Stormy Seas (A Rowan Gray Mystery Book 3)

by Lily Harper Hart

  Double crap!

  20

  Twenty

  Rowan’s heart thundered in her ears as Phil Pritchard moved closer. His eyes were trained on Callisto, but Rowan had the distinct impression that he was watching her just as closely. Should she try to run, he would stop her. She had no doubt about that.

  “I see you found me.” Callisto didn’t look particularly perturbed. “Surprise! Get me a lemonade or something, will you? I’m parched.”

  “I’m not surprised.” Phil took another step forward, his hand hovering close to his oversized shorts pockets. He didn’t reach inside, but he made sure that option was open as he ignored Callisto’s drink request. “I knew you weren’t dead. I’m not that lucky.”

  “Oh, I think you’ve been incredibly lucky.” Callisto shifted her legs to get more comfortable. “I haven’t told anyone about the dirt I have on you, have I?”

  “No, but I have a feeling you’re about to make that exact mistake,” Phil replied. “I don’t think Rowan wants to hear it.”

  “You’re definitely right about that,” Rowan said, closing her laptop cover and moving to stand. “You guys seem to have something on your minds and look as if you want to talk about it in private so I’m going to give you some space.”

  Phil gripped Rowan’s shoulder tightly enough that she groaned and shoved her back into her chair. “Oh, you’re a part of this now, so I think it would be smart if you stayed right where you’re sitting.”

  “I don’t want to intrude.”

  “It’s too late for that,” Phil gritted out, openly glaring at Callisto. “You never learn, do you? Why didn’t you stay hidden? Why didn’t you just go away?”

  “What fun would that be?” Callisto challenged, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m not done with this business yet. It keeps trying to be done with me, but I’m not about to let that happen. I have plans … very big plans … and I’m going to survive all of this and do what no other actress my age has managed to do. I’m going to keep my status.”

  “By faking your death?”

  “By doing what I have to do,” Callisto corrected. “You should know all about that, Phil. You’ve kept your spot in the business by doing the same thing.”

  Rowan wasn’t particularly keen to be part of the conversation, but she couldn’t stay out of it either. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing,” Phil hurriedly replied. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Oh, right, don’t worry about it,” Callisto intoned. “He’s still trying to keep his secrets after all this time. It’s kind of cute … even though it’s one of those things that everyone knows about.”

  “Shut up, Callisto!” Phil didn’t look to be in a playing mood.

  Callisto ignored the warning. “Do you really want to know, Rowan? It’s not as if she can do anything about it, Phil. She has no power and she’s probably already heard the gossip.”

  Rowan had no idea what gossip Callisto referred to, but she was starting to get a feeling regarding the bigger picture here. She was also beginning to understand that Phil had certain plans for Callisto, plans that Rowan would most certainly be caught up in. “I don’t need to hear the gossip,” Rowan offered, her voice tinny. “I’m honestly good being left in the dark.”

  “I’m sorry. That’s no longer an option for you,” Phil said, snapping his eyes to Rowan. “You should’ve stayed out of this.”

  “I didn’t want to be in this in the first place!”

  “Really, that’s not how it feels,” Phil argued. “From the moment we stepped on this ship you’ve been all up in our business. I mean … you spent an entire day watching Callisto. I couldn’t even get close. When you weren’t watching, you snagged your boyfriend to do it. How ridiculous can you be?”

  “That’s what I said,” Callisto offered. “I thought she was either hot for me or a tabloid photographer. She claims she’s not.”

  “What’s your deal?” Phil asked pointedly.

  “I was just in awe of her,” Rowan lied. “She’s one of my favorite actresses.”

  “You have a favorite B-movie actress?” Phil arched a dubious eyebrow. “Why don’t I believe that?”

  “Because you’re a smarmy tool who doesn’t understand the power of a good actress,” Callisto answered. “She’s a true fan. Can you blame her?”

  “No, she’s not.”

  “Yes, she is.”

  “I really am,” Rowan interjected, squirming on her chair. “I swear I don’t care what the two of you are up to. I just … I need to get going. Quinn is waiting for me.”

