Her Lieutenant Protector

by Lara Lacombe

  Wesley nodded. “Good point. I’ll see what I can find in the meantime.” He glanced at Mallory. “I hope you’re okay, ma’am.”

  She offered him a small smile. “I will be. Thanks for coming to my rescue.”

  “Just part of the job,” he replied. He turned and left the room, and Mallory relaxed into Everest’s side.

  It was nice holding her, feeling the warm softness of her body pressed against his own. He would have preferred to embrace her under different circumstances, but he’d take what pleasure he could from this moment. If nothing else, his time in the service had taught him that life could change in an instant, and he needed to enjoy what he could, while he could.

  Mallory let out a sigh. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she said softly.

  Everest tightened his arm around her shoulder and turned his head, resting his nose in her hair. She smelled fresh, like melons and honey, and he took a deep breath, drawing the scent of her into his chest.

  “What were you doing here?” he said softly, trying to keep his frustration out of his voice. He’d been afraid Mallory would hurt herself if she went off on her own, and he didn’t enjoy being proved right. More than that, though, he was worried. He’d assumed any danger she faced would be due to the mysterious substance she thought was in the communication hubs. But now there was an unknown assailant loose on the ship, and he’d already demonstrated his willingness to employ violence against an unarmed woman.

  Everest had to wonder—had Mallory been targeted specifically, or had she simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time? More important, was she still in danger?

  “I came here to check the hub,” she said, her tone sheepish. “I realized I had seen patients earlier in the day who had sunburn-like rashes. I thought they might be due to exposure to the same stuff Danny touched.”

  “Danny?” Everest seized on the new name, realizing it must be the patient who claimed to have found this mystery material in the first place.

  A guilty look flashed across Mallory’s face. “Dammit,” she muttered. “I told him I wouldn’t reveal his name. Please forget I said anything.”

  Everest nodded, but he filed the name away in case he needed the information later. “Did you find anything?”

  A light shudder ran through her body. “More than I bargained for,” she said cryptically.

  Before he could ask what she meant, she began to push herself up. He maneuvered to help her stand, keeping his hand on her waist for support.

  She stood in place for a second, swaying slightly. Then she shook her head and glanced up at him, her eyes full of dread. “It’s over here.”

  “What?” he asked, his stomach sinking. Mallory was clearly upset by something she’d discovered, and Everest got the feeling he wasn’t going to like it.

  She led him to the closet and stopped in front of the door, which was half-open. “Do you remember Jeff’s rantings last night? About finding a body in the wall of his room?”

  “Of course,” Everest said. “I sent Wesley to check things out, just to make sure everything was fine.”

  “And what did Wesley say?”

  “That there was nothing to the story. He didn’t find anything.”

  Mallory nodded. “Maybe he didn’t look hard enough.”

  A tingle shot down Everest’s spine. “What are you saying?”

  Mallory opened the closet door and pointed inside. “See for yourself.”

  Everest walked forward, his gaze immediately drawn to the hole in the drywall about twelve inches off the floor. He knelt to get a closer look and blinked in disbelief at the sight that greeted him. “Is that... Is that a foot?” he said incredulously.

  “I think so,” Mallory confirmed grimly. “It seems Jeff was right. There really is a body in the wall.”

  Everest inserted his finger along the edge of the hole and pulled, ripping another chunk of drywall free so he could get a better look. Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him, and this was simply trash that had been left inside the wall during the ship’s construction.

  But as the hole enlarged, he realized with a growing sense of horror that this was no overlooked piece of debris that had been accidentally sealed up. A leg emerged, the outline of the bones clearly visible under faded blue pants.

  “Holy hell,” he murmured. He rocked back on his heels, trying to collect his thoughts as his mind whirred with questions.

  Who was this? How long had the body been here? And how did it get here in the first place?

  First things first: he had to seal the room. Dead bodies didn’t just spontaneously appear in the walls of a ship. Someone had put this here deliberately, which meant a crime had taken place. He had to do what he could to preserve whatever evidence remained until a forensic team could examine the scene. Then he needed to notify the captain and call the authorities. They were due to make port in Charleston in the morning—the police could hopefully meet them as soon as they docked to take possession of the body and start collecting evidence.

  At least he knew this crime hadn’t taken place on his watch. Whoever it was in the wall, they’d been put there during the construction of the ship; that much was clear.

  He rose to his feet and turned to Mallory. She was staring at the newly enlarged opening in the wall, her expression a mix of pity and sadness. “I didn’t imagine it,” she said softly.

  Everest walked to her and gathered her into his arms, pulling her close so his body blocked her view of the macabre scene. She initially stiffened at the contact but quickly relaxed against him. “No, you didn’t imagine it,” he said.

  Her breath was warm against his chest, and she wrapped her arms around his waist. “Who do you think that is?”

