Grigory Borzenko The damned diamond that destroyed the Titanic from the series “Time Traveler”

Grigory Borzenko
The damned diamond that destroyed the Titanic
from the series “Time Traveler”

Episode one
- I am sincerely glad, Miss Betty, that you came to me not with ready-made results of your next journey into the past, but with advice regarding the future! This is a very correct decision of yours! I remember how you said that you spent a long time studying archival materials before you went in search of the Amber Room. Why would you waste your precious time on this?! My people can search for any information you and I need. Give me reports. I will analyze and compare everything. And when you come to me again, and we both ask ourselves the question: when could you go and what do you need for this, I would immediately lay out in front of you all the information you need. Where everything has already been selected, filtered, and only the most important things are saved. What you will need on your next visit to the past! Am I wrong?! Finally, Miss Betty, agree that I am offering you a very reasonable and logical proposal!
The girl smiled.
- Well... First things first... My name is Gloria Evans... When I first meet strangers, I sometimes give fictitious names. I think we have become such good friends that from now on I can completely trust you.
- Thank you, Miss Gloria. I will try to justify your trust.
- Secondly... - The girl thought for a second. - Yes you are right. This is truly the right way to approach things. I really spent a lot of time trying to find the answer to one single question: when exactly and where exactly should I go to get to either Jack the Ripper or the Amber Room. This painstaking work is really best left to your employees. I'll have enough work anyway. Both during preparation and at the hour when I will be there, in another dimension. So I will be grateful if you provide me with interesting information. This is exactly why I came to you.
- That is great! – The owner of the office perked up and clearly cheered up. – I have already started work on this here! And many things clearly interested me!
- I'm hearing you! – The visitor even clapped her hands lightly with satisfaction. – I love, you know, interesting and fascinating stories! I love listening! But lately I’ve been enjoying untangling them even more! So let's! Post it! What do you have there? Preferably the most interesting!
Oliver Grant smiled mysteriously.
- I have a lot of things. Readers of my newspapers are ready to read any story that interests them. And, as a rule, they are fascinated by investigations of mysterious and mysterious stories of bygone days. With both Jack the Ripper and the Amber Room, you, Miss Gloria, hit the nail on the head! The value of your information cannot be expressed in words! Entire generations have been tormented by unsuccessful attempts to lift the veil of secrets over the mysteries that drove everyone crazy, and my newspaper took and shed light on what seemed to never be solved! The circulation of my publications has skyrocketed! All this is thanks to you, Miss Gloria!
- I felt this from the amount of money received on that bank card, the number of which I gave you at our first meeting. I see it's time to provide you with my personal card number. Let my bank account replenish and warm my soul and heart. Reminds me that I am not doing all this in vain.
- And I told you from the very beginning, Miss Gloria, that if we join forces, we can make good money.” As you can see, I did not deceive you.
- Yes! Thank you! The sums of money coming from you clearly make me happy. But, believe me! It's not just about the money! I'm very, very passionate about the cases that we do. We have not yet searched for missing famous people. This is also interesting. Do you have anything like this?
The publisher leaned back in his chair. His face broke into a smug smile.
- You hit the nail on the head, Miss Gloria! The publication of my newspapers and books has been established for a long time! There is someone there to do this and control this process! Therefore, I have now completely, headlong and completely, plunged into everything that we are talking about now. I look for the most intriguing and exciting mysteries that have been of concern to everyone for a long time, have been unsolved for a long time, and require their solution. Among them are mysterious disappearances of people. There are not so few such cases! They are all interesting and exciting in their own way! But at this time I was just fascinated by the mystery of the disappearance of a certain Paul Kremer! His name may not be as big as some missing celebrities, but there is one thing that really intrigues me. That is why I would like you to take up this particular matter now.
- Great! – The listener perked up. - Tell me!
- I'm telling you! – Grant smiled. – We are talking about a certain Paul Kremer. The personality is quite remarkable. Lived in London at the beginning of the last century. A lot of things could be said about him, but these are, one might say, details. As for me, they are not relevant to our business. However, I will still tell you a lot of details and facts. They can help you on your expedition. But, if you don’t mind, I’ll tell you about them later. Now I want to shed light on the main thing. The circumstances of his disappearance are strange. As a bet, he decided to show his friends his wonderful swimming skills. He jumped into the water and... And disappeared... Without a trace... Forever...
The narrator fell silent for a moment, rubbed his chin thoughtfully, but then continued.
- Yes, it was the end of March, the beginning of April. Yes, the water is still cool at this time of year, and it was not the best time for swimming. Even if we are talking about a bet. But still... After analyzing everything, I got the idea that he set all this up on purpose. To simulate your disappearance. Judge for yourself. According to his friends, he was not only an excellent swimmer, but also a seasoned one. Sometimes I plunged into the water, even if only for a short time, in the bitter cold! Climbed into the icy water! Moreover, in the place where he started swimming on a dare, it was shallow... There are no underwater currents there. That day there was no wind, no waves, the sea was calm. Little of! The friends of this hoaxer, seeing that he had been gone for so long and he still did not emerge from under the water, immediately rushed to the nearby port. There were services there that immediately organized underwater searches! Alas... They gave nothing...
The editor sighed heavily, thought again, but immediately continued.
- If he were super rich, there would be no point in staging it. It is unlikely that he decided to give up all the goods that he had accumulated over the years. Although... Remember the case when a well-known tycoon disappeared without a trace! Billionaire! They only found the yacht on which he went for a walk. Nothing is known about his fate until now! He had something to lose! But many agree that he himself staged his disappearance... However, we are not talking about him now. So here it is. Paul Cramer was not rich. But he was not a poor man either. He had a company, although it was not prosperous, but, as they say, he could live. And suddenly he disappears. If he does it consciously, then why? And this is where we move on to the second point. To one small detail in his biography, which Paul’s contemporaries did not mention. But I dug up this tiny, but important, fact from his biography!
Oliver smiled mysteriously. It was noticeable that he himself was carried away by what he was telling. Intriguing the listener, he himself was imbued with the aura of mystery of his story.
- There was a moment in Kremer’s life when he wanted to get into diamonds. Not so much by selling them, since he most likely did not have the money to buy them, but by resale. Things didn’t work out for him, and he, having burned out, soon stopped doing it. I repeat: this was a very short period in Kremer’s life, almost everyone forgot about him. But I came across a phrase that caught my attention from one of Paul’s friends, who, during his time in the diamond business, said that he was very fascinated and attracted to them... So I thought: what if this rogue was hiding, and, later years, could not resist the temptation to take possession of perhaps the main diamond in the world?!
The narrator smiled and looked mysteriously at the listener. It was clear from her burning eyes that she was becoming more and more captivated by the story.
- This is where I, Miss Gloria, come to the main point. If I followed the chronology of events, but I would need to start my story from what I will say next. But I believe that after listening to me to the end, you will put everything together and understand what I am getting at. So here it is. On the eve of the disappearance of the hero of my story, in the capital of England, in one of the museums, a traveling exhibition of the legendary collection was held. In which perhaps the most famous diamonds in the world at that time were presented! All of London was then filled with rumors and gossip about which famous stones would be presented in this collection. They talked not so much about the permanent beauty and high cost of some specimens, but about something completely different! What they talked about in half whispers! Something that intrigued and excited the minds of many! The fact is that in that collection there was one diamond, behind which the definition of “Cursed Stone” was firmly and forever attached!!!
The girl raised her eyebrows.
- Wasn’t this diamond called “Lord of the World” by any chance?!
Grant's face split into a smug grin.
- I guessed, Miss Gloria, that you would ask me about this. You live in Flint. And who, like you, wouldn’t know what all the British know! Once upon a time, your fellow countryman, private detective Ned Baxter, who lived in Flint back in the seventeenth century, will personally be convinced that this ominous legendary stone is truly cursed! Baxter didn't even own the diamond! And, as you know, all cursed stones known to the world bring grief and death to their owners! Ned was just investigating the theft of this diamond. But because of him, he suffered so many trials and hardships that it is incomprehensible to the mind! He even, along with his wife, who helped him in his search for the “Lord of the World,” was enslaved on the sugar plantations of Barbados! It's mind boggling! Show me another detective who, while investigating any case, could end up in captivity during his work! Become a slave! The stone is truly cursed!!!
Grant shook his head sadly, as if it was hard for him to talk about it.
- So... We come to the main thing... Crowds of Londoners stood in long queues to look at the entire visiting collection, and, most importantly, at this stone. There was a lot of gossip that some moneybags from the City and other wealthy areas of the capital were interested in the cost of the stone and the possibility of purchasing it. But the matter did not go further than questioning. Everyone was afraid of incurring the curse of the stone... Everyone, but not all... There was someone who was not afraid of the prospect of becoming the next victim of this devilish thing, which everywhere and always left behind a long bloody trail... One night, the entire collection, including “ Lord of the World” was kidnapped...
Both the listener and the narrator were silent for a long time, looking at each other frantically.
“I understand,” Grant finally sighed, “that this is just my guess.” But just as you sometimes like to say that premonitions do not deceive you, I can repeat the same thing with the same confidence... My heart feels that the theft of the diamond collection is the work of Paul Kremer...
It became so quiet in the office that it seemed that both could hear the second hand on the wall clock jumping.
“It would be nice if that were the case...” Gloria said unexpectedly. – I love secrets. My favorite books were those included in the collection “The Adventures of Detective Ned Baxter.” And it’s not just that he is my fellow countryman. Although he lived a couple of centuries earlier. The point is that he did not investigate the so-called “domestic crime.” Each of his affairs is a journey into the world of secrets, riddles, burning intrigues! I read books about him in one sitting! And about this diamond too. Although I believe in curses, conspiracies, damage and other mysticism, and I am terribly afraid to get involved with this stone, I would just as passionately want to touch what my famous fellow countryman was doing. I want to do this business!
The owner of the office rubbed his temples with his fingers, then the bridge of his nose, then his chin... He was captivated by thoughts.
- Don't get me wrong, Miss Gloria. Maybe I'm wrong. I already said that this is just my guess. Perhaps someone else stole the collection while visiting London. But the police then “dug their noses into the ground”! They turned everything upside down! I looked around everything! From attics to the most remote corners of the capital's dungeons! But I never found anything! The collection has sunk into thin air! It seems to me that she was the reason for pushing Paul Kremer to make such radical changes in his life! I think he disappeared for a reason, but evaporated along with this collection! It was for her that he faked his disappearance! It is clear that he first stole the relics and then disappeared with them without a trace!
- That’s why I’m going to London at the beginning of the last century, to make sure that everything is exactly as it is! So don't torment yourself with thoughts that you might be wrong. If you are wrong, it does not change the matter! I will first reveal the mystery of Kremer's disappearance. And then I’ll take on this diamond! But if both of these things turn out to be interconnected, it will be great! I definitely want to go there! Tell me more about everything. I'll try to remember everything and decide what I need for my journey. But for now I'm all ears. Tell us!
- I'm telling you! – He playfully mimicked the office owner’s interlocutor, and, pointing to her first at his notes, then at the monitor screen, began to comment and explain what it all meant.
The more he spoke, the more and more passionately the listener’s eyes lit up...

