13
The fire ship
Back outside I sat on the steps, unable to move any further. The day had started out at Jeannie’s with the fact that her husband had pushed Boom Boom under the Bertha Krupnik. Now came the news that Paige had gone out with Boom Boom only to spy on him to Grafalk. What good would it do Boom Boom If I could prove Grafalk had ordered his death? Revenge brings only limited pleasure. The one thing I might be able to prove was that Grafalk murdered Phillips. I knew the cops wouldn’t believe Grafalk was a murderer without the proof. But if I could find a witness, someone who saw Grafalk and Phillips on his boat on Sunday morning – or if there were some bloodstains on Grafalk’s boat . . .
I stood up and went to my car. At home I put some plastic bags in my pocket and a small knife to cut up a piece of deck or carpet with blood on it. Then I went out to the car and drove to the lake. Instead of turning south on Green Bay for Lake Bluff, I went on to Sheridan Road and turned left, following the road up to the harbor.
A guard was on duty at the entrance. I gave him a bright smile. ‘I’m Niels Grafalk’s niece. He’s expecting me to join a party on his yacht.’
‘Down the wharf, then turn left. You can’t miss it – it’s the biggest boat there.’
I followed the road down to the lake. It was nearly six, and the sun was low in the sky. Grafalk’s yacht was beautiful, in the golden light of spring. Painted whit and green, she floated easily against the ropes that held her to the wharf, like a beautiful sea bird.
I parked the Chevette and walked out to the boat. I pulled myself on to the deck and began to examine the deck, on hands and knees, like a real detective. I found two short pale brown hairs caught in the deck at the top of the ladder. I pulled out the hairs and put them in a little plastic bag. Then I went downstairs.
The door was locked and it took me a few minutes to force it open. There were several bedrooms and a kitchen and bathroom, but I didn’t think Grafalk and Phillips would have fought in there. I went into the sitting room. I noticed that in front of the small electric fire, the thick green carpet looked a different colour. I went over and knelt down near it: the carpet was wet and there was a strong smell of cleaner, but there was no blood. I found another hair. Perhaps the police with there equipment would be able to find blood.
With my knife, I cut a small piece of carpet from the place where I’d found the hair. As I put the piece into another plastic bag, I heard a noise on the deck. Then footsteps. Some one had come on to the boat. I put the plastic bag into my pocket. Holding the knife firmly, I went to the door. I heard the sound of voices, and then the engine started and the boat began moving slowly backwards.
I looked around for a hiding place. There was none. Finally, I heard a footstep on the stairs.
‘Miss Warshawski, I know you’re there. I saw your car on the wharf.’ It was Grafalk.
My stomach turned over. I felt too weak to speak. I breathed slowly and stepped out of the door.
‘Good evening, Mr. Grafalk.’ My voice didn’t shake and I was pleased with myself.
‘I think we can talk more easily down here,’ Grafalk said. ‘Sandy will be able to manage the boat alone for a while.’ He took my arm and moved me back to the sitting room. ‘Do sit down, miss Warshawski. You know, by now you should be dead several times. You’re a survivor. And your discoveries, as I learned from Paige, are really very accurate.’
I sat down in one of the chairs near the table. ‘Thank you, Mr. Grafalk.’
Grafalk opened the drinks cupboard. ‘A drink, Vic? You don’t mind if I call you that, do you?’ He sat down opposite and poured himself a glass of whisky. There was an expression of excitement on his face. ‘By the way, who are you working for? Not Martin, I hope.’
‘I’m working for my cousin.’
‘Revenge. I see. Paige says you don’t believe Boom Boom’s death was an accident.’
‘You told Phillips to kill my cousin. You told Mattingly to search Boom Boom’s apartment, and he kill the night watchman. You told Phillips to damage my car, and I was nearly killed. You told Mattingly to blow up the Lucella, and then you killed Mattingly. Oh yes. And then you killed Phillips.’
Grafalk poured himself some more whisky. ‘Mattingly did most of the damage, and he’s dead. Right now, the police seem extremely uninterested in me.’
‘When they have the proof that Phillips received his head wound here, their interest will catch fire.’
‘Yes, but who going to tell them? I won’t. And you, I’m afraid, aren’t going to be with us when we return to harbor. So you won’t.’
He was trying to frighten me and succeeding very well. ‘Phillips called you Saturday night after he got my message, didn’t he?’ I asked.
‘Yes, I’m afraid Clayton was breaking down. He was clever enough, but he worried about details too much. He knew that if you told the president of Eudora about the invoices, his job would be finished.’
