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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 14, 2018 22:40:22 GMT -5
"It seems you were attacked in Mr. Andrews' cabin... and so was Andrews" Dr. O'Loughlin explained as Gunnarson started coming too.
"Huh? Then... then how were we found?"
"Luck more than anything else" Futrelle explained. "I had overheard the purser tell a couple Bellhops to "help Mr. Gunnarson move his things to A-36" and thought I would go ask what was going on; with you moving cabins apparently. When I got there you weren't in your cabin... but I looked across the way and saw what looked like a couple men slouched over and someone on top of... well, you. When I saw what was going on he looked up, panicked and ran away. I don't know what is going on, but that steward seems to have been trying to kill you" Futrelle explained.
"Steward? So it was a crewman..." Gunnarson mused.
"You think that was the murderer, Gunnarson?" Smith asked.
"Murder?" Andrews asked, confused.
"I'll explain later" Gunnarson assured. "At any rate; at least he didn't damage your blueprints" Gunnarson said to Andrews.
"Yes; very important to my work" Andrews sighed in relief.
"But more importantly what does this have to do with you?" Smith asked.
"I'm not sure. If I had to guess... seems that whoever did this knows someone is onto him... and by someone I mean me" Gunnarson thought.
"But how? You're just a detective" Andrews asked, confused.
"Exactly; Futrelle here is the only one who knows about me reputation-wise, so either this man knows my work, or has managed to find out I'm onto him" Gunnarson explained.
"So what now?" Futrelle asked.
"I'm going back to the bridge; I'll be sure to alert the Master at arms to this though" Smith said before taking his leave.
"As for me... kinda wish Professor Van Dusen was around to help" Gunnarson quipped.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Oct 16, 2018 0:35:42 GMT -5
"Well," said the surgeon, "I don't want you galivanting off anywhere. You've been seriously injured and I want you to stay here till you recuperate, possibly with order not to leave until we arrive in America."
"But sir," said Gunnarson, "what about the case?"
"It'll have to wait," said the surgeon. "Health before profession."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 16, 2018 0:45:21 GMT -5
(That would make for a rather boring story ) Dr. O’Laughlin observed Gunnarson for a couple hours, and once satisfied that Gunnarson was breathing ok, he decided that ultimately he had to let Gunnarson go. Gunnarson decided he needed to take his mind off things; so he headed up to the gymnasium he now had access to. Admiring the equipment, he observed “Mechanical horse, mechanical camel, cycling machine... rowing machine? What a useless skill on a ship as safe as this one” he though to himself.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Oct 19, 2018 23:41:02 GMT -5
Nevertheless, he decided to put the effort in... he needed the exercise anyway.
Sitting down and grabbing the oars, he moved them back and forth repeatedly and somehow found himself enjoying the rhythm, the motion, the sweat, and the feel of it all. Just as he was reaching peak performance, a scream startled him out of the routine.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 20, 2018 0:07:58 GMT -5
He looked up to see what had happened; a child was trying to get on the electric camel, but could get a firm grip and ended up slipping and falling.
“Be careful, lad! When you get on, it’s all about balance” the man dressed in white flannels and plimsolls explained as he helped the child onto the device and got it going. He then turned towards Gunnarson.
“He’s a bit young for that, wouldn’t you think?” Gunnarson asked.
“Ah, but once he’s got the hang of it he’ll enjoy it” the man assured. “He’ll be leaving soon anyway; gym for children between 1 and 3 and for gentlemen between 2 and 6” he explained.
“I see; I take it you run this part of the ship?” Gunnarson asked.
“Indeed, Thomas McCawley, pleasure to meet you” He said as he stretched out his arm.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Oct 20, 2018 0:15:26 GMT -5
"The pleasure is all mine," said Gunnarson. "I'm..." He paused, wondering if he should be revealing his name or not.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 20, 2018 0:33:06 GMT -5
McCawley didn’t seen the type to be afraid of, so he went ahead with it.
