Lethal Voyage

by Ivy Dawson

  He was so agitated that he nearly ran over Mark and Shae. He glared at them as he stumbled past, his scent foul. It was clear that he’d been drinking. Shae peeked around the corner and saw Daniella on a chaise lounge in a silk nightgown, crying quietly.

  “Hi,” she said gently, leaning against the doorway. Mark took one look at the crying female and gave her a sympathetic glance before quickly walking away.

  “What?” Daniella looked up in fright, but relaxed when she saw that it was Shae. “Oh, it’s you. Come in.”

  The older woman stood up, smoothed her nightgown and quickly poured them each a drink. Usually Shae refused the offer, but this time she took the glass gratefully, and carefully locked the door behind her before joining Daniella.

  “Some men just can’t handle pressure,” Daniella said mournfully, shaking her head as she took a long sip from her glass. “he’s such a romantic. But as soon as I need him,” Daniella clicked her tongue and made a sweeping motion with her finger. “gone.”

  “I guess he just wants the easy parts,” Shae said hoarsely. Her throat was still hurting, and she had a feeling that her voice would be scratchy for the next few days.

  “You can’t blame me for thinking he was different, you should see what he does for me,” Daniella said, somewhat defensively. “look at this.” She got up and quickly disappeared into the closet.

  When she came back, she handed Shae an envelope. As she read the sappy love poem inside, something niggled at the back of Shae’s mind.

  “How long have you two been together?” Shae asked, remembering what Frankie had said about Jeremy’s financial status. She took one of the objects out of her bulky jacket pocket.

  After she’d been attacked, Jax had draped his jacket over her, to stop the shivering. It was a sweet thought, but it wasn’t the cold that made her shake. As she unfolded the threatening note, she compared it to the love note that Jeremy had given Daniella.

  “It’s a match,” she whispered to herself.

  “We’ve been together for about three months now,” Daniella said, not noticing Shae’s frown. “we’re still in the early stages, but I feel so sure about him. I know he’s not handling the pressure well, but it’s a lot to expect from anyone.”

  Shae nodded absently and got to her feet, shoving both notes back into her pocket. She made her way over to the closet and switched on the light. Despite only moving that day, their clothes were all neatly packed out.

  The cabin had a spacious walk-in closet, with ample space for the largest collection of holiday clothes.

  “Daniella,” Shae said, studying Jeremy’s shoes. “where was Jeremy when we were trying to trap the Cat.”

  “What do you mean?” Daniella asked in surprise, standing up and making her way over to Shae. She watched as the other woman picked up Jeremy’s shoes one-by-one and compared them to a dirty tissue. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m just curious, it must’ve been stressful for the both of you,” Shae commented lightly.

  “It was,” Daniella said hesitantly, leaning against the doorframe. “what are you doing?”

  “Were the two of you together? Here, in this cabin?” Shae asked, her hands shaking as she found a pair of shoes with scuff marks. It was notable because not only did it match the color on the tissue, but they were climbing shoes and the only scuffed pair in an otherwise immaculate closet.

  Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and she wondered how far away Mark was. Could it be possible that the Cat was none other than Jeremy? Not only did he have a motive and opportunity, but now she had evidence.

  “I think Jeremy’s guilty,” Shae said at the same time Daniella picked up a weighty jewelry case and brought it down heavily on Shae’s head.

  Chapter 9

  Shae felt the sickening pain in her head, but immediately rolled away. She was still blinking stars away when she saw that Daniella was lifting the box again.

  Thinking quickly, Shae picked up one of the shoes and threw it at Daniella’s face. The shoe hit its mark and Daniella dropped the box with a cry. Shae didn’t wait a moment before launching herself at Daniella, tackling her to the ground.

  “I’ve got you,” Shae said, pinning Daniella’s arms down, and using her weight to hold the older woman down. “why did you do that?”

  Daniella groaned and struggled, but Shae held her down easily, and shouted for help. Mark couldn’t be far, and the security room wasn’t that far away from Daniella’s cabin. Unfortunately, no-one came.