  “I don’t know,” he replied. “It could be someone who helped build the ship. Or maybe it’s someone who had no connection to the boat at all—it’s possible a local criminal used the construction site as a way to get rid of a problem. Whoever it is, hopefully the police will be able to make an identification soon.”

  She sighed and rested her forehead against his shoulder. “I hope so, too. I can’t imagine how worried the family must be.”

  If there is any family, Everest thought darkly. He hated to be so cynical, but he suspected whoever was in the wall hadn’t been missed.

  But he didn’t say that to Mallory. She was already upset, and he didn’t want to add to her distress.

  He pulled back and looked down into her face. Her expression was somber, but she was calm. “I need to report this to the captain and call the authorities in Charleston.” He shook his head. “This is the second time in twenty-four hours I’ve had to call the police. My boss is going to think I’m not doing my job properly.”

  “It’s not your fault,” she said, squeezing his arm.

  “I know,” he said, appreciating her support. “But I still feel responsible because it’s my boat.” He guided her to the door. “Let’s get you back to the clinic. I’m concerned about your injuries, and I want someone to check you over.”

  Mallory lifted her hand to rub the back of her head. “I’m fine,” she said, her tone dismissive. “Just a little bump.”

  “You lost consciousness,” Everest pointed out. “That’s not fine in my book.”

  “You don’t need to worry about me,” she said. “And we can’t leave yet—there’s something else I need to show you.” She stopped walking, forcing him to stop as well so he didn’t shove her forward.

  “I’ve had about all the bad news I can handle right now,” he warned her, only half joking.

  “Well, brace yourself, because I have more.” She gestured to the communication box mounted on the wall. “I know you think I’m freaking out over nothing, but after you left, I decided to check the box in the clinic so I could at least see for myself what my patient had encountered
.”

  Everest shook his head, his suspicions confirmed. “I should have known,” he muttered.

  If Mallory heard his comment, she didn’t acknowledge it. “I popped open the lid, but there was no putty-like material inside. The box was empty except for wires and ports, the kind of stuff you’d expect to see involved in a communication network.”

  “So why check this room?” he asked, frustration flaring in his chest. Why had she continued to dig when there was no reason to? It didn’t make sense.

  “Like I told you earlier,” she said evenly, “I saw some patients this morning who had a rash. I initially thought it was sunburn, but the woman claimed to have spent most of her time indoors. I started to wonder if the material that caused such painful blistering upon contact would irritate skin if a person were exposed from a few feet away. And it got me thinking—what if the mystery material is in the hubs located inside cabins? That would explain the sunburn-like rash. If she’s been spending all her time indoors, she’ll be exposed to the stuff most of the day.”

  Everest nodded. “I see your point. But I was in the Chemical Corps in the army, and I had extensive training with chemical and biological weapons. I haven’t heard of anything that behaves in the way you’ve described. Generally there are respiratory symptoms involved following such an exposure.”

  Mallory was quiet a moment. “This is going to sound crazy, but do you think the material might be...radioactive?” She glanced up through her lashes, appearing suddenly shy, almost as if she was embarrassed to even ask the question.

  Her words hit him like a fist to the gut, and Everest sucked in a breath. That was a pretty serious charge she was making. What were the odds that radioactive materials were spread throughout the ship? His first instinct was to deny the possibility. It certainly seemed far-fetched, at least on the face of it. But her question forced him to look at the information at hand in a new light, and the more he thought about it, the more plausible the idea became.

  Besides, after finding a body in the wall, could he really afford to dismiss any hypothesis out of hand?

  “Walk me through your reasoning,” he said. “I’m not saying I agree with you, but I want to know how you reached that conclusion.”

  Gratitude flashed in her eyes as she apparently recognized he wasn’t going to laugh off her suggestion. “The patients I’ve treated today have displayed symptoms consistent with exposure to radiation. The rash, the nausea and vomiting and other GI issues—they’re all possible consequences of a low-level exposure.”

  “They’re also consistent with patients who have the cruise ship gastro bug, if I’m not mistaken.” Everest wasn’t trying to pick a fight with her, but it seemed much more likely they were dealing with a viral outbreak rather than radiation exposure.

  Mallory nodded. “True. But the burns experienced by the man who touched the material look like those of a person who has been burned by radiation.”

  Everest thought back to the time he’d spent at CBRN school, where the army had taught him all sorts of useful information about chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons. They’d spent a lot of time looking at the aftermath of radiation exposure on the human body, and he recalled all too well the graphic photos of patients with charred, damaged skin.

  “You said you were in the Chemical Corps,” Mallory said softly. “Did you learn anything about radioactive materials?”

  He nodded automatically. “Yes. We were trained to safely interact with them. They sent us to Iraq so we could accompany infantry units on the search for WMDs. They wanted us there so we could identify and contain any chemical, biological or nuclear hazards.”

  Mallory nodded, as if he’d confirmed one of her suspicions. “Will you look at the material in the box? Maybe you can tell what it is by sight alone.”

