Murder on Board Read online

  “Cap-”

  Shae quickly put her hand over Alexa’s mouth to stop her from speaking. She gave Alexa an annoyed look and smiled sweetly at Mark.

  “I’m sorry,” Shae said sincerely. “We’ll get out of here.”

  She rushed off before Mark could say anything and pulled Alexa with her.

  “Why did you do that?” Alexa asked in annoyance.

  “Captain told us not to tell anyone on the crew,” Shae reminded her.

  “I’m sure he didn’t mean we have to keep it from his first officer too.”

  “I don’t know,” Shae admitted, “but I didn’t want to risk it. From now on, we don’t tell anyone what we’re doing. If anyone finds out, then we’re toast.”

  “I was there when he said it,” Alexa reminded her, rolling her eyes. “So, super sleuth, what’s next?”

  “I think we should go talk to Nova’s husband,” Shae said thoughtfully. “He’ll be wondering where his wife is, and if he isn’t then this case is over.”

  “Because he killed her,” Alexa said, her eyes wide. “See, this is going to be easy.”

  They quickly made their way over to the reception desk to check which cabin was Nova’s. Unfortunately, someone was waiting for them already.

  “Excuse me,” the reporter from the previous day said in annoyance. “I requested an early wake-up call, but no one woke me up. Do you want a bad review?”

  “I’m so sorry,” Alexa gasped. “It’s been such a crazy morning.”

  “It has?” the reporter asked curiously, raising her notebook.

  “I mean… what I meant was…,” Alexa stuttered.

  “Oh,” Shae gasped, “you meant this morning. I’m sorry, usually guests don’t want to be woken up early on the first day of vacation. We give our guests the best possible vacation. Our apologies, you’ll be woken up promptly tomorrow.”

  She shooed Alexa behind the desk, and Alexa quickly looked up the room number. She gave it to Shae and turned to the irate reporter.

  “I’m so sorry, Ms. Langdon, would a complimentary breakfast…”

  As Shae hurried away, she heard less of Alexa’s conversation. She quickly made her way up to where the most luxurious cabins were located and knocked at the right one.

  A few seconds later, an angry man in a towel pulled the door open.

  “Finally!” he roared. He stopped shouting when he noticed Shae, then frowned. “You’re not Nova.”

  “I’m Shae,” she said slowly.

  “Oh,” he said in surprise. Then he slammed the door in her face.

  Chapter 4

  Shae blinked in surprise, then raised her hand to knock again. The man opened the door again with an annoyed expression.

  “I’m sorry,” she said before he could get a word in. “I was hoping to get a word in about Nova Ashcroft, do you know her?”

  “Yeah,” he grunted, scratching his chin. He hadn’t had a chance to shave yet, and a dark shadow of hair was starting to take over his face. He was a burly man with thick arms, which he crossed over his chest to make himself look more intimidating. “I am….was her husband.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Shae said sincerely. He frowned at her, and she realized that she had to speak quickly before he shut the door again. “I was just wondering if I could ask you a few questions about what happened?”

  “Isn’t there a security team that’s supposed to deal with all this?”

  Shae frowned, and closed her mouth. How was she supposed to answer that question? Nova’s husband snorted unattractively.

  “Listen, doll, go away. You’re testing my patience.” With those words, he turned around and kicked the door closed. Shae stared at the closed door in frustration. This was what she knew would happen. She had no authority and didn’t know what do when people refused to talk to her.

  She took a step back and started walking down the hall, when the door opened again. Shae looked around hopefully, but it was just a maid leaving the cabin with the dirty laundry. She struggled with the basket and walked quickly.

  She passed Shae and gave her a shy smile before looking down and scurrying off. As Shae watched her walk down the hall, an idea struck her. She ran up to the maid and wordlessly took the basket out of the woman’s hand.

  “Hi,” Shae said with a friendly smile, “this looks heavy.”

  “It was,” the woman said in relief. She was a diminutive woman, but she had strong arms. She crossed them nervously and walked next to Shae. “Are you sure you want to carry that?”

