The Floating Corpse

by James Walker

  We opened our mouths to state the obvious, but Rowan held up a hand to forestall us. “It must have been perfect timing because the first set of agents came out the door towards the rear of the train, just before the second set entered from the front. They told the officer in charge of the soldiers that they relieved and were going to stretch their legs. “He paused and spoke slowly, so there was no misunderstanding.

  “Neither man was carrying anything, and they weren’t wearing overcoats they could have concealed under -- if that’s even possible with a three- foot steel box! It must have weighed a ton!

  “By the time the theft was discovered, the first two agents had disappeared. One eyewitness said they may have seen the two walking down to the road and get into a waiting automobile. In any case, they have vanished.” He sighed and looked somber. “I just got word before I came to find you, that the two real Federals were found in New London–murdered and stuffed under a blanket in the back seat of a car at the train station there.”

  A thought came to my mind, one I thought was clever. “Maybe…” I drew it out for dramatics, “it never left the train. Perhaps they hid it somewhere and planned on coming back for it later!”

  I was pleased to see my Uncle raise his eyebrows in admiration of my logic, but Rowan quickly shot me down.

  “Not a chance, Watson! They near tore that train down to its frame by now and the case hasn’t turned up!”

  I was about to snap a jibe back at the chief for the ‘Watson’, but William patted me on the back and murmured; “It was a clever thought, Frohman.”

  William gave the chief a hard look and said. “Of course, you must have considered that they could have passed the case off to someone else.”

  Rowan shook his head emphatically. “I already thought of that! I had men stationed on both sides of the tracks at Chester and there were a lot of soldiers walking about, stretching their legs. It couldn’t have happened while the train was stopped.”

  That didn’t leave much. So, I put in, “They must have tossed it to someone on the way.”

  “A heavy black box? Tossed off a speeding train in darkness? Why would someone go to all the trouble and risk of murdering, then impersonating Federal agents, stroll through twenty-five armed soldiers, just to take a chance like that? It was too well planned to culminate in a random act.” Rowan responded, and then sighed.

  “Besides, I had men patrolling the tracks on horseback while the train was passing through my jurisdiction. Each one saw the train pass at some point, and none saw anyone near the tracks. When I first got the news, a few hours ago, I sent for and deputized Frank Chapman. He and a couple of my men examined both sides of the track from New London to Chester. He just reported to me before I came here. He found no sign of anyone but my men for as far out as he looked on either side!”

  That did it for me. I was confident that if Frank said no one else approached the tracks, I would take it for gospel! I was completely baffled, and I turned to my uncle to get his reaction. I didn’t bother to open my mouth.

  Uncle Will was staring out into the sky as if the world had faded away for him. I expected the Chief Inspector or the doctor to say something, but they were a tight lipped as I was, each knowing about William’s way when he pondered a problem. I stepped away from the group and lit a cigarette. I puffed away watching my uncle until I tossed the butt on the grass and ground it in with the heel of my boot.

  Suddenly, William came alive like a drowning man finally getting a breath of air. You could feel his intensity like the air before a lightning strike.

  “Frohman! Run ahead to the dock. Have Ozaki get us underway as soon as possible. Chief Inspector—to the Helena!”

  Rowan obeyed without question, so much was his faith in my Uncle, and I couldn’t do less than follow suit, so I turned and bolted towards the river. The doctor made like he was to join us, but William took his arm to stop him. “Doctor, I need you to go back with the police car and tell the Sargent to send the launch.”

  “Tell him not to dawdle,” he called out over his shoulder at the dazed Doctor as he broke into a trot. “and tell the Sargent to bring as many men as he can!”

  26

  With me undoing the lines and Ozaki starting up the engine, the Helena was roaring across the water, at full throttle. William leaned over to give Ozaki directions above the noise of the engines and pointed towards the train bridge. Rowan, clutching the side of the wind screen, looked uncertain about the situation and was bursting for an explanation of our impromptu departure.

