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Jan-5-2009 03:44


To know what happened previously in this story please review the following threads.

The USS Sleuthetania:

http://noir.playsleuth.com/map/cityhall/post.spy?id=29404

The Any Location Place:

http://noir.playsleuth.com/map/cityhall/post.spy?id=29603

Jan-16-2009 01:00

…

“That wife of yours is so cold I almost took her for a stiff, hehehehe!”

Clift slowly turned around with a perplexed expression on his face. He was quite sure there were only one client and the bartender when he came in to order drinks from the deck bar. So who could this person be talking to? Indeed, the man sitting at the bar was staring straight at him.

Normally in such a situation his first reaction would’ve been to grab this guy by the collar and punish him for his impertinence, but this direct approach left him somehow astonished. Clift slowly measured with his eyes the man in front of him from head to toe. He was a middle age fellow with quite a heavy build, although not fat, wearing what seemed to be an over worn stripe suit which used to fit him sometime in his early years. A large hat pushed over towards the back of his head revealed a bald start of his hair. The scars on his eyebrows and flat nose led Clift to believe that he was looking at a boxer…and not exactly one of the successful types. Nothing about this man was fitting in this first class scenery.

Although he felt an urge to wipe out that annoying smile on this man’s face, he decided to handle the situation in a civilized manner. After all, he WAS on his honeymoon and Violet WAS EXTREMELY mindful of keeping her high class image unstained, which obviously excluded the idea of starting any kind of bar scuffles.

Jan-16-2009 01:00

“To what I owe the “honor” of this insolence, may I ask?” he whispered through his lips making strong efforts to keep his temper on a leash.

“She’s hard not to be noticed in that purple bathing suit, ain’t she?” The smile on the man’s face got even wider while taking a long look across the deck at Violet.

“I fail to see your point!” Clift felt his blood starting to boil.

“Now settle down, lad! Take it easy, I didn’t mean no disrespect. Your lovely wife dropped this on her way up the stairs, but when I tried to give it back to her she treated me as if I don’t deserve even the time of day. Here…”

He handed Clift what seemed to be a wrinkled note.

Jan-16-2009 01:01

In a mixture of confusion and curiosity he opened the paper to read it without thinking twice whether he should or not. It was a telegram.

“I FOUND OUT ABOUT THE BABY : stop : I WILL BE IN LONDON IN 4 DAYS : stop : WAIT FOR ME : stop”

No signature. Taking a look at the time Clift noticed it was dated from 2 days before. He started to feel a rush of blood into his forehead while his detective instincts were taking over the situation. He remembered they were actually supposed to depart the next week, but exactly 2 days ago Violet suddenly decided to switch the boat tickets for an earlier cruise, the one they were currently on. He didn’t pay much attention to this fact at the time, considering she was just anxious to get this whole thing done and over with, but now…this note made it obvious she was avoiding someone. And that someone had something to do with her baby? What the hell did this mean?

...

Jan-16-2009 01:02

“You ain’t gonna faint on me, lad, now will you? Here, grab a seat…you’re starting to turn a bit blue.”

The man’s smile had now extended mockingly up to his ears. Clift pushed away the chair with an irritated move.

“Where did you say you found this?”

“I told you. She dropped it down the stairs. Why? Something important?”

Clift threw him a look as if he wanted to penetrate the stranger’s skull. Without thinking of the purpose of his actions he suddenly started to somehow interrogate this man.

“Are you sure it was my wife who dropped it?”

“Positive.”

“Who the hell are you, anyway?”

“Oh, please excuse my manners…allow me to introduce myself. My name is Bane, Joey Bane. Some call me Bulldog…you might have heard of me around the New York prize fight rings.”

“Never heard the name”…Clift cut it cold…”What do you do?”

“For a living?”

“Yes.”

“Stiffs.”

“Funerary services?”

“Murder investigations.”

“Damn, these guys come out like mushrooms nowadays”…mumbled Clift only for himself. “So what is your purpose here?”

“On this ship?”

“YES!”

“Cruising.”

“On first class…?”

“My client paid for it.”

“So…where’s your client?”

“Dead.”

“How come?”

The man was obviously starting to get annoyed with all the questions.

“Listen lad, as much as I enjoy our little talk here, it’s starting to get me nervous. Now, I don’t know what that note means to you, but unless you can dig up a smarter question, this conversation is over. You’re making my whiskey lose its taste.”

Jan-16-2009 01:03

…

Clift realized that for a moment he pointed his frustration towards the messenger losing the point of his actions. He took a deep breath and tried to put some order into his thoughts. Certainly he needed to get to the bottom of this message, but how to do that with Violet at his side? He decided he might need some outside help, as Ace and Mak were obviously not the right persons to get involved in this…at least not for the moment. He lifted his eyes and said in a calm voice this time:

“Well, Mr. Bane, since you seem to be a detective with nothing to detect for the time being, stick around. I might have some work for you.”

“I’ll do anything that can buy me another shot of whiskey, lad. And no worries, I ain’t going anywhere for the next days…after all, we ARE on a SHIP, remember?”

Passing over his sarcasm Clift picked up the drinks platter and headed to the exit, after carefully hiding the telegram inside one of the napkins. He had no intention to confront Violet on the subject before finding out more details on his own.

Jan-16-2009 01:16

***

Author’s note:
I apologize for my intrusion, guys, but your story was starting to lose its spice with everybody loving everybody and everybody doing the right thing :P

***

Jan-16-2009 08:24

((Love the intrusion Joey; this thread was about as interesting as an afternoon soap... ;-) But I refuse to stop doing the right thing!))