  “Are you trying to steal your own jewels?” Shae asked, feeling very tired and a little nauseous. Her head was killing her, and she knew that she had to go see the doctor as soon as possible. She knew that she’d have to stop soon, her body probably couldn’t take much more of the abuse.

  “Is it for the insurance money?”

  She looked down at Daniella’s face. The older woman was still struggling, but Shae had the better position, and it wasn’t hard to pin the other woman down. It also helped that Daniella was as weak as a kitten. Years of living the high life had made her weak, despite the Pilates and yoga classes.

  “Not about the jewels,” Daniella grunted. “Jeremy’s innocent. I know it.”

  “You tried to kill me to protect that loser?” Shae asked incredulously. She felt liquid running down her forehead and knew that Daniella had drawn blood.

  “He’s not a loser,” Daniella argued, squirming and trying to claw at Shae’s hands.

  “I was trying to help you,” Shae said in disgust. She pushed Daniella down one more time before getting up.

  The older woman charged at Shae, but she pushed Daniella away and quickly ran to the door. In one fluid motion, she unlocked and opened the door then closed and locked it behind her.

  “Let me out!” Daniella screeched, banging on the door.

  Mark and Stefan were walking down the hall and quickly made their way over to her, their expressions full of concern.

  “Let me out! I’ll sue you for this!”

  “Sweetie,” Shae called through the door, wiping the blood off her face. “you’re in a world of trouble. You better pray I don’t press charges.”

  “What happened?” Mark asked, his expression troubled. He reached for the door handle, but Shae held up a warning finger. It was very effective since there was blood on her hands. Mark immediately stepped back, his hands held up in surrender.

  “The stupid cow tried to kill me,” Shae said, rolling her eyes. “and you better believe she’s going to jail!” She shouted the last part through the door, and Daniella stopped pounding on it. Shae hoped that the silence meant that the wealthy widow felt a slight shred of remorse for causing Shae’s crushing headache.

  “Why would she do that?” Stefan asked, moving closer to Shae and examining her injury carefully. Shae winced, but let him.

  “I found evidence that Jeremy might be our killer,” Shae explained. Stefan stood back and shook his head sadly.

  “You need a doctor, that’s one big bump you’ve got there. How did you manage to fight back?”

  “She’s not very strong,” Shae said, rolling her eyes. “I’m pretty sure she used all her energy to hit me over the head.”

  “Well, let’s be grateful that she’s weak,” Mark said grimly. “Stefan, do you mind watching over her? I’ll take Shae to the doctor. And I swear, this time we’re making you go to bed. You shouldn’t be out here. If we let you stay out any longer, who knows what might happen?”

  “Honestly, I don’t think anything else can happen tonight,” Shae said with a little laugh. “anyway, I think I found evidence that Jeremy’s the killer. Look at this.”

  As they walked, Shae saw that they were approaching a large group huddled at the end of the hallway. She stopped what she was doing to look at them curiously. When she looked at Mark, she noticed that he had a sheepish expression on his face.

  “What’s going on?” she asked cautiously, taking her hand out of her pocket.

  He shook his hea
d an put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off and took a step back, watching him suspiciously.

  “Jeremy’s not the killer,” Mark said with a sigh. He put both his hands in his pockets and looked at her with a pity-filled expression.

  “How do you know?” Shae asked, looking at him incredulously. He sighed again and shook his head. She felt annoyed by his stone-walling and started walking up to the large group. As she got closer, she noticed that Jax and Dr. Zooberg were already there. She frowned and looked back at Mark who quickly pulled her back.

  “I don’t think you should go there,” he said, grimacing. She looked down at his hand on her arm before shaking it off and crossing her arms over her chest.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked. “What’s going on?”

  “Jeremy’s not the killer,” Mark said with a sigh. “because he’s already dead.”

  “You’re kidding,” Shae said in frustration. “so, she attacked me for nothing? What’s going on here? This is ridiculous.”

