Grave Seas: A Maddie Graves and Rowan Gray Mystery

by Lily Harper Hart

  “That’s what I was thinking, too.”

  Quinn was suddenly suspicious. “Were you really? I can’t help but wonder if you waited for me to answer so you could just say the same thing.”

  “No, I’m being serious. I don’t have much family anyway. Just my father and uncle.”

  “And your new grandfather.”

  Rowan stilled. “I didn’t really think about him. It would probably be rude not to invite him, huh?”

  “I happen to think so. We need to decide where we want to get married, too. We need to decide if we’re going formal or casual — I look devastating in a tux, by the way — and I’m guessing we’re going to want to throw the reception at a place that has crab legs. I can’t wait to watch you eat crab legs in your fancy wedding dress. I’m going to take photos and videos. In fact ... .” He groaned when his phone dinged with an incoming message. “Oh, geez.”

  Rowan watched him with some trepidation as he retrieved the phone and stared at the screen. She knew something was wrong right away. “What is it?”

  “I think our morning is going to be cut short. I’m sorry. We have a missing woman, though.”

  Rowan was ready to spring into action. “That’s fine. Let’s shower and I’ll help you look.”

  “There’s nobody I would rather have at my side.”

  Five

  “What do we have?” Quinn was all business when he met his men outside one of the honeymoon suites.

  “One Lindsey Masterson,” Ted Quinlan replied. He was a relatively new member of Quinn’s security team, a former cop who had been injured in the line of duty and was looking for a fresh start. Quinn had been impressed with him so far. “She’s been married less than a week, obviously on her honeymoon, brunette, five-foot-three. Her husband Ben reported her missing.”

  “How long has she been missing?”

  “He’s not sure.”

  Quinn stilled. “What do you mean he’s not sure?”

  “He said that he left her at the Neon Mermaid, the dance club on the promenade, around midnight. He was tired of dancing and she showed no signs of slowing. She was having a good time and he thought it was safe for her to find her way back to the room alone.”

  “So ... he just left her at the bar?”

  “That’s what he says. He’s inside ... and he’s a mess.”

  Quinn nodded. “Okay, I’ll head in.” He slid his eyes to Rowan, who had been silent during the exchange. “You don’t have to go with me if you don’t want to. I know you have things to do.”

  “I’ll stick around during the interview,” she offered. “After that ... we’ll see.”

  “Okay.” Quinn knocked briskly before pushing open the door. He found Ben Masterson sitting on the end of the bed, a shocked look on his face. His heart immediately went out to the man even though he remained suspicious. “Mr. Masterson, I’m Quinn Davenport. I’m head of security. I have a few questions for you.”

  Ben nodded dumbly. “I take that to mean you haven’t found her yet.”

  “Not yet.” Quinn took up position directly in front of the man so there was no other option besides direct eye contact. “Can you tell me what happened?”

  Ben made a protesting sound deep in his throat. “I already told that other guy.”

  “And he told me the story. I want to hear it from you for myself, though.”

  “Shouldn’t you be out looking for her?”

  “We are looking for her,” Quinn reassured him. “I have multiple teams out scouring the ship. There’s no reason to panic just yet. It’s possible she got so inebriated she couldn’t find her way back to the room. She could be asleep on one of the deck chairs ... or perhaps she slept in a room with another passenger.”

  Ben’s expression darkened. “You think she hooked up with some guy.”

  “That’s not what I said.” Quinn was calm as he regarded the man. He let his training take over and led with practicality instead of emotion. “My understanding is that your wife was dancing at the Neon Mermaid. I doubt you would’ve left her if she was dancing with other men. That makes me think she was with other women ... and she could’ve easily opted to sleep in their room if she couldn’t remember how to get back to this room. That club stays open until four o’clock in the morning.

  “I’m not saying that’s what happened, but it’s a distinct possibility,” he continued. “If she was out late, she might still be passed out. Was she drinking last evening?”