  “Quinn is busy with Brimstone,” Phil corrected. “I saw them chatting in the security office a few minutes ago. He’s not looking for you.”

  Rowan’s stomach twisted. “We’re supposed to meet for lunch.”

  “You’re a terrible liar,” Phil said. “You should work on that.”

  “You really are,” Callisto added. “You could never be an actress.”

  “I don’t want to be an actress.” Rowan knew she was at a crossroads and she had no choice but to make a move. Quinn wasn’t looking for her. He wouldn’t be until dinnertime. They both had work to do and agreed to meet up then. “I do have a job, though.” Rowan tried to stand again. This time Phil was rougher, bordering on abusive, when he shoved her back into her seat.

  “Knock it off,” Phil hissed, his fingernails digging into Rowan’s shoulder. “You’re not going anywhere.”

  For the first time since Phil appeared in the open doorway, Callisto sensed things were about to go wrong. “What’s going on?”

  “What’s going on, you stupid idiot, is that I’m cleaning up my mess,” Phil replied, drawing a lethal looking knife from his pocket. Rowan knew he was hiding something in there, but the knife was so jagged and ugly looking it caused her heart to skip a beat. “Now, I don’t have a lot of time. If you could both cooperate, I’d really appreciate it.”

  “WHAT’S GOING ON?”

  Quinn ran into Demarcus in the hallway outside of the accounting department, offering up a distracted smile as he moved to slide around his friend.

  “I’m just checking on a few things,” Quinn replied, doing his best to muster mild interest. “What about you? Aren’t you usually entrenched at the tiki bar about this time of day?”

  “I am, but it’s storming.”

  “Bad?”

  “Not terrible, but I think it will get worse in the next hour or so,” Demarcus replied. “I was running low on change. I forgot to pick it up this morning.”

  “Are you supposed to leave the bar unattended?”

  “I left Rowan in charge. I should get back, though. I doubt she’s going to be keen to mix drinks for me.”

  “Rowan?” Quinn lifted an eyebrow. “She’s on the deck?”

  “She was a few minutes ago.”

  “Great. I need to find her anyway.” Quinn started striding in that direction. “Is she alone?”

  “Other than her computer.”

  “Good. Take your time. I’ll head up there right now.”

  “Thanks.”

  “W-WHAT DO YOU think you’re doing?” Callisto’s voice wavered as she stared at the knife. She’d been around the horror movie business long enough to distinguish a real weapon from a prop.

  “I’m solving my problem, Callisto. Keep up.”

  Rowan briefly pressed her eyes shut and adjusted her tactics. Running wasn’t an option unless Phil lunged in Callisto’s direction. If he did that, she could race into the storm – where another problem waited for her – and leave Callisto behind to die. Rowan didn’t like the woman, but she was hardly the type to abandon someone to certain death.

  “Why don’t you tell me the secret first?” Rowan suggested, bargaining for time. “If this is going to play out the way I think it is, I want to know why.”

  “I thought you didn’t want to be part of it,” Phil challenged.

  “Maybe I changed my mind.”

  “And ma
ybe I don’t care what you want,” Phil spat. “You shouldn’t even be a part of this. This is between Callisto and me … so shut your mouth.”

  “Wasn’t Elvira involved, too?” Rowan challenged, playing a hunch. “Isn’t that why you killed her?”

  “You killed Elvira?” Callisto’s eyes widened to saucer-like proportions. “Why?”

  “Because I’m betting she knew whatever secret you’ve been holding over Phil’s head,” Rowan answered for the spiraling director. “You said it was common knowledge. I’m guessing Phil wants to make sure that changes.”

  “Oh, wow.” Callisto swallowed hard. “Is that why you killed her?”

  “That’s only one of many reasons,” Phil growled, adjusting his grip on the knife. “She was also tiresome, needy, demanding that I marry her, trying to blackmail me for roles because she saw you do it, and generally bad in bed.”

