by Chanel Smith
GHOST SHIP
The Ghost Files #9
by
Chanel Smith
Created by
J.R. Rain & Scott Nicholson
THE GHOST FILES SERIES
Ghost College (Book #1)
by Scott Nicholson and J.R. Rain
Ghost Soldier (Book #2)
by Evelyn Klebert
Ghost Fire (Book #3)
by Eve Paludan
Ghost Hall (Book #4)
by Michelle Wright
Ghost Crypt (Book #5)
by Chanel Smith
Ghost Town (Book #6)
by Chanel Smith
Ghost Writer (Book #7)
by Chanel Smith
Ghost Castle (Book #8)
by Chanel Smith
Ghost Ship (Book #9)
by Chanel Smith
OTHER BOOKS BY CHANEL SMITH
THE PACK TRILOGY
Werewolf Moon
Werewolf Nights
Werewolf Forever
THE HUNTRESS TRILOGY
The Vampire With the Golden Gun
The Vampire in the High Castle
The Vampire Who Knew Too Much
THE GHOST FILES
Ghost Crypt
Ghost Town
Ghost Writer
Ghost Castle
Ghost Ship
Ghost Ship
Copyright © 2016 Chanel Smith
Based on characters created by J.R. Rain and Scott Nicholson
Published by J.R. Rain Press
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between persons living or dead is purely coincidental. All rights reserved by the authors. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for reading us.
Ghost Ship
Prologue
The Australian, Thursday Morning Edition
Headline: Australian and Kiwi Navies Gobsmacked by Disappearance of Cruise Ship
Naval vessels and aircraft from both New Zealand and Australia are still searching for a Koala-Kiwi Cruise Lines ship which disappeared from radar just after midnight on Tuesday. The vessel called the Eucalyptus left port from Brisbane, New Zealand at about 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Eucalyptus had 2,368 passengers and crew aboard (according to the manifest on file in Brisbane) and had embarked on a 15-day cruise from Brisbane to New Zealand before it vanished at sea.
“We are working tirelessly with New Zealand’s navy in an attempt to locate the vessel; however, to date, neither naval force has been able to uncover a single clue as to what happened to the vessel. It’s sort of a Kaz II situation, but without the boat,” Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Commander Arthur Samuels said.
The vessel was being monitored by the Australian Royal Navy via radar when it left port on Sunday evening and throughout the day on Monday. There had been no calls of distress and no sign that the ship was encountering any rough seas. “All reports were of smooth sailing,” Samuels said. “We had no reason to suspect that anything was amiss with the Eucalyptus.”
At approximately 12:14 a.m., Commander Samuels was awakened in his stateroom after radar operators on the RAN Melbourne could no longer locate the Eucalyptus on radar. After being certain that all systems were functioning properly, a helo lifted off from the deck of the Melbourne to do a routine flyover of the last known location of the Eucalyptus. After a widening spiral search of the area, the pilot reported that he was unable to make visual contact with the vessel and returned to the Melbourne. The RAN then reached out to the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) for assistance.
“Within an hour following our pilot’s report,” Samuels said, “we had sonar equipped vessels from both the RAN and the RNZN on location. In cooperation with our neighbors, we organized a grid search of an area of 1000 square kilometers around the Eucalyptus’ last known location and have yet to find any sign of the Koala-Kiwi vessel either above or below the surface.”
The strange disappearance harkens back to a peculiar finding of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority on April 20, 2007, when a 9.8-meter catamaran dubbed Kaz II was found adrift approximately 88 nautical miles northeast of the coast of Queensland. There was no sign of its three-member crew and no indication of any sort of foul play. The crew had simply vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a video camera that recorded the last minutes of their ill-fated voyage. Though a coroner ruled that the men had been the victims of a freak accident, there are still plenty of skeptics who look toward extraterrestrial or paranormal events to explain the disappearance of the men.
Did the Eucalyptus, her passengers and crew suffer the same fate? Some theorize that something like a Bermuda Triangle effect has suddenly appeared within the northern portion of the Tasman Sea. Others, like with the Kaz II, point to paranormal or extraterrestrial events as an explanation. Noted paranormal investigator Owen Hume tells us not to be “too hasty in ruling out” entities from the beyond. “We simply don’t understand everything that takes place on the other side of the veil,” Hume said. “Because of our limited understanding of the Great Beyond, we can’t be too hasty in ruling out the existence of some paranormal phenomenon that might have taken place.”
At this point, there is only speculation into what happened, but one thing is very clear, as the joint task force of the RAN and RNZN continue their search, a bizarre and unexplained event has and is taking place in the Tasman Sea. Commander Samuels and his counterpart Commander Briggs of RNZN are left with an enigma of epic proportions as they attempt to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of the Eucalyptus.
The Eucalyptus was scheduled to make its first port of call at Auckland on Friday morning; however, given the eerie turn of events, it seems safe to assume that the Koala-Kiwi vessel will not make that anchorage. To date, where the cruise liner is and what happened to it has everyone gobsmacked.
