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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jul 26, 2018 1:49:21 GMT -5
"So, where is this pool you went to?" Gunnarson asked.
"Oh, it's... its over by the front" one of the children began.
"Really? Did you get in trouble... you know only first class can go there" Gunnarson pointed out.
"Well, I..." one of the children began, blushing. Then Laroche laughed, "all right, you got us. But we did give you two a good bath, right?" Laroche began.
"Yes, dad" the two said together.
"I don't blame them for wanting to go to the pool though" Gunnarson pointed out with a laugh. "But us men will have to settle for that smoking room on B-deck, yes?" Gunnarson quipped.
"Ah yes, and let the women and children have the C-deck library. Also a good lounge and reading and writing room from what I know" Hoffman said.
"And let's not forget our good dining saloon; and what hearty food" Byles said.
"Can I just say I love my cabin" Gunnarson began. "It's in a perfect location; I go out, and down the hall one way is the dining saloon, and down the other way is the lavatory and bathroom" he said. Despite the circumstances; Gunnarson was enjoying his voyage, and this was a most welcome respite.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jul 26, 2018 2:07:25 GMT -5
Upon finishing their meal, the men decided they'd retire to the smoking room to read, chat, and enjoy a smoke. Gunnarson never had a particular preference for any type of tobacco; he only smoked on occasion and altered his choice depending on his mood. This time around he had a pipe.
While this was going on, however, Captain Smith was in a bit of a pickle.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jul 29, 2018 22:11:26 GMT -5
He was pacing nervously about the bridge... the thought of this being his final voyage as captain was one thing, but to think... a murder, at sea, on White Star's newest ship? If word got out about this, heaven knows what would happen. Yes, it was the end of his career... but would he want it to end on such a note? His only saving grace was the fact that all passengers were at meal now and with no one in the halls, the crew was able to quietly move the body to its designated area... he waited and waited until at last, a crewman came onto the bridge.
"Sir; I was sent to inform you- the "object" in question was safely transported to designated area... no one saw it and it is secure" he explained.
"Oh, thank you. But aren't you a... stoker?" Captain Smith asked.
"The seamen were all busy with regular duties sir; I was off-shift and they needed help so I volunteered" he explained.
"Ah, well thank you, Mr..."
"Finnegan, sir. I shall return to my post now" he said as he turned about and returned to the stoker's quarters. Captain Smith sighed in relief as he went about his watch.
......
Gunnarson was enjoying a brief smoke in the lounge by himself, musing on the case. "It had to have been a crewman; no other passengers would be able to walk about unnoticed like that" he reasoned. But if it was a crewman... yes, of course! Someone who would know the ship well enough to enter the cabin, kill Frye, and slip away unnoticed. Because he knew the layout of the ship and how to quickly get away. But still, he just couldn't figure it out... who? Why Ismay? There were just some things that didn't add up. "If I was in first class... I could really use Futrelle's input" he said with a sigh. But the rules were the rules, and he could only go back to first class once the purser said so. "It was pleasant to know that he is familiar with my work though; even if no one really knows who I am, it sure is nice that one of today's great mystery writers' admires my work" he thought with a smile.
Looking around, he decided that just sitting wasn't going to do him any favors... perhaps it was time for a stroll on one of the promenades.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Aug 9, 2018 1:07:27 GMT -5
He headed up and out for a stroll on the deck; it was a lovely view from where he stood; nothing but calm seas in all directions. As he thought about the crime and what happened, he realized that there was only one conclusion possible...
"This murderer must be a crewman; why else be able to slip away unnoticed" he reasoned. He had to investigate more; so he went to go find the purser so he could return to first class
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 14, 2018 15:52:53 GMT -5
Finding himself back in the first class areas, he began just outside Ismay's cabin on B-Deck...
"Let me think... so he starts from here, so he needs to disappear" Gunnarson looked to his right. "Just a long line of cabins... a hallway with no cover is a terrible place to run" he concluded. So he went to his left and walked towards the Grand Staircase. What an amazing work of art, he thought, especially the wood-carved clock. Looking around, to the sides he saw areas that had some sort of gate, from what he could figure out.
"Those must be the entrances when boarding; a dead end no doubt" he mused. Then he looked down the halls ahead of him as a steward passed by. "Beg pardon; is anything of note down that way?" Gunnarson asked.
"Just some cabins, sir. Are you lost?" he asked.
