Ghostly Seas

by Lily Harper Hart

“I’m not.”

  “You are, too.”

  “I am not.”

  “I just ... you are, too!” Harper exploded, anger getting the better of her.

  At the exact moment she yelled at the ghost, the door popped open and Rowan’s face filled the open frame. The auburn-haired photographer looked mildly confused and entirely intrigued.

  “And what’s going on in here?”

  “Well, crap,” Harper muttered, shaking her head. “I should’ve seen this coming.”

  12

  Twelve

  Harper wanted to crawl into a hole. Even though Rowan’s expression reflected curiosity rather than recrimination, the intrepid ghost hunter found herself at a loss for words for the first time in ... well, a really long time.

  “How’s it going?” Harper asked blandly, doing her best to act calm and collected. “Great day, huh?”

  “It’s a lovely day,” Rowan agreed as she scanned the stairwell for signs that Harper wasn’t alone. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m ... communicating with the dead.” Harper worked through a plan in her head. Granted, it probably wasn’t the best plan, but she wasn’t great under pressure. “I’m flexing my abilities. I need a quiet spot to do it.”

  “You’re communicating with the dead, huh?”

  Harper nodded without hesitation. “Yes. The dead are always around us.” She held out her hands for emphasis.

  “Well, that sounds fascinating.” Rowan planted her hands on her hips. “I thought maybe you were talking to Tasha Vale.”

  “Huh?” Harper tripped over her own tongue. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re a ghost hunter.”

  “I am.”

  “Tasha Vale died in close proximity to your friend the other night.”

  “She did.”

  “You were just in the tiki bar and Demarcus told you where Tasha’s room was located,” Rowan added.

  “I ... he told you that?” Harper was officially annoyed. “Well, that’s just a bunch of crap. He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. I was being covert. He should’ve realized that.”

  Rowan chuckled. “I don’t think you have to worry about Demarcus spreading your secret around, although he is impressed with your episode of that show you were on. He wanted to tell me all about it, but I begged off because I was more interested in finding you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to know if the ghost has any interesting information.”

  “So ... you simply believe that I can see ghosts?” Harper was understandably dubious. “No offense, but most people tend to believe I’m a crackpot.”

  “I don’t think that about you. I told you last night that I was a believer.”

  “I assumed you were only saying that to irritate Quinn,” Harper admitted. “He’s definitely not a believer. I say things to irritate Jared all the time. It keeps the fires burning, if you know what I mean. Wait ... that might’ve come out wrong.”

  Rowan chuckled, absolutely delighted with Harper’s flustered reaction. “Occasionally I’ve been known to say things for the sole reason of irritating Quinn. I agree about keeping the fires burning. In this particular case, though, that’s not what this is about.”

  “Oh, no? What is this about?”

  “I believe you.”

  “And?”

  “And I want to know if Tasha has any information to lead us in the right direction,” Rowan replied. “Believe it or not, I’m invested in the outcome of this particular situation.”

  “Why?”

  “Because ... because you’re not the only one with a secret.”

  “I’m not?” Instead of being suspicious, Harper turned on a dime and found herself intrigued. “What’s your secret?”

  “I think it’s better if we take this conversation to your room,” Rowan suggested. “I don’t want to risk someone interrupting us. You can bring Tasha. She’s welcome for the conversation, too.”

  “Oh, she disappeared the second you showed up.” Harper offered up a dismissive wave. “She doesn’t believe she’s dead.”

  Rowan drew her eyebrows together. “Is that normal?”

  “Sadly, it’s very normal.”

  “Will she come back?”

  “Yes, but probably not here.”

  “Okay, well, let’s go to your room. We need to talk.”

  “I’m looking forward to it ... kind of.”

  HARPER FOUND HER NERVES had dissipated by the time she reached her room. She fobbed her way in, exhaled a sigh of relief when she noted the maids had already been around, and directed Rowan toward the small table at the side of the room.

