by Ivy Dawson
“It might not, but your shift starts in ten minutes,” he told her smugly, “and I’ve also got work to do. Besides, he’s not going anywhere. Let’s let him worry for a while.”
“You’re the boss,” Shae said glumly, taking the box and walking away. She missed the days when she worked with Alexa, or on her own.
Shae kept a careful eye on the time, and exactly two hours later she made her way down to the jail. By the time she made it, Mark was already there, tapping on his watch.
“What took you so long?”
“I’m on time,” Shae told him, checking her phone’s time to make sure. She was a minute late, but she wasn’t going to admit that.
“What did Zooberg say?” Mark asked, ignoring her comment.
“There’s poison left in the syringe,” Shae said, feeling almost proud, “and I talked to a couple of restaurants. Apparently, Trinity loved drinking piña coladas. I don’t think she would’ve noticed if one of them was a little sweeter than usual.”
“I thought you were working,” he said with a frown.
“I was working on this,” she told him, bracing herself for an argument.
“That’s not what we pay you to do.”
“Listen, I don’t know what you think goes into an investigation, but it’s not a part-time job. You need to focus on what you’re doing. I did some extra work on this, and now we’ve got a clearer picture of what happened.”
“All we needed was the syringe,” he said, “and how would you know what goes on in a real investigation? You’re an amateur.”
“Let’s just go talk to Tony,” Shae said, grinding her teeth. She could feel him trying to provoke her, she didn’t understand why, but she wasn’t going to let him win.
When they put Tony into their little makeshift interrogation room, Shae could see that he’d gotten angrier since the last time they’d seen him. He wasn’t yelling anymore, but she could tell by his demeanor that it was only a matter of time.
“Tony, you killed your wife. You’re going to jail,” Mark said simply.
“You’re joking,” Tony scoffed, looking at him incredulously.
“We’ve got evidence,” Mark said, crossing his arms. “Confess now so that we can put this matter to rest.”
“My wife just died, and now you’re doing this to me,” Tony said, his eyes flicking between Mark and Shae. “This is cruel and unusual. Just wait ‘til we get back to the States. I’m going to sue this place so hard. You won’t even know what hit you.”
“We know you put poison in one of her drinks,” Shae said, a little more gently than Mark, “and we know that you two were having problems. We even know about the life insurance policy.”
“So you fight with your wife. You’re in debt, and then you decide to kill two birds with one stone. Maybe you shouldn’t have made it so obvious.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tony said, his brow furrowing as he listened. “Life insurance? Poison? Trin was allergic to peanuts, that’s how she died. Why would I want to kill her? If I was going to kill anyone, it would be that moron pastor of hers.”
“Caleb?” Shae asked in confusion. “Why would you want to kill him?”
“She was going to leave me for him,” Tony admitted, his shoulder sagging. “Don’t tell anyone, okay? It’s embarrassing. But, I mean, who cares if you guys know?”
“Caleb is strictly against divorce,” Shae reminded him.
“That’s what he says,” Tony scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I don’t buy that whole good-guy act of his. I know what he preached, but I know what he would’ve done if he had the chance.”
“If you thought your wife was going to leave you for the pastor, why did you allow the pastor to come with you on vacation?” Mark asked in confusion.
“Caleb’s a mouse, and I’m the lion,” Tony explained, causing Shae and Mark to look at each other confusedly. “I decided to treat the whole family to this expensive vacation to prove to Trin that no one can take care of her like I can.”
“Aren’t you buried in debt?” Shae reminded him. “Wouldn’t it have been smarter to use the money to pay some of that off?”
“I had to sort out my affairs at home first,” Tony scoffed. “I’ll take care of that problem when I get home. I’ve got this business venture in the works. It’s this oil that you put into your engine that cleans it for you.”
“You’re going to sell engine oil?” Shae said slowly.
