The Ferry
The Ferry.
Jon sat gazing out over the ocean. If you had asked him what he was thinking about, just like most of us, he would have had a hard time coming up with the answer, Lost in thought is a common habit. He was simply sitting out on the upper deck of the overnight ferry, sipping his morning coffee. Something he and Julie had done every morning of the working week since, it seemed, forever.
Women! Julie had slipped down to their car on the loading deck to get a new lipstick that she had bought the day before and had chosen this moment to try it out. Jon had realized years ago that he would never understand how a woman ticked.
As he took a final gulp of his coffee a huge flat bang almost directly below him caused him to drop the cup. It shattered and the handle landed on his right shoe and he smiled. The ferry gave a shudder and folk seemed to stand as one and looked around.
The alarm began to sound and all that did was send the people into panic mode.
The ferry had made good time on the almost mirror flat calm sea, leaving about 4 miles to the port. The passengers were now milling around like a herd of sheep without a shepherd. Jon, being on the top deck along with some 100 other people, noticed it first .the ferry was tilting to the side and it wasn't going to stop.
He looked around himself and all he saw was the fear in everyone's faces.
The tilt was increasing, going faster. It wasn't going to stop in time to right itself. Folk had decided that it was a save yourself time and were jumping into the sea,
Everything not fixed down had started to slide to the deck rail making it harder for folk to find a place to grab onto.
Jon had not taken his eyes from the stairway that Julie had gone down from. No one had appeared from the opening in an age so it had seemed.
With a final lurch, the ferry turned completely on to its side and then a huge rush of bubbles that turned the sea to foam it completed the move and went upside down.
Jon was in the sea with hundreds of other folks, some beginning to swim towards the shore. Some who caught his eye just looked in horror and slowly went under.
The ferry now started to tilt from the rear, where only 10 hours ago Jon had driven their Cherokee Jeep on board.
He watched, mesmerized, as the bow slowly began to rise and then suddenly gathered momentum and silently slid beneath the surface. Even the screams of the folk floundering in the water failed to reach Jons' ears, all he could think was that Julie may be out here too, doggy paddling for all she was worth as she had never learned to swim.
He started to swim in a circle, just checking
The help that arrived first was a jet ski, someone out for an early morning ride had heard the noise and saw the ferry.
With not a clue as to how he could help the skier made his way to the ferry which was now tilting at an alarming rate.
By the time he got there it had completely disappeared below the surface.
he was immediately overwhelmed by desperate folk and lost the jet ski. Also, he was the only one there wearing a life preserver so people started to cling to him. He drowned under the mass of bodies.
Some tried to right the ski but were thwarted by others trying to grab hold to stay afloat. Many folks were sinking all around due to their clothing dragging them under.
One man sank beneath the surface still clutching his large briefcase which was probably the cause of his demise.
Jon wondered why help had not arrived, it had seemed like it had been hours since the explosion and the captain had surely raised the alarm.
Help was on its way. The fact that from start to finish the sinking of the ferry took less than 3 minutes never occurred to him, all he wanted to do was find Julie.
There was another huge explosion which everyone felt, a great spout of water and then an eerie calm settled.
It was this explosion that caused Jon to scream and awaken drenched in sweat as he had done almost every night for the last 2 years.
The ferry has sunk in over 300 fathoms. The divers found it sat on the seabed as if a giant hand had placed it there. The reason for the explosion was found. It was a bomb in one of the cars parked in the mid section. A Cherokee Jeep owned by a Julie Martin.
No one claimed responsibility for the incursion, and after a major investigation, the case was left open.
The loss of life was immense, over 1,300 had drowned. Mostly, against all regulations, were caught while sleeping in their cars to save money on the cost of a cabin for the night. Many simply vanished, never to be seen again. Julie was one of them.
Jon, now wide awake, decided to get an early start. So he showered and dressed, leaving the apartment before 6 am, deciding to get breakfast at Alfredo's 2 blocks from the studio.
he had moved from the apartment on the island soon after he realized that he couldn't be there without Julie.