Episode two
Among everything Grant said, Gloria remembered one detail that she paid special attention to. Paul Kremer's secretary noted in her memoirs that on the eve of the day of her disappearance, her boss stayed up late in the office. At the end of the working day, she was getting ready to go home, but it was at that time that Kremer appeared, citing the fact that he had been running around with business and worries all day, so he had nothing left to do but work with papers in his office until late in the evening. At that moment she headed home, and he headed to his office.
The next day at noon he will arrange this sailing as a bet, and on his last day at work he must certainly complete all his important matters. Gloria was sure that it was not in vain that he decided to retire to his office for the night. When there are no employees in the building, when he is alone, he might make some important calls. She really wanted to overhear what he would say. This could shed light on the reasons for his disappearance. And, perhaps, he will indicate the path where he could follow after staging his supposedly unsuccessful dive into the water. If it really was a staging. So far, all of this was just her and Grant's guesses. First of all, it was necessary to make sure that this was the case. And if this is confirmed, then she will try to catch at least some details in his possible telephone conversations in order to understand where he will go after the performance of his disappearance.
Our heroine did not yet know how to check all this in some other way. Therefore, she decided that it would be more logical for her to do the following. To go not to the site of Mr. Cramer's fateful bath on the day of his disappearance, but to his office the evening before. Hide in the office in a secluded place, lie low, eavesdrop and spy on everything that happens there.
So she did. Taking out her smartphone and pressing the “Microphone” button, she not only said the cherished and familiar words that she wanted to go to such and such a place, to such and such a specific address, but also at such and such a specific time. Just before the time indicated by Kremer's secretary.
Once in the office, Gloria began to frantically look around, inspect everything, choose a place where she could hide and hide, without giving away her presence in any way. To her great joy, there were plenty of such places in this huge room. There were palm trees of considerable size in tubs here, and there was also an abundance of cabinets and shelves with books and papers. Gloria hid behind one of them. She tried to walk slowly, do everything carefully, so as not to make unnecessary rustles and sounds, and thereby not attract the attention of the secretary, who was in the next room at that time.
When our desperate heroine heard voices and realized that it was Kremer who had come, she pressed her whole body even harder against the wall and held her breath. She realized that now the main thing would begin. As they say, it’s all or nothing. After all, he can now just sit all evening, write some papers, and that will be the end of it. She won’t come up to him, she won’t look at what’s written. No matter how quietly, carefully and furtively, literally on the tips of her toes, she tried to sneak up on him and look at the papers from behind her, still in the ringing silence of the office he would certainly hear the rustling of steps, the possible creaking of the floorboards, the rustling of her dress. No! This was out of the question! She was already, as they say, afraid to breathe, so that he wouldn’t hear her breathing, but even if she dared to do something like that, she definitely wouldn’t dare.
Time passed... From her hiding place, the girl sometimes sneaked a peek at what he was doing there? What does he do? To her surprise, she noticed that he was not so much writing as he was thinking. Thinking long and thoroughly about something. Then he grabbed the pen and wrote quickly and with passion. But it took a minimum of time. It seemed like he was just taking notes on what he was thinking about. Moreover, he did everything in silence. Without making a single phone call during all this time! This greatly embarrassed our heroine. She had been in the office for about half an hour, but during this time she had not learned anything valuable! Absolutely nothing!!!
Finally, he made the last entry, grunted with satisfaction, clapped his hands, and leaned back in his chair.
- Sooo... What do we have?! “Suddenly he started talking to himself. – Now we can sort everything out point by point. Go through everything I need to do step by step...
At first, the lurking Gloria even flinched in surprise. She understood that there was no one in the office except Kremer, and he had no one to turn to. At the first moment, she thought that he had noticed her and it was to her that he would now rush to shout: “What are you doing here?!” She even cowered into a ball out of fear and about what might happen. But then it turned out that Paul was just talking to himself. Now this circumstance did not frighten, but, on the contrary, pleased our heroine. With a growing storm of emotions in her soul, she realized that now he could say what she would so like to hear.
- First... - he began, looking at his notes. – Tomorrow, at exactly noon, I will meet with my friends at our usual place, next to the pier, where in the summer we often swim. I undress, out of habit, carefully and pedantically, as always, arrange my clothes on the edge of the pier and dive into the water. While these fools are grinning and making fun of me, I will not waste precious time. I will immediately rush closer to the pier, which will snatch me away from their gaze, swim vigorously towards the numerous bridges and loads placed on the pier, and emerge only there. I have enough breath and strength to swim there underwater. I trained, checked it more than once. There shouldn't be any problems with this.
The narrator grunted with satisfaction once again, admiring himself, and continued.
- Next, I quietly emerge under the second bridge, which will hide me from the eyes of my friends. However, he will protect me from all other curious glances. This is why I chose this secluded place, so that no one could see me as I surfaced, climbed ashore, and took out a previously hidden bundle of dry clothes. Mountains of bags and other cargo stacked on the pier will shield me from random prying eyes.
The narrator rubbed his hands again with satisfaction and continued with even more excitement in his voice.
- Next, I, having changed into dry clothes, leave this place unnoticed by my friends, and rush to the station, where a suitcase with a change of clothes and other essentials is waiting for me in the storage room. The train ticket from London to Portsmouth is already in your bag. I get on the train and go. The glued mustache and beard, I hope, will hide my face from those who might then show excessive talkativeness when questioned by the police. My new documents addressed to John Butman, located there in the bag, I believe, will also put an end to the existence of the former Mr. Paul Kremer. He's gone! He drowned! He has sunk into oblivion...
Gloria felt excitement begin to take over her. First and foremost: publisher Oliver Grant's assumptions turned out to be correct. Poor and unfortunate Paul Kremer did not become the victim of an unsuccessful argument with friends, will not drown in the waters of the bay, but safe and sound, in new clothes and with a fake mustache and beard, will sit in the train carriage! And he will calmly sit back in his compartment, while his friends and the police they called will look for him, lament and shed tears over poor Paul... How could it be otherwise? Here she is! The clothes of the unfortunate poor fellow, whose body was swallowed up without a trace by the merciless waters of the sea...
What a sly fellow! Gloria smiled, marveling at yet another meanness that people are capable of, just to achieve some of their selfish goals.
“So-ssss...” the owner of the office continued thoughtfully. “There I am holed up in a pre-rented house in someone else’s name for several days, waiting for possible passions to subside. Then I take my suitcase from the hiding place and board the train to Southampton, in carriage number eight. The ticket has also already been purchased in advance. The arrival time at Southampton Station is also known. April 10, 1912, at nine o'clock in the morning. From this moment the most interesting begins...
Kremer got up and began to slowly walk around the office, continuing to think.
- The next paragraph of my plan, I think, will be the most important. I hire a cab driver and head to the main point of my further journey. I have a journey ahead of me again... Perhaps the main journey in my life. I also already purchased a ticket for this transport in advance, it is waiting for me. All I have to do is take the place indicated on this ticket, be patient, and get out where I will start a new life! The Life of Mr. John Boothman! Goodbye Paul Cramer! May you rest in peace... Or rather, rest in peace, at the bottom of the sea...
“What a cynic he is! – Gloria thought at that moment. – He’s not just being ironic at himself, but, so to speak, at his own corpse! Over the memory of yourself!
The owner of the office came up to the table and began to read what was written again and again for a long time.
“It seems like I haven’t forgotten anything...” He muttered under his breath. - It seems that he foresaw everything, tried to foresee everything... Well, what? See you tomorrow, Mr. Paul Kremer?
He held a corner of the sheet to the flame of a burning candle. It seemed to him that by this action he had forever and completely erased from the annals of history the mystery of the disappearance of Mr. Paul Cramer. How could he have known that in the far corner of the office there was someone who was using his habit of talking to himself for her own, far from encouraging, for him, purposes...

Episode three
Returning back to her time, Gloria spent a long time analyzing what had happened, rethinking it, and deciding what she should do next.
On the one hand, she was happy with what she learned. It wasn't that little. First and foremost: she revealed the mystery of the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Paul Kremer. It was a standalone success! But she didn’t find out anything about the mystery of the disappearance of the diamond collection! Paul, although he turned out to be a talkative man, never once, not even in a single word, mentioned that he was somehow involved in the theft of jewelry. Yes, there was mention of a mysterious suitcase. It could very well contain diamonds. But Gloria did not have firm confidence in this.
Be that as it may, no matter what was in the beckoning suitcase, the girl, interested in this whole story, wanted to follow the path of this cunning man to the end. She wanted to know where he was going, where he would settle, and what he would do. It wasn't just that he ran away. He abandoned his established business, business, office, home. He didn’t have a family, a wife or children, so mentally it probably wasn’t so difficult for him to part with his previous way of life. But still, he had something to lose. That is why our inquisitive heroine was interested in the question: why did he do it? If the suitcase contained the notorious diamond collection, then everything would fall into place. He was running away from the police! And then with these priceless treasures he could live comfortably for the rest of his life. But what if his luggage contains only simple things and nothing more?! Then why, for what, in the name of what, did Kremer do all this?!
Be that as it may, Gloria must go back in time again! And track the fugitive! But, every time, going on her visit to the past, she must certainly know in what specific place she should end up, and at what specific time!
This is where the time has come to lure the author with the words “On the other side”... Remember, at the beginning of the chapter I wrote “On the one hand”... Yes, on the one hand the girl learned a lot. But, on the other hand, she did not have the main thing: a specific goal, a specific place where he was going! If he had indicated, for example, the country, city, street and house where he would henceforth live, Gloria would have appeared there, and would have established constant surveillance of both the house and the fugitive himself. Now she knew only one thing: on April 10, 1912, at nine o’clock in the morning, he went to the railway station in Southampton. And it's all! Everything! Yes, that was a clue. She knew the carriage number. She can appear at a specified place, at a specified time, follow from the side who is leaving carriage number eight, and follow him further. All this is true. But…
This train flight may be cancelled. Maybe something else will change, or Paul himself will change something in his plan. And then that single thread, the tip of which the girl had so far held in her hands, could break... Too much was at stake on one single card... This was just another point of his transfer. The likelihood that his traces would be lost was high. But she had no choice.
By and large, Gloria did not need to come to the pier while Paul was bathing. This gave her absolutely nothing and changed nothing. Whatever she saw there, it would not change the essence of the matter. Yes, she knew that he would change clothes and leave the port in a new guise. She could hide and watch from afar as someone emerges from behind the mountain of bags stacked on the pier and follows away. She can go after him. But why? This is absolutely pointless! The main thing is to arrive at Southampton station early, around half past eight in the morning, and wait for the train from Portsmouth to arrive. Which is what she did...

