Strange Tidings

by Ivy Dawson

“And these are Jade and Lucien,” Penny told Shae. “They’re also a part of our group. Lucien’s one of the boys’ school friends. Jade is a…” Penny trailed off, giving Jade a judgmental look, “she’s a new addition.”

  “Where were you?” Mark asked suddenly.

  “Excuse me?” Jade asked, looking scandalized.

  “Answer the question,” Victor said tiredly, closing his eyes and rubbing at them. He quickly explained what had happened, and the couple looked shocked.

  “We were all supposed to meet here after unpacking,” Remy explained to Mark. “I went to check out the gym. Ask the trainer, I spoke to him.”

  The gym was at the other side of the boat, Shae remembered. There was no way he’d make it from the gym to Madeline’s room, then wait around to threaten Penny and Samuel before making it back to Victor’s room.

  “We went for a drink,” Jade admitted with a little hiccup, looking guilty and hanging on Lucien who nodded his agreement.

  The room went quiet as everyone looked around uncomfortably.

  “And where were you?” Mark asked Victor. Another uncomfortable silence fell over the room until Penny stood up angrily.

  “What are you implying?” she asked furiously. Victor didn’t say anything. He just leaned back and crossed his arms as he shook his head. His gaze flickered toward Samuel, and Shae saw a vicious fury in his eyes.

  Chapter 4

  “We’re not implying anything,” Mark said calmly, his eyes flitting to Shae. He signaled her to help him out and she shrugged.

  “We just need to get an idea of where everyone was at the time,” Shae said kindly.

  “I was here,” Victor said stiffly, “waiting for my friends. You can search my room if you want. You’re not going to find anything.”

  “That’s not necessary,” Shae said with a forced smile. “We’ll call the security team and tell them to watch over you in the meantime.”

  Although most people don’t have an alibi for what they’re doing most of the time, it was useful to have one when something bad happened. The way Victor was looking at Samuel meant that he might have a motive for trying to kill the man and any of his supporters.

  On the other hand, he might be completely innocent. She could only imagine what the young heir was going through. He’d lost his father at a very young age and probably had to deal with dozens of imposters. It was only natural to be wary and resentful of anyone who claimed to be his father.

  And what if Samuel was who he said he was? What would motivate a father to leave his son then show up twenty years later? It didn’t matter how the situation worked out, Victor was a victim.

  “We’re two days away from our next port,” Mark said, looking almost gratefully at Shae. He was arrogant, but some part of him knew that he wouldn’t get far without her. He simply lacked the people skills. “Then you can leave and let the police take over.”

  “No,” Penny said firmly. “We’re not going anywhere. We’ll go to the end, and you’re going to find out what’s going on. I need to know if this is my son.” Penny looked up at Samuel, who was standing awkwardly in the corner.

  Jade and Lucien looked at him curiously. They obviously didn’t know what was going on yet, and Jade wrinkled her nose at the smelly old man.

  “You can’t put our lives at risk for this imposter,” Victor sneered at Samuel. “It’s obvious who these people want. I’m not getting killed because of him. Let’s go.”

  “Son,” Samuel said, his expression distraught, “please don’t do this.”

  “I’m not your son!” Victor yelled, getting up and standing as far away from Samuel as he could.

  Jade and Lucien looked at each other in shock. Jade took out her phone and started typing something. She looked less shocked and more excited. She smiled wolfishly and held up her phone. Lucien looked at her in annoyance and lowered her phone with his hand.

  She pouted at him, and he shook his head warningly. He nodded at Shae and Mark before ushering her out of the room.

  “This is a family matter,” Remy muttered, also passing them. He looked down at his feet as he walked, not wanting to get involved.

  “Victor,” Samuel pleaded. “I know how difficult this must be for you.”

  “You know nothing!” Victor said angrily. “You’re dangerous. I don’t care what anyone says. You’re not my father. You’re some greedy actor who wants a piece of the fortune. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last. You don’t know me.”

