by Ivy Dawson
Chapter 7
“I need to go talk to Emmie,” Shae decided as they walked out of the doctor’s office. She wondered briefly if she should ask Alexa to join, but then remembered that Alexa was annoyed with her. She’d have to go smooth things over as soon as she had a chance.
“How are you still doing this?” Carey asked in shock. “Didn’t you hear what the captain said? Or what the doctor said?”
“Malcolm was still warm when I found him,” Shae told her seriously. “That means that he died just before I got there. Why would he wait so long to kill himself if he was going to do it?”
“Maybe he was afraid. It’s a big step,” Carey told her. “Look, I don’t want to be this person, but I think you should stop. This is getting ridiculous.”
“No,” Shae said firmly, shaking her head. “Something is very wrong about all of this. I need to find the truth before it’s too late.”
“What if you don’t find anything? What if you’re chasing after nothing?”
“Then I’ll know that I tried everything, and that there is no other explanation. I know you don’t understand, but please don’t try and stop me.”
“You haven’t changed one bit,” Carey commented wryly, shaking her head. “You’re still as stubborn as a mule. I still think this is crazy, but if you think there’s something to it, then we’ve got to look. Why do you want to go talk to Emmie?”
“She’s probably just found out that he’s dead, I want to see how she’s reacting. If she did this, then it could be a dead giveaway.”
“Poor choice of words,” Carey winced, “but I see what you mean. Do you know where her room is?”
“She and Malcolm were sharing the room across from Helen,” Shae explained.
The two of them quickly made their way through the ship. Shae suddenly remembered that her shift was about to start, but they were also going to dock in two hours. She didn’t have enough time to stop her investigation.
The thought occurred to her that this would tip the captain off that she wasn’t doing her work, but she pushed it out of her mind. She’d cross that bridge when she got to it. Then she remembered what would happen if she lost her job.
“Hold on,” she told Carey. She took her phone out and sent her manager a quick text. Technically she hadn’t slept in thirty hours and hoped that it would be a good enough excuse to miss work.
When they finally got to Emmie’s room, the heiress was wearing a massive pair of designer sunglasses and carrying a gigantic bag. She was struggling with the lock and started wiggling her keys frantically as they approached.
“Do you need some help?” Carey offered generously, reaching for Emmie’s bag. Emmie flinched, and stepped back, but the action caused her bag to slip and the contents spilled all over the floor.
“I’m so sorry,” Shae said in concern, frowning as she tried to help pick up all the items. Carey picked up an expensive-looking locket and looked up at Emmie accusingly.
“I know this, I saw it in Helen’s room.”
“This too,” Shae said, holding up a dress. “Why did you take these things?”
Emmie looked between the two of them and threw her bag at them. Carey caught it in surprise, and Emmie took off running in the opposite direction. Shae groaned and chased after her, while Carey stayed behind to pick up the fallen items.
Thankfully, Emmie was wearing stilettos and hadn’t gotten far before Shae grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
“What are you doing?” Shae asked, noticing that Emmie was already out of breath. She also noticed that there were bruises blossoming on Emmie’s arm where Shae was holding her. Shae quickly let go, she didn’t know she’d grabbed Emmie’s arm that hard.
“It didn’t look good for me,” Emmie said, leaning against the railing to try and catch her breath. “The things I had with me. And now that Malcolm is dead, they’ll think I did it. I didn’t think, I just ran.”
“Why would we think you did it?”
“It was my medication that killed him,” Emmie told her, looking at her carefully.
“How do you know?” Shae asked curiously. “I mean, it’s easy to find out if it is yours, but how did you know that he used your medication?”
“I’m the only person he knows with such powerful medicine,” Emmie admitted. “I use it because I’m sick.”
“So, he stole your medication,” Shae shrugged, “that doesn’t make you guilty.” Shae’s brain quickly made the connection. Terminal cancer.
“I took my pills two hours ago, there’s no way that he stole them. And no one believed me when I told them about the strange man. I thought they’d try to pin the murders on me.”