“You can just call me Gunnarson... I prefer my last name to my first anyway” He quipped as he shook hands
“Fair enough; what brings you here?” He asked.
“Oh, just trying to clear my mind” Gunnarson assured.
“I understand; if you need me, I shall be around” McCawley assured as he went about his business. Gunnarson continued thinking about the case at hand.
“Let’s see; from that a-deck promenade he hid and changed his shirt; but he didn’t dispose of the knife? The promenade is closed in, he couldn’t throw it overboard. But where would he put it? For that matter, where would he... of course!” Gunnarson realized.
A while later, under supervision from another crew member, Gunnarson traveled to D-Deck and made his way to the galley. Upon talking to one of the chefs...
“Yea; yea you’re right. Come to think of it I DID lose one of my knives fairly recently” one explained. “Been frustrating; can’t cut my meat quite right without it”
“Are talking a small knife?” Gunnarson asked
“Not like a steak knife; it was more substantial than that. Not huge either. Something like...” he walked over to a fellow chef and took out another “like this actually”
Taking a visual note, he thought about the would and realized “that’s exactly the size of the wound!” He thought to himself.
“When did you lose the knife?” Gunnarson asked
“But before lunch the first full day at sea” the cook explained.
“Looks like I know the source of the weapon now... but it couldn’t have been one of the cooks; the 36 or so here would’ve been too busy with the meals” he rationalized. “But a steward... a steward could go in the galley and the passenger areas and no one would think twice” he continued thinking.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Oct 21, 2018 21:54:28 GMT -5
With a steward as prime suspect, Gunnarson suspected he was honing in on the killer's identity slowly but surely. He decided that now would be a good time to-
His thoughts were rudely interrupted, as...
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 28, 2018 1:28:55 GMT -5
A steward bumped into him rather absent mindedly; a tray of empty dishes fell and made a rather loud crash.
"Oh; I am terribly sorry sir!" the man said in shock.
"Quite all right; at least food wasn't involved" Gunnarson assured. Though now Gunnarson needed to figure out where the murder weapon was. There was only one option; returning to that A-Deck cloak room, he pondered where the suspect would go next after disposing of the knife.
"Only one way makes sense" he realized, as he headed further towards the stern. He saw large windows, and looked inside; it was the first class smoking room. "He wouldn't risk going this way; which must mean..." he entered the nearby door, and found himself at the aft grand staircase. He also observed that, by chance, he had ended up in the general area of his and Mr. Andrews cabins again. But would the suspect remain on this level? he strongly suspected that he would have not gone into the first class smoke room, or back towards cabins, so Gunnarson went down to B-Deck. He found himself in what looked like a reception room. Some signs indicated that this was the waiting area for the A la carte restaurant. He saw a trio of musicians play some nice music and stopped to listen for a moment before proceeding. What was when he saw it: planters. There were some plants scattered about among the seats. He wondered... was it possible? He checked the first plant and found nothing. A couple more yielded the same results. It wasn't until he looked in one that was a bit out of the way before he noticed something odd... some sort of handle, sticking out of the dirt. Reaching in, he pulled it out. To his shock, there was the knife in question, and on said knife, patches of a dried, red liquid here and there, that someone by the look of it tried to wipe off, but could not get all of it. A quick sniff was all that was needed to confirm his suspicions. It was fortunate for Gunnarson that the only other people in the area at the moment was the trio, but they weren't really paying attention to the Swede anyway.
"My God... this is it! This is the murder weapon!" he thought to himself.
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Post by Toz76 on Nov 18, 2018 0:33:08 GMT -5
Suddenly, a voice yelled: "Look, it's the murderer! Holding the weapon!"
