Murder on the Orient (SS): The Agatha Christie Book Club 2

by C. A. Larmer

  Jackson shrugged. “If she’d used a few roofies, she might have been able to disable her first. Look, as with every investigation I’ve ever worked on, we’re still cloudy on a few of the details, but we’ll work it out. For all his candour, Cheyne’s refusing any culpability when it comes to the disappearance of Mrs Van Tussi and the murder of his wife.”

  “No way!” said Perry, aghast. “He must own up to that last one, surely he must!”

  “Nope, not playing ball on anything other than the thefts and the doping. He’s also admitted to conspiracy and fraud with his wife but insists she killed Mrs Jollson and must have had something to do with Corrie’s little slip over the side. As for his wife’s murder? He’s refusing to say a word.”

  “So he’s not as stupid as he looks,” said Lynette.

  “Actually it’s his smart lawyer he can thank for that.” He picked up his fresh glass of beer and leaned back. “He’s lucky Brenda Williams was bored out of her skull. Even if he wanted to confess, no way she’d let him.”

  Anders shifted in his seat. If he had looked weary earlier that evening, now he looked positively wiped out.

  “Bad luck, guys,” he said, “looks like there’ll be no perfect Agatha Christie ending to this one.”

  Several of the book club members frowned, and Alicia felt her own temper ignite. It wasn’t a fictional Agatha Christie ending she wanted. It was the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and she still had a niggling feeling they weren’t quite there yet.

  Chapter 11

  The last day on the ship was a dreary one, finally mirroring the mood Alicia had felt for most of the journey. Having rained most of the night, it was still overcast when Alicia joined the small group of passengers on the top deck for the scheduled morning jog. During her investigation, she had learned that gym instructor Steve Owens led a group around the perimeter of the ship daily at 7:00 a.m., and she was determined to finally get some exercise in. It was not just that the endless meals were beginning to stack up; she also needed to clear her head after another restless night.

  So much for sleeping better at sea.

  Alicia still felt a nagging sense that they had all missed something, that something wasn’t quite right. Yet for the life of her she couldn’t get a handle on it, and so she was beating a path around the ship, hoping to knock some sense into herself and some calories off her thighs.

  After two circumnavigations, she was panting like her beloved Labrador, Max, while the other joggers, most of them twice her age, looked as lively as puppies. There was barely a sweat on their brows.

  “You okay?” Steve called out to her as she bent over to catch her breath.

  “Sure!” she called back. “No problemo.”

  He made his way over, holding out a fresh bottle of water and a towel.

  She took the water and gulped half of it down. “So embarrassing,” she said when she came up for air. “I’m the youngest here, and I’m the most pooped.”

  He laughed and looked around at the group who was now stretching and chatting amongst themselves. “I learned that six weeks ago when I first joined the ship. Don’t ever underestimate the older passengers! Most of them give me a run for my money.”

  She smiled. “I heard you were new. Are you going to stay on? It must have been a bit of a shock, all of this.”

  “Oh they got their guy. I think we’re safe for now.” He swung the towel over his shoulder. “So are you joining us for some weight work up on the promenade? It’s nice and private up there. We usually do a bit of lifting before we head down to the gym. Not that we’re allowed in the gym today. They’re keeping the place sealed for forensics apparently.”

  “You’ve got weights up on the promenade deck?”

  “Oh yeah. It’s a lot less painful when you pump iron in the fresh air and sunshine. And no corpses up there, I can assure you.” He frowned just slightly. “Although we may have another thief on our hands.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Oh?”

  He laughed. “Just some missing weights. Someone’s probably snuck them back to their room. Some of the older gentlemen get embarrassed sweating it out with the rest of us.”

  Alicia’s brain did a little ping!

  “So, interested in joining us?” He nodded towards the upper deck.

  She shook her head. “Thanks, Steve, but I think I’ve punished myself enough for one morning.” She reached for the bag she’d left under the deck chair and pulled out her book. “Time for a bit of R&R.”