  “Victor,” Penny said sternly, standing up and looking her grandson in the eye. “I know we’ve struggled with imposters in the past. Just remember that Madeline’s never been wrong before. She recognized him immediately, and he looks like your father. He even knows things only your father knew.”

  “My father was a coward,” Victor spat, “and he’s dead. If this man were my father, then he would’ve run away when he saw Madeline’s body.”

  Penny gasped in shock and Samuel took a few steps back. He looked away in shame, his beard quivering as he clenched his jaw.

  “Don’t speak about your father like that,” Penny said, clenching her fists, “even if you’re right. Never speak about your father like that.”

  Victor lowered his eyes in shame, but his jaw clenched, and he narrowed his eyes at Samuel. Shae suddenly saw the resemblance between them. Under the grime and years of sun damage, Victor’s fine features were reflected in the older man.

  “This is what we’re going to do,” Penny said after taking a deep breath to calm herself. “I’m going to spend an hour with this man. We’re going to talk, and I’m going to find out if this is my son. If I decide that he isn’t, then we have him arrested and we get off this ship immediately.”

  “I already know he isn’t my father,” Victor said mutinously, still glaring at Samuel.

  “Do you trust me?” Penny asked him, staring him down. “Have I ever let you down?”

  Victor nodded without hesitation. He sighed and put his fingers on his temples as he concentrated. Then he glared at Samuel again before storming out of the cabin.

  “We’ll get security to check on him,” Mark assured Penny, “and we’ll ask them to stay outside to watch over you.”

  “I’ll get the kitchen to send some food up,” Shae said with a kind smile.

  Penny nodded tiredly and looked at Samuel as she sat down. Samuel looked a little nervous, and Shae watched him sit down as Mark closed the door behind them.

  “I’ll go speak to Ivan and his team,” Mark told her, his eyes narrowing as he thought about something.

  “I want to check up on something,” Shae admitted. “Before I got called away to this whole Samuel thing, we met this woman. She warned us that something happened. I want to go talk to her and see if she knows anything about this.”

  “That old woman?” Mark said with a frown. “She said that her lover was murdered?”

  “You met her too?” Shae asked in surprise.

  “Yeah, she’s been onboard for about a week. Don’t waste your time with her. She’s been saying the same thing this whole week. She’s crazy or something. We get someone like that every now and then. She’s old, she shouldn’t have come on the cruise by herself. She needs help.”

  “That may be the case, but this is just too spooky,” Shae pointed out. “She said that there was a murder and warned that more would come. That’s too big of a coincidence.”

  “I warned you,” Mark shrugged. “When you realize that this is a stupid thing to do, meet me in the security office.”

  Shae nodded and walked off toward the reception desk. Alexa worked at the front desk and could look up any guest to track their movements. It helped the staff give the best service, look up lost passengers, and it helped Shae with her investigations.

  It was one of the perks of the ship. Every guest and staff member had a key card that unlocked every door. The system could track which card was used where. Then all they had to do was match the key card to the right guest, and t
hey could track anyone.

  “How’s the whole investigation going?” Alexa asked, leaning on the front desk, her cheek in her hand. She looked bored.

  Shae quickly brought her up to speed, and her friend eagerly looked up the name.

  “No offense, but Mark is right. This old lady’s probably just lonely and crazy. I don’t think there’s anything there. Why aren’t you with Mark and the security team?”

  “I don’t know,” Shae said hesitantly. “It could just be a dead-end. I have to look. It’s just too big not to be related to this whole case.”

  “I guess so,” Alexa said with a shrug. “Come on, let’s go. I’ve got her room number.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Shae asked in amusement, giving the desk a meaningful look. Alexa hated working at the reception desk. She was constantly looking for other things to do and had applied for different jobs, but so far, she hadn’t received a promotion or change. It wasn’t easy to find someone to work on the ship, and so staff changes took months to happen. Since their contracts were so strict, employees had to keep working their current jobs until a replacement could be found. It wasn’t fair, but employees knew what they were up against.