"What? No, I'm investigating the crime!"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Nov 19, 2018 0:17:27 GMT -5
"A likely story; how do we know that it wasn't you that killed Mr. Ismay!" the voice said again. Gunnarson turned around... and low and behold, there was a man, dressed as a steward, who seemed to be pointing at him. "Wait a minute... who said anything about Mr. Ismay being dead? Nobody beyond a select few know of the crime" Gunnarson pointed out. "Well... uh... I did find him dead after all... I am the one who tends to that cabin..." he said, nervously. "That's odd... considering it was Mr. Ismay who found his valet dead, I think you're hiding something. What do you know?!" Gunnarson said as suddenly, he drew out his old service revolver. A chase suddenly began as the steward bolted down the aft grand staircase. Gunnarson gave chase, and the trio stopped playing their music for a moment, confused by what just happened. But it wasn't their issue, so they shrugged it off and went back to playing music. Down on C-Deck, the steward turned left, then left again, as he ran towards the bow of the ship. Gunnarson was barely keeping pace as they ran down the corridor, nothing but cabins on either side; it was most fortunate everyone was either on the promenade or elsewhere; a chase like this would be draw unwanted attention. Finally coming to the grand staircase the two gave chase down to D-Deck, then E-Deck, before the steward took off to the right, towards the port side of the ship. Gunnarson stopped for a moment to see where the steward had went. He saw him duck into a door that seemed to indicate a crew only area. He had no choice... holstering his revolver he went through the door, and found himself in a long corridor that seemed to go the length of the ship. A large mix of both crew and steerage passengers walked down the hallway in both directions. Gunnarson found himself in Scotland Road; he remembered that from Andrews' blueprints. But where was the steward he just saw? Then he saw one one steward who seemed to be going at an unusually fast pace, towards the stern. "Got you now" Gunnarson thought as the chase resumed. www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-deckplans/e-deck.html
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Post by Toz76 on Nov 19, 2018 19:39:16 GMT -5
As he pursued, Gunnarson saw the man duck through another door. Gunnarson followed, and found himself in the third-class area. Several people were milling around, but there was no sign of the steward. Gunnarson looked around for someone to get directions from.
"Has anyone seen a steward run through here?" He yelled.
"I passed him going down to F Deck!" Someone replied.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Nov 22, 2018 1:30:19 GMT -5
"thank you!" Gunnarson shouted as he proceeded to head down yet another deck. At first he found himself among third class cabins. "Too many witnesses and a dead end... it wouldn't be this way" he thought as he turned and started making his way towards the bow once again. www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-deckplans/f-deck.htmlAfter passing by third class cabins, he passed some crew cabins; engineers, from what Gunnarson could figure out. Finally, he made his way to a room of bunks... for the third class stewards (I recently found out these plans are a bit inaccurate anyway and this is a dream so... just go with it ) Inside, Gunnarson walked around a bit, before finally coming up on a lone steward in the room... panting, trying to catch his breath. "I suggest you tell me why you did it. Or..." as Gunnarson pulled out his service revolver again. "That damn Ismay deserved to die... he's responsible for the death of my brother" the steward said angrily. "Mr. Ismay is no murderer" Gunnarson corrected him. "Is he?!" The angry steward now revealing a more pronounced Irish accent. "This monstrosity of a ship was Ismay's idea; a ship so large, even its name is evocative of its scale..."Titanic," you know, like the titans of Greek mythology. Thousands of Irishmen built this ship... including my brother. He is... was a good man who did no wrong, and yet it was he who was among the eight to die building this ship. But did his family get anything? No... no compensation, so apology, nothing. Someone needed to pay, and that someone is the one responsible for this ship" the steward admitted. "But it was Andrews who designed this ship" Gunnarson pointed out. "On the instruction of Mr Ismay!" The steward snarled. "I'm getting revenge for my brother, and no one is going to stop me!" He declared. The next thing Gunnarson knew, the steward charged him and they both flew back, the revolver falling out of Gunnarson's hands. "Revenge is not worth it! Just give up!" Gunnarson said, trying to hold his own. "You won't stop me! Once I'm done with you I'm going to finish what I started!" the steward declared, proceeding to put his hands around Gunnarson's neck in an attempt to strangle him
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Post by Toz76 on Nov 25, 2018 13:44:11 GMT -5
Gunnarson could feel himself growing lightheaded. His heart pounded as he gasped for air.
