Murky Seas (A Rowan Gray Mystery Book 2)

by Lily Harper Hart

  Then, because she realized it was maudlin to be thinking that way, she forced the idea out of her head and instead focused on the way the women interacted. She wasn’t an investigator by any stretch of the imagination, but she considered herself a fairly good judge of character. From her perch next to the action – rather than in the middle of it – she realized she had a prime opportunity to see if any of the women were acting out of the ordinary.

  “What are you doing?”

  Sally appeared at the side of the table, a mixed drink in her hand. Rowan fought to maintain her composure even though she was seriously starting to wonder about Sally’s catlike abilities.

  “Seriously, do you ever make a noise?”

  Sally snickered as she sat, grabbing a napkin from Rowan’s stack so she could wipe the bottom of her glass. “I don’t think it’s that I walk overly quiet as much as you lose yourself in deep thoughts when you don’t have anyone close to distract you and magically lose the ability to hear.”

  “I’m not lost in thought.”

  Sally arched a challenging eyebrow. “Honey, you’re so lost in thought Quinn is going to have to leave breadcrumbs – or at least strip out of his shirt and flex – to get your attention and lead you back to sanity.”

  Rowan blew out a resigned sigh. “Fine. I’m a little lost in thought.”

  Sally offered her friend a reassuring pat on the wrist. “They say admitting you have a problem is the first step to overcoming it.”

  “Very cute.” Rowan made a face as she sipped her iced tea. “I’ve been watching the Cara G Cosmetics women. It’s turned in to something of a game, if I’m being honest, and I can’t seem to tear away my attention.”

  “How so?”

  “I’m trying to figure out which one of them is a murderer.”

  Sally widened her eyes as she shifted in her chair, studying the women. “Did they just find out that Daphne is dead? If so, I’m not seeing many tears.”

  “They just found out that the woman pretending to be Daphne DuBois is dead.”

  Sally made an exaggerated face. “Excuse me?”

  “Oh, that’s right, you probably don’t know the entire sordid story yet.” Rowan filled in Sally on the day’s updates, and when she was done, the woman was understandably intrigued. “So … that’s where we’re at. Quinn is in his office right now trying to talk to the attorney to see if he can get some answers.”

  “Oh, these women just got so much more interesting,” Sally intoned, grinning. “I thought they were all empty-headed idiots. It turns out we have a potential killer in our midst. It’s … fascinating.”

  Rowan made an exaggerated face that was obscene enough that Sally could do nothing but giggle. “You like soap operas, don’t you?”

  “Who doesn’t like soap operas?”

  Rowan shrugged. “My mother used to watch General Hospital religiously. It was always on when I came home from school. I got in the habit of watching it with her – even developing a really big crush on that guy who played Jason Morgan – but once she died I got out of the habit.”

  “That’s kind of sad,” Sally lamented. “I watched soap operas with my mother, too. I still watch them, though. It’s one of the few things my mother and I can agree about when we talk on the phone.”

  “You’re lucky to have your mother,” Rowan pointed out. “I know she probably irritates you – my mother drove me crazy at times – but I would give anything to have her back.”

  “Yes, well, I don’t know what to say to that because if I complain about my mother under these circumstances I’ll look like a jerk,” Sally admitted. “Talk to me about these women, though. Do you have a suspect you like?”

  Rowan shrugged, noncommittal. “That’s not really my job.”

  “Oh, you do like someone.” Sally immediately warmed to the subject. “Who is it? Wait, let me guess.” She surveyed the women for a long time, finally crossing her arms over her chest and offering Rowan a smug wink. “It’s Penny Parker, isn’t it?”

  Rowan widened her eyes, dumbfounded. “How did you know that?”

  “Because it makes the most sense,” Sally replied. “I’ll admit I did my best to stay far away from Daphne DuBois while she was on the ship – the woman could make a nun want to smack the crap out of her – but the few times I was in close proximity I heard her being extremely rude to her assistant.”

