A Mersey Mariner

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2Merseyside Police Headquarters

An air of celebration pervaded the squad room of the Murder Investigation Unit. Earlier that morning, Detective Chief Inspector Oscar Agostini had announced that the team's collator, Detective Constable Paul Ferris, had received a long-deserved promotion to Detective Sergeant, effective immediately. Ferris had long declined the opportunity for promotion, during the worrying years when his young son, Aaron had been undergoing long and painful sessions of kidney dialysis, but since a successful transplant operation a couple of years ago, his son's condition had stabilised and he was now able to lead a normal life. It had been agreed that Ferris would continue to work as collator for the Murder Investigation Unit, a position he'd made his own since joining the team and working with Detective Inspector Andy Ross for the last five years.

As a result of Ferris's promotion and in line with the unit's gathering reputation and success levels, Agostini made two further announcements.

“Now that Detective Sergeant Ferris,” he stressed Ferris's new rank, “has achieved his new exalted position, the powers that be have agreed to appoint an administrative assistant who will report directly to our collator, but who will also be here to provide admin back-up for the team as and when required. The new administrator will be joining us tomorrow. She's an experienced civilian worker, Katrina Bellamy who has spent five years working in the office of the Chief Constable. She has a reputation for reliability and being able to work on her own initiative, so she should prove a valuable asset to the team.

Finally, again due to our continued success, we will be welcoming a new D.C. to the team as well. Detective Constable Keith Burton will also join us tomorrow. Burton has spent the last three years working on the Vice Squad, so has a similar background to that of D.C. Gable, and is highly recommended by his current D.I. Any comments or questions, people?”

“I don't know him, I'm afraid, sir. I joined the team four years ago, so he joined Vice after I left,” D.C. Samantha Gable observed.

“Yes, I know, Constable,” said Agostini, “but he worked as you did under D.I. Bell, who spoke to me in glowing terms about him. He sends you his best regards by the way.”

“Thanks, sir, that's good of him.”

Sam Gable had spent three years working under D.I. Tom, 'Ding Dong' Bell prior to joining Ross's team, and held her ex-boss in high regard. It was Bell who had first recommended her for the vacant post in Ross's team at the time.

“So, everyone,” Andy Ross finally addressed the team, “things are looking up for us, so it would seem. Things have been quiet for a couple of weeks since we closed the Aaron Decker case, but I know we've all been busy bringing the paperwork up to date. I'm sure it won't be long before we find a new case being dropped in our laps so let's clear our desks as soon as we can, and let's give our new team members a warm welcome tomorrow. Help them settle in and find their feet as quickly as possible. I want them to be an effective part of this team from day one. You can all help make that happen.”

A general hubbub of agreement and comments followed Ross's words, mostly being composed of congratulations for Paul Ferris.

“Fancy you being a Sergeant, er, Sarge,” Tony Curtis, the youngest member of the team said with a big smile on his face. “Well done, Paul, oops, sorry.”

“Give over, Tony,” Ferris replied. “I'm still Paul unless it's official stuff, as long as you don't forget or disrespect the rank, okay?”

“Okay,” said Curtis, smiling again. With his dark brown, almost black hair, and undoubted good looks, Detective Constable Leonard Curtis bore an uncanny resemblance to the former movie idol Tony Curtis. Almost from his first day on the squad, as soon as the resemblance was mentioned by both Sam Gable and Izzie Drake, Leonard (Lennie) Curtis found himself being referred to as Tony. The name had stuck and it was highly likely that most of the original members of the squad had forgotten the young detective's real name. Certainly, any newcomers since the day Curtis joined the team were introduced to him as Tony Curtis. Leonard or Lennie didn't seem to suit him anymore.

“Couldn't have happened to a nicer person, Paul,” added Derek McLennan, after Ferris the next most experienced D.C. on the team. “Congratulations. I'll bet Kareen will be made up for you.”

“Thanks, Derek. I'm sure she will,” Ferris replied, referring to his wife who he couldn't wait to call with the news.

Sergeant Izzie Drake finally walked across to Ferris, planted a kiss on his cheek and added her own congratulations.

“I'd better watch my back from now on,” she joked. “Looks like I have some serious competition on my hands from now on.”

“Oh, I don't think you have anything to worry about,” Ferris replied. “Nobody could ever take your place as D.I. Ross's right hand man, well, woman, if you know what I mean.”

As the general feel-good vibes filled the room, no-one noted the departure of D.C.I Agostini, but they were all aware that something was brewing a half hour later when Ross, who had returned to his own office, emerged with a serious look on his face and beckoned for Izzie Drake to follow him.

“Nobody leaves the squad room,” Ross ordered as Drake fell into line behind him. “The boss has a new job for us. We'll be back soon.”

Now the general theme of the conversation among the detectives rose a notch as they began to speculate on just what the new job might be.

A few minutes later, Ross and Drake were seated in Agostini's office as he related to them the contents of a phone call he'd received just a short time ago.