“I knew it,” Shae breathed in relief. She was right about the murders, and now she had proof. All she had to do was get Emmie to tell the captain the truth. There’s no way he’d fire her now. “Emmie, why did you steal Helen’s things?”
“This is going to take a while,” Emmie sighed. She rubbed her arms and looked up at Shae. Her eyes were sad. Shae suddenly noticed a new weakness in Emmie. She was paler than normal, and her eyes were slightly sunken. It wasn’t obvious, but the signs were there. “Why don’t we talk about it in my cabin?”
“As long as you don’t try and run again,” Shae joked. Emmie smiled indulgently but didn’t relax as she led the way to her cabin. By the time they got back, Carey was standing there with Emmie’s bag. She watched Emmie suspiciously and handed the bag to Shae.
Emmie invited them into her cabin, which Shae noticed was slightly less glamorous than Helen’s. Was Emmie jealous of Helen?
“Okay,” Shae said, sitting down and looking at Emmie, “tell me everything.”
“Helen suggested we take this trip because we’ve all been under a lot of stress,” Emmie started. She fiddled with her hands and looked around nervously. “Her deal with the building hasn’t been going well, Malcolm’s business is just starting out, and my health has gotten worse. It was such a good idea. But I noticed that some of my stuff went missing.”
“The stuff you took from Helen’s room?” Shae asked, looking down at the bag. She started taking some of the items out.
“That’s convenient,” Carey said, obviously not believing what Emmie was saying. “We catch you with a bunch of stuff from Helen’s room, but she’s the one who stole them? How do we know you’re not lying to us?”
“Give me the locket,” Emmie told Shae, and she quickly handed the necklace over. “Look,” she opened it and showed it to them. Inside, a picture of a child, who was obviously Emmie, clung to an older woman. “That’s my mama. She died when I was little. This is a gift from her. I’ve always had it.”
“Why would Helen steal your things?” Shae asked, feeling horrified. It was one thing to steal from a friend, but it was even more despicable when someone chose to take such a treasure item.
“I don’t know,” Emmie admitted, sinking back into her chair. “Maybe she’s a kleptomaniac and stole things when she got stressed.”
“You’re taking this surprisingly well,” Carey commented, tilting her head slightly. “I mean, this locket is obviously very special to you. Most people would be furious if they found out their friend stole it. I know I would be.”
“The woman is dead, and I got my locket back,” Emmie pointed out. “She’s worse off, so I’ll save my anger for something else. I just want to leave this horrible time behind me.”
“I’m sorry this is happening to you,” Shae said sincerely. “You just wanted to rest and now it’s more stressful than ever. How are you handling the news about Malcolm?”
“He was a good man,” Emmie admitted. “I’m sorry he’s dead.”
“You don’t seem all that sorry,” Carey said. Shae elbowed her friend in the side, but Carey ignored her. She was on a roll. “You two were dating, but you’re acting as if a stranger died.”
“I don’t know how to feel,” Emmie snapped. “It’s been a nightmare. It doesn’t feel real to me. I liked him, but I wasn’t in love with him.
How would you feel about a man who was only with you for your money?”
“Is that what you think Malcolm was doing?” Shae asked compassionately, shooting Carey a warning glance. They didn’t need to rile her up. If they did, then she might not want to speak to them anymore. So far, she was the only one who could really help them.
“He was looking for a rich girlfriend,” Emmie said dispassionately. “I only saw it recently. He showed no interest in me when he was working at Whitman’s. Then when he got fired and needed new clients, all of a sudden he wants to get together.”
“That’s a painful realization,” Shae said. “When did you come to that conclusion?”
“Last week,” Emmie said, looking like she was trying to count back in her head. “Yes, last Tuesday. We had a massive argument. If he loved me, he would’ve tried to hide that he lost my money. Instead, he blamed it on everyone else and tried to borrow more. I said no, and things haven’t been good ever since. I think that’s why Helen wanted to take us on vacation. She was such a good friend, when she wasn’t stealing my things.”
