by Ava Dunne
“That would be helpful,” said Agent Vallejo.
Damn. I thought making the offer would get me out of having to allow it.
“Fine.” I gathered my belongings and stood up. I led the way through the corridors towards B deck. “I looked for you or your colleague yesterday, on Pearl Deck, before I left the ship for the island. I had something to tell you.”
“Which is?”
“Geri had something going with Gary, one of the electricians, and Viktor, the second officer. A massage therapist named Kiki is rumored to be with Viktor now, although I hear she has a crush on Andrew, one of the nurses. I don’t know where the rumors started, but it’s going around. When we were at the resort yesterday, I talked to Gary. He says he and Geri were going to get married. But then someone else said Gary was more like stalking Geri. It doesn’t make much sense when I say it out loud.”
“You never know what the little detail is that breaks open a case,” Agent Vallejo encouraged.
“Now, no one can find Gary.”
“Sebastian told me.” Agent Vallejo nodded.
I noticed her use of his first name. “I found Geri’s list. I think it was the list of people she blackmailed.”
“Where did you find that list?”
“By accident.”
“That’s not where, that’s how.”
“I’ll give it to you when we get to the cabin.”
“I need the where.”
Time to change the subject. “What if Geri’s death was an accident, after all?” I asked. “What if she and Gary had a fight, he pushed her, and she fell? Now he feels guilty, which is why he drinks too much and no one can find him?”
“Do you think he’d hurt himself?” Agent Vallejo asked.
“I don’t know him well enough to answer that,” I replied. I unlocked the door to the cabin. I heard the shower going and saw Angie’s unmade bed. “Angie!” I called over the running water. “Is it okay if Agent Vallejo looks through our room?”
The sound of the water abruptly stopped and Angie yanked open the bathroom door. She was wrapped in large, faded pink towel. “Why?” she asked.
“A brooch is missing from Kristina Murray’s suite, and since I remember seeing it there this morning. . .” I trailed off.
Angie snorted. “Of course, we are under suspicion first. She probably got angry with her husband and threw it overboard, or hid it for the insurance.” She waved at Agent Vallejo. “Look around. I don’t care.”
“Thank you.” Agent Vallejo pulled a pair of gloves out of the pocket of her capris and put them on. I remembered the locket and was glad I hid it in the yoga studio. If Vallejo found it in my room, she’d be rightfully suspicious.
“Where’s your partner?” I asked, hovering in the doorway, watching as the investigator worked her way through the drawers and suitcases.
“In the spa.” She threw a grin at me. “Talking to Kiki.”
“Nothing I said is new information.” I shook my head.
“Detective Cooke is following some additional leads. He was worried when he heard what happened to you out in the water yesterday. Both times.”
“How’d he know?”
“Sebastian told me and I shared the information with my partner and with Cooke. Chief Bakshi told us about the launch sabotage. My partner and I had a look at the debris. They’re right. Definitely deliberate.”
“I meant to count the yoga straps last night, to see if someone took one from the studio,” I said. “I forgot. In any case, Detective Cooke shouldn’t worry about me.”
“Too late for that. You were saying about Gary?”
“Sebastian could tell you more about whether he’d hurt himself out of guilt for hurting Geri than I could. Or Ernie. They seemed pretty tight.”
“I’ll make a point to ask them.” She unzipped the pocket of my suitcase and picked up the rolled-up piece of paper. “This the list?” When I nodded, she asked, “Where did you get this?” She put it in a plastic bag.
“I found it.”
“Where?”
“In a chair.”
“What chair?”
“Things turn up all over the place on a ship.” I waited a beat, as she watched me. “Did you know Sebastian before?”
“Before what?”
Was it my imagination, or was the agent being cagey? “This trip?”
“Why do you ask?”
“The way you interact.” I threw down the gauntlet.
“Your room’s clean,” said Agent Vallejo. “Thank you for letting me take a look. And thank you for the theory about Gary. I’ll let you know if we find out anything.” She stripped off the gloves, gave a wave, and was gone down the hall, before I realized she hadn’t answered the question about knowing Sebastian. At least she had the list and hadn’t asked to search the yoga studio.
