24. Engineering ution
O n the engineering level, the sirens outside were muted by the noisy thuds and thunders of the machinery around Poppy.
Weaving her way through the maze of different machines, she saw the light in the security room was on, and she picked up a wrench to defend herself.
She was willing to walk into a trap, but not without something to protect herself.
Carefully checking every corner as she made her way to the room, she was surprised that no guards had remained on board to ensure the room was protected.
The surveillance screens were on, as though someone had just left.
On the monitors, she caught sight of Mina on a stretcher being brought off the ship while the captain kept a hand on her abdomen.
She tried to zoom in so she could see how badly Mina was injured but couldn’t figure out the controls.
Then she noticed the gun and the earbud.
Given the note she had received, they were for her. But why a gun? Picking it up, she turned off the safety like Isaiah had shown her and put the earbud in her right ear.
“Hello?” she asked calmly.
“You got my gifts. I was worried Phoebe wouldn’t give you my note. But you’ve been so easy to manipulate that I don’t know why I’m surprised,” the killer said.
Poppy glanced at the camera and saw Isaiah at the dock, standing with Captain Hamill and the police. Mina’s attack was a distraction. Her friend had been targeted to get her on board alone.
“Now that you have me, why don’t you come out, and we can end this now?” Poppy said. “I’m tired of your games, and sooner or later you’ll have to face me.”
“Why the rush? I’m still having fun,” the killer laughed.
Poppy recognised the laugh and the voice, but she needed to be sure.
If she was going to call her out, she couldn’t risk being wrong and looking like a fool.
“Besides, you should be thanking me for all I’ve done for you.
Without me, you’d probably be dead by now.
Calliope, Joshua, even Patrice– they were all wrapped up in a plot to kill you. ”
“You want me to thank you for what? Protecting me? Are you meant to be my twisted guardian angel?”
“Protecting you?” That condescending laugh was starting to get under Poppy’s skin. “You weren’t theirs to kill. That right belongs to me, and I wouldn’t let them get in my way.”
“And what is it that I’ve done to you?”
“Poppy? What are you doing here?” Davide asked, standing in the doorway.
She froze when her eyes fell on the bloody serrated knife in his hand. He followed her gaze to the knife and sighed.
“I could ask you the same,” Poppy said, trying to keep her voice steady. “Nice knife.”
Davide stared at her like she was the mouse and he the cat.
“Put down the gun,” he said calmly, wiping the blood from the knife on his trousers.
“You came to erase the footage. I’m guessing you don’t want anyone to see you hurting Mina.”
“Right on the money, but what are you doing here?” he said, pointing the knife in her direction.
“Now you know how it was so easy for me to get around the ship, mess with security footage, and use the ship like it was my own personal playground,” the killer commented through the earbud.
“Men really are so easy to manipulate. Not that I need to tell you that – you managed to convince a detective that you, a murderer, are worthy of protecting! Tell them you love them, fuck them, and suddenly they’ll forget all their morals. ”
“I was told to come by your partner,” Poppy said, trying to ignore the voice in her ear.
“Sophia sent you here? Then she must want me to finish the job,” Davide said. “I have to say, I’m relieved; I really want all this to be over.”
“Damn it, he spoiled the surprise,” Sophia complained.
Poppy bit her lip to conceal her smile as Davide confirmed her suspicion. Sophia. Calliope had been murdered by her own niece. Why?
“Why are you doing this?” she asked Davide. “You don’t know me or Mina. You’ve ruined your life for what?”
“No one knows I’m involved. No one suspects me, and there’ll be no evidence once I fix the footage and toss this knife into the sea. I’ll return to my life with the woman I love, and we’ll finally have peace.”
“You really shouldn’t try stalling. I’d shoot Davide if I were you,” Sophia sighed. “It’s not like you haven’t killed before. Would this be number four or five? It’s hard to keep track.”
Poppy chuckled in disbelief. Sophia was using her to tidy up the last loose end.
“You do realise I have a gun?” She waved it. “The woman you love so much gave it to me because with you out of the way, she’s in the wind. She’s killed anyone else in her way to get to me, and now she wants me to kill you.”
“She would never turn against me,” Davide snapped, stepping into the room.
Poppy tucked her hair behind her ear to expose the earbud. “See, I’m following her instructions.”
