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Captain Wodensen entered the restaurant to have dessert with Michaela and Dottie. From a distance, he appeared worn and tired. His face was lined with fatigue. Mic’s alarm bells rang in her mind when she saw his grim face. She knew something was wrong. Dottie knew something was up too. Dottie was stressed and Michaela looked at her with concern. The news was worse than they expected. It fact, it was horrible.
Dottie gulped and said, “The senator is dead? How can he be dead? We just saw him at tea! Are you sure?” she asked in a shaky voice. Mic touched Dottie’s arm. She was alarmed at her shortness of breath.
The captain nodded and said, “I’m very sure, Madame. Very sure. I’ve just come from his stateroom.”
“How did you find out Senator Bostitch was dead? Who do you think killed him?” Michaela asked, stunned by the news. Who in their right mind would murder a United States Senator... especially on a cruise ship?
The captain shrugged his shoulders and repeated his story. “As I said, Ms. McPherson, his cabin steward found him. He knocked on the senator’s door to ready his room for the evening. There was no answer, so the steward followed ship policy and entered the cabin. He found the senator hanging in his bathroom. He’d been stabbed.”
“Stabbed, someone stabbed him? That’s brutal and personal as well,” Mic said, her head spinning with possibilities. Her heartbeat skyrocketed. What the hell was going on? “We need to see the crime scene... see it immediately.” She looked at Dottie who sat very straight in her chair but had clasped her hands tightly. She looked pale, but determined.
The captain picked up his coffee cup, but said nothing.
“Captain Wodensen,” Dottie said, “When we get into Piraeus, we need to meet with the Athens authorities, and you must call the FBI immediately. An American senator, of all things, has been murdered on your... my ship. The FBI must be notified at once,” Dottie insisted in a firm voice.
Mic nodded her head in agreement. “The countess is correct. The FBI is a critical player in this case. The murder of a United States Senator is worse than serious.” She paused for a moment and then continued, “Frankly, it’s unbelievable.”
Captain Wodensen nodded, but remained silent.
Mic replayed the events in her mind. “Do you think the killer is the same person that murdered the blackjack dealer in the casino?”
The captain shrugged his shoulders. “It’s too early to know. It’s possible. Both men were killed with a knife, a blade.” He looked at Dottie and said in measured tones, “We will notify the FBI. I’ll notify them personally as soon as I leave your company.” He paused as he re-considered Michaela’s question. He turned to her and said, “And, I have no idea if the murderer is the same man. We’ve been looking for the man who killed our employee ever since it happened. We’ve gotten nowhere and have no leads.”
Mic was surprised and she arched her eyebrows, “No leads? None at all?” she asked in a low voice.
The captain shook his head. “We’ve searched the ship several times and looked in every nook and cranny where a man could hide.”
“What about the witnesses in the casino? Surely they’ve been interviewed and must have seen something,” Dottie snapped, her blue eyes blazing at the incompetency of the ship’s security.
“There’s nothing, Countess, nothing at all to report,” he said wearily.
A flood of realization practically knocked Mic over. “Suppose he’s not hiding. Suppose he’s walking around just as we are...” she paused, “in broad daylight!”
The captain was confused. “What do you mean? I don’t understand,” he said in an irritable voice. He was tired and had no time for word games.
The wheels turned in Michaela’s mind. “It’s conceivable he doesn’t have to hide, that he’s more invisible when he blends in with three thousand other people.”
Dottie slammed her coffee cup on the saucer. “You’re absolutely correct, Michaela. The guy’s most likely wandering around like any other passenger.” She turned to Captain Wodensen and asked, “Frederick, do you have anything at all?”
The captain sighed heavily and said, “Perhaps, but it’s not really a lead. Yesterday, my security detail trailed a man who met the physical description of the man who murdered the blackjack dealer. We followed him most of the day, but then lost him in the evening. We haven’t been able to pick him up today,” he said with a shake of his head.
Dottie nodded. “That’s too bad. Perhaps they’ll see him tomorrow,” she said, a touch of sarcasm in her voice as she gave the captain a wry look.
“Do you scan the camera feeds each day?” Mic inquired.
The captain nodded. “Yes, we do. We scan them constantly. We’re looking everywhere for him. My security chief thinks, like you, that he’s most likely the guy who murdered the man in the casino, but all we have in common is the fact that they are knife wounds. No one saw anyone enter Senator Bostitch’s room. There are no eye witnesses so we have no information about him,” he said in a weary voice. “But what we do have on camera, at the elevator camera, is a grainy, poorly pixelated, image of a man who appears very muscular. The camera picked him up when he left the elevator. He had on a dark colored jacket or sweatshirt. Unfortunately, his face isn’t part of the camera image.”
“Is he anywhere on camera today?” Mic asked as a rush of excitement moved through her body.
The captain shook his head. “No. We haven’t seen him anywhere else. He kept his head down. He didn’t want to be seen.”
Mic nodded. “I understand. I’d like to see the crime scene and the camera images. Have you altered anything at all about the scene or the images?”
The captain shook his head, crinkled his nose in disgust, and said, “No. It’s untouched. In fact, we haven’t even removed the senator’s body.”
“I want to see the crime scene,” Mic repeated.
The captain steepled his fingers as he considered Mic’s request. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Michaela. The crime was heinous and the crime scene is horrific. In good conscious, I can’t let you see it.” His voice was grave and his tone was final.
