“You bastard. You cynical bastard. You don’t want to believe me, do you?”
“You have to be realistic in my line of work, and that story is not realistic.”
Ben smiled. “Wait a bloody minute. What about the hotel in Naples? The Hotel Vessuvio. Check out the guests on the given dates.”
Martin leaned over the table. “That’s impossible. You see, the Hotel Vessuvio closed down in 1958... Now, unless you travelled back in time, you couldn’t possibly have been there.”
Ben held his head in his hands. Davenport had his revenge.
As Martin placed his papers in his briefcase, Ben shouted out. “Iraklion. We visited Iraklion during the cruise.”
“Yes, we checked out the Tavernas you mentioned, and the proprietors confirmed you indeed did visit there with your friends. That proves nothing, Ben. So, you visited Iraklion with your friends. Is that where you murdered them? You see, no crew members from the so-called cruise accompanied you, according to witnesses. There were only ten of you.”
Ben chuckled to himself. How could this be? “Okay, Sherlock, if we didn’t arrive in Iraklion by ship, how exactly did we get there? I take it you checked out the flights?”
“Of course. Our assumption is that you drove to Crete. It wouldn’t be difficult to hire boats to ferry you across the sea. I think you hired one such boat and ran into difficulties. For some reason, you abandoned the vessel and sailed away on your makeshift raft.” The detective lit up a cigarette. “Make it easy on yourself. Confess, and tell us what you’ve done with the bodies.”
Ben laughed loudly, a maniacal, deafening laugh.
Martin left the asylum, convinced that Ben was insane.
Epilogue
There was no evidence to convict Ben. There were no bodies and no motive. Research on the original Empress Medina revealed that ancestors of the missing four men actually did sail with the ship. It was decided that Ben, after reading about the mystery of the Empress Medina had become obsessed by it. So obsessed that he had tracked down the other ancestors and contacted them by manufacturing a prize aboard a cruise ship. The man was becoming an embarrassment to the British government, and therefore it was decided to confine him in St Luke’s mental institution in London. Three independent doctors helped their cause and certified him to be insane. The officials at the mental institution were under strict orders not to allow Ben to speak to the media. His friends and family visited, but they were told that he was mentally unstable, and susceptible to making up ludicrous and inane stories.
Ben sat in his cell in his straitjacket. He rocked back and forth and watched the fly buzz around him. He had a large stain around his groin area. Yes, Ben’s sanity had indeed deteriorated, ever since his incarceration into St Luke's. He had given up trying to convince the officials of his story and now ignored their visits, which had become less infrequent.
His warder observed Ben talking to himself. The inmate had an imaginary friend by the name of Penelope, only she was not imaginary. Only Ben could see her, and she visited him often. She would sit and hold his hand, and still believed he was her beloved David. Yes, they were both victims of his great-grandfather.
Ben’s parents visited rarely, but during one such visit, Ben made a strange request. He asked them to trace a man named Carl, the son of Penelope Craven, who sailed aboard the Empress Medina in 1925. He told them Penelope had married a film director, who had died. He stated that he was unsure if Craven was his name or her maiden name. Ben added that if Carl were alive today, he would be probably in his early eighties. Ben, not wishing to upset his father, failed to mention that Carl was his grandfather’s son, and his uncle. He pleaded with his parents to contact Carl, and his wish came true a year after he was incarcerated into St Luke's.
The white haired old man sat opposite Ben and eyed the man in the straitjacket warily. Carl was now eighty-years old. “You wanted to see me?” he croaked.
“Yes, I do. It’s about your mother, Penelope. Do you remember her?”
Sadness was etched on the face of the old man. “Yes, I do.” he smiled, a toothless smile. “She died many years ago when I was a young boy. She died aboard a ship… She was beautiful.”
“Yes, I know she was.”
“How do you know? I haven’t showed you any pictures of her.”
“You don’t have to, Grandfather… I’ve met her.”
Carl trembled uncontrollably. “Grandfather? What madness is this? I must go immediately. I was foolish to come here to an asylum.”
“No, wait. Please. I know how this must sound, but you have to believe me. Your father was David Duncan, my great-grandfather. They fell in love some years before the cruise. Penelope loved him so much, that when he stressed he could not leave his wife for her, she jumped overboard and took her life.”
Tears streamed down the face of Carl. “Is this true? My mother never left any clues as to who my father was. She spoke fondly of him, but I never found out who he was… That she died at sea I know… but suicide. What happened to the Empress Medina is a mystery to this day, so how could you possibly know how my mother died?”
“Because, as I’ve already said, I met Penelope.”
“You are insane. Please, you don’t know how much you hurt me with your mockery.”
Ben sighed and recalled his first sighting of Penelope. “I’ve been on board the Empress Medina with them. I know how this sounds, but it’s true.”
“Why do you say such things? You really are insane and I now realise why you are incarcerated in such a place.”
Ben rose to his feet. “Grandfather. Penelope, your mother. She’s with us right now.”
“Stop it please. I must go,” insisted the old man.
