Circumnavigation, Chapter 24

[MikeL]

Cliff James has released chapter 24 of Circumnavigation, "Strait of Messina".

[hh5]

Nice to learn more of Dirk and first boat - gosh you think Dirk and Trevor had it bad in disagreement

 

You should open your eyes to Dirk and everyone connected with the first boat.

 

Everyone gets bent out of shape from the guy.

 

even thought the bomb scare was a hoax worry - writers fluff - I am surprise there wasn't anything found on the boat at all.

 

They must have miss something ... it could look like its part of the boat but its not and I don't think the guys knows this.

 

They looking for something attached ... so I really think they missed something ...

 

And did Trevor really check every part of the boat ... could have he miss something

[Benji]

...... Bridget is pretty cunning in giving Lisa an answer to the mysterious e-mail question! Was she too cunning for her own good? Although she has planted the idea that Robert is responsible for it, Lisa will obviously tell Trevor and Joel her 'new found' suspicions. What will happen if Jim re-contacts them and the clues start to come together! After all Lisa just mentions the e-mail and Bridget has the instant answer for her, Bridget was well aware on how to track the Atlantis at a moments notice. Her earlier insistence that they keep in cell touch for the next few days as being crucial, also makes me think she has a way of tracking the cell calls between Lisa and the guys. The power boat that docks often may be the answer. The puppet master may have slipped up! Edited May 5, 2010 by Benji

[rknapp]

Ah, so we have a few answers. The sales dispute was between Arnold, and Dirk. I have to wonder, what did Arnold have to do with Ares? I think it would be safe to assume that Arnold did not own the Ares. Why? Rachel convinced Dirk that Ares was a worthwhile investment, so Dirk wouldn't have started the dispute. The divorcee husband who sold Ares was all for selling at a lowball price to screw his wife, so he would not have started the dispute. That leaves the divorcee wife. She would have plenty of reasons to start a sales dispute over Ares, and would have hired Arnold to represent her in some fashion.

 

BUT, that doesn't explain Bridget's story regarding his murder. She says it was over a dispute of the sale of Ares, between Arnold and Dirk. Why would a defendant in a lawsuit kill the plaintiff's lawyer over a civil court case? No reasonable man would do that, and Dirk doesn't strike me as an unreasonable man (testy, yes, but not cold-blooded). Given that, I'd like to know the circumstances surrounding Arnold's death. Was he aboard Ares? Bridget indicated that he died as a result of an accident, but did not specify precisely what kind of accident. Fishy (no pun intended, I swear!).

 

Bridget's immediate explanation of the email raised a lot of red flags. Okay, she demonstrated how easy it would be to deduce Atlantis' course. She also knew as much about it as Robert Whitaker did, and she also, probably unknowingly, just showed how easily she could have come to the same conclusion, and sent the email. For what reason, I do not know. It may or may not be bad. Her reasoning for why Robert would not do it maliciously could ring true for her as well. To date, I see no reason for her to do that, especially if she wanted Dirk to be jailed. If she did it, she must have known that doing so would reveal Trevor's status as being among the living, which would kill the warrant. Besides, if she does not herself own a yacht, why would she have oceanic weather reports bookmarked?!

 

UNLESS, her actions are merely a cover. Her correspondence with other characters indicates her interest in having Dirk Carlson thrown in the slammer for murder. BUT, does she actually want that? Actions speak louder than words, and CJ hasn't shown us her actions beyond her conversations with the various characters in the story. I wonder, what does she do when no one is looking?

 

Some things I'd like to know more about. How did Arnold Bellevue die? He died ten years ago. Right about when Ares, and Rachel, disappeared. What were the circumstances surrounding his death, and how is it linked to Rachel's assumed death?

 

Who was it who owned Ares before the Carlson family? Who was the husband, and who was the wife? I think they might be important. All I can say is, there is a lot of foul play here, and it will endanger Trevor once he returns to the Caribbean Sea, Florida, and the Bahaman Islands.

[Benji]

to represent her in some fashion.

 

UNLESS, her actions are merely a cover. Her correspondence with other characters indicates her interest in having Dirk Carlson thrown in the slammer for murder. BUT, does she actually want that? Actions speak louder than words, and CJ hasn't shown us her actions beyond her conversations with the various characters in the story. I wonder, what does she do when no one is looking?

 

Some things I'd like to know more about. How did Arnold Bellevue die? He died ten years ago. Right about when Ares, and Rachel, disappeared. What were the circumstances surrounding his death, and how is it linked to Rachel's assumed death?

 

Who was it who owned Ares before the Carlson family? Who was the husband, and who was the wife? I think they might be important. All I can say is, there is a lot of foul play here, and it will endanger Trevor once he returns to the Caribbean Sea, Florida, and the Bahaman Islands.

 

 

 

Hmmm! Seems to me that Bridget is doing her best to implicate Dirk and very much so! Could her earlier encounter with Detective Gonzales hastened her to divert his questions from herself about another unsolved murder? She is quick to provide another suspect in her actions and to lead others to question the motives, she has Lisa and Trevor questioning of Dirk only in the interest of Trevor.

Edited May 6, 2010 by Benji

[glimsong]

Yes. Although I feel we are missing another big player. I have a very good idea who the driver of that speedboat is. If you guys think about it you might have a clue as well after all who was in a position to watch Trevor all the years he has been running his boat. Who did he confide in about his solo trips to search for the wreckage of the Ares. Finally who got him involved with Bridget?

