Ian sat down on the settee and began reading through the newspaper clippings. The clippings were from newspapers in India each giving details of the murders of young women. “There are a lot more women in these articles than what Lieutenant Stokes mentioned.” Ian said grimly, “In fact judging from these articles it looks like the total count is around twenty young women from all over India.”
Roycroft flipped through the book of photographs, “There aren’t any pictures of the murdered girls in those clippings are there?” he asked.
Ian scanned through the pile of newspaper, “Yes here is a picture of one of the girls here.” Roycroft took the picture and compared it to the photographs in the book. Eddie showed the picture from the newspaper next to one in the photograph book. The same girl was in both photographs.
Ian produced five more images of young women from the newspaper articles which matched five girls in the book. “Well it seems our Mr. Sloakum fancied himself a bit of a photographer.”
Eddie reached for the pack of telegrams and began reading from the top one, “March10th 1882
Sambalpur, Orissa.
To AES:
Gravesite of Nesmin found by Sir Jasper
Tomb unopened
Dig put on hold
Situation in Egypt getting worse
D”
“Ace?” asked Ian, “Who is Ace?”
Eddie gave a shrug, “Not sure. It could be initials. A. E. S.” He pulled a second telegram from the pile and read it quickly, “This one is dated from October. It talks about the dig and that the sarcophagus is untouched.”
Ian took the telegram in his hands and read it himself, “So Sloakum not only knew about Sir Jasper’s dig, he was actively following its progress.” Ian looked up at Roycroft, “Any idea who this ‘D’ person is?”
Eddie scratched his chin, “A lot of folks had names that started with D, and I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“Well in either case, we need to find Mr. Sloakum,” Ian remarked.
“I have an idea on that front,” replied Roycroft, “This ship is not that big, and we can have the crew sweep the ship from stem to stern. That ought to flush the varmint out.”
Ian smiled at the idea, “Well in that case I believe we can call on the services of our good friend Mr. Cooper for this endeavor.”
Armed with evidence and a plan of action, Ian Grey and Eddie Roycroft made their way back to the main lounge.
As Ian passed the door to the dining hall, he heard a distinctly female scream coming from within. Ian Grey drew his pistol and kicked the door open at the same time. At the far end of the dining hall were Mr. and Mrs. Sloakum. The husband held a vicious claw like knife in one hand and the back of Mrs. Sloakum’s neck in the other. In the middle of the floor lay the body of Mr. Cooper, and his blood stained the Oriental rug. Eddie Roycroft slid to the right of Ian his gun drawn and leveled at Mr. Sloakum’s head. “Guess we don’t need to sweep the ship looking for Sloakum after all,” Eddie commented dryly.
Harish Singh sat in his chair, his eyes closed in meditation. From years of practice, Harish extended his senses beyond the confines of the main lounge. He could feel the thrum of the engine as it gave power and propulsion to the ship. He could hear minor intermittent creaks of the support struts within the ship and felt the changes in air pressure as the ship rose and fell amongst the air currents. Harish closed out the conversation between Sir Jasper, Yussef, and Lady Victoria; instead he focused on other sounds; Lieutenant Stokes heartbeat as he sat silently listening to the others talking, a crewman walking above him on top deck of the ship. As Harish continued to expand and contract his awareness, he heard Mrs. Sloakum’s scream in the dining room beneath him. Harish snapped his eyes open and warned the others in the lounge of the danger below before he leapt from his chair and sprinted out the door.
Mr. Sloakum held his wife tightly to him as he tried to keep Ian Grey and Eddie Roycroft from getting a clear shot at him.
“Mr. Sloakum,” Ian said slowly, “You are at a disadvantage. For mercy’s sake, let your wife go and no one will get hurt.”
Mr. Sloakum took a step back from Ian and hissed, “I don’t care. This hell spawn bitch needs to die. Don’t you see? With her gone there won’t be anymore killing.”
Ian kept his weapon steady and his voice even, “Sloakum we found the photographs, we know what happened. It is over. Just put the knife down and we can end this whole bloody business as peacefully as possible.”
