Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Vol. 38, No. 13, Mid-December 1993

Fernet rose. “You are quite right, Monsieur Nevsky. We have already taken that step, the ship’s owners were only too willing to have their innocence proved. The agent we placed on board was Alex Shannon, the son of Madame Shannon here.” Fernet came out from behind his desk and put his hand lightly on her shoulder. “Lila Shannon has been employed at Interpol since she was widowed, almost ten years ago. For over five years she has been an excellent investigative agent for my department. Through her efforts, her son was also hired by Interpol and trained as an agent.” The narcotics chief looked at the lady with a sad affection. “At the time this case came up, Lila — Madame Shannon — was busy on another assignment, so I gave Alex this job. I thought it was a simple investigative assignment. It was a mistake. As you know, Monsieur Nevsky, Interpol is not a police agency in the regular sense. That is, we are basically a source and dissemination center for information on criminals who cross international borders. We don’t arrest or detain people. In fact, it is illegal for us to do so. We don’t even carry arms, so it’s unusual for any of our personnel to meet violent ends—”

“I am sure my son was murdered, Monsieur Nevsky.” Madame Shannon said it quietly but with an intensity that surprised Maxim.

“Lila, the report did not say—”

“I think Monsieur Nevsky should hear a more complete version of that report.”

Fernet opened a slim file on his desk and ran a finger down the page. “For your information, Monsieur Nevsky, Monsieur Shannon was placed on board the Athenia as a passenger with instructions to try to discover the methods used by the smugglers. He was killed when he slipped on a steel ladder during some rough seas and fractured his skull.”

Fernet moved his finger farther down the page. “His body was discovered about four A.M. by the ship’s cook at the foot of the outside ladder that led to the main deck. The seas had been rough, and the steps and railing were wet and slippery.

“It seems that he did not die instantly,” Fernet went on. “According to the cook, Monsieur Shannon was able to scrawl the Russian word for lighthouse in the mixture of blood and moisture on the deck.” Fernet looked up from the file. “We only have the cook’s word for this because by the time any senior officers arrived, fresh blood and rain had obscured any sign of a message.”

Maxim brought his brows together. “Lighthouse?”

“Yes. Mayuk. It didn’t seem to make sense, and though the cook is not a very reliable witness — he is a poorly educated, almost retarded Russian — at Lila’s insistence we’ve been working on the assumption that there might have been some accuracy to his report. As yet we have not been able to associate any lighthouses in the Istanbul, Constanza, or Odessa regions with the route of the Athenia. It may be that ‘lighthouse’ is a code name for someone or someplace involved with the drug traffic.”

“If you will pardon me, sir,” said Maxim, “it doesn’t seem likely that agent Shannon, with his dying strength, would be so cryptic.”

“That may be true, but it’s all the information we have now. Officially, Alex Shannon died as a result of an accident.”

“Monsieur Nevsky, I do strongly believe my son was murdered,” Lila Shannon said. “I cannot sleep. I won’t rest until I find out if he was, and who did it.” Her eyes were moist. Maxim thought she looked very feminine, very vulnerable; at the same time there was a ferocity and determination there that told Maxim he would not like to be the object of her wrath.

“If I can be of service—”

“You can be,” said Fernet. “Lila has volunteered — in fact, has insisted that she be assigned to follow up on this case. She’s a seasoned field agent, but I don’t want to make the same mistake twice. She must have a backup. You, Monsieur Nevsky, are familiar with the Russian and Rumanian languages, and your English is excellent. Lila was raised in England and is most comfortable with that language. English is the language usually spoken on the Athenia. Alex was placed on board the Athenia with instructions to determine how the narcotics are being transported, and to notify us as soon as he found out. You have the same instructions.” Fernet looked at Lila, then added, “As you know, our department handles smuggling. Homicide is under the direction of another department, but I think it wouldn’t disturb them if I added as a secondary assignment the job of determining whether our agent, Alex, was murdered and, if so, by whom. But remember, Lila, your primary objective is to find out about the smuggling. You are too valuable to me to have you get mixed up with murderers.”

“Thank you, Pierre,” Lila murmured.

“Although she’s not what you would call a luxury liner,” continued Fernet, “the Athenia can carry up to twelve passengers. You and Monsieur Nevsky will board at Istanbul and travel as ‘Mr. and Mrs. Nevsky’ from Paris.”