Shadows of Truth: A Jake Scott Mystery

Chapter One

The extended blast of the ship's horn announced they were about to be on their way. Jake Scott couldn't believe he was doing this. How did Dani talk him into a cruise? He decided when the ship started moving, there was nothing to do but embrace it. What else would he do? Jump overboard? Since the thought of drowning appealed to him even less than being stuck in a floating city surrounded by nothing but water and thousands of other brave souls, he promised himself to make the best of it.

As the ship edged away from the dock, Jake sat on the balcony of the stateroom he shared with Dani and her daughter Emilie, who had an adjoining room. Jake had never been on a ship before, so he didn’t know what to expect. Never a fan of water except for showering, drinking, and filling the dishwasher and clothes washing machine, he didn’t know how much motion to expect or how much he could withstand. Dani assured him she had packed sufficient motion sickness pills for all three in the event things didn’t turn out as well as they hoped. She had been on a cruise, and she convinced Jake they would be fed and pampered beyond his wildest dreams and that the motion would be minimal. He hoped she was right. Seventeen-year-old Emilie vibrated with excitement as the ship’s air horn announced to everyone within a mile or two that the journey had started.

The threesome watched without speaking as the city of Vancouver grew smaller. Buildings that towered over them minutes earlier could now be measured between a thumb and forefinger. Jake and Dani sat on either side of a table big enough for a couple of drinks on the balcony while Emilie leaned over the railing, her shoulders twisting from right to left as she tried to capture every picture-worthy sight with her cell phone. The lack of movement impressed Jake as the ship effortlessly glided through the water, and he had to peer down at the bow to convince himself they were moving. He realized the buildings and trees offered protection from the wind and that things could be different when they arrived in the ocean's expanse, but while the ship departed, he relaxed and enjoyed the scenery. Little did he realize that the ship’s movement would be the least of his problems on this journey.

After watching the departure, they returned inside to their stateroom. It wasn’t large, but it was functional. Like a motor home, the designers used every conceivable space. At about 180 square feet, it barely left room to walk between the wall and the bed, but suitcases slid conveniently underneath the box spring. A sofa suitable for two sat against one wall, while the one opposite held a storage unit with a mirror, safe, minibar, and drawers. A 45-inch TV hung on the wall. The utilitarian bathroom on the same side as the sofa contained a shower unit barely large enough for one. On the ceiling was a speaker from which the captain’s or a senior officer’s unintelligible words came. That part needs work, Jake thought.

They changed from shorts and tee shirts into casual clothes for dinner, then collected Emilie from her room and wandered down a corridor whose walls could almost be reached if you stretched out both arms. A bell dinged, announcing the elevator’s arrival on the eighth floor, the location of their home away from home. A man in a multicoloured top and shorts and two women in dazzling white shorts and identical purple tee shirts with the logo of a dancing lion on the front moved to the back of the elevator as Jake, Dani, and Emilie stepped on. The first thing Jake noticed was a rectangular plaque on the floor at the front of the elevator with “Sunday” engraved on it. “They change the plaque every night at midnight,” Dani said. From the back of the elevator came the woman’s voice in a southern drawl. “Believe me, by about Wednesday, you’ll need it. It’s easy to lose track of time on a cruise.”

A smiling Filipino woman in a flowered white shirt and black pants danced to music only she could hear and greeted them at the door to the dining room with a gigantic bottle of hand sanitizer. “Don’t forget to wash your hands,” she said through smiling lips, her hips swaying as she squirted a liberal amount of cleanser for each of them. “I have enough for three people,” Jake griped as he rubbed his hands together multiple times. Emilie held out her hand as if offering to take some of Jake’s, but applied more to his hands with a laugh. They proceeded past the front entrance, where a maître d' led them to Table 144.

The dining room was immense, with a waterfall as its centrepiece and a wide staircase at the front. The staircase split into two sections that led to more dining on the fifth deck. Hundreds of white cloth-covered tables with sparkling silverware that would accommodate various group sizes were spread throughout the room. José and Maria introduced themselves as their servers for the cruise.

José stood about five feet seven inches tall with a slim build. He had a round, pleasant face that smiled easily and jet-black hair. Maria could have been his sister. She had the same round face and pleasant demeanour. They wore the standard uniform of black pants and a vest with red piping, a red tie, and a white shirt. Name tags helped passengers remember their names.