  He noticed the cover and looked impressed. “Murder on the Orient Express. How appropriate.”

  “You’ve read it?”

  “Nah, I’m not much of a reader, but I’ve seen the movie a few times. You know, the one with all the big names in it. My girlfriend loves those old flicks. Amazing story. Bunch of passengers playing God. Bit creepy if you ask me.” He swung around and called out to the others. “Okay gang, let’s make our way up to the prom deck, please! Take it easy on the steps, okay?”

  He waved good-bye to Alicia, but she did not notice. Her head was pinging like a pinball machine now as she stared up at the promenade deck and then down to the book in her hands.

  No way! She thought, bristling with excitement.

  Could the real truth behind Corrie’s disappearance lie in an Agatha Christie plot?

  Chapter 12

  There were no revellers getting their nicotine fix in the Smoking Salon today. It had been cleared of passengers, and an elegantly decorated table was placed in the centre of the room to accommodate a private luncheon.

  Captain Van Tussi was hosting the event and had drawn up a very special guest list that included Anita Monage, the Solarno sisters, Dermott Killarney, Mr and Mrs Groot, and all six members of the Agatha Christie Book Club.

  Chief Officer Pane was also in attendance as was Paul Packer, who was standing on duty at the door sending frantic smokers away.

  The ship was due to dock in the Port of Auckland in less than five hours, and there was one final scene that needed to play out.

  “Think we can pull this off?” Perry whispered to Alicia as they took their seats near Missy and Lynette, and she nodded confidently.

  She had read enough Christie novels to know how this worked. “I just hope the captain will be okay.”

  “Well you said it yourself, there’s no other way.”

  The first course was relatively smooth, and the group grew louder and livelier as the Tasmanian oysters and chilled sparkling wine worked its way into their system. By the time the main course, a delicious minted lamb dish, had arrived, almost everybody looked relaxed.

  It was time to pounce.

  Alicia gave Packer a subtle nod just as the captain began tapping at his crystal champagne glass with his silver knife.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, his voice as deep and smooth as ever. “Please, can I have your attention?”

  This time the Solarno sisters, who had been chuckling with the Groots, behaved themselves and immediately quieted down, their smiles wide, their expressions relaxed.

  “I would like to propose a toast,” he said, and everyone reached for a glass.

  He took a deep breath as if steadying himself before he spoke. “This has been an extraordinary cruise,” he began, “a very arduous journey, not just for me but for all of us. And so I have brought you here together today to offer my sincerest apologies for what has transpired—”

  Several of the gathering went to protest, but he held a hand up to stop them.

  “—no, no, let me finish, please.” He glanced towards the Dutch couple. “It has been especially hard for you, Mr Groot, and I hope that a future cruise can go part of the way to helping you recover from your terrible ordeal. Complimentary, of course.”

  Gunter looked delighted by the offer, but Eva cocked an eyebrow and asked, “A stateroom this time?”

  As her husband cringed beside her, the captain just smiled and bowed his head. He then turned his attention back to
the gathering and raised his champagne glass.

  “I would now like to take a moment to remember my beautiful, beloved Corrie. May she rest in peace wherever she may be. To Corrie!”

  Most of the group held their glasses high and called out Corrie’s name before taking sips of their champagne, but not everyone, and this did not surprise Alicia. She had been expecting that.

  The captain remained standing as he raised his glass again. “Finally, I would like to say a very warm thank-you to a group of book lovers who, instead of relaxing and getting a suntan like everybody else—”

  He paused now as a few people chuckled.

  “—they went out of their way to help my beloved Corrie, to clear her name and to solve the horrendous series of crimes that have plagued my beautiful ship.” He thrust his glass in Alicia’s direction. “I am only sorry I did not get a chance to properly meet you sooner, but I hope to get to know you all much better on a future voyage.” He smiled. “You are also welcome back aboard the SS Orient whenever you choose, and I hope that will be very soon. We owe you a debt of gratitude.” Alicia nodded her appreciation as he addressed the gathering again. “To the Agatha Christie Book Club!”