  “Sorry. There’s not a lot of places to get comfortable in here.”

  “That’s okay.” Rowan was used to the size of the rooms. “This is exactly what my room looks like.”

  Harper grabbed two bottles of water from the small mini-refrigerator and frowned. “Wait ... you live in a room this small all the time? That can’t be easy.”

  Rowan shrugged, noncommittal. “I don’t really think about it,” she admitted. “I was worried I would feel claustrophobic when I first arrived ... and then I found out I actually had a better room than most of the workers here, which is completely sad to think about. I don’t spend a lot of time in my room, though.”

  “What about Quinn?” Harper found she was unnaturally interested in life on a cruise ship, although she had no idea why. The conversation allowed her to settle before they delved into deeper issues, though, and she was thankful for it.

  “He’s used to the room size, too.”

  “I mean ... do you guys live together?”

  “Oh.” Rowan chuckled. “Um, not technically. We need two rooms to keep all our stuff. We basically sleep in my room every night, though. That’s mostly because my equipment is cumbersome and it’s easier to stick close to it.”

  “Right.” Harper flicked her eyes to the camera resting on the table. “You said you had a secret.”

  “Wow, you’re getting right to the heart of matters, huh?” Rowan cracked open her bottle of water and took a swig before closing it and grabbing her camera. “I’m going to show you something. I’m hoping you can keep it to yourself.”

  “Okay.” Harper waited as Rowan searched the photos through the view screen on the back of the device. When Rowan finally handed it over, Harper wasn’t sure what she was looking at. “Photos of the guests? That’s your secret? Um, no offense, but you’re the ship’s photographer. I assumed you were taking photos of the guests.”

  Rowan’s giggle was nervous and high-pitched. “No. That’s not it. Um ... you see that symbol there.” She pointed toward the omen, which was clearly visible to her, and waited until Harper’s eyes adjusted. “Do you see it?”

  Harper nodded. “Yeah. It looks like a weird shadow.”

  “That’s what I thought when I first saw it,” Rowan admitted. “I was a kid then, and I had no idea what it meant. I thought maybe it was the camera, but it wasn’t. I didn’t think anything of that first omen until the person in the photo died. Then, even when it happened again, I didn’t get it.

  “It took me a bit of time to realize what was happening,” she continued, pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead as she debated how to tell the story. She’d told her tale before, but she was careful about guarding her secret, so she wasn’t exactly a pro when it came to spilling secrets. “That symbol is a death omen. It appears in photographs from time to time, as like a warning for me so I can try to stop whatever is about to happen.”

  Harper’s mouth dropped open. “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That is so ... cool.”

  That wasn’t the reaction Rowan was expecting. “Um ... what?”

  “It’s cool,” Harper repeated, staring hard at the photograph. “How does it work? Do you go up to the person in the photo and tell them they’re going to die? Wait ... that can’t possibly be how you do it. People would think you’re strange ..
. or a murderer.”

  Rowan barked out a hoarse laugh, relieved Harper grasped the issues without continuous explanation.

  “I tried doing that a couple of times when I was a teenager,” she admitted, dragging a restless hand through her hair. Despite Harper’s open nature, Rowan found she was nervous. “It didn’t go over well. Once I warned the police and then, when the individual died, I was a suspect. Thankfully they got over that quickly but ... it wasn’t a smart move on my part.”

  “And why can you do it?” Harper asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Is it genetic? Perhaps something handed down from your parents or another family member.”

  “Is your gift genetic?” Rowan was legitimately curious.

  Harper nodded. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but my grandfather could do it. This is the grandfather I told you about, the one who died and visited me before my parents got the call. He recognized the signs in me. He intended on helping me with it, but that never happened. He died too soon.”

  “Oh, that’s awful.” Rowan meant it. “You were alone.”