Episode four
Gloria loved trains, the railroad, and traveling by train. Although it is expensive, everything is very comfortable, and, most importantly, fast. The buses move very slowly, but the train flies like an arrow! To some extent, she also liked the bustle of the station. Everyone is in a hurry about their own business, everyone has their own life. Sometimes, standing on the platform, she loved to peer into people’s faces, observe their emotions, experiences, joys or suffering.
Now, having arrived at the station a hundred years ago, she caught herself thinking that then, many years ago, everything was the same as now. Yes, other trains that made Gloria smile ironically, yes, different outfits on the ladies and suits on the gentlemen. Lots of other things. But there is also vanity, the same eyes, in which there is expectation, and hope, and joy, and sadness... Someone meets someone and squeals with joy, throwing themselves on his neck. Someone is seeing someone off... And they can’t separate their hands and stop the tears running down their cheeks...
The girl was transported in time in such a way that she would arrive at the station in advance. She slowly and thoroughly studied the train schedule, knew that the express train she was interested in would soon arrive, and understood that she would immediately begin surveillance of those who would leave the eighth car. Gloria there, in Kremer’s office, although furtively, saw perfectly well how he looked, how he walked around the office. Knowing his gait was also important for her. It seems that she foresaw everything, took everything into account. And he will try to keep the situation in his hands.
But there was one weak point in her plan. What if it happens that, going out onto the square in front of the station, he jumps into a cab and orders the cab driver to drive as fast as he can to where he needs to go. And there won’t be another driver nearby that Gloria could hire and follow the fugitive! In this case, she will lose invaluable time and will certainly lose the only thread that was still in her hands.
To prevent this from happening, our heroine went out to the square, hired a cab driver, and asked him to wait aside until she arrived. She knew in advance that she would do this, so she bought a certain number of British banknotes from the beginning of the last century from one of the numismatists in Flint. Now this foresight was very useful to her. The driver, accepting the deposit from her hands, and seeing the considerable remaining amount, became cheerful and swore to the client that he would certainly wait for her. It will stand in this place and not move an inch to the side! This answer satisfied our heroine, and she again hurried to the platform.
The girl also thought about the outfit. She understood that it might happen that she would have to get close to him. So close that he can see her face. At that moment he should see him for the first time! If he thinks, oh, this is the same lady I saw her before, it will be very, very bad! For now she needed to remain incognito! He shouldn't see her face!
That is why Gloria now dressed in the style of an older lady, while perching an old-fashioned funny cap on her head.
But she understood that it was to her, Gloria, a lover of miniskirts and bikini swimsuits, that this cap seemed funny. Back then it was a common attribute of clothing. It would have been a sin not to use it to disguise himself as best as possible from the curious gaze of the fugitive.
And finally, the train she had been waiting for arrived...

Episode five
When passengers began to leave the eighth carriage, Gloria became tense. In case someone was spying on her, she tried to pretend that she was rummaging through her purse or was completely engrossed in other things and not paying attention to what was happening around her. But with her peripheral vision, she, of course, vigilantly watched everyone who exited the carriage that interested her.
Ladies and gentlemen slowly descended, some with luggage, some without, but the gentleman who interested Gloria still did not appear. It started to bother her. If he doesn’t appear in the end, doesn’t get out of the car, then he wasn’t there. Consequently, something has changed, he did not come, and for Gloria this will be the collapse of all her plans. He can arrive on the next flight, or by other transport, and then go where he needs to go. For him, this change will not be of decisive importance. But for our heroine everything was completely different. If she doesn’t see him now, then later she won’t be able to find him anywhere and never. Our heroine did not know where he was going next, what transport he would use, when he would leave. Therefore, now she could lose from her hands the tip of an invisible thread, which could elude her completely and irrevocably.
When Gloria saw that almost all the passengers had left the carriage, but he was still not there, she became seriously worried. She was completely fascinated by this case of Kremer, she, like a sniffer dog, became excited and wanted to investigate this case to the end. She didn't want to stop halfway.
When despair had already begun to take hold of her, it was at that time that she saw the face of a man who was looking intently into one of the windows of the eighth car, trying to inspect the platform. Without specifically distinguishing facial features, but realizing that this could be exactly the one she was waiting for, Gloria, with redoubled energy, pretended to take a handkerchief out of her purse, and then brush an invisible speck from her face with it. Perhaps these fears of hers were in vain: she stood to the side, at a sufficient distance from the carriage, and he, most likely, would hardly have been able to pay attention to her. But the girl wanted to play it safe. Suddenly he decides to check if he is being followed. Apparently, she guessed right, and that's exactly what he was doing now. But she really hoped that he would be primarily wary of the police. And he is unlikely to pay close attention to some lady standing on the side minding her own business.
When the gentleman who was looking out the window got out of the carriage and walked slowly towards the exit, she realized: it was him!!! First of all, she recognized him! And this is the main point! But there was also a “secondly”, which confirmed that she was right! The traveler carried a travel bag in one hand and a suitcase in the other! Everything fit! Everything happened according to Paul Kremer's original plan!
However, now it was John Butman. She knew that now in his pockets there were documents in the name of Butman, and she needed to perceive him precisely as an exemplary and law-abiding Mr. John Gutman!
He went out into the square. Having looked around for where the cabs were parked, he immediately went to the nearby cab driver.
Realizing what would happen next, Gloria hurried to the cab, which was waiting for her to the side.
Having sat down in it and continuing to follow the fugitive, she was convinced that she had acted very correctly by ordering a cab in advance. After all, Butman now, before getting into the cab he had hired, took a long and careful look at everything around him again. And first of all, the exit from the station. If Gloria had been negotiating with some cab driver at that time and getting into the cab, this could have attracted the attention of the fugitive. Now, being on the sidelines, she was completely invisible to yesterday’s businessman, who had gone on the run.
Having examined everything, and having calmed down that he did not notice anything suspicious, the fugitive got into the cab and gave orders to the driver. He whipped the horse.
After waiting a short pause, Gloria ordered her coachman to follow the cab she indicated. He was a nimble fellow, and immediately sharply spurred his horse.
Both cabs wound their way through the streets of the city for a long time until they finally arrived at the city port.
The abundance of people scurrying here and there could be called a human anthill. This greatly frightened our pursuer. She understood that in such a crowd she could easily lose the fugitive. Therefore, she immediately ordered the cab driver to get as close as possible to the cab moving in front, and try in no case to lose sight of it. The coachman immediately carried out his client's orders.
When the mass of people ahead became so dense that it was impossible for the horse and cab to move ahead, the fugitive let go of the cabman, picked up his luggage and rushed forward.
Gloria quickly settled accounts with her coachman and relentlessly followed on Butman’s heels.
In order not to lose sight of him, she stayed so close behind him that at first she was even afraid that he would look back and see her right in front of him. But apparently the fugitive, who until this time had repeatedly checked whether he was being followed, and, having made sure that there was none, now finally calmed down completely, and now continued his path more calmly, no longer looking back.
In addition, the anthill of people boiling around him apparently distracted his attention, and he was no longer thinking about what was behind him, but about how to move forward to his intended goal, pushing through the crowd of people.
When Gloria saw a huge ship moored to the quay wall in front, and the ladders that led to its board, as well as streams of people who were queuing up at these ladders, the girl understood what kind of transport the fugitive would follow next.
This is where the problem began. Gloria remembered Paul Kremer talking to himself in his office. She knew he had a ticket on this ship. Now he will climb on it and... And that’s it... She will let him go! It was necessary to come up with something in order to get on the ship under some pretext! But what exactly should she come up with?! The confused girl didn’t know this yet...
But she stubbornly followed the fugitive, trying not to miss him. She hoped to come up with some kind of trick along the way while walking to the gangway.
And here is the ladder! Now the fugitive is already handing his ticket to the naval officer on duty at the entrance to the gangway and starting a conversation with him.
But the officer has no time for conversation. He quickly checks everyone’s travel documents, rattles out routine phrases in a loud, familiar voice, memorized to the point of automaticity, invites the next client to board the ship, and immediately turns to the next gentlemen who were in line.
- Your ticket is fine, Mr. John Butman! – The naval officer rapped in a loud and loud voice. So loud that Gloria heard his every word. - Cabin number twenty-four! First class! Please, Mr. Butman, board the ship! Come on in! Next!
He glanced at Gloria, who was first in line.
- Your ticket, madam!
- Yes Yes! Now! “The girl answered fussily, opening her purse and pretending to be looking for a ticket. - One minute!
Her brain was racing. But she couldn’t come up with anything reliable that the officer would believe, and let her through.
“Faster, madam,” the officer said in a very tactful tone. - The queue is waiting for you.
- Yes Yes! Now! Where is he?!
With her peripheral vision, the girl, falling into ever greater despair, saw Butman, along with his suitcase and travel bag, climb the ladder and disappear among the passengers who had boarded the ship.
Disappointment took possession of the pursuer. She began to realize that she might miss her goal.
- Step aside, madam! - The officer ordered. – While you are looking for a ticket, let other passengers pass.
- But apparently it is with my husband! – Gloria blurted out in despair. - At Mr. John Butman's! He just boarded the ship!
- What kind of nonsense?! – The officer frowned. - Why didn’t you come in with him?!
- But I... I thought I had the ticket...
- Go around to the side, madam, don’t interfere with the others passing by.
- I'm not going anywhere! My place is in cabin number twenty-four! First class! Let me through now!
- Calm down, madam! Otherwise I'll call the police! Why did your husband leave you?! And he climbed on board!
- I'll call the police! If you don't miss me! I will complain about you! Police!
Gloria herself did not know what she was doing. She longed to board the ship, but she could not come up with anything plausible or cunning enough to somehow convince the officer. She decided to go ahead. Show the usual female bitchiness. Which sometimes helps representatives of the fair half of humanity in certain circumstances.
Alas, in this case, Gloria’s trick worked against herself.
- What's happened?! – The policeman, who seemed to have grown out of the ground, said in a thunderous voice.
- Yes, here... An excessively unequal and inappropriately behaving lady is disturbing the passengers. “The officer immediately responded. - Because of her, the entire loading process stopped!
- We'll figure it out! – The policeman said in a voice that brooks no objections. “Come with me to the police station, miss.” You'll tell your boss everything.
- Not your boss! Let me go! I need to get to the ship! Let me go!
- Matthew! – The policeman shouted, calling his colleague. - Help me! An overly violent lady has been caught here! Perhaps she is some kind of scammer? And she wanted to cunningly get onto the Titanic in order to do some dirty tricks there and ruin people’s holiday! For many, this is a real holiday! Sail on such a legendary unsinkable ship!
Hearing the word “Titanic” made Gloria shudder.
She hurriedly looked back and did what, in the excitement of chasing the fugitive, she had not thought of doing before! She just now looked at the ship and the inscription that was on its side.
She read a painfully familiar word... "Titanic"...

