A Ship Of Death. Adult. A serial killer on a cruise ship. (standard:mystery, 6757 words)
Author: Oscar A Rat	Added: Jun 23 2020	Views/Reads: 1469/1053	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A serial killer on a cruise ship. The captain hires a detective firm to investigate.

“I'm tired, Mama.  Okay if I go now?” eighteen-year-old Nora asked her
mother. The family was on vacation from New York City to Bermuda.  Her 
mother had won a free cruise on the "Milton Sharps", a medium-sized 
cruise ship.  They were currently sitting on canvas chairs on the 
Promenade Deck, looking out over the ocean.  “I'll be in our cabin if 
you want me.” 

“Go ahead, dear.  You know the way. We'll see you in a little while,”
her mother told her, “or tomorrow, if you're already asleep.” 

They didn't know it then, but it would be the last time they saw the
little girl alive. When they returned to their cabin, she would be 
found raped and dead, the door to the cabin unlocked. Nora was only the 
first victim. There would be many more over the years. 

*** 

A short slim man flitted, head down, along empty corridors toward the
rear of the ship. He was dressed in a crew uniform, blue and white with 
one red stripe on each sleeve. It was the uniform of a common seaman. A 
low ranking person who could be used in any department when needed. 

Using a key, the little man unlocked and entered a storeroom. Locking
the door behind himself, he pulled off the grill to a ventilator.  
Stepping onto a stack of boxes, he rapidly disappeared inside, pausing 
only long enough to replace the screen from inside. 

If anyone had seen him closely they might have recoiled in horror at his
hideous features. The man's face was a dull red, with pale gray and 
white scars criss-crossing over most of its area, dominated by large, 
deep-set, dead-black eyes without a bit of hair on face or head. 

*** 

“Mr. Masters, my company would like to hire you.”  A well-dressed man
sat across the desk from the private investigator. “I've heard about 
your reputation as a homicide detective.” 

“I take it someone you know is deceased?” Jake Masters answered, turning
from a typewriter where he'd been working on a report. “Tell me your 
problem and I'll tell you if we can handle it or not?  Normally the 
police take care of that sort of thing.  I'm retired now and don't want 
to step on my old department's toes.”  Jake shook his head, giving the 
man a sorrowful gaze. 

“Oh, they're handling it the best they can, sir. The problem is that
we're a cruise ship, normally to and from South America ... and 
occasionally Europe.  They do what they can here in New York City. 

“What we think we need is someone to go with us on a cruise or two and
work from there.” The man nervously scratched under his collar. “We 
have some kind of serial killer aboard, and are being sued by a couple 
of the victims.  Under Federal Statutes, if it's a crew member we can 
be held responsible. 

"If it's a passenger, we're only required to use reasonable care. A lot
depends on the outcome, as well as not wanting any more killings, of 
course.  We've hired a security company, but it hasn't seemed to help. 
There's already been one murder since they came aboard.” 

“I take it you've checked the passenger lists for repeat customers?” 

“Oh yes, of course.  But with no passports required on most of our
trips, people could use other names. We sometimes have around 900 
passengers, too many to keep track of 24 hours a day, plus a crew of 
over 1,200.” 

“So I would have to do a lot of traveling, is that it?” 

“Yessir.  That's up to you, but we would like to have you or someone
aboard to assist on security.”  Visibly spying a half-full ashtray on 
the desk, the visitor paused to light a Salem before continuing, “It 
might help on those ongoing investigations and, frankly, make me feel 
just a little safer.” 



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