  This time a more rousing chorus repeated the words, and now the club friends all bristled with pride as they accepted the toast and took another gulp of their drinks.

  Alicia stood up then. “I’ve got one more toast if that’s okay?”

  The captain bowed his head again and resumed his seat.

  She glanced around the table. “I know that we’re getting a lot of the praise for this, but I have to say, I don’t think we can take all the credit.” She turned her eyes to the Solarno sisters who were seated together directly opposite her.

  They stared at her, surprised.

  “Without you three ladies, Corrie’s disappearance may well have remained a mystery.”

  “Don’t be silly—” began Millie, but Perry was nodding his head enthusiastically.

  “Oh it’s true!” he said. “If you ladies hadn’t insisted we head back to our cabins at the exact time we did, via that outside staircase, well none of us might have heard poor Corrie go overboard that night. We might not have known exactly when it happened, and it might all have been pinned on the wrong person, like the captain perhaps?”

  “We would never have allowed that!” said Billie sternly.

  “No, it was a true miracle,” Perry continued. “I mean, from what the barmen tell me, you ladies are never normally up that late. They said how lucky it was you were around that night because you usually take off the second the DJ comes on. It seems to me, you chose the perfect night to stay up, didn’t you?”

  The captain stood again, a thin smile on his lips. “In that case, I’d like to join Alicia in proposing a toast to the Solarnos.” He took a moment to look at each of the sisters, first Tillie who was blushing, then Millie who had an awkward smile on her face, and then Billie who sat stone-faced, refusing to meet his eyes. “To the Solarno sisters, for looking out for my Corrie.”

  “The Solarno sisters!” the group now sang before slugging back another sip.

  The captain sat down and placed his glass on the table untouched.

  Alicia noticed it and felt a stab of pity for the man just as Detective Jackson swept into the room, Packer at his heels.

  “What are you doing here?” Anita said, but Jackson held a hand up to stall her and strode across to the captain who was just placing his serviette on the table. He looked up, eyebrows raised.

  “I’m sorry to have to do this, Captain Van Tussi, but I’m arresting you for the murder of your wife, Corrie.”

  You could have heard a pin drop.

  “What?” someone said eventually, Anita it turns out, then there was a collective gasp as Jackson began to read the captain his rights.

  “You are not obliged to say anything unless you wish to do so, but whatever you do say will be recorded and may later be given in evidence—”

  “It’s absurd,” said Billie, struggling to her feet. “You must be wrong!”

  Jackson stopped and looked across at her impatiently. “Afraid not, Madame.”

  “But… but it was Cheyne Smith, surely it was Cheyne? He killed Corrie, and then he killed his wife. That’s what you said.”

  He shook his head firmly. “Mr Smith may have killed his wife, but we have evidence to suggest that Corrie was killed by the captain.”

  “What evidence?” cried Anita now.

  “We have a witness that has finally come forward. He has placed the captain going into his wife’s cabin just before 2.00 a.m. the morning she fell overboard. That’s fifteen minutes before she fell.”

  “Who? Who is this person?” demanded Millie, also getting to her feet.

  “That is confidential, I’m afraid.” He turned to the captain. “I’m very sorry, sir, but it is a reliable witness. They have no reason to lie.”

  “Well they must be lying, it’s utter nonsense!” said Billie, almost laughing while Tillie stared up at her, pale as a ghost.

  “It’s okay, Bertha,” the captain said, holding out his wrists as Jackson slapped on a pair of handcuffs.

  “Is that really necessary?” demanded Dermott.

  “This is bloody ridiculous!” screamed Anita while the Groots just sat back, gobsmacked.

  Millie, too, was still struggling with the news and shaking her head over and over. “He couldn’t have done it, he couldn’t have! He was sleeping on the bridge.” She looked at the captain. “You told us that’s where you sleep every night. You said there would be witnesses.”