…
“Sophie,” Dhruv called to me as I strode down the corridor.
I wheeled on him. “Let me guess. You need to search my room, too? To see if I stole the jewelry? What about the yoga studio? Need a look around in there?”
“I know you didn’t steal anything. Someone’s obviously trying to distract from the murder.”
I hadn’t thought of that. “Trying to set me up?”
“If they don’t believe you’re not taking over from Geri, what better way to get you out of commission than set up the theft and pin it on you?”
“You mean when they couldn’t kill me? Do people switch up like that? Backtrack from murder?”
“Desperate people do all kinds of illogical things,” Dhruv replied. “I’m hoping one of them is a mistake so I can catch him. Or her. Now tell me, where did you get the blackmail list?”
“I found it.”
“Where?” When I didn’t answer, he continued, “As you can see, my name’s not on it. Do you still distrust me?”
“No. But I can’t tell you where I got it.”
“Did someone give it to you?”
“No. I found it.”
“Where?”
“In a chair.”
“In a chair?”
“One of the chairs with round supports on the back.”
“So it was in a cabin?” Dhruv watched me. “Whose?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“You realize you could be protecting Geri’s murderer?”
“I’m not.”
“Then tell me.”
“I can’t.” I blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, Dhruv. I can’t tell any of you. It’s not you as a person I’m not telling, it’s the collective you of you and Duncan and the FBI. Please. I can’t. I won’t.” I fled.
“Sophie!” Dhruv called after me.
…
I found Sebastian in the crew dining room, grabbing fruit. “Hey,” I said, not sure how to greet him. Would we be awkward now?
He smiled. “How are you? Busy day?”
“Kristina Murray thinks I stole her brooch.”
Sebastian’s face darkened with anger. “Then Kristina Murray is a moron.”
“One of the FBI agents searched my room. Agent Vallejo.”
“Didn’t find anything though, did she? Because there was nothing to find. Damn brooch is probably between the sofa cushions.”
I laughed, his faith in me lightening my mood. “Thanks for the rose.”
“Rose?”
“The pink rose you left in my cabin this morning?”
Sebastian gave me an odd look. “I didn’t go to your cabin. I’ve been stuck in the engine room all day.”
“Oh.” Oops.
Sebastian’s demeanor cooled. “Must be one of your other paramours,” he said, and walked away before I could respond.
…
I headed back to A deck, realizing I hadn’t checked on Wendy since our initial conversation yesterday. To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about her. Not acceptable, especially after everything she’d been through. No wonder the woman felt isolated and alone, and was vulnerable to Geri’s manipu
lation.
I found Wendy’s cabin and knocked. There was no answer. Maybe she was asleep? I knocked louder. Still no answer.
Trying the knob, I found the door unlocked. It was unlocked yesterday; makes sense she didn’t get up to lock it, I reasoned.
I opened the door and stepped inside. “Wendy?”
Wendy lay curled on her side, eyes closed. Something smelled wrong, even with the room’s air conditioning on full blast. Wendy was too pale, too gray. I stood there, staring at her. I realized that Wendy wasn’t breathing. When I reached out to touch her, Wendy was cold. Dead cold.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“I KNOW THIS IS DIFFICULT, but I need you to take a deep breath and walk me through it again.” Agent Vallejo stood beside me. I was huddled on a folding chair in the corridor outside Wendy’s room. Her partner, Agent Madigan, was inside. Duncan stepped out of the room and stripped off his gloves, looking grim.
“I felt so guilty, I hadn’t even checked on her since I talked to her yesterday.” I repeated it over and over.
“You were here yesterday?” Agent Vallejo’s voice was sharp.
“Yes. I had questions about the show. Wendy was too upset to answer them.” I bit my lip. Even though Wendy was dead, I didn’t want to spill the woman’s secrets.