  She cursed under her breath and kicked at the wall, feeling a rising hysteria at the back of her throat. He’d been killed just down the hall from her. While they’d been chasing after shadows, the Cat had snuck up behind them and killed one of the suspects.

  “I don’t know what to say anymore,” Mark admitted tiredly, running his hands through his hair.

  “Wait,” Shae said slowly, a thought dawning on her. “when did we let Oliver go?”

  Mark looked at her thoughtfully, clenching his jaw. His eyes widened and he turned toward the security guards.

  “Ivan, where’s Oliver?”

  “Oliver?” Ivan asked in confusion, separating himself from the group and walking over to his boss. “We let him go. We didn’t think that there was any need to keep him anymore.”

  “Yeah, but where did he go after?” Shae asked, cracking her knuckles nervously.

  “Uhm,” Ivan said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down at his feet.

  “Please tell me you kept an eye on him,” Mark asked in annoyance.

  “Well…” Ivan trailed off, looking anywhere but at Shae or Mark.

  “No,” Mark grunted, gesturing angrily. He cursed and turned away from them, his expression furious. Even though Ivan was twice his size, the security guard still cringed at the sight of Mark’s anger. “okay, okay. Here’s what we’re going to do.”

  Mark gestured to Jax, and he immediately came over, looking at Shae in concern.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, taking Shae’s face in his hands and tilting her head to get a better look at her wound. He winced and pulled her in for a quick hug.

  “Daniella attacked her,” Mark said, rolling his eyes.

  Shae found that the action didn’t offend her. Before she knew him, she would’ve taken it as a sign of disinterest. Now that she knew him a little better, she knew that he was simply expressing irritation at the entire situation. It was better not to take Mark’s behavior personally. It was hard, but it worked out for the best if she put her own feelings aside.

  It was also easier to face his behavior when Jax was holding her close. She felt warm, and safe. She held onto his arm, leaning her head against his chest. Her head was killing her, and it helped to hear his heartbeat against her cheek. She’d never felt particularly short, but when she was hugging Jax, she felt tiny.

  It was strange, but he made her feel small, in a good way. There, in that crowded hallway, with the lights that were too bright and the horror of knowing that another innocent was dead, Shae felt comforted in his arms.

  “Okay, you need to leave,” Jax told her seriously. “I don’t know why, but you’re the biggest target tonight. Maybe we should just call it a day?”

  “I’m way ahead of you,” she said, her tone exhausted.

  “I need you to take her to her room, and just watch over her,” Mark told Jax. “no offense, but we need to get you out of the way before something else happens.”

  “You know what?” Shae asked tiredly. “I don’t even care. Take me back to my room, you guys can find this lunatic. I’m done. I’ll try again in the morning.”

  “That’s the spirit,” Mark said, nodding seriously. “the rest of us will look for Oliver. It can’t be a coincidence that the moment he disappears, another person turns up dead.”

  “Boss, maybe we shouldn’t fixate on Oliver,” Ivan said hesitantly. “I don’t think he had anything to do with this. We need to try something new.”

  “Oh please, tell me your brilliant idea,” Mark said sarcastically. “since you’ve got a better plan, why don’t you lead everything? My mistake, tell us what you need, Ivan.”

  “I’m just saying…” Ivan started, his expression exasperated.

  “Come on,” Jax told her gently, “let’s go. I think there’s a first aid kit in the security office. It will have to do until Dr. Zooberg’s done over there.”

  “Can’t I just go sleep?” Shae asked tiredly. “I don’t even care about this anymore.”

  “We need to clean that,” Jax said in amusement, leading her away. “we can’t just let you sleep. And I need to check up on you to make sure you don’t have a concussion.”

  “How would you know what a concussion looks like?” Shae asked, her eyes bleary as she looked up at him.

  The shock and adrenaline from the night’s activities was wearing off, and she felt like she’d been hit by a bus. All she wanted was to go to sleep.

