by Haley Walsh
Dave laughed in spite of the situation. “What? And you let her?”
“I don’t let her. But she’s crafty. Sneaks up behind me even though I have my eye on her every time. She has quite a set of pincers.” He made pincer motions with his fingers.
“This is serious,” Philip admonished.
“So is my bruised butt.”
Skyler head began to throb and he dropped his forehead to his hand. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Has Sidney given any clue as to who gave that little girl the note?” asked Dave, looking at each in turn.
Philip shook his head. “She hasn’t said. But children are unreliable witnesses.” Philip pushed his glasses up his nose. “So what exactly does the University of Redlands have to do with it all?”
Everyone stopped and turned toward him.
“What?” said Jamie, perplexed.
“You know. The only lead was this hoodie. How does this connect to Skyler?”
Skyler shook his head. “Gosh, Philip. I don’t know.”
“Don’t complicate things, Philip,” said Jamie. “Maybe this relative of Carson’s goes there. It’s a false flag.”
Skyler jumped to his feet and began to pace. “We’ve got to get some kind of lead. I mean, we are all trapped on this ship and here I am with this tremendous resource.”
Jamie elbowed Rodolfo with a smirk. “We’re the tremendous resource,” he said proudly.
“Trapped on the ship…” Skyler perked up. “He can’t get off either. We’ve got till tomorrow morning when we dock at Ensenada. We need to find this guy!”
“All right,” said Philip. Skyler loved it when he got into logic mode. “You found this name on a list. Which one?”
“The hoodie list, from the bookstore.”
“And Jamie scanned the passenger list. There is no ‘M. Carson’.”
“But I haven’t scanned the employee list,” said Jamie. “Sidney was supposed to get me that.”
“Text her right now,” said Skyler. “She and Keith are supposed to be there already, at security. What else?”
Jamie began to text and talk at the same time. “Well, as I pointed out to her, there are also itinerant employees who may not be on the list, who aren’t necessarily paid by the cruise line.”
Skyler frowned. “Like who?”
“Wait. I’m getting a text back from her.” He read silently for a time until Skyler couldn’t stand it.
“Well?”
“Okay. She said that Mike got a lead on one of your former classmates from U of R.”
“Former classmate?”
“Yeah. A very vocal anti-LGBT idiot with a website and everything. Lives in Redlands. He’s a kid’s photographer, like the kind that goes to schools…”
“Wait. Photographer? Oh shit.”
Skyler scrambled, looking under every magazine and sock on their tables and counters.
Dave got out of his way. “What are you looking for, Sky?”
“Business card. Our photographer. His name is Mark. That’s ‘M’!”
“Oh shit,” said Dave.
“Help me look!” Everyone took different directions, spreading around the cabin and even into the bathroom. He turned out his pockets but no business card.
“Can’t you remember his name?” asked Rodolfo from under a table.
“No. I wish I did.”
“I’m texting Sidney now, seeing if they have a list of the photographers.” Jamie’s thumbs flew over his phone.
Could it really be the photographer? “How would he know to be on this ship? How could he get on this ship?” said Skyler, pacing again.
“He could have stolen an ID,” said Jamie, still texting. “Or…” He stopped. “He could have stolen the ID, threw the real photographer overboard or stuffed him in a supply closet on shore, and fixed the ID to show his picture!”
Skyler faltered to a stop. “That’s horrible!”
“It could have happened.”
Philip took two strides and slapped Jamie in the arm.
“Ow! Philip!”
“You don’t have to enjoy this so much. Can’t you see you’re upsetting Skyler?”
“Amante,” said Rodolfo, putting his arm around him. “It’s not your fault.”
“But it is. I’ve ruined Keith’s honeymoon.”
“You didn’t,” said Philip.
“But I did. Just by being me. And my stupid, stupid sleuthing. I have no business doing this! And now it’s gonna come back and bite me in the ass.”
