by Ivy Dawson
“Oh, come now,” Shae said firmly, but her tone was gentle. “Don’t think like that. It wasn’t anyone’s time. She still would’ve been alive if someone hadn’t decided to do this. Don’t blame anything else except for the murderer.”
“You don’t believe that we’re all on a path?” Zooberg asked curiously. “One that was chosen for us by something bigger?”
“I believe in free will,” Shae said carefully, “that we have a choice in how we do things. If things were chosen for us, then we’re saying that no one should be held responsible for their choices. So, no, I don’t believe that our paths are chosen. I believe that if you choose to do something bad, you deserve the consequences.”
“This is going to be an interesting discussion,” Zooberg said knowingly, a twinkle gleaming in his eyes as he leaned forward.
“Hello?” a man asked, looking at them in confusion. “They said the doc wanted to speak to me?”
Shae smiled at him, and he nodded back. He wore a dark blue uniform with grease stains, and his dark hair was mussed. He caught sight of himself in one of the mirrors, and quickly ran his hand through his hair.
For some reason, the action made Shae blush and she looked away. It was obvious from his physique that he was from the maintenance department, and she tried not to analyze her reaction too deeply. He was a handsome man, that was all.
“Finally,” Zooberg cried, throwing his hands up in the air. “Jackson, you took forever. Where were you? I need to ask you some questions. This fine lady over here needs some answers about this morning’s incident.”
“About that woman?” Jackson asked in confusion. He turned to Shae and smiled down at her. “You must be new, I’m Jax. Jackson was my father.”
She looked up cautiously and nodded at him. His brown eyes twinkled in amusement at Zooberg’s craziness, and she had to smile back at him. He had dimples in his smile, which made the expression infectious.
“I’m Shae,” she said firmly, getting ahold of herself. “Thanks for coming.”
“Yes,” Zooberg nodded. “You see, I had some questions about what happened. For example, why was the water still blue when we found her? She bled a lot.”
“Well, doc,” Jax said, dropping down to his chair and making himself more comfortable. “The pools have special filters that clean out the water continuously.”
“That’s impressive,” Shae said, raising her eyebrows.
“There are about 3,000 people on this ship,” Jax pointed out, “and they’re out in that pool most of the time. If we didn’t have the filters, the water would be disgusting in about ten minutes. Those things are super powerful, and we have to check them every week. It doesn’t matter what happens in that pool, the water will be clean again in minutes. Trust me, we do all sorts of tests.”
“Oh,” Zooberg said in surprise. “I guess that’s the only question I had. Thanks for coming.”
“Seriously?” Jax sighed, shaking his head. “I’ve got a lot of work, doc. What’ve I told you about calling me up here every five minutes?”
“The questions come, then they go. If I wait, then they’ll disappear. We can’t have that. You need to answer them,” Zooberg said with a frown. Jax chuckled and started getting up.
“Wait,” Shae said suddenly, a thought occurring to her. “There are cameras everywhere. Where do I go to check if they caught anything from last night?”
Jax lowered himself into his chair again and grimaced. He looked at Shae with a sheepish expression, and she knew that he didn’t have good news for her.
“She was killed on the main deck, right?” he asked, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably and jostling his leg as he spoke.
“Oh. dear,” Zooberg said seriously, “I don’t think he’s going to tell us what we want to hear. What happened now?”
“We had a problem with them last night,” Jax admitted. “A few of them don’t have licenses yet, and we can’t really use them. We’re waiting on the company to supply them, but it takes a few days.”
“You need licenses for security cameras?” Shae asked in confusion.
“Yeah,” Jax nodded, “it’s a long story, and the computer guys could give you a better explanation. But basically, we need to have our system licensed. We had to replace some of the cameras on the main deck after some kids had a food fight. You wouldn’t think it, but apples can do some serious damage.”
“Great,” Shae sighed. “Just fantastic. So, those cameras are just for show?”
“Not usually,” Jax frowned. “It just happened to be the case right now.”
“Who else knew about the cameras?” Shae asked. “Maybe someone decided to use that area on purpose.”
“I don’t see how,” Jax shrugged. “That knowledge is kept on the down-low. We don’t need people freaking out about it, and we don’t want people to take advantage. Look, we could look around on the cameras in that area. Maybe they caught something. Do you know what time it happened?”
“She died at midnight,” Zooberg said suddenly. “I was supposed to tell you, but we got entangled in an interesting theological discussion.”
“Fun,” Jax said, giving Shae a sympathetic look, which she laughed at. Zooberg looked between them in confusion then shrugged.
“Would we be able to see anything if it was already dark?” Shae asked in concern. “I know one of the maids saw her leaving just as it got dark.”
“We’ll be able to see,” Jax assured her. “Don’t worry. Someone must’ve seen something. This ship runs twenty-four-seven. Someone is always awake and around. Are you some sort of cop or something?”
Shae pursed her lips together, and quickly looked at Zooberg, who started rifling through his papers. He picked a random sheet and stared at it intensely. Jax looked between them and laughed.
“Look, I’m not going to tell anybody. Besides, this is the most logical explanation. We’ve got a crack security team, and some intense marshals. But they’re trained to deal with roughhousers and smuggling.”
