“Sorry if I have offended you. The work you have done is amazing in the time given. However, if you could keep those students of yours on, we will fund this, so if possible, let’s start putting the information in from the previous decade,” Cutler requested.
“My little darlings don’t need paying; to learn from me is payment enough. I will do as you wish, Herr Cutler, but I assume you want me to start analysing the data we have stored already?” she continued.
“Yes, that would be my wish,” Cutler responded.
“Good, and what a job we have to do. In the past ten years there have been over 707 deaths and missing persons at sea,” Fabienne divulged to a stunned Cutler.
“Seven hundred and seven?” Cutler asked tentatively.
“What you must remember is that many guests on these ships are elderly; indeed, some are dying of cancers, heart disease, syphilis, boredom. What I’m trying to say is the numbers are bound to be high because a percentage of the passengers are the walking dead and would die anyway, whether at home or sipping a gin and tonic on a boat in the Pacific,” she lectured Cutler.
“Okay, I understand this, Fabienne; tell me how many of these deaths you can rule out as natural,” Cutler replied, a little irked at Fabienne’s cold analysis.
“Logically we will keep in all those lost at sea or missing, including your sister. Those number 72 souls, which leaves us with 635 souls. Then we take away all those who have died and had post-mortems, and we can deduct another 510. Thus, that leaves us with 125 deaths that may be suspicious. They may have died of natural causes but at this time, it is hard to say. But we say 72 missing persons is obviously suspicious,” Fabienne articulated.
“Where to next, Fabienne?”
“Over the next few weeks, I will add the filter for causes of death for the 125 and categorize them and look for any suspicious trends. The missing person filter will take longer, as there are so many fields, variables I have to take account of in the database; age, sex, cruise liner, age, personal history, medical records, plus a whole heap more.”
“Very well, Fabienne. I’m not trying to repeat myself, but this is excellent work,” Cutler emphasized.
“That’s not everything. I have some news about Cheryl’s husband’s case,” Fabienne surprised Cutler.
“News? What news?” he asked eagerly.
“I have extracted a statement given by an Emilio Antonelli, given to the captain the morning after Don, her husband, went missing. I have another from the captain’s log which identifies both boys who had been involved. After accessing the Bahamian police records, they said they knew nothing of the alleged attack. And I have a memo from the first mate to the police saying there were no suspicious circumstances concerning his disappearance.”
“This gives us the name of the second boy,” Cutler stated.
“And some more vital information. Six weeks after Don Ross vanished off the Large Pink Boat; it went into dry dock for a refurbishment. The work was subcontracted to a small shipyard in Portland. I have a memo from them that was stored on the cruise line files which states they found several teeth and a ring in a small drain, a drain which is precisely where the alleged assault on Don took place,” Fabienne qualified.
Cutler took several seconds to think before turning back towards Fabienne.
“Teeth and a ring; without the physical evidence, it doesn’t have any real significance,” Cutler specified.
“Normally I would agree with you, but Northwest Marine Services, this shipyard in Portland, Oregon, has an ISO quality accreditation. In short, they have procedures which are audited by an international body,” she said.
“Where is this going, Fabienne? Procedures, ISO... I don’t get it,” Cutler replied, a little bemused.
“Quite naturally, I looked up their online procedures and found retention of property process. They keep any items found in the vessels, such as jewellery, for five years. When did Don Ross go missing?” she asked Cutler.
“Four years ago, I think; no, four and a half years,” Cutler confirmed.
“That's what I figured. I accessed their database of retained property. It goes without saying that the teeth are long gone, but the ring is still in their lost property section, and there is a description on the report. The ring is a school ring, one with a unique motif of the school. The school is Palm Springs, the same school a certain Mick Hilton and Bernard Rothhelm go to. That’s the same two boys identified in the first mate’s report as those most likely to have been involved in a fracas on deck,” Fabienne said with a hint of smugness.
“Wow!” exclaimed Cutler.
“Indeed,” affirmed Fabienne.
“We need that ring. It may still have DNA on it, and if we can get the ring as proof, I have friends in the FBI in Palm Springs,” he said, more to himself than to Fabienne.
Cutler moved from the hub, as Fabienne called the office that was packed from floor to ceiling with electronic equipment, to the office next door. In stark comparison, this room had just a desk, a telephone, and views of Geneva Lake, with the world-renowned fountain in full view.
Several minutes later, Cutler connected with Robert Stahmer.
“Afternoon, Robert, it’s Max Cutler. And to cut to the chase, I need you to get on a plane from the UK and head over to Portland.”
A short while after that, Cutler explained to the ex-Health and Safety Inspector that they had come across evidence of immense importance, but which had not been accessed in a legal manner. Cutler explained that although the initial computer search would not stand up in a court of law, Northwest Marine Services had a lost and found section on their website, and the ring would be listed. It