  “Not really. I had Zander. I told him when we were little and he believed me right away. That helped a lot. I’m an only child, so he’s like a brother and best friend all wrapped up in a pretty package.”

  “What about your parents?”

  “They were ... less help. It’s okay, though. My parents are a little nutty. I know that sounds weird coming from a woman who can see and talk to ghosts, but it’s totally true. I can’t keep up with the nutty things my parents do. What about your parents?”

  Rowan exhaled heavily. “My mother died when I was younger. She had cancer.”

  “That’s awful. I’m so sorry. You can have my mother, if you want.”

  A ghost of a smile flitted across Rowan’s lips. “I’ll let you keep her. Either way, I didn’t realize I could do anything until my father bought me my first camera. He was trying to bolster my spirits after my mother died and, well, the rest is sort of history.”

  “Did your father believe you when you told him?”

  “Um, for the most part. The first couple times he thought it was a coincidence. I mean ... who wouldn’t, right? He came around pretty quickly.”

  “At least you had him.”

  “Yeah, until he disappeared when I was eighteen.” Rowan turned momentarily bitter.

  “He disappeared?” Harper was horrified. “Did you ever find out what happened to him? It’s weird, but that sort of happened to me. It was different because it was my boyfriend at the time. I assumed he died, but then he came back and tried to kill me. It was a whole thing ... which I’m totally over.”

  Even though it was a serious conversation, Rowan couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “Quinn told me that story. He ran all of you after Zander was found on the deck. He thought the similarities between the two of us were striking.

  “I mean, you have an ability and I do as well,” she continued. “Your boyfriend disappeared and my father was assumed dead, too. Your boyfriend came back.” She left the rest hanging, but Harper figured it out on her own.

  “And your father came back,” she surmised.

  Rowan nodded. “Yeah. That’s a big secret, though, so you can’t tell anyone. He’s in hiding.”

  “Because someone is interested in your ability?”

  “How did you know that?” Rowan was amazed.

  “I watch a lot of television,” Harper replied, matter-of-fact. “That would be a total television plot. I’m guessing he has a few abilities, too.”

  “My mother did, too. They passed it on to me. He was trying to protect me. That is also a whole other conversation that has nothing to do with our current predicament.”

  Harper’s face was blank. “What’s our current predicament? I can guarantee that Zander didn’t kill Tasha, for the record. We have a murder to solve, of course, but that’s kind of a normal predicament for me.”

  Rowan’s laugh was hollow. “Oddly enough, it is for me, too. The thing is ... there’s more going on.” She reclaimed her camera and started flipping through photos. “I’ve counted and there are more than a hundred people on this ship who have the death omen. That’s never happened to me before. My record previously was two people. This is more than a hundred.”

  Harper gaped as Rowan scrolled through the photos. “A hundred people are going to die?”

  “If we don’t do something about it.”

  “Ah, well, that sucks.” Harper leaned back in her chair and let her gaze drift to the ceiling. “I need a drink.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  QUINN WALKED WITH JARED back to his room shortly before dinner. They’d been from one end of the ship to the other and come up empty. They were both feeling frustrated.

  “I don’t know where else to look,” Quinn admitted, shaking his head. “My men have been watching the footage and there’s nothing we can use. If Brady was on deck last night, the storm obliterated his image. That’s not uncommon but ... it’s weird. What are the odds we would lose all trace of him?”

  “I can’t answer that,” Jared replied, digging in his pocket for his room card. “I’m not familiar with the technology on the ship. I’m guessing it’s better than most, though, so I honestly don’t know.” He waved the card in front of the lock. “Maybe we need to think about this some more over beers. I ... .”

  He pulled up short when he realized Harper wasn’t alone in the room. He wasn’t even sure she was present until he opened the door ... and found Harper and Rowan sitting on the floor with a laptop positioned between them.

  “What’s going on?”

  Quinn followed him, his eyes going wide when he saw his girlfriend with a Corona in her hand. “Are you drinking? It’s like ... the middle of the afternoon.”