[Benji]

Yes. Although I feel we are missing another big player. I have a very good idea who the driver of that speedboat is. If you guys think about it you might have a clue as well after all who was in a position to watch Trevor all the years he has been running his boat. Who did he confide in about his solo trips to search for the wreckage of the Ares. Finally who got him involved with Bridget?

 

..............Interesting theory, I was wondering if Trevor might see Julie again and have planned on paying a visit to Tahiti after Australia. But if Julie is mixed up with Bridget, that brings a real twist to the story, and a whole load of questions!

[wildone]

Thanks CJ for the chapter .

 

Okay, I think 3 words will sum up what I have to say:

 

Girls are bad

 

Now my explanation.

 

Lisa...Joel and Trevor need to stop talking to her. It appears she is the leak and the one jumping to half cocked conclusions and scaring the guys and her dad and Dirk. She seems to think with her mouth and not her head. It is her mouth that is causing all the trouble it seems.

 

Bridget...That entire chapter I pictured Bridget in a skanky dress and hypnotizing Lisa with her glowing eyes and speaking with a forked tongue, literally. I'm sure CJ is trying to get us to look at Bridget as a bad person, but I am thinking she really is. If I was to guess, I think her and the beloved Arnold were the divorcing couple, Arnold screwed her in the divorce over the boat. Then Arnold remarried or was dating when him, his gf/new wife, and another couple chartered out the Ares before the fateful night. Then Bridget arranged for Arnold's death, Rachael's death (cause she bought the boat in cahoots with Arnold) and steered the police in the direction she wanted. With Trevor coming on scene, it gave her all the tools needed to alter the story more to implicate Dirk and eliminate the other person who may know the truth.

 

What if Dirk knows, and is under threat of his life from Bridget to keep his mouth shut. Like maybe even blackmail?

 

Well like I said........Girls are bad

[Benji]

Thanks CJ for the chapter .

 

Okay, I think 3 words will sum up what I have to say:

 

Girls are bad

 

Now my explanation.

 

Lisa...Joel and Trevor need to stop talking to her. It appears she is the leak and the one jumping to half cocked conclusions and scaring the guys and her dad and Dirk. She seems to think with her mouth and not her head. It is her mouth that is causing all the trouble it seems.

 

Bridget...That entire chapter I pictured Bridget in a skanky dress and hypnotizing Lisa with her glowing eyes and speaking with a forked tongue, literally. I'm sure CJ is trying to get us to look at Bridget as a bad person, but I am thinking she really is. If I was to guess, I think her and the beloved Arnold were the divorcing couple, Arnold screwed her in the divorce over the boat. Then Arnold remarried or was dating when him, his gf/new wife, and another couple chartered out the Ares before the fateful night. Then Bridget arranged for Arnold's death, Rachael's death (cause she bought the boat in cahoots with Arnold) and steered the police in the direction she wanted. With Trevor coming on scene, it gave her all the tools needed to alter the story more to implicate Dirk and eliminate the other person who may know the truth.

 

What if Dirk knows, and is under threat of his life from Bridget to keep his mouth shut. Like maybe even blackmail?

 

Well like I said........Girls are bad

 

.............Hmmm, another interesting thought, the goat has never used a 'female villain' in his stories before, yet Steve propose's at least 2 in this saga! Gasp! I'm still waiting for Trevor to get back to Joel for the monkey, perhaps a fun loving, butt punching goat fixated on Joel on some future island in coming chapters! Need pics!!

[rknapp]

Yes. Although I feel we are missing another big player. I have a very good idea who the driver of that speedboat is. If you guys think about it you might have a clue as well after all who was in a position to watch Trevor all the years he has been running his boat. Who did he confide in about his solo trips to search for the wreckage of the Ares. Finally who got him involved with Bridget?

 

What speedboat? Jim had a power boat rented in Italy... the only other mysterious boat in the story was the sleek power yacht that has been docked behind Bridget's home twice now. As far as I know, there is no way in hell Julie could afford such a machine running a dive shop in Fort Pierce, or Port St. Lucie. Yes, St. Lucie county had a great many people living beyond their means in this time frame (take a look at the county now, lots of foreclosures), but people in that business can't afford boats like that unless they charter them like the Carlson's did with Atlantis and Ares.

 

I disagree with Julie having a malicious part in the story, but I agree that we're missing another player, or a group of players... one that Dirk is afraid of. Dirk is afraid not of Trevor finding something off of Bimini, or of him searching in the shipping lanes, but something, or someone, finding him!

 

The mysterious yacht may or may not be connected with these people. I get the feeling that whatever Bridget is up to, it's independent of the trouble Dirk is in off of Bimini. Of course I could be wrong. My thinking is Dirk's situation is simply a convenience for her.

[C James]

Some awesome theorizing in this thread!!

 

I can't comment on it directly due to giving spoilers, but wow, this is great!!! Thank you all!!!

 

Also, I can say that things speed up quite a bit once Trevor and Joel's med trip nears its end. Much like Trevor's crossing of the Atlantic, there will segments where a great deal of distance is covered quickly.

 

There will also be segments (there have already been some) where it might appear to be an irrelevant plot twist, or even filler. That's not the case; it's all plot-central, it just won't be apparent as to why for a few more chapters. Also, we are now finding out more about the backstory, which is the key to it all.

 

We do, however, need to keep an eye out for the New Jersey connection; it's already been mentioned that Lisa's grandmother lives there. It's also well known that Rknapp has experience in boats, and is known to lurk about in Florida waters. So, I'm still going with the "RKnapp did it" theory.