Episode six
This discovery shocked our heroine so much that she completely lost the will to resist and allowed the cops to lead her to the police station. She followed them limply, rethinking what had happened. Should she now strive so hard to get on a ship that is doomed to destruction in any case? Does she need to pursue Mr. John Butman in this case, if it is known that it was mostly women who slept. There were only a few men among the rescued... It is unlikely that a little-known gentleman could be among them...
When the detainee was taken to the police station, it turned out that the chief had left for a while. No one wanted to fool their heads and waste their time interrogating the violent lady. It was decided to lock her in the cell for now and wait for the boss to return.
When behind Gloria the sound of a slamming door was heard with an eerie metallic grinding sound, and then the clang of a sliding bolt, the girl began to understand with sobering clarity how terrible the consequences of her time travel could be for her.
The point is not even that she, by someone’s ill will, may end up in captivity. And for a long time. She perfectly remembered the story of the innocent Dantes, from the novel “The Count of Monte Cristo”, and perfectly understood that at all times, always and everywhere, there were, are and will continue to be repeated cases when a completely innocent person can for years, or even decades, languishes in captivity.
These terrible gloomy stone walls, which now surrounded the captive and put her in a state of terrible stress, eloquently testified that there was no guarantee that Gloria would ever, or even right now, be able to add her modest person to this sad list. This in itself is scary and indescribably dramatic. But she was even more frightened by something else, which could turn out to be even more terrible. If she finds herself in such a situation, she may lose the ability to travel in time and space! And she will forever remain where her next visit to the past will be interrupted! After all, the police can always search her and seize the things she has with her. They will certainly be surprised by the smartphone they find on the captive. An incomprehensible and hitherto unknown thing to them will undoubtedly surprise and alert the cops. They will definitely take Gloria's smartphone. Than they will deprive her of the opportunity to return back to her time.
The girl was more than once going to conduct an experiment and try to make her trip without the help of a smartphone. Simply by the power of thought try to transport yourself to another dimension. Or express your desire to go back in time, saying it in a normal voice, simply saying the desired phrase out loud, and not into the microphone on your smartphone. In the meantime, all her voyages “there and back” were carried out in a way that had already become familiar to her. She opened a search engine page on her smartphone, pressed the microphone button, said what place and time she wanted to be transported to, released the button, and closed her eyes... And when she opened them, she saw herself surrounded by other people, other buildings , another time.
She recovered in exactly the same way. As soon as she said into the microphone: “I want to be at home, in my time,” she closed her eyes, and then, opening them, saw that she was at home, in her nice and cozy room, in the house of her cute town of Flint, located in Northern Wales. You can wonder hundreds, thousands, a million times why this happens, and how some unknown and invisible force transports Gloria to past centuries and back. The main thing is that in some miraculous way this happened, and the girl no longer wanted to deprive herself of such pleasant sensations that these travels gave her.
But... But once the police take her magic smartphone away from her, her gift will turn into a curse. What she enjoys now will bring her grief later. Terrible and irreparable... She really, really didn’t want to be stuck for the rest of her life in another time, and perhaps in prison dungeons.
It's a good thing the cops didn't search her right away as soon as she was taken to the police station. Otherwise, she would now be sitting in this terrible stone bag in an even more terrible mood than she is now. After all, in this situation, the girl could already feel doomed. Now she didn’t consider herself that way. She understood that she could take out her smartphone at any time, say her cherished words, and find herself at home again..
However, why hasn’t she done this yet? What if the boss comes now? He will call her in for questioning and search her! And then the irreparable will happen...
Why is she, stupid, hesitating?! Why doesn't it break out of these terrible walls? Why doesn't he go home?! She can indulge in her thoughts at home, sitting in a soft chair, and not on the stone ledge of this stone cage! We need to get home quickly! Bad forebodings began to take possession of the girl more and more! And they never let her down!
The excited girl began to take out her smartphone.
It was at this time that she heard voices and the ominous metallic clang of the bolt of her cell opening...

Episode seven
Back home in her hometown of Flint, Gloria Evans did not long worry about the adventures and excitement she experienced during her latest journey into the past. She understood perfectly well that she needed to think not about the past, but about the future. True, it was necessary to learn lessons from the past. For example, from now on try to control yourself and navigate each specific situation more quickly. She considered the incident at the Titanic's gangway to be shameful. Until this moment, she was in control of everything, tried to foresee everything, and she already had a plan for some upcoming events! We repeat! This has not happened yet, but she was already planning how she would behave in this or that case, and what she would do next.
In the incident near the gangway, she made an unforgivable mistake! The point is not even that you had to control yourself and not create a scandal where it was absolutely unnecessary! The point is that there was no need to try to get on the ship at all! At that moment she did not have enough intelligence to understand that having heard about what cabin and what class John Butman would live in during his voyage, she could have leisurely left the port and just as calmly gone back home to Flint! And then, at any time her soul desires, she can again go back in time, but this time specify a ship called the Titanic as the goal of her journey! It's so simple! How could she not have guessed this right away?! And you don’t need to beg the officer to let her through! She will let herself onto the ship! And then no one and nothing will stop her from following Butman and learning about his future fate.
And Gloria really wanted to know this. As well as what is in the fugitive's mysterious suitcase. She felt that the missing diamonds were there! But she also understood that these were just her guesses. And she wanted to make sure of this! The thrill of the hunt is no joke! Gloria was in just such a state right now. Having set foot on the path of pursuit, sensing the smell of possible prey, she could no longer stop. She wanted to see it through to the end! She terribly wanted to lift the veil of secrecy over all the missing diamonds, and above all over the legendary Cursed Stone called “Lord of the World” in the first place!
Dachshund... Thinking girl. All this is good. She will find Butman's cabin. This shouldn't be a problem. But how to get closer to Butman? How to talk to him? What could you come up with that would gain his trust without arousing suspicion? It is advisable to get into his cabin and try to look into the notorious suitcase! But how to do that? She needs to think... Now she is not standing in front of the gangway and she does not need to make a decision in a matter of seconds. She has the opportunity to calmly and slowly think about everything, calculate, prepare, and at the right time set off again for the legendary ship.
True, she knew very well what an unenviable fate awaited both the Titanic and many of its passengers. She really didn't want to be one of them. But she consoled herself with the thought that she could press the microphone button on her smartphone at any time, wish to be home, and she would immediately be transported from the ship, even if it was already starting to sink at that moment, to her cozy room in Flint.
Everything seems to be fine, she has foreseen everything, everything should go safely. But every now and then she remembered her puncture in front of the ship’s gangway, and understood that this time something could go wrong. And, if this happens, and the ship begins to sink by then, then she may not have a chance to return back. And she really wanted to solve the mystery of the main damned diamond of all times! So what should we do?!
And what could you come up with that would bring you closer to Butman’s cabin, and, perhaps, to himself, and, most importantly, to his suitcase?!
And then it dawned on our heroine!

Episode eight
The knock on his cabin door came as a complete surprise to John Butman.
He got up, opened the door, looked in surprise at the pretty maid, in a white cap and apron, who looked at him with an innocent look, timidly batting her long eyelashes.
“Please forgive me, sir,” she said in a meek, shy voice, “but the duties of the maintenance staff of our beautiful ship include cleaning the cabins.” If you want, I can take it from you. I think such an impressive and attractive gentleman strictly observes cleanliness. Therefore, there will only be a series of things that I will clean up in his cabin! It is so?! Mister... - She hesitated. - My name is Betty Mills. I will be glad to do you a favor, dear sir...
- John Butman... - the owner of the cabin hesitantly squeezed out, unable to resist the pressure and charm of the guest. - My name is John Butman. Frankly, I’m already clean. But... If you wish... Come in.
Khitrunya knew what she was doing. She knew very well that she was very beautiful, that literally all men liked her, no matter who looked at her. She would not be a woman if she had not previously used this powerful weapon in her relationships with men. Now it would be simply a sin not to use it. To achieve your goal, all means are good. Sometimes for this, women resort to the help of their main and important weapon. To a kind of, jokingly speaking, “heavy artillery.” This means bed. The basic instinct, everywhere and always, in all centuries, has been and will remain the basic instinct. Intimacy is something that allows women, as they say, to twist ropes out of men. By flirting with men, making them fall in love with them and inflaming in them the desire to own them, women can thereby achieve even more than some generals who have tens or even hundreds of thousands of battle-hardened soldiers at their disposal.
Although Gloria was a young person, she was far from a child or a teenager. She was a girl who had the right to independently decide who she goes to bed with, when and how to do it, how to behave, and what to do in the future. She did not look at the world with frightened eyes, and understood perfectly well that, in case of emergency, she would not disdain to use in her investigations what is called in one, short, but very clear word, “bed”...
But she also understood that under any circumstances she would not cross the line of what was permitted. Something that her soul and heart will hinder. She would not want to give herself up to the power of scoundrels. But in a different situation... She remembered how, while investigating the Jack the Ripper case, she turned to detective Jack Bradley for help. What a stunningly big difference there was between these two men! If she were ready to die, but not to end up in Jack's bed from the last century, she would jump into bed with detective Jack with the greatest pleasure! It was not in vain that she begged him to give her a stun gun, tried to humor him, flattered him, comparing him with film actors Alain Delon and Antonio Banderas. He is really very handsome! She wouldn't mind having an affair with this detective.
In fact, yesterday's Paul Kremer and today's John Butman were not bad-looking either. Still quite young, stately and handsome. Without knowing who he is, Gloria could have an affair with him. But she knew what lay in the soul and thoughts of this man. That’s why she didn’t try to bring him to that point so that he would immediately offer her what we were talking about. But to flirt, to attract his attention, to push him to start caring for her, it was simply necessary to do this for the benefit of the plan!
And she did it! She didn’t so much brush dust off objects as she constantly chirped with her sweet little voice, trying to talk with her new acquaintance about one thing or another. At first he behaved very warily and constrained. But the more time passed, the more willing he was to carry on the conversation. Women feel with every fiber of their soul when men begin to stare at them with more attention than at ordinary passers-by. Now Gloria noticed this too. Out of habit, she introduced herself to him as Betty Mills. She was erased anywhere and never left her real name in the past. This was her, perhaps unnecessary, but firm safety net. It was necessary to build on the initial success and try to bring this difficult person even closer to you. She was ready to chat with him endlessly. But her excessively long stay in his cabin could have alerted Butman. So she pretended to finish her work.
- It seems that I cleaned everything in your cabin, Mr. Butman. Although, to be honest, you are so sociable, such a sweet conversationalist, that in the future I would like to call you simply John... You make me so easy to like, as if we were old acquaintances! I wish I could have dinner with someone like you someday... Oh my God! I was so chatty... Sorry! You really charmed me so much that you pushed me to be frank. All the best! Goodbye!
And the embarrassed girl headed towards the door. But Butman immediately called out to her.
- Wait, Miss Betty! Your idea of having dinner together seemed very clever to me! Let's have dinner together today!
The girl's embarrassment was so great that it seemed that just a little more and she would blush.
- I’m so embarrassed... It turns out that I asked for it... But, to be honest, I’m so pleased that you put me out... I, of course, agree!
- That is great! – The clearly invigorated gentleman cried out almost joyfully. – As soon as it’s time for dinner, come to me and we’ll go to the hall together. I will be waiting for your arrival!
- Hooray! – The girl’s eyes shone with an excess of emotions. - I'm so happy!
And with these words she disappeared out the door.