Chapter One
In the air above the South Pacific, five days earlier
Ellen was right, of course. It was a lesson that I’d learned early on in our marriage, but still had a tendency to forget. Although she’d been wrong about chocolate waffles and peanut butter and jelly pancakes, when it came to the more important things in life, she was almost always right. Though I understood that particular fact, I didn’t always use my better judgment when it came to recognizing that particular affinity of hers.
“Just listen, this is a fascinating story. There was a catamaran called the Kaz II, which was found adrift without its crew about 100 miles off the coast of Queensland in 2007. A videotape showed that they were sailing in calm seas and were fishing. There was a prepared meal on the table ready to eat and absolutely no indication of what could have possibly happened to the crew. Some people believe that because the main sail was torn when they were suddenly attacked by a giant Kraken. Others say that a UFO sliced through the sail and that the men were then abducted. The story of those that believe it was a UFO is even backed up by reports that persons on Airlie Beach saw a gray, saucer-shaped object with bright lights heading at a high speed directly out to sea somewhere near where the abandoned catamaran was found.
“Of course, the official ruling was that one of the men dove into the water to unwrap the fishing line that had gotten tangled around the rudder, another dove in to rescue him and the third simply fell overboard because of a rogue wave that suddenly hit. Of course, there is no explanation for the torn sail or why three experienced and cautious seamen simply fell into the water and weren’t able to get back in the boat.
“I think something paranormal happened—”
“Monty, I already told you that I didn’t want to hear it,” Ellen sighed. “We a
re going on vacation to get away from this stuff. Why are you, of all people, bringing it up?”
It was a good question and I didn’t have an answer for it. When we’d first started out as paranormal investigators, I had always searched for a way to rationalize every event with some sort of scientific explanation. I seemed to have come full circle or even switched places with my beautiful bride.
“It’s just a fascinating story,” I replied. What else could I say? “The ‘official’ explanation is nothing but hogwash. I mean really, three experienced sailors—”
“Monty, please,” she snapped and then followed it up with a smile. “I’m sorry. I know that I should embrace the fact that you are seeing things from a paranormal perspective rather than simply accepting the rational explanation, but at this particular moment, we are on a plane headed to Brisbane, Australia to board a cruise ship for two weeks of rest and relaxation. That is precisely what I want to do. So, can you turn off that over-eager switch of yours and allow us to relax? Please?”
“I’m sorry, Babe,” I replied. I couldn’t deny those gorgeous eyes pleading with me. “You’re right. I’ll just put the tablet away.”
“The tablet is fine, Mon,” she smiled. “I don’t mind you showing me the photos from the Great Bearer Reef and telling me about some of the fascinating aspects of Brisbane or of New Zealand, but can we just stay away from ghost stories and paranormal activity?”
“How about alien abductions?” I asked, pushing my luck.
“No alien abductions, no cryptozoology, no mysteries of any sort. Just nice, relaxing, terrestrial phenomena that have no strange, weird, eerie or odd circumstances surrounding them, okay?”
“Cryptozoology?”
“A pseudoscience that is interested in the study of creatures for which there is a lack of evidence for their existence.” She rattled it off as though she was a walking dictionary, smiled that brilliant smile of hers that always left me a little breathless, snuggled into the headrest of her seat and closed her eyes.
I’m the kind of guy that once he gets started down a particular path, he can’t really jump off of it. For me, doing that would be similar to just opening the door of the plane and jumping out. Whether Ellen was going to take an interest in the mystery or not, I was already hooked. “I’ll just keep it to myself then,” I whispered.
“Thank you,” she muttered without abandoning her blissful state.
The story of Kaz II took me on a journey into all sorts of stories about haunted ships, phantom ships and strange disappearances. Before I knew it, I was reading about the Bermuda Triangle and all of the strange mysteries that were associated with it. Realizing that I had wandered a very long way from the original, I started closing tabs and working my way back to the original story. I was about to close the next to the last tab that I had open when I saw a reference that happened to catch my eye. I paused and started reading some more.
The reference was for a deity in the folklore of Fiji called Dakuwanga, the shark god. Dakuwanga was supposedly a friend to sailors and had often rescued ships that had become lost at sea, but he was also very territorial. In one particular story—which I’d just started to dip into when the flight attendant came to tell me that it was time to turn off my electronic device so that we could land—Dakuwanga was attempting to conquer Kadavu Island, when he was attacked by another goddess who had taken on the form of an octopus.
That’s as far as I had gotten, so I copied and pasted the text into a file on the tablet so that I could read it later and then did as I had been asked. I forgot all about the story and my tablet as I looked out the window and saw Australia below.
“Babe,” I said, touching Ellen’s arm softly. “You’ve got to see this.”
The broad, curving river that wound its way through the city of Brisbane, reminded me, a little bit of London. It lacked the old London charm with its palaces, abbeys, museums and whatnot, but it made up for it with hills rising up behind it on the distant horizon.