“No, it’s the oil you put in with the engine oil,” Tony explained. “You could even put some in this big hunk of metal. Things would run smoother than ever.”
“Let’s get back on track,” Shae said quickly, sensing Mark’s rising annoyance. “Were you concerned about how Trinity felt about Caleb?”
“She had a little crush,” Tony shrugged. “It happens. But no one can keep her around the way I do. I wasn’t worried about it.”
“That doesn’t sound right to me,” Mark said, raising his eyebrows. “You were fine with your wife’s feelings for another man?”
“Feelings are nothing,” Tony scoffed. “What we had was true love. She wasn’t going to leave that behind. We were soulmates.”
“That’s enough,” Mark said firmly, banging his hand against the metal table. Shae jumped inf right, but Tony just glared at him. “We found the poison kit in your bag. We found the poison in your toilet. The evidence is there, and you’re guilty. We don’t need your confession. You killed your wife, and you’re going to jail.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Tony said angrily, getting up and slamming his hands against the table. Ivan and another security guard rushed in and held him back, wrestling with the angry man. Shae quickly scrambled out of the way, but Mark looked like he was enjoying himself.
She looked at Tony’s face, trying to cover her ears. His shouts were echoing painfully in the small space, and she was starting to get a headache. His face was red and there was a pulsing vein in his forehead. She wondered what would’ve happened if Trinity said that she’d leave him.
A man like Tony wouldn’t have used poison to kill her.
Chapter 6
“Don’t look so stiff,” Captain Tim told Mark, pouring a whiskey for the three of them. He gestured for them to take their drinks before sitting on the couch and sighing in relief. “Old age isn’t for cowards,” he told Shae, grimacing as he stretched his right leg.
“I never thought it was,” Shae said sympathetically. Mark glared at her, and she suddenly felt like a brown-noser. It was an irrational reaction, and she decided not to let his jealousy get under her skin. The captain didn’t belong to Mark.
Captain Tim sighed again and sank into the couch. Shae held her glass awkwardly as they both waited for him to start speaking. A few minutes ago, the two of them had been interrogating a suspect, and then they were summoned into the ship’s inner sanctum. No one questioned Captain Tim. If he called, you dropped everything and went to his office. Even if it was just to watch as he had a drink and complained about getting old.
Mark cleared his throat discreetly. Shae noticed a slight smile on the captain’s face and realized that he was doing this on purpose.
“All right,” he said, looking back up at them, “sit down and tell me what’s going on. Do you have the right guy in custody? Can we offload this mess at the next port? I’ve got the girl’s parents on the line threatening to fly in and get on the ship. I don’t need to tell you that grieving parents are the last thing we need right now. Before you know it, they’ve posted everything on social media, and it goes viral. The Princess doesn’t need that kind of publicity.”
“As if we need more bad publicity,” Mark said with a chagrined smile, as if he and the captain were sharing a private joke. Shae had to stop herself from giggling at his efforts. Poor Mark. He wanted to be part of a good old boys club so badly he was willing to make one.
Unfortunately for Mark, the captain wasn’t impressed by Mark’s statement.
“I don’t know
if we have the right guy,” Shae said quickly, feeling sorry for the first officer. “The husband doesn’t seem like the type of guy who’d use poison.”
“He’s also remarkably stupid,” Mark said, rolling his eyes and sipping on his whiskey.
“I also got that impression,” Captain Tim said, nodding thoughtfully. Mark smiled smugly, ignoring the fact that the captain could’ve been talking about either one of them. “Any other ideas?”
“We know that whoever did this knew Trinity very well,” Mark spoke quickly, stepping forward so that he was obscuring Shae from the captain’s view. “Every detail was personalized for her. The killer poisoned her favorite cocktail and used a poison that mimicked her allergy.”
“That’s a lot of effort,” the captain said, frowning. “She was deathly allergic to peanuts, right? Why not use an actual peanut? Then they wouldn’t have to go through all this effort. There’s so much more evidence right now.”
