The Last Passenger Read Online Free PDF Page A

releasing a mouthwatering aroma.
    “It’s still fresh,” he murmured with amazement. “It couldn’t have been made more than an hour ago.”
    He could not tear his eyes from the table. The plates were spotless, and there was an enormous tray of meat waiting for someone to work up the nerve to dig in. One of the glasses was half-filled with red wine. O’Leary would have bet anything that he could see lipstick on the rim of the glass.
    He paced around the rest of the dining room without realizing he still had the bread roll in his hand. There were at least some twenty or thirty other tables all set in the exact same manner. Some of the tables even had plates with leftover food, the chairs drawn back as if there had been a few early-bird diners who were forced to leave unexpectedly.
    “We should have brought a weapon,” muttered Duff.
    “Shut up,” said Stepanek.
    The mood was silent and spooky. A few roasted piglets on trays smiled sardonically, as if they were keeping a secret from these three newcomers. A block of ice was slowly melting in a champagne bucket that held three bottles of Riesling.
    O’Leary grabbed a bottle and held it up. “This bottle couldn’t have been sitting here more than two hours. I don’t understand any of this.”
    “Where is everyone, sir?” asked Duff aloud.
    The same question had gone through all three of their minds since the moment they walked in.
    “I have no idea,” murmured O’Leary. “Obviously, they aren’t here anymore.”
    “The ship is quite large. Maybe they’re in their cabins,” guessed Duff.
    “Or maybe they’ve taken refuge in the storage compartments,” added Stepanek as he ran his fingers over a roll of bread with an indescribable look on his face.
    “Why the hell would they take refuge in storage?” O’Leary passed his light across the room. The band’s instruments sat waiting for musicians to belt out some ragtime. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
    The senior officer’s mind was racing. Twenty minutes had already passed since they departed the Pass of Ballaster , and it occurred to him that the rest of the crew had no idea where they were and what they were seeing. It had been a mistake for the captain to send them here. The Valkyrie was too vast to be explored by only three exhausted men. He looked at the two sailors. They seemed to be no more than one screech away from shitting their shorts.
    “We need to split up. I know that doesn’t appeal to you, and it might seem like a bad idea, but it’s all we can do.” O’Leary turned to the younger sailor and tried to sound more persuasive. “Duff, go back down the hallway and head toward the bow of the ship. Signal our ship to throw us a guide cable, so we can tow the Valkyrie . Now move! Go!”
    The boy ran out of the room with a relieved expression. Anything was better than being stuck in this room. At least by the bow he would be in sight of the Ballaster , even if that meant breaking his arms trying to tug the heavy tow cable.
    “Stepanek, find the engine room. After we secure the ship, we’ll need power and electricity.”
    “True. Without an engine it would be like towing a fucking iceberg,” grunted the Croat.
    “Find the engine room and memorize the route. I don’t want our engine specialist aboard this ship any longer than necessary. I promise when we get to port, I’ll buy you a pint of the finest beer you’ve ever had in your life.”
    Stepanek blinked a few times and exhaled. With the cold resignation that comes from years at sea, the weathered sailor tried to wrap his head around venturing into the dark bowels of an abandoned ship.
    “Where will you go, sir?”
    “To the bridge. I’d like to make sure the helm isn’t stuck, or everything else will be useless. Let’s go. Time’s short.”
    O’Leary parted company from Stepanek by patting him on the back. Compelled by a sudden impulse, he turned around and muttered, “Be careful.”
    But O’Leary never found out if