When they placed the menus on the table, Jake’s eyes widened at the nine appetizers, six mains, and seven dessert options available. Narrowing the choices took time for Jake and Dani. Emilie had already chosen from her phone app before she arrived at the dining room and suggested the other two might want to do the same after rolling her eyes with a deep sigh at the time it took them to decide.

They joked with the servers throughout the meal and chatted with the people at the neighbouring table. Despite the size of the room and the number of people, there was a calm, efficient approach to taking orders and delivering meals that could have been run by a drill sergeant. When they finished, they found the spacious theatre to watch a stage production. By the end of the performance, the day’s activities had worn Jake and Dani out, but Emilie was ready to go. She veered off to explore when Jake and Dani headed to their room. The thought of Emilie wandering around by herself on the ship bothered Dani, but she had prepared herself before they arrived with a reminder that it wasn’t much different from going downtown with her friends in Ottawa. In fact, it might be safer as there were staff and cameras everywhere on the ship. No way would Emilie want to stay with her and Jake throughout the entire trip, she told herself. Dani told her daughter to be back in her adjoining room by eleven and to knock on the door between the rooms to let her know she had arrived.

Jake and Dani put on their pyjamas and the plush robes provided by the cruise line and opened the door to the balcony. Jake poured a glass of Pinot Grigio for each of them from the beverage package they had ordered and handed one to Dani before depositing the bottle back into the compact refrigerator. The tepid outside air hummed from the water lapping against the side of the ship and the laughter and music from the pool deck. It reminded Jake of the activity in any slightly populated city, except for the soothing sound of the waves. He decided he could get used to this without difficulty.

They raised their drinks in a toast and clinked glasses. “Such a beautiful night,” Dani murmured as she leaned back in her chair. “So calm and relaxing. Look at the moon. Doesn’t it look mysterious just hanging there? And such a nice, fresh breeze blowing off the ocean. It feels like paradise right now.” As if on cue, a wisp of her hair waved in the soft wind. “I love the nights at sea, but I’m looking forward to Alaska. It seems like such a unique place.” They got up and leaned on the railing the same way Emilie had earlier. Rows and rows of lights from another cruise ship twinkled in the distance. In the darkness, each row seemed suspended in the air with nothing between them. “I wonder if that ship will follow us all the way to Alaska,” she mused as she turned her head toward Jake. “Is that port or starboard?”

“All I know is we’re onboard and I hope the captain keeps the shiny side up for the entire trip,” Jake said. “I wonder how far away the ship is. They say the water distorts distances. Maybe we’ll learn something about sailing in the next seven days.”

Jake pulled her close but noticed her gaze directed past him into the balcony next door. The look evaporated as quickly as it arrived, so Jake let it go. Neither of them said anything as they embraced. They returned to their seats and enjoyed each other's company, the music from the pool area, and the warm air. Quiet murmurs drifted from the balcony two cabins to their left. Looming shadows in the distance and the occasional house lights that faded in and out like fireflies as they passed wooded areas assured Jake that they weren’t far from land. They finished their wine and wandered back inside around 10 o’clock. They got ready for bed, and Dani read her thriller novel while Jake flipped through the limited TV channels as they waited for a tap on the door, announcing Emilie’s return.

It came around 10:40. Emilie opened the door between their rooms, and words tumbled out of her mouth about an acoustic guitarist she had watched in one of the many lounge areas. “The ship is huge!” she said. “Oh, and I found cookies in a restaurant on the deck a couple of floors above us. It’s a place called The Mainmast, all one word, and we can go there for hamburgers and stuff at lunch or snacks anytime.” She held out a napkin with four chocolate cookies stacked on it. “One for each of you and two for me,” she declared with a laugh before Jake and Dani had a chance to touch them. “I’m going to get ready for bed and figure out what to do tomorrow. See you in the morning.” Dani hugged her daughter. They discussed a plan for meeting at breakfast and said their good nights before she closed the door between the rooms.

“How is she going to figure out what to do tomorrow?” Jake asked.

Dani patted Jake’s knee, and her voice grew bubbly. “Well, we have a daily planner. See?” She held up a four-page brochure highlighting the next day’s activities, the weather forecast, and other essential information. “She also has the ship app. You know the one we had to download before we arrived? You should access it.” Her relaxed smile displayed a level of comfort and contentment that filled Jake’s heart.