  “Really?” Now it was Rowan’s turn to be intrigued. “What happened?”

  “It wasn’t anything major unless you’re used to dealing with disgruntled underlings,” Sally explained. “Most people wouldn’t pick up on it, but I did. Daphne would endlessly pick on Penny’s hair … or shoes … or the way her skirt fit. Penny would just nod and agree until Daphne’s back was turned. Then, I swear, she would burn holes in the back of that woman’s head with the hidden laser beams she had stored in her eye cavities the second Daphne turned in the other direction.”

  “Oh, well, that’s pretty much what I witnessed, too.” Rowan glanced back at Penny, who appeared to be having trouble reining in the boisterous women. “Do you think it’s everything she thought it would be?”

  “What?”

  “Being the queen bee. Now that Daphne is gone, she’s finally getting attention for something other than doing things wrong. I’m pretty sure that’s how Daphne worked. She beat down those closest to her so she could always be on top. Now Penny is finally on top of a mountain that looks to be crumbling. She doesn’t look happy, does she?”

  Sally studied Penny for a very long time. “No, she definitely doesn’t look happy. Speaking of people who don’t look happy, though, check out who is watching her.” Sally inclined her chin toward a spot near the starboard railing. “What do you think that’s about?”

  Rowan followed the woman’s gaze with her eyes, shifting in her chair when she recognized the two men watching Penny with unveiled interest. “It’s our two friends from the store. Have you seen much of them since we hit the ship?”

  “Jamie and Gary? That’s their names, by the way. Jamie is the one with dark hair and Gary is the blond. I’ve seen them to wave, but they seem much more interested in finding a new and different conquest each night.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “They spend a lot of time in the main dining room,” Sally answered. “I’ve never seen them working their magic on the same two girls twice.”

  “Does that bother you?”

  Sally shook her head and then shrugged. “I think everyone wants to be desired, but those guys are too young and dumb to waste time worrying about their lack of sustained interest. In a week they’ll be forgotten and I’ll be dealing with two new over-sexualized morons.”

  It was a pointed statement and Rowan wanted to follow up on it further, but instead she picked up her camera and snapped two more photographs. “Well, you deserve better than them,” she said, getting to her feet. “I promised I would check in with Quinn so I need to get going. I’ll fill you in the second I have more gossip.”

  “You do that. I happen to love gossip.”

  QUINN WAS stuck with nothing to do but wait for a call back from the attorney when Rowan came barreling into his office. At first he was excited – a nice round of kissing was sure to recharge his deduction skills, after all – but the second he realized she was worked up for an entirely different reason his brain turned to business mode.

  “What’s going on?”

  “We have a problem,” Rowan replied, handing him her camera. “Look at that photo and tell me what you see.”

  Quinn was almost afraid to look at the back viewfinder, but he did as instructed, cringing when he saw the now-familiar symbol hovering over a strange woman’s head. “Oh, crap. Who is that?”

  “That is Madison Montgomery,” Rowan replied. “She’s the second highest seller for Cara G Cosmetics. Do you want to know how I know? She told me when I was stirring the pot on the deck a few hours ago. She made it seem like a big deal.”

  Quinn
wasn’t sure how to grapple with the information. “Okay, um, let’s take this one step at a time. What do you mean you were stirring the pot?”

  “Oh, well, I was up there watching the sales representatives like we talked about and Penny showed up,” Rowan volunteered. “She’s a real piece of work, by the way. I don’t like her at all. I felt sorry for her when Daphne was alive, but now she bugs the crap out of me.”

  “You really need to learn how to form an opinion, Ro,” Quinn teased, grabbing her hand before she could wave it about some more. “Take a deep breath and tell me what you’re going on about.”

  “Penny showed up and told a few of the women about Daphne’s death,” Rowan supplied, sucking in a steady stream of oxygen as she attempted to control her breathing. “She pointed the finger at us – well, me in particular – and said her cohorts should question me if they really thought I was guilty.”