  “Well,” Shae said simply, “I’m going that way, so I thought I might as well help you.”

  “You’re new here, aren’t you?” the woman said, her accent thick. Shae couldn’t place it, but guessed that the woman was from West Africa. She softened her words when she spoke, and she spoke quickly, sometimes mixing two words together. Other than that, her English was perfect.

  “I am,” Shae chuckled. “Is it that obvious?”

  “You’re American,” the woman pointed out. “Those are rare around here. Don’t worry, we’ll get used to you soon. Are you Alexa’s friend?”

  “Yes,” Shae nodded. “I guess everyone around here knows about Alexa?”

  “Everyone knows everyone,” the woman nodded. “It’s a long trip. My name is Thelma, by the way. What’s yours?”

  “I’m Shae.” she shifted the laundry basket to one side, and extended her hand to Thelma. Thelma smiled and shook Shae’s hand firmly. “So, Thelma, I’m not sure how all this works. Do you clean random rooms, or are you assigned to specific cabins?”

  “I take care of the cabins on this deck,” Thelma gestured. “It’s easier. People get to know my face and know who to ask when they need help. What do you do?”

  “I’m a photographer,” Shae said, “but I haven’t started yet. That guy I was just speaking to, he didn’t seem very friendly. Are all the guests like him?”

  “Some are worse than others,” Thelma shrugged, “and some ports are just nightmares. You’ll see when you stick around longer.”

  “That man was American, wasn’t he?” Shae asked curiously. “Are they usually that unfriendly?”

  “That man is one of a kind,” Thelma scoffed. “Grant, I think. He’s a beast. I try and see the best in people, usually. But that man is just bad. I don’t know what to do with him. I’m going to talk to the office. I don’t want to work for him anymore.”

  “That sounds horrible,” Shae said sympathetically. Thelma walked over to the laundry cart and took the basket from Shae. She tossed everything inside and started pushing it as she walked.

  “You should’ve seen how he treated his wife,” Thelma said, shaking her head. “That poor woman.”

  “What do you mean?” Shae asked in an awed voice. She wasn’t sure if she was pushing too hard, but so far, Thelma seemed happy to share whatever information she had.

  “The woman was sick,” Thelma said in hushed voice as two guests walked past. “The doctor said she was seasick, and that doesn’t usually happen. I think she was afraid of being on the water. When the boy brought their bags, he said that she was crying.”

  “That’s awful,” Shae frowned, her heart going out to Nova. When they’d encountered her on the main deck the previous day, she’d looked absolutely miserable.

  Dr. Zooberg had said that Nova was seasick, but Shae found it hard to believe. The ship hardly felt like it was moving at all. Shae looked down at her feet and tried to imagine the sea below them. Bottomless and ever moving. The thought made her feel slightly nauseous, and she sympathized with Nova.

  If the woman was truly afraid of water, then this must’ve been an unnerving experience for her.

  “If she was that sick,” Shae said, looking up at Thelma, “then why did she come on a cruise? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “It makes sense to me,” Thelma said determinedly, setting her jaw angrily. “Grant is a bully. She was too scared to say no to him. You know, when she was crying, he was making
fun of her.”

  “You know a lot about this,” Shae commented thoughtfully.

  “These people become the most interesting thing we can talk about,” Thelma shrugged. “We know which guests are bad. And which ones are nice. You’ll see, eventually you get tired of all the ports and only looking at the sea every day. We like to warn each other. My friend, Samuel, he was the one who brought their bags. He warned me because he knows that I have to take care of those cabins.”

  “That’s kind of him,” Shae said, smiling kindly. “It’s better when we look out for each other. I bet information travels quickly around here.”

  “Yes,” Thelma nodded resolutely. “You know, I bet he killed her. Everyone thinks so.”

  “I didn’t know she was murdered,” Shae lied smoothly, her heart beating quickly. How had the information gotten out so quickly?

  “They found her in the pool,” Thelma shrugged. “I don’t think the woman would’ve gone near one on her own. The only explanation is that someone pushed her in. I don’t think she could swim.”

