by Mara Webb
The room reacted as if starting pistols had been fired.
Chairs screeched across the wooden floor as people rushed to their feet to be the first ones outside as if there was a finite number of seats in the sun. The yacht was enormous, there was plenty of space for everyone. Maybe there was a best seat that I didn’t know about.
Dominic helped Stephanie to her feet and guided her to the outside area of the deck to sit on the closest lounger to await the healer who would be arriving on a small boat within the hour. Ryan, although slower than the rest, leapt to his feet and clapped his hands together enthusiastically.
“What’s first then? A little sun? A little sun and a cocktail? Some swimming? Some snorkeling? What about some scuba?” He was bopping gently up and down on bent knees suggesting that the energy within him would propel him through the roof if he stopped moving.
“I have to look through Nicholas’s office first, so if you could keep watch so I don’t get murdered that would be great.” I saw his face drop a little as he realized I was serious, but with everyone distracted, now might be the best time.
We had to go one floor lower to get to the murder deck and the office. Stephanie and Dominic were the only guests that had remained on the dining floor, everyone else had climbed higher. As we descended, I patted my pocket to check for the key and felt relief that I hadn’t lost it already, despite only having it in my possession for less than twelve hours.
The door to the office wasn’t locked, but I already knew that as I had seen Jonathon and Leslie walk out of there. I realized that I had taken their rendezvous inside Nicholas’s office at face value, they were just making out in a room that other people wouldn’t look in, right? But what if one of them, if not both, were looking through his office for something specific?
Jonathon had been written out of the will, right? Perhaps he was looking for something that could still allow him to inherit his share of the family fortune. Same with Leslie, they hadn’t managed to get married yet, so she wasn’t legally entitled to anything unless Nick had put it in writing.
It was a good job I was dating a lawyer because there was no way I would be able to navigate my way through some complicated inheritance dispute as a motive for murder if I had no idea what the paperwork meant.
I walked into the office and, as I had just suspected, it looked like it had been ransacked. I had asked Ryan to wait outside to guard the door, if I managed to find anything that might be relevant then I could have him run his lawyer eyes over it and translate it into English. With the door now closed behind me I could really take in the scope of the problem.
The office wasn’t particularly large, but as this was his ‘private yacht office’ it was still impressive. An enormous computer sat atop the oak desk and shelves lined the wall behind the chair. I couldn’t see the safe in an obvious place, but of course that was the point. If it was easy to find, then it might be easy to hack.
Nicholas had a stunning view of the ocean from a large window that took up almost the entire wall on my right.
I tip-toed over the scattered paperwork to sit down in the grand, leather chair so that I could pretend, just for a second, that I was rich enough to live like this. I barely made it one entire second into the fantasy before realizing that there was a mirror next to the door of the office. A mirror that I was now facing, a mirror with the ghost of Nicholas Blatham-Ford in it.
11
The ‘ghost in a mirror’ thing wasn’t new to me. When I moved into my inherited home at number thirteen Charm Close, I had been welcomed by a ghost in my bathroom mirror. The shock of that encounter caused me to pass out, only to be woken moments later by a talking cat. It had been a rough day. The ghost that had startled me had been my aunt Edith.
I had later been informed that when a witch dies, they can inhabit the mirrors of their home as a ghost, she had been unable to speak to me, communicating through a series of shoddy sign language for quite some time until, suddenly, she regained her voice. I wasn’t sure what to make of the situation I now found myself in, however.
It was almost enough to make me laugh.
I had been invited onto a private yacht by my boyfriend as an extension of an offer by a millionaire. This was supposed to be a whirlwind luxury experience that I might never have again in my lifetime. Yet here I now was, sitting in the messy office of a dead man who was now haunting me through a mirror framed with wood that probably cost more than my house.
After I shook off the madness of the moment, I looked more intently at Nicholas’s ghost.
He was crying.
“Well hello! Fancy seeing you here!” I joked. I leaned forward and rested my elbows on a pile of papers in front of me, then balanced my chin on my hands. “What have you been up to?” I managed to get a brief smile out of him, but then the silent tears continued to flow. “Is this one of those ‘you can’t speak for some reason’ type of deals, or are you going to just tell me who killed you? It would save me a lot of time and I’ll be straight with you, re-filing a strangers paperwork is not my dream morning.”
“I just wanted love!” he howled. His ghost then faded into nothing and I was once again alone in the office.
“Who are you speaking to in there?” Ryan shouted through the door.
“Just a ghost, don’t come in,” I replied, as if that was a normal thing to say out loud. I took a deep breath and stretched my legs out underneath the desk, my feet hitting something solid where a gap should have been. I wheeled the chair back a little and saw a solid metal cube that had most definitely not been there a moment ago.
It was a safe that had just appeared out of nowhere, this must be the one Monty had given me the key to, unless there were others hidden in the walls somehow. Ryan then knocked on the door in a specific way, signaling that someone was out there.
I glanced back down at the safe again and it disappeared. It must be some sort of preservation mechanism. Until the coast was clear I would have to make my way through the papers that were scattered across the room, a daunting task.