As he walked along the quiet avenue that would take him to the bustling business complex where he and Julie had set up their gallery cum workshop his mind slipped back to their meeting. It was in the small bar on the ferry. Both unable to rest found solace in a drink. Both having cappuccinos as neither drank alcohol.
It was on spotting the large camera case at Julie's side that prompted Jon to ask what her job was as he was also a photographer for a small downtown publishing company, that, in his own words, was going nowhere fast.
Julie had wanted to be a photographer for as long as she could remember. Her Dad had bought her first camera when she was just 8 years old and soon re4alized that he had bought himself a rolling bill for developing her photo's. So much so that by the time she was 10 years old he had decided to cut his losses and invest in some darkroom equipment and send his snap happy daughter to be trained properly.
By the age of 12, Julie was assistant to the school photographer and when he retired due to ill health, she took on the extra role outside of school time. She was good, she knew it and it was widespread that everyone else knew it too.
When she graduated Summa cum Laude she was inundated with job offers which she turned down, every one of them.
She had decided years before that that she wanted to be her own person and be self-sufficient and she succeeded in every way. She had her own studio in the downtown business sector and employed only one girl from her college days, Susan Newton who had a degree in business administration. The pay was good, they were friends and it worked out fine for them both.
Julie often went off on assignment, sometimes for weeks on end leaving Sue to manage the store, taking bookings never less than 2 weeks in the future. Julie would return and assess them and choose which to accept and which to say sorry and could they reschedule. Sue was never given a reason why and also wondered why but as it was not in her remit, she kept quiet. Life progressed. The Studio, as it was so named, was a resounding success which made the bank very happy.
Until that is, Jon came on the scene. after their initial meeting on the ferry, Julie invited him to come see The Studio. He was visibly impressed by what he saw. He also found Sue to be a really nice person, easy to talk to but not over chatty, something he disliked in folk.
Hardly a month had passed before Julie, on the strength of the business she was turning down, offered Jon a place on the team. He accepted without further ado.
Whenever Julie went off on assignment, he would step in the gap and cover all other photography events.
Things went well for a long time and The Studio was doing very well. If ever Julie was there at the close of business they both took the ferry back to the island, where they lived some 10 miles apart.
It didn't take rocket science to make them both aware that they were attracted to each other.
Within 6 months Jon had sold his apartment and moved into Julies sea front apartment. They married that summer on the anniversary of their first meeting.
Lying together on the beach one sultry afternoon Julie said that she needed an early start the following day so instead of waiting for the ferry she would be leaving by Flying Boat to catch a flight out from the airport.
Jon asked where she was going as there was nothing on the books for the next day. In fact it was one of the rare days they got to spend time with each other.
Julie simply stood up and as she brushed sand from her legs said that it had come in by text. With that she made her way indoors for a shower. Jon followed, by this time more than puzzled, heading fast toward angry at having their weekend spoilt.
He asked where she was going at such short notice, She just looked at him and silently got ready for bed. When he joined her she reminded him that from the go that she would go off on assignments which would be none of his concern.
Jon argued back that that was before they were married and surely it would not still apply. He didn't like it then and certainly didn't like it now.
Julie ignored this outburst by turning over and going to sleep.
The following morning she was gone before Jon even stirred. He assumed that she already had a bag packed but for the life of him he never saw her do it, or even saw the bag for that matter. He wondered what was going on. Who gave her the assignment?
It was 3 weeks before Julie returned home. It was very late in the evening. Jon was out. She striped, took a shower, grabbed a glass of wine from the cooler and went to bed. She woke up the following morning, still alone. No sign of Jon. His cell went to answer when she called it. She called Sue and got the same. She called The Studio and got the recorded message that she had put on it saying they would respond within 12 hours and thank you for calling The Studio.
At 8 am on the dot her phone rang, it was Sue saying welcome back stranger,she had been missed. Jon had been going slowly demented and was out on a photo shoot for the next 3 days and no she didn't know why he wasn't answering her calls. Julie said she would be on the first flight from the harbour and be there by noon.