“I've had a call from the Port Police,” he began, referring to the small force known as The Port of Liverpool Police, who patrolled a small area that encompassed the city's docks, and with responsibility for policing the dock areas and freeports of the city and its environs. With less than fifty men, the force was an important cog in the local machinery of law enforcement, though their resources were limited. Agostini continued. “It seems the Port Authority have received a call from a ship in the Estuary, the Alexandra Rose, a cargo liner bound from Brazil to Liverpool. She had to drop anchor a few miles from port due to the thick fog, and the captain sent one of his officers to inform the passengers there would be a delay in their arrival time. The officer soon returned to the bridge to report that he'd found one of their passengers dead in his cabin.”

“Oh no, not another b****y 'life on the ocean wave' case, Ross groaned. He and the team had recently concluded a complex investigation that had led him and Drake to the south coast, the town of Falmouth to be precise, where the pair of them has actually ended up sailing out into the English Channel aboard a Royal Navy frigate as part of the case that involved multiple murders, the theft of antiquities and gold bullion.

“Shouldn't be so bad this time,” Agostini smiled at Ross's grimace. “Anyway, the ship has been at sea for over three weeks, and the passenger concerned hadn't given any indication during the voyage of feeling unwell. The ship's doctor carried out an examination of the body but was unable to determine cause of death. In line with the ship owners' policy, the captain felt obliged to regard it as a suspicious death in the absence of an official reason for the man's demise. The Port Police don't have the resources to handle a case like this, so they called me. I want you and Sergeant Drake to get out there as soon as possible. The Port Police launch is waiting to ferry you out to the ship. Doctor Nugent and his assistant will rendezvous with you at the pier and will accompany you in order to make an initial examination of the body,” he concluded, referring to the city's senior pathologist, Dr. William Nugent and his assistant Francis Lees.

“Will the police launch stay afloat with Dr. Nugent, Lees, us and the crew all aboard together?” Drake grinned at the thought of the overweight pathologist adding his weight to that of the rest of those who'd be making the trip out to the Alexandra Rose.

“Where's your sense of adventure, Izzie?” Ross grinned as he spoke. “We'll just be sure to sit where we can counter the doc's weight and keep the launch on an even keel.”

“What about forensics?” Drake asked next.

“Oh yes, I forgot to mention, I've asked Miles Booker to join you on the launch too. We can't possibly send a full forensic team out there with you, but if foul play is suspected, we can send a full team out later.”

Izzie Drake rolled her eyes at the thought of yet more weight being added to the small launch's payload.

“Have you ever seen that little launch, sir? I think it usually carries about two crewmen and looks as though another two would probably overload it.”

“Stop panicking, Izzie,” Ross laughed. “We can always start baling if she starts going under.”

“Haha, very funny,” she replied, as Agostini smiled at the repartee between his two senior detectives.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Come on you two. Get going and report back as soon as you can. If it is a murder, we need to move fast. God knows how we can keep an entire ship's crew and passengers holed up on a ship in the estuary for the duration of a full-scale murder inquiry.”

“We probably can't sir,” Ross replied. “It could turn out to be a logistical nightmare.”

“Well, first things first, Andy. Let's establish the facts.”

“Right sir. Come on Sergeant, we've got work to do.”

“If you insist, sir,” Izzie replied, pensively.

On the way out, the pair stopped by the squad room where Ross quickly briefed the team on the potential case they were about to become involved in and asked the newly promoted Paul Ferris to use his computer skills to find out as much as he could about the Alexandra Rose while he and Drake were making their initial inquiries on board the ship. Sergeant Ferris was more than happy to oblige.

As Izzie Drake slowly drove the unmarked Mondeo through the dense fog towards the pier head where the police launch awaited their arrival, Ross sensed his sergeant had something to say. Having worked together for so long, the pair had an almost telepathic ability to work out what the other was thinking and now was no exception.

“What's on your mind, Izzie,” he asked.

“Eh, oh, nothing really, but it's just that I didn't want to appear too thick in front of the Chief.”

“I don't think he'd ever think you're thick, Izzie. What is it?”

“It's this ship, sir. When he described it to us he called it a cargo liner. Now, I'm no i***t as you just confirmed, but can you please tell me what the hell a b****y cargo liner is?”

Ross couldn't help but laugh at his sergeant's question. Drake of course, thought he was laughing at her.

“Hey,” she protested. “It's not funny, just because I don't know something.”

“It's not that. I expected something deep and meaningful was playing on your mind, but it's just the definition of a cargo liner.”

“Well, for heaven's sake, are you going to tell me or not?”

“Alright, don't get your knickers in a twist. A cargo liner is basically a cargo ship, a freighter, but one that's been adapted to carry passengers as well as freight. There aren't so many around nowadays but there used to be loads of them sailing around the world. Some were quite luxurious, with staterooms that could match the big ocean liners, others were pretty basic, with run-of-the-mill cabins and not much in the way of facilities for the passengers. They provided a cheaper way of getting from A to B than the big transatlantic liners, and sailed from lesser known ports so you could perhaps sail from, say, Rio de Janeiro to Liverpool for a reasonable cost, rather than having to travel to a large city like New York to pick up a berth on a large liner that might have to be booked weeks in advance. You get the idea?”