by Ivy Dawson
“I don’t know,” Shae said slowly, but it was all starting to connect in her mind. He’d been very absent during the whole investigation and snapped every time she suggested something. He hadn’t always been like that. She thought back to all his research, how it covered a whole table. He even had schematics of Daniella’s first cabin. She remembered the floor plan of Marie Goof’s mansion, spread out for everyone to see.
“There’s another thing,” Jax said slowly, he looked at Shae sympathetically, knowing that she wouldn’t like what he was about to say. “he wasn’t in the camera room with me when you were attacked.”
“What?” Shae asked, her whole body going numb.
“He said he needed the toilet, and I didn’t pay attention. I didn’t see him again until I saw you. I just sort of forgot during all the commotion.”
“I know the two of you are close,” Oliver said slowly, “but I think we should go search his cabin.”
“What if he catches us?” Shae whispered, looking at Oliver with wide eyes. She shivered as she imagined the expression on his face if he caught her snooping through his things.
“And what if he’s the murderer?” Oliver countered unsympathetically. “I can’t do this on my own. He’s on to me, and I can’t find his cabin. You know where it is. You know how he thinks, and where he’d hide something.”
“That’s why you were following me,” Shae said, narrowing her eyes at him. Oliver nodded, and she sighed deeply. She looked up at him thoughtfully and saw that he was nervously holding his breath.
“Okay,” She said, nodding seriously. “let’s do this.”
It didn’t take long to get to Frankie’s cabin. By the time they made it there, Shae already felt incredibly guilty. Her hand shook as she opened the door with her keycard. What would her father say?
She knew that what she was doing would hurt Frankie. Her father would’ve baulked at investigating his best friend. Yet, she also knew that he would’ve done it. It wasn’t an easy thing to do, friends were trusted people.
There was a quiet confidence inside of her. Frankie was her uncle; he’d helped her when she needed him. He wasn’t the Cat. He was the most trustworthy and moral person she knew. Everything would be explained once she checked his cabin. All she needed to do was get rid of the nagging feeling of doubt. She was doing what her father had taught her. Treating everyone impartially.
As she opened the door and stepped over the threshold, she knew that there was no coming back from this. And she didn’t mind. Frankie was innocent, and she’d prove it to everyone.
“This place is a mess,” Oliver sneered as he walked through, starting his search on the messy table full of research.
“Well, this doesn’t look good,” Jax commented slowly, picking up a book about World War Two. “look, here’s a page about that poison.”
“He’d have to research the effects of the poison,” Shae pointed out. She skipped the table and went straight for Frankie’s hiding place.
Oliver was right. She knew Frankie. She knew his tricks and how he thought. Her mind went back to when she was about ten years old.
“Do you want to play hide and seek?” Uncle Frankie asked, his eyes gleaming.
“No,” Little Shae scoffed. “that’s for kids. I want you to teach me how to be like you.”
“That’s what I’m doing, kiddo,” he said, with a mischievous smile. “that’s rule number one in this game. You’ve got to have a good hiding spot.”
“What’s hide-and-seek got to do with anything?” Little Shae asked impetuously.
“You’ve never played hide and seek like this before,” he promised her.
She hadn’t believed him at first, but it didn’t take long for Frankie to prove her wrong. She’d never played hide and seek like that before. She’d never forgotten the lessons he taught her, and now they were in her mind again. Fresher than ever.
“What are you doing?” Oliver asked watching her curiously.
“Playing hide and seek,” she told him, picking up a simple black case.
Oliver and Jax looked at each other curiously before walking over to her. Before she could demonstrate what she meant, the door opened, and Shae felt her heart stop.
“What…” Frankie asked in shock. When his eyes met hers, she wished that the earth would swallow her whole. “Shae-bee, what are you doing? Put that down.”
“Frankie,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. “what have you done?”
She reached into the bag and pulled out a slightly smaller one. To the untrained eye, it looked like a toiletries bag. She kept her eyes on him as she pulled out the first bottle.
“Don’t do this,” he warned her, stepping forward menacingly. Jax and Oliver both moved to stop him, watching them both with confused expressions.
“Why did you do this?” Shae asked, her eyes dry, but her heart hurting. She saw the truth on his face as soon as he stepped through the door. She’d seen a guilty man many times before. Right before they were caught, they always had the same look Frankie had now.
“I didn’t do anything,” Frankie said angrily, “I don’t know what you’re thinking.”
“You’re a liar,” Shae said, “and my dad would’ve been so ashamed of you.” She opened the bottle with a twist, and the sight of what was inside only made her resolve stronger. She handed it over to Oliver and heard him gasp a little, his eyes sparkling victoriously.
Jax pulled out his walkie-talkie and quickly called Mark. It was over. It was all over. And yet, she wasn’t relieved.
“Why did you kill them?” Shae asked, watching his shoulder slump in defeat. He knew there was no point in arguing anymore. “You’d never killed before. Why start now?”
“I didn’t mean to,” Frankie said, shaking his head. “Christine recognized me. She was waiting in the room for me that day, I did what I had to do.”
“And Jeremy?” Shae asked, her voice thick. “Did you have to do that too?”