Just when he was about to pass out, the steward released him. Gunnarson lay gasping for air. The steward grabbed Gunnarson's revolver and headed for the door. At the door, he turned.
"I'm sorry. You didn't kill my brother, but I can't have any witnesses."
He pointed the gun at Gunnarson's skull, hesitated for a second, then fired.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Nov 25, 2018 15:12:57 GMT -5
Gunnarson closed his eyes... and when he opened them he found that the bullet had missed him by a meter or so... the steward wasn't properly aiming and ended up missing completely.
"Oh dear God... what have I become?!" he said, falling to his knees. Gunnarson, still rather light headed, only saw what looked like another figure go and tackle the steward before passing out.
......
When Gunnarson came to, he found himself in the hospital again; Dr. O'Loughlin was standing over him, with Officer Lowe and Master at Arms King nearby.
"Glad to see you awake again... you're real lucky King was passing by on his way elsewhere when all this happened.
"What happened after I passed out?" Gunnarson asked.
"I restrained him and had him locked in the padded room; closest thing to a cell we've got on this ship" King explained.
"I will go tell the captain the killer has been caught; he will be quite relieved" Lowe explained before leaving.
"In all the excitement I seem to have lost track of the day and time; what is it?" Gunnarson asked.
"April 13th; about 4:00 pm" King said as he checked his watch.
"I see. Well I thank you for this, but I'm afraid I must return to my cabin; I made an arrangement with the purser to return to second class once the case was completed after all" Gunnarson explained before getting up and going to leave.
......
"...and all is taken care of?" McElroy asked as Gunnarson counted the money of his refund.
"Yes; the criminal is taken care of and all is well. I must say that I have really enjoyed my stay here in first class; but I should return to where I belong" Gunnarson explained before he was suddenly interrupted.
"That is nonsense; you deserve a far better reward for your actions" a gentleman said as he and his wife walked up to them. Gunnarson had heard from the doctor and Officer Lowe that word had spread after what happened... at least to some people anyway.
"Do I know you?" Gunnarson asked confused.
"No, but I did hear about what happened and I must say that for the work you just did you deserve more of a reward" he explained.
"I don't understand" Gunnarson replied.
"Purser; have him stay in the first class cabin; I shall pay for his stay; it's the least we can do for him" he explained.
"But of course" McElroy said as the two proceeded to settle the business.
Gunnarson was surprised to say the least. "Well, I... I don't know what to say. Thank you, um..."
"Oh, terribly sorry. Lord Montague Bury, and this is my wife, Lady Phillipa" he said as he introduced himself.
"A pleasure, sir" Gunnarson replied. Then Lord Bury's valet came up to him.
"Your dinner jacket is ready in your cabin sir; will you be needing anything else?"
"Ah, yes. Mr. Hartley, please go prepare a second one; our friend here lacks one himself and we simply must help him if he will be joining us for dinner" Lord Bury explained.
"As you wish sir; if you need me afterwards, I will be in the maids and valet's dining saloon after I set out the second jacket"
"Thank you, that will be all Mr. Hartley" Lord Bury said as the valet walked away.
"I won't be a burden, will I, sir?" Gunnarson asked.
"Oh, not at all; we are about the same size so I think a jacket will fit you fine. Please come with me. Dearest, will you be getting ready yourself?"
"Yes, I think I shall" Lady Phillipa replied.
"Then I shall join you two in a bit; there is someone I should like to meet first" Gunnarson explained.
"Excellent; just come to this cabin when you are done" Lord Bury replied as he gave Gunnarson a slip of paper.
Gunnarson then left to go tell Futrelle the good news.
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Post by Tug on Dec 1, 2018 22:09:45 GMT -5
As Gunnarson began to head towards Futrelle's cabin, he couldn't stop himself from taking a quick detour towards the ship's bow.
