The Floating Corpse

by James Walker

  Being the youngest and fastest, I was across the room and out the French doors to the terrace before the others got a few steps. I dashed to the edge of the low wall that faced the river and saw a faint orange glow, towards the stern of the Polly. I turned in panic to face my Uncle who had come up behind me, feeling like I was going to lose control. Uncle Will, though, was a rock! He was concerned, of course, but he took control of the situation as if it was all in a day’s work.

  He turned to Rowan. “You can ride with me.” Then he turned to the Doctor. “Go to my study and use the telephone to report the fire — then barricade yourself in!”

  I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I couldn’t stand there any longer, while the boat burned. Ignoring my Uncle’s cries to hold up, I dashed back into the house and saw Ozaki across the room, waving me on frantically. We dashed through the kitchen and down the stairs to where the bikes were stowed. Ozaki ran over to open the doors and I jumped on my machine. Not bothering with the hat and gloves, I flipped the ignition and kicked her into life. I eased towards the door and when Ozaki jumped on behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, I hauled back on the throttle and we roared out of there like a train coming out of a tunnel. I left a rooster tail of gravel as we shot up the rampway and onto the drive.

  Between trying to keep one eye on the road and one on the ever-growing flames on the Polly’s aft cabin area, and hearing a steady stream of Japanese obscenities in my ear, in no time I was pulling up to a screeching halt on the dock next to the stern gangway.

  I hit the front brakes hard and the rear tire fish tailed to a stop. I couldn’t tell whether Ozaki was tossed from the back on the bike or he leapt, but he hit the boards running and flew up the gangway. As soon as he was aboard, he ignored the flames that had engulfed the salon and bolted towards the wheelhouse. I knew what he was after.

  I killed the engine, dropped the stand, and dismounted in one motion. Ozaki didn’t need me up front, so I jumped down onto the stern deck to see how bad it was. I heard a rumble and I could feel the Aunt Polly’s engines begin to cycle.

  Relieved, I ran from the port side to the starboard, but saw no flames on the outside of the ship and realized the fire was contained to the interior, with luck, just in the salon. The curtains were burned away from the windows and the French doors, but there was too much smoke and fire for me to see much. I edged up and reached for the door handle, to maybe get a better look, but I could feel the heat coming off it from a foot away. I had stepped back and taken off my jacket off to wrap around my hands when there was a great roar and the flames were dramatically reduced under a great hissing cloud of steam.

  Ozaki had activated the fire suppression system.

  Water, pumped up from the bilges, sprayed in a steady flow until the flames had all but died. I peeked around the corner, but Ozaki hadn’t reappeared, so I used my padded hand to open one of the French doors. A great cloud of black smoke washed across me. It was so thick, I couldn’t help but take a great lungful of it and I fell back, choking for air. I staggered over to the gunnel and leaned against it to get my breath back. I saw then that Uncle Will was pulling onto the dock, with the chief sitting behind them. I waved and was about to call out to them, but the smoke billowed, and I lost sight of them.

  The wind was blowing towards the dock, causing the billows of thick smoke top obscure my view of the bow. I still hadn’t seen Ozaki, so I fumbled around in my jacket until I found my handkerchief and wrapped it around my face. Able to breathe a little, I plunged through the smoke to the port gangway to find Ozaki. I didn’t have to look hard, for he came out of the wheelhouse and headed towards me. I was about to call out to him, when suddenly, the side door to the master suite opened hard, knocking Ozaki sideways into the gunnel. I saw something like a striking snake and Ozaki grunted, and then toppled over the side into the water. A puff of breeze stirred just then, clearing a patch of smoke and I saw the man who escaped from the barge clearly, one hand on the door and the other holding what looked like a marlin spike. I snatched my gun from its holster, this time intending to shoot him dead!

  But he stepped backwards, quick as a mongoose, and my bullet only took off the middle hinge of the door at the frame. I cursed, wanting to chase him down and end it, but I looked over the side and Ozaki had disappeared.