For Christmas last year my mom had mailed me a book on home organizing, I had yet to open it. Quin however claimed to have read it from cover to cover, not that it had made any difference to what a messy housemate he was, but he had pointed me in the direction of the witch equivalent that was conveniently located in the library in our attic. I hadn’t read that one either. Even a courtesy glance at the spell book might have allowed me to file these papers into separate piles based on the subject matter, it would have made things much easier.
I picked up the closest sheet and scanned over it, it appeared to be a receipt for an incredibly expensive order of flowers, the delivery instructions included a diagram of an archway that would be made at the intended address.
The next few pieces of paper were torn from a magazine, different photographs of suits, all alarmingly similar but with handwritten notes to suggest that, to a trained eye, they were wildly different. Working through the papers there were receipts for private chefs, chair hire, lighting, singers, a string quartet, and many other things that would be required for a luxury event.
I organized all of the ‘event’ related documents into one pile as I started to see different topics coming up on the papers. There were print outs of aggressive emails between Nicholas and Jonathon, Stephanie, Dominic and Leslie.
It baffled me as to why someone would print out an email but I remembered a time when this sort of thing was necessary, I would have to print out emails during my college degree because I couldn’t carry them around on my phone like I can now. I began to read through the message from Dominic and quickly realized it was a chain of emails showing their back and forth.
Dom,
Quite frankly if you think that I couldn’t find a replacement for you by tomorrow you are in a fantasy land. You have this job because you are married to my daughter, were it not for that connection you would have not been graced with an interview for my business, let alone a salary. You are n
ot paid to have ideas, you are not paid to criticize the good work that the rest of my team are doing, you are paid to do what you are told, clock in and clock out.
If you are caught smoking on site one more time, and I mean even the suspicion of it by a colleague, then I will pack your things up myself and drop you off at your home, which I also paid for. The nerve of you to risk contamination of stock, you will send me to an early grave I can guarantee it.
There was no sign off, but it was from Nicholas’s email address. The chain of emails that followed were groveling apologies from Dominic for being caught with a cigarette near sterilized glassware, Nicholas saying he ‘doesn’t care if he smokes himself to death, just do it elsewhere’ and Dom begging for it to stay a secret from Stephanie.
What a weird thing to print out though. I placed it down and picked up an email between Nicholas and Stephanie.
Daddy,
My lawyer has advised me to put this down in writing because of intellectual property something and that means you have to pay to use my idea. I think we should start changing the shapes of the ecosystems to be letters, like I would buy one that was a giant ‘S’ for Steph.
It would be really popular with influencers online and whatever, and I think that then we could talk about reinstating my annual bonuses. Now that it’s in an email then I own the idea legally or whatever so you can’t steal it! You know that I wanted that full body skin renewal carbon laser refreshment surgery this summer and I can’t afford it unless I start getting my bonuses again daddy.
I didn’t even know what that treatment was, but if Stephanie couldn’t afford it already with all of her riches, then it must be elaborate and expensive. Nicholas had replied.
Darling Steph,
I would like to start by telling you to fire your lawyer, they clearly don’t know what they are talking about. You have used the company email address I gave you to send your idea to me, you signed a contract when you started that gives me ownership of all creative endeavors suggested by employees and I have already spoken to you about my feelings on you having lasers fired at your body for hours at a time.
Thank you for your idea, I think it is genuinely worth considering but it is now owned by the company, not you as an individual.
“Coast is clear,” Ryan whispered through the door.
I leaned back in my chair and saw that the safe had reappeared. So, both Dominic and Stephanie had been in compromising situations with Nicholas recently, the dates on the emails had these as having been sent out last month.
Dom was at risk of losing his job for smoking on site and contaminating the glass, something he didn’t want Stephanie to know about, and Steph had been screwed out of her idea because of her employment contract. That must have infuriated her if she was under the impression that she owned the rights to it, this was a Ryan query really, I didn’t know the first thing about the law.
I ducked underneath the desk and slipped the key into the safe lock, as I turned it, I could hear the movement of metal inside and I could feel heat radiating out of the door.
I opened it.
Inside I could see one envelope that was sealed with some handwriting on the front, it was addressed to Ryan. I was confused at first but thought that perhaps this was because of his work as Nicholas’s lawyer, could this be related to the parking ticket dispute? Why would it be in a magically locked safe?
I grabbed the envelope and began to straighten up when I heard voices outside the office. Ryan was knocking his code onto the wooden door to alert me that someone was coming but I already knew.
“I have as much right to go in there as any of you!” a voice insisted. I took it to mean that Stephanie was feeling better, or at least well enough to assert her status as a VIP in any room. The office door flew open and she stepped into the mess that was still sprawled across the floor. “You! Why have you thrown my father’s papers all over the place? Is this what we are paying you for?”
“No one is paying me,” I reminded her. That seemed to cause a change in her expression, if she was not able to control me by threatening to cut my money off then I was in charge and she couldn’t stand it.
“Well, I just…have you found anything useful?” she asked, her body language softening.