  “I have four brothers, and we grew up on a farm with dirt bikes,” Jax said, shaking his head as he remembered everything he got up to. “I’ve seen my fair share.”

  “I didn’t know you grew up on a farm,” Shae said curiously, stifling a massive yawn.

  “Don’t worry about it, I’ll tell you everything when you’re more awake,” Jax said, a soft smile on his face.

  He led her into the security office and helped her down onto one of the chairs. As he rummaged around for the first aid kit, she leaned her head against the armrest and curled her feet underneath her.

  “No,” she said sleepily, “I want to hear it now.”

  “Are you even going to remember any of this in the morning?” he asked in amusement.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt,” A familiar voice said. The sound caused Shae to forget her sleepiness and sit up in her chair. “but we need to talk.”

  “Oliver,” she hissed, narrowing her eyes at him.

  Chapter 10

  “What do you want?” Jax asked, standing up and walking closer to Shae.

  “I need to talk to you about this whole thing,” Oliver said, looking exclusively at Shae. “It’s important.”

  “I don’t know,” Shae said hesitantly.

  Oliver made her feel uneasy, and she was about forty percent sure that he had something to do with Jeremy’s murder.

  “Hear me out,” Oliver pleaded, “and if you think that I’m wasting your time, then you can call security and have them lock me up for the rest of the cruise.”

  “I like that,” Shae said, smiling evilly. “it’s what you deserve for lying to me.”

  “Wow,” Jax said, shaking his head. “remind me to never get on your bad side.”

  “Trust me,” Oliver grumbled, “it’s not fun.”

  “Okay, you’ve got five minutes,” Shae said, folding her arms and giving him a challenging look. “speak now.”

  “Okay,” Oliver nodded. He walked into the room but took a step back when Shae flinched. “sorry. Okay, so the thing is, I’ve been working on this case for a couple of months, and I noticed something.”

  “Wow, you only noticed something after a couple of months, you must be really bad at your job,” Shae said with a deadpan expression.

  “Thanks,” Oliver rolled his eyes. “but not what I meant. These crimes seem random, and they’re totally impossible most of the time. They had nothing in common, except for one thing.”

  “What is it?” Jax asked as Oliver paused dramatically and looked to
make sure that Shae was listening. She was. Intently.

  “One man. He’s always on the scene before anyone else. He’s basically invisible, and he’s always got a reason to be there.”

  “Okay, you’re annoying me now. Just say it,” Shae said, rolling her eyes at him.

  “I’m getting there,” Oliver told her coolly. “just give me a chance. Anyway, I started following this guy around, and then I noticed something else. These crimes have been going on for a very long time, and I studied some of the older cases, and I think I figured out how he does it.”

  “Then why haven’t you done anything about it?” Shae asked with a frown. “And why have you been following me around?”

  “I think you’re missing the point here,” Jax told her. “how do you know who it is? And how are they committing this crime?”

  “I think they’ve been sneaking in, then they hide the jewels in a place only they’ll find it. On the premises. Then, they’re called in as an expert investigator to solve the case, and they take the jewels when they leave.”

  “What are you saying?” Shae asked softly, sensing where he was heading.

  “Are you saying that…” Jax trailed off and looked over at Shae. They shared an incredulous look before turning back to Oliver.

  “I think Frankie’s behind all of this,” Oliver admitted heavily.

  “You’ve got no evidence,” Shae reminded him.

  “I know,” he said quickly, “but I think you can help me with this. I want to search his cabin. I think he’s hiding something there.”

  “You’re being ridiculous,” Shae sputtered, but a small seed of doubt had been planted in her mind.

  “Think about it,” Oliver said, watching her carefully. “he’s an expert on the case, but he’s got no clue about who’s behind it. He’s got all this research and knowledge, but he’s getting nowhere in the case. He’s not close to catching this guy, but somehow, he’s able to fly out to meet these rich clients wherever they are? Check the records, he’s paying for his own cabin, and he’s been here for about a week now, and is planning on staying longer. How many private investigators can afford that? Especially ones with such a bad track record?”