THE UNEXPECTED COINCIDENCE
Chapter Five
Daniel awoke with the sunshine
hitting his pale face. He squirmed slightly in its relentless gaze, hoping that
he could just roll over and go back to sleep.
No rest for the wicked, he thought, as he climbed out of bed.
He slipped onto his private
promenade deck, throwing the windows open wide and breathing in the salty sea
air. The clear air helped him to think of the last few days, help think of the
loss he had suffered, but yet, he started to smile, thinking of the good times
he had shared with Kathy, and hoping that she was in a better place now.
"Morning," a voice
said, waking Daniel from his reverie.
The tall man turned and was met
with Keisha, who had just rolled out of her bed in the sitting room.
"Good morning. How are you
feeling today?" he asked, as the dark-skinned woman joined him in leaning
out of the window.
"Never mind me. What about
you?" she asked, looking into his eyes.
Daniel found her gaze captivating
and inviting and couldn’t help but smile.
"A lot better, actually,
though I do intend to find out who did this. I think that dwelling on the end
of Kathy’s life is not healthy. I think I must look back on the happy times we
shared, like this one time…"
Daniel talked to Keisha about all
the good times he had shared with his cousin, talking about how they went to
all the exotic places around the world.
"Thanks for listening to me;
it means a lot that I have someone to talk to," Daniel said when he had
finally finished talking.
Keisha laid a hand on his arm, an
innocent gesture that left his pulse racing.
"It’s not a problem, really.
It was interesting," she said, talking as though she were breathless.
"Thank you again. I will
meet you in here for lunch, but I need to sort some things out," Daniel
said, withdrawing from her touch in an attempt to clear his senses.
After a quick bath, Daniel
proceeded to get dressed in his luxurious bedroom. He wore a black shirt, black
waistcoat, and a black tie with the usual black trousers, for today was a day
of mourning, and he had to dress appropriately.
He left the luxurious stateroom
at 11:15, hoping that he might catch Rose having tea in the Veranda Café, for
he needed to talk to her about the events of last night, see if his suspicions
had been correct.
He nodded to several people along
the corridor, smiling at people he knew from dinner. Daniel reached the café
and found Rose having tea in a corner by a window. Ruth was there, also, and
seemed to be arguing with Rose over something.
Daniel made his way through the
wicker tables and reached the place where they were sitting.
"Good morning, Rose, Ruth. I
am so sorry for interrupting, but may I have a quick word with you, Rose?"
Daniel asked, looking straight at Rose.
Ruth started to mumble a
rejection as Rose stood up. "Certainly, Daniel. Good-bye, Mother. I will
see you for dinner."
Daniel tried his best to ignore
the glare Ruth was giving him, and as a result, waited to see that she was out
of eyesight before talking.
"Rose, what really happened
last night? Cal may be stupid enough to believe the propeller story, but I am
not."
He heard Rose sigh as they
continued walking down the wooden deck.
"You are right. I was not
trying to look at the propellers. I was trying to end it. It just felt like I
couldn’t go on, and the only way to stop it was erasing my presence in this
world," Rose said, each word dripping with emotion. "But then a man
saved me, a Mr. Dawson from steerage, and he made me feel as if life was worth
living, much like your Miss Stevenson, I believe," she said, looking at
him with her deep green eyes.
Daniel nodded, his suspicions
confirmed.
"Have you thanked Jack
yet?" Daniel asked, immediately cursing his straightforwardness.
"You know him?" Rose
asked, turning abruptly to gaze at Daniel. He nodded weakly, looking at Rose
expectantly.
"No, I haven’t thanked him,
but he is joining us for dinner, so I daresay I can do it then."
Daniel grabbed the arm of her
posh, floor-length dress and hurried down a white flight of stairs.
"Where are we going?"
Rose demanded, agitated by Daniel’s laughter.
Eventually, the two reached the
poop deck, and once again there were many of the third class passengers sitting
around, many playing with their children.
"Why have you brought me
here, of all places?" Rose inquired, smoothing the creases in her dress.