“I wondered why the captain didn’t ask them,” Shae wondered out loud, sighing deeply. She wished that someone else would magically pop up and tell her that she could get back to taking pictures. She was a photographer. There was a good chance that she was bungling the entire investigation.
“The whole camera thing is my fault,” Jax sighed, looking guilty when he noticed Shae’s distressed expression. “I bought them and had them delivered before the computer guys could get the licenses. The whole delay is my fault.”
“It’s okay,” Shae said comfortingly. “You were right, someone must’ve seen something. This ship is crawling with people.”
“And none of them know the ship like I do,” Jax declared, “and that’s why I’m going to help you catch this guy.”
Chapter 6
“This is impossible,” Shae sighed, turning her office chair with her foot. Who knew that solving a murder could be boring?
They were sitting in the cozy security room, with dozens of screens around them showing what the guests were all doing. When they first thought of checking the security tapes, it had seemed like a good idea. As soon as they started, they ran into a few unexpected problems.
“If only we knew what restaurant they went to,” Jax said in frustration, resting his chin on his hand and staring intensely at the screen. Shae looked at him thoughtfully, then looked away as soon as she realized she was staring at him.
“I didn’t know there were that many restaurants onboard,” Shae admitted, leaning on the armrest and staring ahead. The screen was filled with a steady stream of people and isolating just one face seemed like an impossible task.
They also didn’t have any specific timeframe to work with, and they didn’t know where Nova went for dinner that night. They immediately checked the more expensive restaurants, but she was nowhere to be seen.
The more affordable restaurants were so crowded that they could easily have missed her. Not to mention that the screen was tiny, and the
colors were too bright.
“I don’t think we’re going to get anything done here,” Jax admitted hesitantly, leaning back and rubbing his eyes.
“Oh, well,” Shae said glumly. “Thanks for trying to help. At least I didn’t have to do this alone. I’m sure you’ve got a lot of work to get to.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Jax asked in amusement, turning to look at her curiously. She shrugged self-consciously, and he chuckled.
“I just thought you might have a lot of work or something,” Shae sniffed, “or is this the type of place where you can slack off for hours?”
“Definitely not,” Jax admitted, wincing. “They’ve probably already sent out a search party.”
“Well, then, there you go,” Shae said simply.
“I’ll tell you what,” he said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. “I’ll help you out for a little while longer, and if anyone gets upset, I’ll just say that I’m showing you around. Captain’s orders.”
“Did the captain really say that?” Shae asked skeptically.
“No,” Jax said, smiling again, “but who’s going to ask him? They’d rather just take my word for it. So, mystery lady, where should we go first?”
“Don’t call me that,” Shae told him firmly, as she leaned back in her chair. “I don’t know. Her husband doesn’t want to talk to me.”
“Okay,” Jax declared, taking a piece of paper and a pen, “here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to write down what we know, and what we need to know. That way, we’ve got a clearer picture in our minds.”
Shae leaned forward to see what he was writing. He frowned and pushed down hard as he wrote, and for a second, she was transported back in time.
She saw her father and her younger self sitting in a dingy diner. Her father was frowning, a deep crease between his bushy black eyebrows, and his jaw clenched as he thought.
“What else?” Jax asked, yanking her out of her reverie.
“I met her yesterday,” Shae explained, her mind slightly muddled from the memory. She wasn’t sure what case they were working on at the time, she just remembered the thrill of it. Her heart clenched at his reappearance in her mind’s eye. He was so real; she could almost smell his peppery cologne. It stung her nose, and her heart clenched.
“We’re close, Shae-bee,” her father said in that raspy voice of his, “I can feel it.” There was excitement in his eyes, the thrill of the chase. That same feeling sparked in her heart, and she had to push it down and away. This wasn’t who she was.
“She was walking with someone,” Shae remembered, frowning as she tried to push the memory away. “She looked sick. It wasn’t Grant, it was someone else. He was handsome, he flirted with Alexa. Harry.”
“Harry-something, who likes to flirt,” Jax said triumphantly. “Let’s go see what he has to say for himself.”
He got up and folded the paper neatly before handing it over to her. She smiled up at him and took it from him, careful not to touch his fingers. As they stood up to leave, she opened the paper, half expecting to see her father’s careless scrawl. Jax’s handwriting was much neater.
“There you are,” Alexa cried in relief, hurrying over to them and immediately forgetting about the guest standing at the desk. “What’s been happening? Jax, what are you doing here?”
“You two know each other?” Shae asked in surprise, looking over at Alexa’s scowl and Jax’s easy smile.
“Yeah,” Alexa snapped, “I dated one of his friends.”
“Oh?” Shae said slowly, still not understanding Alexa’s angry expression.
“It didn’t end well,” Jax told her, still smiling in amusement. Shae wondered if he ever stopped smiling.
“Alexa,” Shae said, tapping her friend on the shoulder, “this is important. Do you remember that guy who was with Nova yesterday? The one who flirted with you?”
“I don’t remember,” Alexa said, still giving Jax a dirty look. “Lots of guys flirt with me.”