  Shae wanted her friend to have a better job, but it was useful having someone who could help look up where guests were at a moment’s notice.

  “It’s nearly the end of my shift anyway,” Alexa said with a shrug. “Besides, you might need my help. Crazy people are stronger than they look, and we can’t have our PI knocked out.”

  “I’m not a PI,” Shae said, rolling her eyes at her friend’s antics, “and what would you do if someone came charging at me?”

  “I’d defend you,” Alexa said proudly, holding her fists up in a fighting stance.

  “Oh, please,” Shae laughed. “You’d probably use me as a human shield and run away.”

  “I would never,” Alexa said, putting her hand over her chest as if she was wounded. “How could you say something like that to me?”

  “It’s true,” Shae said, giving her friend a small push. “Don’t you remember what happened on the playground in sixth grade? When Joey Driver cornered us?”

  “You’ll never let me forget that, will you?” Alexa said, rolling her eyes. “We were kids. And we were playing tag!”

  “You used me as a shield, threw me at him and ran away,” Shae reminded her friend, raising any eyebrow. “What kind of friend does that?”

  “He smelled like bologna and had weird teeth,” Alexa said, wrinkling her nose at the memory. “It was every girl for herself. You should’ve run away first.”

  “What a wonderful friend,” Shae said with a laugh. “I can’t wait to see what you’ll do when the crazy old lady attacks us. I’ll be fine, I just have to run faster than you.”

  “Who’s a wonderful friend now?” Alexa asked, shaking her head. “Here’s the door. You’re standing in front of me.”

  Alexa pulled her friend in front of her, and Shae raised an eyebrow at her but didn’t said anything. She lifted her hand and knocked lightly. The door creaked open as her fist met the wood, and they looked at each other in alarm.

  “Estelle?” Shae called softly. “Are you in here?”

  She pushed the door open a little wider, and her eyes widened. The cabin was dark and smelled vaguely musty. The smell wasn’t the most shocking thing. The cabin was trashed. It wasn’t the normal mess that the staff saw when guests left after a vacation.

  Everything had been methodically ripped open and apart. Even some of the clothes were torn in half. The bed had slash marks where someone had searched inside the stuffing.

  “What?” Alexa asked, her mouth gaping open as she took in the carnage. “Who would do something like this?”

  “Estelle?” Shae called again, knocking on the bathroom door. She took a deep breath and opened the door, but no one was inside. There were toiletries everywhere and someone had even squeezed out all the lotions and soaps.

  “Where do you think she is?” Alexa asked in concern, her eyes wide as she tried to take it all in.

  “I don’t know,” Shae admitted with a little shrug. “We have to find her quickly. I think she might know more about what’s going on.”

  “If she’s still alive,” Alexa said, her voice full of dread.

  Chapter 5

  “What are we going to do?” Alexa asked, her hand over her mouth as she surveyed the wrecked cabin.

  Shae’s mind was running a mile a minute as she tried to figure out what their next move would be.

  “I don’t know if this has anything to do with the case, but this needs to be reported. Something is seriously wrong. Could you go to the security office? Mark is already there; just explain the situation to him.”

  “Where are you going?” Alexa asked hesitantly.

  “I want to go talk to Victor. Maybe he recognizes Estelle’s name. I also want to talk to him about a few things. If Mark gives you trouble, then just tell him to come to me.”

  “I thought Victor stormed off, where are you gong to find him?” Alexa asked, frowning at her friend.

  “I know Penny and Samuel are in his room, but the guy is very protective of his grandmother. I don’t think he went too far. I’ll go check if he’s in her room. If not, then I’ll let you know, and we can try to look for him on the system.”

  Alexa nodded slowly and looked around the cabin with wide eyes. Whoever had searched the cabin was either terrified or very angry. Either option seemed like it would be bad for Estelle. Had she been in the room when it was searched? Did she know what happened? Or was she just enjoying her vacation somewhere on deck, unaware of what happened in her cabin?