Mr. Sloakum’s face grew red with anger and frustration, “You don’t know! You don’t know anything!” He jerked his wife’s head forcefully back, eliciting a whimper from her lips. “You don’t know what I have lived with. You don’t know how much blood I have had to endure.”
The dining room door creaked as it opened slowly, Ian saw Roycroft’s Sikh companion reflected in one of the large windows behind Mr. Sloakum. “Seriously sir, you cannot possibly escape from this ship,” Ian pleaded, “You have nowhere to go, don’t let your wife suffer over this.”
“But she must suffer,” Sloakum replied, “She has to pay for her sins. She has to pay in blood.” His knife caught briefly against his wife’s neck causing a thin line of bright blood to bloom.
Ian assessed the situation and determined that if Eddie Roycroft was half as good a shot as he was, they could easily hit Mr. Sloakum in the head and save his wife. But that was something he only wanted to do as a last resort. There were questions he wanted answered and as the saying goes, dead men tell no tales.
More footsteps echoed in the hallway followed by the arrival of Sir Jasper, Yussef, and Lady Victoria.
“Well this is quite a dinner party we have here,” remarked Eddie Roycroft.
Sir Jasper stepped forward, “Now see here sir,” he began, but Ian cut him off quickly. “Sir Jasper, I think there is enough going on without anyone else trying to help.”
Sir Jasper blushed slightly and fell silent. Ian turned his attention back to the Sloakums, “Mr. Sloakum I am not sure you are fully aware of the situation that you are in. I assure you that both Captain Roycroft and I are expert marksmen with our weapons, and you are only a mere thirty feet from my position. Does that sound about right to you Lady Dallas?”
Victoria stepped forward and to Ian’s left, “Yes I would say that is an accurate distance.”
Ian tilted his head slightly, “So you see, Mr. Sloakum, I can put a bullet through your head anytime I want. You would be dead before you hit the floor and your wife would be none the worse for wear. So please, for all of our sakes, do the right thing, put the knife down and surrender.”
Mr. Sloakum moved away from the two gunmen. He crouched down further behind his wife to make himself as small of a target as possible. “You don’t know anything.” He repeated, “I have to do this, even if you kill me, I need to end this.”
Mr. Sloakum jerked his wife’s head further back to expose her throat to his knife. Out of the corner of his eye, Ian saw Victoria’s arm pop up, a small box shaped object in her hand. Before Mr. Sloakum realized there was a new threat, a sudden pop of compressed air sent a pair of mini spikes trailing wires into his right shoulder and just as suddenly he jerked upright like a marionette under a puppet master.
Ian dashed over to the couple and pulled Mrs. Sloakum away from her husband. Lady Victoria calmly walked towards the incapacitated man.
“What in blazes is that?!” exclaimed Eddie Roycroft.
Victoria held the device up so that Eddie could have a better look, “This,” she answered proudly, “is a shocker. It uses air to launch two darts at the target. When the dart hit the body an electrical charge flows through these copper wires and into the target. It makes all of the muscles tighten up.”
Eddie Roycroft gave a low whistle, “Well if that does not beat all.”
“Yes it does Eddie,” said Ian Grey as he sat Mrs. Sloakum gently in one of the dining room chairs.
“What is going on here?” demanded Dr. Felton as he burst i
nto the dining room, “It sounded like bedlam from my sickbay.”
“Doctor, how good of you to join us!” Ian called out.
Dr. Felton opened his mouth to ask more questions, when a shot rang out in the dining room. Mr. Sloakum jerked once as part of the back of his head exploded outward and spread gore and brains along the already ruined Oriental rug.
Roycroft turned his weapon at the source of the pistol shot and looked upon the stony face of Lieutenant Stokes, a wisp of smoke floating out of his gun barrel.
Everyone stood stalk still, stunned by the turn of events.
“Have you gone mad?!” Ian bellowed. In two bounds he was upon the young officer and slammed him against the wall. “We just brought him down without causing any more blood. And you go and do this?”
Stokes looked into Ian’s eyes, “I vowed to kill the man who killed my Eleanor and I have done just that.” He placed his pistol into Ian’s hand and stood at attention. “I will gladly take whatever punishment is in store for me. I do not regret my actions.”
