Liana hummed to herself while she diligently sketched out the details of a new dress design. This particular lounge room of the ship was relatively quiet, although she could hear the various conversations of her fellow second class passengers. As her pencil glided across the crisp, white paper, the soft sounds of the Atlantic Ocean floated through the open window. She needed this design to be perfect and with every iteration of the dress disappointing her, she sighed and groaned. She leaned over the table and placed her head in her hands.

"I need to take a break." Liana muttered to herself as she carefully rolled up her sketches, placing them in her portfolio. She made her way over to the deck. The deck was deserted, the other passengers no doubt enjoying the comfort of their cabins or the warmth of the lounges below.

Suddenly, she heard a strangled scream and the smashing of glass coming from below deck, likely coming from the first class cabins. Liana froze in fear as she gripped the railing on the deck, her knuckles turning white. She strained to hear anything else, but the only sound was the occasional splash of the ocean. Several minutes later, she heard another woman scream and she took one last glance at the pitch black ocean, before her curiosity got the better of her and she cautiously walked down the stairs to investigate.

Below deck was a scene of chaos as the captain and other crew members kept panicked passengers away from a gruesome murder. One woman quietly cried from the mere shock of it all, another elderly gentleman gripped his Bible tightly as he listened to the instructions of the crew members. As if pulled by an invisible force, Liana strode forward—intending to see what happened. She didn't want to gawk at a dead body but she just could not stand there and do nothing. She gasped in surprise when the captain shot out his arm to stop her.

"I'm afraid you can't go any further, miss. This is a crime scene now." The captain said seriously as he guided her to sit down at a nearby table. She nodded and watched him walk away to address the crowd. He reiterated that they must all return to their cabins and securely lock the doors while the security personnel worked on finding the murderer.

Liana pulled out her sketchbook, jotting down the events as they unfolded and decided that she would use it to keep record of the crime. At least with this, she felt like she had some control over the situation and could potentially solve the crime. It kept her from imagining herself dying in all manner of violent ways...strangling, pushed overboard, or stabbed. She glanced up when someone sat down across from her.

"What a terrible night. I'm sure the security will do their best to keep us safe." Liana said to them, attempting a weak smile. "But as the saying goes in France, La société fait le criminel et le criminel reproduit la société."