‘That’s good, isn’t it?’ Pia said.
‘Yes, but…’ David smiled crookedly and raised an eyebrow. ‘There’s always a “yes, but,” isn’t there? Anyway, just before passage, the bill was amended so that the F.B.I. is only required to tell the public about their closed cases. Until the law is changed back to its original language, all we have to rely on now is media reports, or when lawsuits are filed in U.S. courts.’
Holy cow, I thought. If the public only got to see information about closed cases, nobody would ever have heard of Jon-Benet Ramsay, the Black Dalhia, Andrew and Abbie Borden, D.B. Cooper or Jack the Ripper. I was mentally scratching my head. ‘Surely that can’t have been the intent of the act?’
‘No, and as the father of a murdered daughter, I feel let down by the Congress. This absence of data serves no one’s interest except that of the cruise lines. When you get home, write your senator,’ David ordered, wagging his index finger for emphasis. ‘We need to get this law changed.’
‘What’s in it for the F.B.I. to keep cruise-ship crimes so hush-hush?’ Pia wondered. She raised a hand. ‘Never mind, I just answered my own question. Maybe they’re embarrassed because shipboard crimes have such a low solve rate.’
‘Well, not reporting crimes doesn’t make crime go away,’ David grumped. ‘It simply lulls the public into a false sense of security. And if this kind of thing happened in a junior high school in the United States, you’d better believe the cops and the media would be all over it. According to these recent statistics,’ he continued, ruffling the pages on the table in front of him, ‘serious shipboard crimes have dropped from more than four hundred a year to only a few dozen.’ He snorted. ‘Defies belief.’
‘So, what we know for sure is that in 2008 there were four sexual assaults against minors on ships owned by Phoenix.’
‘Yes.’
‘And since then?’
David shrugged. ‘Only two that I know of. The one on Voyager on the cruise when Charlotte was murdered and the attack yesterday on your niece.’
I turned to Pia. ‘Didn’t you tell me that you knew of four, maybe five, Pia?’
Pia nodded. ‘Unofficially.’
‘Somebody with easy access to the Tidal Wave had to be responsible for drugging those girls,’ I said. ‘What if Charlotte discovered who it was?’
Pia frowned. ‘Wesley Bray is a common denominator.’
I shook my head. ‘Yes, but he couldn’t have attacked Julie because he was on desk duty in Tidal Wave at the time. I saw him there myself.’
‘But, he would have had time to slip the drug into your niece’s drink,’ Pia observed.
‘What would his motive be?’ I asked.
She shrugged. ‘Maybe he’s in cahoots with the rapist. Maybe they work as a team.’
I tried to imagine what would motivate a personable, clean-cut guy like Wesley to enter into an infernal partnership with a serial rapist. Money? Blackmail? Or maybe… my heart did a somersault… maybe they took turns?
‘What about that photographer, Buck Carney?’ I asked after a moment. ‘I’m sure I saw him taking pictures at the disco while Phreakin’ Phil was performing. And he’s practically stalking my sister, Georgina.’ I paused, as a thought struck me like a clap of thunder. ‘He’s got a fetish for red hair. My niece, Julie, has red hair. He’s tried to take her picture, too.’
‘I know the guy you’re talking about, Hannah. He’s a bit of a creep, but aren’t all paparazzi creeps? It kind of goes with the territory.’
‘Was Carney taking pictures on Voyager, too?’ David asked.
Pia nodded. ‘He goes freaking everywhere with that camera, but, honestly, I think he’s harmless.’
‘Buck Carney has just shot to the top of my list, David.’ I sat back in my chair. ‘So, we’ve narrowed it down to the bartenders, Wesley Bray, Ethan Hines and Buck Carney,’ I said, counting the suspects off on my fingers. Then I had a sudden thought: ‘Pia, who did you mean when you mentioned the “usual suspects”? Am I missing anyone obvious?’
‘Only myself and Tom to add to the three you mentioned that I know of, staff-wise.’ Pia paused. ‘What do we do now?’ she wanted to know. ‘Do we have a plan?’
‘David?’ I asked.
David shuffled his papers, tapped them on the table to even up the edges, then stuck the papers back into his briefcase. ‘Up until now, I’ve been keeping a low profile, but I think I’m going to come out of the woodwork. Start playing hardball. Officer Martin doesn’t know who I am, but I think he’s about to find out. He wasn’t involved in the investigation into my daughter’s disappearance, so he probably can’t see the connection. But I can’t imagine any honest officer would want to tolerate the presence of a pedophile and murderer on his ship. If we put our heads together…’ David let the sentence die.
Pia squirmed uncomfortably in her chair.
David noticed. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t involve you, Miss Fanucci.’
‘So, what’s your plan?’ I asked him.
‘I’m going to talk to Martin, of course. Lay it all out. I’d appreciate it if you’d come along, Mrs Ives. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about dealing with cruise ship corporations, it’s never go in alone. Always take a witness.’
‘I think it goes both ways, David,’ I said with a smile. ‘Ben Martin always has Molly Fortune and her trusty little notebook along.’
I agreed to accompany David to the security office, but I felt a twinge of guilt about blindsiding Ben Martin like that. And then I thought, no, that’s why they pay him the big bucks, to deal with people like me. Martin was between a rock and a hard place. To keep his job he had to keep the owners happy, but that meant keeping customers happy, too. If so, we might find him more willing to cooperate.
‘When shall we beard the lion in his den?’ I asked.
‘What’s wrong with now?’
SEVENTEEN
‘The owner of a vessel to which this section applies (or the owner’s designee) shall contact the nearest Federal Bureau of Investigation Field Office or Legal Attache by telephone as soon as possible after the occurrence on board the vessel of an incident involving homicide, suspicious death, a missing United States national, kidnapping, [or] assault with serious bodily injury.’
Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010
(H.R. 3360)
‘Ben isn’t here right now,’ Molly Fortune told us. ‘He’s checking on an issue with one of the security checkpoints. Why don’t you come back in about half an hour?’
‘That’s OK, we’ll wait,’ David said, claiming the seat nearest the door.
The frown lines between Fortune’s eyes deepened. ‘Is Julie OK?’
I was quick to reassure her. ‘Julie’s fine under the circumstances, Officer Fortune, but we’re here on a related issue.’
‘Is there anything I can do to help?’
Figuring it would do no harm, I introduced her to David Warren. ‘David and I met quite by accident,’ I said, ‘but we recently discovered we have something in common. We think the information might help Officer Martin solve the mystery of who attacked my niece.’
Fortune’s eyes widened with interest. ‘Can you tell me about it?’
‘We could,’ David said, ‘but it’s rather complicated. Rather than have to explain it several times, I’d rather wait for your boss.’
‘Completely understandable,’ Fortune agreed. ‘I’ll page him, then. In the meantime, can I get you anything to drink?’
It was almost lunchtime, and the only thing I’d eaten all morning was the latte I’d brought with me to the meeting in the library. ‘Coffee would be great,’ I told her. ‘If it’s not too much trouble.’