"No, just looking around and admiring the ship" Gunnarson assured. Gunnarson proceeded to walk up the stairs and found himself on A-Deck. He walked around until he was overlooking the staircase, and saw a few ways to go from here. Behind the Grand staircase were the elevators, and he saw two doors against the wall closest to the bow. "More cabins" he deduced; the murderer certainly wouldn't go that way. So he walked towards the stern and found himself overlooking the grand staircase again. Down one way, he saw a hallway that lead to a revolving door, a sign indicated it went to the lounge. "A terrible place to run after a murder; too many witnesses" he concluded. So he looked to his left and right... and saw exits that went out to the promenades. "Let's try... this way" he decided. Heading towards his right, he exited and found himself on the A-Deck promenade. Given that looking to his right was the bow and the stern to his left, he deduced he was on the "port" side. There were some people here and there... but not too many.
"And if it were meal time... of course, these promenades would be practically empty!" He deduced. He began walking towards the stern... in some windows on his left, he saw a rather pretty looking room where some ladies were reading books or writing letters. "Hmmm... must be a Reading and Writing Room. Guess since the men have the smoking room, only fair the women get this one" Gunnarson thought. He stopped for a moment to admire the view of the ocean from the promenade.
"Mr Gunnarson; you're back?" A voice asked. Gunnarson looked up to see a man and a woman. "Ah, Mr. Futrelle, so nice to see you again" Gunnarson noted.
"Yes; oh, my apologies. My wife, Lily" he said, introducing his spouse to Gunnarson.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Oct 14, 2018 15:58:59 GMT -5
The pair came down. "This is that detective I've been telling you about," said Futrelle.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance," said Lily.
"The pleasure is all mine," said Gunnarson. "Since you're here," he said, turning to Jacques, "would you mind if I go over some of the things that have been bothering me about this case?"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 14, 2018 16:19:48 GMT -5
"I do not mind; what is wrong?" Futrelle asked.
"I've been trying to get in the mind of the killer. The good news is- there are very few places he can hide as he can only be on the ship" Gunnarson explained.
"Makes sense so far" Futrelle replied.
"Yes; but it was a very clean kill, almost no blood. Therefore I haven't had a trail to follow" Gunnarson said.
"So you ended up here?" Futrelle asked.
"Yes; I want to retrace possible ways he could have slipped away. My current hypothesis has me coming here so far" Gunnarson explained.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Oct 14, 2018 16:24:55 GMT -5
"Out of curiosity," said Futrelle, "what class do you think the killer comes from - first, second, or third?"
"Well," said Gunnarson, "that's a bit hard to determine at the moment, but right now I think my money is on..."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 14, 2018 17:01:08 GMT -5
"... none of them, to be honest. Based on the circumstances, I strongly suspect it to be a crew member" Gunnarson explained.
"I can see that; they can access areas passengers can't and no one really pays them any attention" Futrelle mused.
"But where would he go from here?" Lily asked.
"Good question" Gunnarson mused. Walking down the promenade, he passed some more windows and looked into the first class lounge. But it was towards the end of the lounge when he found a door. "Strange... this doesn't seem to go to the lounge" he mused. Opening the door, he found a lot of clothes... a cloak room, he deduced. Everything looked rather neat, except for something stashed into the corner. Going up to it, he took out the item... a shirt. Unraveling it, it became apparent that it was thrown there purposefully, for when he came to the end of the right sleeve.
"This red doesn't look right" Gunnarson mused. It only took one sniff of the red for everything to click; "My God... the killer was here!" He said in shock.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Oct 14, 2018 17:21:02 GMT -5
Gunnarson knew he had to alert the other crew members, fast. If one of them was actually the killer, then the innocent ones would be his eyes and ears in the places he couldn't go to.
"Or could this be a normal passenger, disguising himself as a crew member, and thus getting away from suspicion?" he pondered.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 14, 2018 18:08:35 GMT -5
He thought about it for the moment... but decided that it wasn't likely; after all how else could they have gained access to Mr. Ismay's room without noticing, he considered. It also had to be someone who knew the ship inside and out... someone who would know exactly where to go after leaving Ismay's cabin. Either way though, he knew he had to find out where the killer went.
The trail seemed to stop here for the moment; so he knew he had to alert those in charge.
"I'm sorry Futrelle; I must take my leave" Gunnarson explained. He ran up to the boat deck and towards the Bridge.
......
"One of our own? Are you sure?" Officer Wilde asked Gunnarson in disbelief.