  Everest frowned. “I doubt it.” Her face fell, and he quickly rushed to explain. “There isn’t one characteristic appearance for a radioactive material. It can be made to look like pretty much anything. But I’ll take a peek.”

  The chair was already in the corner of the room, likely from Mallory’s earlier explorations. He climbed up and popped off the cover to the black box. Sure enough, a lump of gray material adhered to the side of the casing.

  He studied it for a moment, committing its features to memory. It didn’t look dangerous, but he knew from experience sometimes the most deadly substances had the most benign appearances.

  Thinking quickly, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and snapped a few pictures from different angles, hoping to capture a good representation of what he was seeing. He still had a few friends in the Chemical Corps. He’d send them the pictures and ask what they thought. If this truly was radioactive material, maybe they would recognize it.

  Everest snapped the cover back into place and climbed down. He turned to find Mallory watching him, her expression both hopeful and hesitant. “Well?” she asked, taking a step toward him.

  “I saw the material,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “But I don’t recognize it.”

  “So we’re back to square one,” she said, disappointment weighing her words.

  “Not necessarily.” He punched a few keys on his phone, typing out a quick email. “I’m sending some pictures to a few friends of mine who are still in the service. They might recognize this stuff.”

  “Good idea,” she said. “I hope someone can identify it soon.”

  Everest shoved his phone back into his pocket and took Mallory’s arm, guiding her to the door once more. “In the meantime, I have to inform the captain about these developments and call the Charleston police. Please tell me you’ll take it easy and stay in the clinic. No more running around the ship by yourself, especially since we don’t know who attacked you.”

  Mallory’s eyes widened. “Don’t you think that was just a one-time thing? That he hit me because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

  Everest bit his lip, uncertain how to respond. He wanted her to take the potential threat to her safety seriously, but he didn’t want to scare her needlessly. It was a tough needle to thread, but he had to give it a shot. “I don’t know,” he said honestly. “I don’t know if you were targeted because of your search for this mystery material, or because you stumbled across the body. Or maybe it’s as simple as an attempted burglary gone wrong. The guy who hit you may have seen the door was open a crack, assumed the room was empty and walked in to do a quick snatch-and-grab.” He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “The point is, until I know more, I want you to be careful.”

  It bothered him to know the man who had attacked Mallory was still on the loose, especially since he wasn’t sure if she was in some kind of danger. He didn’t like the idea of leaving her unguarded, but he simply couldn’t stay by her side all the time. Especially now that he had this crisis to handle. He was just going to have to trust that Mallory would take his warning seriously and either remain in the clinic or stay near her friends until he had some answers.

  “You don’t have to worry about me,” she said, slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow. “I’m coming with you.”

  “Is that right?” Her assertion surprised him—he’d assumed she’d want to go back to the clinic and monitor the man with the burns on his hands. He wasn’t going to complain, though. If she stayed with him, he wouldn’t have to worry about her safety. One less concern to occupy his thoughts...

  She nodded. “We might not know exactly what this putty is yet, but I do know it’s a health and safety issue for the people on board. It’s my recommendation that we end the cruise when we dock in Charleston in the morning.”

  “We’ll have to cut things short anyway, thanks to this discovery.” He gestured to the wall and its macabre contents, hidden no longer. “The police are going to need to tear this room apart looking for evidence. That’s going to take time, whi
ch means we’ll be docked for a while.” He shrugged. “I don’t see how we’ll be able to continue under those circumstances.”

  “I hope the captain agrees with us.”

  “He won’t have a choice,” Everest said. “It’s a legal matter now. The decision is out of our hands.”

  * * *

  “We have a problem.”

  There was a pause, and Wesley mentally winced at his poor choice of words. The men he worked for didn’t like hearing about difficulties. They only wanted results.

  “Elaborate.”

  “A body was found behind the wall of one of the passenger cabins.”

  “Hmm.” Despite the noncommittal sound, Wesley knew he had the man’s full attention.

  “We dock in Charleston in the morning. I’m sure the police will be waiting, and they’ll have to search the room for evidence. Our trip will be cut short.”

  “That is unacceptable.” The man’s words held a slight edge, and Wesley’s anxiety spiked a notch.

  “It’s out of my control,” he replied. Panic nipped at the edges of his mind, threatening to drown out logical thought. He did not want to be held responsible for this development. Wesley didn’t know all the details of the plan, as his contact only updated him with the bits and pieces of information he needed to know. Still, it was clear the Organization required the Abigail Adams to dock in New York City on the Fourth of July, and any delay would not be tolerated.

  “I can’t influence things once the police get involved,” he said. “They’ll want to conduct an investigation, and if I try to obstruct their activities, it will only raise suspicions.”

  “That’s fine,” the man said. “We will take care of things.”

  It was on the tip of Wesley’s tongue to ask how, but he caught himself just in time. He swallowed, wishing he could hang up now, on this semipositive note. But there was another matter he had to report.

  “There’s more.”