  Ben swallowed hard and nodded. “Yeah. She was pretty drunk. I should’ve forced her to come back with me, but she was having such a good time. I mean ... it’s our honeymoon. I figured she would be hungover today, I would tease her a little, and then fill her full of fluids and stuff while giving her a hard time. I didn’t think she wouldn’t come back.”

  “There’s still no reason to panic,” Quinn insisted. “People go missing on the ship fairly often. It’s like a floating city. The thing is, in most cases, they’re really not missing. I have men out looking for her. We’re starting at the club and then working our way out. It’s going to take time. In case we don’t find her that way, though, I need to ask you questions so I have a direction to look.”

  “Okay.” Ben dragged a hand through his sandy hair. “What do you need to know?”

  “I need to know everything you’ve done on this ship since you arrived. It might seem trivial, but I need times so I can check the video footage. We have cameras spread across this ship, and if we can find your wife, we can see if anyone was following her.”

  Ben balked. “I think I would notice if anyone was following her. That’s my job as her husband.”

  “Were you drinking?”

  His expression fell. “Yes. I ... yes.”

  “I’m not accusing you of anything,” Quinn promised. “I’m not blaming you. I simply need your help.”

  “Okay.” He rubbed his stubbled chin. “Let’s do this. I’m not going to be okay until we find her. I just ... it’s our honeymoon.”

  Quinn understood the man’s horror. If he was acting, he was very good. He had Quinn convinced. That didn’t mean he wasn’t playing a part, of course, but Quinn had his doubts ... at least for now. He had no reason to believe the woman hadn’t simply gotten drunk and fallen asleep in an alternative location.

  That didn’t explain the hard ball of worry lodged in the pit of his stomach, though. He wasn’t psychic. He didn’t have extrasensory gifts, not like his girlfriend. However, he didn’t like this. Something felt off.

  MADDIE AND NICK WERE HAPPY and well rested when they left their room. The feeling didn’t last long when they saw the people amassed outside Ben and Lindsey’s room. Nick’s cop training immediately took over.

  “What happened?”

  Quinn, who was exiting the room, lifted his gaze to Nick. He recognized him from the previous day. The woman who had practically passed out in the bathroom hallway looked much better than she had ... although it was hard to miss the stricken look on her face.

  “We have a situation,” Quinn replied calmly. “Are you familiar with the occupants of this room?”

  Nick nodded. “Yes. Did something happen?”

  Quinn didn’t immediately answer. “Can you tell me when was the last time you saw them?”

  “Last night,” Maddie volunteered before Nick could answer. She understood why her husband was reticent to answer questions instead of asking them for a change, but she could sense the security guru was having a rough morning. He had a job to do, after all. She didn’t want to infringe on that. “We saw them in the dining room. They invited us to some club on the promenade, but we decided to hang out on the deck instead.”

  “The Neon Mermaid?”

  Maddie shrugged. “I don’t know the name of the club. I’m sorry. We’re not big dancers.”

  Quinn nodded in understanding. He wasn’t much of a dancer either ... unless the music was slow and he could spend his time swaying back and forth with Rowan in his arms. That type of danci
ng didn’t bother him in the least. “That was the last time?”

  “Not technically,” Nick hedged, his hand on Maddie’s lower back. “We saw them when we were on the deck, although we didn’t talk to them.”

  “You saw them where?”

  “They were walking between places.”

  “And arguing,” Maddie added.

  Nick shot her a quelling look. “They weren’t arguing ... exactly. It was more that they were kind of kibitzing at one another.”

  Quinn arched a dubious eyebrow. “Kibitzing?” He was familiar with the word, but it seemed strange for a man under the age of thirty to utter.

  “You’ll have to forgive Nick,” Maddie offered ruefully. “That’s something my grandmother says all the time. She lives with us.”

  “Ah.”