‘Why did you kill him, though? You own the Steamship Line – how could it harm you if the public discovered you cheated Eudora Grain? You can’t lose your job.’
‘Oh I agree. Unfortunately, Clayton knew my feelings towards Martin too well. He suspected I was responsible for the accident to the Lucella, and he threatened to tell the police if I didn’t help him with the president of Eudora.’
‘So you put a hole in his head and sailed him down to the Port. Putting him on one of Bledsoe’s ships was a clever idea.’
Grafalk was annoyed that I had guessed so easily. ‘I won’t take those risks with you, Vic. I’ll leave you a couple kilometers from the shore, with a good strong weight to hold you down.’
I have always been afraid of death by drowning more than any other end – the deep water pulling me down into itself. My hands were trembling a little. I pushed them against my legs so that Grafalk couldn’t see.
‘I didn’t realize how much you hated Bledsoe. You threatened him while he was trying to borrow money to buy Lucella, but once he’d got the ship he stopped giving you contracts. That’s when you got Mattingly to put water in the Lucella’ holds.’
Grafalk wasn’t so calm now. ‘How’d you know that?’ he asked sharply.
‘Boom Boom saw Mattingly at the Port . . . but what I really want to know is how long the Grafalk Steamship Line has been losing money?’
He got up with a sudden movement that knocked his whisky glass over. ‘Who told you that?’
‘Niels, it’s obvious. Grafalk Steamship is the only thing you really care about. Your argument with Bledsoe at lunch, my first day at the Port, was about getting rid of your unprofitable old ships.’
He pushed the bottle of whisky from the table with a violent movement and sent it flying against the wall. It broke and the shower of glass and whisky hit my back.
‘I never thought the new ship would be profitable,’ he shouted. ‘They’re too big. There weren’t many ports that could take them. I was sure they couldn’t succeed.’ His face was angry. ‘But then I started losing orders. And Martin! I saved him from prison. I gave him his old life back. And how did he thank me? By building that Lucella Wieser right under my nose.’
‘Why didn’t you build your own?’
‘I couldn’t afford to. My other business were paying the Steamship bills, and I was losing so much money that I couldn’t find anyone to lend me more. I wish I could flow up all my ships and collect the insurance. Then I had a better idea. Get rid of the Lucella and close the upper lake to the bigger ships at the same time. I can’t keep the Poe Lock shut forever, but I can make enough money in the next twelve months to start building some new ships next year. And Martin should be finished by then.’ He laughed crazily.
‘I see.’ I felt tired and miserable. I couldn’t think any way to stop him.
The anger had disappeared from Grafalk’s face and the expression of the excitement returned. ‘And now, Vic, I want you to come on deck with me.’
I pulled my knife from my pocket. Grafalk smiled at it. ‘Don’t make it difficult for yourself, Vic. I’ll kill you before you go overboard – no unpleasant drowning for you.’
My heart was breathing fast but my hands were calm. Grafalk started around the table for me. I let him follow until my back was to the door. I turned and ran down the hall, cutting though my shirt with my knife as I ran. I cut my arm and blood rolled down it to my hand.
In the dinning room I kicked a cupboard with glasses in it. The cupboard crashed to the floor. I ran behind the table and wiped my bleeding arm on the curtains.
‘What are you doing.’ Grafalk shouted.
Leaving something for the police,’ I gasped. I drew the knife across the table and then began to cut the chairs. Grafalk stood still for a moment and then came forward again. I slid a chair in his path and turn into the kitchen.
The gas cooker stood there and a mad idea grabbed me. I turned the cooker on and a blue frame shot up. As Grafalk came though the door at me I tore the curtain down and dropped it on the flame. It caught fire immediately. I waved the curtain around like a torch and the other curtains caught fire.
Grafalk dived at me and I jumped out of the way. He fell, heavily, and I ran with my torch back to the dinning room where I set the curtains on fire. Grafalk ran after me with a fire distinguisher which he directed at the curtains. I ran back down the hall and up the stairs to the deck. Grafalk ran behind me. ‘Stop her, Sandy! Stop her!’
A sandy-haired man at the wheel looked up. I ran to the back of the boat. It was dark now and the water was black. Lights from other boats shone far away and I screamed hopelessly for help.
Grafalk ran on to the deck towards me, a mad expression on his face, the fire extinguisher held in front of him. I breathed deeply and jumped overboard. The water was very cold. For a minute, thinking of the deep water stretching beneath me, terror held me.
