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The Death Ship, Part Three

Tom’s first suspect is about to emerge! Who does the crew of the U.S.S. Robert Craig think is responsible for the disappearance and apparent murder of Jimmie Hill? Read on to find out!

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PART THREE: The Usual Suspects?

With armed guards at the door, the captain began to confide in us.

“You have to arrest him now. We’re all frightened. It’s Robinson for sure that did it.”

“Who’s Robinson?”

“The chief electrician. He’s got a violent temper. He’s a black man from Brooklyn. They were gambling — four or five of them. Hill was a big winner, almost a card sharp.”

“Wait a minute! How do you know Robinson did it? We’re here to take evidence, not to arrest anyone.”

“I saw him that night. He was carrying a bucket. At the port side after-end. Washing away the bloodstains, I know that. I didn’t want to go near him. Why don’t you talk to him right away?”

I considered this and said, “No, let’s do it this way. We’ll talk to his roommate first, then anyone else involved in any way. We’ll get Robinson’s testimony later when I know what questions to ask him.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” said the lieutenant. Esmail and I took over the captain’s cabin and began to interrogate the crew.

I enjoyed this very much. It had a touch of Perry Mason, but thanks to the eerie night atmosphere and the almost palpable fear on board the Robert Craig, there was a whiff of Macbeth. I swore in each witness and read them the following statement:

I am a Foreign Service Officer of the United States of America. I desire to question you under oath concerning the disappearance of Jimmie Hill from aboard the U.S.S. Robert Craig. Any statement that you make must be freely and voluntarily given and may be used by the government as evidence in any proceedings against you or any other therein. Do you understand?

Following this introduction, I asked the questions; Esmail took dictation, typed the statement, and each witness in turn read and signed it.

I still have the transcripts of my interrogation and I can vouch for its thoroughness. My object was to establish everyone’s whereabouts, to probe into the relationships among the gamblers, and to establish some kind of move between the cargo booms.

After the first night’s questioning, Captain Lampe approached me. “Mr. Henighan, you must have legal experience.”

Over the next few days a motley cast of characters appeared before me. I sat behind the captain’s desk and questioned everyone from Charlie the Wiper and “Sparks” to most of the engineers, carpenters, and firemen on board. Esmail recorded their testimony and occasionally suggested a line of questioning. The British guards were eventually replaced by U.S. sailors from visiting warships. And when the U.S. vessels departed, a few days later, these men were assigned to the consulate, so that Captain Lampe had guards on board during the whole time of our investigation.

I quickly extended the scope of my interrogation. Reports were coming in that Chief Electrician Cecil Robinson, the captain’s prime suspect, was behaving rather strangely. On the way to Aden, one crewman reported, he had declared, “I feel like killing someone tonight.” Before Hill was discovered missing, Robinson had asked one of the officers to examine a bucket, possibly the same one that the captain had seen him carrying near the scene of the crime. In Aden, Robinson reportedly suggested to his mates that information about the gambling be suppressed; he was also seen peering over the side to monitor the arrival and departure of the investigators, myself included.

Quite early in the game we questioned Robinson himself. He was a large well-built man in his mid-thirties and he answered most of my questions in a pretty matter-of-fact manner, but without making very much eye contact. He could not, however, establish an alibi, since no one testified to having seen him during the crucial hours of the night of the murder. He claimed to have won money during the poker games with Hill that preceded his assistant’s disappearance — although it was eventually established that he lost something like a thousand dollars.

After the interrogation Robinson declared that the next time he appeared before us to answer questions he would insist on being represented by a lawyer.

A couple of days later I got a call from Commissioner Stewart. A body had been pulled from the harbour. Could I come over and have a look?

I met Stewart and examined quite a few photographs of what was left of Jimmie Hill. It was not a pretty sight. Most of his face had been eaten away; both arms were missing and a leg. The lively sport of the midnight interrogations gave way to some serious private reflections on mortality. Aden had a way of stimulating such moments. Would I like to see the actual remains? Stewart asked. I thought not.

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The grisly remains have been found… but will the killer be brought to justice? Find out tomorrow with the conclusion of DEATH SHIP.

© 2010 Defining Canada.