10. Waves of Suspicion #2
“There are a million ways to ensure you’d never be found. But I assure you that I intend to keep you alive and safe,” Isaiah finished.
“Telling me all the ways you could kill me is supposed to make me trust you? You could have killed Patrice to keep me closer.”
“Telling you all the ways I could kill you should prove to you that I wouldn’t have to kill anyone to get to you. Why keep you close and draw out the chase when I could just kill you and enjoy the rest of my holiday?” he said smugly.
“Fair point.”
“I vowed to protect you, and I will.” His sincerity cut through her suspicions.
Her breath puffed between them, visible in the cold air, and he pulled her close, keeping her warm. It seemed he meant what he said, even if it meant protecting her from the cold. Resting her hands on his chest, she didn’t pull away.
“You’re afraid – I can see it even as you try to hide it– but I swear you have nothing to fear from me,” he said.
“I agreed to go along with the captain’s cover-up because being locked up in ship jail would trap us altogether, which wouldn’t be ideal if there’s someone out for your blood.
We need to play along and let the captain believe we’re following the rules, but we must keep our guard up.
I don’t think Patrice will be the last body to drop, because she wasn’t the first.”
“Wh-what are you talking about?” Poppy stammered, stepping out of his grasp.
“This isn’t the first dead maid connected to you.” Isaiah reached out to hold her hips, as if he didn’t want her to escape.
Poppy frowned. “Another maid? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“A housekeeper in the Claren hotel was killed. She was cleaning up your suite after you checked out, but she was found dead –ate so much that her heart gave out,” Isaiah told her.“We believe she was force-fed.”
Poppy felt the blood drain from her face. “She ate so much she died in my suite? Why didn’t I hear anything about this?” she asked, feeling sick. “I’m sure my manager would’ve told me, or I’d have noticed the crime scene.”
“You had checked out earlier that morning, and the hotel had no reason to inform you.” Isaiah watched her reactions with narrowed eyes.
“The Claren Hotel? I’m trying to remember.
I stayed in so many hotels during the tour…
” Poppy’s eyes widened, and her hands went to her mouth.
“Oh God,I wasn’t meant to check out until the following morning, but I decided not to stay the extra night before moving on to the next venue so I could get some sightseeing done in the next city.
Do you mean… Am I the real target, but Patrice and the other maid were just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Why not come after me?”
“Maybe they saw the culprit’s face, and the killer didn’t want to leave any witnesses.
Maybe the killer wanted to send a message that they could get to you, so they did to the housekeeper what they were planning to do to you.
They aren’t a professional, if they were they wouldn’t have deviated from their target. ”
“Great, so not a professional hitman. That makes me feel much better,” Poppy huffed.
“Since I’ve laid my cards on the table, can you start to trust me?” he asked, staring down at her.
He had given up more information than she’d expected. She wanted to know what else he knew, and keeping him at arm’s length would help keep her alive.
“Can you trust me ?” she asked softly.
“You weren’t planning on killing anyone else on board?”
“Only if it’s in self-defence,” she teased.
“Then from now on, we agree to work together to make sure none of us gets hurt,” he said.
“Deal.”
“Good. For starters, I think you should stay in my room for the rest of the trip. I don’t like how easily the killer could get into your suite,” Isaiah said. “I don’t want to give them another chance in case they have access to the ship’s security.”
“I can stay with Mina,” Poppy suggested.
“Mina isn’t the target, and the killer could hurt her to get to you. I promised Eckells nothing would happen to her, and I’d like to keep my head attached to my body.”
Poppy wondered if Mina was in a relationship with her boss. Not that it was any of her business, but it was odd she hadn’t mentioned it when they talked about Eckells before.
“Our rooms are connected anyway. It’s not like it would be hard for you to get to me,” she argued.
“We’ve already had issues with the doors being locked once. With the reinforced adjoining doors in the presidential suite, I’m not risking it,” Isaiah said.
“Fine,” she conceded, afraid he would cuff her to the bed if she refused when the time came.
“All this talk of murder doesn’t seem to faze you all that much. You recover quickly for someone who’s being hunted by a killer and has seen dead bodies,” Isaiah said, eying her poker face.
“I’ve worked in the entertainment industry my whole life, and living with my aunt wasn’t easy. It’ll take more than a body and a killer to shock me,” she countered. “Patrice wasn’t even my first dead body.”
Isaiah was silent.
“My aunt,” she clarified. “I’m not some cold-hearted, self-absorbed bitch. She died, the maid and Patrice died, and that’s tragic, but my getting upset won’t do anything to change the facts. As much as I appreciate your care for my emotional and physical well-being, I’m not going to break—”
“Why did a waiter tell me that the rest of my dining party is in here?” Mina opened the door to the fridge, cutting Poppy off.
“We were having a private discussion, and it was rather loud out there,” Poppy said with a forced smile.
“So you went to the fridge in the kitchen?” Mina asked, raising her eyebrows.
“We needed privacy,” Isaiah explained, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Mina didn’t look like she believed them. “If you guys are going to hook up, could you at least do it where food isn’t being stored or prepared? It’s gross.”
“We weren’t doing anything like that,” Poppy snapped, walking out. She glanced back at Isaiah, wondering if it was the cold or Mina’s accusation that had made him so red. She enjoyed seeing him flush.
“Can we please enjoy our breakfast now, if you’re both finished? Your plates were sent over from the table where you left them. It was embarrassing!”
A few staff members eyed Isaiah and Poppy as they left the kitchen, clearly having assumed the same as Mina. A fridge wouldn’t have been her first choice, but she supposed being cold would be a good reason to keep him close.
“While you were gone, you got an invitation to the opening night of the opera in a couple of days! The captain’s exclusive guest list only – and I thought the Midas couldn’t get any more exclusive.
I accepted for both of you, since you were busy flirting in the fridge. ” Mina wasn’t letting them off easy.
Poppy hadn’t realised they had been gone for so long; a lot of guests had already left the breakfast room. She nudged Mina as they reclaimed their seats. “We weren’t flirting.”
“I’ve never been to an opera, but I’m not sure it’s for me. Why don’t you take my invitation?” Isaiah said to Mina, but she shook her head.
“Invitations aren’t transferable – says so here.” She rolled her eyes. “You two better learn to play nice in front of the captain so she doesn’t chuck us in the brig.”
“You make a great point,” Poppy said, looking at Isaiah. “We don’t want her to think we have anything to hide by not attending.”
“Since you insist, it’s a date,” Isaiah said, winking.
Poppy rolled her eyes as he played up to Mina’s suspicions to wind her up.She doubted he would have let her attend alone anyway, and she thought it was kind of him to offer his ticket to Mina. They tucked into their food, and he filled her glass with plain orange juice as she ignored the mimosa.
She suspected she might have misjudged him. Maybe he really did have her best intentions at heart.