  “I guess that makes sense,” Shae said slowly, scratching her head. She walked past one of the windows and caught sight of her reflection. She looked awful. Her light hair was piled on top of her head, and she had tired circles under her eyes. No wonder Grant had slammed the door in her face. Twice.

  “We mustn’t tell the guests, though,” Thelma warned her seriously, wagging her finger at Shae. “They’ll get into a panic and then we won’t know what to do with them. When they panic, we can’t do anything.”

  “I don’t talk to guests much,” Shae shrugged. Thelma pushed the cart into the laundry and pulled some plastic gloves on before she started sorting through it. The laundry room was massive, with industrial-sized washers and driers. A few other maids were already there sorting through their own piles of linen and clothes.

  “That’s good,” Thelma nodded, “if they catch you with a guest, you know,” she leaned in close, “romantic-like, they’ll kick you off the ship. It doesn’t matter how handsome the guest is, he’s never worth it. Trust me, my friend Marie was caught with one of them. He was good-looking. But that was the only good thing about him. She was sent home from the very next port.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Shae said seriously, trying to cover her smile. “You know, if you think the woman’s husband killed her, then maybe you should talk to someone about it?”

  “I don’t know,” Thelma said slowly. “He scares me.”

  “What do you mean?” Shae asked in concern, “Has he threatened you?”

  “No,” Thelma shook her head. “To him, I don’t exist. I’m like a piece of furniture. That’s why he doesn’t care what he says around me.”

  “Have you overheard something interesting?” Shae asked curiously, leaning on one of them machines as she watched Thelma work. She stepped forward to help, but Thelma shooed her away.

  Thelma’s hands worked so quickly; it was mesmerizing to watch. It was like she knew what would come next and exactly what to do with it. She handled the laundry like the expert she was. And within a few minutes, all her laundry was in a machine. Thelma pressed the correct dials and stepped back, nodding in satisfaction.

  “Yes,” Thelma nodded, “they called me to the room, but when I got there, they were screaming at each other. I knocked, but he told me to wait. I don’t think he knew how loud he was being. I could hear everything he was saying.”

  “I don’t think he cares much if people hear what he says,” Shae pointed out. She hadn’t known Grant for long, but he didn’t seem like he got ashamed quickly.

  “Yes,” Thelma nodded, “he’s very loud. Anyway, he was saying the most awful things.”

  “What sort of things?” Shae asked, following Thelma out of the laundry room.

  “You came at an interesting time,” Thelma told her with a chuckle. “Usually, we only talk about which guests got drunk and what they did. Now we’re talking about a murder. You bring life and death with you, Shae.”

  Shae didn’t know whether Thelma’s words were a compliment or an insult, so she just laughed uncomfortably.

  “I don’t usually,” Shae promised. “I think this must be a coincidence.”

  “What else would it be?” Thelma shrugged. “No, they were arguing about a different man. I didn’t hear very much. He said something about a man named Harry, and she screamed at him.”

  “I saw her yesterday with a man named Harry,” Shae said thoughtfully. “Maybe he thought that she and Harry were having an affair?”

  “If that’s true, then I know for sure that he killed her.”

  Shae didn’t say anything, but she had to agree with Thelma. Grant didn’t seem like the type of man who’d take that humiliation lightly. She wished that she could go back in time and warn Nova not to get onboard the ship.

  “What happened after that?” Shae asked curiously.

  “The woman, Nova?” Thelma asked, sounding the name out strangely. She frowned as she said the name, as though she couldn’t believe anyone could be named that.

  “Yes,” Shae said encouragingly, “what did she do?”

  “She left the cabin,” Thelma explained. “She was crying again and didn’t look steady. I wanted to help her, but she looked at me like I must leave her alone. So, I knocked again, and then Grant told me to come in.”

  “That’s interesting,” Shae said, staring down the hall at the hordes of people who were coming out to breakfast. “What time was that?”

  “I don’t know,” Thelma admitted. “It was just getting dark. But that’s not the most interesting thing,” she said tantalizingly, wiggling her eyebrows at Shae.

