A Fatal Crossing

Five score and ten years ago

By an iceberg, the ship did sink

Fifteen hundred perished that night

Plus the murder of Mr. Fink

•••

Fink's given name was Samuel

His fortune was forged in steel

Quite smart when it came to business

Net worth soaring with each new deal

•••

The many who knew the deceased

Thought him to be the nicest guy

Much liked and respected by all

So why did he have to die?

•••

There had been a plot a-brewin’

In the midst of that sapphire sea

Deep inside, someone bore hatred

Care to guess who that could be?

•••

The morning of the commotion

Fink was found, bleeding from his chest

No organ left to pump his blood

He’d been sent to his final rest

•••

There was but one sleuth aboard

What a challenge this posed for Byrne

Dare he try to find the culprit?

He would search from bow to stern

•••

Procedure required he start

By looking at the next of kin

Perhaps that would offer a clue

As to who committed this sin

•••

Fink’s second wife was suspect

The original long since passed

Sam loved them both so dearly

And prayed that the new one would last

•••

Byrne’s inspection yielded no proof

No link to the murder was found

Number Two was in the clear

Now time to start hitting more ground

•••

Fink had brought along his daughter

So devoted and close was she

Viewed as Daddy’s sweet little girl

Could Pearl possibly hold the key?

•••

Fink tended to put his bride first

Even knowing it drove Pearl insane

She had never warmed to wifey

Though her love for Dad did not wane

•••

Such fond mem’ries of him doting

Were always foremost in her mind

Until she discovered a page

From a document he’d just signed

•••

Pearl was asked several questions

Calmly, she did answer them all

Her bond with Father was sterling

Not a one detected her gall

•••

However, she made a mistake:

Without gloves, Byrne’s hand she shook

His fingers sensed fresh cuts galore

He knew she was the perp to book

•••

There was one query remaining:

What would make her decide to kill?

‘Twas not an uncommon motive

Had something to do with the will

•••

“When he cut me out of his will

He, thus, cut me out of his heart

My reaction was one of great pain

Felt this was how we had to part"

•••

The grieving Mrs. knew nothing

And she didn’t want Pearl to fret

She handed her a large bauble

“With this ring, for life, you’ll be set”

•••

Sam distrusted the gold diggers

Who came a-knockin’ at Pearl’s door

Thought it his job to protect her

So she would never end up poor

•••

All along, this had been his plan

Pearl’s error, she realized, was huge

Daddy’s love, she wrongly doubted

Could not help but feel like a stooge

•••

The investigation was followed

By utter chaos and much fear

As passengers ran for safety

Their panic was all she could hear

•••

Women and children went first

Titanic’s lone voyage was doomed

Byrne was swallowed by the ocean

Such despair, in the distance, loomed

•••

Pearl witnessed him go overboard

For her crime, she would never pay

He had been the sole traveler

Who knew what had happened that day

•••

Guilt began to consume her

Was there a way to make things right?

She gave the ring to a stranger

Hoping to ease a skint mum’s plight

•••

She made her way to a lifeboat

Her remorseful insides were tossed

And so it was a tragic eve

Her heart and those souls were now lost

•••

Many years passed since the rescue

But her pain never did recede

Pearl sought a life that was humble

Repenting for her awful deed