17. Stormy Alliances #3
“To have so little on him, he must have been staying somewhere on board, but we haven’t figured out where yet. We’re trying to track his movements, but it’ll take time,” Davide put in.
Isaiah leaned down to get a better look at the wound on Joshua’s abdomen, noticing that the skin around it was torn.
“Calliope was stabbed in the neck with a thin metal hairpin we found in her dressing room. We assume the killer used whatever was on hand, indicating that it wasn’t planned, but this was clearly done with a knife that had a serrated edge, which explains the heavy bleeding,” he said. “What about the knife used on Patrice?”
“It was the same –a serrated knife. You’ve got a good eye,” Dr Rancliff said. “But it would be difficult for a guest to bring such a weapon on board.”
Isaiah didn’t understand why the killer wouldn’t use their weapon of choice on all three victims. Something about Calliope’s murder had been more frantic and spontaneous.
“Not for a bodyguard or a member of security,” he pointed out. “I’ve got my sidearm and a switchblade that I was allowed to carry on board.”
“Are you suggesting it’s a member of our security team? I can assure you that everyone on staff has been working with us for half a decade without incident,” Davide said, puffing out his chest, offended at the insinuation.
“I’m not pointing fingers at your crew. The weapon could have been used by a bodyguard or stolen from a bodyguard or a member of your staff, and that’s if the killer didn’t have it with them when they boarded. I’m only talking out loud. There’s no need to get defensive.”
Davide sighed. “Sorry, I’m just protective of my staff. Many have families to support, and I don’t want anyone falsely accused.”
“I’ve no intention of pointing fingers at anyone without clear evidence,” Isaiah assured him. “I’m just used to bouncing ideas off my partner.”
“Glad we cleared that up. Bounce all you need,” Davide said, his defensive tone softening.
“Were there any defensive wounds on Joshua or skin under the fingernails?” Isaiah asked, noticing there were no bruises or scratches on the body.
“I swabbed his skin and took samples from under his nails for any trace evidence that the water didn’t wash away.
I’m keeping any and all evidence contained until we can send it for testing when we dock,” Dr Rancliff replied, pointing to a medical-grade fridge.
“Based on the lack of defensive wounds and the shallow stab wound to the shoulder, I believe he was attacked from behind and caught off-guard. He didn’t have time to defend himself before being struck again in the abdomen. ”
“Were there any other injuries noted around the time of death?” Isaiah enquired, hoping for additional clues.
“There’s a bump on the back of his head.
When he was stabbed in the abdomen, he might have fallen backwards and hit his head on the edge of the jacuzzi.
The water in his lungs – we aren’t sure if the killer attempted to drown him before fleeing when they heard Ms Roe approaching, or if he swallowed the water upon losing consciousness before we could rescue him,” Dr Rancliff explained, setting a chart with the injuries marked out on the table.
“Having jacuzzis built into the floor no longer seems like a good idea,” Isaiah quipped, contemplating how easy it would have been to drown Joshua once he was already down. The killer didn’t need to be particularly strong.
“Not when someone tries to use them as a murder weapon,” Davide agreed. “We’ve closed them off for now.”
“What about Calliope? Did she have any defensive wounds?” Isaiah asked.
“Calliope put up a fight. I’m surprised she could even muster the strength to make it to the stage.
She had scratches on her arms and neck. She didn’t go down easy, and there was a bloody smudge on her back that didn’t match her injuries.
The killer might have grabbed her and transferred some of their blood onto her.
There were also some hair fibres between her fingers, which might be from the killer.
Again, I’ve taken samples, and I’ll send them out once we dock,” Dr Rancliff said.
Finally, some good news. Blood and hair samples felt like hitting the jackpot.
“What colour was the hair?” Isaiah asked. “Long, short?”
“Dark,” Dr Rancliff said, reading off a list. “Long.”
Isaiah concealed his relief. Poppy couldn’t have done it.
“With the blood and hair, we should be able to put a name and face to this monster,” Davide said.
“There’s a nasty storm approaching, and we’ll use it as an excuse to dock longer in Amalfi, where we can send all the samples to the local lab for testing.
We’ve already called ahead for them to be picked up. ”
“The storm is a great excuse to stop the guests panicking. When will we dock? Do the other guests know?” Isaiah asked, liking that the captain already had a plan to get the evidence tested.
“No, we’re waiting until this evening to make the announcement, since the sea will be a little rough and it’ll help sell the urgency.
We should dock in the early morning. The storm will pass over us and the Amalfi Coast while we search the ship, get the evidence tested, and then we can continue to Greece without alarming the guests,” Davide said.
“We also don’t want the killer to know what we’re up to. ”
“Good idea,” Isaiah said, trying not to reveal how excited he was to have his feet on solid ground.
“What if the killer gets off and doesn’t get back on again?” Dr Rancliff asked. “Not that I want a killer to stay onboard.”
“I believe their target is Poppy. Each of the victims has been connected to her. I think the killer is playing a game of cat and mouse, and the ship is the perfect playground. Even if disembarking in Amalfi saves them from getting caught for the murders they’ve already committed, they won’t be able to give up their game when they’re so close,” Isaiah said.
Maybe I should get Poppy off the ship and run.
But he knew deep in his gut that would only cause the killer to chase them.
“How is Ms Roe?” Davide asked, sounding guilty. “She was quite distraught last night, and we were sorry to have to put her through additional emotional turmoil. Once we dock, we’ll be able to give her real answers.”
“I’m not going to speak for her. Your priority is the ship, and mine is Poppy. Now that we’re working together, we can protect both,” Isaiah said, not wanting to make him feel better about how they had gaslit a traumatised woman.
“Fair enough,” Davide said, not pressing further.
“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Isaiah asked the doctor.
“This is all the information I have for now,” Dr Rancliff said, covering up Joshua’s body and sliding it back into the wall.
“Now you know what we know. How do you wish to proceed?” Davide asked.
Isaiah wanted to get back to Poppy, but he also didn’t want to waste the opportunity, since the first mate was feeling so compliant.
“I want to see the security footage. Don’t bother trying to lie about updates or glitches, because I know you use Eagle Eye software.
I want to see whatever you refused to show Poppy last night. ”
Davide hesitated, but then shrugged. “You’ll need to come with me to the surveillance room on the engineering level.”
Isaiah thanked the doctor for his time, and they left.