Jake regarded Dani as she grunted while edging the hefty balcony door open and went back outside. He assumed she wanted a final bit of fresh air, but she leaned over the railing and peered to her right into the balcony next door. The corners of her mouth turn down again, but this time, more pronounced. She returned inside, closed the door, and said, “We need to call a doctor. The man next door hasn’t moved in his chair for more than an hour. I thought he was sleeping with his head at an odd angle, that he would wake up with a stiff neck, but his colour isn’t good. I think he might be dead.”

Chapter Two

Dani planned the cruise nine months before the launch date. When she first proposed the possibility to Jake, he responded with a resounding “No.” She knew that would be his reaction. It was his first response to anything new. She had snickered to herself. She planned to throw it out there and let it simmer for a while. Then, she would launch a second offensive with a more detailed explanation of how much fun and safe it would be. It was a matter of wearing him down day-by-day until he agreed.

Dani had sold her condo and Jake his house, and they purchased a new home in the same Westboro neighbourhood in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, where they had both lived for several years. They loved the neighbourhood, and, as a bonus, it was still close enough to walk to Brew and Buns, the restaurant where they met their friends for breakfast every Saturday morning. Dani would have been comfortable moving into Jake's home, where he had lived with his wife Mia until her death from an aneurism five years prior, but he insisted they should have a fresh start.

They settled on a thirty-year-old, three-bedroom bungalow with oak hardwood floors, a porch on the front, and a narrow yard. It had a two-car garage that would accommodate Jake’s Subaru and Dani’s Tucson. Ceramic floors, granite countertops, and pot lights everywhere modernized the house. The back yard had low-maintenance shrubs while mature trees draped like an awning over the street at the front. In fact, the new place bore a significant resemblance to Jake’s previous house. The only thing missing was the water feature in the back yard, but the two-car garage easily compensated for that.

The new place thrilled Emilie. She had applied to universities, so it was undecided where she would live after being accepted. In the meantime, Emilie had declared the bedroom in the finished basement and the separate bathroom just outside her door “sick,” which Jake interpreted as perfect.

Oliver, Jake’s temperamental cat, wandered around checking things out in the new place for about two days, but realizing he could still watch the birds in the back yard from his perch, he settled in comfortably. He meowed contentedly when a squirrel bounced along the fence surrounding the yard.

Jake had rented a truck and their three friends from their Saturday breakfast group, Pierre Chevrier, Eric Jacobson, and Ryan Cambridge, had helped them move. It had been an opportunity for Jake and Dani to downsize, but it wasn’t a simple task. They both discovered that memories collected over the years are difficult to part with. They helped each other decide.

Dani hadn’t had a vacation from her job as a homicide detective for months. She and Jake had visited Toronto a few times to visit his daughter Avery and her husband Nick, and especially to get to know his new granddaughter Ava. Jake loved spending time with Ava and that was one excuse he used for not wanting to go on a cruise. “We’ll only be away for two weeks,” Dani argued. Jake came back with, “Two weeks is a lifetime for a baby.” When Dani replied he usually went four weeks without spending time with Ava, Jake said, “What about Oliver? Who’ll take care of him?” Dani said she was sure they could find a nice kennel to handle the belligerent cat. “Maybe he’ll learn some manners.”

The negotiation continued, but Jake ran out of excuses.

He had also observed how tired Dani was. The murder rate had increased in the city over the previous year, and some went unsolved. Many nights she came home, ate dinner, and collapsed into bed, only to awaken early in the morning to start the routine over again. It didn’t help that the department had a staff shortage. Jake knew the best thing would be for her to get away from everything for a couple of weeks. Maybe he could convince her to go to Portugal in the winter, and he suggested it twice. She met the suggestion each time with a wry smile and a glance toward a brochure under the coffee table.

One Friday evening in November, Dani snuggled close to Jake on the sofa in the sunroom, with the table lamp’s light reflecting off the brochure in her hand. The drapes hung open, and ice pellets ricocheted off the glass doors, driven by a wind that made the house creak. The ever-changing flames in the gas fireplace warmed them and offset the winter raging outside. Jake put his arm around her as she pulled her bare feet up on the sofa and leaned back against his chest. She innocently flipped the pages of the brochure to the back, which displayed a room schematic. “What do you think of this?”