  “Thank you for the time flash, Señor Timekeeper,” Harper drawled. She wasn’t exactly drunk, but she wasn’t entirely sober either. “I don’t know what we would do without you stating the obvious.”

  “Hey!” Quinn’s temper was on full display as he gazed between faces. “What are you guys looking at?”

  “Photos,” Rowan replied, swigging from her beer. “I told Harper what’s going on, by the way. I know you’ll probably be angry but ... I needed someone to talk to. She gets it because she sees ghosts.”

  “Well, great,” Quinn muttered, steadfastly avoiding the gaze Jared tossed in his direction. “That’s just ... great. I thought we talked about this.”

  “We did,” Rowan agreed. “You talked and I listened. I need help, though. It’s too much.”

  Quinn strode forward and snagged the beer from her hand. Instead of tossing it, he took a long swig. “You’re going to be the death of me. You know that, right?”

  Rowan’s smile was sweet. “I love you.”

  He sighed. He couldn’t stay angry at her. “You should’ve talked to me about this before you did it.”

  “Harper won’t say anything.” Rowan was certain of that. “She has her own secrets. She talked to Tasha Vale today, by the way. She’s a ghost but doesn’t believe she’s dead. I interrupted them and Tasha ran away, but we’re hoping to track her down again.”

  “Oh, really?” Quinn finally found the courage to meet Jared’s gaze. “Do you believe this?”

  Jared merely shrugged. “Harper has a mind of her own.” He knelt next to his fiancée and stared at the computer screen. “Why are you guys looking at photos of the guests?”

  “Because a hundred people are going to die,” Harper replied. “We’re trying to figure out how to stop it.”

  “A hundred people are going to die?” Jared’s eyebrows flew up his forehead. “How? I mean ... how?”

  “We don’t know how.” Harper shrugged and made a face when Jared stole her beer. “Hey! That’s mine.”

  “You’re sharing now.” Jared took a long pull and slid his gaze to Quinn. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on? These two are tipsy and the story might lose someth
ing in the telling because of that.”

  Quinn shrugged as he heaved out a sigh. “It’s kind of a long story.”

  Harper raised her hand. “I can tell it fast.”

  “Oh, really?” Quinn wasn’t convinced. “Give it a shot.”

  “Rowan sees death omens in photos,” Harper replied, grimacing at Quinn in an effort to irritate him. “She’s been able to do it since she was a kid. She tries to keep the people in her photos safe and it doesn’t always work. Right now, there are death omens in over a hundred photos. She’s never had that many at once. Something bad is going to happen.”

  Jared pursed his lips. “Is that true?” He directed the question toward Quinn.

  “Yeah.” Quinn was sheepish. “It’s true. We’re trying to figure it out, but we’ve never dealt with a situation like this before. Previously, all the omens showed up on individual photos. Once, I think I remember the omen showing up on two different photos at the same time. This is something else entirely.”

  “So ... how do we figure out what sort of catastrophe we’re looking at?” Jared was calm as he swatted away Harper’s hand when she tried to reclaim the beer. “This has to be something that happens on the ship, right? How do we figure out what?”

  “Rowan has a list of all the catastrophes that could happen,” Harper offered. “Some of them are freaky.”

  “We’re not using that list,” Quinn insisted. “I thought I threw away that list.”

  “I had a backup,” Rowan replied simply. “I’m so afraid of what’s going to happen I can’t stop thinking about it.”

  Quinn took pity on her as he pulled her in for a tight hug. “We’re going to figure this out. I promise you that. Please don’t let this consume you.”

  “Of course we’re going to figure this out,” Harper said brightly. “We both have gifts. There has to be a reason we came together now, right, Jared?”

  Jared smiled at his future wife. “Right. You’re going to sober up first, though.”

  Harper beamed at him. “Good idea.”

  “I’m full of them.”

  13