“They were having an affair, Christine and Jeremy,” Frankie’s eyes were emotionless, and he didn’t even try to hide his guilt. It was as if looking at Shae’s injured and accusing face sapped all his strength. “she told him what she saw, and he was trying to blackmail me. He never cared about Daniella. He just wanted the money. I did her a favor.”
Oliver handed her the medicine container with the needle and small bottle of poison. It was all the evidence they needed. Everything else would be simple. He clapped her shoulder and stood next to her while she faced down her uncle.
“Why did you attack me?” Shae asked, hearing the thud of footsteps outside. She didn’t have long.
“I just wanted to scare you, to get you out of the way. That's why I sent you the note as well. I copied Jeremy's handwriting as a backup in case I couldn't get rid of him. I should’ve known better, you’re your father’s daughter after all."
“Why did you do this?” she asked as the footsteps got louder.
She heard Mark’s voice call out, and knew that once he came, he wouldn’t let her get the answers she needed. He’d make her wait until morning, and she couldn’t wait. She needed to know what had happened to her beloved uncle. The man who used to be the best person she knew. The man who almost saved her father.
“I worked for years, trying to fight the good fight,” Frankie said, clenching his teeth as he spoke, his eyes tearing up. “and then they killed your dad. It was all for nothing. All of it. I realized that I couldn’t do any good in this messed up world. That anything I tried was just a drop in an ocean of bad. So, I stopped trying. What was I supposed to do? End up like your father?”
“Yes,” Shae said firmly, drawing strength from her father’s example. He watched in surprise as she drew herself higher and wiped her tears away. She reached out and took Jax’ hand and stared Frankie down. “you should’ve chosen the right side.”
Mark and the security team burst in, and it didn’t take long for them to take Frankie away and start bagging evidence. Dr. Zooberg
also arrived and took Shae to the medical wing. It turned out that she didn’t have a concussion, and Jax helped her to her room after the doctor gave her a sedative.
That night, Shae slept better than she had in years. Not even Luciana’s inconsiderate entrance at two in the morning woke her up. Shae felt safe, because she knew that she was home.
Afterword
Thank you so much for reading Lethal Voyage. Please look out for book 6, which will be available soon!
In the meantime, I’d love to stay in contact so I can let you know as soon as my new books hit Amazon! You can do that by joining by newsletter below.
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Until next time!
Also by Ivy Dawson
Murder on Board
Read FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Shae Jordan is trying to get a fresh start. She wants to take beautiful pictures and see the world, and so decides to take employment on a cruise ship. Unfortunately, life isn’t on a cruise ship isn’t one big holiday, as Shae is about to find out. After her first night, a body is found in one of the main pools.
The victim is heiress, Nova Ashcroft. It also becomes immediately apparent that it was no accident when they find out that Nova had been stabbed.
When the Captain approaches Shae and asks her to take a look around, Shae knows where to start. However, members of the crew are determined to keep the whole thing a secret, and surprisingly, so is Nova’s husband.
Will Shae find the truth? Or will the secret of who killed Nova be lost at sea?
This is Book 1 in the series...come on aboard and enjoy the clean mysteries, mayhem and humour! No gory scenes!
Nautical Mayhem
Read FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Shae Jordan is struggling to get used to the gruelling pace on board the Princess Araminta. It’s less of a non-stop adventure and more of a never-ending shift. Her new-found routine is quickly shattered when a mysterious face from her past comes to visit and shakes things up.
Amidst all the uncertainty, Helen Meyer, a bratty socialite is killed in the middle of a massive party. Someone is immediately arrested, but things quickly spiral out of control and Shae wonders if they caught the right person. Tensions rise when she starts investigating, this time without the powerful help of the Captain.
Will Shae be able to find out what happened before the killer gets away forever? Or will she lose her job in the process?
Finding the truth is never easy, but Shae is about to discover just how hard it can be.
This is Book 2 in the series...come on aboard and enjoy the clean mysteries, mayhem and humour! No gory scenes!
Deadly Stakes
Read Free With Kindle Unlimited
Shae Jordan isn’t having a good week. Her customers are rude and entitled, her boss is on her case, and her roommate is being a nightmare. To top it all off, a woman died on board the Princess Araminta.
Nothing seems suspicious about the death until a family friend comes forward, urging the staff to look into the matter more closely. It isn’t until Shae finds something shocking that she begins to suspect that there’s more to the apparently accidental death.
Paired with an arrogant First Officer, Shae needs to sift through years of family drama and intricate lies to find out what happened to the young woman.
Will the truth come to light? Or will Shae be too late? Find out as Shae Jordan faces deadly stakes!
This is Book 3 in the series...come on aboard and enjoy the clean mysteries, mayhem and humour! No gory scenes!
Strange Tidings
Life on a cruise ship is anything but boring. Shae Jordan has started getting used to that fact of life. Her relatively normal day is shattered when she meets a confused woman who asks her for help. Before Shae can do anything, the woman gives her a dire warning and disappears.
Shae doesn’t have much chance to act on the warning, because at the same time a missing (and presumed dead) millionaire is found adrift at sea. When people start dying, they have to race against the clock to figure out if the mysterious man is who he really says he is.
Who is the mysterious man? Why did the woman warn Shae? Will she be able to find the truth before it’s too late? And will Shae survive these strange tidings?
This is Book 4 in the series...come on aboard and enjoy the clean mysteries, mayhem and humour! No gory scenes!