Sophia laughed. “He won’t believe you. He’s blinded by love. He’s killed for me, corrupted his soul for me. If he were to believe it was all for nothing, it would twist him up so badly that killing him would be a mercy.”
“Put down the knife, and we’ll walk out of here.
The police are already searching the ship.
” Poppy pointed to the monitors. “You can tell them everything and save yourself.” He had hurt Mina and maybe killed the others, or perhaps that had been Sophia.
She suspected she’d never know who killed whom– not that it mattered now.
All that mattered was stopping them from hurting anyone else.
“Do you think I’ll turn against her to help you? We’re here because of you, but that’s her story to share,” Davide said, taking a step forward.
Poppy backed up into the desk and raised the gun. “If Sophia wants me dead, then why go after Mina? She had no involvement in any of this.”
Sophia answered first. “It’s your fault for bringing her on board. She wasn’t a part of my plan.”
“Mina heard something she shouldn’t have, and when I went to her room to silence her, you and Isaiah rudely interrupted,” Davide said.
Oh God, if we hadn’t got back when we did, Mina would’ve been killed last night. Why didn’t she get off the ship with us?
“She said she would stay out of it, but then she had a change of heart and tried to use the gun you’re holding against me this evening,” Davide added, glancing at the monitors over her shoulders.
“The police are only getting closer,” Sophia said.
“I’ll give you a choice. Shoot Davide, and I’ll leave Isaiah alone.
If you don’t, then I won’t just gut him.
I’ll ruin his reputation first. I know all about his friendship with Eckells and how forgiving he was when you confessed to your triple homicide.
He’ll be dead and his memory disgraced. Like Davide, you’ll do anything for the person you love. ”
“What’s she telling you?” Davide asked, suddenly looking unsure.
“To shoot you. I shoot you, and she’ll spare Isaiah,” Poppy said honestly.
“Shoot him, and we’ll end this together,” Sophia said, growing impatient. “Just the two of us. No one else will be hurt, and only one of us will walk away.”
Poppy guessed her leniency in sparing Isaiah was prompted by the imminent arrival of the police. If Davide was taken into custody, her plan was over. Still, Poppy couldn’t let Isaiah’s life be ruined. Mina had nearly been killed. She had to put an end to this.
“I’m sorry, but you’re only offering me death, and Sophia is offering a better deal,” she said, tightening her grip on the gun.
Davide lunged at her in a desperate attempt to take her out. She fired at point-blank range. The sound was deafening as it echoed off the metal interior.
Davide froze, looking down at his chest. His knife struck her in the shoulder, and she howled in pain. He dropped to his knees, and it was only a matter of seconds before the light left his eyes.
Poppy gritted her teeth as she looked down at the knife in her shoulder. She thought about removing it, but she was afraid of losing too much blood. She didn’t drop her gun either, in case Sophia decided to appear from her hiding place and strike while she was injured.
“Thank you, Poppy! I knew we would make a great team,” Sophia said, and the elation in her voice made Poppy sick. She had done her dirty work for her. “I’ll see you soon.”
Pain emanated down her arm and up her neck. She removed the earbud and tossed it in the bin under the desk. Stepping over Davide’s body, she barely made it out of the room before flashlights blinded her.
“Put the gun down!” The orders came in a flurry of English and Italian. “Get on your knees!”
Poppy dropped to her knees and put down the gun.
“Put your hands up,” an officer barked at her.
“I can’t,” she said, only raising one. “I’ve got a knife in my shoulder.”
The officer held one arm behind her back and stood her up. She bit her lip to stop herself from crying out in pain, staring back at Davide’s lifeless body as they walked her out of the engineering room. Paramedics were checking his pulse, but it was too late. They were wasting their time.
Given her injury, she didn’t need an escort, but she was grateful not to be cuffed. The pain was bad enough.
“It was self-defence,” she told them as they left the ship, though the officers were focused more on getting her outside than on listening to her excuses.
She could feel the blood dripping down her arm to her hand.
“Davide attacked Mina, and he would’ve killed me.
” She would follow Sophia’s plan for now.
She was going to end this on her own terms.
On the dock, she spotted Isaiah waiting with Captain Hamill and felt a rush of relief. Adrenaline was the only thing stopping her from passing out.
Isaiah hurried towards them, but the officers got in his way. “She isn’t a suspect. You need to release her,” Isaiah yelled.