Episode nine
Foresight helped Gloria this time too. She has visited Liverpool, located not far from her native Flint, more than once, and has repeatedly visited the Maritime Museum. Among the exhibits dedicated to the Luisantia, Mauretania and other legendary ships, perhaps the largest place was given to the Titanic. There was a huge amount of things from this ship, models of cabins of different classes, clothes of sailors and passengers. This prompted our heroine to order from Flint’s sewing workshop the same outfit that the maids had at the beginning of the last century. Gloria wore this outfit on her trip to the Titanic. He, this outfit, now helped the girl to play the performance as authentically as possible, with supposedly a cleaner of the ship's cabins!
With jubilation in her soul and a sense of accomplishment, Gloria headed to the deck. It was necessary to take a walk, rethink everything, wait until dinner time. However, she had already thought about everything a long time ago. All that remained was to wait until evening, dinner time, and go to Butman’s cabin. Then she will continue what she planned. Now all you had to do was wait and nothing more!
Realizing this, Gloria leaned her elbows on the railing of the bulwark and began to follow the measured splash of the waves, which swayed majestically behind the forest. The spectacle was truly beautiful. It was impossible not to admire them. She gazed at everything she saw for a long time.
It was at that moment that she heard a dreamy girl’s voice nearby:
- Yes... It’s really beautiful all around... The endless horizon, and everything around is touching and delightful! Is not it?!
Gloria looked to the left and saw a girl standing next to her. She, in the same way, leaned on the railing and did not take her eyes off the horizon. Our heroine looked around, made sure that there was no one around, realized that the girl was addressing her specifically, so she decided to carry on the conversation.
“Yes, you’re right...” Gloria continued in the same dreamy voice as her new friend’s. - Everything that surrounds us now cannot but rejoice! It’s impossible not to admire this!
- Imagine what a wonderful life awaits us in a new place! How much I expect from her! I believe that I will find both a new job and my betrothed there. I believe, I really believe that my life there will be happy!
Gloria looked more closely at her interlocutor and noticed that her eyes shone with such wildly happy fire! There was so much kindness, warmth, hope and expectation in that look! Evans knew how to read people. She could tell who was who at first glance. Sometimes just one moment and a quick glance at the unfriendly, angry and irritated face of the one she saw for the first time was enough, and it was clear that this person belonged to those who are colloquially called “black-mouthed”. She knew that such people would always and everywhere remain infected with negative energy. You can do as much good as you want to this person, but he will still answer you with black ingratitude. He will not see much of what is good and beautiful around him. But he will certainly notice the so-called “mote in the eye.” He will definitely pay attention to the negative, even if it is a tiny drop in a huge ocean. He will endlessly grumble about how bad everything is, how unworthy people are all around, and only he is the white and fluffy embodiment of everything and everyone on this earth.
And in contrast to them there are people, even if there are disproportionately fewer of them than the first, who are the complete opposite of the first. If they live according to the principle: eat, sleep and, excuse me, take care of natural needs, while thinking exclusively about themselves, not caring about others, then the latter do a lot of good for their neighbor. They also make this world more beautiful, illuminating it with their bright and warm smiles. This is a very important quality! Very! Such people usually do not betray, they are pleasant and sweet in communication, sincere. Their dreams are bright, they try not to commit unworthy acts. They know how to dream, rejoice, laugh, and charge others with positive energy.
Gloria was sure that all of humanity is divided into precisely two such categories. No one could ever convince her otherwise now. Both from examples of history and from her personal experience, she knew that everything was like this and exactly like this!
Her new friend, who was now standing nearby at the bulwark of the ship, looking into the distance with a dreamy gaze, undoubtedly belonged to the second category to which the definition of “good people” applies. From the very first seconds, it became clear to Gloria that talking with a new acquaintance would bring her pleasure.
That's what it turned out to be. They started talking. The girl introduced herself as Catherine Douglas. She chattered for a long time and non-stop about the fact that she was going on a long-awaited trip to the other side of the Atlantic with the dream of starting a new life on the American continent.
Tired of standing at the railing for a long time, the girls then sat down on the sliding chairs installed on the deck and again continued their previous conversation. Katherine chirped incessantly. Gloria was amazed at her optimism. So many plans for the future! How many expectations of good, bright, beautiful things that await her ahead!
As the sun began to set in the evening, the newly made friends began to joke that in their conversations they had not noticed how the rest of the day had approached.
- It's almost dinner time, Miss Betty. – Katherine smiled. - Maybe we can have dinner together? What class are you in? Where is your cabin located?
Gloria hesitated. She didn't know what to answer. She did not want to lie to this honest and sincere creature. It was also impossible to tell the truth, as you understand.
- Why are you silent, Miss Gloria? – Katherine’s gaze radiated sincere bewilderment. - Why do not you answer?
Our heroine smiled sadly.
- You see, Miss Catherine... I have neither a cabin, nor a place, nor a bed... I will have nowhere to spend the coming night...
The eyes of the time traveler's new girlfriend became wide with surprise.
- Are you kidding, Miss Betty?! Is that possible? Would you be allowed onto the ship if you didn’t have a ticket?!
Gloria smiled even more sadly.
- Perhaps Miss Catherine... Perhaps... I have neither a ticket nor a place to stay...
Butman stood there for a while, thinking, and then suddenly said:
- And I myself am in my cabin. Completely alone! The two of us could somehow stay at my place. Do you mind? I invite you to.
Now it's time to be surprised by Gloria.
- Of course, I don’t mind! This would help me out a lot! I'm ready to sleep on the floor. Are you kidding? Are you really inviting me?
- Certainly! – Katherine exclaimed joyfully. - Come with me!
And she, taking her new friend by the hand, literally carried her along with her.

Episode ten
- Well? Did I go?
Gloria twirled flirtatiously in front of the mirror, straightened her hair, and looked at her friend with a smile.
-You look great, Miss Betty! You are simply irresistible! I am truly glad that you will be having dinner with a distinguished gentleman. I also sincerely wish you that you will have a wonderful relationship with him and that you might have a new friend. Or a gentleman. How will it turn out? In a new place you really need friends. I'm going into the unknown alone. Completely alone! It is always advisable to have at least someone who can support you.
- Everything will be fine, Miss Catherine! You are a very kind, bright, positive person! Everything will be fine in your life! Well... I went...
- I'm very inquisitive, Miss Betty! I really want to look at your gentleman! If you don't mind, I'll walk past your table. I understand! I will not interfere with you in any way! I'll pretend we're strangers and I'll just walk by! That's all! I’ll just glance at him out of the corner of my eye, satisfy my curiosity, and go to my cabin. I will wait for you. Maybe he will invite you to visit him. But, in any case, you can come back here to me! I will be waiting for you! With God blessing! Good luck, Miss Betty!

