Coming To America by Ligeia
February 13th, 1902 – The night before landing at Ellis Island.
The next evening found the ship buzzing with excitement; in the early afternoon of the following day, after three long and tedious weeks at sea, the First and Second Class passengers would disembark at Manhattan, while the steerage immigrants would be processed through Ellis Island just after sundown.
Angelus was amused and touched to see Maggie full of such high spirits, but was considering an excuse to take his leave of her. Nerida's cautioning words made him loath to be seen in Maggie's company for too long, lest it draw Robin's fierce attentions.
But no excuse was needed. An officer arrived on the steerage deck and asked all the third class passengers to return to their berths.
When Angelus asked what was going on, the officer seemed a little surprised to see a gentleman consorting with the steerage passengers, but touched the brim of his cap and said, 'I don't wish to cause alarm amongst the other passengers, sir, so I would request you to hold in confidence what I am about to tell you.'
He explained that two of the First Class passengers and a crew member were missing. One of the lifeboats had also been launched; a dangerous thing to do while the ship was underway. It was the general opinion of the captain and senior officers that the missing boat was a diversion; they suspected that the bodies of all three were concealed somewhere aboard the Celtic. A deck-by-deck search of the cabins was underway, starting with steerage, as blood had been found on the deck near the stairs leading below. Some items had been reported stolen from the baggage hold and from several First and Second Class staterooms. The officer respectfully asked Angelus to return to his cabin to see if anything was disturbed.
'Someone will be there soon, sir, to check that all is secure. And I apologise for the inconvenience.'
The sensation of foreboding that Angelus felt upon reaching his stateroom door was borne out by the scene that greeted him when he entered the room.
The missing steward was propped up in the swivel chair in front of his small writing desk, a red and white 'Not Wanted On Voyage' tag pinned to his lapel. His head was thrown back, his eyes sunken. Droplets of blood were spattered obscenely over the pure white uniform. In the greying skin of his hand was a note.
'Bon Voyage, old man! See you in the New World.' It was signed, 'Your little brother, Red Robin.'
Angelus quickly searched the desk drawers and the few items of luggage he carried with him. His passport was gone, along with the magnificent gold pocket watch that had been Adele and Matthieu's parting gift to him. His cash was always on him, the majority of notes sewn into the lining of his jacket – a habit of long standing. He had been forced to make too many quick get-aways to leave that behind. Of more immediate concern was a letter, sealed in a White Star Line envelope, which Angelus had written to M and Mme De Beauvais. It, too, was gone.
He gathered up a few personal items and left the room, heading down to the baggage hold to await for the following night.
To be continued...
Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. The final chapter will be up next week. Let me know if you've enjoyed it so far.