  “I’m just saying that they weren’t really arguing,” Nick countered. “Ben was agitated because Lindsey refused to slow down with the daiquiris and he wanted to head back to the room. She wanted to go somewhere else. I’m not sure where they were heading. To be fair, I’m not even sure which side of the ship we were on. After dinner, we just wandered around and picked a spot with a pretty view.”

  Since Quinn had done the same multiple times, he understood. “Well, thank you for your time.”

  “No problem.” Nick started to prod Maddie and then stopped. “You haven’t told us what happened.”

  “Mrs. Masterson has gone missing.”

  Maddie’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, no.”

  “It’s too early to panic,” Quinn offered. “It’s possible she’s simply sleeping it off somewhere else.”

  “Does that happen often on a ship like this?” Nick queried.

  “You would be surprised.”

  “Well ... if you need bodies for a search team, I’m a detective in Michigan. I know you’ve probably got it under control, but just in case ... .”

  “Thank you for the offer. We should be able to handle it, though. You guys should go back to your honeymoon activities. I’m sure this will be solved by lunch.”

  Nick hoped that was true. He had his doubts, though.

  QUINN’S MEN KNEW EXACTLY WHAT they were doing and didn’t need to be instructed on how to conduct a search. They broke into teams, gridded the ship, and took off.

  That left Quinn with Ben, who seemed more muddled and confused with each passing moment.

  “You should probably take a shower,” he instructed. “Go down to the dining room and get some breakfast.”

  Ben made an incredulous face. “You expect me to eat at a time like this?”

  “You’re going to need your strength.” Quinn was firm. “I’ll keep you in the loop.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m heading downstairs to check the cameras. You gave me your itinerary from yesterday. I have your best recollection on times. I’ll track her from the time you arrived until the time you separated and see if I can find her.”

  “Can’t you just follow her on the camera from the club?”

  “There is no camera inside,” Quinn replied. “Most of our guests don’t want to be filmed when they’re having a good time. There are cameras located throughout the promenade and along the deck. Our only issue is that sometimes it’s difficult to pick up certain images at night. We have good technology, but it’s not infallible.”

  “Right.” Ben pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Shower,” Quinn ordered. “Have some breakfast. Hydrate. Hopefully we’ll have information quickly.”

  “Shouldn’t I wait here?”

  “I’ll be able to find you on the ship. Don’t worry about that.”

  “I ... well ... I guess some toast and water couldn’t hurt.”

  “Definitely not.” Quinn put his hand to the small of Rowan’s back and prodded her to exit the room. Once they were outside, with the door shut, he met her curious gaze. “Can you go through your photos from yesterday?”

  Rowan nodded without hesitation. “The omen didn’t show up on any of the photos I took yesterday, though. I looked.”

  He exhaled heavily and nodded. “I know. You’ve said yourself, though, when a crime of opportunity arises, the omen doesn’t always pop up. It should be there after the act, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Please look for me.”

  “Okay. I’ll head down to my office right now.”

  He caught her hand before she could escape. “You should get some breakfast, too. I’m sorry our nostalgic morning was cut short. I’ll make it up to you.”

  “I’m not worried about that,” Rowan countered. “I do have a question, though. Why didn’t you mention to him what Maddie said about them? The thing about hearing them arguing.”

  “I don’t know that it’s important yet.”

  Rowan furrowed her brow. “I honestly don’t understand. His story is already straining at the seams.”

  “Not necessarily. Nick and Maddie saw them earlier in the evening, long before they supposedly split up around midnight. Maddie and Nick said they were in bed before eleven and guessed they saw the Mastersons on the deck before ten o’clock. That means they had plenty of time to go back to the Neon Mermaid.”

  “I get that but ... he didn’t mention them arguing.”

  “And Nick and Maddie couldn’t agree about it being a real argument,” Quinn pointed out. “She thought it was ‘kind of’ an argument.” He used the appropriate air quotes. “He didn’t think it was a big deal. He’s a detective in Michigan. If his radar wasn’t pinged, I’m guessing it wasn’t a big deal.