Episode eleven
Gloria remembered how she liked the moment in Cameron’s film “Titanic”, where the main characters were sitting in a luxurious restaurant, at a beautifully set table, having a leisurely small talk. Then she was delighted by the splendor reigning around.
Now something similar was happening with the participation of Gloria herself. They sat with John Butman at a table covered with a snow-white tablecloth, ate food and wine, and talked leisurely. Butman was courteous, affectionate and courteous. The girl caught herself thinking that if she didn’t know what was hidden behind this man, she could well be carried away by him. Now she made eyes at him, behaved like a passionately in love lady, but internally understood that all this was just a game. There will be no logical continuation of this flirtation! She decided this for herself finally and irrevocably!
But for now we had to play our game. She laughed, flirted, and carried on a conversation in which he did most of the talking.
Everything was going well, everything was going great. Until an extremely surprised female voice was heard behind Gloria’s back:
- Good God! Mr. Paul Kremer!!! It is you?!
Both of them were stunned by these words: John Butman, whose face stretched out and instantly turned white, and Gloria, who did not expect such a development of events.
She was even more amazed when she saw that the girl who recognized Paul Kremer was none other than Catherine Douglas!!!
What followed was what the expression “Silent Scene” is usually applied to. Both were speechless.
Butman was the first to come to his senses:
- You are mistaken, madam. Sorry, I'm busy... We're busy...
- ABOUT! And your voice! – Katherine said even more emotionally and joyfully. “How can I be wrong?!” It is you! Well, you have to! And we in our office thought that you were dead! Drowned...
What can we say about Butman, even if Gloria was now annoyed with Katherine for not holding back her emotions and interfering in the course of events. Our heroine had all her further actions planned out. Now the intervention of Catherine Douglas could turn everything upside down...
Just a moment ago, the exquisite gentleman radiated confidence, excellent manners, and a firm belief in a brilliant future. Now he suddenly sank, lowered his head, but immediately raised it and looked at Gloria.
- I beg your pardon, Miss Betty, but I see I need to talk to this overly curious, fallible person...
- Yes! Yes! Certainly! Talk! – Gloria said fussily. - In the meantime, I’ll take a walk on the deck!
She herself did not understand why she did this. Perhaps it would be logical for her to stay in her place and wait until, for example, Butman himself steps aside with his old friend and sort things out there. But Gloria remembered the notorious “butterfly effect” and understood that she personally should not change anything in the past, so she decided to leave the scene for a while. “Let them decide all their affairs themselves, without me,” our heroine thought, “while I take a walk.”
At first, she really walked along the deck, not far from the entrance to the restaurant, breathed fresh air, and waited for her gentleman, having completed the showdown with Catherine, to find her, Gloria, and they would continue the conversation. But then she caught herself thinking that it would be more logical for her to first find out from Katherine how her conversation with yesterday’s Paul Kremer ended, and only then make a decision on what to do next. Therefore, the time traveler couldn’t think of anything better than to go to Katherine’s cabin and wait for her there.
When she finally appeared, her mouth did not close for a second. Overcome with emotion, she spoke without stopping.
- Forgive me, for God's sake, my dear Miss Betty, for interfering in your conversation! But I couldn't help myself! Understand me too! All of us in our office mourned the unenviable fate of our boss, Mr. Paul Kremer. Everyone understood that he had drowned... His clothes were left on the shore, the police and divers arrived... Although his body was never found, it was clear that he drowned... And suddenly... Here he is! Sits with you! Alive and well! I, amazed by what I saw, could not stand it... Forgive me, Miss Betty.
- It's OK. What happened happened. The main thing is not what was, but what will be. You better tell me what he told you? How did your conversation end?
“He took me to one place on the deck, which is closer to the stern, asked me to remember it, and suggested that I meet at this place later. This night. He called the time. I'll definitely go. He promised that he would tell me something interesting. I'm burning with curiosity...
Gloria didn’t know what to answer her friend to this. She was sure that everything had already been decided, and Evans would know what to do from now on. But it turned out that everything is still far from clear. It would be important to find out how the showdown between the former boss and subordinate will end, and then make a decision on what to do next.
Gloria still had the original plan in her head, according to which she hoped to get into Butman’s cabin after dinner and try to somehow look into his suitcase. Thoughts about the Cursed Stone, about the “Lord of the World” and about other diamonds from the missing collection never left her sweet head. However, how could they leave her? After all, this was precisely the main reason that prompted the time traveler to go on a visit to the Titanic! Yes, she was also concerned about the further fate of Paul Kremer, who went down in history as a man who disappeared without a trace. But the fate of the diamond collection seemed more mysterious and intriguing in the eyes of our heroine! She wanted to investigate this mystery most of all!
Initially, Gloria planned, with a wince of flirting or her other charms and tricks, to lull Butman’s vigilance, and to catch the moment at which she could at least for a moment look into the suitcase. Now our heroine understood perfectly well that her gentleman would now have no time for courting a lady and no time for loving sighs. All his thoughts and thoughts will be occupied by the upcoming meeting with his former subordinate. It is clear that going to visit Butman now would be the greatest stupidity. Therefore, Gloria wisely decided that she would first wait for the results of the late meeting between Catherine and John, and only then would they make further plans.
Both friends talked for a long time about what, when Catherine, looking at her watch, said: “I have to go!” and hurried to a scheduled meeting with her former boss. Curious Gloria, of course, could not sit still and followed her friend. It is not difficult to guess that she walked behind Katherine at a great distance, trying not to catch Butman’s eye.
Taking a secluded place not far away, Gloria began to watch as the two began a conversation. Emotional Katherine was enthusiastically talking about something to her interlocutor, not noticing anything around her. The same could not be said about Butman. Gloria from her hiding place saw that he was not so much listening to the girl as looking around, as if trying to make sure that no one was around at such a late hour.
What is it for? Seeing that these two were having a conversation, standing at the railing, behind which the ocean foamed below, Gloria, frozen with fear, began to guess why Butman had such strange behavior, and what he might do in the next moment.
She still remembered the “Butterfly Effect”, she was well aware that in no case should she interfere in the events of bygone days, but, tormented by forebodings, she nevertheless decided to leave her hiding place and follow to to these two. She won't approach them, she won't start a conversation with them! She will simply walk back and forth next to them, making it clear to Butman that he should not take unnecessary liberties.
Gloria was about to take a step forward and leave her hiding place, when suddenly an eerie guard was heard from the bow of the ship. It’s as if something huge is rubbing against the side of the ship. Gloria instinctively turned around and saw a tall and huge block of ice rapidly approaching her, towards Gloria. She involuntarily took a step back, as if trying to hide again in her hiding place, and at the same moment looked at where Katherine and John stood a moment ago. And she saw something that shocked her even more than the deadly impending danger posed by the approaching iceberg. Butman, showing miracles of quickness and dexterity, bent down sharply, quickly grabbed Catherine's legs below the pelvis, and with lightning speed we evaporated, while lifting and pushing the body of the unfortunate victim overboard! All this took him one moment! The next moment, he calmly, as if nothing had happened, brushing away a non-existent speck of dust from his tailcoat, slowly walked away!!!
Just then, a mountain of iceberg rushed past him, dropping pieces of ice onto the deck. With an ominous sound, reminiscent of a ringing, they rolled and thrust along the deck, driven by inertia. Butman even had to jump slightly, jumping over one of these fragments so that it would not knock him down. But just as the ominous block of the iceberg disappeared into the night a moment later, just as quickly and efficiently the killer fled the crime scene. It seemed to Gloria that he didn’t even look back and look at the iceberg! What happened behind his back! He probably wanted so passionately to leave the scene of his crime as quickly as possible that he did not think about anything else!
Everything happened so quickly that Gloria stood in her hiding place for a long time, numb with fear, not knowing what to do next.
She couldn't think of anything better than going back to Katherine's cabin. She fell on the bed, looked at the ceiling for a long time and rethought what had happened.
Now, for the first time during her travels into the past, she was faced with a situation where something happened that she did not know about. She went on visits to past times, the girl carefully studied history, knew what happened there, understood what she would see and what she would encounter. For example, while investigating the case of Jack the Ripper, she knew that at such and such a time he would kill the unfortunate Mary Jane Kelly, and was mentally prepared for this event.
Now the fact of the actual murder of the innocent girl Catherine Douglas by John Butman came as a complete surprise to Gloria. She couldn't get over the shock. She remembered how sorry she felt for Mary Jane Kelly then, how she wanted to rush to the unfortunate woman’s aid. But then the murder did not take place before her eyes. And Gloria never saw or knew that woman from London, the last victim of the Ripper. Now the murder actually happened in front of Gloria! Moreover, the killer took the life of the one with whom our heroine managed to become friends! I literally fell in love with! I admired her kindness, openness, and honesty! And this murderer raised his hand against such a bright person as Katherine!
Indignation seethed in Gloria's soul. She didn't know what to do.
She wanted to rush into Butman's cabin, grab his hated throat, and strangle him, strangle him until the bastard gave up the ghost.
But while our heroine was in thought and torment, a lot of time passed. She clearly heard what was happening on the ship. Loud calls for everyone to go out on deck and put on life belts, and the chaotic stomping of feet along the corridors spoke volumes to our heroine. However, thanks to the legendary film of the brilliant Cameron, which Gloria watched many times, she perfectly understood what was going on both inside the ship and on its deck. She didn't need to strangle Butman. Time, God and conduct itself will now decide her fate. Gloria just had to follow him and see how it all ended. Will he be able to deceive his fate a second time, as he did then, on the pier in London, during an alleged dispute with the Druze?!
She should definitely take a look at this!
Reproaching herself for not immediately thinking about it, and perhaps missing precious time, Gloria jumped up and ran as fast as she could to Butman’s cabin...

