Blue, But as Azure as Pastel.

The Daze

For the next minutes, everything was a daze for Anna. It was all blurry but she noticed the crew members along with Captain Thompson has gathered in her room, Dr. Stevens checking the body of Arthur and Margaret gaining her consciousness and sitting on the sofa.

Captain Thompson stood near the door with a very grim expression. A murder has been committed on his ship. An event so bizarre, it was really hard for him to comprehend. Mr. Ford along with his prisoner, Henry Hoffman had also arrived at the scene after hearing all the ruckus. Mr. Patel explained the events to Mr. Ford and being in the British police, Mr. Ford thought it was his duty to clear all the commotion from the scene of the crime to stop any contamination on the evidences on the murder spot. Mr. Ford was man of huge build. He had a strong physique and his thick moustache made him look like an Afghani trader. He addressed the hysterical crowd, “You people are contaminating the crime scene, please let us all stand outside and talk. Let Lady Anna and Ms. Margaret stay here. I am sure they are still not in the mood for talk.”

They all came outside the room and went to the deck.

“What should we do to the body, Captain?”, asked Ford.

Captain Thompson replied, “We cannot keep the body for the entire voyage for it will take quite amount of time to reach India. I think it is obvious what we have to do…”

Stevens said, “To throw the body in the sea…? Are you sure Anna would be okay with this?”

Captain said in a feeble voice, “She has to agree. It is the only way to prevent the body from decaying on board and start causing diseases.”

Everyone understood that it was the only logical way through which the body can be taken care of. The Captain was not feeling well. This was the worst thing that ever happened to him after the loss of his hand.

“But we have a murderer onboard, is that right detective?”, asked Dr. Stevens

“I am not a detective. I am just a police officer and yes… we have a murderer on board.”, replied Mr. Ford.

Henry Hoffman, the convicted criminal spoke for the first time, “Put this murder on my head too… Because that is what you people do… Always framing innocent people.”

Ford glanced at Hoffman and ordered him to stop blubbering. Anna had regained her composure and came to the deck, tears rolling down her cheeks. She went straight to Dr. Stevens and grabbed him by his collars and screamed, “It was you? Wasn’t it? You filthy swine… Don’t you give me the excuse that you killed Arthur because you are so madly in love with me!”

Stevens tried to calm her down but before that she had another mental breakdown and fell on the deck. Everyone hurried to her aid. Stevens carried her to her maid’s room and kept her unconscious body on the bed.

“Why did she blame you Dr. Stevens?”, asked Ford. Stevens explained the situation roughly to Ford and it was clear that Ford had already put Stevens on the top of the suspect list.

The crew was pretty shocked too. An unknown fear grasped the entity of every passenger on board. A convicted criminal and an unknown murderer were on board. This fact is nevertheless quite frightening. Dr. Stevens did not waste much time here and went to drink some Victorian Rum. He could hardly process his thoughts when he is sober. He always needs a drink to freshen up his mind. Mr. Patel went and checked on Ms. Margaret. She was still lying on the sofa. Patel helped her stand up and requested her to take care of Lady Anna who was lying unconscious next door. The Captain ordered some of the crew members to clean the room and dispose of the bed sheets. Mr. Ford asked the Captain if he could take one more final look at the scene, to which the Captain agreed. After fifteen minutes, Ford came out from the room and the crew boys went in and started cleaning the room. Kristoff, was now feeling a lot better but all the events happened so fast, it was hard for him to comprehend.

After finishing the cleaning of the room, the dead body was placed on the mantle of the room. They required the approval of Lady Anna before they could toss the corpse into the sea! The men went for a drink. This time the police officer and Henry accompanied them.

Mr. Patel, Dr. Stevens, Mr. Ford and Henry Hoffman sat around a round table and opened a barrel of English Beer in the dining hall.

Mr. Ford asked Mr. Patel, “Did you harbour any hatred towards Mr. Brown?”

Anand Patel understood that Ford has subtly started to cross-examine him, he replied, “I personally did not know much about Arthur but last night, he used a derogatory term to describe my race and in an action of reflex and drunken foolishness, I punched him. I know… It was very immature of me but I have had enough of this racial profiling for the last two years and now it has become unbearable to endure.”

Mr. Ford nodded slightly and turned towards Dr. Stevens and asked him, “Is it true, you have romantic feelings for Lady Anna?”

Stevens replied, “Yes! I do have all kinds of feelings for Anna. Detective! You should not waste your time on me! I did not murder that old fool.”

Ford smiled a little and answered, “I am not a detective, just a cop.”

Kristoff had gone towards the room of Anna to check on her. But before he could enter the room, Kristoff heard something. Something he wasn’t supposed to hear…

Time elapsed and the Neptunus cut swiftly through the waves of the Atlantic.  Soon it was time for dinner. The four men have gathered in the dining hall to dine and the food of Lady Anna and Ms. Margaret was sent to their room. They thought it was better if they did not bother Anna for a day or two.

After finishing their Salmon Roast and Duck Stew, the four men resorted to drinking again. Suddenly Dr. Stevens addressed Henry and said, “Tell me Henry… What have you done so horrific that they are deporting you to the Andamans? You don’t look the kind of chap who would commit heinous crimes.”

Henry Hoffman remained silent for a few moments and after finishing his beer in one go, he prepared to tell a story, but before he could start narrating, he was interrupted by Mr. Ford. He said, “He has been convicted with Grand Larceny… but as the investigative officer of that case… I am still not convinced that Henry is the actual criminal.”

Henry said, “That is because I didn’t do it. I didn’t steal all those diamonds. It was the owner himself. He did it for Insurance money. I was framed… Believe me. I just worked as his accountant.”

Mr. Patel said, “Maybe I can help you with your case Mr. Henry… If you swear that you are speaking the truth then I can restart the case when we reach India. The Government in both the countries are same, so it wouldn’t be a problem. Maybe you will be my first case in India.”

Hoffman liked what Mr. Patel told him but he kept quiet. The four men finished their drinking and went to their respective rooms.

Mr. Ford understood he had to start questioning everyone with more seriousness to reach to the bottom of the mysterious murder that was committed on the ship onboard.