  I threw my gun on the deck, picked my spot, and dove into the cold water. I hit my mark perfectly and when I turned upwards towards the surface, Ozaki was directly above me. He was slowly sinking when I slammed into his chest with my shoulder and drove him to the surface. I went to suck in some air, but just sucked the water out of the cloth around my mouth. I was choking and clawing at the kerchief and trying to get Ozaki onto his back. Uncle Will and Rowan had run to the side of the dock, next to a ladder that led to the water, and were shouting instructions and encouragement—just to add to the mayhem!

  I splashed my way over to the ladder like a wounded duck and grabbed it with one hand. At the top, Rowan had gotten to a prone position on one side of the ladder and stretched his arms down as far as he could. William got to one knee on the other side and lowered his cane. I grabbed it with my free hand and William pulled me close enough to the ladder for me to get a foot on the bottom rung, below the surface. I let go of the cane and grabbed a rung, then I heaved us both up until Rowan could put a hand under my arm and help. William reached down with his long arms and got a double grip on Ozaki’s jacket. Suddenly the weight was off me and he was pulled to safety. Rowan gave me a hand and I collapsed on the dock.

  Uncle Will straddled Ozaki, after laying him face down, and heaved up until he looked like he was holding an inverted ‘V’. After a couple of lifts, a stream of water rushed out of the little man’s mouth and he started heaving with great racking coughs. Uncle Will rolled him over and I half crawled over and got onto one knee near his head. Uncle Will pulled him into a sitting position, and I propped him up against my leg.

  There was a growing goose egg on the crown of his forehead, but no blood. His chest heaved and his eyes fluttered but he made no sound except the wheezing in his throat. Uncle Will was calling his name and looking him over when I caught a glimpse of a shape moving quickly across the stern deck towards the gangway. It must have been the man I missed, Ozaki’s would-be killer!

  Without hesitation, I turned to the inspector, who was standing behind my uncle, watching the scene and I shouted, “Rowan! Watch out! On the boat!”

  Rowan stood and wheeled about to face the Aunt Polly. Past him, great swaths of black smoke still poured from the salon across the water to docks. His eyes swept the boat from bow to stern and he saw nothing to react to.

  “Watch out for what?” he asked, frantically.

  “Me!” a gravelly voice said.

  Uncle Will, Rowan, and I all swung our heads at the sound to see a figure step out of the smoke, like a wraith from hell. I instinctively reached for my gun, but of course, all I grabbed was the leather of the holster. I had dropped my gun on the Aunt Polly before I dove in after Ozaki.

  Rowan had the same idea and I could see him begin to reach for his weapon, but he wasn’t fast enough. Our sight blocked by the inspector, I couldn’t see who spoke, but there was no mistaking the shape of my pistol that swung in an arc to smash Rowan across the face. Rowan valiantly tried to keep his feet, swaying like a reed in the wind, but he lost the contest and he staggered six or seven steps to his right before he collapsed in a heap.

  Standing where the chief started from was the captain of the barge, smirking and pointing my gun right at us!

  William, to my surprise, seemed to pay no heed to our assailant and moved to check on Rowan.

  “Leave him!” The Captain commanded. “Stay where you are!” William froze, and then slowly started to turn towards him.

  Ozaki groaned then and opened his eyes. His weight came off my leg as he sat up on his own, one hand clutching his head and the other spayed on the dock to keep his balance. I slowly stood.

  “Y
ou too, Master Frohman. Leave that little monkey where he lay. I owe him that much, and more!” The captain warned. “Take one step and I’ll put a bullet in Gillette’s head!” Then he grinned like Satan at a lynching and added. “Nice gun, by the way. Semi-automatic. Saves me having to cock it every time I shoot one of you!”

  William planted his feet and stood his full height, with one hand behind his back, holding his cane.

  “Captain Roy. We meet again.” William said calmly, as if they had just run into each other at a local restaurant. The name hit me square between the eyes and my jaw dropped. Even the Captain was surprised by his naming, the way his eyebrows shot up.

  Roy chuckled, and then shrugged. “I wasn’t certain that losing thirty pounds and shaving would be enough to fool a man of your intelligence, so I kept out of your view. Still, I give you kudos for recognizing me.”