“We’re told that the victim was very careful and would always check her food before eating,” Mark said, shrugging as he sat down across from the captain. Shae listened quietly and also sat down as she thought about all the clues they’d found so far.
“What if they didn’t want it to look like an accident?” she realized out loud.
“What are you talking about?” Mark snapped in annoyance.
“Think about it,” Shae insisted, “all the evidence was found in Tony’s cabin. What if whoever killed Trinity also wants Tony out of the way?”
“That’s an interesting theory,” Captain Tim nodded. “What if it was the sister? From everything I’ve heard, she sounds like she’s the milder of the two. What if she got tired of always being in the sister’s shadow?”
“Or she could’ve blamed them for ruining her life,” Shae suggested. “Serenity was thrown into the background when her sister ran away. Maybe she got tired of them always causing trouble?”
“There’s another, more plausible explanation,” Mark said, talking as soon as Shae stopped. “What if she was in love with the pastor? He said he had feelings for Trinity, so maybe she wanted the sister out of the way so that she could have the pastor.”
“Where did you say you found the poison kit again?” Captain Tim asked Shae thoughtfully.
“I found it in Tony’s room,” Mark said quickly, his eyes widening quickly as he lied. The response was gone before anyone could see it. He rolled his shoulders uncomfortably as Shae turned to him in shock. “It was in his suitcase. The thing was falling apart, so I just looked in all the folds. I don’t know how customs missed it.”
“I don’t think he brought it with him,” Captain Tim said with a shrug. “Everything in that kit was something that they could’ve found onboard. I suggest checking the footage at the doctor’s office, maybe someone stole the syringe from the good doctor.”
“I’ll do it,” Mark said immediately.
“No offense, but I think that’s a waste of time,” Shae said, narrowing her eyes at Mark. “That office is in a high-traffic area. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
“I think it’s a brilliant idea,” Mark said, sounding scandalized. “I know you’re only an amateur, but I don’t know what you think goes into an investigation, it’s not a part-time job. You never know what we may find, every little thing matters in a case like this. Feelings turn into motive. Coincidence becomes a clue, and sometimes it’s the strangest things that break the whole case wide open.”
Shae looked at him incredulously, gaping a little.
“Well said,” Captain Tim said, looking impressed. “I think those cameras will be more helpful than you think, Shae. Mark, you’re really taking to this job. Keep it up.”
A few minutes later, the captain dismissed them, and Shae stomped out of the office. She tried to gain control of her temper, but it was a losing battle. As soon as the office was out of sight, she turned on Mark.
“What was that?” she struggled not to yell at him. He seemed surprised by her reaction.
“We told the captain what was going on the case,” Mark said innocently.
“You lied,” Shae seethed, poking him hard on the chest. “You spoke down to me! I said that thing about coincidences being clues. What’s wrong with you?”
“I think you’re overreacting,” Mark said uncomfortably, taking a step back so that she wouldn’t be able to touch him again. “It must be the stress of the investigation. Maybe you should take a break. I’m sure the captain won’t hold it against you.”
“I’m not overreacting!” she yelled, causing a few tourists to look at them curiously. Mark became aware of the attention and tried to gesture for her to calm down. His words caused something to click in her head, and her anger doubled. “I see what you’re doing. It’s not going to work.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mark said in annoyance.
“I wondered why you wanted to work with me,” Shae said, shaking her head at him, “and now I know. You want to be his golden boy. You want to be the one he calls when there’s a problem.”
“That’s literally my job,” Mark pointed out with a sneer. “Like I said, maybe you should take a rest. These things can put all sorts of stress on a person.”
“I can handle stress, and I can handle you,” she told him. “I don’t care about the glory, take it. I just want to find out what happened to Trinity.”
“Good speech,” Mark scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Can we go now? Or do you want to freak out some more?”