  Rowan felt sick to her stomach. “All viable reasons to murder someone,” she muttered.

  Phil didn’t catch on to the sarcasm. “I totally agree.”

  “So you slit her throat?” Callisto asked, her mind clearly busy as she tried to wrap her head around what he was saying. “That’s such a clichéd way to go.”

  “Well, I didn’t have a gun,” Phil explained. “A gun would’ve been easier and less messy, but I wasn’t sure I could get it on the ship. It turns out that I could’ve because they don’t utilize metal detectors, but I didn’t know that at the time. I’ll know better for the next go around.”

  “Why did you kill her in the gallery?” Rowan was legitimately curious. “There was no way for you to get the body out of there.”

  “No, but she ticked me off. We were in there a few nights before and I knew that Drusilla regularly left the door open after hours – she’s always been a bit of a scatterbrain – so I suggested we meet there for a bit of romantic fun.

  “Elvira was such an idiot she believed me,” he continued. “She thought I really cared despite the fact that she was forcing me to stay with her. She believed I loved her when I really hated her. She was stupid, too.”

  “Did you think Drusilla would get blamed?” Rowan asked.

  “I thought there were enough people on the ship that I couldn’t possibly be arrested or even fall under suspicion. The lighting was terrible in there. There were no cameras on the employee door. I thought it would be fine. You guys had already seen me on the deck and thought I was drunk. I wanted to take advantage of that.”

  “I see.” And, because she did, Rowan merely shook her head. “So now you’ll kill Callisto and you’re betting your secret will be safe.” It wasn’t a question, simply an observation.

  “That’s the plan,” Phil replied. “I have a big deal set up in Miami the day after tomorrow. I’ll be free and clear after that … and I’ll have enough money to make the prestige horror movie I’ve always wanted. I’ll actually be able to get studio backing and decent actresses. I’ve got it all lined up.”

  “Hey!” Callisto was affronted. “If you think you’re doing a studio horror movie without me, you’re crazy.”

  “No, you’re the crazy one,” Phil spat. “You’ll be dead long before I even start casting for that film. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, although you’re too stupid to listen.”

  Rowan sensed the conversation was drifting to a very bad place. She was running out of time. “What kind of delivery?” Her only hope was keeping Phil distracted until someone else showed up on deck. Most likely it would be Demarcus – which sent a chill through Rowan’s spine because she would be devastated if anything happened to the amiable bartender. Still, a diversion was a diversion. She needed something.

  “Heroin,” Callisto answered for him. “That’s his thing. He hooks his actresses on heroin and then gets them to sign contracts for the guild minimum in exchange for serving as their supplier. He’s been doing it for years.”

  “And you knew about it and instead of telling someone in charge you blackmailed him for roles?” Rowan was flabbergasted. “Why?”

  Callisto shrugged. “Why not?”

  “Because you could’ve helped people.”

  “She’s only interested in helping herself,” Phil interjected. “She’s a bitter whore who is about to lose everything so she positioned herself to make everyone else lose everything if we didn’t keep her on top. She’s … evil.”

  “Coming from the guy with a knife in his hand and a murder on his conscience, that’s freaking rich,” Callisto screeched, hopping to her feet. “I don’t know what you think is going to happen here, but I’m not going to go down without a fight.”

  Phil took a threatening step in Callisto’s direction, leaving Rowan a bit behind him. “I was hoping you would say that.”

  Rowan recognized her opening and thought fast, doing the only thing she could. She grabbed her laptop with both hands and swung hard, slamming it into the back of Phil’s head. He lurched forward, almost going down, but the computer wasn’t heavy enough to do any real damage.

  “Run!” Rowan screamed as she dropped the computer on the table, turning on her heel and racing into the storm. She didn’t hang around long enough to see if Callisto did as she was told. She could do nothing else to help the woman. If they ran in different directions, Phil’s attention would be split. He could only follow one of them, which meant at least one of them would survive.

  The rain and wind slapped Rowan in the face as she escaped from the tiki bar’s covered roof. She paid it little heed and pushed her hair out of her face as she raced down the deck. She wore sandals today, which was a mistake, and the deck was wet enough that she slid as she rounded a corner.