  “We need to go,” Shae said firmly, walking out. “Estelle needs our help. Mark needs to take this seriously, if he doesn’t, then drag him down here to see for himself.”

  “Okay,” Alexa nodded, then turned and jogged off in the opposite direction.

  When Shae got to the right hallway, she was pleasantly surprised to see that a security guard was already standing outside Victor’s room.

  “Are they talking?” Shae asked curiously. She moved closer to the door to put her ear to the door. The security guard, a mountain of a man named Stefan, nodded eagerly.

  “I think they’re working through their issues,” Stefan said, looking satisfied. “They spoke about the past. That’s good. They need to work through that before they can move to the future. They’re making real progress.”

  “Do you think he’s really Samuel?” Shae asked, straining to hear through the wood. She only heard muffled voices, but Stefan probably had better hearing than she did.

  “Who knows?” Stefan said with a shrug. “I hope he is. The family is broken, they need to have Samuel back. Or at least know what happened to him.”

  “That would help,” Shae agreed, stepping away from the door. “Do you know if the grandson is in there?” She pointed toward the neighboring door that was supposed to be Penny’s room.

  “I don’t know,” Stefan admitted. “I just got here ten minutes ago. Do you want me to knock for you?”

  “I know how to knock on a door,” Shae said in amusement. She put her ear to the door to hear if anyone was inside. She heard some rustling and a thump filter through the barrier. As she got closer, she smelled something acrid.

  Smoke.

  Shae frowned. The smoke detectors would’ve activated if someone tried to set fire to something. She knocked on the door, rapping with her knuckles.

  “Victor?” she called. “Are you burning something in there?”

  There was a moment of silence. She looked at Stefan who was staring at the door in concern. Something wasn’t right.

  “Open the door,” Shae demanded as Stefan stepped toward her. “Or we’re coming in.”

  Nothing.

  Stefan rolled his shoulders and stepped up to the door, preparing to kick it down. She stopped him in alarm and reached for the door handle. As her hand touched the cool handle, the
door flew open and someone shot past her.

  She yelped in alarm as she was pushed out of the way. The person pushed her hard, and she went flying into the wall, her head colliding with the wall as she fell. Stefan caught her, helped her to her feet then took off running after the person.

  “What’s going on?” Victor asked, running up to her. “Who was in my room?”

  “I don’t know,” Shae groaned, rubbing her head. “I’m fine, by the way.”

  “Is that smoke?” Victor said, sniffing loudly. He walked into Penny’s room, looking around angrily. “What the…?”

  Shae sighed to herself and walked into the room, trying to ignore the mounting pain in her head. It was just a bump, she’d be fine. She cursed her assailant. She hoped Stefan caught up to whoever it was. Stefan didn’t take kindly to bullies. He was a mountain with a soft heart, but he knew how to use his size and skills when needed. He was one of the best security guards on the team.

  “What did you find?” Shae asked, walking up to Victor.

  “These old pictures,” Victor said, frowning in confusion. There was an empty glass next to him, and he stared at the wet, charry mess with a slightly dazed look. She was slightly impressed that he thought to put out the fire that quickly. He had a good response time. “Why would anyone want to burn these? They’re a little embarrassing, but they’re family photos.”

  “Why does your gran take a photo album on vacation?” Shae asked curiously, picking up one of the half-charred pictures. In the picture, a little Victor sat in some beach sand, playing with a little shovel and some buckets.

  “She takes it everywhere,” Victor said, with a shrug. “The real question is why anyone would want to burn these? Look at them, they’re just old family pictures.”

  “Were they taken before or after Samuel disappeared?” Shae asked thoughtfully.

  The intruder hadn’t managed to burn all the pictures, but a few of them were completely charred. She looked at the abandoned photo album. The intruder wasn’t careful. They’d just wrenched pictures out of their place and started a little fire.