Shae was about to snap at him when she noticed Ivan, the head of the security team, walking back from the buffet.
“I’ve got an idea,” she said absently, walking away from him. Mark looked at her in surprise, then quickly caught up with her.
“Are you going to tell me what this wonderful idea is?”
“No, you might try and get there before me and mess the whole thing up,” Shae said.
It didn’t help to get upset with Mark. Yelling and getting angry was only holding her back. He didn’t care. He’d still go ahead and try to cut her out. She had to come up with a new method.
“Ivan,” she said, sitting down across from the massive security guard. Ivan grunted in surprise and shielded his food instinctively. Mark sat down slowly, eyeing Shae suspiciously. “I want to know if you can do a background check on someone.”
“Yes,” Ivan said, his mouth full. “I can, we have to do them when we arrest guests.”
“Wait,” she said slowly, “you do them on everyone that you arrest?”
“That’s what I said,” Ivan said in confusion, biting into a chicken leg. “What do you want?”
“You’re kidding,” Shae said in annoyance. “Do you know how many times that could’ve helped me? Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“You never asked,” Ivan pointed out, scratching the back of his head and taking a large gulp of beer.
“Fine,” Shae said, glaring at him a little. “Have you done the background checks on the people in the cell now?”
“That’s what we do with all prisoners,” Ivan reminded her, looking at Mark as though he was dealing with an idiot. Mark shrugged innocently and Shae had to stop herself from launching herself at him.
“Is there anything we should know about them?” Shae asked, grinding her teeth subconsciously.
“The one man owes a lot of money to a lot of people,” Ivan shrugged. “He’s a bad gambler. Maybe he should stop for a while.”
“We don’t pay you for your opinion,” Mark snapped. “Tell us something we don’t know. Were any of them arrested? What about that sister? No one is that boring, tell me something interesting about her.”
“The woman is involved with the church, it is the only life she has,” Ivan said with another shrug. He started on his fries, ignoring Mark’s frustrated sigh.
“We’re sorry to interrupt your dinner,” Shae said sincerely. “Can we make it up to you by getting you a drink?”
Ivan stopped eati
ng and looked at her with renewed interest.
“Two beers,” Ivan said uncertainly, as if he didn’t believe her offer. She nodded dutifully and got up to get the beers. The time away from the table gave her the opportunity to formulate her thoughts and come up with questions to ask him.
When she sat down again, she placed the two beers in front of him. His nodded appreciatively and continued eating his fries. Mark looked at her questioningly, but she ignored him.
“Do you know if any of them are hiding something?” Shae asked. “Or if they’ve ever been in trouble before?”
“The woman, not so much. The gambler is always in trouble. I can’t get to all the pastor’s records, but he’s got light fingers.”
“Light fingers?” Shae asked, frowning in confusion.
“You know,” Ivan snapped his fingers in front of her face. “He likes taking things. He also likes washing money.”
“Are you having a stroke?” Mark asked bluntly. Shae frowned at him and shook her head.
“He’s been arrested for money laundering and theft?” Shae asked. Her head felt like it was exploding, and Mark frowned in anger.
“We thought that idiot was innocent,” Mark said, clenching his fists. “That whole persona is an act. We’ve been talking to a criminal this whole time.”
“I can’t believe it,” Shae said, shaking her head slightly. “When was he arrested?”
“About ten years ago,” Ivan said, munching on a buffalo wing. “He also has a record from childhood, but I can’t look in that one. We don’t have access.”
“Well, it was a long time ago,” Shae said uncertainly. “Maybe he’s changed?”
“People don’t change that much, they only get better at hiding themselves,” Mark said, cracking his knuckles. “We’re talking to him again. And this time we’re going to get answers.”
Chapter 7
“There you are,” Jax said in relief, pulling Shae aside. “I’ve been asking around, but no one knew where you were.”
“I’ve been working with Mark all day,” Shae said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. “He’s been a nightmare.”
