The Walls Have Ears

Chapter 3- Canada Calling

1423 hrs | Several hours after Theo is found dead, Friday 10th June | New Scotland Yard, London

**********

"Thank you everyone for gathering and coming in at such short notice, but we have quite a complex case that has just come up," Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Richard Parry decreed. He sat in a small office room within the confines of Scotland Yard with around fifteen other officers of various rank from police constable through to detective inspector. In the minutes prior to the meeting, he had personally hand-picked the officers he wanted on the case. He knew it was going to be extremely challenging and he needed his best team.

Befitting for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the room this particular briefing was taking place in was decked out with all of the latest technology. The office was littered with state-of-the-art computers on shiny, polished desks as well as other devices. Behind the commissioner who sat at the front of the room was a large television screen that, to the initial confusion of all of the other officers in the room, displayed a map of the Atlantic Ocean with a red spot in the middle of it. Needless to say, this piqued the curiosity of everyone who had just made their way in to the room.

Amongst those present in the meeting room was Detective Inspector Natalie Hawkins. A woman in her mid-thirties, she was one of Scotland Yard's most esteemed and highly respected detectives even at a comparatively young age. She had seen almost everything during her time with the police, from counter-terrorism operations to helping to fight organised crime and gang violence. Immediately when looking at the map on the screen though, she knew this was going to be a completely different challenge.

"We haven't got much time here so I'm going to rattle through this quite quickly," Commissioner Parry began. "This morning I received a call from the coastguard who themselves earlier received a distress call from a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic. It turns out there was nothing wrong with the vessel itself and rather there was an emergency on board. Upon failure to report for duty this morning, the crew conducted a search of the first officer's cabin. I am sorry to report that he was found deceased in his room." The commissioner paused as a few audible gasps escaped the mouths of those in the room. They were used to dealing with murders or otherwise unexplained deaths, but never those that occurred in the middle of the ocean.

"I have a team in another room at the moment quickly constructing a fact file on the deceased, but let me give you some more general information first. The ship is called Serenity and..."

"That's the ship that left Southampton at the weekend, right?"

"Yes, it is. Thank you, Kieran," the senior officer remarked, not overly impressed by being interrupted. Similar to Natalie Hawkins, Detective Sergeant Kieran Parker was another one of Scotland Yard's best assets. A couple of years his colleague's junior, he had worked his way up through the ranks since joining the police academy when he was just eighteen. He was more impulsive than most officers, a characteristic that could be traced back to his difficult upbringing. Surrounded by a not so loving family amongst other issues, he knew from an early stage in his life that he wanted to distance himself from his childhood. Joining the police and giving back to the community was the best way he thought he could do that. As a consequence, he was admired and appreciated by his co-workers.

"Yes, so Serenity left the port of Southampton on Sunday morning. Since then, it has tracked steadily west over the Atlantic and it is now around 500 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada heading towards Bermuda, which I believe was its first port of call on the itinerary. I'm sure you all would have seen the news reports and the pictures over the weekend of the ship. It's a ginormous vessel on its maiden voyage and many of its passengers are famous actors and actresses, artists and other celebrities, so the public interest in this is going to be massive."