The group had a wonderful time swimming. Even Violet was having so much fun, she and Mak began roughhousing, which is certainly unusual for two young ladies, and incredibly unusual for Violet!

Ace wasn't feeling well after the little talk he had with Clift, but he knew he had to talk to Mak. He went back to his cabin to change into clothes, and waited for Mak to return as well.

Ace never got the chance until nightfall, when Mak was relaxing in her cabin as the honeymoons were on a moonlit stroll... choke...cough cough...barf...

Ace slowly knocked on Mak's door. She opened it curiously and then smiled at Ace.

"Mak..."
"Ah, yes!" She waved her finger, "The mysterious confrontation by the psychotic killer to his girlfriend!"
"Umm... are you reading Agatha Christie in there or something?"
"Ha ha ha, very funny... yes..."
Ace chuckled as she let him in.
"Actually, this is the mysterious conversation I don't know how to say."
"Well, I'll help." Mak sat down, "What's the subject?"
"Little Binky."
"My baby? I assure you Ace, I will not name him/her 'Binky'".
"That's comforting."
"Yes... I suppose it is. What about Binky?"
"Well, Clift said..." Ace paused, and then decided to come out with it, "CliftsaidIshouldmarryyouforBinky'ssakebutIdon'tknowifIcanornotbecauseI
knowthatIwanttohaveafamilywiththewomanImarrysoifImarryyouitwouldbe
forgoodandIknowIhavetotalkwithyouaboutitfirsttofindoutwhatIshoulddoso
whatdoyouthinkabouttheidea, Mak?"
"Ummm... your going to have to slow down before I can understand you." Mak smiled.
"Okay, sorry... ummm... alright... Clift wants me to marry you..."
*more*

Jan-16-2009 08:27

"Now, hold on just one second, Tony Masters!" Mak stood up, "I will not have Clift telling you to make the biggest decision of your life just so his little mistake will be taken care of! And I assure you that I am quite offended of him even asking you to do something like that! I want to marry you for you, not little Binky..."

It took Mak a minute to realize what she had just said.
"You want to marry me... for me???"
"Uh... I guess... so... only if you want to marry me!"
"Oh... God... okay... so... you'd actually marry me... well, that's a shocker..."

Right then, Violet and Clift came in from their barf-city moonlit stroll on deck. Bad, bad timing...

Jan-16-2009 10:15

Makensie had a shocked looked on her face, when Clift and Violet walked up.

"Looks like we may have walked into something here", Clift said, looking at Makensie.

Ace and Makensie both look toward them, as Makensie said, "Actually, Clift, you arrived just in time. I'm glad we are all here, to be honest. Since us four are kind of in this together" Then, she looked at Ace, and said, "Well, some of us not at their own choice, and I apologize for that, to which it leads me to what I'm about to say"

Makensie has never been one to really to take the lead in conversations. Not because she was a weak person, rather, she was a quiet person, and spoke only when necessary. This was one of those times.

Clift and Violet sat down on nearby chairs, as Ace leaned against the wall, having an "Oh God, what is next" kind of look. She really did feel bad for him. He was a wonderful gentleman, and a decent, and kind gentleman, and he shouldn't be stuck in this situation.

Violet watched her friend, Makensie, with great respect and never was she more proud of her than she was right now, because she knew just by knowing her these last few months or so, that she was a quiet person, almost on shy side, when it came to talking of her feelings, or thoughts.

Clift watched her intently, anxious or nervous, of what she was about to say, but couldn't get that note out of his mind from earlier, that this mysterious man had given him. It can't be much to worry about, he thinks, Violet is an honest, upstanding, classy woman, and how dare anyone try to make her out to be something different. His mind shifts back to Makensie....

Ok, now, I KNOW this is one big mess we have going here. Believe me, I didn't choose for this all to happen, she started, walking back and forth, and hands going everywhere, as she talked. Ace grinned slightly, and thought it was cute how she explained things, and learned something of her just then.

*more*

Jan-16-2009 10:25

She babbles, and talks very fast, when nervous, he thinks, and smiles warmly at her. What just happened to me?, Ace thinks.

Violet was smiling, as well, to listen to her friend talk in a more raw way, which was who Makensie was. No fancy words, no big meanings, just simple, and to the point.

"Now, Clift here, *pointing to Clift in emphasis*, our dear, dear, Clift, has this crazy, crazy idea for Ace, *pointing to Ace*, to marry me, JUST because of this little guy or girl in here", she says, pointing to her stomache.

Violet looks at CLift, and said, "You did what?"

Ace hasn't moved from the wall, and has one arm crossed in front of him, and the other resting on top, covering is face.

"Well, I just thought its the right thing to do!", Clift said.

Violet said, "This isn't Ace's child, it is yours. If he wants to marry her, fine, but, not because of YOUR saying to"

Makensie listens to them, then continues on, looking at Ace, and says, "Ace, you are a wonderful man, and I respect you totally, but you do not have to marry me because I am pregnant. This isnt YOUR child, and you dont deserve to get stuck with the responsibility. I am quite capable of taking care of this child myself, I don't need anyones help"

Violet smiles, and says, "You won't be alone, and you know your baby will be taken care,no matter what"

"I know this, but, Ace shouldn't be mixed up in this. It isnt his responsibility", she said.

They talked a bit more, then Violet said, "Well, I am beat. I believe I am going to go lay down. We will talk more of this tomorrow, Mak. Dont worry it will allwork out how its supposed to" She kissed Makensie on the cheek and gave her a quick hug, then walked out.

Clift stood up, and said, "Mak, I didnt mean to cause an uproar. I only mentioned it because I want you and our baby to be safe all the time, and I trust Ace. I know he would take care of you"

*more*