15. Deceit on Deck #2
She let them take her into the bar lounge by the pool, where she stared at the jacuzzi as if she could make Joshua appear.
What if he’d pulled himself out when she left because he was afraid?
Adrenaline was a powerful drug. Still, she worried that her only lead was bleeding out somewhere.
It didn’t make sense. Even if he’d got himself out or someone had taken him, how could the water be so clear?
How could he have just disappeared? There was no blood on the decking, only her wet footprints.
Tight Bun hovered over her while her partner radioed about the cameras. Poppy started to shiver, and Tight Bun covered her in a towel from one of the armchairs in the lounge.
Before Poppy could thank her, Isaiah appeared through the doors. His face was red, and he was breathless as though he had been running around.
“What’s going on?” he demanded, crouching down in front of her as he examined her bloody dress. Where had he been? She guessed he had tracked her here, but she didn’t know what had taken him so long.
“Are the cuffs really necessary?” Isaiah snapped at Tight Bun.
“Ms Roe believes she witnessed an attack on the pool deck, and she was upset. We wanted to make sure she didn’t hurt herself.” Tight Bun’s condescending tone made Poppy want to lunge at her.
“I want to hear it from Poppy,” Isaiah said. He crouched beside her, removed his jacket, and wrapped it around her shoulders. She hadn’t even realised how badly she was still shaking.
“I saw Joshua when we were in the theatre. I followed him, but he had been stabbed. I found him in the jacuzzi,” she explained.
Isaiah listened without interrupting, much to her relief.
“I went to get help, but when I came back, he was gone. These two idiots think I’m drunk and imagined the whole thing.
He couldn’t have just walked away! There was so much blood.
Even if he did pull himself out of the water, he wouldn’t have got far before passing out. ”
Tight Bun huffed. “Sir, we followed Ms Roe to the alleged scene, and there was no one on deck or sign of any such injury or incident. After what Ms Roe witnessed earlier in the evening, we believe she is in shock, and her mind played a terrible and frightening trick on her.”
“I swear to you, I’m not losing my mind!” Poppy clutched Isaiah’s hand, willing him to believe her. She looked at her hands, wishing they were stained with blood, but the water had washed it all away.
“I believe you,” Isaiah said, helping her to her feet. The other security guard returned, and she looked up, hoping the camera footage would earn her an apology.
“Ms Roe, unfortunately, our cameras were updated at midnight, so we are missing about an hour of footage from the outer decks,” he informed them. Poppy’s stomach dropped.
“The cameras just happened to update right when and where a crime took place, but are now working fine?” she retorted. He obviously knew it was suspicious, but he didn’t want to admit she might be right.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Roe, but it’s a schedule loop to ensure we’re running the tightest network to maintain your and everyone else’s security. Can you give us any other evidence than your word? Did you actually see the man’s wound, or was there a weapon?” Tight Bun asked.
“There was so much blood. I couldn’t see exactly where he was hurt, and there wasn’t any weapon I could see. I was more concerned about keeping him alive than gathering evidence!” She wished she hadn’t left him. Then again, she hadn’t expected to have to fight to be believed.
“I’m sorry, but with nothing to go on but your word, there isn’t much we can do. You’ve witnessed a lot while on board, and shock can do strange things to the mind.”
“Like make me see my ex bleeding out in a jacuzzi?” Poppy shot back.
“We want to see the captain,” Isaiah said. His jaw was tight, and she knew he was as fed up as she was about their gaslighting. After what happened between them in the bar, she was surprised and relieved to know he had her back. That he believed her.
“I’m sorry, sir, but given what happened in the theatre earlier this evening, and that we have also received a storm warning, we don’t need to add phantom stabbed guests to the captain’s already stacked plate,” Tight Bun said.
Poppy remembered that the captain had slipped away from the performance. That explained where she’d gone, but was it really a storm warning?
“So you aren’t going to do anything? Just going to chalk this up to my imagination?” If they didn’t believe her, she would discover the truth. Talking to them was a waste of time.
“We’ve no evidence of this guest even boarding the ship.
The cameras sadly couldn’t offer anything, so there is no reason for us to investigate further– no body, no crime.
” Tight Bun’s partner dismissed them. “I suggest you and Ms Roe return to your suite for the night and get some rest. I’m sure things will feel clearer in the morning.
Or, if you insist on pressing the issue, we can take you to the medical wing to be assessed. ”
To be assessed? Poppy opened her mouth to argue, but Isaiah held her close to his side. She glared at him, and he shook his head.
“Thank you for your help; it’s been an exhausting evening, and some rest will help us relax,” he said calmly. Poppy wished she was as good as him at bullshitting.
“Goodnight, then. We hope you enjoy the rest of your voyage,” Tight Bun said pointedly.
“Fuck you too,” Poppy hissed with a forced smile. She stormed out of the lounge and back into the cool night air to try and calm herself down. If she looked at their dismissive faces a second longer, she would end up locked up in the belly of the ship.
“You really are more vinegar than honey, aren’t you,” Isaiah said, following her to the observation deck, where she had left her shoes.
