Murder on Board the Macedonia Athena Dorsey
Copyright 2016byAthena Dorsey
All Right Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval Systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Murder on Board the Macedonia
The Macedonia is a cruise liner that is for the elite and the rich, with its beautiful white and blue colour towering over the Ocean, balcony rooms with a view to kill for and overpriced restaurants with three pubs, a dining hall, casino and an entertainment line up that will keep you occupied all day and night.
Maude Cummings and her husband David often frequent the ship and have been across the ocean a few too many times.
“I love being out at sea away from the manor and all of my guests.” Maude said with such honesty as she climbed aboard the Macedonia for the 100th time.
Jenny and Craig Pennington two of the richest people in the country also frequent the Macedonia but Craig has never been a fan of the open sea and he often gets seasick.
“I would rather be at home sunbathing in the privacy of my own luxurious pool where I have no disturbances at all but the Mrs always drags me along and I just go with the flow.” Craig said as he handed the porter their luggage. “The ship is amazing, Doris. Thank you for inviting me because I would never be able to go on these cruises so often on my own.” Monica says to Doris with a genuine smile and gratitude. “Well my dear, you know how much I love your company.
“ Doris says, reciprocating with a warm smile.
“My customers will love the new cloths that I intend to bring back and I cannot wait to find the wooden bowl that we discovered last time.” Doris said to Monica as they walked onto the exotic ship and into the meeting area.
The Flingels were also on board which created an awkward atmosphere as they were not on speaking terms with the Cummings due to a conflict in business interests as they both compete for guests in their boutique hotels. “Kyle, look the Cummings are here for their weekly escape with our money.” Pat said as she gave the couple a big dirty glare. “Never mind dear, they will get what they deserve.” Kyle bragged loudly leaning towards his wife.
“Monica, let us get settled into our rooms so that we can go an enjoy a cocktail at the pool bar, I just have to go and pay a visit to my dear old friend, Christine as this is her first visit on board the ship after Leonards passing.” Doris said to Monica as she took off her coat and gestured the porter along.
“Yes, that sounds like a good idea Doris but I think I am going to relax a little in the cabin before our cocktail and give you a chance to catch up with Christine.” Monica uttered as she followed the porter down the passage.
The passage has such magnificent views of the ocean and we haven’t even left the harbour yet, I cannot imagine how beautiful it will be once we are out at sea. Hope I don’t get sea sick.” Monica thought to herself whilst looking through the round port windows as she walked excitedly along the bold blue carpet towards her cabin.
The cabin was incredibly large as Doris received extra special treatment because of her friendship with the captain. The room had two double beds with a comfortable bathroom and a balcony that looked onto the ocean and the deck of the ship. “What an amazing room and how lucky we are to be here today. I cannot wait to explore the entire ship.” Monica thought out loud with enthusiasm as she rapidly unpacked her things, placing them into the wardrobe that was fitted with white wooden shutters to complete the Mediterranean feel of the ship.
Later on Monica met up with Doris at the pool bar where they enjoyed a delightful and brightly coloured cocktail that was so exotic it was an excuse to have another. “These cocktails are absolutely fantastic and I could get used to this Doris.” Monica said as she raised her glass to cheer before taking another sip.
“I don’t want to go to the dinner tonight could we not just have dinner sent to the cabin?” Maude whispered as she looked around with such unease whilst David shook hands and networked with his peers. “Maude, we need to network and this is the reason why we do these trips because it brings in a lot of business, so buckle up and smile because we are going to the dinner tonight and until then, just pretend to enjoy yourself.” David said abruptly as he ushered Maude along to greet some people.
The dinner was an incredible spread with such variety and colourful tables spread across the entire restaurant floor. “I am going to enjoy this dinner and I love the theme tonight, French food how interesting.” Monica said out loud to Doris as they walked along inspecting the food, dressed in their best clothing filled with sparkle and ready to party.
“I am most definitely looking forward to the dancing part of the evening it is festive and I must warn you that it goes on all night long as you forget the time on board this girl.” Doris said to Monica whilst picking at items to put onto her plate. Once the restaurant was full and the lights dimmed, the sound of a commotion erupted at the bar. “I told you to stay out of my way and I meant it. How dare you come and invade my space with words that have no meaning, leave me alone!” Kyle Flingel shouted out to Dave Cummings.
“Let’s not make a scene darling it is not worth it, come and sit down.” Pat said as she pulled her husband away in a hurry.
The scene was incredibly loud and it made everyone feel a little uncomfortable for a while but once the band began to play everyone forgot the commotion and danced the night away.
“What a beautiful day and the ocean goes on for miles, shall we go for a swim Doris.” Monica suggested as she sipped her morning coffee.
“If you don’t mind I will leave the swimming to you and I think I will retire on a deck chair with my book for a while.” Doris said as she looked into the ocean.