  “I recognized you on the barge, before you fled.” William replied blandly. “Yet, I must offer my own applause for your ability to elude the consequences of your actions. For the second time—that I know of.”

  The smirk dropped off the captain’s face at the taunt and the gun came up an inch. I was afraid he was going to shoot my Uncle right then and there, when Uncle Will added, “Still, I must admit that, although I stopped you, I was remiss in this whole affair. I failed to see the most important aspect.”

  “And that being?” Roy asked. I was a hair relieved to see the pressure coming off the trigger. I also noticed that he hadn’t pulled back the hammer. That might give me a chance at the right moment.

  William acted surprised at the question, but I knew he was just taunting the Captain in his own way. “Why, your hand in all this, of course! The corruption of a young man, the underwater element to your crimes, and the combination of inside information and prior planning—those are all trademarks of your work!”

  Roy nodded and smiled. “I’ll accept that from you, Gillette. It’s all true, though I wouldn’t say I corrupted Marquis. In fact, I never thought of him as more than a delivery boy until he told one of my men where he could lay his hands on a diving suit. Then he was worthy of attention.”

  It helped that the boy was a bad egg to begin with. A couple of drinks, a few slaps on the back, and he jumped in with both feet.” He barked an evil laugh, “You could even say he went overboard!”

  “I imagine you were madder than a wet hen when Marquis brought his spoils to your barge.” William observed. “Increased attention and patrols in your area could have put a serious dent in your plans. Which is why you returned the money; to divert the authorities’ attention.”

  Roy dipped his head in acknowledgement of my Uncle’s reasoning. “I had Marquis and my men practice in the waters closer to the town. It kept prying eyes off me and gave the unwashed another legend to crow about!” A dark cloud passed over his face and he snarled, “Then that pissant had to go and show off!”

  The smirk returned to his mouth as he went on. “Well, what’s done is done,” he waxed philosophically. “I did admire his initiative and his plan was very clever. I was especially proud of the fact he left no witnesses.”

  The calm cool way he spoke of a man’s murder made me shiver. “Then why’d you kill him?” I blurted out. I was trying to stall him, with my eyes fixed on the hammer of my pistol.

  Roy tossed me a contemptuous look and snarled. “Shut up, boy! The adults are talking now.” He turned his gaze back to William. “In four bullets, it won’t matter anymore.”

  He raised the pistol an extended it closer to my Uncle’s head. “Gillette, I once warned you to stay from my ken. You will now pay the price for your failure to heed me.”

  I coiled, ready to spring into a suicidal attempt to stop him, but froze when my uncle said loudly, “Shoot us and you’ll never get your hands on that strong box!”

  Roy chuckled and shook his head, but he still had not pulled the hammer back on the pistol. “Oh, Gillette. You disappoint me! After making your fortune and fame on the Sherlock Holmes name—haven’t you even read Doyle?”

  “You are of course referring to ’A Scandal in Bohemia’. Yes, it is one of my favorites.”

  “Then you know now this fire was a diversion. I knew you’d all come running when you saw your precious boat on fire. It broke my heart to put the torch to the old girl after all the time and work I put into her while I worked for you and captained your precious Aunt Polly.” He sighed theatrically, “Still it had to be done. It gives my men the chance to retrieve the box—and me the chance to balance the scales and settle up with you.”

  William shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid your masters will not be pleased if you let those papers slip through your fingers. Germans are not known for their forgiveness.”

  A look of uncertainty crossed Roy’s face and he hesitated long enough for me to spit out.” You’re a dirty Hun?”

  He swung the gun in my direction and sneered. “No one is my master! My only loyalty is to profit, and the Kaiser pays top dollar right now.”

  He dropped the jovial façade and sneered in a manner as evil as I had ever witnessed. “For instance, like he did when I told them the Lusitania was carrying armaments. They would have sunk any ship I pointed at, but I knew your father was sailing on her that trip.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You sank that ship just to get back at my father?”