"To thank Jack," Daniel
said as he walked over to an Italian friend of Jack’s he had met yesterday.
"Hello, there, sir. I was
wondering if you could tell me where Jack Dawson is," Daniel said, hoping
he sounded formal in front of Rose, not wanting to embarrass her.
"No, my name is Fabrizio, no
sir, and Jack is over there," he said in his rich Italian accent, pointing
to the railing at the end of the ship, where a blonde-haired man was leaning
over.
"Hey, Jack," Daniel
said as he got near the young American.
Jack turned on the spot,
recognizing Daniel’s voice.
"I’m sorry I wasn’t at the
party last night. Something terrible happened," Daniel said, breaking off
mid-sentence as he saw Jack stare at Rose, who was standing nervously behind
Daniel. "I take it you have already met my friend Rose?" Daniel
asked, unable to keep the smile from his face.
Jack totally ignored Daniel and
walked straight up to Rose.
Well, sparks certainly do fly
on this ship, he thought
as he saw Rose’s eyes light with happiness when she saw Jack.
The two walked off, leaving
Daniel to his own devices.
He stood there for a moment, and
then realized he needed to see the captain. He nodded at Tommy, who was waving,
and withdrew his pocket watch.
Hmm…I will have lunch first, he thought, as he started to head back to
his stateroom.
Twenty minutes later, he stepped
into his sitting room. He proceeded to the promenade deck as he saw Keisha
staring out into the blue sea.
"Let’s get some lunch, shall
we?" Daniel asked, as he crept up behind her, causing the woman to jump
and smash a plant.
After half an hour wait, lunch
arrived for the two, to be eaten on the promenade deck. Daniel quickly declined
the service of a maid as he took the trays from a steward and closed the door.
Lunch passed in silence on both
parts, for they did not know what to say.
"I found this; it might have
been from the killer," Keisha said after a while, withdrawing an
elbow-length glove from her dress pocket.
Daniel quickly grabbed the
expensive item and fingered its silky fabric between his fingers.
"This would only belong to a
first class passenger," Daniel said slowly, realizing the depth of this
crime.
"I must see the fabric. I
will be back later to order you some dinner, but until then, stay in
Katherine’s room out of sight. I just pray the killer did not see you,
too."
Daniel quickly called a
stewardess to clear away the dishes, and he left for the bridge at top speed.
He ignored the sunshine and the
sounds of the waves crashing against the side of the ship. He only cared for
the answer to his problems.
"You are not allowed in
here, sir. I am sorry; the bridge is out of bounds," an officer said.
Daniel recognized him as someone called Lowe.
He stormed past the young
Welshman, slamming him against the wall. Daniel stole a glance at the equipment
used to steer the ship before proceeding to the crew’s mess hall, where the
captain was dining, or so he assumed.
Luckily, his assumptions rang
true as he entered the plain hall. All of the crew members in there stared at
him, wondering how a passenger got in there.
"Captain Smith, I found
something in my stateroom that may be of interest to you," Daniel said,
breaking the silence that had filled the room like a contagious disease.
The captain looked up at him, not
recognizing who he was.
"You are not allowed in
here, sir. Could you leave please?" the white-bearded captain asked.
"I know that, but then, a
corpse was not supposed to be in my stateroom last night. Sometimes things
happen."
The captain’s eyes widened at
this statement as he recognized Daniel.
"Ah…yes. Please come with
me, sir. We have some things to discuss."
*****
"My other maid found it on
the promenade deck. It must belong to a first class woman, for no other
passenger would own such an expensive item."
Daniel was in the captain’s
private room, seated on the other side of a heavy wooden desk from the man
himself.
The captain looked compassionate
and somehow angry. Daniel liked the kindness this man displayed, and couldn’t
help but let his anger dissipate.
"You are right, of course,
sir. The investigation that was taken up by the Master-at-Arms last night
brought up no results, and I’m afraid that we don’t know who did it."
The captain looked pensive. They
had already discussed the possibility of calling a meeting with all of the
first class passengers, but that seemed out of the question.
"I will just have to find
the criminal myself," Daniel said, staring out of the window.