Episode twelve
As Gloria ran to Butman's cabin, she was amazed at the chaos reigning around. She mentally noted that the brilliant film, not the opinion of the brilliant director, amazingly truthfully and reliably reflected the reality of what was happening. Now everything was exactly as it was shown in the film. Complete chaos and confusion. Everyone was for himself, everyone was saving his life. If John now decided to throw Catherine overboard, he would no longer need to do it secretly. And even more so, fleeing the scene of the incident. Now he could do whatever he wanted, and no one would probably pay attention to it. At least, that’s what Gloria thought at that moment.
The confusion in the corridors of the ship was striking. Rare passengers fled to an unknown destination. After all, according to the logic of events, they should have rushed in one direction. To the exit! To salvation! But sometimes they ran towards each other, jostling, sweeping away everything in their path.
There were a lot of scattered things on the floor. Abandoned clothes, suitcases, bags. One suitcase lay open. Apparently, it opened due to the impact, and some of the things fell out of it. Among these things, Gloria saw a pistol...
Still not knowing why she was doing this, the girl picked up the find, hid it in her pocket, and hurried on.
When Gloria saw that the door to Butman's cabin was slightly open, her heart sank with frustration: she realized that she was most likely late. That John had long since left the cabin.
But still, instead of quickly throwing open the door and running into the cabin, she decided, just in case, to quietly look through the crack of the door and see what was happening there, inside.
What she saw both amazed and delighted her. I was pleased with the foresight. That she didn’t come in right away, but looked in first. Thanks to this, they saw what they saw...
The action that appeared before her eyes amazed her!
Butman pulled out water-floating material from the cells of his life jacket, thanks to which the vest kept its owner on the surface of the water, and instead pushed it in... diamonds...
Yes! Yes! Exactly diamonds! Which he quickly grabbed from the suitcase with his hands shaking from excitement and haste, pushed them into the hole of the vest, pulled out waterfowl material from another cell of the vest, carelessly threw it to the side, grabbed another handful of diamonds with his sweaty hand from excitement and pushed it into the vest again!!!
Everything that happened was a depressing sight. At that moment, Gloria suddenly remembered the phrase “Satan’s Dance.” When people, mad with greed, dance around a chest with found treasures. And then they rush towards him, trampling and killing their friends from yesterday. Just to get as much goodness into your pockets as possible.
John was doing something similar now. His face, his shaking hands, his sweaty forehead, his behavior spoke volumes... Someone was thinking at that time about the most valuable thing to him, about his life. Butman was thinking about something else... About diamonds... The scale of values in the minds of this man was completely different...
Gloria noticed that the waist of the thin, tall and slender Butman now resembled a fat man who was swollen with fat. She had no doubt at all that the sly man tied himself with a sheet or other fabric, in which the diamonds were also hidden!
But the main thing that struck our heroine was not even that! The main shock came from something completely different!
The fact is that Jack was wearing a woman's dress!
Yes! Yes! Exactly! He looked ridiculous! And in a dress, and a cape, and, most importantly, in a stupid cap, which gave him the appearance of a bad comedian...
But the excited businessman did not think about it. He hurried to take as much goodness with him as possible. He really hoped that it would be useful to him.
Not yet knowing what she would tell him now, Gloria sharply opened the door and stepped into the cabin.
He shuddered in surprise.
But his confusion lasted only a short moment.
Gloria expected to see fear on his face, but to her great surprise she saw John's sincere joy.
- How glad I am, Miss Betty, that you came! I really didn’t want to leave the ship without you! I can no longer imagine my future life without you! We will start a new life with you in the great country of America! Come with me!
And he, grabbing the startled girl by the hand, dragged her along with him.
Rushing along the corridors, he managed to shout to her as he went:
“Don’t be surprised, Miss Betty, that I’m dressed like this.” The fact is that only women and children are put on the boats. All means are good to save a life. I have a lot of money, Miss Betty! So many! With me you will bathe in luxury!
When they ran up to the sailor commanding the loading into one of the lifeboats, John addressed him in a squeaky tone, imitating a woman's voice:
- Let me and my sister through, officer! Here's to you, for your efforts! Let's go, little sister!
With these words, he quickly thrust something into the sailor’s pocket, apparently a diamond, or a handful of them, and immediately turned to Gloria:
- Hurry up, sister!
Gloria was just looking at the men crowded around her. None of them tried to get into the boat. On the contrary, they helped the ladies do it. If their help was needed. They all behaved very dignified and noble!
Against the background of this chivalrous behavior, Butman’s cowardice and deceit looked even more vile and terrifying. That is why Gloria could not stand it and exploded:
- Don't let him into the boat, officer! – She screamed. - This is a man! It's a man in disguise! He is a coward and a scoundrel!!!
Everyone was numb from such unheard-of cynicism. The first to be found was the officer, who, seeing that the impudent man wanted to leave his imaginary sister and jump into the boat alone, took a sharp step forward, blocking his path.
Butman panicked.
And then the persistent Gloria grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him back:
-Where are you going? And what have you forgotten about your sister?! Come after me! Go! I said!
Mentally, the fugitive felt himself already there, in a lifeboat, which would be life-saving for him in every sense of the word. The surprise that happened, which so abruptly and inopportunely disrupted his plans, broke him so much that he obediently followed the persistent girl, not understanding why he was doing this.
However, he was aware that he had to quickly leave the place where he had been exposed. Therefore, the fact that Gloria helped him leave the place of his shame, where he could almost have been lynched, did not upset, and at first even delighted the cunning man. But when they moved a sufficient distance away from the scene of events, he stopped and began to beg his companion in an exciting voice:
- Understand, Miss Gloria! I do this for the two of us! With me and my riches, you will feel like behind a stone wall! Don't believe me? Here! Take it! Make sure! I'm fabulously rich!
With these words, he began to take out handfuls of diamonds from his fireplaces and stuff them into the girl’s pockets.
- Have you heard what they are saying around?! Last boat left! The last one! Miss Gloria! Let's go quickly!
- You're not going anywhere! – The enraged girl growled angrily. - Here are your filthy diamonds! Take them back! Choke on them! I don't need stolen goods!
And with these words she began to take out cool stones from her pockets and throw them in the scoundrel’s face.
- On the! Take them back! Choke on them! Thief and murderer!
Pebbles glittering in the light of the stars hit John's face and fell with a ringing sound onto the metal flooring of the deck.
The scoundrel's expression instantly changed. His eyes were bloodshot.
- What?! – He wheezed with indignation. His voice was like the roar of a predatory animal. - Now you will pay, bitch, for this...
And he began to move towards her threateningly.
But the desperate heroine of our story immediately grabbed a pistol and pointed it at her opponent.
The muzzle of a deadly weapon gaping in front of John instantly cooled his ardor. He stopped.
“You’re the one who’s going to pay now...” The girl’s voice sounded so firm that Butman understood: she wasn’t joking. - Turn around and go forward! Where I will speak! And don’t even try to be cunning! I give my word of honor that I will shoot right away as soon as I see that you try to take even a step to the side! Let's go!
Butman ground his teeth with anger and frustration, but he had no choice but to obey.
When they approached a place familiar to both of them, Gloria ordered them to stop.
- Do you recognize this place, Paul Kremer? “The girl said very clearly, pronouncing the words literally syllable by syllable.
He, standing at the railing, looked at the devil in a skirt with a frightened look.
- Yes, Paul... This is exactly the place where you threw Catherine Douglas overboard... Now the time has come for you to go there too... After her...
John Butman, also known as Paul Cramer, looked at his executioner with eyes wide in fear.
“I have a lot of good things, Miss Gloria...” His voice broke with excitement. The words got stuck in his throat, parched with fear. - Come to your senses... You and I will live like rich people... We...
“There won’t be anyone “we”, Paul...” Gloria’s voice sounded so calm that it even gave everything that was happening some kind of ominous tint. - We cannot be us, because we are different. I am an honest man, you are a thief and a murderer. Your path now lies there, overboard. Come on, Paul, make up your mind. Climb over the railing and jump. Go to where you, scoundrel, left Katherine...
- But... But... - Paul was still trying to say something, but couldn’t find the right words. He already understood that everything was useless.
“I could forgive you, Paul, for stealing the diamonds and staging your apparent disappearance.” None of this concerns me, and the most I would do is hand you over to the police. But Katherine... I can’t forgive you for her death... Never…
Although twilight reigned all around, Kremer saw how the eyes of the one who was now pointing the barrel of a pistol at him were lighting up with an increasingly fierce fire.
- What a kind, bright and pure person she was... How sincerely she dreamed that on the other side of the ocean she would begin a new, happy life for her. And you destroyed everything... Drowned her dreams... So that she wouldn’t betray you... A coward and a scoundrel... Jump overboard, Paul... Jump! You understand perfectly well that if you don’t do this, I will shoot. The bullet will definitely end your lousy, worthless life, of no use to anyone but you. And in the water you will have a chance...
Gloria began to slowly raise her hand and take aim. It was clear that she was preparing to shoot.
- Don't make me take sin on my soul, Paul. Better jump yourself. By and large, your jump doesn’t solve anything right now. The ship will sink to the bottom in a few minutes anyway. In any case, you will find yourself in the water... I'll tell you a secret... Soon the ship "Carpathia" will arrive here and save many. Maybe you too will be among the saved. And you will feel good, and I will sleep peacefully, knowing that I have never shot at anyone in my life! Jump, Paul... Jump... Count to three... One... Two...
Frightened, Kremer began to climb over the railing. His arms and legs were shaking with fear and with the knowledge of what was about to happen. But the barrel of a pistol mercilessly looking at him, and Gloria’s equally eloquent and decisive gaze, left him no choice.
- I would advise you to take off your life jacket, Paul. It will only get worse! It will not help you stay afloat, but, on the contrary, will drag you to the bottom... Or do you not have the strength to part with the stolen diamonds?
Hearing this, he pressed the life belt even harder with one hand, pushed off the railing with the other and... And flew down... Into the ocean...

Episode thirteen
A double feeling now took possession of Gloria. On the one hand, she achieved what she wanted. She furiously demanded that Kremer carry out her orders and bend her down. He did it. She did not take sin on her soul. Didn't resort to a shot. Although she could have done this even when he was moving threateningly towards her. In that moment, when he was furious, he could have taken her life as well as Catherine. If she had fired a shot then, it would have been self-defense, and she did not need to torment herself with pangs of conscience. But our heroine completed her plan, without shooting, without breaking anything, and did everything possible so as not to leave a legacy in the past, so to speak. She left Paul the opportunity to escape. He was with the rest of the group of passengers who found themselves in the water. Some lifeboats will soon return to them. It is known that one of the boats later lifted a passenger from the water, who was floating without holding on to anything! Just swimming! Many then said that he endured a long stay in cold water because he had taken a hefty dose of alcohol beforehand. It seemed to warm him. If that passenger survived, then Paul also had a chance. The same cannot be said about Katherine. She, left absolutely alone among the endless waters of the ocean, looking after the ship sailing away into the night, had no chance of saving herself in the icy water...
However, what is she thinking about the fate of those who became victims of this shipwreck?! Gloria is now thinking about how she herself will not become one of the victims! We need to get out of here quickly! She knew what would happen next. There was no point in wasting time and staying here. The girl already knew the answers to the riddle regarding the fate of Kremer and to the question of who stole the diamond collection and where it eventually went! What she went on a journey to the past for was accomplished! It's time to head back!
She took out her smartphone. Now she will do something unique that no one else in this world can do! She will open the search engine window, press the microphone, and say the magic words into it: “I want to be home again! In Flint!”, and seems to be in his cozy little room. Just a little more and she's home! A few seconds left!
It was at this time that an ominous, very loud, metallic grinding sound was heard...
She knew that the Titanic would soon split in half. This fact was not a surprise to her. Something else became completely unpredictable for our heroine. She had no idea that at that moment the ship would shake so violently that she would fall off her feet. To maintain balance, the poor fellow instinctively spread his arms to the sides. Having made such an awkward movement that the smartphone slipped out of her hands and fell onto the deck...
He didn't just fall. Waving her arms, the girl seemed to throw her priceless cargo to the side. Yes, she did it accidentally, making movements involuntarily, but the fact remained: the smartphone turned out to be quite far from her!
Realizing that this was the only device that tied her to the previous world, and realizing that only with its help she could return back, the girl immediately tried to get up and rush to her priceless cargo.
But it was at this time that half of the ship Gloria was on began to plunge sharply into the ocean! Just as quickly, the deck of the ship began to tilt, and all the loose objects that were on it began, at first slowly, and then more and more rapidly to stick in the direction of the tilt!!!
With a chilling look of fear, Gloria followed the device rushing into the abyss, which would forever leave her here, in this place, at this time! Gloria, like many in this world, knew perfectly well the place and date of the death of the ship, the name of which, due to the scale of the tragedy, became a household name... “Titanic”... The girl, even in her worst nightmare, could not imagine that April 15, 1912 would become date of her death...