“Not yet, if I could just have another hour or so to work through this then perhaps we could arrange another discussion with everyone later if anything comes up,” I said.
She agreed before walking out. I wanted to continue reading through the emails and the other documents that had been scattered. Whoever had made the mess in here was looking for something, had they found it? There could be information that could point to the killer, or at least eliminate a few suspects.
At the moment it could be any of the other guests and they were so busy trying to spread rumors that it was impossible to know what I should believe.
All I knew for certain is that Monty had given me that magic key to allow me access into Nicholas’s safe. That would suggest that perhaps he knew what was in that safe and that it needed to be removed and inspected.
I looked down at the envelope in my hands and wondered what exactly the contents would reveal. On the outside in scrawled handwriting it stated that the envelope contained the last will and testament of Mr. Nicholas Blatham-Ford. What was written in here that he wanted me to find?
12
I spent the next hour rifling through papers, all the while wondering what might be revealed in Nicholas’s will. When I had brought it closer to read the envelope, I was able to see that it was ‘for the attention of Mr. Ryan Hughes.
My last will and testament is to be opened and read aloud to my family and friends, and anyone else that wanted to hear it’, that meant that we would have some Stephanie drama later for sure. Not to mention any tantrums Jonny might throw about how little he would be getting.
After I felt satisfied that I had read through enough, I straightened up the papers into neat piles and left the office to join Ryan. He was now half asleep in a small armchair and jumped at my appearance. “You’re done? Does that mean we can swim now?” he asked, stretching his arms.
“Sure, but I need you to have this first,” I said. I handed the envelope to him and after he read the note, he nodded.
“Okay, well how about we save that bombshell until later on and go out to enjoy some fresh air while we can. I’ll run down to stash this away and then meet you back up here in a minute.” Ryan disappeared down the stairs with the speed of a dog that had just heard the word ‘walkies’.
I turned and saw Kimberly behind the bar, she seemed to be nervous and a little sweaty, was she ill? Just as I was about to open my mouth to ask her, Ryan sprinted back onto the murder deck and grabbed my hand to take me outside.
“Hey, can we grab the scuba gear for two Sean?” Ryan asked. Sean was seemingly waiting out on the deck, just out of view, to tend to anyone’s needs. After a quick look left and right to make sure he couldn’t be seen, he waved his hands and our equipment appeared on the deck beside my feet. “Are you feeling okay man? You look a bit green around the gills there,” Ryan said.
I looked up and saw that Sean seemed to have the same sweaty, nervous look about him that Kimberly had. Great. Just what we all need is a virus making the rounds on this yacht. We already have a dead body and a woman that was stabbed by a nightmare, this really was the worst vacation of all time.
“I’m fine, there was just a bit of difficulty with the transfer of Mr. Blatham-Ford to the coroner’s boat. I don’t mean to cross the line, but I was asked to help carry him and I slipped on some discarded raspberries that I must have missed when cleaning up after breakfast. I dropped him, the sheet fell away, and I saw his face, the color…I’ve felt quite I’ll ever since. Poor Kimberly was there too, and she may never recover,” Sean said, holding his hand to his mouth as if to prevent himself from vomiting all over the both of us.
There was an awkward silence that followed and I started to wish one of us would bite the
bullet and speak about something else so that we could get on with the scuba trip, my mind was looping on the thought of Nicholas’s body hitting the deck and revealing his weird, pale purple face.
“Could you spread the word? We have Nicholas’s will and we are going to go through it after dinner. We just want to enjoy the day before then,” Ryan joked. That seemed to snap Sean out of his misery trance, and I laughed at the idea that we had mere hours of fun left before the money was distributed and the fighting started.
“Could we get some more peanuts up here please?” Monty shouted from the deck above. I doubted he could even see Sean; he was just shouting up into the air hoping that some subservient soul would retrieve him a snack.
“Right away, Sir,” Sean replied, delicately walking towards the sliding glass doors that led to the staff area. He looked paler still as he closed the doors behind him. I looked back at Ryan and he was already busy with his scuba equipment, the tank strapped onto his body, the clasps around his middle being tightened with one hand and him holding the gauge in the other to check gas levels.
“Nora, come on! I’ll help you get set up,” Ryan yelled. He was too excited to control the volume of his voice. I patiently listened as he tried to bore me to death with an anecdote about someone developing decompression sickness on a scuba trip because they didn’t adhere to the instructor’s guidance. I suspected it was a cautionary tale intended to grab my attention, but it was so boring that I started zoning out. “…and that’s why you should just try and go for the throat when it’s eyes go green like that. Anyway, Nitrogen gas…”
“Ryan, I say this with love, please shut up. I know about the Bends, I know how the lungs work, please, please can we do something now? Show me the basics of this, let’s get out in the water and try and see something before we both die of old age on this deck,” I said. “I was in the scuba club at my university, I didn’t mention it before because you seemed so excited to teach me everything and I was happy to let you. You just make sure you are ready to beat down some giant squid butt if the opportunity strikes.”