Dave moved closer. “Not if we can help it. We have the advantage over this jerkwad. He doesn’t know that we’re here.”
Skyler had been ready to give up. There didn’t seem any point to fighting this. Until Dave’s words started penetrating his morose thoughts. “That’s right,” he said slowly. “He doesn’t know that you’re all here. That Sidney’s here. He thinks that I’m a sitting duck. Well, I’m not!”
“That’s the old Skyler spirit!” said Philip.
“Yeah. And you know what? We’re going to go look for him. All of us. Except…you guys are going to hang back. Let me be the bait.”
“Is that such a good idea, amante?”
“I’ll stay away from the ship’s rails, but…yeah. I’m not just going to sit around waiting for Keith and Sidney to look through some files.”
“I don’t know, Skyler.” Jamie worried at his fingernail.
“I’m going. This only works if you guys are with me.”
Dave exchanged glances with everyone. “Sky’s right. And this isn’t his first rodeo. I’m in. It’s one for all, and all for the SFC, right guys?”
Jamie relented. “For the SFC!” He put his hand in the middle of their circle. Dave rested his hand on top, and gestured for Rodolfo.
“For the SFC!” he said, putting his hand on top of Dave’s. “Come on, Philip.”
“You’ll do it anyway, won’t you. Oh, all right. For the SFC!” And his hand went on top of Rodolfo’s. Skyler smacked his hand on top of all of them.
“For the SFC! Let’s go!”
Skyler strolled the decks, trying to look nonchalant. All the while the SFC stayed well back, some in front, some behind him. Far enough away that they didn’t look as if they were with him. It was tempting to loiter near the railing but he stayed away as promised, taking his time to be where other people were not.
Where was that photographer? He was always around when you didn’t want him. Now that Skyler wanted to find him, he did a disappearing act.
He made sure his friends could see him go to the elevator. He signaled with his fingers casually against his thigh what floor number he was heading for.
Rodolfo and Philip got into one elevator, Dave and Jamie in another, and Skyler in yet another. Just as the doors closed, someone slipped through at the last second.
“I almost missed you,” said Mark.
Chapter Twenty
SKYLER BACKED UP TO THE GLASS WALL AS THE elevator doors slid closed and the car rose.
“I was hoping to catch you alone.”
“W-what makes you think I’m alone?” squeaked Skyler.
Mark slid his gaze around the empty elevator car. “Uh…unless your husband is invisible, you look alone to me.”
There was no use looking around. He was effectively trapped until the doors opened. And Mark was standing in front of them. “Why?” he asked, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice. “Why are you doing this?”
Mark reached back and hit the stop button. The alarm rang for a moment and then stilled. “Don’t you know? Some private shots are called for, I think.”
Mark brought up his camera and took a few pictures. “Why don’t you look out the window? Yeah, that’s the expression. Pensive.”
Terrified, he mentally corrected. “Why?” said Skyler, chin trembling. He thought they’d planned it so well. But all he could think of was Keith. What would he do…afterward? How would he take it when Skyler was found dead?
&nbs
p; Mark hit the button for the car to resume. Skyler flashed a surprised look at him.
“An arty shot. Everyone likes them. Let’s see what we can accomplish on the deck. It’s almost deserted out there. Let’s just take care of this now.”
The elevator doors opened, and Mark stepped aside, gesturing. “After you.”
“We don’t have to do this,” pleaded Skyler.
“We don’t?” Mark looked more puzzled than angry when he stepped out after Skyler. “But we’re already here. Just step back. This won’t hurt a bit.”
“Did I offend you in some way? I’m sorry, but I don’t even remember you.”
“Uh…I’m your photographer.”
“No. From college. I’m sorry, but I don’t remember you. And I was a little crazy back then. Just coming out, so maybe I offended you…”
“From college—”
Streaks of color whizzed by Skyler’s sight. It happened so fast. Dave and Rodolfo each darted forward from different directions and tackled Mark to the ground. It wasn’t pretty. They all tumbled together, legs and arms flailing. Mark certainly wasn’t prepared, and his camera flew heavenward before hitting the deck with a loud crack, pieces flying everywhere. Then there was a pile-on as Jamie and Philip joined their companions and clustered on top of the photographer/stalker.