“What am I looking at?” Jake asked as he peered over her shoulder at the open page. It described connected rooms, each with two twin beds that converted to a king, a sofa, a balcony, and a private bathroom. “They look comfortable. Is that in Portugal?”

Then the words, “ocean view,” jumped off the page. Uh oh.

A blast of wind smacking another batch of ice pellets off the windows and a blender grinding in the kitchen interrupted the conversation. When the grinding stopped, Emily yelled, “Does anyone want a smoothie?” Jake and Dani both declined. Dani had kept her finger on the page but closed the brochure, so the cover faced Jake. It displayed a photo of a huge cruise ship framed by palm trees, its polished hull gleaming in the sunlight, with the name “Ocean Wanderer,” painted in gigantic black lettering on the bow. Joyous faces caught in a moment in time waved from the ship, and the sun trailed rays across the rich, navy-blue water, beckoning like a candle to a moth for the readers to join in the fun. She said, “It’s an Alaska cruise leaving from Vancouver. There are only a few dates available. There’s one in July that still has connected rooms. It would be a wonderful way to spend time with Em before she goes to university. The agent said we would have to book soon because the dates go fast. She said the water through the inside passage is smooth because it’s sheltered. It’s only when it gets into the Gulf of Alaska before the ship turns to come back that the waves could get higher, but it’s rare in the summer months. You would love it, and I know Em would.”

Jake knew Dani had trouble sleeping, and the dark shadows and puffiness under her eyes confirmed it. He kissed the top of her head. “Okay,” he whispered.

Dani pushed her feet off the sofa and whirled around. “What did you say?”

“I said, okay.” Jake chuckled as she threw her arms around him. His face pressing into her shoulder muffled his voice, but he squeaked, “Let’s get our spots booked. Shall we tell Emilie now or should we wait?'

“Let’s wait until we’ve booked our rooms. It’s so exciting. I love you, Jake Scott!”

“I love you, too, Daniela Perez. Now, we should have a drink so I can calm my nerves. You said it’s rare that the ocean gets rough. That means it could get rough.” He laughed as he got up to retrieve glasses of wine for them.

Emilie wandered into the sunroom in chequered pants and a navy shirt Jake thought belonged in the bedroom rather than outside, but it was the trend. She sipped her pinkish-green smoothie. “What’s all the yelling about? Did we finally win the lottery?”

“No, we’re going on a cruise to Alaska,” Dani blurted.

“So much for keeping it quiet,” Jake laughed as he carried the glasses of wine back to the sofa.

The excitement in the room didn’t die down for an hour as they pored over the online brochure on Dani’s laptop. It alarmed Jake to learn the ship held 2,800 people, had an immense dining room with two sittings, countless bars, and a choice of excursions that included helicopter rides and the possibility of seeing bears. Still, he couldn’t help but get caught up in the excitement as Dani and Emilie scanned the website and ran through the endless possibilities of things to do throughout the week of sailing.

Jake visited his granddaughter four more times before their departure date, but before they knew it, the time arrived, and they were on their way across the country to Vancouver. They had whiled the next day away, relaxing in Stanley Park. Emilie spent her time sunning and swimming at Second Beach Pool, while Jake and Emilie had walked along the seawall and taken a relaxing, narrated, and enchanting horse-drawn carriage ride.

The next day they took an Uber to Canada Place, had their photo taken, and wound their way through registration. They received the cruise pass that would give them cashless access to everything onboard, as well as allow them to disembark and return for their excursions. The walk through the registration line and up the ramp to board the ship seemed like miles to Jake. Although he had prepared himself, the immensity of the vessel still startled him. He couldn’t get over the towering decks with sparkling glass doors opening onto balconies that promised breathtaking panoramic views. Dock workers scurried about, completing final tasks before the ship departed. There was a hint of salt water and fresh paint and the faint hum of the gigantic engines vibrating somewhere deep in the bowels of the ship. Between where the rows of portholes ended, and the balconies began hung lifeboats with orange tarps covering them. A mixture of excitement and trepidation overcame Jake as they arrived at their assigned muster station for a safety briefing. It reminded him something could go wrong.

He didn’t want to think about it.