  “What are you about, Gillette?” He shouted above the din. “Why are we heading for the bridge?”

  “Not the bridge, Inspector — the barge! If I’m right, we may be in time to recover the stolen item and,” he smirked smugly, “find the answer to Marquis’s demise!”

  That brought on another slew of questions from the Chief, but William ignored him, concentrating on the barge. The first thing I noticed was that it wasn’t at its usual mooring. The engines were chugging loudly, black smoke belching from its exhaust ports, as it slowly moved towards the center of the river, almost directly under the bridge.

  Around four hundred yards out, I could see two men on the deck. One was standing next to a piece of machinery that was putting along for all it was worth, while the second, older man stood near a crane. I recognized the two as the men who were at the Inn with Marquis on the night I trounced him.

  When we were two hundred yards out, the older man by the crane, saw us approaching and shouted to the second man as he stepped towards the cabin. The man crouched down behind the machine and when he rose, he was pointing a rifle at us. I saw the puff of smoke from the barrel but could hear no report over the roar of the Helena’s engines at full throttle. I only heard the ugly whine of the bullet pass over our heads –uncomfortable close.

  Ozaki cut the throttle immediately, and as we slowed the Chief Inspector rose to his full height and growled, “How dare he fire a warning shot at us! He’ll regret that!”

  He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Cease firing! This is the police! Prepare to be boarded!” He turned to us with a half a grin on his lips, “I’ve always wanted to say that!”

  The grin dropped off his mug when William shouted a warning and another shot rang out. This slug smashed right through the center pane of the wind screen and passed between me and my Uncle. The glass exploded everywhere, but luckily, only Ozaki got a small cut on his ear before he slid out of the seat to crouch behind the wheel. The man who shot at us ducked behind the machine again and I could see the barrel was sticking up. I knew he would be reloading.

  Rowan, to his credit, wasn’t going to let that happen. He pulled his thirty-eight from its holster and started blasting away in a measured staccato. It was too far for him to do any damage, but it did keep the man down. When the hammer clicked on an empty chamber, Rowan immediately ducked down to reload, but that was what the man was waiting for. When the echo from the last shot faded, the man rose and took aim once more.

  William barked. “Frohman!” but I had already pulled my piece. Steadying my right hand with my left, I judged the roll of the boat and sighted at the tip of the rifle barrel pointed at us. I squeezed the trigger and the man snapped backwards then crumbled to the deck like a sack of dropped potatoes.

  We were no more than twenty yards away by then and I swung my gun at the older man. Rowan reloaded by then and had his weapon at the ready.

  “Put your hands up and stay where you are!” he ordered.

  The Captain looked over at his downed companion, then back to us before darting to the cabin. He pulled open a door and quickly disappeared inside.

  Rowan looked over at us and asked, “Where does he think he’s going to hide?”

  Ozaki expertly pulled alongside the barge and Rowan leapt off to rush to the door the man had disappeared into. I grabbed a stern line and looped it over a cleat on the deck then made sure my uncle wasn’t injured. W
e made a quick check on Ozaki, who waved us off with a grunt. The three of us stepped onto the gunnel then leapt onto the barge.

  Rowan was pounding away on the door of the cabin, demanding that whoever was inside to come out with their hands up. His words were lost on me as I approached the still chugging machinery with my pistol ready. Every part of me was focused on the man lying behind it. I saw his feet first and hesitated, but nothing moved so I walked in a wide circle around the machine until I could see him entirely. As I got nearer, I realized that my pistol was no longer necessary. He was lying on his back, staring sightlessly into the bright spring sunshine. Standing over him, I saw a ragged hole in his head, just above his left eye, and a fast spreading pool of blood on the deck beneath his head. My mouth went dry and my heart hammered in my chest when I realized what I had done. I stiffened from head to toe and I could see the barrel of my pistol bob up and down as I began to tremble. It was Ozaki who brought me to my senses. He stepped between me and the body and gave me a slight bow. “Thank you. You saved our rives.”

