Chapter 2
"Pecculiar Passengers"
Penelope arrived at the cabins with a mission on her mind. It was interview time! First things first though, she had yet to review the case file. Before taking any further action, she took a moment to view its contents.
The cabins’ layout was simple. It was divided into two sections. C and D respectively with a billiard room in between.
The hall was large, empty, and uninviting despite its pristine appearance. The sound of Penelope’s boots echoed as she walked the shiny wooden floorboards. She glanced at the room number as she passed the first door… It was C1, Marigold’s room... the same place she was found dead. However, this didn’t distract her. She knew she’d have to come back later to investigate but for now she would focus on the interviews.
Across from it was her first destination, room C2. Penelope knocked on the door as instructed.
*Double tap* *triple tap* *single tap*
She waited for a moment, but nobody answered. The captain was right when he said these passengers were difficult. Perhaps they were still asleep? Penelope concluded it would be best to move on to the next cabin and come back later.
Upon arriving at the next room, she spotted a large wooden sign on the door. It read “Cider’s Room” in carved out uneven lettering. Above the sign was a rather cute green and white plaid bow. The sign provided an inviting atmosphere in the otherwise unsavory atmosphere of the cabin hallway.
*Double tap* *triple tap* *single tap*
A few moments later, A tall red velvet colored sheep opened the door and greeted the detective with a warm smile. She wore a shirt with the same pattern as the bow on the door and a gardener’s hat with a bow similar.
“Why of course my dear, I’m sure you saw my lovely sign outside! Gee, you’re the sweetest little rabbit girl I’ve ever seen, you’re so small it’s adorable! "Oh, and how could I forget to mention that outfit, it’s like a lil’ detective doll came to life,” she exclaimed with a chuckle.
This was an incredibly common remark amongst those meeting Penelope for the first time. As much as she tried to ignore it, she couldn’t help but feel aggrieved. Although it was not Cider’s intent, it felt infantilizing and demeaning… The young lady really did not appreciate these sorts of comments. She did not take well to Cider’s words and retaliated.
“Cut it off, won’t you? I’ve heard it a million times. I get the gist.”
“Oh, my apologies. I didn’t mean to offend you darling. I really did mean it as a complement. Gotta admit, I was nervous about this whole investigation business… This trip has been a reeeal doozy so seeing such a sweet- looking detective made me feel more at ease. I prolly should’a kept it to myself…” replied Cider disappointed in herself and feeling as though she just gave an incredibly poor first impression.
“Of course, darling ! I’d be happy to answer. Believe me when I tell ya If I had my druthers, I wouldn’t have let any of this happen. I reckon the ol’ Captain is especially troubled…”
“Why don’t we go sit down in the billiard room?” Penelope replied. She assumed it would be the most effective place to conduct the interviews since it was in a comfortable neutral space and there was a low risk of anyone overhearing their conversations.
They both made their way towards the center of the deck. Penelope avoided eye contact as they walked the vast hallway.
Once they arrived, a luxurious pool table greeted them. Unlike the hall, the room had an inviting and cozy atmosphere despite its emptiness. There was a large black wall, mounted television, colorful jukebox, and seating. Several nautical themed posters, old records, and old newspapers describing stories of the sea adorned the brick patterned walls.
Near the jukebox sat a mini fridge well stocked with various beverages. There were bottles of water and soda, but different flavors of “Icey-Cooly” took up most of the space.
Penelope hated those with a passion. The drinks themselves were like a frozen soda slushy with copious amounts of sugar, food coloring, and artificial flavoring. The packaging was also like something you’d expect to see on a kid's toy with its bright colors and sparkles. To top it all off, instead of a regular straw it included a silly straw. It made her recall the time she had decided to try the “peach” flavored one. Her friend really wanted her to try it… she recalled it tasting like melted plastic and giving her a terrible stomachache. Yikes! She decided to ignore the appliance before it distracted her any further .
“Whatever you say, my dear!” replied Cider not wanting to further upset Penelope. She was ready to go along with whatever the Detective asked of her.
The two sat down.
“Didn’t you have a map you could look at?”