Ben settled back on his stool. “Your yellow rocking horse. You used to call it Lady. Am I correct?”
Carl stared at his grandson. “How could you know that?”
Ben continued. “Your mother. She really is here. You can ask her something.”
The elderly man hesitated before he responded. “Why did she go away? Why did she leave me with my aunty?”
Ben shifted uncomfortably in his straitjacket. “She loved your father. She booked her passage on the Empress Medina when discovering that David was to be onboard. She hoped that you'd understand one day.”
Carl removed his cap. “Where is she now?”
Ben looked to his side at the tearful Penelope. “She’s sat beside me.”
“Can I touch her?”
Penelope nodded and Ben watched as she embraced her son.
Carl cried tears of joy. “I can feel her! She is here with me. Thank you, Ben. Thank you for everything. I forgive you, mother. I love you.”
Ben watched as Penelope mouthed thank you to him. “Your mother loves you too, Grandfather.”
Penelope faded away and Ben knew he would never see her again. Her son had forgiven her, and she could finally rest in peace.
******
Ben slept peacefully that night. It was if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. That he would no doubt spend the rest of his life locked up now seemed trivial. He opened his eyes and he felt a presence in his cell. He sat up and his straitjacket still enveloped him. Davenport sat on his stool and smoked a cigar.
Ben glared at the evil man. “You!”
“Oh, come on, Duncan. That’s not the way to greet an old friend.”
“I thought I’d finished you forever.”
“How long is forever, Duncan? You didn’t honestly believe you could finish me off with a flare gun, did you? Dear boy, the Empress Medina and I will sail the Mediterranean Sea until infinity itself.”
“Why have you come back? To finish off your work I suppose?”
“No, in fact I can honestly say that I take no great pleasure in your suffering. I now realise that there is indeed some good in your blood. I saw what happened earlier with Penelope, and I must say, I was touched deeply by your actions.”
“So what do you want?”
******
George Martin was escorted by the guard when he entered Ben’s cell. The inmate as usual was strapped into his straitjacket. Martin dismissed his escort. “It’s okay, we’re old friends, aren’t we, Ben?”
The guard left them alone.
“How are you, Ben? How are they treating you?”
“Oh, as well as can be expected I suppose.”
“The reason for my visit is to inform you of your appeal. I’m afraid it has been turned down, and I can’t say I’m surprised. I believe you’re too far down the road, if you get my meaning. You know, cuckoo, wacko. It appears that you’ll probably never leave St Luke’s, Ben, and I think the streets will be a lot safer for it.”
Ben smiled at Martin, a devilish smile that unsettled the detective.
Martin gloated. “What’s funny. Don’t you understand what I’m saying? You’ll rot in here for the rest of your life.”
Ben rotated his head and his neck ached badly. “I’ve been in here for just over a year now, Martin, do you know that? And in that time, I’ve had the opportunity to learn plenty of tricks.”
Martin narrowed his eyes. “What are you getting at, Duncan?”
The sadistic smile was still present on the face of the inmate. “Everything I told you about the Empress Medina was almost true. I failed to mention one important factor. I survived by eating human flesh. Doesn’t that make you feel uneasy? I ate human flesh and do you know what? I loved it. The sense of power it gave me to devour another human being.”
The detective felt increasingly uneasy. “Stop playing Hannibal the cannibal with me, Duncan… I always suspected you ate human flesh. How else could you have survived without food? Anyway, what do you mean by learning tricks?”
“I was just coming to that. Do you know, Houdini used to dislocate his shoulders to escape from a straitjacket?”
Martin now perspired heavily as he rose from his chair; “I have to go, Duncan.”
The guard outside checked his watch and finished his cigarette. He approached the cell door and pulled back the shutter. He gave three loud blasts on his whistle, before he reached for his truncheon. He was promptly joined by two other guards. They opened the cell door and stared in horror at Ben, who was sat astride the bloody body of Martin. Ben chewed on the detective’s Adam’s apple, his mouth covered with his victim’s blood. Ben spit out the gristle and laughed, an insane laugh. Before he blacked out, he was certain he could detect cigar smoke.
More books by Anthony Hulse
Insanity Never Sleeps
Insanity Never Sleeps II (The Resurrection)
The Eternal Chain
This Blood Red Sea
Nurtured Evil
The Orphans of Dachau
Forever and Ever
The Culling
Cupid’s Poison Arrow
Comrades of Deceit
The Abduction of Grace
Cries from the Deep
E-books
Insanity Never Sleeps
Insanity Never Sleeps II (The Resurrection)
The Eternal Chain
The Culling
This Blood Red Sea
Forever and Ever
Cries from the Deep
The Orphans of Dachau
Blood Money
Comrades of Deceit
Cupid’s Poison Arrow
The Abduction of Grace
Available from http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/HULSEY
and www. Amazon.com
My Website: http://anthonyhulse.angelfire.com/index.htm.lhome.html
Table of Contents
The Cruise
Anthony Hulse
Copyright @ Anthony Hulse 2014
Prologue Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Epilogue
More books by Anthony Hulse
The Cruise Page 20