“It’s beautiful,” Ellen said. “People always talk about Melbourne and Sydney. They ought to be talking about Brisbane as well.”
“Ye got that right, mate,” I responded in my best attempt at an Australian accent. I’d always figured that if you took an English accent and added a southern one to it, you got an Australian accent.
“Please don’t do that,” Ellen smiled.
I guess I was wrong.
Chapter Two
Imperial Hotel, Brisbane, Australia, Saturday night
Our benefactors spared no expense when it came to Ellen and my trip. Not only was El Castillo in Medellin, Colombia happy with our work, but they gained a new donor who dropped a significant amount of money into their foundation.
At the hotel in Australia, we were put up in the penthouse suite and had our meals and a bottle of champagne brought to us. We dined on the broad balcony of our suite atop the Imperial Hotel and looked out across Moreton Bay and the reflection of the city’s lights cast across the water.
Ellen and I had been working way too hard. I’d noticed it in her when we were in New Orleans and I’d noticed it in me when we were in Medellin. Though we’d been looking forward to a little bit of time at home, there was no turning down the offer for the cruise.
“Promise me something, Mon,” Ellen said in a soft tone. The sparkle was already beginning to come back into her eyes as she looked over her glass of champagne and took a sip.
“Sure, Babe, anything.”
“Promise me that we won’t think about, read about or talk about anything that is remotely connected to work until our feet touch the ground back in California.”
“There’s not a ghost of a chance that I’ll bring it up,” I grinned.
Ellen rolled her eyes at me, which wasn’t anything new. Though she appreciated that I had a sense of humor, I think she also marveled at how horrible some of my jokes were.
“I’m serious, Mon. We have been pushing it pretty hard. We have a chance to relax a little and we need to take advantage of it. So, promise me.”
There was a time to be serious and I knew that it was time. “I promise,” I said, raising my right hand. Of course, the instant that I made the promise, it reminded me of the shark god story that I’d been reading on the plane. My own mind betrayed me sometimes.
I spent a little time leaning against the rail of the balcony with my arms wrapped around Ellen after dinner. The reflection of Brisbane’s lights, joined by the stars in a clear night’s sky, was a fascinating sight to behold. The sweet smell of Ellen’s hair right under my nose was taking me away to memories that had begun to fade, something that I swore would never happen. Ellen was an incredible woman and had swept me off of my feet. Yeah, it’s supposed to be the other way around, but for me, she was the best thing to ever come along. I couldn’t help smiling as I considered the first time we met.
“You’re telling me that we’re going to bring in some nut job to help solve this case?” I remembered saying, just like it was yesterday. “Come on, we’ve got a foot into the 21st century. Who uses psychics to solve murders?”
“Not a psychic,” Archie Burns replied. “A paranormal investigator.”
“What the hell is a paranormal investigator?” I laughed.
“It’s a person who investigates claims regarding the presence of ghosts, demons, spirits, aliens, lake monsters, chupacabra, mythical and mystical phenomenon and other ‘strange or bizarre’ occurrences,” a female voice had answered from behind me.
I’d started my response before turning around. “That’s good, did you get that out of a dict…” Having expected to see some old hag with stringy hair, wearing a smock or fu-fu or whatever they called those new age, tie-dyed dresses, I wasn’t ready for the beautiful, normal—no, extraordinary—woman who was standing in front of me and smiling broadly. There wasn’t any air left in my lungs to finish the sentence.
“My name is Ellen,” she chuckled softly. Her eyes sparkled as she extended a hand toward me. “
I’m going to guess that you’re Monty?”
“I, uh, yeah, I’m Monty,” I stammered. In that instant, I hadn’t been sure who I was. She had sucked all of my previous life out of me and I was instantly drawn to her. I stared at her in a state of paralysis that went well beyond all other previous experiences.
“You don’t seem too sure,” she laughed.
“I guess I was expecting…” Again, I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting and didn’t know how to complete the sentence. All I knew was that I wasn’t expecting her.
“You were expecting some old hag with stringy hair, wearing a flower print mumu and holding a crystal ball, perhaps?”
“You’re my psychic?” I’d asked.
“Oh, I don’t know that I’m going to let you own me, but I’m loaning myself out to help you solve this case,” she’d laughed.
It had been the most musical sound I’d ever heard in my life. I’d heard it so many times since, seen the smile, listened to her lyrical voice and come to respect everything about her. Not to mention the fact that I had fallen head over heels in love with her. Leaning on the balcony rail in Brisbane, I knew that in spite of—or because of—everything that we’d been through, I was still madly in love with her; even more than I had been the moment we met.
“Do you remember our first case together?” I muttered, rubbing my nose in her sweet-smelling hair.
“No shop talk, remember?” she whispered.
“Not that part,” I replied. “The day that we met.”
“Mmm, yes I do,” she whispered, turning around so that she could look up at me with that smile which still made me catch my breath. “That hard ass, disbelieving detective has sure come a long way.”
“I’ve had a fantastic teacher,” I answered in a low tone.