“Wendy was afraid of you. Why would she let you into her room?”
“She was afraid of me? Why would she be afraid of me?”
“The blackmail.”
“I wasn’t blackmailing her. I’m not blackmailing anyone!” I shivered. Duncan placed a hand on my shoulder. I was grateful for the warmth.
Agent Vallejo took a deep breath and exhaled. “I realize that, but Wendy wasn’t convinced.”
“She told you?”
“I got her to confide in me.”
“She told you about the affair? And her abortion?”
Vallejo nodded. “How did you get into her room?”
“The cabin door was unlocked. Yesterday and today. I figured, because she couldn’t get up and down to open the door, she left it unlocked.”
“Which was unsafe.”
“Did someone. . .like Geri?” I couldn’t voice the words.
“I don’t know yet. It looks like an overdose. The pill bottle beside her bed was almost empty.”
“It was nearly full when I saw her last night.”
“So it could be accidental overdose. Or suicide.” Vallejo sighed. “That’ll be up to the Medical Examiner. Since we don’t have one on board the ship, we won’t know cause of death, for sure, until we return to New York.”
“The ship’s doctor can’t do an autopsy?”
“I won’t let him,” Vallejo stated, in a flat tone. “I’m not sure about anyone on the ship.”
“We have to ask questions, Sophie,” said Duncan. “This is the second body you’ve found since you joined the staff.”
For a minute, I thought I would get sick, but Duncan pressed down on my shoulder and I took a deep breath.
Dhruv stepped out of the room, frowning and stripping off his gloves. “I have to talk to Dr. Zhao. Those painkillers were awfully strong to treat a sprained ankle.”
Suddenly, I remembered that I told Dhruv the night before that I’d seen Wendy. That he asked if she was alone. But why would Dhruv kill Geri? Wendy? I couldn’t think of a reason, but the timing fit. I couldn’t directly question him, but I couldn’t let it slide. “Did she say anything to you when you talked last night?” I asked.
He looked at me, puzzled. “She wasn’t very coherent,” he said. He looked at Agent Vallejo. “The conversation’s in my report.”
Duncan’s hand tightened on my shoulder. He understood.
“Sophie? What happened?” Sebastian joined us in the hall.
Duncan removed his hand from my shoulder.
“Wendy. She’s dead.” I kept my voice calm.
“I heard that bit. But are you okay?”
“No,” I said. “But I’m not dead.”
A ghost of a grin flickered across Sebastian’s face before he shot Duncan a grim glance. “Let’s keep it that way. I’ll check back in with you later, okay? Unless you need me here now?”
“Later’s fine, if I’m not in the brig,” I responded.
“You won’t be in the brig,” Amy glided up to join us. “Mr. Anger, please return to the engine room at once. The situation there is not yet resolved.” Sebastian stood for a moment, as though he wanted to argue. “Mr. Anger,” Amy repeated. Sebastian threw me a look of apology, turned on his heel, and walked away. Amy turned her attention to Anna Vallejo. “Agent Vallejo, Chief Bakshi, I appreciate your diligence in this matter, but Ms. Batchelder must come with me right now. She has a performance for which to prepare.”
“Ms. Batchelder is going to stay right here until I’m finished with her,” Anna Vallejo flared.
“I have a ship to run. The guests believe that Wendy is injured, and that Ms. Batchelder was good enough to step in. They are not going to know that she is dead.”
“You can’t keep it secret,” Agent Vallejo protested.
“Watch me,” Amy countered. “We managed to keep Geri’s death from the guests. The staff and the crew like their jobs. Management is holding meetings with their teams to make sure there’s no gossip in front of the guests. You do whatever you need to, but you do is discreetly. I am taking Ms. Batchelder with me now. This ship is a finite space. You’ll be able to find her.” Amy glared at Dhruv, yanked me up by the arm, and marched me away from them.
“Um, thank you?” I hazarded.
“Don’t thank me yet,” said Amy. “If I find out you had anything to do with Wendy’s death, you’ll wish you were still in Agent Vallejo’s custody.”
