Boris Akunin - Murder on the Leviathan

Then he seated himself in a satin-upholstered armchair by the window and folded his arms expectantly just below his silver watch chain.

‘Impossible!’ cried Renate, clutching involuntarily at her belly.

Lieutenant Renier leapt to his feet.

The ginger baronet began chortling and applauding demonstratively.

Professor Sweetchild gulped convulsively and removed his glasses.

Clarissa Stamp froze with her fingers pressed against the agate brooch on her soft collar.

Not a single muscle twitched in the face of the Japanese, but the polite smile instantly disappeared.

The doctor grabbed his wife by the elbow forgetting to translate the most important thing of all, but to judge from the frightened expression in her staring eyes, Mrs Truffo had guessed for herself.

The Russian diplomat asked quietly:

“What reasons do you have for this assertion?’

‘My presence here,’ the commissioner replied imperturbably, ‘is explanation enough. There are other considerations, but there is no need for you to know about them … Well then’ there was a clear note of disappointment in the policeman’s voice - ‘I see that no one is about to swoon and cry out: “Arrest me, I killed them!” But of course, I was not really counting on that. So listen to me.’ He raised a stubby finger in warning. ‘None of the other passengers must be told about this.

And it is not in your interests to tell them - the rumour would spread instantly and people would start treating you like lepers.

Do not attempt to transfer to a different saloon - that will merely increase my suspicion. And you will not be able to do it; I have an arrangement with the captain.’

Renate began babbling in a trembling voice.

‘Darling M. Gauche, can you not at least spare me this nightmare?

I am afraid to sit at the same table as a murderer. What if he sprinkles poison in my food? I shan’t be able to swallow a single morsel now. You know it’s dangerous for me to be worried.

I won’t tell anyone, anyone at all, honestly!’

‘My regrets, Mme Kleber,’ the sleuth replied coolly, ‘but there can be no exceptions. I have grounds to suspect every person here, and not least of all you.’

Renate threw herself against the back of her chair with a weak moan and Lieutenant Renier stamped his foot angrily.

‘You take too many liberties, monsieur … Investigator for Especially Important Cases! I shall report everything to Captain Cliff immediately.’

‘Go right ahead,’ said Gauche indifferently. ‘But not just at this moment, a bit later. I haven’t quite finished my little speech.

So, as yet I do not know for certain which of you is my client, but I am close, very close, to my goal.’

Renate expected these words to be followed by an eloquent glance and she strained her entire body forward in anticipation, but no, the policeman was looking at his stupid pipe. He was probably lying and didn’t have his eye on anyone in particular.

‘You suspect a woman, it’s obvious!’ exclaimed Miss Stamp with a nervous flutter of her hands. ‘Otherwise why would you be carrying around a newspaper article about some Marie Sanfon? Who is this Marie Sanfon? And anyway, it doesn’t matter who she is. It’s plain stupid to suspect a woman! How could a woman ever be capable of such brutality!’

Mrs Truffo rose abruptly to her feet, ready to rally to the banner of female solidarity.

‘We shall speak of Mile Sanfon on some other occasion,’ the detective replied, looking Clarissa Stamp up and down. ‘I have plenty of these little articles and each of them contains its own version of events.’ He opened his file and rustled the newspaper clippings. There must have been several dozen of them. ‘Very well, mesdames et messieurs, I ask you please not to interrupt me any more!’ The policeman’s voice had turned to iron. ‘Yes, there is a dangerous criminal among us. Possibly a psychopath.’

(Renate noticed the professor quietly shift his chair away from Sir Reginald.) ‘Therefore I ask you all to be careful. If you notice something out of the ordinary, even the very slightest thing, come to me immediately. And it would be best, of course, if the murderer were to make a full and frank confession. There is no escape from here in any case. That is all I have to say.’

Mrs Truffo put her hand up like a pupil in school.

‘In fact I have seen something extraordinary only yesterday! A charcoal-black face, it was definitely not human, looked in at me from outside while I was in our cabin! I was so scared!’ She turned to her other half and jabbed him with her elbow: ‘I told you, but you paid no attention!’

‘Oh,’ said Renate with a start, ‘and yesterday a mirror in a genuine tortoiseshell frame disappeared from my toiletry set.’

Monsieur the Lunatic apparently also had something to report, but before he had a chance the commissioner slammed his file shut.

‘Do not try to make a fool of me! I am an old bloodhound.

You won’t throw Gustave Gauche off the scent. If necessary I shall have every one of you put ashore and we will deal with each of you separately. Ten people have been killed, this is not a joke. Think, mesdames et messieurs, think!’

He left the saloon, slamming the door loudly behind him.

‘Gentlemen, I am not feeling well,’ Renate declared in a weak voice. ‘I shall go to my cabin.’

‘I shall accompany you, Mme Kleber,’ said Charles Renier, immediately leaping to her side. ‘This is simply intolerable! Such incredible insolence!’

Renate pushed him away.

‘No thank you. I shall manage quite well on my own.’

She walked unsteadily across the room and leaned against the wall by the door for a moment. In the corridor, which was empty, her stride quickened. Renate opened her cabin and went inside, took a travelling bag out from under the bed and thrust a trembling hand in under its silk lining. Her face was pale but determined. In an instant her fingers had located a small metal box.

Inside the box, glittering with cold glass and steel, lay a syringe.

Things had begun to go wrong first thing in the morning, when Clarissa quite distinctly spotted two new wrinkles in the mirror - two fine, barely visible lines running from the corners of her eyes to her temples. It was all the sun’s fault. It was so bright here that no parasol or hat could save you. Clarissa spent a long time inspecting herself in that pitiless polished surface and stretching her skin with her fingers, hoping it might be the way she’d slept and it would smooth out. Just as she finished her inspection, she turned her neck and spotted a grey hair behind her ear. That really made her feel glum. Might that perhaps be the sun’s fault too? Did hairs fade? Oh no, Miss Stamp, no point in deceiving yourself. As the poet said:

She took greater pains than usual with her appearance. That grey hair was mercilessly plucked out. It was stupid, of course.

Wasn’t it John Donne who said the secret of female happiness was knowing when to make the transition from one age to the next, and there were three ages of woman: daughter, wife and mother? But how could she progress from the second state to the third, when she had never been married?

The best cure for thoughts like that was a walk in the fresh air, and Clarissa set out to take a turn round the deck.

Huge as Leviathan was, it had long since been measured out in her leisurely, even paces - at least the upper deck, which was intended for the first-class passengers. The distance round the perimeter was 355 paces. Seven and a half minutes, if she didn’t pause to admire the sea or chat with casual acquaintances.