Episode fourteen
There was a ringing silence in the office of media tycoon Oliver Grant. And the longer it lasted, the sadder the faces of the two people who were within these walls became. Both bowed their heads for a while. Both thought, rethinking the words that had just been spoken. Gloria was the first to break the silence:
- This episode, Mr. Grant, eloquently demonstrates how dangerous my visits to the past are. How some little thing, a trifle, something that I won’t know and that I won’t expect, can change my destiny. I can lose my smartphone, it can be stolen from me, the police can seize it. How could this happen in Southampton? And I would forever remain in the past! In a strange and unusual time for me! In a foreign country! This thought terrifies me!
She sighed heavily and shook her head sadly.
- But the situations there can also be different. Let’s say I agreed to the persuasion of this rogue and was tempted by his diamonds. I repeat: let’s do it! And it was at this time that I would lose my smartphone. It’s a shame, but I could live comfortably, spending these diamonds little by little, until deep passion! But imagine if my phone was taken away from me, or imprisoned in a prison cell! I could languish in captivity for years! For decades! Even worse happened on the Titanic! I lost my smartphone at the worst possible time! I would definitely go down with the ship! One hundred percent!!! I would be pulled to the bottom by the whirlpool funnel!!!
Gloria put her head in her hands, as if she was trying to hide from all the troubles and hardships in this world.
- Imagine my state, how I watched with a helpless look as my life-saving smartphone slipped away from me. He began to slide down the slope of the deck so fast that there was no way I could catch him and grab him! He would certainly have fallen into the watery abyss! Definitely!
Gloria lowered her face into her open palms and shook her head long and sadly.
- What saved me was that in the path of the smartphone there was a coil of thick rope tied to something! That's where my phone came in! If it had been anything else, it could have broken. But the rope softened the blow. Realizing that soon not only the smartphone, but also I myself could slide into the water on a strongly inclined deck, I quickly got to the phone, my fingers trembling with excitement, pressed the button, and in a strange, unnatural voice, I whispered the cherished words into the microphone. I thought that the search engine wouldn’t recognize my voice, and time travel wouldn’t happen... Not only that! I couldn’t resist and started sliding along the sloping deck myself! And although this time I already held the smartphone tightly and did not let it out of my hands, it did not change much. If I had found myself in the abyss before I was transported through time, I would have remained there forever... At the site of the sinking of the Titanic... It seemed to me that, falling feet first, I even felt the water with my feet!!!
A tear glistened in the corner of the girl's eye.
- I’ve been through so much, Mr. Grant... And because of Katherine too... Morally it’s so hard...
Oliver got up, walked up to the girl, stroked her shoulder...
- Calm down, Miss Gloria... Everything is in the past... Everything will be fine...
The girl leaned her damp cheek against the back of his hand, and the publisher felt some strange feeling begin to take possession of him. Yes, Gloria was good enough to be his daughter. Yes, they have a purely business relationship. But this stunningly beautiful and gentle girl was so defenseless and helpless at that moment that he terribly wanted to wrap her in his strong arms, saying at the same time that he would never, ever, ever hurt her.
Realizing that the passionate desire would grow in him more and more, and realizing that this might look obscene and ambiguous, he hardly controlled himself, stroked her hair, went to his place, and sat down.
At the same time, I could not calm down for a long time. By stroking her hair, he thought that this would somehow calm both her and himself, and that would be the end of it all. But everything had the opposite effect. Her silky hair was so soft and pleasant to the touch, it smelled so intoxicating that Oliver now realized that he was completely intoxicated with this girl. He caught himself thinking that he would like not only to look after her, give her gifts, help in every possible way, but also enjoy her more closely! Stroking her, kissing her, enjoying her body, entering her... Revel in intimacy with such a divinely gentle and beautiful creature.
Oliver never thought that at this age such seditious thoughts would appear in his head...
No, he wasn't a streaker! In the family bed he performed his conjugal duties with his wife quite regularly, and as a man he was still filled with strength and energy. But he was an adequate person, and understood that what seems quite normal in relations with his peers may look illogical when it comes to representatives of another generation. He would never have thought that such a strong passion and desire could be aroused in him by such a young girl.
In order to somehow extinguish the volcano exploding in him, he hastened to change the topic of conversation and distract both himself and Gloria with other questions.
- Let's meet with you someday, Miss Gloria, either in this office, or somewhere at a table in a summer cafe, and slowly discuss everything that we could do to ensure the safety of your further travels. Now we can sum up what has been done so far. Analyze what result we have. And we have a finally investigated case regarding the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Paul Cramer. However, we also investigated the case of the mysterious disappearance of the notorious diamond collection! Or rather, you, Miss Gloria, investigated. And here's the most interesting thing...
Grant rubbed his hands with satisfaction, as if he was about to make a great historical, geographical or scientific discovery.
- It turns out that the cause of the death of the Titanic was the infamous Cursed Stone! "Lord of the world!" He, the diamond, sank... Taking with him his captor, Kremer, and the Titanic too... Can you imagine what a sensation?! What catchy headlines our newspapers will come out with! It will be a world sensation! Two legends, and the famous diamond, and the legendary ship, two secrets, united! World top news!!! Why aren't you happy, Miss Gloria?! We have made a grand discovery!!!
The girl smiled mysteriously. She looked playfully at her interlocutor. The twinkles in her eyes made him wary.
- Why are you looking at me like that, Miss Gloria? Am I saying something wrong?
She smiled even more. This caused Oliver's face to take on a more worried look.
-Are you undercooking something? Yes?
“Yes...” Gloria mimicked him, like girls at school tease their girlfriends or friends. “The fact is that the terrible and mysterious Cursed Diamond, called the “Lord of the World,” has nothing to do with the sinking of the Titanic. A beautiful newspaper headline, saying that the Cursed Stone sank to the bottom and took the Titanic with it, will not correspond to reality... The “Lord of the World” did not sink to the bottom...
Grant playfully made his eyes wide with surprise, letting the girl know that he was waiting for an explanation from her. She understood this, so she continued.
- When there, on the deck of the Titanic, this rogue put handfuls of diamonds in my pockets, trying to bribe me, I immediately scooped it all back and threw them in the face of this scoundrel! I really didn’t want to convene with either him or his stolen goods! I did it quite sincerely! But... When I returned home to Flint, I found this in one of my pockets...
And with these words, she took out a large diamond and placed it on the table in front of the businessman, stunned by what he saw. His eyes became unnaturally large...
“So it’s him...” the businessman whispered, his voice breaking with excitement. - Damned diamond... “Lord of the world”...
“I know...” the girl answered calmly. – I saw him in ancient drawings and modern photographs. And now here he is! Before you! Himself!
From an overabundance of emotions, Oliver could not say anything! He was flapping his mouth, as if he was trying to squeeze some words out of himself, but he couldn’t learn it.
“I can’t understand your admiration...” the girl said in a calm voice. “I really didn’t notice that it was still in my pocket.” Otherwise I would have thrown it away in the first place! I believe in curses, and damage, and other devilry! Personally, I want to stay away from this stone! I don't want to get myself into trouble. He almost drowned me once already! I don't want a sequel! And you do with him what you want...
- Don't get me wrong, Miss Gloria! - The owner of the office finally exclaimed excitedly. – I am not driven by greed! I remember with what disgust you spoke about Kremer, whom greed destroyed! I don't even think about keeping this stone! But I am well aware that we are dealing with an amazingly rare rarity on a global scale! You need to think carefully about how best to use it. I don't mean how to sell for more! You can give it away for free. But know where and to whom. I am against what I saw once in some movie. I don’t even remember its name. There, too, it was about some kind of diamond, on which a curse also hung. So the hero of that film, so that that stone would no longer bring grief and death to its owners, took it and threw it into the pond! No! It's a relic after all! There's a whole story connected with it! Lasting for many centuries! Such relics need to be stored either in museums or in some kind of storage facilities. But just throwing it away is stupid! You agree with me? Why are you silent, Miss Gloria!
She sighed sadly and looked at her interlocutor very expressively.
- I completely agree with you, Mr. Grat. That's why I brought it to you. But now I'm worried about something completely different. Guess what exactly!
He made his eyebrows into a house.
- You’re probably thinking about where you’d like to go on your next trip...
- Well... You're rushing things! – The girl smiled. – Give me time to rest and move away from what I experienced. This is what I meant...
Her face became so serious that Grant even stopped looking at the diamond for a while, realizing that his guest was planning to say something very important.
- Both you and I are well aware of the “Butterfly Effect”. No matter how great the temptation may be to change something in the past, for example, to stand up for someone, I understand that this cannot be done. So as not to change the course of events. If we want to change something, it will be later, in our days, when our changes will not affect the course of events that have already taken place. Yes, our current actions can change everything in the future, but they should not change anything in the past. Please forgive me for explaining everything in such detail. But I’ll tell you something important now! I want you to understand where I'm going with this.
- Yes, I'm listening to you, Miss Gloria! I'm listening
- So here it is! Let's say I went back in time and spied where the Nazis hid the Amber Room. If now we reveal to the world the secret of the place where it is stored, then it will be logical. Nothing will change in the past. In the past, all these years, for decades, it lay, folded in boxes, in a cave in one of the mountains! I repeat! – The girl’s voice became louder. – All these decades, boxes with amber slabs lay inside the mountain! And where, pray tell, was the Cursed Stone for almost a whole century?! "Lord of the world"!
What the girl said was so unusual that Grant froze, not knowing what to answer.
“If the stone had sunk,” the narrator continued, “then from April 1913 to December 2023 it would have lay at the bottom of the Atlantic!” At the site of the sinking of the Titanic. But by coincidence and as fate would have it, on that memorable night, known to everyone as the date of the death of the legendary unsinkable ship, it ended up in my pocket! And I immediately, instantly, from April 15, 1912, was transported to December 18, 2023! Yes, when I got home, I found it in my pocket! But I want you to understand the main thing! It turns out that from April 15, 1912 to December 18, 2023, a very large diamond, which is difficult to get lost, actually did not exist! It's not white anywhere! But somewhere it must have been for a whole century!!!
Grant was shocked by what he heard.
- Yes... It's really a mystery... - He finally muttered. – It’s like the incident in the Bermuda Triangle... When a plane with passengers disappeared from radar screens for an hour, and then appeared again. In one hour! The controllers started shouting over the radio to the pilots, saying, where have you gone, where have you been?! And they answer, we haven’t been anywhere! We were talking to you a few seconds ago! Our connection with you has not been interrupted for a second! And when the plane landed, the clocks of all passengers on board were set back by one hour! Everyone has! Do you understand what this means? That both the plane and all its passengers seemed to be absent for an hour! They did not exist in nature at all!
- So that’s what I’m talking about! – Gloria exclaimed. - I know this story with the plane very well! I am interested not only in where those passengers and their plane are, but also where this diamond has been for a whole century?! “She nodded towards the stone lying on the table. – I’m more interested in something else now. Do you remember what the “butterfly effect” is?
Seeing that her interlocutor continued to think about the topic she had raised and was still in the clouds, the narrator said:
- We are talking about the hero of the famous story, who, having recovered in the past, accidentally stepped on a tiny butterfly. But, returning back to his time, he did not recognize his world. He has changed beyond recognition. Because the death of the butterfly he crushed changed the course of evolution! The world has since changed dramatically! Then it was all about the fucking butterfly! Sorry for the expression! Now we are talking about a big gem! Maybe involuntarily, but I kind of stole it! In! In the past time! I had to return to a changed world! Like the hero of that story! The one who stepped on the butterfly! But in my case, the world has not shattered! Why???!!!
The respectable media tycoon always felt like he was in charge in his luxurious office. Confident and proud! Now, under the pressure of this little devil in a skirt, he felt like a careless student who had not learned his homework.
“If we can act like this with impunity,” Gloria continued, “then we can recover, for example, from the hour of the so-called Great Train Robbery, or other thefts, take with us pockets full of gold bars of other valuables, and carry them into our time!” This also applies to the sunken treasures of the Spanish Golden Fleet, and much more...
Grant began rubbing his temples with his fingertips. Apparently all this gave him a headache.
- All this makes my head spin too. – Gloria suddenly said. – We need to get rid of all this. You once mentioned that we could sit somewhere at a table in a summer cafe. We could definitely use a fresh breeze now! So, maybe we won’t debug these get-togethers for later? Maybe we can go right now?
- With pleasure! – Oliver clearly perked up. - With great pleasure! With you, Miss Gloria, I’m ready to go to the end of the world! Let's go! I know the most beautiful place! We will go there immediately! Let's put everything off until later!
Oliver suddenly remembered how he had recently touched the hair of this deity, and what indescribable bliss he experienced! He was glad that he would finally sit with this girl not in a boring business office, but on an open summer area, in a romantic setting!
It turned his head so much that he forgot about the whole world! Including the legendary stone, which the whole world knew about, and which was valued at an astronomical amount of money! His place, as they say, would be in fireproof safes, behind three locks!
But in fact, the legendary diamond is now left lying unattended on the table of the empty office...

Completion date for this story: December 18, 2023
Place of birth of the story: Great Britain, North Wales, Flint, Bolingbroke Street 135.





You are provided with the text of the next story of the new detective series, the author of which translated from Russian into English using the usual Google translator. We really need a literary editor for the English texts of these detective book series. I am ready to pay for the work of an editor and translator. Respond! Thank you! Best regards, author.
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