Chapter 19
OTHELLA
The SS Talamanca at Sea, Day Two
The knock on my stateroom door sounds like gunfire.
I jump out of my berth and, for a moment, can’t remember where I am.
Then I think of Jerry—the smell of the sea, salt, and fish.
I glance out the porthole. Blue water stretches to infinity.
I am on board the SS Talamanca, sailing to Kingston, Jamaica.
The banging on the door hasn’t stopped. “I’m coming! I’m coming! Wait, don’t tear the house down.”
After slipping on my robe, I fasten the belt around my waist, wipe the sleep from my eyes, and open the door. Robbie rushes past me. I close the door after he enters. “Excuse me, Mr. Barnes. You’re in my room, and I’m not properly dressed.” I’m teasing, but Robbie isn’t in the mood for jokes.
“A stowaway fell overboard and drowned. A sailor saw him splash into the ocean, but they couldn’t save him.”
I walk to the table next to my bed, pick up the water pitcher, and pour myself a drink. I gulp down a swallow, taking my time as I decide what to tell Robbie and what to keep to myself. “Do you think it might have been Jerry?”
“That’s what I wanted to ask you. Have you been in your stateroom all night?” He suddenly covers his mouth with his fist, as if the words came out unconsciously. “I didn’t mean to imply …”
Robbie’s rambling no longer grates. Lately, I find it mostly endearing, and I’m starting to appreciate his wit and kindness. But right now, I need him to get to the point. “Why don’t you ask me the question you want answered?”
“Did you find Jerry Merriweather?”
“I fought with him and pushed him, and he fell over the railing.” I speak bluntly. I figure that dead is dead, and what killed a man versus what might have killed him doesn’t matter much.
“He tried to hurt you and you fought back,” Robbie says.
“Yes. That’s what happened,” I respond. “It took all my strength, but I managed to push him off me.” I walk up to Robbie and want him to look me in the eyes. “As you said, the crewman said the stowaway fell into the sea.”
Robbie blinks but doesn’t turn away from me.
“Are you mad at me?” I squeeze his shoulder.
“Are you sure no one saw you with him?”
“I’m positive.”
“Then I don’t want to hear anything more about it.”
“I didn’t have a choice. You believe me, right?”
“It was you or him,” Robbie says confidently.
I smile at him. “Pinky swear.”
“So, no one else is after you now. He was the last of them.”
“No one else.” I decide it’s not the right time to mention Tony Schaefer or the Chicago Police Department.
“And I can trust that you’re telling me the truth?”
“Yes, Robbie, you can trust me,” I say, and I truly hope it will be the last lie I tell him. With that, I have nothing to look forward to but sunshine, beaches, and Robbie Barnes, my best friend.
And to think, when I first met him, I thought he was a geek.