"I'm afraid so; I don't have much to go on at this exact moment, but I can say that it has to be someone very familiar with the ship" Gunnarson explained.
"All right; I'll pass it on to the others; you'd better head back" Wilde explained before going back on duty.
Indeed, Gunnarson did look rather out of place, scurrying about the ship, and in an area he wasn't necessarily allowed in. He had no choice; he was forced to begin making his way back to second class.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Oct 14, 2018 18:35:02 GMT -5
On the way there, he met Laroche. "Ah, Gunnarson, how are you on this fine day?"
"As best as I can be," smiled the detective.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 14, 2018 18:59:32 GMT -5
"Are you not enjoying the ship?" Laroche asked, confused.
"Oh no, I am. It's just... I've had quite a bit come up recently, and I can't help but shake the feeling that there's something... something weird going on" Gunnarson mused.
"Like what?" Laroche asked.
At that moment, Mr. Hoffmann and his two young sons were walking by. "Ah, Mr. Gunnarson, how are you?" He asked. Gunnarson looked up.
"I'm doing well... how about you; how was your meal?" Gunnarson asked.
"Oh, simply splendid! I especially enjoyed the Kidneys and bacon" he said.
"Pardon?" Gunnarson asked.
"You didn't have the kidneys and bacon?" Mr. Hoffman asked, confused.
"No, I did. But I'm surprised you did... Mr. Hoffman" Gunnarson said suspiciously.
"I don't understand..." Hoffman began, nervously.
"Well, last time I checked, bacon isn't kosher" Gunnarson pointed out.
"So?" Hoffman asked.
"Beg pardon, but isn't Hoffman a Jewish name?" Gunnarson asked. Hoffman suddenly looked nervous. "Well, I, uh... see, there's a good reason for that."
"I'm sure there is. Tell me, Mr. "Hoffman," been to first class recently? You know we're not supposed to go there. There anyone on board you don't like?" Gunnarson said, growing suspicious of Mr. Hoffman.
"Uh...uh... look at the time! I'd better..." Hoffman was about to leave with his sons when Gunnarson grabbed him. "You've been acting suspicious ever since we met, Mr. Hoffman! And the fact a man was murdered in first class only makes it look worse for you" Gunnarson said into his ear. Hoffman was in shock.
"No! No! You've got it all wrong!" He said, realizing he was pretty much cornered.
"Then what is your deal?!" Gunnarson asked.
"Ok! OK! The truth is... my name isn't Hoffman. My... my name is really Michel Navratil; and I'm not Jewish, I'm Slovac. I'm taking my sons Michel and Edmund to America" he said.
"But... but what does that have to do with a false name?" Gunnarson asked.
"I... I may have taken my children to America without telling their mother knowing. We separated earlier this year, but to be fair she was the one who had the affair, not me! Technically she has custody of them, but... but I really do love them" he said, nearly sobbing.
"You said you were a widower the first time we met" Laroche pointed out, who had been watching everything from a distance.
"That... was a lie. I'll admit I've done some questionable things... but I swear I'm not a murderer!" Navratil stated.
"What?" Laroche asked, confused.
"I'll... I'll explain later" Gunnarson said, hoping to divert the topic away from that. Gunnarson was thankful the boys were too young to understand the situation, but still, he felt very troubled by all that was happening. He was a christian, of course, so he did the first thing that came to mind.
"I hope you'll pardon me, gentlemen; but I think I'd like to go and talk to Father Byles for a while" he said, going off to find the priest.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Oct 14, 2018 19:56:50 GMT -5
But Gunnarson had made a grievous error. Thanks to his poor choice of words, the news of the murder spread like wildfire.
It wasn't long before Captain Smith called the detective up on deck.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 14, 2018 20:39:19 GMT -5
They ended up meeting in the bridge; Captain Smith only allowing it because he wanted as few witnesses as possible.
"What's this that the purser told me about rumors of a murder spreading around second class? Granted the classes don't mix so at least it's confined, but this could be a problem" Captain Smith explained.
"I don't know; I can only think of a couple people who saw me when I said something about it, and even then they weren't quite the gossiping type" Gunnarson pointed out.
"Either way; at least second class is the least populated of the three groups and there is no intermingling among the classes. Gunnarson, I'm going to be straight with you- we don't need a panic on this ship and especially not on the maiden voyage. I may be retiring at the end of this voyage, but... but what would my wife and daughter think?" he said, thinking about his family back home.