  Suddenly, I felt no real remorse. When I thought of either of my uncles taking a bullet from his rifle, I was glad my aim was true. I had no more time to dwell on it then, as the Chief had given up on yelling and was trying to kick the door in. Uncle Will stood still, taking it all in. His gaze went from the machinery to the crane and then out onto the water.

  Rowan gave up trying to muscle the door and put three shots into the lock to blow the handle off. Suddenly, a sound of an engine erupted from within the cabin and William shouted a warning and pointed to the front of the barge. I rushed around the side to the gangway in time to see hidden doors open and the bow of a boat appear from within cabin area. Soon it was ten yards out and was picking up speed when I reached the bow. I lined up a shot and could have plugged the Captain easily, but there was nothing to hit but the back of his head.

  Rowan ran up next to me and started shooting away, but the boat was fast and began to weave after the first pop. It was a thin, low draft boat about fifteen feet long, the last ten feet of the back was an open engine big enough to push a vessel four times its size, the front was little more than a wind screen and a sunken cockpit. In a couple of minutes, it was nearly out of sight.

  Rowan disgustedly holstered his weapon and wheeled on me. “Why didn’t you shoot?”

  I shoved the forty-five back in my docker’s rig and replied. “I already got my quota today.” Then I walked back to join my Uncle and Ozaki. Rowan was incensed when he joined us.

  He snatched his hat off and slapped it on his thigh. “Well...if you think they had the box—it’s gone now!”

  “Perhaps not, Chief Inspector.” William relied calmly. He turned and addressed me, “That explains why we never saw a boat tied up to the barge—besides Marquis’s, that is.”

  “I expect so, “I allowed.

  It was Ozaki who pointed at the crane and brought our attention to it.

  I hadn’t noticed before, over the din of the machinery, but the crane’s motor was running also with its gears in neutral. There were ropes lines leading from the tip of the cranes into the water. One, which ran down the length of the arm to coil around a drum at the base, was quite large, more than an inch thick. The smaller line was attached to a box at the tip of the crane and had enough slack to flitter in the breeze. Suddenly the smaller line went taut and a bell chimed. It went slack then taut again and the bell chimed a second time. Uncle Will began to issue orders.

  “Collin, get to the pump and find the off switch. Stand by. Chief, ready your weapon.” He nodded to Ozaki, and then took the controls for the crane.

  I have no idea where he learned to handle heavy equipment, but he began to pull levers with familiarity. The crane’s motor kicked into gear and went up several pitches as the thick line went taut. All eyes were glued to the spot where the line entered the river, as the rest of the rope slowly began to build layers on the drum at the base of the crane.

  There was an eerie glow coming from beneath the surface getting larger and brighter as whatever William was raising came closer to the surface. A Large hook was the first to break the surface, followed by an odd glass bubble reinforced with brass strips. Like a hooked fish breaching, the man shaped object popped from the water’s surface. Before my mind could register it, my eyes were staring at a nearly seven-foot tall mannequin made of canvas, brass, steel, and glass. There were brass fittings around the knees, elbows, shoulders, hips, and the neck to which a glass bubble was secured by large ring-tipped screws. From somewhere on its back, the same tubing trailed into the water as was attached to the pump I was now controlling. The feet were shod with calf-high boots that had several inches of steel for the soles. Even more menacing were the steel pinchers that sat at the end of the arms. The right held a lantern, still glowing in the sunshine. From the left dangled a large steel strong box.

  A bearded man’s face was visible inside the helmet, close enough for us to see his eyes widen in shock when he saw the four of us. His mouth moved with silent curses when he saw the Chief pointing a gun at him. Something started to whirl in the apparatus clutching the strong box, and it was becoming obvious he intended to drop the box back into the river. Rowan shouted a warning and cocked his revolver, but William was quick to act.