“Got you, you son of a bitch,” grunted Dave.
“Get off of me! I think you broke my collarbone.”
“I’m going to break more than that,” cried Philip.
The guy still struggled and the four friends smacked and punched him.
Skyler backed away out of the line of fire. He bumped up against a pillar and rested there, breathing hard. It was over.
“Oh my God!” said a female voice beside him. He turned and saw Macy Cherry, the lady from the hot tub. “What is going on, Skyler?”
He grabbed her arm and ushered her away. They got to the deck where the hanging lights were beginning to come on as night fell and a cold breeze swept up from the sea. “It’s nothing. I’ve been having a little trouble with a stalker.”
“What? That’s terrible. Where’s Keith?”
“He’s talking to security. That guy’s been stalking me for a while. I thought I lost him back at home, but he found out where we were taking our honeymoon.”
She shook her head. “I can’t believe that. Are you all right? We should call Keith.”
“In a minute. Hoo! I’m just catching my breath.” He put a hand to his chest and inhaled deeply.
“Well that was a lucky thing those guys coming to the rescue.”
“I know. They’re my friends.”
“I never heard of a group honeymoon before.”
“Well…it isn’t exactly—”
“But maybe that’s what faggots do.”
“It’s—what?”
“I mean…” She reached into her purse and drew out a large steak knife she’d obviously stolen from a ship’s restaurant. “It’s like my brother always told me. You can’t trust a fag.”
Suddenly her hand darted out and closed painfully on Skyler’s wrist. She held the knife to his throat, the serrated edge digging into his flesh. He found he couldn’t scream. Not with his throat closing up with fear. Not with that sharp edge so close to a vein. “Meanwhile, your stupid faggot friends are beating up the wrong guy,” she went on. “Oh well. Let’s go back here where we can be alone.”
“You’re…‘M. Carson,’” he managed to gasp.
“My maiden name. I tell you. You are a hard man to kill.”
“Why are you doing this? You don’t want to come to the same bad end—”
“Shut up. It’s your fault my brother’s dead.”
Skyler let her pull him along but he dragged his feet, trying to stall. “So you agree with what he was doing? Recruiting innocent kids to sell drugs for guns?”
“He wasn’t doing any such thing!”
“But he was! There are tons of witnesses. The trial of his coaches…”
“Scott never had a chance. It was those guys that made him do it.”
Could he reason with her? Appeal to her better nature? “Where’s Brian? What about your own kids?”
“Brian…will understand.”
“But your kids? Isn’t it bad enough about their uncle being involved in these crimes? But their mother? You could walk away now. When the boat docks at Ensenada. Run away and don’t come back.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? But I’m here to get the job done.”
“Your kids, Macy. Think of them.”
She slammed Skyler up against the changing rooms, away from the people still at the bar by the pool. It was sparsely populated as cold as it was.
“You don’t get to talk about my kids.”
“They’ll be forever tainted. They’ll be bullied and ridiculed at school.”
“I said…” She grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him into the wall again. “Shut up about my kids.”
Where were his friends? Stall, Skyler! “What about Sunday school? What about Brian? What about that innocent guy you almost drowned?”
“And he’s fine.”
“But he might not have been. You can stop this now, Macy. Right now. You got your point across. Boy, did you. I’m really sorry things ended the way they did. But Scott Carson tried to kill me. And he was responsible for the death of another teacher.”
She pressed her lips tightly together. With a determined look in her eye, she grabbed Skyler by the back of the neck, pinching hard, and shoved him forward toward the railing. No! he screamed in his head.
“I won’t let you do this, Macy.”
“You can go over with or without a slit throat. I don’t care which, really.”