  “I’m still not following,” Quinn hedged. “The women thought you should be a suspect or Penny pointed the finger at you to make them believe you were a legitimate suspect?”

  “The women suggested that I was jealous of your relationship with Daphne and perhaps I killed her and you covered it up for me.”

  “Well, we both know that’s ridiculous. There’s no reason to get worked up over that.”

  “I understand, but Penny told them to question me and she was so full of herself that I hardly recognized her,” Rowan raged on. “She’s just as bad as Daphne. It’s as if the abused has now become the abuser. I don’t like it at all.”

  “Yes, well, I like the way it has filled your face with color and how your chest is heaving. It’s very … stimulating.”

  Rowan shot him a dour look. “Focus up here please.” She gestured toward her eyes. “Anyway, the women started acting up so I turned the tables on Penny. I pointed out that she left out the part where Daphne was a fraud and the company might be in trouble.”

  Quinn couldn’t hide his surprise. “Why did you do that?”

  “You said you wanted those women melting down so you could gauge their reactions.”

  “I did but … .”

  “I was simply helping along the situation,” Rowan supplied, cutting him off. “It was actually a good thing because Penny didn’t hold up well under the pressure. I’m sure she’s going to complain about me – and probably you, too, because we’re together – but I don’t really care.”

  “I’m glad you don’t care.” Quinn was lost in the conversation, but he was having a very good time because Rowan was so animated. He couldn’t ever remember seeing her so worked up. Of course, he’d only met her a few weeks before so she could be prone to dramatic fits for all he knew. He didn’t think that was the case, but he was looking forward to finding out.

  “Anyway, I dropped the bomb and left the women to freak out,” Rowan said. “Penny tried to keep up with the questions, but then she kind of tuned out to what was going on. She seemed a little depressed. I kept snapping pictures, but then I got distracted by Sally and lost track of what was happening for a few minutes. Sorry about that, by the way.”

  Quinn stilled. “What did she say to you? If she bugged you about the sex again … .”

  Rowan offered up a dismissive hand wave. “I’m used to the sex talk. That doesn’t bother me. She’ll calm down relatively fast. I’m sure of it. I think she’s lonely and projects her feelings on us. That’s the least of our worries.”

  “Oh, well, good.” Quinn felt as if he was caught in a tornado. “Go back to Penny. I’m listening.”

  “There’s not much else to say,” Rowan admitted. “I talked to Sally a few minutes, we watched the guys who flirted with us at that store on the mainland check out the sales representatives, and then I snapped two photographs before leaving.

  “I was in a good mood and planning to come down here and assault you with kisses when I happened to look at the two new photos in the elevator,” she continued. “That’s when I saw the symbol.”

  “And the symbol only happens when you take the photos, right?”

  Rowan nodded. “It’s not the camera. I’ve run numerous experiments. The camera doesn’t matter. The only thing that causes the symbol to appear is me being behind the camera.”

  “Okay, I was just hoping for a bit of clarification.” Quinn rubbed his chin as he slowly got to his feet. “I don’t know what we can do. The Cara G Cosmetics lawyer is making some calls for me and we’re trying to track down the original Daphne DuBois. I found out her real name and we’re looking for her. I feel stuck until we find her … or maybe even a body where she used to live.

  “As for this Madison Montgomery woman, all we can do is watch her,” he continued. “I’ll make sure to have people in the hallway outside of her room tonight so we don’t run into any problems there. We’ll have a separate team watching whatever bar they decide to drown their sorrows at tonight. You and I can watch her in the dining room over dinner. I’m not sure what else we can do.”

  “I don’t want to lose another one,” Rowan admitted, chewing on her bottom lip. “I feel as if I fell down on the job where Daphne is concerned. I don’t want that to happen twice.”

  “That was not your fault,” Quinn chided, wagging a finger. “We’ve been over this. Sometimes things just happen.”

  “I don’t want them to happen again.”

  “Me either.” Quinn tugged Rowan to him so he could wrap his arms around her. “We can only do what we can do, though.”