Penelope thought it was an odd choice… Why would anyone go through trouble of constructing a custom-made sign for their cabin door when the map existed?
“Oh, believe me when I say I tried., I just couldn’t figure out how to read it!”
Penelope looked at the sheep in total disbelief… it was difficult for her to imagine that the map was so hard for her to read. Penelope found it incredibly simple and to the point. What more could she need?
“Hm… well tell me then, where are you from and why did you decide to go on the S.S Iris?”, she asked, figuring that it may help explain Cider’s strange behavior.
“Why, I’m glad you asked! It’s always been a dream o’ mine to see the ocean. Back where I’m from, in the green apple woods, there ain’t no place like it. I remember, back when I was no bigger than a minnow in a fishing pond, some o’ my earliest memories were hearin’ stories of the sea and bein’ absolutely fascinated by them. I’ll tell you what, as crazy as this vacation’s been, I just think o’f what my ma’ always told me. She used to say I oughta look on the bright side of things and well, I did accomplish my dream o’ seein’ the sea! That alone is a success in my eyes.”
“I see...”“, replied Penelope. She really didn’t know what to make of all this just yet. She was skeptical of the of the lamb’s overly positive personality and found the story of her sign rather odd as well. Why would one want to visit the storage area and who was that nurse she was talking about?
“Well, I’m sure by now you’ve been expecting this last question… so tell me Cider, what do you know regarding the murder of Marigold Seashine?”
Cider looked around the room and then back at Penelope before answering, “To be frank with your dearie, there’s really not much I can say about it! I really ain’t got a clue what in the Sam Hill would lead anyone to turn to murder of all things! Down where I’m from, everyone’s far too busy competing ‘gainst each other for the biggest harvest. Something of that sort ain’t ever cross nobody’s mind! Boy, am I glad I didn’t have to see the poor lass lifeless on the ground…”, she said before letting out a sigh.
“You didn’t see the body?”, Replied Penelope
“Nope, I was up by the pool readin’ a magazine titled “The top 10 best tropical vacation destinations” when the speaker came on and the Captain announced what had just occurred! After that, everyone lost their marbles.”
“Very well, that’s all I need to know for now.” She said in hopes of concluding the interview.
“Oh dear, I’m terribly sorry I couldn’t be of greater help!”
Penelope ignored her. She had little patience for those who disrespected her. Eventually she’d get over it. Clearly Cider meant no harm, but Penelope was still bitter.
The air was tense as they traversed the halls. so much for “a sweet little detective.”.
Next up was room C4. Penelope took a deep breath before walking up to the room. That last interview was rather exhausting. As she got closer, she heard a faint melody coming from behind the door… Penelope had an impressive sense of hearing, but the melody was too soft to single out. It was difficult to discern any particular instrument or voice from the muffled sound. Then, she knocked on the door.
Once again, nobody answered. Perhaps they didn’t hear her? Or were they too busy… either way, it didn’t change the fact that they had ignored her knocking. She decided to move on and come back later in the hope that they’d be done by then with whatever they were up to.
Before she knew it, it was already time to visit the D section cabins. Despite this, Penelope felt as though she had barely made any progress. Once again, she passed through the billiard room, this time paying less attention to the details. She made sure not to look in the direction of the mini fridge again.
Behind the door stood a gruff-looking, large brown bear. He was wearing a white button up shirt and a shark tooth necklace. A large scar ran across the right side of his face right through his eye. Wow...
What’s this guy’s story? thought Penelope. He looked like he had lived quite a life.
“Ughhh, what do you want now?!? Wait… You’re that detective the captain warned me about, aren’t you?,” he said while looking down at the tiny detective standing before him. He was totally caught by surprise.
“Yes, that’s correct. I’m Penelope Walker and I’m here to ask you a few questions. Please follow me”
“Fine. It better be important” he grumbled. At least it wasn’t the captain or those blasted cops again.
“So, what’s your name and why did you decide to go on the S.S. Iris?”
“Wow,. I’m sorry about that… may I ask why you’re attending therapy…”
“NO.”
“Is everything okay? " asked Penelope. His sudden outburst was completely unexpected to say the least. Penelope was taken aback.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry… “
he said as he attempted to hold back tears.