“Why didn’t you break up with him?” Carey asked. “You thought he was just with you for your money, but then you stayed with him anyway.”
“Helen told me that he loved me very much, and that I should give him a chance. She said that a week away would rekindle our love, and that I shouldn’t be too hasty. Now, there’s nothing to be hasty about.”
“You must’ve cared very much about Helen,” Shae said, frowning slightly. “Her opinion was very important to you.”
“Helen only wanted what was best for me,” Emmie said sadly. “Lots of people only spend time with me because of my money. They also think that I’ll spend more now that I’m dying. Helen didn’t think like that. She treated me like a friend and never used me.”
Shae and Carey exchanged sympathetic glances. What did you say to that? The woman was dying, and now she’d lost two close friends within a few hours.
Shae looked down at the bag, feeling guilty that she had looked through it. She was about to give it back when she noticed something. She frowned at Carey.
“Tell us more about your friendship,” Carey suggested.
Shae took the opportunity to quickly cover her hand and take an item from Emmie’s bag and put it in her pocket. She surreptitiously nudged Carey when she was done.
“We’re going to let you rest,” Shae said decisively. “Thank you for your honesty. We’ll do our best to find out what happened to Malcolm and Helen.”
“Thank you,” Emmie said sincerely.
They walked out, and as soon as Emmie closed the door behind them, Shae turned to Carey with a frown.
“I don’t believe she’d do something like this,” she admitted. “She’s weak, and she obviously cared a lot about Helen.”
“So she says,” Carey said suspiciously, “but what would happen if she found out that Helen was just using her? She seemed way too calm about the fact that Helen stole that locket. Imagine how you’d react if you thought someone stole your dad’s wristwatch from you.”
Shae immediately imagined the anger, grief and betrayal that would flow through her. That wristwatch was all she had left of him.
“Besides, she’s about to die. She doesn’t have anything to lose.”
Chapter 8
“I think this bullet would’ve been the same ones that the killer used,” Dr. Zooberg said slowly, “but I can’t be sure. I’m not a ballistics expert. I can only make an educated guess.”
“Well, that’s all we’ve got at this stage,” Shae admitted with a sigh. “I wish people wouldn’t do things like this. I mean, don’t they realize how inconvenient it is for the rest of us?”
“You want people to stop killing one another because it’s inconvenient?” Dr. Zooberg asked incredulously, blinking up at her through his thick-rimmed glasses. Shae always thought that he looked like an insane little owl.
“That would be great,” Shae joked, smiling at the ridiculousness of her wish. It would be great if people would just treat each other better, but she wasn’t about to get her hopes up. All she could do was try and be better.
“You said you wanted to show me something?” Shae reminded him.
“Yes,” he nodded emphatically. “Where’s that little friend of yours? Aren’t you two joined at the hip? When does she leave?”
“She leaves this weekend,” Shae explained, “and it’s been a rough night, so she wanted to go take a nap.”
“How lovely,” Dr. Zooberg commented. “Aren’t you tired? You’ve been running around nonstop. You’re going to burn out if you keep doing that.”
“I just want to finish a few things up, then I’ll sleep,” Shae promised him. She was starting to the feel the effects of staying up all night. Things were slowing down, but she only had a limited amount of time left before they reached port.
She wanted to have real leads before that happened, or preferably, have the murderer in custody.
“I just finished my final examination of Malcolm Kray,” he explained, “and I found something strange.”
“What do you mean by strange?” Shae asked carefully. With Dr. Zooberg, strange could mean anything. He found many things strange, and often found strange things normal. She couldn’t figure out how his brain worked, but she enjoyed the challenge.
“I found bruises on his body,” he explained, showing her a few pictures. “See? It’s as if someone held him down. This happened before he died. I think that someone held him down and force-fed him those pills.”