“Did you hear the argument between Kyle Flingel and David Cummings?” Craig whispered to his wife whilst David walked past with his head held high meeting and greeting once again.
“Yes, you would think that the rivalry would have ended by now, it has dragged on for so long. You would think that they would plan their trips separately to avoid the altercations.” Jenny said cheerfully as she plastered the sun tan lotion onto her pale white body.
The day went by and everyone spent the afternoon in the sun doing activities that were provided by the ship’s crew but the excitement for the Captains dinner was overwhelming and many of the guests left early in order to get ready for the dinner dance that was the highlight of the cruise.
“I think you look absolutely beautiful my dear, that dress is incredible.” Doris said to Monica who was usually dressed in jeans and a shirt.
“Thank you Doris and you look beautiful too, I love that handbag and that dress is breathtaking.” Monica noted as she took her friends hand and ushered them towards the door.
“Shall we?” Monica said as she opened the door and led them both out into the passage.
“The room looks amazing, Under the Sea’, what a great theme for the final event.” Jenny said to Craig as she lifted her head and looked at every little spot in the room. “The spread of food is what I am looking forward to with the all you can eat lobster, can’t wait!” Craig shouted out with great enthusiasm.
“Yes, luckily you are not seas sick this time around my darling.” Jenny laughed.
The Captain arrived and the festival began with
everyone present and looking absolutely amazing. Gold and sparkle was the theme for outfits and the bolder the crystal the better it seemed. Monica feeling uncomfortable in her skin tight ball gown escaped the room for a breath of fresh air and a cigarette.
“That feels good!”
Monica said as she breathed out the smoke in a sigh of relief. “Help! Help!” Pat screamed as she ran frantically towards the staircase leading up to the Captains ball. “Monica suddenly stomped her cigarette and ran towards the scream to investigate. “What happened are you alright?” Monica shouted as she moved towards Pat who was crying in a wretched panic. “My husband, my husband! His wallet is floating on the water. He came out to speak to Mr Cummings and never returned, so I came out to look for him and all I found was his wallet and Cummings said that he hasn’t seen him.”
Pat yelped as she tried to get the words out.
“Don’t panic, let’s alert the security and they will find him, I am sure that he is fine. Just wait here and I will get them to come and find him.” Monica said in a calm voice as she began to walk rapidly into the security area.
The security sent out a search team and everyone on the ship was now aware of the event and the thought of Kyle Flingel lost at sea became a reality. “When did you last speak to Mr Flingel, Mr Cummings?” The security manager asked as he wrote down the information. “I went out onto the deck because he called me to speak to me and the conversation did not last long as I will not entertain his anger, so I walked away in mid conversation to rejoin my friends at the ball.” David Cummings said with confidence as he shuttled around as if he was being inconvenienced. Monica listened to the conversation and spoke to the security after interviewing all the guests. “I am not completely convinced that Mr Cummings has had anything to do with this and I have a strange feeling that Mrs Flingel knows more than she is letting on.” Monica said suggestively as she looked around to see if Pat Flingel was around.
“That lifeboat is missing I am sure of it, it was there I counted it and did the check when we boarded.” A member of the crew said to one of the other security officers on board.
“I wonder if perhaps there is more to the story than this. I don’t think that Mr Flingel was murdered, well not intentionally. I think he has disappeared to make it look like he was murdered, but why?” Monica questioned the scenario as she walked over to Pat.
“Once we dock on the island it will be easier to send out a search party and the police will interview everyone again. Is there anything or any reason why you might think that he has been murdered?” Monica asked Pat in wonder.
“Well the only thing that I can think of is David Cummings and his arrogance and anger towards my husband. There would be no other person that could have done this; I can feel that he is gone. My husband is gone!” Pat cried as she put her head into her hands.
“I saw him get thrown overboard, it was David Cummings!” Pat screamed as the security put handcuffs on Mr Cummings who fearfully shouted, “It was not me, I had nothing to do with it.”
Once the ship docked Monica excused herself from Doris in order to keep an eye on Pat Flingel as she suspected something was not right and that she would lead her to answers about her husband. “Taxi! Taxi! Pat shouted as she ran towards a taxi to take her to the centre of the island. “Follow that taxi” Monica said instructing the driver to keep a safe distance. She followed Pat to a rustic looking village apartment. “Thank you keep the change.” Pat said throwing the money into the cab as she moved swiftly towards the entrance. “What do we have here?” Monica said as she walked slowly through to a room where Pat was standing talking to a strange man. “He is safe, all you need to so now is pay for the documents and you can begin a new life with lots of money.” A strange dark haired man said as he handed Pat an envelope. “Oh yes, they were in financial trouble and this was a planned death, well a fake anyway, just to get the insurance money....and it settles their score with the Cummings as David has been arrested for murder.” Monica thought to herself as she moved over to the reception to call the police. “I knew it, Kyle is not dead, and he is just in hiding. Now to find out where?” Monica said in question as she called the police.