  He slammed one lever forward and yanked back on another at the same time. The arm of the crane swung towards us and the man in the diving suit swung over the deck before he could react. Rowan barely had time to leap aside as it swung between us. William halted the crane’s movement and the man continued on in an arc until he was four feet off the deck and twisted around to face us. It was then that my uncle released the brake on the rope. He yelled to me, “Shut off the pump, Frohman!” When I did as he asked, the world went silent.

  It took a few seconds for the tension in the rope to slacken, and then the man dropped to the deck like a rock. When his steel shod boots hit the steel deck, it sounded like a blacksmith’s hammer on an anvil. Unbelievably, the man kept his balance and stood there swaying like a drunken bear. The lantern dropped to his feet and shattered. He was visibly panting under the glass plates, now that he was running out of oxygen since I had shut off his air supply. He managed to raise his arm and the now empty claw began to snap open and shut. I was about to pull my piece to back up the inspector with his gun pointing out in front of him, when I guess Ozaki had seen enough.

  Ozaki charged at the suit and when he was six feet away, launched himself into the air and planted both feet in the direct center of the suit’s chest with a force that would have tipped a buffalo! The weighted boots wouldn’t allow the man to fly backwards, however his body snapped back and downwards. He hit the deck so hard that you could hear the thick glass plates in his helmet crack. Ozaki managed to keep his balance and he landed on his feet a few feet past the helmet.

  Rowan rushed forward and straddled the nearly unconscious man with his right foot planted on the diver’s free arm, holding his gun in both hands and pointing it right at the man’s face. He turned his head to me and barked, “Quickly Collin! Get his helmet off before we kill him!”

  I ran over and dropped to my knees at the top of the helmet. I noticed Ozaki out of the corner of my eye as he sidled past us towards the feet. There were eight screws clamping the helmet in place. I grabbed one with my bare hand and could hardly get it to move it was so tight. I started to panic, knowing I could never get all eight off before the diver suffocated. Then, like manna from heaven, a wrench appeared in front of my face. Looking up I saw my uncle holding it out with a smug look on his face. “I believe you could use one of these.”

  I snatched it out of his hand and attacked the screw again. I had it off in no time and went for the second.

  .Time sort of stood still then. The Chief kept pointing his weapon while I moved from one screw to the next. After the fourth one, I glanced up to see William and Ozaki removing the strong box from the pincher. Rowan was completely unaware of what was happening behind him.
Ozaki, with great effort, picked up the box and scurried towards the Helena with it on his shoulder. Once again, I was amazed at the strength of the old man. He looked like Atlas carrying the world as he scooted away from us.

  Uncle Will took up a position to block his movements in case Rowan looked over his shoulder. I caught William’s eye and he put a finger to his closed lips. He was going to clip it! I was all for that! On top of all the other things I wanted to know, I was hoping my Uncle was finally going to reveal what was in that box!

  I doubled my efforts after that and soon was lifting the helmet away from the man’s head. I thought maybe I was too late, but his eye lids started to flutter and a loud moan escaped from his lips. Rowan still hadn’t changed position when I got to my feet. He looked up long enough to nod his thanks to me then resumed his vigil on the beaten barge rat, who was starting to come around. Rowan immediately started in on him with a barrage of questions and threats.

  I looked to William, who waved me over frantically. I stepped past Rowan and William flicked his eyes and turned his head towards the Helena. We were going to make our break. I walked as fast as I could without causing Rowan to look up and boarded Uncle Will’s launch. I could see the police launch coming towards us and I was relieved. For a moment, I thought that William had intended to run off and leave the Chief with that monster.

  William, edging backwards to us, called out. “That is it, then, Chief Inspector. We shall leave you to your duties. Congratulations!”

  He leapt aboard the Helena and Ozaki fired up the engines. As we shot away from the barge he called out, “Telephone me at my home when you are finished with the arrest and interrogation!”