“He was a full-grown man,” Shae pointed out. “I don’t think it would’ve been easy to hold him down like that.”
“It certainly blows your theory about Emmie out of the water,” the doctor said. “She’s not strong enough to hold anything down, let alone a struggling man.”
“Unless she paid someone to do it for her,” Shae pointed out. “It wouldn’t be hard to find someone when you have that much money.”
“I once knew a contract killer,” Dr. Zooberg said conversationally. “He was a troubled man but made the best curry I ever tasted.”
“How did you know he was a contract killer?” Shae asked in confusion. “Wait, never mind. Let’s just stay on topic here.”
“Or maybe it wasn’t Emmie,” Dr. Zooberg told her earnestly. “People who are dying don’t usually want to kill other people. I think imminent death brings out a different side in each person. I’ve only seen peace in Emmie.”
“I think that she’s scared,” Shae admitted, “and she’s been mistreated by both Helen and Malcolm. She’s got motive, and now we might have proof. I did find the bullet in her bag. And she tried to run when we caught her with the bag. I don’t know about you, but that screams guilt.”
“That screams nervousness,” Dr. Zooberg said. “Remember that she’s the one who tried to free Malcolm. He would’ve seen everything. He was adamant about his innocence, so he’d probably tell us if she was the one who killed Helen. Besides, didn’t you see her on the balcony a few seconds before it happened? Have you looked into the man that was following her?”
“No,” Shae sighed, “that’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack. There are hundreds of men onboard, and she wasn’t able to describe him. What if it was a team effort?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Malcolm needed money. So Emmie could’ve promised him more money if he killed Helen. Then when he realized that he was going to take the fall, he could’ve threatened to tell everyone the truth. Of course, Emmie never planned to give him the money, she just planned to kill him for losing her money.”
“That sounds plausible,” Dr. Zooberg admitted, “but very sloppy. She must’ve known that she would get caught eventually.”
“She’s dying,” Shae said slowly. “Maybe she knew she wouldn’t get away with it. I mean, I guess I can kind of follow that reasoning. She’s sick, she’s been betrayed. She realizes that she doesn’t have long anyway, so she decided to t
ake care of the people who betrayed her.”
“You scare me when you do that,” he told her, shivering slightly. “How do you climb into their heads like that?”
“I don’t know,” Shae said, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “I might be wrong, though. In fact, I’m probably wrong.”
“Look, I don’t know what to say,” Dr. Zooberg admitted. “I’m good at my job, and that’s all I’m worried about. Maybe you should go talk to her again and present this theory to her.”
“I don’t have enough evidence,” Shae groaned. “All I have is a theory and a bullet. I need evidence that she did this.”
“Okay,” Carey announced as she walked in, “I’ve taken my nap, what did I miss?”
Shae quickly filled her in about the prevailing theory, and Carey shook her head disbelievingly.
“I don’t think Emmie did it,” she admitted. “I mean, she couldn’t even run away from you. No offence, but it would be easy to run away from you.”
“Hey,” Shae protested.
“Be honest,” Carey teased, poking Shae’s belly. “When’s the last time you did any sort of exercise?”
“Fine,” Shae grumbled, turning her belly away from Carey.
The sound of a helicopter drawing closer drew their attention, but they were quickly bored by the sound. Every now and then, someone would land on the boat. It was how rich people liked to board the ship.
“I think you need to talk to her again,” Dr. Zooberg insisted. “She’s the only witness you have. She might know more than she’s saying.”
“Why would she keep something a secret?” Carey asked, wrinkling her nose in confusion. “It doesn’t make sense. She’s told us so much already. I think we’re looking in the wrong place completely.”
“Where do you suggest we start looking?” Shae asked, feeling slightly annoyed. Carey liked to pick apart theories, but she wasn’t very good at coming up with her own.
Suddenly, there was a call for the nurses’ station, and the two on-duty nurses leapt into action. They rolled the stretcher out and called for Dr. Zooberg to follow.