It’s just… some things never leave…even after the war is done. I...”
“I see… well, you don’t need to explain anything any further, ok?” Penelope said to him in an attempt to reassure him.
“Now, let me ask. Do you know anything regarding the murder of Marigold Seashine?”
“What did you see?”
“Well, the whole memory is hazy, but me and a few of the others caught someone in the act. Oddly enough, I just... can’t remember any details. Maybe it’s just the old brain giving up on me… I wouldn’t be surprised if it decided to give out. I know that probably sounds awful, but I swear it’s the truth.”
“Wow, do you remember who else was there with you when you saw that?”
Penelope was rather shocked, was this old man just hallucinating? Or was he really serious? This could be a breakthrough for the investigation if it were true. Inversely, it could very well be a false claim. It was obvious the man was suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and this could very well just be a manifestation of his trauma.
This was the second time a little nurse has been mentioned by one of the passengers. Who was this they kept speaking about?!?
“Was there anything else that seemed odd to you?” she asked. Penelope was intrigued. The man’s words felt sincere, however she had to keep in mind that this could all very well be made up.
What!?! This raised so many more questions in Penelope’s mind…
“Marigold’s room?” she replied.
“If my memory serves me right, yeah. It’s all just so hazy now. Agh, just forget about it. I don’t want to throw you off course or anything. Just, ignore me.”
“Ok, well that’s all I need for now. “
“Great, I’m so tired of all this,” he replied feeling relieved. They both walked back to the cabin.
Penelope had so much on her mind, so many unanswered questions . Her biggest question remained… Who was that nurse?
Penelope’s next destination was room D2. She performed her usual knock. A few moments later, the door opened.
The little fox cleared her throat.
“G-greetings valued passenger, I am Kiba Chapel, Nurse and reader of the infirmity division of the S.S. Iris, do you have any health concerns or perhaps an emergency...?” Said the fox in a soft, airy voice. There were constant pauses between each word, and they were spoken incredibly fast. It sounded as though they were reading directly off a script.
“Don’t you mean… leader?” Replied Penelope.
The small fox glanced at her briefly, then quickly looked away. They were anxiously sweating while cowering behind the door.
“Hey, I’m just here to ask a few questions and I’ll leave in a second. I just need you to come with me to the billiard room.”
“O-Ok…” she replied.
Penelope escorted the fox to the room, and they sat down at the very same table once again.
“So, you’re the nurse on this ship. Were you the one who performed the autopsy on Marigold?” Asked Penelope in hopes of sparking some conversation while still collecting important information.
“Y-yes… I did. Under close supervision...”
Penelope was relieved to hear that second part, otherwise the credibility of the entire case file would be up for debate.
“Do you have any special access to certain areas of the ship?” she asked, curious about what Cider had told her earlier regarding the storage room.
“I see, so you did but it was taken away for the investigation?”
“Yes… precisely.”
“So how long have you been working here ?”
“For… s-some years. 3 years.”
“Alright, well my last question is, do you know anything regarding the murder of Marigold Seashine ?
“N-no…”
“Really? You didn’t see anyone or anything?” Penelope was incredibly skeptical of their answer. For as much as the others spoke about them, they should at least know something… right?
The little fox looked at Penelope like they were about to cry. It seemed as though all they wanted in that moment was to dissolve into thin air. Something was clearly wrong.
Penelope was concerned about this and decided to ask once again, this time more politely. “You’re not in trouble, ok? You can tell me if there’s anything you saw. I’m only trying to see what happened.”
“No. I can’t….!”, she said as tears rolled down her face.
“Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry…”
Oh dear, this is not what she was expecting at all. Was this a confession? Or was this something else? Penelope felt very uncomfortable. She decided it would be best to end the interview here. She still had so many questions but perhaps it would be best to stop here… if she questioned Kiba any further they’d probably faint on the spot. Penelope was also curious as to what the others had to say about it. After all, if it were really this easy… why wasn’t the case solved before she’d arrived?
“Ok. That’s all for now,” she said. Kiba could barely look her in the eyes.
She walked the nurse back to her cabin. The Captain was right, these really were some peculiar passengers.
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