  “I was on the bridge.” He sighed. “But I was worried about Corrie. After our little tiff at dinner, after I couldn’t find her at 11:00 p.m.… well, I needed to check on her again. I needed to apologise. Someone must have seen me go into the cabin at two.”

  “But it doesn’t make any sense,” scoffed Millie. “You couldn’t have done it.”

  “Did you see Corrie?” asked Dermott. “Was she in her bed then?”

  The captain shook his head. “It was dark. I assumed she was asleep, so I decided not to disturb her. I just looked in quickly and left again. But I’m afraid my alibi is useless.”

  “It doesn’t matter, don’t you see?” said Billie, still looking amused. “It doesn’t prove anything. You had no reason to kill your wife.”

  Jackson cleared his throat. “In fact, he has a very good reason, Ms Solarno. The captain knew about his wife’s affair. Isn’t that correct, sir?”

  The older man nodded.

  “You knew about that?” said Anita looking aghast. “When? When did you find out?”

  “What does it matter?” snapped Millie. “It doesn’t mean he killed her. You don’t even know if she was killed at that time.”

  She glanced at her sisters, who were staring at her anxiously. Billie was slowly shaking her head. “Sorry but, well, none of us really know. She… she might have been killed any time before then.”

  Perry raised a hand in the air. “But we heard her, didn’t we, ladies?” He glanced between the sisters. “It was 2:15 a.m., and we heard her scream, remember? Then we heard her fall. That splash! I will never forget that splash.”

  They all said nothing for a moment before Millie began shaking her head wildly, her double chin wobbling like a bowl of jelly. “Maybe that was fake! Maybe someone had already thrown her overboard and they just screamed later to make it sound like it happened later, maybe they threw something overboard to make it sound like a splash. Maybe it was a setup.”

  “Really?” said Jackson, watching her keenly. “Is that how it happened, Ms Solarno?”

  She looked at him, blinking rapidly, then across to her sisters. “I… I don’t know. I’m just saying it could have.”

  She slumped back into her own seat.

  The captain glanced at Jackson again, then sighed even more heavily. “It’s a pity for me, Millicent, that it didn’t happen earlier because then I might be saved. I have an alibi al
l night, except for the time she was thrown over. I don’t think anyone can get me out of this mess.” He turned to Jackson. “Take me away. I deserve this anyway after neglecting my beautiful wife.”

  “No!” roared Billie suddenly. “You did not neglect that woman. I won’t have you say that! It is she who neglected you!”

  “Bertha,” said Millie, grabbing hold of her arm, but she shook her off.

  “No it has to be said. We all know it! Corrie was never worthy of you, captain, never!”

  His jaw tensed, but he took another deep breath and said, “I loved her. She was everything to me.”

  “But what about her affair?”

  He shrugged. “I deserved that. I was too busy with my duties. I neglected her.”

  “No! Never say that!” Billie’s voice was now hoarse with anger. “You did everything for that woman, everything! You pulled her from the gutter and you cleaned her up! You made her respectable and you gave her free reign of this beautiful vessel! And how did she repay you? She slept around like the slut that she was! She deserved to die! And we would kill her again if we had to, wouldn’t we girls—?”

  She stopped, slapping a hand across her mouth, but it was too late. The words were out, and they hung in the room like a poisonous gas, causing her sisters to recoil in their seats while the rest of the gathering gasped audibly.

  Billie blinked a few times as if trying to recall just what she had said. Eventually it must have sunk in because she slowly removed her hand, straightened her shoulders and sat down again.

  There she took a few deep breaths before turning to her sisters and taking their hands in her own. After another minute of horrified silence, she said very softly, very sweetly, “The game is up my darlings. The game is up.”

  Chapter 13

  The captain looked fit to burst. Beneath his beard, his ruddy cheeks were violent red, his eyes were blazing, and he could barely contain his rage as he stared at the Solarno sisters who shrank from his glare.