CSCI vid-podcast Pt 38 - The mystery crime thriller at sea from Cruise Ship Crime Investigators

welcome to a cruise ship Heist chapter 97 check with the body in the morgue and the man now in the cells the question is how many people Maria is working with that is if they are working with her because the first gunman was after her and does Hunter know where she is is this a situation he has never had control of Hunter checks the agency log for replacement staff who joined anywhere in South America and they are all called into his office one by one no one is absent from that list and few look like they could be of any use in a snowball fight Hunter and I sit back in our chairs and take a moment is Maria Isabel temporary agency staff I ask yeah looks that way Hunter says I didn't ask how it looks I persist why don't you leave me to type that report up how it looks is important sure a kill team is one or two together or shadowing each other agents work in pairs two or four an extraction team is normally eight I stop at the door what was your deal with her there is a long pause and I don't get the feeling that he wants to share that information with me the pause turns into an awkward silence only broken by his telephone ringing he might be expecting me to leave but I feel I deserve an answer he can see I'm going nowhere so he answers the phone after listening he replies I'll be right down he replaces the receiver then holds my look Ali is missing not at rehearsals not seen since she left her face to face with head office my blood floods with adrenaline hate and fear Hunter jumps to his feet I'll go through the crew deck check her room you take the Promenade deck and we'll meet in the theater this could be something totally unrelated but we both know it is not chapter 98 missing I'm walking fast looking everywhere inside on Deck 7. I don't expect her to be outside but I do open the doors and look to the back and the front at the atrium I stop drop a level and check the shops then back up I head towards the front trying not to show my distress in the distance I can see Jill and Maria walking towards me smiling they are friends we will meet in less than 30 seconds and I need to be controlled I can't accuse them I certainly can't attack them I can't even let on that I know anything it will take every skill I have to smile because I want to kill them both hey I say slowing down as we come together I look at Maria's name badge Maria Bell don't I know you have we met I play innocent yes she smiles confidently then without changing expression or demeanor her tone threatens you have 20 million dollars of mine and unless I get it back you will never see your daughter again she has just delivered the threat I was dreading and she's full of smiles she has played this game at the highest level has no morals and will kill threatening her will get me nowhere it was you at the airport you were arrested I ask still playing confused if I refuse to take the message in she will need to deliver it again maybe she will lose her call I don't have time for this nor do you and your daughter certainly doesn't sorry my mind is racing I hit out with the only thing I can come up with is this another publicity stunt no Maria insists firmly with a huge violent smile outwardly I refuse to accept it though inwardly I believe every word Jill by the way Tony's looking for you in the atrium said he thought he had neurovirus but it was just a dose of the squirts I say flatly it is my only play this is not a game Maria snows and she drags Jill away what a nasty toxic piece of work Joe looked confused about Tony but said nothing I turn and watch them go but they never look back in the empty theater the evening show is being reblocked with one person less at the back of the auditorium I meet with Hunter and Georgie to talk about the very sobering Affair Hunter should report it to the captain who in turn should inform head office that their new star appears to have been kidnapped and threatened but that wastes time Maria and Jill were walking away from the theater towards the atrium I explain it's busy too many people could see a struggle or someone moving a body Hunter says she's not dead I snap sorry I don't mean body Ali would have been on her way to the show she would use the front crew stairs to drop down from the captain suite at the front to the theater below Georgie says any reason for her to deviate Hunter asks she could have gone to her old room but there was no reason everything was moved she shouldn't have even gone to the theater she's used to conflict she would fight moving her anywhere would be hard so she must be in the stage area I say knowing she is a survivor the three of us power down the empty Auditorium and take the stage door up into the wings we each assess the area and egress points differently the stage is an empty space so she must be under it Georgie says they could have winched her up Hunter runs to a steel ladder by the wall there's one the other side too start at the top will work down I run through the dancers causing confusion leap on the opposite wall ladder and climb up as fast as I can Hunter may be hiding something but he is without doubt a perfect partner if he's on my side Clear the Stage workers in the fly Loft Ricardo the production manager shouts taking control of the work area and his staff from each side we search the rigging but she is not being held up here not on the stage not above it she's got to be under it Hunter shouts to me I instinctively grab a rope twist it around my leg and slide down Hunter is a fraction behind me we run and jump down the rear access steps to the dressing rooms under the stage and check the doors to the deeper storage I would move her out into the whole storage but it's too risky without planning it this is a busy area Hunter States out loud he grabs his radio control this is Hunter all available security crew along I-95 to the theater storage under the stage searching for a female dancer this is not a drill although Georgie has switched the under stage light on both Hunter and I are using the light on our smartphone to focus the search I stop my head darts around towards the dressing room there's a trunk I remember the trunk I pull up the padlock who's got the key for this key now I shout stage hands appear and try their keys but none fit someone switched the padlock that's not one of ours Ricardo says I bend down and Shout at the Box Ali I hear her kick at the side get all the keys try every key you have Ali is in here I command this is a watertight and airtight trunk Ricardo says and this is not our padlock it's been changed chapter 99 airtight how much air is in there how long has she got I demand but no one knows those answers tools I turned to Hunter who is on his mobile phone bring large bolt croppers or Cutters from the engine Workshop to Backstage now I need to open a trunk fast the dancers have all stopped and are grouped around us she won't be able to breathe in there the stagehand panics not having a key another stagehand tries every key from a different bundle but none work in panic I try to pull at the hinge I look for ways to unscrew It or Break It the watertight flight case is solid and my heart is sinking come on I shout engineering's on their way Hunter announces to us my heart is beating out of my chest I climb the steps two at a time up to the stage searching for help paramedics are running down between the seats in their green suits with their emergency bags she's locked in an airtight trunk have a defibrillator and oxygen ready I shout to them desperate for engineers I Bellow bolts croppers now where are they two Engineers come running through the theater carrying tools hurry please please hurry I shout bold croppers now please someone bolt croppers they run up the stairs to the stage over it and drop down the other side everyone has parted to let them in and I'm right on their tail they look at the padlock and open the bolt cutters but as hard as they push they can't snap the lock I try Hunter tries nothing step aside the other engineer demands and his angle grinder kicks in cutting at the padlock sending Sparks everywhere it snaps and drops to the floor watching the lid open is a torment it is too slow she might be dead my arms dive in and pull her up I see her eyes above the gaffer tape crudely covering her mouth I tear The Binding from her face and heave her out her body feels limp and lifeless Hunter takes her from me and lays her down for the paramedics Who start chest compressions the third places the pads either side of her chest clear he shouts the medic stops the manual chest pumps the machine fires nothing I'm holding my breath the paramedic resumes chest pumps clear a third shout chest compression stop the machine fires again and she is charged back to life she sucks in air and the oxygen mask is placed on her face Hunter and the engineers cut at the tape that binds her arms and legs Ali is alive and I dropped down to the floor she was seconds from death