Ian stared at the Lieutenant. “I think there has been enough blood for one evening Lieutenant Stokes. Whatever I may do with you can wait until morning.”
Three crewmen of the Cygnus burst into the room armed with pistols. “We heard gunfire,” the leader of the trio said.
Ian addressed the newcomers. “Mr. Sloakum apparently was the killer of Miss Brinks; he also killed your first officer, Mr. Cooper and tried to kill his own wife before we stopped him.” Ian looked over at Lieutenant Stokes who was doing his best impression of a statue.
The leader of the three crewmen bowed his head, “Poor Mr. Cooper.”
Ian once again took charge of the situation. “Crewmen…?”
The leader looked up at Ian Grey, “Stanley, sir. Peter Stanley, ship’s Boson”
Ian nodded, “Well Mr. Stanley here is what I need. First I want one of your men to find Captain Barclay and apprise him of the situation. Tell him that we have stopped the killer onboard and that Mr. Cooper has perished as well. I will also need someone to help bring both of these bodies to sick bay. I pray there is enough room Dr. Felton.”
The ship’s doctor cleared his throat, “Yes I would say we can handle two more, but it will be a tight fit. I would also think it best if I take Mrs. Sloakum back to her room, she has been through quite a bit it seems.”
Ian agreed with the doctor’s assessment, “Fine, any additional questions can wait until later.”
Mrs. Sloakum mutely allowed Dr. Felton to escort her out of the bloody dining room and down the hall. Ian sat down in a nearby dinning chair and pulled out his pocket watch, sighing as he glanced at the watch face. The hands on his watch were still spinning forward; whatever was causing it was still active.
Boson Peter Stanley and the other two crewmen disappeared shortly after Dr. Felton. Lady Victoria had finished pulling the darts out of Mr. Sloakum’s shoulder while the rest of those present sat down at various chairs across the dining room as if all of the energy had drained from them at once. Even Stokes eventually took a seat.
For several long minutes no one said a word.
Lady Victoria knelt over the body of Mr. Cooper and drew her hand down across his face to close his eyes. Her eyes squinted and a frown tugged at the corner of her mouth. Knowing that look well, Ian asked what the matter was.
Lady Victoria did not look up at Ian, “There is something about Mr. Cooper that does not seem quite right.”
Ian got up from his chair and crossed over to Lady Victoria and looked over her shoulder to see what she saw. Victoria pulled Mr. Cooper’s collar from his neck to reveal a small bruise, “I do not recall seeing this mark on his neck before, and his tie and collar are undone as well.”
The others began to rise from their respective seats, their curiosity piqued by Lady Victoria’s observations.
“That my dear,” said Sir Jasper, “is a love bite. Perhaps our Mr. Cooper was a bit of a ladies man?”
Eddie Roycroft added his own speculation, “So on the way to the lounge, Mr. Cooper detoured here to give Mrs. Sloakum some comfort during these trying times. Mr. Sloakum caught them and giving into his rage killed Mr. Cooper.”
“So, if Mr. Sloakum killed Mr. Cooper, then why did he not cut his throat like he was about to do to his wife?” Lady Victoria asked, “He was cut along the femoral artery in his upper leg. Mr. Sloakum would have to practically hug Mr. Cooper to get that close.”
Roycroft considered what Victoria said, “Perhaps they were fighting up close and personal and the only way he could cut Mr. Cooper was down low in the leg.”
Ian looked around the room, with the exception of the two dead bodies on the floor; there was little evidence of any other violence. The dining room was relatively clean; most of the tables were set for morning breakfast. “Lieutenant Stokes. What is Mr. Sloakum’s first name?”
Stokes answered immediately, “Francis is his given name.”
Ian closed his eyes in concentration, “And Mrs. Sloakum’s given name?”
“Alice as I recall,” replied Stokes.
Roycroft started to follow Ian’s train of thought, “A.E.S. Alice Sloakum”
“Alice Sloakum,” repeated Ian Grey, “We have been lead down the wrong path. Eddie and I found some evidence in the Sloakum’s stateroom, including a packet of telegrams addressed to an AES. These telegrams were sent by someone with the initial “D” who had full knowledge of Sir Jasper’s expedition to uncover Nes-min. This means that Mrs. Sloakum knew all about the mummy and the demon inside it. Mr. Sloakum may have been a suspect in those killings in India, but it appears that Mrs. Sloakum was also there the entire time.”
