Constantine Capers: The Pennington Perplexity by Natalie Brianne (new ebook reader TXT) 📕

past crew quarters and an engine room to the front of the ship. A wheel-like helm was the focal point of the room. Foreign instruments lined the walls. A large window filled up the front portion. Several airship operators attended to buttons and switches on each wall. Byron approached one of them.

“Excuse me, do you have a moment to spare?”

“Ah yes, you are the private detective?” The operator looked up from his work. He was a bit heavyset and older. His hair was dirty blond and his face red from the heat of the control room. Mira opened her sketchbook to make a rough outline.

“Yes. Might I ask what your name is?”

“Blake Gill. Yours?”

“Byron Constantine. Mira Blayse.” Byron gestured to each of them in turn.

“Right. I was told you wanted to know about good ol’ Clemmy. Right sad that he’s dead, but it doesn’t surprise me that he’s done himself in.”

“You think he killed himself?”

“Well that’s what the coppers say, now innit?” He turned away from his panel and grabbed a cloth, wiping the grease from his fingers and the sweat off his brow.

“For now, yes. Why doesn’t it surprise you?”

“Well, when he left us, he was right depressed. I mean, he acted normal enough when he was on the job. Saying his good mornings, how are the kids, that sort of thing, cheerful enough. But I mean when you’re on the job you’re so busy you kind of forget things, you know? But when we would go on break, he would always go off on his own. Don’t know where he disappeared to. He’d be wandering the ship for hours when we docked, and he weren’t on duty. Like I said, I think he was depressed. The spark had come right out of him. Didn’t have any family to speak of. I think his brother got sent off to Australia for something or other. And his father died in a tragic accident or something like that. Course, before he did, he was one of the best engineers in the business.”

“Pennington or his father?”

“Oh. His father. Sorry about that. Anyway, ol’ Clemmy didn’t really have anything other than the airship in his life that I know about. And him quitting his job all sudden-like, what else could it be?”

“I see. And how long have you been working for this company?”

“Coming close to ten years now, I think.”

“And you said you don’t know where he went during his breaks?”

“Yes, it’s like he disappeared clear off of the ship.”

“These breaks occurred mid-flight then?”

“Some of them, yes. But of course, the breaks we have when we are docked are shore leaves often enough. Most of us go our separate ways as it is during those times.”

“It just surprised you that he disappeared during the mid-flight breaks?”

“Yeah, usually everyone that is off duty goes and we all have a pint and a bite to eat together. He did that for the first few months, and then, like I said, we never saw him except in the control rooms.”

“When was the last time you saw Mr. Pennington?”

“It was his last day of full labor. We all said our goodbyes. He looked cheerful enough, but there must have been some awful reason for him quitting. None of us understood it. When he first came on, he said that it was a dream come true. That ‘nothing could compare to soaring among the clouds,’ he said. So, when he up and left, not one year after he started, we all thought it strange. He said, ‘I’m going to bigger and better things lads,’ and off he went.”

“Anything else you think we should know?”

“Nothing I haven’t already told the constabulary, sir.”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Gill.”

“Of course, sir, of course. Now I ought to get back to work.”

He turned back to his panel. They talked to a few other operators who all had similar stories. All of them thought it odd that he left, and none of them knew where he went during the breaks when he seemingly disappeared. They left the control room and went back towards the stairway to return to the main passenger deck.

“Now, it really is pointing towards suicide, isn’t it?” Mira said.

“Not entirely. We just need to determine where he went during his breaks. He couldn’t have entirely disappeared. He had to go somewhere, and someone had to have seen where he went.”

“So, we are going to come back?”

“Yes. We are going to come back.”

They made their way up the windy staircase. The clouds changed from white to grey and the wind picked up. Mira felt a twinge of apprehension as they climbed the stairs. She shivered from the relative cold. When Byron reached the top of the stairs, he took her hand and pulled her into the safety of the airship. He closed the door behind her, let go of her hand, and they walked back to the observation deck. The clouds loomed ever closer as they passed the grand windows. Mira measured her breaths and held her shaking arms.

“Mira, you do realize that I am a detective, and although I have memory issues when I sleep, I still have my deductive powers during the day?”

“Yes?”

“Then why are you trying to hide the fact that you are scared of the storm?”

“I…well…um…” She looked away.

“You don’t have to act brave for me. I understand.”

“I didn’t mean—”

Lightning crackled through the clouds near the ship and the resulting thunder rumbled through the deck. She jumped with a slight shriek and he caught both of her arms, steadying her. She looked up at him and saw the concern in his deep blue eyes. Her muscles relaxed.

“It’s going to be alright, Mira.” He studied her face and softened.

“Byron, I—” The megaphone above them crackled on.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. Due to the weather conditions we will have to land the airship. We aren’t certain how long we shall be grounded. We will be landing near Marlborough. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

“It would