Free Full Length Story
Dr. Greene and the Time Travel Machine
…Synopsis…Book 1
Dr. Greene swallowed hard. The machine had finally gone silent and that was supposed to be a good thing. But as far as he was concerned, it was his very first experiment and it goes without saying that anything could pretty much go awry. And if the latter would have been the case, then all years of working hard would have just gone down the toilet, something that he just couldn’t bear to witness.
And so without further ado, he edged a little bit closer to the time machine and placed his trembling hands against the door lurch which was still warm from the teleportation, and he clenched his teeth. Deep down, he just hopped that his experiment had become a success. And without wasting any more time, Dr. Greene pulled the door open.
The rat had disappeared!!! His experiment was a success!!!
Chapter 1
-Dealing with rejection-
Dr. Greene didn’t understand why his fellow scientists were making a hell lot of fun of his project. As far as he was concerned, he knew that his theory, as well as project, were going to come to fruition sooner or later. And being the most brilliant of them all, Dr. Greene decided that maybe sharing some of his discoveries wasn’t that much of a brilliant idea.
If anything, the only thing that would seem to work out at the end of the day would have been just to kick back and make sure that he never talked about his project to anyone.
“Come on Greene, I understand, you are the most brilliant scientist of us all. But I don’t think you are using your brilliance in a way that we all thought you would. Teleportation? Come on man. That’s just absurd.”
“Absurd? You think?” Dr. Greene started
But after thinking about it for a minute, Dr. Greene decided not to engage his sponsor since it might have ended up in something that he wouldn’t have come back from it. It was plausible that he needed the billionaire’s funding and despite the fact that it was a little difficult to cope with the man, sometimes the best thing would just be to kick back and make sure that he was doing everything accordingly and try to avoid having a confrontation with his boss.
“I was just giving out brilliant ideas. You understand jolly too well that invention is the mother of all invention right?”
Richardson smiled. He knew that his long time friend and scientist was right. But at that point, it was more of a dream to start thinking about something that would waste years as well as plenty of funds before it ever came to fruition. And that said, he just had to give Dr. Greene the plain truth, something that he knew he wouldn’t like but either way, it was necessary.
“Look, I understand that you are brilliant. And to be honest, my organization wouldn’t have gotten this far and also profited the way it has were it not for your brilliant input. But come on brother! Time traveling? That is anatomically impossible. Look, just focus on something that will bring both of us some quick money. And once you have figured that time travel thing and you are sure, then we can focus on it. Is that ok with you?”
Dr. Greene didn’t want to argue with his boss. And so he was left with no other choice but to agree with him. But deep down, Dr. Green knew that he was on to something. And that said, he was going to continue doing his research even without the financial support of Richardson, the billionaire behind hi-tech companies.
And Dr. Greene made a solemn vow to himself that he was most definitely not going to share the fruits of his hard work with anyone once everything was all sorted out.
And it was at that moment that Dr. Greene sat in his office which was situated at the fag end of the laboratory and wondered about a couple of things in his life. First and foremost, he never quite understood the reason as to why he always worked his ass off and came up with inventions that end up bene
fiting Richardson.
And now that he was on the brink of solving a scientific mystery that would not only change his life but also the life of his boss, they all started doubting him.
Dr. Greene then decided that he was going to pursue his dream. And as soon as he had gotten to the bottom of it all, then he was going to make sure that Richardson was never going to benefit from this one.
At first, Dr. Greene froze at the thought of crossing Richardson since he had a reputation that preceded him by a long shot. And even though he always looked like he was a caring and incredible man, one thing about him just couldn’t escape the fact that his enemies always found themselves in dumpsters or floating on rivers. But even though it was clear that Richardson was responsible, he made it clear that no evidence always led back to him.
And most of the scientists only discovered that he was a dangerous man when they had already signed the contract and that meant that he owned them. But Richardson always had a soft spot for Dr. Greene since he not only brought him a fortune but he also made sure that he had some cool personal enhancements on his toys including guns, cars and what have you. But still, that didn’t mean that Richardson wouldn’t harm him if at all he crossed him.
But that said, it seemed as though it had all reached a point where they were left with no other choice but to make sure that they were in a position to follow their dreams. And if Richardson didn’t want the time machine project to go on, well that was his bloody problem, and loss as well.
***
The briefing had been done on a Friday, and once it was over and done with, the next thing that was left was to ensure that Dr. Greene was in a position to get out there and have a few drinks. He was many things, but a good loser wasn’t one of them. And that was just the result of being the most brilliant scientist in the firm whereby other scientists didn’t understand something; they would only rush to him for advice.
Mystery : Cozy Mystery: Murder on Board the Macedonia (mystery, thriller, cozy, shocking, short stories) (short reads, detective, murder, suspense) Page 1