“You don’t want to do this.”
“I do. I really do. Then your so-called husband gets it. He’s the one who actually shot Scott.”
“You leave him alone!”
“Isn’t that cute. Oh man. You don’t know how disgusted I was sitting in a Jacuzzi with you guys. Took me the hottest shower of my life just to decontaminate.” They were standing at the rail. She looked one way down the deck, and then the other. No one in sight.
Skyler measured the situation. There was no way in hell he was allowing her to dump him over the rail. He wasn’t going to let her cut him, either. He searched around for anything he could use as a weapon.
And then he remembered.
Without overthinking it, he stepped back, grabbed her arm, bent, and hurled her over his shoulder. She hit the rail, but Skyler flung his hand forward and grabbed her wrist. She dangled over the side, screaming.
He pulled with all his might, but he was in an awkward position, and all the weight was on her side, dragging her further down.
He didn’t know how much longer he could hold her. He braced a foot at the bottom of the rail and tugged, but her wrist was slipping from his sweaty hand.
“Don’t drop me!” she screamed.
“I’m trying!”
A large figure appeared beside him, reached down, and clasped her arm, pulling her up. He dumped her on the deck.
Keith kicked the knife out of her hand and slammed her down, holding her arms behind her back.
“Couldn’t you even text me?” he growled, looking up at Skyler with narrowed eyes.
“I was with the guys. We…we had this one…”
“Yeah, I can see that.” Keith mashed her face down even as she squealed. Ostensibly he seemed to be waiting for someone with handcuffs to show up. But Skyler could tell it was payback.
“Are you the bitch that’s been after my husband?” he snarled.
“’Husband’?” she snorted, quite a feat with her mouth mashed against the deck. “I’d spit, if I could. You were next, by the way. I wanted maximum pain.”
Keith’s elbow found its way to the middle of her back and she gasped as he pressed down hard.
“Oh…sorry,” he said unapologetically. “Are you working alone? Are you with
someone?”
“I’m alone. Not even my husband suspected. You…you can leave him out of it.”
“Not a chance.” He glanced once at Skyler. “In light of this, I think you’d better go rescue the other guy.”
“Mark! Oh shit!” Skyler spun and ran, skidding around the corner and wincing at the sight of all his friends burying the hapless Mark with their bodies.
“Um…guys?”
“We got ‘em, Sky!” said Dave proudly. He had a bruised eye. Come to think of it, they all looked beaten up and rumpled. Philip’s normally perfect hair was all mashed to one side and sticking up in a flip. Jamie looked like he was nursing a hurt wrist.
“Yeah, heh. I see you got him. But, uh, maybe you should let him up.”
“Nothing doing,” said Philip. He looked a bit proud of himself, too. “He’s going to pay for what he did to you.”
“Well, that’s the thing. You see, he didn’t do it.”
“What?”
Jamie snapped his head up. “Skyler, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that…we made a mistake?”
“We?” said Rodolfo. He had his arms wrapped around Mark’s leg, and by the look of the rucked-up pant leg, he’d been biting it.
“Uh…me, then. Could you…could you all just let him up?”
Philip managed to put a hand to his hip while holding Mark down with the other. “Are you absolutely sure?”
“Yeah. Dead sure. Because while you were wrangling him, the real stalker had me at knifepoint at the railing.”
That was enough for Rodolfo. He released Mark’s leg and the man was able to wriggle them.
“Sky,” said Dave, wilting a bit. “Say it ain’t so.”
“It is.” He bent down and looked Mark in the face. “I’m really sorry about this. I’ll replace your broken camera.”
“You’ll do more than that.”
Skyler winced again. “Let him up, Dave.”
Dave and Philip released him at the same time. Skyler tried to help him to his feet but he shook him off. “What the hell was all that about?” He pressed a hand to his shoulder and whine, “I think it’s dislocated.”
“I’m so sorry,” said Skyler. “You can let Dave look at it. He’s a fireman.”