  “What’s the most interesting thing?” Shae asked in amusement, taking the bait that Thelma was dangling. It was clear that Thelma was enjoying the undivided attention.

  “He called me to clean the room because it was destroyed. He’d broken almost everything in there. I tried to tell security, but they told me they can’t do anything because they own the company that bought the ship.”

  Chapter 5

  “How did you know where to find me?” Shae asked, standing in the middle of the medical bay and watching Zooberg as he fiddled with some of his instruments.

  “This ship has cameras everywhere,” Zooberg explained, as though it was obvious. He pointed up, where there were three cameras facing different areas. “I just called security and asked them to find you.”

  “That’s not creepy at all,” Shae muttered to herself, crossing her arms and leaning all her weight to one hip. Zooberg didn’t hear her and continued lining his instruments out on the table.

  “I’ve completed my examination of the body,” Zooberg announced in his strange accent. “I’ve got a lot to tell you. Come, sit down. We need to talk about this now.”

  “I see,” Shae said slowly, allowing herself to be ushered to a plastic chair. A few of the nurses scurried out of the way, heading to the main area of the clinic to tend to patients. They shot Shae a sympathetic look before disappearing completely.

  “I’ve also asked that the head of the maintenance department meet us just now,” Zooberg explained, digging a box of cookies out of his desk and handing it to Shae. She stared down at it confusion and left it on her lap.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “I see,” Zooberg nodded knowingly, “this is why the captain asked you to investigate. You ask good questions. Now, listen, I have things to tell you.”

  Shae shook her head in amusement and made a show of leaning in to listen to what he had to say. The man was odd, but ultimately harmless. It wouldn’t hurt to hear what he had to say.

  “I asked myself, Stefan, why didn’t the girl struggle and scream? She was afraid of water,” he chattered, grabbing the box away from Shae and putting a few on the desk in front of him, not bothering with the crumbs that landed everywhere.

  “That’s a good point,” Shae said when Zooberg started stuffing his face with cookies.

  “Exa
ctly!” he exclaimed, a spray of crumbs landing in his beard. Shae grimaced, but didn’t say anything, she didn’t need him to get off-track. She didn’t want to be stuck in his office all day, watching him eat his box of cookies.

  “Then it hit me!” Zooberg exclaimed, slapping his forehead as he spoke, “The stab wound! We didn’t see how much blood she lost, and I’m not sure why. The water should’ve been red. I think she lost blood so quickly that her body went into shock. Couple that with her heavy clothes, I think she was dragged down. I don’t think she had the strength to call for help or fight her attacker. But that’s not all…”

  “It’s not?” Shae asked, feeling horrified. “How can there be more? That sounds awful to me. She was already suffering because of this whole vacation.”

  “I know,” Zooberg nodded gravely. “She shouldn’t have been here at all. I told her to just go home when she came here yesterday. We were docked! I can’t imagine how much sicker she would’ve been when we started moving.”

  “What did she say when you suggested going home?” Shae asked curiously.

  “The woman was stubborn,” Zooberg frowned, shaking his head and glaring out his window as people walked past. “She said she knew what was going to happen. She just wanted medicine to make it go away. I tried to tell her that it didn’t work that way, but I gave her something to cope. I think it made her quite drowsy though. I don’t think she would’ve been in her right mind.”

  “This was a recipe for disaster,” Shae said angrily. “We should just arrest her husband for this alone. Who bullies their wife like this? Honestly, it’s starting to border on abuse.”

  “I didn’t find any signs of domestic abuse,” Zooberg reassured her, noting her troubled expression. “I kept a special eye out when she said that this trip was her husband’s idea.”

  “Well, that’s good then. Doctor, you said that something else was wrong that night. What did you mean? Was it the pills?”

  “No,” Zooberg shook his head. “I don’t think she knew how to swim. Look, she was bleeding out, and she had heavy clothes on, but she could’ve just swum to the side to hold on. I think she went into a panic when she hit the water, because she couldn’t swim. This whole event is a tragedy. The odds were stacked against this woman, and she didn’t make it. It was her time.”