Chapter 3
A small group of people clustered around the woman in the chair as she swayed from side to side. The metal rods in her hands swung wildly.
“They’re coming here,” she said in a low and deep voice. Did she sound like that earlier?
Our guide pushed through the crowd. “Okay, let’s make room to give her some space.”
“She’s a plant?” I whispered to Dane as we moved back a few steps. Would it be worthwhile to have someone on staff just to pretend to be possessed or talking to ghosts?
Maybe.
He shook his head. “No, check out our guy’s face. He looks freaked.”
I stepped a little to the left to get a better view. Dane had a point. Our guide’s face was ashen white, and his hand shook as he took one of the metal rods from her hands. “Come on, this is our chance.”
“What?” he asked but followed me.
I moved down a new hallway looking for a… something. I’d figure out what when we found it. “To get away from the crowd.”
We stopped in the middle of the aisle, and I stared at my next location. A closed door with the words “Personnel Only” written in big red letters. We were persons. Did that count?
“Princess, let’s not,” he said as I tried the door handle.
It opened!
I peeked my head into the room before stepping into it. “Holy shit.”
Floor-to-ceiling filing cabinets filled the back half of the space, with a small wooden desk against the front wall. “What do you think is in these?”
“Not William Drake’s cause of death,” Dane said.
He was such a negative Nelson.
A woman’s voice cut through my thoughts as I tried to open the closest cabinet. “You two cannot be in here. This is for museum staff only.”
“Oh,” I said, acting shocked as I twisted around. “I’m so sorry. We had no idea.”
Dane walked out of the room first. “Yeah, someone should put up a sign or something.”
I smacked his arm when the assistant on our tour wasn’t looking.
“We’re headed up to the main deck to see the airplanes and cool off from the evening. The tour will end in about an hour, and we’ll walk everyone off the dock,” she said, sounding calculated.
“Right, we’ll just head that way then.” Dane placed his hand on my lower back, sending little shock waves up my spine. “Come on, honey. We don’t want to lose the group.”
That’s exactly what I wanted to do, but I kept my mouth shut.
He had a point about the cabinets not having paperwork on William’s death.
But what case would William be on the ship researching?
Or was he here just for fun? Did he get caught going through files and end up with the fishes as punishment?
I needed to talk to his friends.
* * *
The next morning came way too early considering we didn’t arrive back at our places until well after 3 a.m. Why did we have to hunt ghosts so late at night? Where were the afternoon ghosts?
Dane was already sitting at the small two-person table when I made my way down the spiral staircase that led to my sleeping area. I jumped in shock at seeing him and missed the bottom step of the staircase.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” I yelled as I pulled myself up from the floor.
He didn’t even stand and act like he planned to help me. “I brought you a coffee.”
I grabbed the tall mocha frappe from the table and took my first sip. The caffeine hit my veins like a jump start, and I moaned. It took two more sips before I remembered why he annoyed me this time. “How did you get in?”
Dane smiled. “SEAL.”
“That’s super annoying, you know?” Another two sips.
He lifted an eyebrow and grinned. “I know.”
We’d already argued more than once about his breaking into my places. It clearly never stopped him, so I focused on consuming my breakfast. “Thanks for the coffee.”
“No problem. I figured it would lighten the blow while we have our chat.” He kicked out the chair on the other side of the table and motioned toward it like he wanted me to sit.
If that’s what he wanted, he definitely wasn’t getting it. I eyed the chair and continued standing. “What chat?”
“About your behavior last night?”
What? I set the coffee down but then picked it right back up. He was right. I needed the coffee for this conversation. His attitude made the air thick, and I didn’t want to deal with it. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I think you do.” He clicked up one of those stupid eyebrows. “You’re being reckless, and that’s not like you.”
Two more deep sucks before I answered. Condensation on the outside of the glass ran down my fingers. “It’s called investigating, Dane. It’s what we’re here to do.”
“Not like that. This is different. Why aren’t you interviewing William’s friends? What about the local reporters? You always love to gab with them for an afternoon.”
We’d been in Charleston for less than twenty-four hours. He needed to get a grip. “Those things are all coming. Give a girl a minute. The boat tour is only run a few nights a week. We needed to go last night if we wanted a guarantee of getting on.”
“Oh,” he said, sounding just a little appeased but not enough.
“Exactly.” I nodded and smacked my lips, going for super annoying. “Plus, some of us want more than this.”
“What’s that mean?” he asked, standing up.
Oh, so he could do it now but not when I was falling for my life.
I finished the coffee and put the cup on the table. Once the ice melted, I’d try again. “I want more than just investigating stuff for other people. We need to get deeper.”
“Like how? Or why?”
Didn’t he see the potential? We actually made a decent team at times. We were wasting our potential on already-solved cases.
“Let’s solve this one, Dane.” I’d made my way by him so we were standing face-to-face.
His excitement didn’t match mine. “No.”
“Ugh. I knew you’d say no. That’s why I didn’t tell you.” I threw my hands in the air and went to search the fridge for something to eat. “You’re such a buzzkill.”
“I am not,” he said, grabbing a bagel oozing with cream cheese from a bag in the microwave. “Why do you want to solve this one?”
I grabbed on to the bagel and his mini expression of interest. “Lots of reasons.”
“Yeah? How about you give me one?” he asked when I didn’t elaborate.
Couldn’t it wait until after the bagel? From the way he stared at me, no. “For one, it’s recent. Newer murders are easier to solve.”
At least it seemed that way on television.
“Okay, and?”
I shoved a piece of bagel into my mouth. That was actually my only reason. Well, that and the fact my boss agreed to send me here to research for an episode on the podcast. But they were superb reasons.
Sadly, Dane probably wouldn’t agree.
“Plus, we learned a lot last night,” I said after I finished chewing my piece of bagel thirty times like doctors recommended.
“Are you really going to make me drag it from you?” Dane blew out a long breath from between his lips.
I was.
“Like what?” he finally asked.
The more I got him asking questions, the more attached he’d be to the case. At least that’s the way it played out in my mind. “Well, for starters, we know they lock the boat while you’re on tour.”
“What?”
“Yeah, did you miss that part? They lock it so people can’t sneak in, but that means no one sneaking out either. So…” I put a lot of emphasis on my so. “How did William make it to the top of the deck to be found floating in the water at midnight? They don’t let you on the deck until two a.m.”
He ran his thumb over his jawline. “Case solving is not safe. Look at your friend Elenore. She almost died in Savannah.”
“Barely,” I said, waving away his concerns with my hand. She lived and ended up with a hot boyfriend. “Where’s your adventure? The pizzazz?”
Dane stole the next piece of bagel I ripped off right from my fingers, popping it into his mouth. “I guess I forgot to pack it.”
“You are infuriating.” Not only because he stole a chunk of the world’s best bagel but because he didn’t trust me. I thought we were closer than that. “I’m solving this case with or without you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Well, it’s clearly with me since I’m paid to be here.”
“Don’t remind me.”
I wonder how much I’d have to bribe my boss to get a different SEAL assigned to me?
Across the room, my phone rang, jarring us from our standoff.