Susan said that Jon had been asking all sorts of questions about the time before he came on the scene and he had said quite frankly that he didn't believe that she knew nothing of where Julie kept going so secretively.
Julie, on hearing this, left the office and returned some 3 hours later.
As Julie was leaving The Studio, she heard the phone ring and Susan picked up. When she didn't call Julie back about what the call was Julie continued out of the door.
She had just entered her favorite place, the Spiced Tea & Coffee Emporium, ready for one of their famous Spiced Latte's when her cell rang. It was Jon, How opportune she thought before she answered. He said that the job had concluded and he was on his way home directly. He said that he had missed her, but there was something in his tone.
He was already home by the time she arrived and even as she dropped her bag on the couch and laid her camera on the table by her computer, he laid in again asking where she had been for the last 3 weeks.
She turned to him slowly and said that as she was his employer she didn't think it relevant to inform him of her private business and if he still insisted then he was free to leave both the business and her home.
For a moment Jon felt as though he had been cold cocked and was unable to say anything. He just opened and closed his mouth with nothing coming out. Julie just left the room and went for a shower, she somehow felt a little dirty.
When she went back to the sun room Jon had gone. She hadn't heard the door slam or the Jeep leave so she assumed he was down on the beach cooling off.
He didn't come home that night or for the next 3 nights. When he did finally come through the door he looked like a hobo. He was a mess. He muttered an apology and went to get a drink or more drink.
Julie was surprised as for all the time she had known him he had never touched a drop of liquor. She was not surprised about that as it was clear that he couldn't handle it.
They both left the apartment together the following morning hardly a word passed between them. Julie drove down to the harbour and joined the queue to board the ferry.Jon's reverie was cut short just as he was about to enter Alfredo's bar and grill for breakfast.
He noticed a late model SUV coming fast along the road.
He caught a glimpse of the driver just before it hit him. He was sent high into the air and landed in the middle of the road just in time for a truck to hit him again crushing what life was in him. The SUV never slowed, it just accelerated and turned left and was gone. No one other than the truck driver saw anything and what he saw was minimal, just this body flying at him and the feeling of going over a double hump before stopping. It was written up as a hit and run.
About 2 months later, Susan, closed up the business on behalf of the owners demise and that of her husband, she was still paying her own salary from the company account. She had given herself a hefty severance pay cheque. She had no idea what was going to happen to The Studio so she had decided to leave it in the hands of the bank. As she closed up for the last time she was musing on how life had been for these past 15 years. She had come out of college with her business degree and no idea what to do with it. She had hawked herself around the circuit for over 3 months and everyone gave her the same answer which was that they would be delighted to offer her a position when she had gained some experience to go with her CV. A Catch 22 situation. How to get the experience before you get the job to gain the experience.
She had already decided to ditch the CV and just go for a regular job, at least until an opportunity arose.
It arose the very next day as she walked into The Spiced Tea & Coffee Emporium for a much needed lift to start the day. As she sat down a woman came and sat down opposite, it was Julie. They hadn't seen each other since parting company to go to separate colleges some 3 years earlier. Julie asked her how things were , which was not good and she explained why. Before they left together, she had secured the job of Business Manager for The Studio.
Now as she closed up for what was to be the last time she sensed someone standing behind her.
She almost passed out when she looked directly into Julies eyes.
Julie held her against the door in case she should fall down. Susan could hardly breath. her brain could not tackle what was happening, her mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water.
Julie took the keys from her trembling hand and opened the door. Holding Susan with one hand she automatically turned off the alarm before realizing in wonderment that it hadn't been changed all the time she was assumed dead.
She sat Susan down in the foyer and closed the blinds. she went and made a carafe of coffee and Susan never moved so much as an inch.
Julie offered a coffee which she took with still trembling hands, almost spilling it as she raised it to her lips.
She very carefully placed the mug on the coffee table and asked Julie where she had been for the past 2 years while everyone thought she had been drowned when the ferry went down.
