Indeed, David thought, the enemy one knows is easier to combat than the unknown. Who had concocted the reasoning for such a theory of someone aboard who’d not stop at murder to preserve the ‘graves’ of those with Titanic where she lay? Had it been Swigart? Forbes? Entebbe perhaps? Who had first put forth this story?
David’s gaze returned to Kelly.
He stared long and hard, trying to see beyond the beauty… to see into her psyche and soul, but again he realized that such insight was impossible.
Suppose her entire story of her ancestry was a concocted lie to cover another lie. That she had actually come aboard Scorpio with the express purpose of sabotaging the mission; suppose she was the Ballard fanatic and disciple? Suppose the story of Ransom and the young surgeons was all an elaborate concoction? What kind of fool did this make David Ingles?
Pull one string and it all begins to unravel, he told himself now, and she played me like a violin. Fool, he quietly admonished himself for believing a word of any of it.
Fiction.
The whole of it, damned fiction.
Swigart dismissed them all, confining them to their quarters until such time as he called for the dive, a decision he would continue to discuss with Captain Forbes. Everyone went to their quarters, all but David’s roommate who was asked to hold back, Swigart needing him for what Lou jokingly called a “dirty job”.
Again David found himself in his cramped quarters alone with his thoughts. In order to reinforce his conclusion that the whole of Kelly Irvin’s claims and those of her ancestor aboard Titanic was a hoax perpetuated on him alone, David dug out and lifted his Kindle reader and thanks to Whispernet, in a matter of milliseconds, he brought up his copy of a compendium on the history of that night—Fate of The Titanic by Joseph Kilborn.
David toggled to the pages he had bookmarked, opening the electronic book up to a section on the exact timeline that Kilborn had worked out for that night, and so now he read the comforting facts:
1:30 PM: Starboard anchor raised for the last time, and Titanic departs on her first Trans-Atlantic crossing for New York. Estimated total number of passengers on board: 2227. (Exact total unknown due to discrepancies in passenger/crew lists.)
April 11 to 12: Titanic covers 386 miles in fine, calm, clear weather.
April 12 & 13: Titanic covers 519 miles. Fine weather continues. Various ice warnings received—not uncommon for April crossings.
April 13, 10:30 PM: Heavy ice pack warning signaled by passing Rappahannock, which has sustained damage coming through the ice field.
April 14, Sunday: 9:00 AM: Titanic picks up wireless message from Caronia warning of field ice and icebergs in 42ºN, from 49º to 51ºW.
10:30 AM: Divine service held in first-class dining saloon.
David stopped in his reading to contemplate what might be meant by Divine. Might the food be ‘divine’ or the chef’s name Divine? A famous fellow of his day? Or a typo so often found in published books now; rather than Divine, might it be Dine or Dinning? He decided it unimportant and read on:
11:40 AM: Dutch liner Noordam reports "much ice" in about the same position as the California had reported.
Noon: As usual, the ship's officers gather on the wing of the navigating bridge to calculate daily position with sextants: "Since noon Saturday, 546 miles."
1:42 PM: Iceberg warning received via the Baltic and "large quantities of field ice" in latitude 41º 51'N, longitude 49º 52' W about 250 miles ahead of Titanic. Message delivered to Captain Smith. Smith later gives it to J. Bruce Ismay, who puts it in his pocket.
1:45 PM: "Large iceberg" warning received via Marconi wireless from German liner Amerika (41º 27' N, 50º 8' W). Message not sent to the bridge, deemed repetitious.
5:30 to 7:30 PM: Air temperature drops ten degrees to 33ºF.
5:50 PM: Captain Smith slightly alters ship's course south and west of normal course— possibly as a precaution to avoid ice. However, no one knows what is in his mind at this point.
6:00 PM: Second Officer Lightoller relieves Chief Officer Wilde on the bridge.
7:15 PM: First Officer Murdoch orders forward forecastle hatch closed to stop the glow from inside interfering with crow's nest watch above. Mystery as to why it was open in the first place.
7:30 PM: Three more intercepted warning messages concerning large icebergs ahead from the Californian (42º 3' N, 49º 9' W). Message delivered to bridge. Captain attending dinner party below. Ice now only 50 miles ahead.
8:40 PM: Lightoller gives order to look after ship's fresh water supply, as outside seawater is now close to freezing.
8:55 PM: Captain Smith excuses himself from dinner party, goes directly to bridge, and discusses calm and clear weather conditions with Lightoller, as well as visibility of icebergs at night.
9:20 PM: Captain Smith retires for the night with the order to rouse him "if it becomes at all doubtful… "
9:30 PM: Lightoller sends message to crow's nest to watch carefully for icebergs until morning.
9:40 PM: Heavy ice pack and iceberg warning received from the Mesaba (lat. 42º N to 41º 25' N, long. 49º W to 50º 30' W). Message overlooked. Wireless operators busy with passenger wireless traffic, as passengers find the new mode of communication an entertainment. Altogether the day's six ice warnings show a huge field of ice some 78 miles long directly ahead.
10:00 PM: Lightoller is relieved on bridge by First Officer Murdoch. Lookouts in crow's nest relieved. Warning to watch for icebergs passed between the watches. Temperature is 32º F, sky cloudless, air clear.
10:30 PM: Sea temperature down to 31º F.
10:55 PM: Some 10 to 19 miles north of Titanic, the Californian is stopped in ice field, and sends out warnings to all ships in area. When the Californian's wireless operator calls up Titanic, his ice warning is interrupted by a blunt "Keep out! Shut up! You're jamming my signal. I'm working Cape Race." The Californian's sole operator listens in to Titanic's wireless traffic and then at 11:30 turns off his set and retires for the night, as is the custom.
11:30 PM: Lookouts Fleet and Lee in crow's nest note slight haze appearing directly ahead of Titanic. Lee claims hatchway with light again causing visibility problems. Neither man has binoculars and are told all binoculars had been accidentally left on ferry at Cherbourg and not loaded.
11:40 PM: Titanic moving at 20½ knots. Suddenly, lookouts see iceberg dead ahead about 500 yards away and towering some 55-60 feet above the water. They immediately sound the warning bell with three sharp rings and telephone down to the bridge: "Iceberg dead ahead." Sixth Officer Moody on bridge acknowledges warning, relays message to Murdoch who instinctively calls "hard-a-starboard" to helmsman and orders engine room to stop engines and then full astern.
Murdoch then activates lever to close watertight doors below the waterline. Helmsman spins wheel as far as it will go. After several seconds Titanic begins to veer to port, but the iceberg strikes starboard bow side and brushes along the side of the ship and passes by into the night. The impact, although jarring to the crew down in the forward area, is not noticed by many of the passengers.