would add this to the man's hotel bill.
As he flipped the photo over to place it in the fax machine, the concierge couldn’t help but notice the strikingly beautiful woman in the picture. Though there was a look of confusion on her face it was still gentle. The second was a close up photo of a locket, housing two small photographs. In
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