#TimeTravelingGhost Part 33: EP 2: 1937: The Hindenburg Part S

#Wss366 #TimeTravelAuthors 8/27

“I might have had some of those thoughts,” Miss Pang replied to my injudicious comment. Rather than shocked, she sounded amused. She had drunk almost as much as I had, but unlike me, she didn’t have ghost-given resistance.

“Pardon me,” I said. “I may have had too much to drink. Let’s say two out of three. The third is something two ladies shouldn’t discuss.”

“Nice save,” Emily said, “but don’t press your luck.” Remembering the whack she’d given me, I didn’t want to find out what would happen if I blew things.

“To the first, then—beastly drunk. And a pardon in advance for anything either of us might say while in that condition.” Miss Pang raised her glass, and we clinked. After that, I could hardly refuse.

“And to the second,” she said, lowering her glass. “Who are you really, and what do you want?”

“I am Luminelle Bijou, and I truly can tell the future. And what I told you is true. I also see that we are on the eve of another great war, and if…”

I stopped to look around, forgetting Emily was keeping watch.

“If the information you have doesn’t reach the right hands, the Germans will have an unbeatable trump card. I can get it into those hands, and please don’t ask; it’s an occult secret.”

“So you know how to escape but won’t share it?”

“Miss Pang, I wish that were true, but when this is over, I'll be as dead as you. If it is any consolation, I know a great #adventure awaits you on the other side.”

“Save your platitudes. They make your story less believable. Dead is dead; the priests lie.”

Miss Pang’s words were beginning to slur, and her sentences were a trifle disjointed. I pushed half of my sandwich her way. It wouldn’t do if she passed out.

“I know nothing of God’s will or even if there is a God, but we'll meet on the other side. You don’t want to face me knowing you passed up the chance to get one over on them. I hate the Nazis as much as you do. Let me help you.”

“Okay. How about number three, and you can get it personally?”

Behind me, I heard Emily say, “Don’t you dare!”

“I will have to decline. I am tempted, but it would complicate things when we meet again.”

I hoped all that #computed because if not, I would have to take her up on the offer and face Emily’s fury later.

#TimeTravelingGhost 34 EP 2T: 1937: The Hindenburg

#Wss366 #TimeTravelAuthors 23rd

“I can’t believe you did it,” Emily murmured from behind me. “I cracked.”

“Oh, ye of little faith,” I thought. Not that I blamed Emily for being surprised, but it was too soon to congratulate myself. I didn’t have the film yet.

I looked down, finding my glass empty. I’d been putting those cocktails away. Another wouldn’t hurt, and I needed something to calm my strained nerves. I waved for the steward and ordered a Champagne cocktail. Miss Pang declined my offer to buy her another drink.

Using my “mind-reading” ability, I sensed she thought I was trying to get her drunk

Bull’s-eye, she would be right.

“And a Monte Cristo,” I added to the steward.

His foot scuffed the floor, and his gaze wavered, but he didn’t say anything. Behind me, Emily groaned. I’d done it again. Maybe the drink wasn’t a good idea.

“That’s a ‘Croque monsieur’ that’s dipped in egg and pan-fried.”

“That we can do, Mademoiselle.” The steward resumed smiling, thinking, “Miss Moneybags will be happy, and I’ll be richer.” Heavy tipping on a luxury #cruise like this had its perks.

“So, the next thing,” I said when the steward was gone, “is I tell your fortune, you’ll doubt me, and then I’ll tell you a few more things to #restore your confidence in me.”

“Okay, read my future.”

I looked to see if anyone else could hear, then lowered my voice. “The Hindenburg will blow up in New Jersey at the mooring mast. You are not among the survivors.”

Her face went as blank as the steward’s a few minutes earlier. Then she asked, “I die?”

At least she wasn’t laughing. “Yes, and the film is destroyed at the same time.”

Her eyes widened. “So you’re a spy!”

“If I were a spy, I would have the captain arrest you and confiscate the film. It’s really a harebrained idea to convince you that I can read minds and see the future when I could have you arrested. That’s why I showed you evidence of my sincerity.”

I jumped as she waved her hand. “My God,” I thought. “She’s going to have me arrested!”

The steward appeared at her shoulder. “Jack Rose, please,” Miss Pang said. “My friend is paying.”

“That’s it? You believe me?”

“Let’s say I don’t disbelieve you. I still don’t know what you want. But given the things I’ve seen…”

Her statement shifted into a question: ‘Where did I see them?’

“Heidelberg. But that’s something a spy would know.”

“True, but for now, I choose to believe you—with reservations.”

“Well, that was easier than expected.”

“I could make it harder. What am I thinking?”

Our drinks arrived, and I waited until the steward was out of earshot.

“You want to get roaring drunk, find out who I am, and see if I’m any good in bed.”

Miss Pang choked on her drink, and Emily gave the back of my head a solid smack. But if Miss Pang believed my prediction of her imminent demise, what else could she be thinking?