“It wouldn’t have mattered if I lathered them in maple syrup and licked them clean – they weren’t going to listen to me,” Poppy said, heading to the lounger she’d been sitting on.
“Now, that’s an image I’m not going to be able to get out of my head in a hurry. But I don’t think you can lather maple syrup,” Isaiah pointed out, following her.
“Can you stop being so logical for one minute? Where the hell were you when I needed you?” she shot back.
“I tried to reach you during the stampede, but one of the guests got trampled right in front of me. I had to help him out before he got crushed. After that, security wouldn’t let me back in.
When I tried to resist, they cuffed me and called First Mate Davide,” Isaiah explained.
“I didn’t even know Calliope had died until he told me she was supposed to perform as a special guest during the final act.
Her body had already been taken away, and Davide questioned me about what had happened.
He took me to her dressing room as a second set of eyes and warned me the only way I was getting out of the cuffs to get to you was to help.
” He shook his head. “Calliope’s dressing room was a mess.
There was a bloody hairpin that we think was used to pierce her jugular.
When Davide finally released me, you were already gone.
I tracked your bracelet and found you in cuffs. ”
“Who would’ve thought a night at the opera would end with us both in handcuffs?” Poppy said, searching each row of loungers for her missing shoes.
“What happened after the theatre?” he asked, eager to hear her side of the story.
Poppy told him how she tried to help Calliope. She swallowed hard, trying to block out the memory of her fading eyes. “I followed Joshua outside, and found him in the jacuzzi. I think someone stabbed him.”
“Joshua and Calliope were working together?”
“I think so, but from the recording, it sounded like she didn’t know he was onboard.”
“Maybe she heard he’d boarded the ship and thought he’d changed his mind about their plans, so she wanted to meet up,” Isaiah reasoned.
“Pretending not to board certainly gives him a great alibi,” Poppy said, “but it doesn’t matter now if he’s dead. I tried to ask him who was behind all this, but he wasn’t making any sense.”
“If we assume that Calliope and Joshua are dead, then whoever’s behind the scheme to kill you is cleaning house. They clearly don’t want to leave any traces.”
“But shouldn’t they do that after killing me?”
“Unless whoever is behind this wants you to know they’re coming.”
“That’s a comforting thought,” Poppy said sarcastically.
“Still don’t think it could be your ex-manager?”
She shook her head. “I think he was just the middleman. He wanted money from Calliope and intended to use Joshua as a scapegoat. I believe someone hired Dug to put the pieces in place because there’s no way he’s smart enough to pull this off, and he wouldn’t want to get his hands dirty.”
“Is there anyone you can think of that connects to each person– not just those on the Midas but in the file I showed you?”
Her stomach sank as he brought up that damned file again.“Yes,” she sighed.
“Who?” He placed his hands on her shoulders, looking directly into her eyes.
“Me.”
“But you didn’t kill Patrice, Calliope and Joshua.”
“My head is throbbing, and I’m freezing. Can we please go back to the suite?”
Isaiah nodded and released her.
She checked under the last lounger and groaned, frustrated. “Where the hell are they?!”
“What’s wrong?”
“My heels are gone! I took them off when I heard the scuffle so I wouldn’t be slowed down, but I left them right by the loungers.” She pointed to the empty floor.
“A body and a pair of shoes – a killer with a taste for designer heels,” he quipped.
“What, you’re doubting me now?” Poppy snapped, heading inside before she froze to death.
Once she’d had a hot shower and changed into dry clothes, she could think more clearly.
“I’m not doubting you,” Isaiah assured her. “I just think the security aboard the Midas is more interested in cleaning up messes than protecting those on board.”
“You think they covered it up?” she asked as they got into the lift. “How? I couldn’t have been gone more than five minutes.”
“I think security saw what happened on the cameras and cleaned up while they kept you busy. They made sure not to leave a trace, including your shoes. They use Eagle Eye security– that software doesn’t need updating like they said it does,” Isaiah explained.
“The captain might have been able to hide Patrice’s death, but with Calliope’s death being so public, there’s no way they would want news of a second on the same evening. ”
“What about Joshua?! He needs help! Do you think they took him away to help him?” she gasped, unable to ignore the irony that she was trying to save the man she had plotted to kill just days ago.
“I don’t know. If he was still alive when they got to him, he should be in the infirmary. Still, they won’t let you anywhere near there,” Isaiah said, buttoning up his jacket on her as her teeth began to chatter.
“At least the infirmary will be easier to get to than the morgue,” Poppy said as the doors opened. “If he’s alive, then he has the answers we need.”
“Tonight we can’t risk heading down there. We’ve already been in cuffs once this evening.” Isaiah led her down the corridor. “Once things settle, I’ll figure out a way to find out if he’s in there.”
“Okay,” she agreed, lacking the strength to argue. The thought of Joshua being safe in the infirmary eased her worries. If the captain kept his presence a secret, the killer wouldn’t know they had failed, and he would be safe.
If he was still alive. All the ifs were starting to make her head spin.