The simple answer and one she had rehearsed over and over for the last 2 years was that she had been found by a lone fisherman, half dead and not knowing who she was. He had taken her to the shore a couple of miles down the coast from where they said all hell had broken loose because the ferry had sunk. While the fisherman had gone for help she just walked away, not knowing who she was or even where she was. Even now it is mostly a blur and just recently the nightmares had softened to dreams and the dreams became memories that had now surfaced and when she saw in the newspaper of the hit and run which named Jon as the victim, it all clicked into place.
In reality she had actually gone down to the Jeep for her new lipstick, as she lifted it from the glove box it fell to the floor. As she reached for it that was when she saw the wires going into the engine compartment.
She very gently raised the hood a half inch and peered inside. There, resting on the cooling system, was a small box, the wires trailing from it matched the ones she saw in the drivers well, attached to the accelerator. More important was the blinking red light on the side. It had come on as she had lifted the hood, she had tripped it herself. She knew an armed bomb when she saw one. Gently lowering the hood she moved quickly topside and got as far away from it and Jon as she could. it was less than 30 seconds later when it exploded
She made sure she was on the far side away from Jon as the ferry started to die, taking hundreds and hundreds of people with it.The thought uppermost in her head was how could Jon think that all these deaths were worth what was now available to him as sole owner of his wife's business. It disgusted her to think that he had done it all for money and of course leaving him free to have Susan. She had known about his unfaithfulness for a long time, They were never as discreet as they thought they were, not by a long shot. She walked away from the fisherman's wharf and contacted The Firm. They would know what to do and they did.
She had worked for the Firm longer than she had been in business for herself. They had seen her work and recognized that she had a quality that they could utilize. hey sent her to conventions around the world at first, just to see how she operated in the field. Her primary targets were not the conventions but who was there. They had groomed her on different aspects. They set her up in business almost a year before she graduated. One thing they could not give her was the eye for taking a photograph, that was her specialty alone.
They gave her all the correct documentation to get her into almost any place where they wanted a photo. Conventions, Embassies, Private functions. Where they got their information or even who they actually were was still a mystery to her. They just told her she didn't need to know.
She traveled the world under her own name, she was considered to be a journalist photographer who went to many places. Some of them very hot spots indeed. She would take a thousand photo's to hide the one she wanted. What The Firm did with them she didn't know or want to know. All that was required of her was to download her work, all of it, every night at precisely 9 pm, no matter where she was at the time, and email it, always to a different address for each assignment. It was the photo's she kept on file that had made her a renown name on the photography circuit. Always The Firm vetted what she could exhibit but it was enough. She was famous and she was a spy.
She lived quietly on the East Coast while still working for The Firm, all the while she was monitoring The Studio.
She had planned what she was going to do down to the last detail. She wanted just to be her own person now and ran it by The Firm and they approved. She approached the bank holding her business in escrow with the bonafide story about her amnesia and where she had been treated. She gave names and places to back it up but she need not have bothered because as soon as she walked into the bank, most of the staff including Big John the security guard all stood and gaped at her. John hustled her into the managers office to the clapping cheers of the staff.
She was back!
For a few months all went well at The Studio. She honored contracts that Jon had taken on and was paid handsomely for her 'dedication'. Nothing was mentioned about his and Susan's affair. Life it seemed, was back to normal.
Julie was happy being back doing what she loved best, among people she knew and loved, just taking pictures as her Dad had told her all those years ago. She never saw or felt the slight jab in her neck as she entered The Studio still holding her coffee from The Spicy Tea & Coffee Emporium.
The medics arrived within minutes but she was declared DOA. A seizure similar to a heart attack was noted on the coroners report. It came as an absolute shock to Susan that, when the bank went through Julies details after the funeral, she was named as sole beneficiary to Julie's estate.
Susan had already contacted The Firm to say that her contract had been completed. She often wondered what would have happened if she had fell for Jons advances. You didn't do that sort of thing to a friend like Julie.
© Dave Timperley 27 July 2017.
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