13
The fire ship
Back outside I sat on the steps, unable to move any further. The day had started out at Jeannie’s with the fact that her husband had pushed Boom Boom under the Bertha Krupnik. Now came the news that Paige had gone out with Boom Boom only to spy on him to Grafalk. What good would it do Boom Boom If I could prove Grafalk had ordered his death? Revenge brings only limited pleasure. The one thing I might be able to prove was that Grafalk murdered Phillips. I knew the cops wouldn’t believe Grafalk was a murderer without the proof. But if I could find a witness, someone who saw Grafalk and Phillips on his boat on Sunday morning – or if there were some bloodstains on Grafalk’s boat . . .
I stood up and went to my car. At home I put some plastic bags in my pocket and a small knife to cut up a piece of deck or carpet with blood on it. Then I went out to the car and drove to the lake. Instead of turning south on Green Bay for Lake Bluff, I went on to Sheridan Road and turned left, following the road up to the harbor.
A guard was on duty at the entrance. I gave him a bright smile. ‘I’m Niels Grafalk’s niece. He’s expecting me to join a party on his yacht.’
‘Down the wharf, then turn left. You can’t miss it – it’s the biggest boat there.’
I followed the road down to the lake. It was nearly six, and the sun was low in the sky. Grafalk’s yacht was beautiful, in the golden light of spring. Painted whit and green, she floated easily against the ropes that held her to the wharf, like a beautiful sea bird.
I parked the Chevette and walked out to the boat. I pulled myself on to the deck and began to examine the deck, on hands and knees, like a real detective. I found two short pale brown hairs caught in the deck at the top of the ladder. I pulled out the hairs and put them in a little plastic bag. Then I went downstairs.
The door was locked and it took me a few minutes to force it open. There were several bedrooms and a kitchen and bathroom, but I didn’t think Grafalk and Phillips would have fought in there. I went into the sitting room. I noticed that in front of the small electric fire, the thick green carpet looked a different colour. I went over and knelt down near it: the carpet was wet and there was a strong smell of cleaner, but there was no blood. I found another hair. Perhaps the police with there equipment would be able to find blood.
With my knife, I cut a small piece of carpet from the place where I’d found the hair. As I put the piece into another plastic bag, I heard a noise on the deck. Then footsteps. Some one had come on to the boat. I put the plastic bag into my pocket. Holding the knife firmly, I went to the door. I heard the sound of voices, and then the engine started and the boat began moving slowly backwards.
I looked around for a hiding place. There was none. Finally, I heard a footstep on the stairs.
‘Miss Warshawski, I know you’re there. I saw your car on the wharf.’ It was Grafalk.
My stomach turned over. I felt too weak to speak. I breathed slowly and stepped out of the door.
‘Good evening, Mr. Grafalk.’ My voice didn’t shake and I was pleased with myself.
‘I think we can talk more easily down here,’ Grafalk said. ‘Sandy will be able to manage the boat alone for a while.’ He took my arm and moved me back to the sitting room. ‘Do sit down, miss Warshawski. You know, by now you should be dead several times. You’re a survivor. And your discoveries, as I learned from Paige, are really very accurate.’
I sat down in one of the chairs near the table. ‘Thank you, Mr. Grafalk.’
Grafalk opened the drinks cupboard. ‘A drink, Vic? You don’t mind if I call you that, do you?’ He sat down opposite and poured himself a glass of whisky. There was an expression of excitement on his face. ‘By the way, who are you working for? Not Martin, I hope.’
‘I’m working for my cousin.’
‘Revenge. I see. Paige says you don’t believe Boom Boom’s death was an accident.’
‘You told Phillips to kill my cousin. You told Mattingly to search Boom Boom’s apartment, and he kill the night watchman. You told Phillips to damage my car, and I was nearly killed. You told Mattingly to blow up the Lucella, and then you killed Mattingly. Oh yes. And then you killed Phillips.’
Grafalk poured himself some more whisky. ‘Mattingly did most of the damage, and he’s dead. Right now, the police seem extremely uninterested in me.’
‘When they have the proof that Phillips received his head wound here, their interest will catch fire.’
‘Yes, but who going to tell them? I won’t. And you, I’m afraid, aren’t going to be with us when we return to harbor. So you won’t.’
He was trying to frighten me and succeeding very well. ‘Phillips called you Saturday night after he got my message, didn’t he?’ I asked.
‘Yes, I’m afraid Clayton was breaking down. He was clever enough, but he worried about details too much. He knew that if you told the president of Eudora about the invoices, his job would be finished.’