Lady Victoria picked up Ian’s thread, “And she enticed Mr. Cooper into here and killed him so that she could roam the ship at will. Mr. Sloakum caught her here and tried to stop her killings once and for all.”
Ian Grey continued, “And that would also mean that she killed Amelia and desecrated the mummy to set free the demon trapped within. And yes Mr. El Sadek, you can tell me you warned me all you want after we verify this theory.”
“You are sure that Mr. Sloakum was not the real killer after all,” asked Lieutenant Stokes, his face pale at the thought of having killed an innocent man.
“Well, he was not a demon any way,” replied Ian, “There wasn’t any billowing smoke coming from him when he died. This means that either the demon does not exist or that is long since gone.”
“Or,” interjected Yussef, “Mrs. Sloakum meant for Miss Brinks to be the initial vessel for the demon and then something must have gone wrong, which would explain the cartouche that Lady Dallas found in her mouth.”
“What is a cartouche?” Ian asked.
“Lady Victoria stood up and straightened her skirt, “When Dr. Felton and I examined Miss. Brinks we found a small object in the back of her throat. I brought it to Sir Jasper and Mr. El Sadek in the hope that they could identify it.”
“Yes,” added Yussef, “When the two pieces were put together it read the ‘Sebau Kharis’ which translates roughly to ‘the fiend Kharis’. So Kharis is the true name of the demon that Nes-min bound with him and the cartouche must have been placed in the young girl’s mouth as part of some ritual to free the demon.”
“So when the cartouche was broken and stuffed into Miss. Brink’s mouth that is when all of this interference began?” asked Ian.
Victoria answered immediately, “Actually the cartouche was intact when we found it in her mouth, and it accidently broke in two when Dr. Felton tried to retrieve it.”
Yussef and Sir Jasper exclaimed in surprise at that bit of news. “I am sorry,” replied Victoria, “In all of the excitement I forget to mention that.”
Yussef stepped towards Victoria, “My dear,” he began, “I need you to tell me exactly what happened.” Lady Victoria related the examination of Miss Brinks. How she turned to get a pan for Dr. Felton and even though her back was turned she heard the cartouche snap and Dr. Felton hav
ing a coughing fit. It was the last bit that worried Yussef the most. “Then it seems the cartouche was a trap placed in Miss Brinks’ mouth to transfer the demon to another vessel.”
Ian was well beyond the point of arguing about demons and possessions. After he drew his pistol and gave it a quick check, Ian strode out of the dining room. “Well either way we need to catch up with Mrs. Sloakum. If she is the killer then Dr. Felton is as in much danger as Mr. Cooper was. If Dr. Felton is indeed possessed by a two thousand year old demon. then catching him is just as important.” Before he walked out the door, Ian paused and returned Lieutenant Stokes’ pistol, “You may need this. I do not know what is in store for all of us, but it is best if we are prepared.”
Ian turned to the rest of the group, “Sir Jasper are you armed, by any chance?” Sir Jasper produced a small derringer pistol from his pocket. “I see,” continued Ian, “In that case I would like to ask that head towards the bridge with Lady Dallas, find Captain Barclay and inform him of what is going on. We may need the full crew to find Mrs. Sloakum and Dr. Felton.”
Sir Jasper offered his arm to Lady Victoria, “My lady, it appears that I am to be your chaperone.”
Victoria held up the electric shock gun in her right hand and produced a small revolver in her left, “Actually Sir Jasper, I am your chaperone.”
Sir Jasper gave a little laugh and a small bow to her. “Then my safety is assured.”
Harish Singh opened his coat and produced a pair of volcanic pistols. The lever action pistols looked like cut down versions of the popular Henry Repeating Rifle; Harish offered one to Yussef and buttoned his coat back up. Now fully armed and ready Ian led Roycroft, Yussef, Harish Singh, and Lieutenant Stokes down out of the dining room and down the hall to the Sloakum stateroom.
Monsters, Magic, and Machines (The SteamGoth Anthology Book 1) Page 7