The Murder

Detective Aaron Walker

Saturday, 4:31am

I was awoken by three loud sirens rings. Everyone was. I get up from my bed, put on a coat and step into the corridor where I meet Laura

"What's going on" I ask her

"The ship's MOB alarm just went off, we're all asked to assembly at the ship's muster station" she answers heading to the dock

I follow her, still asking questions

"What's MOB alarm?" I asked feeling stupid

"It's a man overboard alarm that's activated when someone falls off of the ship. During its activation the ship stops movement" she answers

We get to the muster station and find other people standing there. There was some kind of smoke signal emitted from the ship, some of the crew members were about to go into the water with a smaller boat. I look around and mistakenly bump into a lady who looks like she in her early thirties. She was fully dressed unlike everyone here who were in nighties or pajamas with well brushed shoulder length blonde hair, brown eyes and had a remarkable mark at the side of her chin, it looked like a fresh cut. She mutters a sorry with a slight British accent and leaves.

An hour later the MOB alarm and the smoke signal stops and everyone is asked to disperse by the security crew members. Ambassador Jordan Winston Tate the second just fell through the ship's guardrails from the last floor into the water. The crew members find his dead body and bring it back to the ship. He died from hypothermia, his body is carried out in a body bag by the crew members to the ship's morgue.

ONE WEEK EARLIER

"Sir, I was thinking that with all the work we've been doing, we deserve a vacation, I mean we've done enough for New York city. we deserve some rest" Jude my personal assistant tells me

"what do you mean we've have done enough? There are at least half a thousand cases that need solving on my desk and they all seem to be leading nowhere. It's seriously making me doubt my capabilities. We used to finish up over a dozen crime and murder case files in two weeks and apprehend the criminals, now we can't even make out suspects or follow a lead" I say dropping my pen in annoyance and frustration

"Sir, I think we can still do it, we just need rest. I planned a vacation for us, it's on a cruise ship heading to an island. It leaves on Monday by 9am, I really think we should use this opportunity to rest and we might even get to pick up a nice lady or two" he says winking at me

I smile at the thought

"alright Jude, you win. But I'll go on one condition"

"whatever it is, name it" he says confidently

"I'll go if one more person from the office agrees to come" I say

"that's easy" he laughs "Laura would you mind coming along for a vacation on a cruise ship" he yells from my office to her

"sure why not" she yells back

"there you have it" he says smiling at me

"fine I'll come" I say reluctantly

Present day

Detective Walker

"This ship is gonna have some lawsuits coming it's way, what made its guard rails so loose that someone could fall through" Laura says with her mouth full of food at the lounge

"I hate to be the owner" Jude says laughing

"what are your plans for today" I ask Laura

"uhh, nothing much I was jus…"

"Good day Mr. Walker, can I have a word?" a tall man with crew uniform interrupts us

"How can I help you?" I say

"Mr. Jonathan Ponre could like to speak to you in private" he says looking at Laura and Jude

"they are my secretary and personal assistant, whatever he has to say, he can say it to all of us" I respond

He leaves and soon returns with another tall but bearded man dressed in an all-black three-piece suit with a matching black hat and a pair of dark shades. He motions his hands asking for permission to sit which I grant him. He takes off his shades and drops it on the table while I, Jude and Laura look on in surprise wondering what he has to say

"thank you for your kind gesture Detective Walker. I suppose you should know my name but just in case you don't, I'm Jonathan Ponre" he says in a baritone voice

"how do you know my name?" I ask still surprised

he smiles slightly before replying

"doesn't the owner of the ship have the right to know who he lets into his ship"

I, Jude and Laura look at each other and then I signal to Laura to take over the conversation

"so, this is your ship, nice facilities, you've got here" Laura quickly takes over

"it was my late father's. I inherited it after he died" Mr. Ponre said showing no emotion

"I'm sorry about your father" Laura says but I'm sure she didn't give a flying fuck what happened to his dad

"thank you, Laura. I suppose you three heard about the incident that took place this morning?" he says returning his attention to me

He knows Laura's name too, that's not surprising

"we sure did, our condolences to the

Ambassadors' family" I said

"I'll be sure to extend your condolence. I came here because the information out is that my ship had loose guard rails and that's why the Ambassador fell through. Now, my ship is a first-class ship fully maintained and has supervision at all times. Even before this trip it was well inspected, how could it have loose guard rails? The family of the Ambassador have already made up their mind to sue as soon as we reach the shores and I can't have my ship carrying that kind of reputation" he said beckoning on the waiter to bring him a glass of water

"I looked up all the names of people that boarded this ship and you're Aaron Walker, one of New York's finest detective, so I would like you and your team to investigate what happened to that man this morning, view it as a job during your vacation. Rich people don't usually die coincidentally. I am willing to offer you and your team a sum of fifteen thousand dollars if you are able to find out what happened before this ship reaches the port to drop off the body" he concluded picking up his glass of water and having a drink

"thank you very much for coming to us but we'll have to kindly decline, we came solely with the intention of a vacation" Jude responds

"very well then, do well to call me if you change your mind" he said handing me his card. He stands up and puts on his shades, tips off his hat and leaves. I finish up my breakfast and head to my room leaving Laura at the lounge.

An hour later I hear a knock on my door, I stand up to answer but it's just Laura

"boss, you have to take that job" she says almost shouting as she walks in

"what! what's your deal, I thought we agreed that this was a vacation for us to rest. What changed? "

"Ok, you know how you've been so restless about not being able to solve the cases at work?"

"wow, thanks for the reminder" I say sarcastically

"sir, I didn't mean it like that. I meant this is a chance for you to solve whatever happened here and become confident in yourself again. You're on a vacation, so you'll most likely be relaxed and able to think well. And we have a plus side; the pay" she says excitedly

"what if I'm not able to find out what really happened to that man and I fail again? That's gonna make me even less confident" I say sadly

"that's not going to happen, Aaron, I'll be here to help you,so will Jude" she says cupping my face

"remember all the times we solved cases together, remember how good and fulfilled we felt" she said smiling

"wouldn't you wan to feel like that again?" she asked me still holding my face

I couldn't help it, I drifted from her eyes to her pink soft, succulent lips. She was average height but I was still taller. Her brown bangs covered part of her eyebrows. I've always had a thing for her right from her job interview before I hired her but I've never done anything about it because she was always with someone and she probably didn't notice I liked her.

She brings me back by shifting away from me and taking her hands off my face.

"uhhhm, I'm sorry, just let me know if you change your mind, sir" she said and left the room

Dammn, she just motivated me in all areas.

I picked up my phone and placed a call to jude

"we're taking the job" I said

"what?! Why? I thought the vacation was for us to rest?" he yelled over the phone

"that's what I thought too but Laura made me have a change of heart. Remember the main reason for this vacation was to clear our heads because we found it difficult to solve the cases at work. So what if, we took this job during the vacation while we're feeling relaxed and solve the case and at least get that confidence I need. What do you think?"

"I still strongly disagree boss, I really think you should rest"

"I insist"

"ok, fine, you're the boss. Just let me know how I can be of help"