  He shrugged and gave me and evil smirk. “Two birds with one stone.” He swung the barrel back at William, who wore a mask of rage and then Roy proclaimed. “Now that you know—you can all die”

  I was so focused; even in the dim light I could see his finger go white on the trigger. When nothing happened, he hesitated, and I realized I might get the few precious seconds I needed to act. I sprang to make my charge.

  Uncle Will was faster. A twist in his cane’s handle and a flip of the wrist saw the sheath of his ‘cane’ flying into the river. I saw a glint of steel from Uncle Will’s cane just before he shoved all two feet of the sword through Roy‘s heart. I stopped short as William put his face to Roy’s, almost close enough to kiss and said. “Though you deserve much more than this—that was for Charlie!” Roy began to sink slowly to his knees and William lowered himself to keep eye contact.

  “You have failed,” he intoned at the wide eyed and grimacing Captain. “I have bested you again. This time will be the last.”

  Rage flooded the dying man’s face, but before he could scream his rage, William yanked the blade back and Roy toppled over, all life departing him. William stood slowly and turned to me. Our eyes met for a long moment then I nodded my approval. He tossed the cane out into the river where its false cover went and brushed past me to the inspector.

  Rowan was just beginning to stir, and I thought my Uncle was going to his aid, but he reached into the Chief’s jacket and pulled out his service revolver. He walked back over to straddle the dying Captain Roy. Pointing the gun down at the blood stain on Roy’s chest, he cocked the pistol and fired. Twice. Then for a third time.

  I just stood like a statue as he calmly stepped over the body and went back to Rowan, who was just starting to come around. I jumped a foot off the deck when Ozaki, who had somehow found the strength to grab my ankle, said, “Three is a good number.”

  Still trying to decipher that, I watched Uncle Will get down to one knee next to the Chief and gently lift him into a sitting position as his eyes began to fully open. Then Uncle Will quickly put the revolver in Rowan’s right hand. After a few seconds, we could see his fingers tighten on the familiar grip. He came awake and looked around, surprised to see his gun in his hand. “What…what’s going on?” He asked groggily.

  William beamed at him and said in his best stage voice,” You got him, Chief Inspector! You saved us all!”

  29

  I could see what my uncle was doing, and I thought I knew why. Covering up the stab wound with bullet holes and giving the Chief all the credit would save him a lot of press and all the other invasiveness that come
s with killing a man, especially if you’re William Gillette! In the middle of my gloating over how clever my uncle was, a thought broke through and I panicked. Dashing over, I grabbed my gun from where Roy had dropped it and looked at my motorbike. Deciding in a flash that it would only announce my arrival, I bolted for the tramway across the clearing. I managed to say, “The doctor”, as I passed William before breaking into a full run. I heard him calling at me to wait, but I knew Doctor Blum was up at the castle alone and those men of Roy’s would kill him with no remorse. It was time for me to be the hero!

  I started the tram and leapt aboard. On the trip up, I heard a siren and saw a police car heading down the road towards the dock. Satisfied that Ozaki and Chief Rowan would get the attention they needed, I steeled myself for the task ahead. I figured I was sitting in the cat bird seat for now. I hoped that Roy’s men, if they were still inside the castle, would hear the siren and see the police heading to the docks, giving them more time to search. They wouldn’t be expecting me, or my forty-five!

  It seemed like an eternity until the tram got me to the top. My wet clothes were sucking the heat out of my body and were sticking to me. I was just as glad I left my jacket on Ozaki as it would have restricted my movements.

  As soon as I was level with the landing, I killed the power and set the brake. Dashing in a crouch, pistol at the ready, I crossed the driveway and went up on the porch and walkway encircling the castle. There were some lights on in the great room, so I stayed low, so as not to be seen from anyone inside and did the same when I came to the lit kitchen windows. I decided to go in the door to the conservatory because it was dark and I thought the plants would cover my entrance. Once inside, the faint light from the moon shining through the glass of the conservatory was enough to make my way into the pantry on tip-toe. I could hear noises from in the great room, so I flattened myself against the wall next to the hallway leading to the interior of the castle. I was just about to edge forward when I heard footsteps behind me. Turning about, I heard the hammer click of my .45. I froze and found myself staring straight down the barrel at a very stunned Catty!