“I didn’t.”
“Good. Then you have nothing to worry about from me.”
Amy physically handed me off to Matt. “You okay?” He asked.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “You?”
He shook his head. “No. I want to dedicate the performance tonight to Wendy, even if no one knows that but us.”
“That sounds like a beautiful tribute. How do we do that?”
“Focus on the steps. We can get through this.”
“You don’t think I’d hurt Wendy, do you?” I begged.
He smiled at me. “No, I don’t, Sophie. Truly. I know Wendy’s been going through a rough time. She wouldn’t tell me why, but it was eating her up. I tried to talk to her last night, check on her, but she didn’t want anything to do with me. It’s hard when your partner doesn’t trust you enough to confide in you. I don’t know why she stopped trusting me.” He paused. “That’s not entirely true. Geri isolated Wendy from everyone the last few months. The six of us, the couples from the Supper Club? We were a tight team until Geri arrived. I’m probably being unfair, but I think Geri’s manipulations broke us up. And now Wendy. Is dead.” He took a deep breath. “I’ll mourn, when I have a chance. Right now, though, we need to dance.”
Matt taught me Tango moves, and it was a relief to get my mind off Wendy’s cold, waxen form in the bed. I faked my way through my 6:30 class, noting that none of the agents nor Duncan showed up.
I didn’t want to dwell on the possibility that Dhruv killed Geri. What could his motive be?
I couldn’t face food, so I headed straight for Tobias and the hairdresser. They kept anyone else from bothering me until it was time to perform. My dress tonight was blood red, and I blanched when I saw it.
“I can change the dress, if you want,” said Tobias.
“How did you know what I was thinking?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I’m wardrobe. It’s my job to know.”
Harmonia and Roz both tried to get in, but Tobias kept them at bay. Matt led me to our entrance area, and gave my hand a squeeze. “I feel like everyone’s going to stare at me with accusation,” I said. “Thinking I hurt Wendy.”
“No one who knows you will think that,” Matt assured her. “Amy’s keeping a lid on it, as far
as the guests go. As far as the crew, anyone who thinks ill of you, it’s their problem more than yours.”
“With this many people on board, someone will talk.”
Matt winked at me. “Hopefully, not until after we perform.”
The lights changed, the music changed. Although I imagined the musicians, the hosts, and the tech crew watched me with contempt, I took a deep breath and lost myself in the music again. Matt and I received another warm reception, although I noticed that the back wall, where crew and staff slipped in the night before to watch, was now bare.
I changed out of my costume and walked back to the theatre to return it to Tobias. One of the dressing room doors was open, and I heard the conversation.
“Playing that little innocent game,” Nicolette snorted. “Who does that bitch think she is? Yeah, Wendy was unraveling, but that was no reason to kill her. Sweet little Sophie — what a crock!”
“I think you’re being unfair, Nicolette,” said Lorna. “You don’t know if Sophie had anything to do with it. It might be an overdose. Wendy started falling apart before Sophie arrived.”
“You’re too nice,” said Nicolette. “You get along with everybody. Wendy? Wendy was weak. Never had the guts to stand up to Geri.”
“Did you, Nicolette?” Lorna countered.
“What are you talking about?”
“Just seems, if you hate Sophie simply for existing, and turned on Geri, maybe you had something to hide.”
“I didn’t turn on Geri. Geri turned on me.” Nicolette huffed. “Besides, I heard that Geri and Sophie were in it together.”
“In what?” Lorna sounded puzzled.
“Stop playing dumb!”
“Stop making accusations against people without evidence. Sometimes, Nicolette, you’re not very nice.”
“I’m a realist, Lorna, not an idealist like you. I know better than to trust people, and it’s how I stay alive around here. With murders going on around us, in a literal sense. Look, think about it. First Geri makes noise and conveniently falls down the stairs, Sophie cleans up the mess, and Wendy’s about to blow it all open, so of course Wendy had to go.”
“Who’d you hear it from?”