“Those card readers can be hacked.”
“I know but ... this is an employee corridor,” Quinn argued. “It’s full of employees and there’s almost always someone wandering up and down the hallway. Whoever broke in had to be incredibly ballsy to risk it. Everyone knows Rowan and I are constantly in and out of this room.”
“Hmm.” Fred stroked his chin as he poked his head into the hallway. “I can see what you mean. There are workers at both ends and they seem curious about what we’re doing in here. Is it the same at night?”
“It’s a little less busy,” Quinn conceded. “People are still constantly moving through here, though.”
“Right.” Fred moved back into the room. “And you guys always stay in here? Is there a reason for that?”
“I don’t know.” Quinn shrugged. “My room looks basically the same — although without the hair care products — but it’s easier to stay here. She has more stuff. This way she doesn’t have to carry it to my room.”
“Do you guys ever stay in your room?”
Quinn searched his memory. “Not really. “We’ve just always stayed here.”
“I find that weird.”
“It’s not weird. This is the first place we ever spent the night together. It’s simply a habit.”
“So ... you’re practically living here?” Fred queried.
“No.” Quinn shook his head. “I mean ... we spend every night together. Sometimes I shower and get ready here. We tend to sleep in, though, and a lot of the time on cruise days I have to go back to my room and shower so we can make it to our shifts on time.”
“So, basically you’re saying there was no chance that you would’ve returned to your room last night, right?”
“Pretty much.”
“Then breaking in here was definitely ballsy,” Fred agreed. “Are you sure the camera was in here? I mean ... she could’ve left it someplace else.”
“Don’t go there,” Quinn chided, frustration rolling through him. “I said the same thing to her and she practically melted down. She’s right, though. She never just leaves that camera behind willy-nilly. It’s too important to her.”
“Because her father bought it for her?”
“Yeah.” Quinn scrubbed his hand over the back of his short-cropped hair. “She’s struggling. I think this is too much for her.”
Fred wasn’t much for talking about relationships and feelings, but he could see that Rowan wasn’t the only one struggling. His old friend was grappling with some heated feelings, too. “You love her, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to marry her?”
“Probably. Eventually. It’s a little soon for that, but I don’t want to live even five minutes without her in my life. Go ahead and laugh. I know you think I’m being schmaltzy.”
“I’m not going to laugh.” Fred blinked several times as he studied his friend with fresh eyes. “I’m just ... impressed. I’m not sure I ever saw you settling down.”
“I’m not settling for anything. She’s ... great.”
“I see that.” Fred’s lips curved. “She’s also upset about her private space being violated and you’re wound extremely tight because of it. I mean ... where is she?”
“I sent her with Sally,” Quinn replied. “They’re shopping.”
“Even though she was crushed beyond belief, you sent her shopping?”
“I didn’t want her here for this,” Quinn explained. “She and Sally had a girl fight and made up last night. I thought the time together would do them good. Sally has a way about her. She’s always upbeat and happy. I told Sally to take her to look at cameras. I thought maybe finding something new would erase the heartache of losing the other camera.”
“You’re pretty sure you’re not going to find it.”
“It’s gone.” Quinn was positive. “I mean ... we could somehow discover it in someone else’s possession if we’re lucky, but it’s not simply hanging around on this ship waiting to be discovered. Someone took it.”
“Okay.” Fred readjusted his thinking. “I guess the next question is an obvious one. Do you think someone stole the camera because of the situation with her father, or does it have something to do with the oil rig murder?”
Quinn snapped his eyes to Fred, surprised. “Why would it have anything to do with her father?”
“I don’t know. Why would it have anything to do with the murder?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense.” Quinn had given the situation a lot of thought and was positive that this was the only scenario that made sense. “I asked Rowan to take photos of everyone on the deck yesterday. Those are the same photos she passed to you on the flash drive. Someone obviously saw her snapping away on deck.”
“And what would the point of that be?” Fred was legitimately curious. “What good does taking the camera do?”
“I’m guessing whoever did it believed Rowan didn’t have time to back up the photos. He or she — although it was only male visitors yesterday, so I’m leaning toward a he — clearly didn’t want Rowan focusing on those photographs.”
“Do I have the only copy?”
“No. Rowan backs everything up to the Cloud and private portals. We have several other copies.”
“That’s probably smart,” Fred supplied, shaking his head. “The room hasn’t been tossed. Whoever it is knew exactly where the camera was kept. How is that possible?”
“It was on the table.” Quinn pointed. “The room is small. It was out in the open. Someone could’ve gotten in and out in under three minutes.”
“So it is possible no one saw this individual in the hallway.”
“I guess, although it’s still a ballsy move.”
“It is,” Fred agreed. “You said you had workers checking the cameras. How long will that take?”
“Not long. In fact, we can head down to my office and check on their progress now. There’s nothing else to see here. Whoever took the camera simply strolled in, grabbed it, and strolled right out.”
“Is that going to comfort your girlfriend? Her private space was still violated.”