  “In case you’ve forgotten, we’ve had the occasional disagreement while drinking, too,” he reminded her. “Would you classify any of those instances as fights?”

  Rowan shook her head. “No. Of course, I didn’t disappear after any of them either.”

  “And I’m thankful for that.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I don’t want to ask him about a potential fight until I have a better idea of what’s going on.”

  “What if he killed her?”

  “That’s possible. If she’s already dead, though, waiting isn’t going to hurt anything. If she’s just passed out in someone else’s room, it might cause issues down the line.”

  “Do you think she hooked up with someone? I mean ... I know you brushed off that accusation when he threw it — and I understand why — but do you think it’s possible?”

  “I’ve seen it happen more times than I can count. There are still a couple of perfectly innocent possibilities in front of us.”

  “And a couple of darker ones,” she mused, shaking her head. “I’m going to check the photos. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

  “Thank you, my pretty little fiancée.” He gave her a wink when she blushed. “I really enjoy calling you that.”

  “Do you think you’ll enjoy calling me your wife?”

  “Even more.”

  NICK AND MADDIE WERE FINISHING up their breakfast when Ben appeared on the scene in the dining room. His hair was obviously still wet from a shower and he looked forlorn.

  “Do you think we should try to talk to him?” Maddie asked as she wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “I mean ... he probably doesn’t know anyone else on the ship.”

  Nick cast her a sidelong look. He’d been wondering the same thing. He was honestly torn on the subject. On one hand, he felt bad for the man. On the other, this was their one and only honeymoon. They found drama and danger on a regular basis at home. He didn’t want it to overshadow their vacation.

  Ultimately, Maddie took the decision out of his hands. “Ben, over here.” She waved to get his attention.

  Ben jerked his head, a momentary flash of hope appearing on his face, and then it disappeared, to be replaced with a heavy sadness. He nodded, letting them know that he would join them, and then grabbed some fruit and a croissant from the buffet line.

  “We won’
t spend all day with him or anything,” Maddie promised in a low voice. “I just want to make sure he’s okay.”

  “You don’t have to apologize for having a big heart, Mad.” He stroked his hand down the back of her head. “That’s one of the reasons I love you.” He kept his face bland when Ben reached the table. “We heard what happened. Any news?”

  Ben shook his head and slid into the open chair across from the couple. “No, and I’m really starting to get worried. I mean ... where could she have gone? All I keep picturing is her falling over the side of the boat. You see stuff like that in movies all the time. I told Lindsey I didn’t want to go on a cruise because I’m afraid of sharks and she told me I was being ridiculous and now look what happened.”

  Nick was taken aback. “You don’t know that anything has happened,” he argued. “She could’ve passed out on a deck chair or something ... or maybe even on one of those couches in the hallways.”

  Ben didn’t look convinced. “I think they would’ve found her by now if that were the case. I mean ... there’s only so many places to look. I think she’s gone.”

  Instinctively, Maddie reached over and grabbed his hand. “You can’t think like that,” she insisted. “I saw the two of you together. You were very clearly in love. I believe in destiny and I don’t think this is the way things are going to end for you.”

  “That’s sweet.” Ben brushed away her hand dismissively. “I know what I feel here, though.” He tapped the spot above his heart. “Something happened to her. I know it. I just ... this cruise was the worst idea ever.” He got to his feet and threw his napkin on top of his uneaten breakfast. “I can’t deal with this.”

  With those words, he turned on his heel and stormed from the room.

  Nick waited until he was certain the man was out of earshot to speak. “I don’t understand why he’s acting that way.”

  “He’s in shock,” Maddie replied. “The worst possible thing happened to him.”

  “He assumes the worst possible thing happened to him,” Nick countered. “I have news for you, Mad: If I were in his position, I would be searching every inch of this ship myself to find you. I wouldn’t jump to the assumption that you were already gone.” In fact, he was stricken by the notion. “There’s no way I would even consider something like that.”