“That’s true,” Jax agreed, and Alexa narrowed her eyes at him again. He burst out laughing and she rolled her eyes at him.
“His name was Harry,” Shae said, looking between them in annoyance. This wasn’t going to work if they kept distracting each other.
“Chill,” Alexa told her casually. “I’ll just check the guest list. I’m sure I can see where he is. Why do you want to talk to him?”
“He might know something about Nova,” Shae explained, following Alexa to her desk. By now, the guest who’d been waiting had given up and walked away. Jax leaned over the desk, and swiped one of the complimentary mints.
“That’s smart,” Alexa realized. “He might even have been the one who killed her.”
“I was thinking he might know where she went to dinner,” Shae said, shaking her head. “I’m glad you’re so enthusiastic, but maybe you should rein it in a bit. We don’t want to run around accusing everyone.”
“In a murder case, everyone’s a suspect,” Alexa said, deepening her voice and looking serious. Jax nodded along in agreement.
“Yeah, you’ve been watching too much TV,” Shae said with a laugh. “Do you have his room number?”
“I’ll do you one better,” Alexa said with a proud smile. “He’s at the main pool. I don’t think he’s got any plans to leave port when we dock.”
“We’re docking today?” Shae asked in horror.
“Yeah,” Alexa said, giving Shae a strange look, “we dock almost every day.”
“The killer could jump off and not come back,” Shae pointed out. “How are we supposed to find them if they’re not onboard? They could just disappear.”
“Well,” Jax said thoughtfully, “if they didn’t come back, then we’d know for sure who it is.”
“What?” Shae asked in confusion.
“Everyone’s got one of these,” Alexa held up a keycard. “To get off, you’ve got to swipe it. Before we leave, we check that everyone who swiped off has been swiped back on. If one person doesn’t come back, we’ll have their names and details. Actually, Jax, you’re right. We should just wait until we dock for the day and see if anyone makes a run for it.”
“Look, it’s going to be a lot harder to catch someone in a foreign country than it is to catch them onboard.”
“Either way, it’s tricky,” Alexa told Shae seriously. “We’re sailing under Panama’s flag. Everything is going to be a legal battle. Just catch the guy, and let the lawyers handle the mess.”
“You’re right,” Shae realized, straightening her shoulders. All she had to do was find the murderer. The enormity of the task dawned on her, and she had to take deep breaths to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
“Start by the main pool,” Alexa said comfortingly, noticing her friend’s distress. Shae nodded and started walking away. Jax quickly went after her and pointed her in the right direction. She blushed, nodded and matched her pace to his.
“Excuse me,” a nasally voice said behind Alexa. She turned to see the reporter from that morning, standing with her arms crossed and tapping her foot.
“There he is,” Shae said when they got to the main deck. Harry was sitting on one of the sun loungers, reading a book and looking suave in his aviator sunglasses.
“You’re blocking my sun,” he complained as they walked up to him.
“I’m sorry,” Shae said, unsure of what to say. “We just had a few questions to ask about Nova Ashcroft.”
Harry immediately sat up and put his novel, a murder-mystery, down next to him.
“I don’t know what to say about that,” he admitted, adjusting his glasses but not taking them off.
“That’s what the questions are for,” Jax pointed out, grabbing a chair and pulling it forward. He gestured for Shae to sit down before looking for his own. She sat down and looked at Harry curiously.
“How well do you know Nova and Grant?” Shae asked.
“Well enough to know that you should be talking to Grant about all this,
” he hissed, looking around to make sure that no one was listening.
“They were that bad?” Jax asked sympathetically.
“You have no idea,” Harry said, rolling his eyes. “Grant’s my boss, so he forces me to come on this cruise with them, then he fights with his wife all the time. It was annoying.”
“Do you know if they fought last night?” Shae asked with a frown.
“They fought all the time,” Harry repeated. “Like last night, they dragged me out to dinner, then they screamed at each other and he disappeared. She was a wreck. I didn’t know what to do, so I just left.”
“Where did you leave her?” Shae asked.
“You didn’t offer to take her home?” Jax asked at the same time, looking horrified.
“I offered!” Harry defended. “But she wanted to go for a walk. I think she was heading out here. But I can’t be sure.”
“Oh, no,” Shae said, covering her mouth slightly with her hand. “How horrible.”
“Do you know what time this was?” Jax asked, looking over at Shae in concern.
“At about eleven,” Harry admitted. “I don’t know what happened after that, I went to a club. Do you guys need receipts or something? I don’t know where they are, but I’m sure a couple of people saw me there. Ask the bartender guy.”
“We will,” Jax assured him.
“Do you know why they were fighting?” Shae asked, making a mental note in her head. So far, Harry was the last person who saw Nova alive. If they couldn’t confirm his alibi, then he would be a good suspect.
On the other hand, what motive could he have had for murdering his boss’ wife?
“Anything and everything,” Harry sighed. “Those two were the worst couple I ever met.” Harry frowned as someone stepped into his sunlight, casting a shadow over the three of them.
“Excuse me,” a different voice interrupted, and they looked up to see the first officer looming over them with a strained smile. “May I please speak to my employees?”