"This is a once in a lifetime cruise... There's nothing in this world that could truly sink this ship of the gods..." thought Gunnarson to himself
Then, it happened, the winds of fate began to blow in a dangerous direction...
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Dec 1, 2018 22:32:45 GMT -5
He could not help but think, that something lay just over the horizon... something that would change the fate of everyone aboard. And yet... nothing but ocean.
He calmed himself before turning back to deliver the good news.
April 14th started out wonderful... Gunnarson, as a guest of Lord Bury, enjoyed many of the ships amenities. The squash court, the pool, the gymnasium, even the first class smoking room... a substantial step up from second class, mind you.
The real highlight of Gunnarson's night though, came at dinner. In the a la carte restaurant, the rich and famous gathered to throw a party for Captain Smith, as this was his last voyage. Though not properly invited, Captain Smith insisted on having him make a brief appearance.
"Ladies and gentlemen, during this voyage, a crime most unspeakable was committed. And while I prefer to keep this under wraps, I do at least wish to take a minute to thank the man who ensured that justice prevailed even at sea. A toast, to Mr. Gunnarson... without whom I would not be able to ensure that the remainder of this voyage is as peaceful as possible.
There was some brief applause before Gunnarson took a drink and went back to the first class dining saloon for his dinner.
......
11:39 p.m.
Gunnarson was out for a walk on the promenade. curiosity got the better of him though, and soon he found himself on the forward well deck. As he went forward, he couldn't help but notice, in the distance... an absence of stars?
"Hard a starboard!" He heard call out from the bridge behind him. The ship began to turn. "All stop!" he also heard. it was so dark it was hard to see... it wasn't until the very last moments when Gunnarson finally made out the shape... an iceberg!
He felt a vibration beneath him, and saw a mountain of ice pass along to his side... and, just then, some ice broke from the berg, and went to land on the ship. But Gunnarson was in the wrong place in the wrong time.
Oh God, why have you forsaken me!?" He screamed as the ice fell towards him, and in a mere moment would crush him.
......
Gunnarson was jolted awake; he had fallen out of his bed and landed on the floor. brushing himself off he got himself oriented, and finally registered everything that had happened.
"It was all a dream then... and yet, it felt so real" he mused. Going back to the picture book, he turned back the picture of his father and himself from long ago.
"You would have loved to hear this story, father. You always had a thing for ships" he mused.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Dec 3, 2018 0:47:27 GMT -5
EPILOGUE:
Hello, my loyal readers. As I am sure you have noticed, it has been a while since the last novel I wrote. Baleros, as you know, was published in December 1949... and yet now, here we are in January, 1954. I have no doubt that many of you question why my prolonged absence, especially when I am usually on top of my novels.
I am sure that you are also wondering about the... unusual nature of this novel. Both explanations go hand-in-hand. You see... for the past three years, I have been in a position where I was... removed from my regular routine. I assure you an explanation will come in due time, but I am not ready to reveal it just yet.
For now, know this: A lot has happened in the past few years; Gunnarson and I are no longer the best of friends, among other major shake ups to my life. Our relationship is now more of... interviewer and interviewee, if you will.
When he told me about this dream, I knew I couldn't leave it alone; with his permission I have had it published for your enjoyment.
However, I want to be very clear- this will be the last dream I publish. Even if some things in my life have changed, others have not: my vow to only tell you the truth remains the same. I will not write you any lies, any falsehoods or anything that warrants a second edition or alternate ending. Everything I write will be as it happened and with accuracy as best as I can manage. I have also instructed my editor to not take anything that wasn't written by myself; you will not see any more epilogues written by Gunnarson, Cricket, Gent, or any other parties involved; that is how committed I am to giving you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
With that said, I hope you will enjoy what is to come; I am back in business and ready to begin enthralling you with the adventures of Adolf Gunnarson, Anthony Stein and Marlena Gent once again. Some new faces will pop up, as well as some old ones. But rest assured, Literary Mosaic is back, and this time, for the long term.
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