Michaela took a deep breath and said, “Captain, I want to see the scene. I’m a retired homicide detective. I’ve seen crime scenes you probably couldn’t even begin to imagine.” She furrowed her brow and continued, “What one man can do to another is unthinkable and I assure you, the scene can’t look any worse than others I’ve witnessed in the United States.”
Captain Wodensen shook his head and in a firm voice said, “No, I cannot allow it.”
Michaela glanced at Dottie who was flushed with anger. “Countess, can you persuade the good captain to let us see the crime scene?” she asked in an irritated tone. “We may be able to help solve these ghastly murders.”
Dottie was silent as she considered the situation. As a major stockholder of the Mediterranean line, she could insist and usurp the captain’s authority. However, she knew there was a possibility he’d block her from other information and communications. Besides, she needed his help and his assurance that she and Michaela would remain safe. The attack on Michaela’s personal belongings had been perverted and scary.
Mic tapped the table with her fingernails and repeated her question in an impatient voice. “Countess, can you intervene here? You and I both know we need to see the crime scene to help find the perp.”
Angel, who’d been lying next to Mic’s chair, stood at the sound of his mistress’s angry voice. He looked up at the captain and growled. Michaela patted his back and said, “It’s okay, Angel. It’s okay.” Then she turned, glared at Dottie, and kicked her shin under the table. Dottie jumped and shot her an angry look, but she got the message.
“My granddaughter is correct, Captain Wodensen,” Dottie began in a haughty voice. “Both of us have extensive experience in solving crimes. Once we finish our dinner, I want you to allow us into the crime scene. I also want you to provide us with two additional firearms to guarantee our personal safety.”
The captain was stunned. His face paled, his pupils dilated with disbelief, as anger flickered across his face. He opened his mouth to protest, but Dottie banged her fork against her plate and said, “I’m not asking for your permission, Captain, I’m telling you to give us access to the senator’s stateroom. And I’m ordering you to issue each of us a Glock. The attack on Michaela was fierce, troubling, and potentially lethal. And, your security hardly offers us any comfort. Do you understand me?” she asked in her countess voice.
Angel growled again and Mic did nothing to quiet him. Several patrons turned and looked at them. The dog held the captain’s eyes with his own and bared his teeth.
The captain was defeated. He compressed his lips, gritted his teeth, and said in a low voice, “I will allow you access to the senator’s room, but it’s not our policy to issue weapons to passengers.”
Dottie flushed. She was furious. Michaela saw the blush of pink crawl up her neck and stain her face. She was so angry her hands trembled and her eyes were inky black with rage.
Okay. Here we go. Mic braced herself for a countess tantrum. They were never pleasant, but they were generally effective.
Dottie stood, glared down at Captain Wodensen, and said, her voice compressed with anger, “Let me remind you that I am not ‘just a passenger.’ I’m the primary owner of this ship and this cruise line. If you do not cooperate with me one hundred percent, you will no longer be in command of the ship.”
The captain’s eyes glowed with anger as Dottie continued.
“I will make one phone call and you will be relieved of your command. First Mate Hensen will function as captain until we reach Athens. At that point in time, you will be removed from the vessel and you will no longer be employed with the Mediterranean Cruise Line.”
The captain stood and bowed stiffly. “Countess Borghase, you’ll have your weapons, and I will accompany you and Ms. McPherson to the senator’s stateroom along with my security chief. Once again, I want to warn you the scene is quite bad. In fact, it’s appalling, but it is your choice to go. Meet me in forty-five minutes at the senator’s stateroom.”
“What’s his stateroom number?” Dottie asked in a low voice.
“His suite number is 652. The suite is on the same floor as you, down the same hall. I will be there in precisely forty-five minutes. That will give you time to finish your dessert and coffee,” the captain added as he bowed, turned away, and left the restaurant.
“Wow, Dottie,” Mic said with a wide grin. “I guess you know that he’s more than a little pissed at you.” Mic laughed as she stared at the older woman.
Dottie nodded, “Yeah, he is that, but actually, he’s just following the cruise line’s policy. If we didn’t have the background we have, and if you hadn’t had your room disturbed, I probably wouldn’t have insisted.” She paused for a moment and smiled, “Besides, I like to pull rank every now and then.”
Michaela nodded. “Yeah. That I do know. I understand the policy, but I think we can be helpful here. And besides, Slade insisted we get the extra weapons, even though we most likely won’t need them.
“Well,” Dottie demurred, “we’ll have them now, and I hardly think we’ll be attacked by pirates,” she said as she took her last sip of wine. “Let’s hurry; I want to change my clothes before we meet them at the senator’s suite.”
Mic picked up her coffee cup. “Yeah, I just can’t believe he’s dead. We saw him just a few hours ago, and he was getting ready to tell Blake Pharmaceutical exactly how it was.” She stopped for a moment as she remembered Senator Bostitch. Her dinner burned in her gut from stress and anger. “I liked him. He seemed ethical and honest and genuinely concerned about the Quelpro problem.”
Dottie nodded and said in a gruff voice, “Yes, he was. That’s precisely why he’s dead. I’m sure Blake Pharmaceutical is behind his murder and Dr. O’Leary’s disappearance,” she professed, her ice blue eyes dark with anger.
Michaela nodded as a tight ball formed in her stomach. She knew Blake Pharmaceutical would murder to save their precious, but worthless antidepressant. How to prove it, well, that was a different story. But, she vowed she’d do it.