  She was so worried about what chased her that she didn’t notice the hand snaking out from a small alcove until it was already wrapping around her neck and dragging her into a corner.

  “No!” Rowan slapped out hard, making contact with bare skin.

  Brimstone’s eyes fired at the smack, but he remained calm as he pressed her to his side. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  Instead of feeling relief, Rowan’s heart sank when she saw the gun in his hand and grim expression on his face. “You’re his assistant,” she snapped. “You’re working for him. You know what he’s doing.”

  “I know what he’s doing,” Brimstone confirmed. “I am not, however, his assistant. I’m an undercover FBI agent. My name is Alex Masters. I’ve been working this case for more than a year.”

  Rowan’s eyes widened as she ran the information through her head. “But … really?”

  “Really.” Masters bobbed his head. “You’re okay. I figured Phil was about to make his move, but I didn’t realize he was waiting for me to be distracted to do it. He waited until I was talking to your boyfriend to go after Callisto.”

  “You knew she was alive?” Rowan didn’t bother to keep the disdain from her voice.

  “I saw her yesterday. She was in a disguise but … I saw her.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” Rowan slapped him again for good measure.

  “Because I couldn’t break cover for that,” Masters gritted out. “Do you have any idea how much work I’ve put into this case?”

  “Not enough to save Elvira.”

  Masters’ expression softened. “I’m sorry about that. I had no idea he would go to those extremes. If I did … .”

  “What?”

  “I would’ve done something.”

  Rowan was too overwrought to believe him. “He’s on the deck. He’s coming to kill me … or maybe Callisto.”

  “He’s not.” Masters’ eyes filled with sympathy as he released Rowan and pointed to a spot around the corner. “I ran into your boyfriend in the hallway. We compared notes. Phil is … taken care of.”

  Rowan followed Masters’ finger with her eyes, her stomach settling when she saw Quinn standing over Phil’s prone form. The man was on the deck, unmoving. It looked as if Phil decided to follow Rowan rather than Callisto, probably figuring Callisto would be ea
sier to handle after the fact. Quinn’s chest heaved as he raised his head and locked gazes with Rowan.

  “Everything is fine,” Masters said, keeping a loose grip on Rowan’s wrist. “You’re safe. That was the one thing he made me promise, that you would be safe no matter what.”

  Rowan jerked her arm away and took a step back. “I guess everyone is safe … except for Elvira.”

  Masters’ expression was pained. “If I could go back in time and change that, I would. I didn’t see it coming.”

  Rowan thought of the absent omen in Elvira’s photographs. “I guess no one could’ve seen it coming.” She turned her back to Masters and scurried in Quinn’s direction, throwing her arms around his neck when she got to him.

  Quinn wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair as he rocked back and forth in the torrential storm. “Are you okay?”

  Rowan drew back a bit so she could see his face and nodded. “I knew you would come.”

  “You played it smart. You did what you had to do. I was watching you through the door’s window and you did everything exactly right.”

  “It’s over.”

  “It is. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m great.” Rowan actually meant it. “I’m ready for this cruise to be over with, though.”

  “We’re almost there, sweetheart. Everything will be better now.”

  Rowan smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder. She believed him.

  21

  Twenty-One

  Rowan and Quinn met Alex Masters in front of the holding cells when the ship docked the following day. Local authorities were already on board collecting Elvira’s body, while Masters was set to meet with the detectives to discuss where Phil would land first for trial.

  Masters was freshly showered and shaved when they approached, an amiable smile on his face. He seemed like a decent enough guy once the full story came out, but Rowan remained angry about the subterfuge.

  “I guess you’re leaving,” she said, remaining close to Quinn’s side as they looked through the viewing glass. Phil sat on the bunk inside, his head in his hands, misery practically oozing from every pore.

  “I have to wait for the detectives to get here,” Masters explained. “They’re handling Elvira’s body first. They’ll be along shortly.”