“I think the loss of the camera and the violation are working together to suck the life out of her,” Quinn admitted. “I don’t like this.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I have to figure out something, though. This is too much for her. I mean ... how much is she supposed to take in such a short time period?”
“You really do love her.” Fred’s grin was lightning quick. “You’re so cute.”
Quinn made a face at his friend’s cooing tone. “Can you not make things worse?”
“Probably not.”
“I figured.”
“I have to be true to who I am.”
“Then let’s head to my office. There’s nothing left to do here except send in a cleaning crew. I’m hoping that will perk up Rowan ... at least a little.”
“I wouldn’t count on it.”
“I know. It’s all I have, though. I need to think of something else to bolster her spirits.”
“WHAT ABOUT THIS ONE?”
Sally knew nothing about cameras. Basically she relied on her cell phone camera and called it a day. Rowan’s face was twisted into a firm scowl as they meandered through the expensive digital camera store, though, and Sally was determined to help.
“I prefer a Nikon to a Canon,” Rowan replied absently.
Sally perked up. At least they were finally getting somewhere. “Great. The Nikons are over here.” She firmly grabbed Rowan’s arm and directed her toward the other side of the store. She’d never seen her friend so morose. Actually, the term she was leaning toward was “devastated.” Rowan was devastated, and Sally was struggling to make things better. “Quinn said you should pick out what you like. The camera can be charged to the ship.”
Instead of being excited about the prospect of shopping for an expensive item on someone else’s dime, Rowan was listless as
she stared at the cameras. “They’ve already supplied me with two cameras.”
“Quinn said you don’t like those cameras.”
“I don’t.”
“That means you need a new one.”
Rowan stared at the newest version of the camera she carried for more than a decade and shook her head. “It’s not going to be the same.”
Sally was at a complete and total loss. “Why not? Is it because the other camera was somehow magical? Is that how you see the omen things? Wait ... is that what you call them? Are they omens?”
Rowan waved off the question, disinterested. “It doesn’t matter what you call them. Omens is fine.”
“I want to make sure I use the right terminology now that I’m part of the inner circle.”
Rowan slowly shifted her eyes to Sally. “Of course. I’m sorry. I just ... I’m upset. That’s not your fault and I know it’s ridiculous to get worked up over a thing, an item, but ... that’s the only thing I really have from my childhood. I lost the rest of it.”
“I didn’t think about that.” Sympathy rushed through Sally. “My mother drives me crazy. I’m sure I told you that before. She makes me want to scream whenever I’m around her. Still, I can’t imagine being without her. You lost both your parents and were completely alone.”
“Yeah.”
Unlike the omen secret, Rowan hadn’t hidden the fact that her father might be alive from Sally. Things were in motion on that front, although Sally couldn’t help with any of it. “No word from your uncle?”
“He checked out of his hotel and took off. I have no idea where he is.”
Sally’s mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding?”
“No. I don’t find that a particularly funny joke.”
“I don’t either.” Fury pooled in Sally’s chest. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
“It happened yesterday morning.” Rowan dragged a restless hand through her hair. “Geez. It seems longer than that. So much has happened in a short amount of time.”
“Yeah, well, I’m mostly interested in your uncle right now.”
“I went to his hotel as soon as we landed,” Rowan explained. “Quinn wanted to go with me, but he couldn’t because of the Andromeda workers. He had to be close to answer questions.”
“That makes sense.”
“I went to the hotel and he was gone. He didn’t leave a forwarding address.” Even though she was loath to keep anything from Sally at this point, Rowan knew better than talking about the coded letter. It could ultimately prove dangerous, and Rowan had no intention of exposing her friend to a potentially life-threatening situation. “When I got back I told Quinn about it. I was barely back when we got word about the body and that obviously distracted us.”
“Obviously,” Sally agreed dryly. “I heard how Quinn had to shift the body to get it to fall. That is just ... gross.”
“It wasn’t pretty,” Rowan agreed. “After that, things happened fast. The local cops came. The Feds were right on their heels and took the case away from them. Then Larry Lincoln arrived and I had to meet him. The oil executive was there, too. Quinn wanted photographs of everybody just to be on the safe side. After that, I went to the tiki bar to download the photographs and that’s where you found Quinn and me. I never had a chance to tell you what happened.”
“Yeah, I guess not.” Sally’s smile was rueful. “You had quite the day yesterday, huh?”
“Yeah.” Rowan heaved out a sigh as she trailed her fingers over the black casing of the Nikon camera. “I even had dinner with one of Quinn’s military buddies last night. We ate at that little seafood restaurant I like so much.”
“Wow. Things must be getting serious between you two, huh?” Sally teased, her eyes sparkling. “A guy only introduces a girl to a military buddy if it’s forever.”
Even though she was in no mood to laugh — her heart still hurt, after all — Rowan couldn’t stop herself. “Yes, well, I don’t happen to believe that Quinn was thinking about that when he arranged the meal. His friend is a private investigator. Quinn asked him for help running the photos so the search would be off the grid. He also asked him for help tracking down my uncle.”
“Oh.” Sally’s eyes widened. “That makes sense. Quinn doesn’t have the resources to do it himself. I bet he’s just as angry at your uncle as I am.”
