the cannons, killing all servicemen in the act. Unbelievably, the Valkyrie sustained little damage. The following month a powder keg exploded in cannon number four. Sixteen sailors that had been loading missiles were killed in the blast. Again the Valkyrie escaped nearly unscathed, only losing a couple of bulkheads. The cause of the explosion was never discovered.”
“Sounds like a ship with a curse on it,” Kate said, scrawling down every word. “I suppose nobody wanted to be stationed there.”
“Just wait. It gets better.” Collins looked at her seriously. “The twenty-first of November in 1940 was the worst night of the German Blitz on Liverpool. Hundreds of people died that night alone. However, according to reports, at two forty in the morning, at the height of the bombing, the cannon on the Valkyrie ceased firing. At first it was believed that the ship had received a direct hit and had been sunk. But from the refinery it was confirmed that it was still there, floating in the dark, and that the artillery had simply quit working. Now take a guess.”
Kate suddenly noticed how dry her mouth was. This was all too bizarre to be true. “That would mean—” she stopped short.
“Exactly. When they went aboard the Valkyrie , they found that the crew assigned to oversee the cannons had completely vanished. As if they had never existed.”
VII
“People don’t just disappear like that,” murmured Kate. “I suppose they were found later, right?”
“They most certainly were not. At least that’s not what the report says,” answered Collins.
“Are you saying the ship swallowed them up like it did the passengers?” Kate’s voice was skeptical.
“Not at all. Are you familiar with Occam’s razor?”
“I believe it states that when there are two or more competing hypotheses regarding a single even t —”
“The simplest one has the highest probability of being correct,” Collins finished the phrase.
“So what is your theory?”
“First, the artillerymen were a part of Home Guard. That means they weren’t even trained military.” Collins set the file on the table and began listing on his fingers. “Shop owners, attorneys, and milkmen dressed in uniform and put in charge of a few little cannons to defend against the Luftwaffe? Put yourself in their shoes. They were last seen at night aboard a dark ship with a reputation for being cursed. A vicious bombing campaign was unfolding, and they were stationed next to millions of gallons of combustible fuel. I propose that, very simply, facing the risk of being scorched to death, the sailors on duty that night shit their pants and got the hell out of there as fast as they could.”
“You think they deserted?”
“In those days everything was in chaos, and there was little oversight, especially with the men from Home Guard. They probably hurried home and reenlisted the next day. Or maybe they ended up in the army. It’s hard to say. In any case, would you agree my theory makes more sense than thinking they were swallowed by a ship?”
Kate nodded, reflective. The story made sense. “What happened afterward?”
“Very little.” Collins shuffled his papers as if he were looking for some hidden order in the dossier. “By the end of the war, the company that owned the Pass of Ballaster no longer existed. The same can be said of the Nazi government, the original owner of the Valkyrie . No one laid claim to the ship. While things were being resolved, the ship was towed temporarily to the naval depot at Denborough. It was placed in dry dock until they figured out what to do with it. But given its nature and origin, the navy decided not to make its location or existence public, in case Communist Germany wanted to reclaim it. It was the Cold War, you understand? So here it has stayed for the past sixty-eight years.”
“No one’s discovered the Valkyrie for nearly seventy years?” Kate lifted her head up from her notepad, stunned. “How is that
“Sounds like a ship with a curse on it,” Kate said, scrawling down every word. “I suppose nobody wanted to be stationed there.”
“Just wait. It gets better.” Collins looked at her seriously. “The twenty-first of November in 1940 was the worst night of the German Blitz on Liverpool. Hundreds of people died that night alone. However, according to reports, at two forty in the morning, at the height of the bombing, the cannon on the Valkyrie ceased firing. At first it was believed that the ship had received a direct hit and had been sunk. But from the refinery it was confirmed that it was still there, floating in the dark, and that the artillery had simply quit working. Now take a guess.”
Kate suddenly noticed how dry her mouth was. This was all too bizarre to be true. “That would mean—” she stopped short.
“Exactly. When they went aboard the Valkyrie , they found that the crew assigned to oversee the cannons had completely vanished. As if they had never existed.”
VII
“People don’t just disappear like that,” murmured Kate. “I suppose they were found later, right?”
“They most certainly were not. At least that’s not what the report says,” answered Collins.
“Are you saying the ship swallowed them up like it did the passengers?” Kate’s voice was skeptical.
“Not at all. Are you familiar with Occam’s razor?”
“I believe it states that when there are two or more competing hypotheses regarding a single even t —”
“The simplest one has the highest probability of being correct,” Collins finished the phrase.
“So what is your theory?”
“First, the artillerymen were a part of Home Guard. That means they weren’t even trained military.” Collins set the file on the table and began listing on his fingers. “Shop owners, attorneys, and milkmen dressed in uniform and put in charge of a few little cannons to defend against the Luftwaffe? Put yourself in their shoes. They were last seen at night aboard a dark ship with a reputation for being cursed. A vicious bombing campaign was unfolding, and they were stationed next to millions of gallons of combustible fuel. I propose that, very simply, facing the risk of being scorched to death, the sailors on duty that night shit their pants and got the hell out of there as fast as they could.”
“You think they deserted?”
“In those days everything was in chaos, and there was little oversight, especially with the men from Home Guard. They probably hurried home and reenlisted the next day. Or maybe they ended up in the army. It’s hard to say. In any case, would you agree my theory makes more sense than thinking they were swallowed by a ship?”
Kate nodded, reflective. The story made sense. “What happened afterward?”
“Very little.” Collins shuffled his papers as if he were looking for some hidden order in the dossier. “By the end of the war, the company that owned the Pass of Ballaster no longer existed. The same can be said of the Nazi government, the original owner of the Valkyrie . No one laid claim to the ship. While things were being resolved, the ship was towed temporarily to the naval depot at Denborough. It was placed in dry dock until they figured out what to do with it. But given its nature and origin, the navy decided not to make its location or existence public, in case Communist Germany wanted to reclaim it. It was the Cold War, you understand? So here it has stayed for the past sixty-eight years.”
“No one’s discovered the Valkyrie for nearly seventy years?” Kate lifted her head up from her notepad, stunned. “How is that
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