Last week, in the first part of this Christmas murder mystery, Bruce was asked to lead the investigation into two killings on board the Warrior of the Ocean. Now, in this concluding episode, he finally identifies the murderer.
If you’re new to this story you can check out part one here.
I looked across at Anna’s name tag and a cold shiver ran down my spine. It was the first time I’d seen her new name in full. By marrying Dave she had now become Anna Gram.
Was it possible her change of surname had inspired her to write those deadly messages? Had she cajoled Dave into marrying her simply so she could play out a sick fantasy under her new name?
Too extraordinary
I could have kicked myself for not noticing it earlier. It seemed too extraordinary to be a coincidence. And yet I also found it hard to believe Anna could be behind these murders.
Dave was one of my best friends. Could I really accuse his new bride of being a psychopathic maniac with a liking for word games. I decided on a cautious approach.
Taking him to one side I adopted my gravest tone. “Dave, I don’t want to alarm you, but I believe Anna may be in some kind of danger. I want you to promise me you won’t allow her out of your sight, for the next 24 hours.”
Madly in love
He looked worried by my request but managed a weak smile. “That won’t be too difficult,” he said. “I’m madly in love with her.”
With Dave keeping close tabs on Anna, I felt a little more relaxed. If she wasn’t the killer, no harm would have been done. But if she was, it would be impossible for her to continue her killing spree while Dave was present.
I figured I had just 24 hours to find the evidence that would either prove her guilt or exonerate her. I had to work fast.
Happy Christmas
The next morning at breakfast I got a call from Lucy.
“Happy Christmas day, Lucy,” I greeted her.
“Forget all that,” she said. “I need you to come to my cabin right away. I think I know who the killer is.”
Lucy was based at the other end of the ship and in my haste to get to her I took a wrong turning and got lost. It must have taken me five minutes to reach her. It was to be the costliest five minutes of my life.
When I arrived I found the door ajar. As I pushed it open I could see Lucy slumped in a chair. In her lifeless hand was a note in all too familiar handwriting.
It read: ‘Here is the name of my next victim’.
Panic
Suddenly I felt a huge sense of panic. The note was telling us where the killer would strike next but first we had to unscramble it.
Dashing out into the corridor I met Adam.
“There’s been another murder,” I said breathlessly. “We’ve lost Lucy and now we have a major emergency. I want you to get a list of all passengers and crew on this ship and see if you can extract anyone’s name from the letters in this note.”
I handed him the note I’d found in Lucy’s cabin and off he went.
Urgent meeting
Next I summoned the remaining members of my team to an urgent meeting and told them to bring a pen and notebook. It was to be held in the Agincourt Bar, where there would be no one to overhear us because it was closed.
Roger, Dave and Anna listened intently as I updated them on recent events. “I don’t care how long it takes,” I said. “I want you to identify who the killer is going to attack next. All we have to go on is a sinister message: ‘This is the name of the next victim”.
They dutifully took down the words and agreed to give it their best shot. Anna had to go to a final rehearsal for the Christmas Day show so Dave went with her. I left Roger scribbling away on his notebook as I headed off to see how Adam was getting on.
As I raced through the corridors I could hear the voices of my associates playing in my head and my own voice explaining to them what had happened. Over and over I kept hearing these voices.
Exact anagram
My subconscious was trying to tell me something but I was unable to decipher it. Then my phone rang. It was Roger.
“I’ve cracked it,” he said. “I’ve found an anagram of the message left in Lucy’s cabin. Don’t ask me how. It just popped into my head as I was looking at it.”
“What does it say?”
“This is a big one, Brucie” he said. “The killer’s message is an exact anagram of: ‘It’s exit time for Manny Cheemveh’.”
Giant light bulb
I felt as if a giant light bulb had suddenly been switched on in my head and I was emerging from the fog of the last few days.
Immediately I rang the captain to explain what was happening. I warned him he was in mortal danger and should be accompanied at all times by a crew member trained in martial arts.
“By the way,” I added. “I believe I’ve finally cracked this. I’d like you to invite my four friends – Dave, Anna, Roger and Adam – to a meeting at midday. I think it would carry a lot more weight if the invitation came directly from you.”
Innocent lives
At 12 noon sharp we all gathered in the Rorke’s Drift Ballroom: Captain Cheemveh, Roger, Adam, Dave, Anna, and me, plus one of the ship’s more solidly built crew members.
Captain Cheemveh locked the doors and then invited me to speak.
“This has been a difficult time for all of us,” I said. “Three innocent people have lost their lives and there seems to be no rhyme or reason for what has happened.
“I think we’ve all found the events of the past few days very perplexing. All of us that is except for the killer. That person has known all along what is going on and I have to tell you they are standing with us right now in this very room.”
There was an immediate collective gasp. I went on.
“I must admit I had my suspicions from the beginning but I probably would never have identified the murderer had they not made a stupid mistake.”
I paused so the meaning of my words would sink in.
Third note
“As you know, earlier this morning Lucy was murdered and I found the killer’s third note. I asked you all to see if you could unscramble it and Roger has managed to do so. It turns out that the killer now has Captain Cheemveh in their sights.”
Once more there was a gasp from my audience. I continued.
“But the killer made an unfortunate error. You see, when I asked Roger, Dave and Anna to decipher the killer’s message, I accidentally gave them a different wording from the original note. One that could not have yielded the name of our captain.”
I noticed one person was now looking distinctly uneasy.
Privileged information
“That’s right Roger. You gave me the right answer, but it was based on the wrong message. Quite obviously you were in possession of privileged information, that only the killer could have known.”
Roger started to race for the door but the burly crew member promptly Rugby tackled him to the floor and then handcuffed him.
Dave was the first to speak. “Why Roger? Why did you do it.?”
“I think I can answer that,” I said. “Roger was insanely jealous that you had married Anna. In fact he’d confided in me that he wanted her to be his wife. His jealousy was so strong, he wanted to hit back at her.
“He thought he could lay the blame for these murders at her door. Insanely, he reckoned that since her name was now Anna Gram, we would assume she was behind the killer’s anagrams.”
Consistent
I turned to Roger and spoke directly to him.
“I’ve known you for more than 10 years,” I said, “and one thing has been consistent throughout. Your lack of good judgement. You displayed poor judgement in assuming that Anna fancied you when clearly she didn’t. And again your judgement was seriously lacking when you thought you could somehow frame Anna for all these murders.”
And so ended my first ever spell as murder investigator on board a ship.
I and my friends somehow managed to salvage some enjoyment from what remained of Christmas day. However it was clouded by the knowledge that an innocent crew member dressed as Santa Claus had lost his life and two of our closest friends had been taken from us for all time.
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