“He’s definitely angry. He’s also worried. I saw the look on his face when he sent me off with you this morning. He’s afraid I’m going to fall apart.”
“Listen, honey, no one would blame you for falling apart.” Sally chose her words carefully. She was the “speak first, think later” sort, but she was determined to offer Rowan some form of solace. “I don’t think Quinn believes that’s what’s happening to you, though.”
“Oh, no? What does Quinn believe?”
“That you’re broken-hearted over the camera and he’s blaming himself.”
“Why would he blame himself?”
“Because he’s head of security.”
Rowan stilled. She hadn’t even considered that. She was too wrapped up in her own emotions to worry about how Quinn was reacting to all of this. “Oh, I didn’t even think about that.” She licked her lips as she tilted her head to the side. “He must feel awful. He blames himself for the oddest things.”
“I think you both do that.” Sally winked. “You guys have dual martyr complexes. It’s fascinating and irritating at the same time.”
“From your perspective, I can see it.” Rowan blew out a frustrated sigh as she picked up the camera and lifted it to her eye. It was anchored to the display case so customers couldn’t run off with the merchandise, but the store clerks urged them to test the cameras upon entering and Rowan was determined to do exactly that. Her camera was gone. She had to accept that. Punishing Quinn for something that wasn’t his fault was going to get her nowhere. “Move a little bit, will you?”
The question caught Sally off guard. “Why would I want to move?”
“So I can test the camera. I don’t want blurry edges.”
“Oh, I get you.” Sally tapped her finger to her nose and did a hip-wiggling dance that made Rowan smile.
Rowan snapped fifteen photos in rapid succession and then focused on the viewfinder so she could study the quality of the images.
“How do I look?” Sally asked.
Rowan didn’t immediately answer, her heart seizing when she caught sight of the omen floating over Sally’s head. This couldn’t be happening. Not on top of everything else.
“Is there something wrong with the way I look?” Sally asked, misreading Rowan’s frozen demeanor. “It can’t be that bad. I’m cute.”
Rowan struggled to find her voice as she raised her eyes. It was only then, and out of the corner of her eye, that Rowan saw a hint of movement. Her brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders, but she recognized two things without hesitation. Someone had a gun, and the weapon was pointed in Sally’s direction.
Rowan reacted out of instinct. She dropped the camera and launched herself at Sally, determined to save one of the only true friends she’d ever had. “Get down!” Rowan roared the order as Sally’s eyes widened. At the same time, a deafening boom filled the air and Rowan’s head threatened to explode with a myriad of possibilities as glass shattered all around them.
What exactly was happening here?
11
Eleven
“Rowan!”
Quinn struggled through the crowd, fighting the flow of shoppers as they tried to rush away from the police activity. Since Quinn had the opposite goal – he wanted to be close to the scene of the crime – it was like fighting a tsunami.
He had no intention of giving up, though.
“Excuse me, sir. Can I help you?”
Quinn shifted his eyes to a female police officer. She was holding the perimeter and keeping people away from the camera store. She had a job to do, of course, but Quinn was in no mood to deal with a jurisdictional pissing contest.
/> “My girlfriend is in there.” Quinn pointed as Fred caught up with him. “I need to see her.”
“Your girlfriend is in that shop?” The officer inclined her chin toward the corner store. “Does she work there?”
“No. She was shopping.”
“In that store?”
“Oh, good grief, Jenkins,” Fred exploded, shaking his head when the woman glared at him. “The one with the auburn hair is his girlfriend. We got a call from her that something happened. My guy is a wreck because he needs to see that woman so ... try not to be a pain.”
Fred was clearly familiar with the woman because she turned haughty. “That’s Officer Jenkins to you.”
“Fine. I’ll carry a sign next time I see you. Just let my friend see his girlfriend.”
Jenkins was understandably dubious. “How do I know that’s really his girlfriend and he’s not the one who shot the place up?”
Quinn briefly pressed his eyes shut as he fought to contain his temper. The knowledge that Rowan was so close — and yet far enough away that he couldn’t touch her — was more than he could bear. “She called me.” Quinn’s voice shook with fury. “She couldn’t talk long, but she called me. I need to see her.”
Jenkins looked him up and down for a long beat, finally heaving out a sigh. “Fine. Detective Kincaid is inside with them. He’s asking questions. Make sure to introduce yourself.”
“That will be my first order of business,” Quinn drawled as he broke into a jog and flew through the front door of the store. The first thing he saw upon entering was a white-faced Sally sitting on a bench. A police officer stood in front of her, notebook open as he asked questions. The spot on the bench next to her was vacant.
Quinn forced himself to remain calm as he scanned the store. He found Rowan after a few seconds. She stood next to a broken window, her eyes watery, and studied the broken glass on the floor. She looked dazed and confused.
“Rowan!”
She jerked her head up at the sound of his voice and almost cried out as he strode toward her. “I wasn’t sure they would let you inside.” Her voice was thick with unshed tears. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Churning Seas Page 10