  “I hope it will be enough.”

  Quinn brushed his lips against her forehead, swaying back and forth as he enjoyed the warmth of her lithe body. Then something she said earlier pushed to the forefront of his brain. “Did you said you were going to assault me with kisses?”

  Rowan’s smile was sheepish. “You heard that part, huh? Sometimes my mouth gets away from me.”

  “That’s okay.” Quinn beamed. “As long as it doesn’t get away from me we’re good.”

  “Does that mean you want me to kiss you?”

  “Just for the record, Ro, you never need to ask me that question.”

  Quinn pressed his lips to Rowan’s, cupping the back of her head as they both sank into the shared intimacy. They had a long way to go before they solved this one, but a small detour wouldn’t hurt anyone. Er, well, Quinn hoped that was true.

  18

  Eighteen

  Rowan changed her clothes before dinner, opting for simple shorts and a T-shirt rather than dressing up. As much she wanted to go all out for Quinn – and felt ridiculous for being such a girl given the circumstances – she figured it was better to be practical in case something dire happened.

  Quinn met her in the lobby next to the restaurant’s ornate double doors, flashing a smile when she rounded the corner. He held out his hand as she approached, inhaling deeply so he could get a whiff of her freshly applied body spray.

  “What is that?”

  “What?” Rowan looked around, confused.

  “That scent. Your body spray. You don’t wear perfume, but you do put on some sort of body spray. It smells like coconuts and it drives me crazy.”

  “Oh, that.” Rowan’s cheeks colored. “It’s actually piña colada. I’ve always liked the smell. I figured since I was working on a cruise ship it was the perfect time to get it out and enjoy it.”

  “I like the smell, too.” Quinn rubbed his nose against her cheek. “Seriously, you smell freaking good. You make me want to drink something with an umbrella in it.”

  Rowan tilted her head to the side. “That could be taken a myriad of different ways.”

  “As long as you take it in a good way, I don’t care.”

  “Done.” Rowan linked her fingers with Quinn and gestured toward the dining room. “Are you ready? I’m starving.”

  “I’m ready.” Quinn led Rowan into the dining room, heading straight for the buffet line before scanning the expansive area. The seemingly endless sea of pink scattered over at least forty different tables didn’t ma
ke his task remotely easy. “I don’t suppose you see her, do you?”

  “Look for the center of that pink ocean,” Rowan instructed. “Madison Montgomery fancies herself important because of her sales numbers. The other representatives may not like her attitude, but there seems to be a pecking order they’re required to follow.”

  “I will never understand women,” Quinn muttered. “Oh, but there she is. You’re good at this.”

  “Yes, I’m a master at many things,” Rowan teased, grabbing a pair of tongs so she could pile as many crab legs as possible on her plate. “You should see me playing Candy Crush.”

  Quinn barked out a laugh, amused. “You’re funny. I wasn’t sure when I first met you. I knew you were feisty – and I definitely liked that – but you’re funny, too. You don’t take yourself too seriously. I like that in a woman.”

  Rowan pursed her lips, working overtime to ignore the heat creeping into her cheeks. “Um … thank you.”

  “You also blush like a madwoman so I always know exactly what you’re thinking,” Quinn added, shaking his head when he saw her add scallops and shrimp to the mix. “You might want to pace yourself on the seafood. We always have it and you seem addicted. I would hate to see you lose your love of crab legs.”

  “Oh, that will never happen,” Rowan intoned, shoving three rolls on top of the crab legs and moving around the edge of the buffet table. “I grew up in Michigan. We didn’t have a lot of really good seafood and it was always my favorite. Oh, well, I really love Middle Eastern food, too. You don’t have a lot of that on the ship. I’m going to miss that. What was I saying again?”

  Adoration bubbled up in Quinn’s chest as he shook his head. “You talk a mile a minute when you’re excited. I like that about you, too.”

  “Is there anything you don’t like about me?”