Chapter 4 #3
Wes knew several of the Bureau’s extension people working in the Caribbean and both Central and South America. He hadn’t met
George Garcia, but of course, Garcia knew who they really were, just as they knew that the man had double-duty on the ship.
“Mr. Thompson!” Doctor Kilbride said cheerfully. “I’ve just had the pleasure of meeting Mr. George Garcia, the nurse practitioner
who just arrived to make sure that you do okay through the coming days. Mr. Garcia, your patient, Mr. Edward Thompson, and
his friends, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas—our heroes of the hour.”
“Nice to meet you all,” George Garcia assured them, nodding to Wes and Chloe and giving his attention to his patient. “I’m here for you, sir. I will never be far!”
“You did an amazing job of getting here,” Wes told him.
“They coptered me in! It was great. And yes, fast,” Garcia told them, grinning. “Doc Kilbride has caught me up to speed, so
here I am.”
“I’m sure they’ll get you a nice little cabin—” Edward began.
“Oh, no, sir! They’re rolling in one of those nice comfy chairs that doubles as a bed. Mr. Thompson, you are extremely important
to Milestones. I will be sleeping like a good and loyal hound, right at your feet! But don’t worry—I won’t be bothering you,
I promise. I’ve brought some good books along with me, as well!”
“Well, I thank you for being here, though I hate to be a burden—”
“No burden to get a nice gig on a cruise ship, sir,” Garcia said.
Edward Thompson laughed. “Okay, great. I’m not sir, please, just Edward.”
“And I’m George.”
“Chloe—and that’s Wes,” Chloe told him, rising. “And since you are here, we’re going to leave Edward in your great hands and
head out so that we can get to our next classes! Edward, you take care. We will be back to check on you.”
“You’re my guardian angels, and you are welcome anytime!” Edward assured them.
With a wave, Wes set a hand on Chloe’s back as she rose and they left the room, waving to the doctor and nurses as they left
the hospital area.
They didn’t speak; they just smiled and nodded to others they spoke to. The ship’s hospital was on the same deck as the indoor and outdoor spas and the gym, making it a busy area.
They headed to the elevator to reach the upper decks where their cabin was and where the classes were being held.
“Cabin first?” Chloe murmured.
He nodded, hit the button for their deck, and then they hurried down to the privacy of their own salon.
“Well, this is all great,” he murmured when the door was closed. “First, was it possibly an accident?”
“No way,” Chloe said. “Because something you said was absolutely correct! On every deck, the railings are high enough. The
sea was quiet—”
“There were a lot of people pressing against each other to see the sea!” he reminded her. “And, so we hear, several frolicking
dolphins.”
“Still, the railing is too high! He was pushed. I don’t know how much force it would take—”
“It would depend on whether he was bending over the railing or not. People do stretch out over the railing,” Wes reminded
her.
“I don’t believe it.”
“Neither do I, but I thought I should play devil’s advocate,” Wes agreed. “Okay, so, on to our visitor—”
“Amelia Swenson,” Chloe said. “The one friend to come in and see him and, of course, one of the suspects on our list.”
“And,” Wes added, “the first so-called suicide was a man who received a promotion over her.”
“But after what just happened, would anyone have taken the chance of coming into the hospital, into his room—and killing him
then? Not the kind of place where you drug someone and shoot them!” Chloe said.
Wes shook his head. “As far as the killer knows, law enforcement isn’t aware of the fact that the victims were drugged before they were shot.”
“Well, it would have been obvious if she was in the room and the man was shot.”
“But he has an IV. She could have planned to drug him. Computer specialists can certainly study the web to find out what poison
wouldn’t be obvious in an autopsy,” Wes reminded her.
Chloe let out a long sigh.
“So far . . . we like Edward Thompson. As a person—not a suspect!” she said.
“You don’t think that he jumped overboard to avoid suspicion?” Wes asked her dryly.
She shook her head. “Wes, you did save his life. I don’t think that he was breathing when I dragged him to the surface.”
“Oh, yeah, as to that! If I jump off a cliff, don’t follow after me!”
She grinned. “I really did do competitive diving and I’ve done cliff diving and . . . You really were a lifeguard, right?”
He nodded. “Yep. Certified after my sophomore year of college.”
She grinned. “Well, maybe they did pick the right people for a ship.”
“Oh, great! Before that you didn’t think I was the right person?”
She groaned. “Class! Let’s get to class.”
They started out of the cabin, and she said, “I did think it was going to be a good idea for us both to attend the class that
Daniel and Broderick are giving. Now I’m thinking that maybe I should see what Amelia Swenson is going to be talking about—and
just how she manages a class.”
Wes hesitated. He stopped in the hallway, lightly, and pinned her against the wall, smiling in a teasing way as he spoke affectionately.
“Strange. I know at times we will need to divide and conquer. Right now . . . after this morning, after Edward was sent over
the brink already, I think we should hang together. Maybe we can look out for Amelia later, try to see where she’s headed
for dinner.”
He thought that she was going to argue.
But she smiled, playing his game.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
She lifted her head up toward him, as if she was being a sweet and teasing wife.
“I’m feeling a bit of what you’re feeling,” she told him. “Right now, we’ll have one another’s backs. And . . . yes, tonight
we’ll get all social and see who is doing what!”
He smiled, drew away, took her hand and continued down the hallway.
People were gathering to take their seats for the brothers’ lecture. He realized that they were coming to casually know several
of the people who attended the classes; they all nodded or said hi to one another.
It was a cruise, after all.
Daniel, the younger brother, spoke first, though he and his brother, Broderick, stood side by side at the podium.
“Security! We all want to think that we don’t need it.
Sadly, we all do. Sadly, things as simple as social media posts are hacked all the time, emails are hacked .
. . then you get into hospital arrests, police records, business records and so much more!
Unfortunately, there is nothing out there that can’t be hacked—including many important records and reports within the government.
Now, hopefully, none of us is hiding any state secrets, but .
. . we want whatever our work is to be safe! Onward to security!”
“Bulwark Cybersecurity!” Broderick announced. “And so, we begin! Let’s talk about when and where certain information can go
out and then we’ll move on to firewalls!”
Wes glanced at Chloe. She listened. She took notes.
And he did the same.
They were good speakers; they were good teachers.
Wes learned things he didn’t know.
But sadly . . .
There was nothing about the brothers or their lessons that indicated in any way the possibility that they might be psychopathic
killers.