"Is there anything I can do, sir?" Gunnarson asked.
"Just keep up your investigation; the sooner we catch him the sooner we can isolate him from the other passengers and crew" Smith explained.
"Where?" Gunnarson asked, confused.
"Andrews mentioned a padded room on D-Deck, I think. Probably there" Smith mentioned. Gunnarson nodded and subsequently took his leave.
Realizing that hoping between classes wasn't doing him any favors, he headed over to the purser's office. His request was a long shot at best, but...
"I beg your pardon?" Purser McElroy asked.
"Yes sir; for the duration of my investigation I was wondering if I could move to first class. As I am sure the captain as informed you it is a serious matter and I must be able to operate efficiently" Gunnarson explained.
McElroy, aware of the situation, leaned forward and whispered "Look, it's not something we normally do but... if you can cover the cost of the cabin, we'll put you in one for the time being; then once you go back to second class, we'll refund you accordingly" McElroy offered.
"Fair enough" Gunnarson agreed. Going into his wallet, he proceeded to count his money.
"10...15...20...21... 22 pounds. How much is a first class room, sir?" Gunnarson asked.
"30 pounds for a single berth" McElroy explained.
"Oh, bugger" Gunnarson muttered.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Oct 14, 2018 20:41:50 GMT -5
"Hold on, I've got some back in my cabin. Was saving it for something later on in America, but this takes priority. I'll go and get it."
Upon his return with the money, the purser bumped him up accordingly.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 14, 2018 21:23:50 GMT -5
Collecting his things, Gunnarson found himself, by chance, in cabin A-37, where he had met Francis Browne just a few days prior. He began thinking about how he could possibly go about investigating? Where to even begin. He looked across the way to Cabin A-36... the cabin of that gentleman, Andrews. He said something about having designed the ship and all, and recall seeing in his room some blue papers... ship designs all about his cabin. That was when it hit him. Walking across the hall he knocked on the door.
"What's going on... oh, Mr. Gunnarson, it's you again" Andrews said in curiosity.
"Yes, it is. Mr. Andrews, I know this is going to sound weird but... I can see that you've got designs for the ship about your cabin" Gunnarson observed.
"Yes; what about it?" Andrews asked, confused.
"I know this is going to sound strange but... I need to look at the deck plans for this ship" Gunnarson pleaded.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Oct 14, 2018 21:44:56 GMT -5
"I see," said Andrews. "Well, I can't give them to you permanently or anything, but I can let you see them for the next half hour. What's all this about?"
"It's... secret business. You can take it up with the captain if you like, but I must keep mum."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 14, 2018 21:53:58 GMT -5
"Oh, I see. Well, they're over here if you want to take a look at them" Andrews said as he showed Gunnarson the deck plans. "This is perfect! I assure you I never meant to take them with me anyway" Gunnarson explained. "Ah, well if you have any questions I shall be over here" Andrews said as he sat nearby and began reviewing his notes. Gunnarson started by looking over the plans for B-Deck, where the murder took place www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-deckplans/b-deck.html
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Oct 14, 2018 22:06:00 GMT -5
Meanwhile, Andrews had heard a knock on the door and was going to open it. "Hullo, who's-"
The sudden crack of wood over his head sent him to the floor, unconscious. He awoke hours later in the ship's hospital, staring into the worried eyes of Smith and Dr. O'Loughlin, the surgeon.
"What... what happened?" he asked.
"Someone attacked you and Gunnarson," said Captain Smith. "You seem alright, but Gunnarson is in critical condition."
"Wha-" Andrews felt his forehead. "Good god, that smarts. Gunnarson is worse off, you say?"
"Yes," said O'Loughlin. "The strangulation attempted on him was far stronger than the crack to your skull. We don't know if he'll make it..."
.........
Gunnarson woke up from his dream suddenly. He couldn't remember anything of what he'd dreamt, but he did notice suddenly that his bookcase was untidy. "Oh, I'd better straighten that out!" he said. In doing so, he stumbled upon an old picture book. "What's in here?" he thought to himself.
He opened it up. Inside was a picture of his father from a long, long time ago, when Gunnarson was just a boy. In the background was a ship... a magnificent ship...
It didn't take long before Gunnarson fell asleep again, thinking about that ship... something seemed so familiar...
............
"He's stirring!" cried O'Loughlin.
Gunnarson opened his eyes to see Captain Smith, Jacques Futrelle, and the surgeon looking at him. "What's all this?" he asked.
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