‘Why did you kill him, though? You own the Steamship Line – how could it harm you if the public discovered you cheated Eudora Grain? You can’t lose your job.’
‘Oh I agree. Unfortunately, Clayton knew my feelings towards Martin too well. He suspected I was responsible for the accident to the Lucella, and he threatened to tell the police if I didn’t help him with the president of Eudora.’
‘So you put a hole in his head and sailed him down to the Port. Putting him on one of Bledsoe’s ships was a clever idea.’
Grafalk was annoyed that I had guessed so easily. ‘I won’t take those risks with you, Vic. I’ll leave you a couple kilometers from the shore, with a good strong weight to hold you down.’
I have always been afraid of death by drowning more than any other end – the deep water pulling me down into itself. My hands were trembling a little. I pushed them against my legs so that Grafalk couldn’t see.
‘I didn’t realize how much you hated Bledsoe. You threatened him while he was trying to borrow money to buy Lucella, but once he’d got the ship he stopped giving you contracts. That’s when you got Mattingly to put water in the Lucella’ holds.’
Grafalk wasn’t so calm now. ‘How’d you know that?’ he asked sharply.
‘Boom Boom saw Mattingly at the Port . . . but what I really want to know is how long the Grafalk Steamship Line has been losing money?’
He got up with a sudden movement that knocked his whisky glass over. ‘Who told you that?’
‘Niels, it’s obvious. Grafalk Steamship is the only thing you really care about. Your argument with Bledsoe at lunch, my first day at the Port, was about getting rid of your unprofitable old ships.’
He pushed the bottle of whisky from the table with a violent movement and sent it flying against the wall. It broke and the shower of glass and whisky hit my back.
‘I never thought the new ship would be profitable,’ he shouted. ‘They’re too big. There weren’t many ports that could take them. I was sure they couldn’t succeed.’ His face was angry. ‘But then I started losing orders. And Martin! I saved him from prison. I gave him his old life back. And how did he thank me? By building that Lucella Wieser right under my nose.’
‘Why didn’t you build your own?’
‘I couldn’t afford to. My other business were paying the Steamship bills, and I was losing so much money that I couldn’t find anyone to lend me more. I wish I could flow up all my ships and collect the insurance. Then I had a better idea. Get rid of the Lucella and close the upper lake to the bigger ships at the same time. I can’t keep the Poe Lock shut forever, but I can make enough money in the next twelve months to start building some new ships next year. And Martin should be finished by then.’ He laughed crazily.
‘I see.’ I felt tired and miserable. I couldn’t think any way to stop him.
The anger had disappeared from Grafalk’s face and the expression of the excitement returned. ‘And now, Vic, I want you to come on deck with me.’
I pulled my knife from my pocket. Grafalk smiled at it. ‘Don’t make it difficult for yourself, Vic. I’ll kill you before you go overboard – no unpleasant drowning for you.’
My heart was breathing fast but my hands were calm. Grafalk started around the table for me. I let him follow until my back was to the door. I turned and ran down the hall, cutting though my shirt with my knife as I ran. I cut my arm and blood rolled down it to my hand.
In the dinning room I kicked a cupboard with glasses in it. The cupboard crashed to the floor. I ran behind the table and wiped my bleeding arm on the curtains.
‘What are you doing.’ Grafalk shouted.
Leaving something for the police,’ I gasped. I drew the knife across the table and then began to cut the chairs. Grafalk stood still for a moment and then came forward again. I slid a chair in his path and turn into the kitchen.
The gas cooker stood there and a mad idea grabbed me. I turned the cooker on and a blue frame shot up. As Grafalk came though the door at me I tore the curtain down and dropped it on the flame. It caught fire immediately. I waved the curtain around like a torch and the other curtains caught fire.
Grafalk dived at me and I jumped out of the way. He fell, heavily, and I ran with my torch back to the dinning room where I set the curtains on fire. Grafalk ran after me with a fire distinguisher which he directed at the curtains. I ran back down the hall and up the stairs to the deck. Grafalk ran behind me. ‘Stop her, Sandy! Stop her!’
A sandy-haired man at the wheel looked up. I ran to the back of the boat. It was dark now and the water was black. Lights from other boats shone far away and I screamed hopelessly for help.
Grafalk ran on to the deck towards me, a mad expression on his face, the fire extinguisher held in front of him. I breathed deeply and jumped overboard. The water was very cold. For a minute, thinking of the deep water stretching beneath me, terror held me.
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